The 2010 WPPI convention and trade show is just about two weeks away now.  Last year I had the honor and privilege of presenting my platform program “FUNdamentals” to some of the more than 12,000 photographers who attended WPPI 2009.  As a speaker you get to look out at your audience and see the desire to learn in their attentive faces.  As rewarding as the speaking experience is, I was overwhelmed by what transpired after I wrapped up my presentation.  Members of the audience rushed to the podium after I concluded my presentation to ask more questions and seek more answers to their particular challenges.  A few offered to come to New York for the opportunity to assist me and learn from me on actual wedding assignments.  I accepted some of those offers and they turned into the catalyst for some great 2009 wedding experiences.  Photographers came in from all over the United States…Illinois, Mississippi, Massachusetts, California…to accompany myself and my team on a number of wedding assignments here in New York.

This year I’ll be returning to WPPI 2010 as a judge in the Accolades of Excellence 16 X 20 print competition.  Though I won’t be speaking at this year’s convention I do have quite an eager audience nonetheless…more than 2,400 subscriptions to The Pro Spot and more than 4,000 friends on Facebook.  So using this, The Pro Spot, as my podium I am extending an offer to any photographer who wishes to learn from me…on the job…on an actual wedding assignment here in the New York area…to contact me.  Send me an email with a link to your web site and a brief statement of why you would like to work with me.  I will choose a number of you and arrange a mutually convenient time for you to come to New York and work with my team.  I seek no compensation from you for this experience.  I just ask that you pay your own travel expenses and bring your camera gear, your enthusiasm and an open mind towards learning while creating some new and exciting images.  (Stick around an extra day after the wedding assignment and you’ll witness my two hour editing workflow to finish 1,000 images and learn some of the Photoshop enhancement techniques I employ to create award-winning images).  This is a win-win scenario for everyone involved.  You will learn, firsthand, the posing, camera and lighting techniques I employ and will go home with some great images for your own personal portfolios.  I get the benefit of having a second creative professional on my assignments; not only enhancing my client’s product, but also challenging me to perform at the top of my game.

The team at Michael ONeill Fine Art photographed 54 weddings in 2009 and will photograph a similar amount in 2010.  Opportunities will be very limited so I encourage you to contact me as soon as possible if you are sincerely interested in spending some quality time in New York with myself and my crew.  I expect the response to this post to be staggering and I apologize in advance as I certainly won’t be able to accommodate all of you.  I look forward to creating some spectacular wedding imagery with some of you and to helping you grow your businesses in 2010 and beyond.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 4:14 and is filed under Camera Techniques, Customer Relations, Lighting Techniques, Photoshop, Phtographic Education, Posing, WPPI, Workflow. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.