Shelly Fry Photography

Shelly Fry Photography goes to PPA – Nashville, TN

Initially I was nervous but I’m so glad I did it! As the new year began I recognized that once again I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone. It was time to learn new things and challenge myself to grow and try out new skills. January and February are the slow months for us photographers so that is when the large conferences are held. I did a quick google search and found what I was looking for.

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) was holding their annual conference at Opryland hotel in Nashville, TN. I signed up for 5 days of various workshops. I learned about lighting, posing, marketing and so much more. The most challenging part for me was sitting through a total of 30 hours of meetings! So much sitting!!!

I knew going solo on a trip like this would challenge me. I’m a social person and being alone in a crowd is so intimidating for me! Thankfully, I had arranged to stay with family while I was in town. Staying with family gave me the socialization my heart needs. Yes, I chatted with some people. I even met someone who went to the same college I did! But it’s just not the same when you are there solo. While I was super thankful to have family to stay with I unfortunately didn’t have much time with them.

My days began with a 45 min commute into the conference. Classes began at 8am and I didn’t leave until after 6pm most evenings.

Sitting in all of those meetings was worth it. I have so many take-aways from this conference. I’m a note taker and I have been working my way through the notes I took. I don’t want to loose the inspiration I gained while at the meetings.
That is the real challenge! Taking what I learned and following through with the actions needed to make it part of my business. I’ve been making myself write list and then go through the list tackling each to do. So far so good! In fact there is one item I need your help with! See below.

Changes are coming as I continue to challenge myself to learn and grow by doing new things! I have invested in some new equipment that I am anxious to try out! So if you need pictures I’m one eager photographer over here!

I did take an afternoon to enjoy some family time which included a wild ride through overgrown trails and a creek on the farm I was staying at. It felt wonderful to get some fresh air and socialization in.