Our 2015 WPPI Las Vegas Photo Adventure

By Jada Parrish

Posted: 03/08/15

Category: Travel

Location: Las Vegas

Last week we took off to Las Vegas to attend WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Conference & Expo). Just about every major player in the photo industry was there. We were able to take classes on lighting and posing and hear stories by some of our favorite photographers.

We got to play with new equipment...it was awesome to be able to play around with some of lenses I want to get in person. There were also tons of album companies there, and we found an amazing new company to share with our 2015 brides. It was such a great experience to be surrounded by so many like-minded people.

Hearing the amazing Joe McNally's keynote speech was one of my favorite parts. He shared stories from some of the most meaningful shoots of his career and was able to touch on so many different emotions. He told us all that a camera isn't a tool, it's a visa. We need to travel, explore, and tell stories through our photos. It was so inspiring and left David and I desperately wanting to get back home and back to work.

David and I have never been to Vegas before, so we had a lot of sightseeing to do. There we so many hotels, casinos, restaurants, and neon lights everywehere. It was like a giant theme park for adults. We loved watching the Fountains of Bellagio dance to the music. It was really beautiful.

The food there was AWESOME. A few of our favorite places were: China Poblano, 800 Degrees Pizza, Lotus of Siam, Shake Shack, and Jaleo. If you are ever in Vegas, be sure to check those out. 

The sightseeing continued! We even found Gold & Silver Pawn from the History channel show Pawn Stars and saw Chumlee when we walked in. They had a gorgeous jewelry collection one some of the most eclectic pieces I have ever seen. Some of them would make amazing engagement rings!

After a few days of exploring casinos and walking around, we got a little burnt out and wanted to do something different. We rented a car, which turned out to be a Mustang convertible...David loves Mustangs, so that made him ridiculously happy. We drove out to Red Rock Canyon and did a little adventuring. I'd never seen red rock mountains like that and was completely blown away by how beautiful everything was. Such a differnt landscape than what we have in Virginia, but it was absolutely gorgeous. 

After that we headed out to the Hoover Dam and Lake Meade, took some pictures, and drove through the desert into Arizona. It was a really cool adventure and made me want to do a cross country road trip at somepoint. 

We had such a great trip, but there is something about traveling that makes coming home feel so good. Hope you all enjoy the photos!