EP 148 - Why I Still Believe in Photography Conferences
I recently got back from England, where I spoke at Elevate, an analog photography conference, and it got me thinking about photography conferences as a whole - why I keep going to them, what actually makes them worth attending, and why so many of them seem to be disappearing in the U.S.
In this episode, I’m sharing what it was like speaking at a film-specific conference in England and how different it felt from some of the larger photography conferences I’ve attended over the years.
Elevate was smaller, super specific, and full of people who genuinely cared about film photography. And while I honestly didn’t leave feeling like I learned a ton of brand-new information, I still had an amazing experience. It reminded me that the value of a conference isn’t always sitting in a chair taking notes during every talk.
A lot of it is everything happening around the education - meeting photographers you’ve only known online, talking to people in the industry, making friends, having random conversations that give you new ideas, and just being around people who care about the same things you do.
We also talk about whether photography conferences are still worth the investment now that there is SO much education available online. Between podcasts, YouTube, courses, memberships, and social media, you don’t need to fly across the country anymore just to learn how another photographer shoots or runs their business.
So if you’re paying for a conference ticket, flights, a hotel, food, and taking multiple days away from work, what makes that experience worth it?
For me, I think conferences have to offer more than speakers on a stage now. I want the education, but I also want the community, experiences, shoots, workshops, parties, portfolio reviews, and actual time to connect with people.
And that led me into something I’ve been thinking about since coming home: what would it look like to create a photography event like that in the U.S.?
I’m definitely not announcing anything yet, but I talk through some of my ideas for what I think a modern photography conference could look like, whether it should be specifically focused on film or be broader, and what would actually make photographers want to travel for it.
Mostly, this episode is me looking at conferences from both sides now - as someone who has attended a lot of them and someone who gets paid to speak at them - and asking whether they’re still worth it.
And I want to know what you think too: What would actually make you buy a ticket and travel to a photography conference in 2027?
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