I just want to share a little about the classes I took. I strategically tried to sign up for the most classes I could. Because it was hard for me to just look at a list, I had to write the classes down on index cards, organize by color and lay them out as a chronological order so I could compare and figure out which classes I wanted to take. A lot of them overlapped, so some hard choices had to be made.  

Tuesday:

1. Pricing for Profit with Tiffany Angeles. Tiffany spoke about a lot of barriers that a lot of us who underprice seem to have: accepting money. She laid it out in a way that made sense to me, using numbers and percentages. A photographer really only makes about 20% profit on any wedding they are shooting when taxes, Cost of Goods Sold, and overhead costs are accounted for. This was shocking! And that is a lower profit for those who do not price correctly. 
2. The Fundamentals of (re) Invention for Creative Entrepreneurs in the Digital Economy with Dane Sanders. This was one of the nicest speakers. He spoke about things he would have suggested to himself when he was starting, and gave some new perspectives on motivation. 
3. Wicked Fast & Creative Lighting Recipes for Wedding Photographers with Trevor Dayley. This guy was simply awesome. Not only did he embed cat Gifs into his presentation (to establish credibility), but he shared some secrets about lighting techniques that I had never really thought of doing prior. I will definitely be testing out some of his tricks on friends and implementing the ones I like in my wedding shoots. 
4. I also spent a very long time at the Expo between these classes and had to walk back to my hotel to drop stuff off at one point. 
   

Wednesday:

1. Marrying Engagements and Architecture with Collin Pierson. This was a photowalk with a model. I got a little less out of the class because there were some very amateur photographers in the walk who ended up taking up time with their questions. So I took the model and had my own mini shoot while the speaker was answering their questions. There is no doubt that the speaker was talented and had a lot of information to share.
2. A Fresh Perspective on Marketing: Systematic, Profitable and Sustainable with Melissa Jill. This girl was funny and very good at presenting. She gave us her secrets and some ideas that might help us grow our businesses. 
3. Get Featured- how to catch the eyes of editors with moderator Joe Switzer, Anthony Luscia from Martha Stewart magazine, Allison Bernstein from Two Bright Lights and Rebecca Crumley from The Knot. This was great and insightful! I learned some tips on trying to stand out and get my work published. They are sick of weddings from New York and California, so note to self: do not submit those weddings unless they are highly unusual. 
4. Expo between classes. I won a year's free membership to WPPI! 
   

Thursday: 

1. The Art of the Wedding - The Story from Start to Finish with Tracy Taylor and Dee Green from 37 Frames Photography. HANDS DOWN THE BEST CLASS I TOOK! These two are some of the worlds best wedding photographers, and not only are they talented, but they are hilarious and so very friendly! This 6 hour class was well worth the price. They gave us a lot of promo codes and discounts, a few of their tips and tricks and any questions along the way. They also booked models and took us up to the Penthouse suite of the Westgate hotel for an on location shoot so we could see them in action. Needless to say, I got a lot out of this class! They are phenomenal and I am hoping to follow in their footsteps. 
   
   
   
    
2. Creating the Perfect Moment with Alex Pan. His photographs are stunning! He showed us how he stands out and books jobs that are $35,000 or $50,000, like it is no big deal. He started late in the game and is only 27. He is an inspiration in the photography field. 
3. The Expo closed at 3 :'( and classes ended early. I headed to the F-stop lounge where I mingled and met some more cool people! There were awards this day. Every night there were networking parties at clubs around Vegas, free drinks and no line for WPPI attendees! 
   

Advice for future self or first-timers:

• Leave room in your bag to bring stuff home. I knew myself and I had already done this! Most of the booths had give aways or discounted items for purchase. 
• Make a budget and try to stick to it. This will help you prioritize what you really need to get and make sure you know what you are able to spend without feeling guilty. It might be in your best interest to look at the expo attendee's pages before going so you have an idea of what products or services you want. They will have discounted offerings and in some cases have giveaways, so wait until the expo to purchase these items or get your promo code! When looking at your budget, also factor in the price of food, because it is probably 40% more expensive than where I live. 
• Get a hotel that is walking distance because costs are high and if you want more fun money, you can save quite a bit by not having to take a taxi, Uber or Lyft. I stayed at a hotel that was a 10-15 minute walk from the convention center and just around the corner from the strip. I booked on Expedia with my airfare and it was less expensive than the discounts offered in conjunction with the conference hotel prices. 
• Bring business cards! Again, I did this and normally have some on me (or I bring my boyfriend who carries them in his wallet because he is simply the best), but there were so many people I met that did not have any! Luckily I gave them my card so if I hear from them I can connect with them. 
• There were discounts for classes if you signed up before the conference, but there were also plenty of giveaways for free classes. I had won a few and could not take them because I was already signed up for classes. It is a risk, but might be worth the money saved. I know for next time to sign up for fewer classes. 
• Leave time for fun, and try to stay the whole time. This is a note for myself really because I do not really take vacations. I came in Monday night and was supposed to leave Thursday. I ended up staying an extra day because of a weather advisory that allowed me to waive my fee to stay an extra day. I ended up taking more classes and squeezing whatever else I could out of the expo before it closed. I was so happy I stayed because that last day really was the best for me. 
• Mingle, mingle and mingle! Some conferences have less extroverted people, however, this was a conference full of the most outgoing type of people there are! Everyone was very friendly and approachable. They genuinely wanted to know what you did, where you were based and how business was going. I connected with people from all over the world and hopefully I see them in the future at various other conferences. 

I have a lot of stuff on my to-do list now that I am re-energized and we will all be seeing some makeovers to Kerry McIntyre Photography's website. 

When I heard my friend and very first model from high school was getting married, I knew I just had to jump on taking their photos. We just KNEW that Saturday was perfect. We proceeded ahead with our plan for the session despite the torrential thunderstorms the normally never correct weather app was telling us. At first it seemed like we picked the wrong day to not believe the weather forecast. As soon as we hit our first location, we saw very dark clouds, some lightening, and the line of rain approaching. But Emily and Josh assured me that this is indeed how they tend to do things, so it was fitting. We snapped a few storm pics and sprinted for the car for shelter, although we still got a bit drenched. Hail the size of pennies was falling from the sky in the middle of July. We headed to a place where we might be able to photograph inside, but it only took minutes for the crazy storm to pass us by. We quickly turned back around, determined to use the gorgeous space. It was a day full of woods, bugs, plants and horses, with a special appearance by Norman the cat. He decided he likes his photo taken as well. Can you see the love between these two? 

Has anyone ever seen a cuter couple? These two are going to be awesome parents, I only wish they would adopt me. We had a great session at Fairmont Park and watched the sun go down from a beautiful location right on the water. They are counting down for baby Kaiden, due near the end of September. He is going to be one well-dressed and well-fed baby with two, yes I said TWO parents who cook for a living. He has some great food making genes in his family and we can only hope he will get a jump start on his cooking career so we can all see him on Master Chef Junior one day. 

Emma has just turned 2 and I am loving her spunky personality. "No no no" seems to be her catch phrase. Although Laura said when I left she did say "uh oh where did Emma's friend go?". And I am very glad "where is the Kerry" worked so well too! I am THE Kerry! So I am glad I made a new friend. Emma has a promising career somewhere with the outdoors. She LOVED the geese and spiders, the grass and glowers and the rocks. Note to self, next time bring either puppies, geese, or Elmo. 

Mommy and me photos are my new favorite types of photos, if you couldn't tell. Maeghan reached out a few weeks ago for portraits of her son, but we got rained out and rescheduled to this beautiful day! We found a great park called Peace Valley Park located in Doylestown. Tristan clearly wanted to go in the water, but it was far too chilly. Needless to say he made several attempts and did end up getting a little bit of water action. Maeghan is such a great mommy and knew just how to make Tristan smile. He is such an inquisitive boy and wanted to take some photos himself. Looks like I will have some competition in a few years. But for now he is a great model. 

Congratulations to Vanessa for graduating from The Pennsylvania State University, class of 2015! This hard working girl finished strong taking 9 classes! She is off to rock the culinary world after earning a degree in HPA. Special thanks to coffee, for helping her get through her last four years! 

Congratulations to this awesome and beautiful girl! This stellar lady already has a job lined up before walking out with her degree in less than a week (that's Smeal kids for you). She is so impressive, and I know she is going to rock the supply chain industry with her efficiency skills! Congratulations Camille on your graduation and good luck with your fancy new job! 

Congrats to these beautiful ladies on their upcoming graduation! So glad they stuck out the crazy weather to get these awesome photos! Thank you again to the Lion for coincidentally being at Old Main when we were, and eagerly jumping into the photos. They are going to do great things, Penn State should be so proud! 


 
       

All images, © Kerry McIntyre- Movin' On

​Matt is an Industrial Engineer at Penn State University who is clearly an expert business portrait model! I was so lucky he was a natural and knew how to bring his professional side to the session!

Open Graduate/ portrait sessions 2015

-Saturday, April 11th-  8am | 12pm | 3pm

-Tuesday, April 14th-  8am 

-Wednesday, April 15th- 2pm

-Friday, April 17th- 12pm

-Sunday April 19th- 8am

-Thursday, April 23rd-  8am | 4 pm

-Saturday April 25th- 8am

-Monday, April 27th- 2:00pm

-Thursday, May 7th- 3pm

- Monday, May 11th-  7am | 10am | 1pm | 4pm

- Tuesday, May 11th-  7am | 10am | 1pm | 4pm

- Wednesday, May 12th-  7am | 10am | 1pm | 4pm

-Thursday, May 13th-  7am | 10am | 1pm | 4pm

(feel free to inquire about other dates & times)