WPPI 2015 Wedding and Portrait Photography Conference + Expo Realizes Growth in Nearly Every Measure

NEW YORK, March 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- It is only fitting that the 2015 Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Conference + Expo, which showed significant growth in nearly every aspect of the show, culminated earlier this month with a record number of entrants in The Annual 16x20 Print, Album & Filmmaking competition and the highest percentage of Silver Award winners ever.

The 2015 numbers reflect a show-wide upward trend witnessed in key elements of the show. Celebrating its 35^th Anniversary, WPPI remains the most exciting and anticipated event for portrait and wedding photographers and filmmakers. Show attendance, seminar participation, exhibitor participation, international attendees, and registered media all showed significant year-over-year gains.

The core of WPPI's success resides in its diverse range of classes, legendary instructors and innovative teaching methods as evidenced by every PLUS class selling out weeks before the conference. The launch of its Photo Walk curriculum was also met with great success with more than 800 attendees participating. The University: Business Institute had more than 330 attendees, representing a 17 percent increase from 2014, and more than 650 attendees participated in the Filmmaking seminar track.  In all, more than 150 speakers and presenters conducted more than 200 seminars, Photo Walks, and special classes.

Overall, WPPI 2015 boasted 12,552 registered attendees, a three percent year-over-year increase, and more than 76,000 square feet of exhibit space. This year, the show had 278 manufacturers and vendors demonstrating their latest technologies and software focused on helping photographers expand their suite of services and increasing their profits.

"We were extremely encouraged by the increase in attendance this year, but more importantly how committed our attendees are to honing their craft and partaking in our new interactive teaching methods such as Photo Walks and PLUS Classes," explained Jason Groupp, WPPI Director of Education and Membership.  "All our PLUS classes were sold out, almost a month before the show and our classrooms were fuller than ever.  WPPI's tradition and primary goal is to provide a great learning environment – this year's conference participation made it clear that photographers are appreciating our trajectory towards more comprehensive and interactive learning experiences."

In addition to overall growth in show attendance, seminar tracks and seminar attendance, The Annual 16x20 Print, Album & Filmmaking Competition saw an 18 percent increase in submissions (3,000+), an eight percent increase in the number of entrants (543) from all over the world, and a 17 percent increase of first-time entrants.  "As we increasingly rely on digital technology to share our work via social channels and the Internet, it is really wonderful to see a sustained and growing dedication to the art of photo printing," Jason Groupp commented.

Additional WPPI 2015 highlights:

• 47 percent of all attendees were women
• More than 20 percent of attendees were under the age of 30 (a key demographic for building brand loyalty)
• 11 percent of attendees represented 59 countries outside the U.S.
• Nearly 40 percent of all attendees own a photo studio
• More than half of all attendees said that photography is their primary source of income
• Wedding and portrait photographers represented 68 percent of attendees
• The balance of attendees included a near-equal percentage of photographers specializing in other categories including landscape/wildlife, fashion/beauty, photojournalism/editorial, filmmaking/video, advertising/commercial, and fine art

Make sure to save the dates for the annual WPPI 2016 Conference + Expo set to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. Taking into account feedback from exhibitors and attendees on the original dates, the WPPI team decided to push the conference back a few weeks.

Next year's WPPI Conference will take place March 3 – 10 and the Expo, March 7 – 9, 2016. For more information, visit: www.wppionline.com.

About WPPI

The WPPI Wedding and Portrait Photography Conference + Expo is the premier industry event for photographers and now, filmmakers, specializing in the creative and business aspects of wedding, portrait photography and filmmaking. Each year, almost 13,000 professional photographers, filmmakers and imaging professionals representing nearly 60 countries attend WPPI to learn new techniques from industry leaders, build new relationships to help grow their business, experiment with new products from major manufacturers to improve productivity, and to use Vegas as a backdrop while expanding skillsets and portfolios.

SOURCE WPPI