What is WPPI?

Wedding and Portrait Photographers International or WPPI is one of the biggest conventions for photographers and videographers around the world. The convention showcases the most up-to-date and top-of-the-line gear and software in the industry, and best believe you will run into some big names while you're there!

2026

After graduating college in June 2025, my uncle who was a professional fine art wedding photographer, Glen Abog, encouraged me to go to more wedding and bridal expos close to home(Southern California), as well as planning to go to Las Vegas for the upcoming WPPI. I knew I wanted to go but there was just one thing--I had just proposed and my then fiancee and I were in the middle of wedding planning. WPPI was set for March 1-5, 2026 and guess what. The wedding was set for March 19th of the same year. Another thing. My wife's maid of honor had booked them a trip to Taiwan as a present from March 9-13. Yes. A week before our very special day. So in my eyes, there was no chance I in the world that I would go to WPPI in 2026.

It is true that I have accepted the fact that I will not be going. However, I thought to myself, this is something that is worth the investment both in time and money. Something that could light a fire in me and give my career a headstart. And so I told Beverly, my then fiancee. "Love, I really have to go to WPPI. You can stay here or you can come with me, just let me know." It took a lot for me to say that knowing how my bride might possibly react to her soon-to-be-groom adding a major trip into the calendar two weeks before the wedding day, one week before her trip to halfway across the planet. Of course, I still painted it as if it could be a nice trip for me and her before the big day--which it definitely became exactly that. I could not have received a better response from her which made me feel like she 100% believed in my vision for my career. My vision for our future. "Let's start booking then," she said right there. And so we did.

I knew what we were getting into, however, I am not sure if she knew what we were getting into despite me explaining to her what WPPI is(we've talked in the past about how it is something I have to go to in the future) but she was all for it. We packed up and left early in the morning on March 4th, planning to be there on the fourth and fifth days of the expo. We arrived around 1:00pm at our room in Gold Coast Hotel, right across from The Rio Hotel and Casino which was where WPPI was held. We took a bit of a breather after our five-hour trip, refresh and get changed, then head over to WPPI. Upon parking, there was not much to see--it was around 2:30pm at that time and I could not find the seminar I had planned for us to attend. We walked towards the wrong side of the hotel, but then once we got to where we were supposed to be, I was amazed. Overwhelmed at the size of the expo and the amount of professionals around me, I at least had to walk as if I had a stable flow of clients like these other folks. I had Beverly with me so I also had to make sure she was doing alright, but she was a lot calmer than I was for the reason being that this was all for me to absorb, take in, and learn. And so we walked around and listened to as much speakers as we could listen to.

We ran into talks by the amazing Jeff and Cat Chang from The Apartment Photo, the legendary Nikon ambassador Jerry Ghionis, off-camera flash wizard Jason Vinson, and many more. There were lots of portfolio opportunities as there were professional models dressed as couples, most of which are currently on my website. Also, they let you put your SD card in the cameras they have on display which are most often the top-of-the-line camera bodies equipped with the newest lenses. I got to try out the Nikon Z8, Sony A9III, along with the newest Nikon Z-Mount 70-200 F2.8 VR S II and Sony FE 300mm F2.8 GM. Definitely lots of freebies, from bags to pins to sensor cleaning to even HEADSHOTS by Sara France. You could see innovative software and technology left and right, from AI-driven editing software such as EvotoAI as well as instant cloud services by Zno, and many more.

Overall, I wouldn't say that one should go to WPPI in search of clients, rather, it is good for building relationships with other photographers as well as discovering which equipment and software is best for your photography/videography business--all of which could then translate to a larger clientele outside of the event especially with all the workshops they offer that focus on marketing and other important aspects of the industry. Portfolio building is another solid opportunity that WPPI offers with photo-walks(which is something you sign up for separately, unfortunately we did not participate in any this year). Is it something that I should attend annually? Yes and no, depending on whether I feel like I need to catch up to what successful professionals are using and doing in their businesses, or whether I just need to recharge that passion that I have inside of me. Of course, everyone's experience is different, but I am proud to share that this is mine!