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How Attending a Photography Conference Changed My Life
78 Plays3 months ago
In this deeply personal and inspiring episode, I’m sharing the true story of how saying yes to one photography conference back in 2012 completely changed the course of my life and business. From NICU nurse and exhausted mom of two, to full-time photographer, educator, and keynote speaker this is the journey that sparked it all. If you've ever wondered whether you belong in this industry or questioned what's possible for your photography career, this episode is your sign to go for it.
📌 What You'll Learn:
- Why I didn’t believe photography could be a full-time career (and what changed that)
- How attending WPPI opened my eyes to a new level of possibility
- The power of surrounding yourself with industry peers and mentors
- How in-person experiences can expand your mindset and build confidence
- Why just one brave yes can change everything
- What conferences I recommend for photographers (including a FREE one!)
- A behind-the-scenes look at how I went from attendee to speaker
💬 My Favorite Quote From This Episode:
“You are always just one bold step away from growth.”
📝 Final Thoughts:
If you’ve been craving clarity, connection, and expansion—go to a conference. The right room will change your mindset, your business, and maybe even your entire life. Don’t wait until you feel ‘ready.’ Just say yes.
🔗 Links & Resources:
- 🎤 BILD Conference – June 18, 2025 in NYC (FREE to attend!)
- 🎟️ Get on the waitlist for the Mastermind
- 📩 DM me on Instagram if you have questions
Recommended
Transcript
Life Transformation Through Photography Conferences
00:00:02
Elena Blair
All right, today i am going to bring to my empowered listeners something that is personal, but I feel like is something that's very transformational.
Balancing Careers: Photography, Nursing, and Parenting
00:00:12
Elena Blair
And that is how attending photography conferences really changed my life.
00:00:17
Elena Blair
And i'm going to tell you my personal story with this. um And I know that a lot of people will agree with me and can relate.
Realizing Photography as a Career
00:00:24
Elena Blair
So it was 2012 and I had just really started to dive into my photography business. It was two years old technically, but those first couple of years I was working full-time night shift as a NICU nurse. I was raising my one-year-old and my four-year-old. I was just ah was busy and I did have my photography business side hustle that I was really kind of growing and working on.
00:00:49
Elena Blair
And to be truthful, at that time, i actually didn't know. i truly had no idea that photography could be a full-time career. I wasn't expanded enough on that.
00:01:02
Elena Blair
I had never seen anyone making it a
Pivotal Decision: Attending WPPI
00:01:05
Elena Blair
full-time career. And of course, growing up, we had like photography studios and I knew about school photography studios that were maybe more full-time, but I didn't have any idea that that could be something that I could do.
00:01:18
Elena Blair
So this shift really happened when I went to my first conference. I stumbled across a conversation in an online photography forum, and it was buzzing about photographers going to an event called WPPI.
00:01:35
Elena Blair
And everyone was talking about how this was the largest photography conference in the industry. And I don't know what it was. I don't really believe in chance, but I couldn't tear myself away from that conversation.
Overcoming Financial Constraints
00:01:46
Elena Blair
So I started to listen. I started to pay attention to what people were doing. They were planning. It looked like there were all these great classes. And One day, someone from the forum was looking for a roommate. And it was somebody who I had exchanged a couple of messages with and been in some of the different rooms in the forum. Forums are kind of a thing of the past, but that was how it used to be organized.
00:02:09
Elena Blair
And on a whim, with more courage than realized that I had, I typed, I'll go. And at that time, that was actually a really big financial decision. We didn't have a lot of disposable income. My babies were small. I had never traveled away from them before.
00:02:27
Elena Blair
Luckily, my ex-husband totally supported it.
Career Aspirations Reshaped by WPPI
00:02:30
Elena Blair
And in that one split second, when I made that decision to fly to Las Vegas to stay with my friend that I had only met online to attend my first photography conference,
00:02:40
Elena Blair
It changed everything for me. So I scraped together money for airfare, hotel ticket, all of that. I left the kids. I went. I was scared. And I sat in talk after talk, every talk I could get my myself into.
00:02:59
Elena Blair
And I soaked up every word. And my mind had never been more expanded before. I realized at that conference that not only were people doing this full-time, but they were making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, literally multiple six figures as photographers. I did not
Journey from Attendee to Speaker
00:03:17
Elena Blair
know that was possible. And at that moment, I realized, wait a minute, this could be my full-time job.
00:03:23
Elena Blair
And I also thought, in the back of my mind when I saw these quote unquote rockstar photographers on stage sharing their gifts, literally changing my life, changing hundreds of thousands of, hundreds and thousands of photographers lives.
00:03:36
Elena Blair
I thought I want that. And I didn't really even know what that was, but now obviously i definitely know what that was. I love being a public speaker in our industry. I love inspiring and I love helping photographers, but it was a long time ago.
00:03:51
Elena Blair
was a long time ago. So that trip really opened my eyes to a world that I didn't even know existed. And the truth is that I met people on that trip who are some of my best friends right now.
00:04:07
Elena Blair
They were people that I met were living the dream. Making real money, building full-time, long-term photography businesses, speaking and educating and making money doing that, attending that photography conference didn't just inspire me.
00:04:24
Elena Blair
It made me believe that if they could do it, so could I. Now here I am. That was 2012.
Hosting Photography Retreats
00:04:33
Elena Blair
ah So 13, 14 years later, i step onto the stage now at WPPI as a platform speaker, which is still such an honor.
00:04:43
Elena Blair
If this podcast is released before BUILD conference at B&H Photo, there's a free conference in New York City actually on June and 18th. uh, 2025, um, we'll link it here in the, in the description, but I speak at the biggest conferences in the country. And I'm not saying that to brag. I'm saying that, that me in 2012, didn't even know speakers in our industry existed.
00:05:08
Elena Blair
Didn't even know i could be a full-time photographer. Now I go to multiple conferences a year. I speak at two or three a year. um and I host my own in-person retreat, which has become really a small conference. It's about, and we have 60 to 80 attendees sponsored by Canon, Shootproof,
Value of In-Person Industry Events
00:05:26
Elena Blair
Millers.
00:05:26
Elena Blair
You gotta be a mastermind member or alumni to come however, but they're really a beautiful experience. And it's just because I really know that getting in person with your industry, with other photographers, it's so much more than networking.
00:05:43
Elena Blair
It will spark new dreams, new skills. It'll allow you to connect to people that will shape your future. Maybe you will have a new business idea. Sometimes it takes one brave yes to change your entire path.
00:05:58
Elena Blair
So if you've ever questioned whether you belong in this industry, whether your photography dreams are too far-fetched, if you have ever wondered what's possible, attending a photography conference might be the decision that changes everything for you.
Encouragement to Attend Conferences
00:06:14
Elena Blair
You are always just one bold step away from growth. All right, empowered photographers, I just wanted to share that with you. Feel free to send me a direct message on Instagram if you have any questions about photography conferences.
00:06:28
Elena Blair
And again, I'll link to um Build Conference here. And I don't know if this is going to come out before then, but I just wanted to inspire you to get your physical self to a photography conference, it will change your life.