Two Exciting Keynote Speakers
Reimagining a Chaotic Life with
Stories, Photos, and Of Course, Humor
Patricia Wynn Brown
Patricia Wynn Brown, a seasoned storyteller, charmed audiences for over 15 years with her one-woman humor memoir show, “Hair Theater Beauty School.” With degrees from Ohio University and The Ohio State University, she’s also a two-time non-fiction author and a three-time James Thurber Writing Contest winner. Pat actively contributes to her community and has raised significant funds for wig donations to chemotherapy patients. She also helped stage manage the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Aretha Franklin called her a genius. It involved a hat.), and she worked production for the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, featuring speakers such as Diane Keaton, Goldie Hahn, America Ferrera, and Billie Jean King. Currently, she’s working on her memoir, “Royal Roots: Reimagining a Life,” exploring her upbringing with a mentally ill WWII veteran father and the healing power of storytelling, art, and a Welsh castle.
The Future of
the Photograph
David Staley
David Staley is an academic, writer, designer, futurist and journalist. He is is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and (by courtesy) the Departments of Design and Educational Studies at The Ohio State University. He is the author ofAlternative Universities: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education, the co-author of Knowledge Towns: Colleges and Universities as Talent Magnets and author of Visionary Histories, a collection of futures essays. He is an Honorary Faculty Fellow at the Center for Higher Education Leadership and Innovative Practice (CHELIP) at Bay Path University, and a fellow at the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. In 2022 he was awarded “Best Freelance Writer” by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists for his “Next” futures column with Columbus Underground.
Four Learning Tracks with Expert-Led Breakouts
Niche & Diverse Practices
In this breakout, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of important professional archival practices that can be used when working with client collections. The class will mainly be focused on working with analog materials, although we’ll also touch on working with digital files. We’ll delve into the core tenets of archiving, such as provenance and original order. Attendees will leave with another approach to organizing family photo collections, preserving their authenticity, and ensuring their longevity.
In this session, Bonnie will share unusual and creative ways to help clients before and/or after they or a loved one dies. During this breakout, Bonnie will address these scenarios: (1) Helping a client prepare elements for their own funeral/celebration of life; (2) Helping a person curate their own photographic/video legacy; (3) Helping the family of a loved one who dies unexpectedly prepare for their funeral/celebration of life. You will learn ways to use photographs, videos, and the written word in all scenarios.
During this hands-on session, you will learn the theory behind a successful workshop and then put it into action designing your own! Workshops are an excellent tool for marketing your business, working with DIYers, and generating leads for new clients. For workshops to be engaging and inspirational, facilitators should take into account different learning styles and the target audience and incorporate experiential learning.
Learn how to review and pare down thousands of photos from your clients’ collections systematically, even if you don’t have a photography background. After a demo, we’ll practice together on your collection so you can see your own family photos in a new way and make confident choices. Bring prints, your phone, or your laptop to work together in real-time.
Small business owners often consider themselves too small to warrant the attention of cyber criminals. Unfortunately, cyber criminals think you are the perfect target. Without the resources of big businesses, protecting your data and your clients’ (even photos can have value) can be confusing and overwhelming. Learn where your responsibilities for protecting your digital data lay. Come learn how information and knowledge is power in the world of cybercrime – for you and THEM. Bill Wright comes recommended to us by long-time member and Columbus local, Philip Griffith.
Sales & Marketing
Organizations of all types need photo management. You’ll hear a familiar refrain: we can’t find photos, nothing is organized, afraid of losing files, too many dupes, and we need to digitize. In this presentation, we will discuss strategies for adding B2B services to your business. Peter will provide an overview of different markets to help you target your services. And you will see how Mediagraph can be an important part of your B2B strategy.
Are you being bombarded with cold calls and emails from companies who will help you get more clients if you only pay them hundreds, or even thousands of dollars? Have you tried marketing techniques that don’t provide any ROI for your Photo Management Biz? Before you spend another dime, learn how to get your name out there, educate the marketplace, and speak to your target client. When you do these things repeatedly over time your business will grow and your happy clients will spread the word for you. During this session you will learn how to leverage local networking opportunities into long term business relationships, use public speaking to accelerate your success, and grow your referrals organically. Stop shelling out for expensive and ineffective traditional advertising, and learn the secrets of growing your service business while keeping your advertising budget low. If you’ve ever heard someone say “I get all my business through word of mouth,” and wanted to scream, this is the session for you.
Discover how AI technologies can streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth. Gain practical insights, strategies, and real-world examples that will empower you to harness the power of AI and propel your business to the next level.
In this session, you will embark on a dynamic journey tailored for entrepreneurs. Discover how to navigate the business landscape by understanding the role of business development, differentiating it from sales and marketing. Explore growth opportunities through innovative positioning, and refine the strategy to emphasize value and solve customer pain points. Lastly, we will dive deep into the art of networking and relationship building for long-term partnerships, including the do’s and don’ts of networking etiquette.
The ability to communicate and connect authentically with your clients is crucial for success. Join Courtney to learn essential skills and strategies that will help you establish trust, rapport, and credibility with your clients through effective consultations. This course offers practical insights, techniques, and real-world scenarios to enhance your consultation prowess, fostering a deeper understanding of client needs and expectations.
Systems & Operations
If you are not using a CRM to help you run your business, you should be. A CRM can professionalize your business, allow for consistent branding and automation to enhance the client experience, and best yet, sell and upsell your business. In this breakout, you’ll learn how a CRM can keep you organized, on brand, and how Allison uses it to provide project estimates that actually upsells her services even before the client clicks ‘accept’.
In this session, Jodi will share her essential toolkit for unexpected client challenges. Trying to anticipate the items you may be asked to scan or preserve can be tricky, but coming prepared with a standard “Go Bag” can do wonders. You’ll have the opportunity to brainstorm additional items with other attendees, plus create your own toolkit checklist!
This breakout session looks at modern user expectations for their photos and how the image itself is just part of a larger viewing experience. We can’t separate the image from the software anymore. Attendees will come away with an understanding of how photo management apps work as viewers, editors, and metadata portals, why every database is really a managed library/catalog, and why sidecar files more important than you think.
Are you a solopreneur who wants to remain a company of one but still grow? During this breakout, you will learn strategic ways of working, partnering options, and the mindset to continue your company’s growth. Amanda and Rhoda will also provide their top techniques to support and streamline your workload.
Join AJ Holmes of Negative Supply for an informative demonstration on film scanning with a digital camera. 35mm negative, 120/220 negative, mounted slides, 110, APS, 4×5, and more formats will be demonstrated. Workflow for negative conversion and file management will be shown, and helpful tips on camera settings, camera and lens suggestions, and more will be offered. This informative talk will give you the knowledge necessary to revolutionize the way you scan your film.
Technology
There can be a lot of confusion around the concept of resolution, how it is determined, and how it relates to the different ways we scan photos, and the different ways we print or display photos. Understanding this concept is critical to making sure we’re delivering what we promise, and that we are providing the best quality possible in scanning, and products like photo books, video montages and other projects we do for our clients.
In this breakout session, attendees will get a high level view of Apple Photos as a photo management tool and how it plays with 3rd party options like Mylio, Lightroom, Avalanche, Photos Takeout, PeakTo, MediaGraph, NeoFinder, and more. This session will also examine the newest Apple Photos features in macOS Sonoma and iOS/iPadOS 17 with particular attention to export AND import workflows.
Drawing from his experiences as both a photographer and a photo organizer, Peter will share his top tips and settings to get the most out of your Adobe Lightroom catalog. The breakout will cover everything from import and export presets to add consistency and efficiency to your workflow, facial recognition tips to speed up the process, how to synchronize folders to help clean things up when folders or images go missing, and a really great editing and culling process that Peter learned from a professional photo editor years ago.
Mylio is a powerful photo organizing software that works on any platform and any device. We’ll look at how Mylio can fit into your suite of offerings, starting with identifying the ideal Mylio client. We’ll also discuss high level best practices as a photo manager to set up the account and get clients and running – which tasks are best done prior to importing into Mylio and what are the organizing tasks where Mylio excels.
This breakout will survey the most used photo management databases, including Apple Photos, Google Photos, MS Photos with OneDrive, Amazon Photos, Forever, SmugMug, Mylio, Adobe Lightroom CC, and Adobe Bridge. The session will focus on the usefulness and features of each platform for the pro photo organizer versus the consumer. This survey highlights when each tool is right for both the pro and their client, when the tool may be problematic, and how to position it for clients.
Connect with Exhibitors and Sponsors
We are excited to partner with our conference sponsors to provide you with a great experience and the opportunity to connect one-on-one with the people behind the companies you love!
Here's What Past Attendees Are Saying...
“I was on the fence about spending the money on conference being so new to The Photo Managers. After attending in-person, I will never miss another conference. Absolutely wonderful to connect with other PMs and the training was an investment into my business that will bring immeasurable returns!”
Kari K.
ViKarious Living
“For anyone considering starting a business in Photo Organizing this is a MUST! It is the only industry I know that welcomes you with open arms, helps you set up and guides you through the process. Every expert is willing to help no matter where you are with your business. Conference is where you see it all come together, meet people who have the same questions (which get answered), learn about related business opportunities, more efficient workflows and meet face to face with vendors who have products you didn’t know you needed!”
Ana C.
Posterity Pro
“The best part of the conference, to me, was the chance to meet other Photo Managers, in person and pick their brains! The ability to collaborate and share ideas, best practices and stories was my favorite part. I loved making new friends, and being part of such a generous, giving community. I can’t wait till Denver!”
Karen H.
Near & Dear Photo Solutions
Our Conference Sponsors
Interested in sponsoring our conference? Contact Cathi Nelson: cathi@thephotomanagers.com
