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.
Sales & Marketing
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.
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.
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!
Arrive Early for Pre-Conference Workshops
Entrepreneurial Thinking
For New Business Owners
Most people desire meaningful work. We believe the main difference between those who flourish and those who languish in their work and lives is mindset. In a rapidly evolving world, having the right mindset is your secret weapon. An entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just for entrepreneurs; it’s the key to success in any career. It ignites your creativity, sharpens your critical thinking, and supercharges your problem-solving abilities.
Digital Marketing Bootcamp
For Experienced Business Owners
Join our full-day Boot Camp designed exclusively for professional photo managers eager to supercharge their online presence and marketing strategies. If you’re familiar with website SEO and engage in Facebook and Instagram marketing but want to take your business to new heights, this is the perfect opportunity.
Register Today!
Columbus Conference 2024
April 4-6
$849
Payment Plan Available
Non-Members (Regular): $949
Cost includes exclusive, lifetime access to recordings of the sessions, so you can refer back to their expert insight anytime. Virtual Conference registration is included.
Digital Marketing Bootcamp
April 3; 9am – 4:30pm
$399
Join our full-day Boot Camp designed exclusively for professional photo managers eager to supercharge their online presence and marketing strategies. If you’re familiar with website SEO and engage in Facebook and Instagram marketing but want to take your business to new heights, this is the perfect opportunity.
Have employees? Contact support@thephotomanagers.com for our employee discount rate.
Full refunds for the Columbus and Virtual conference will be given until 12/31/2023. If you need to cancel your registration after 12/31/23, you may transfer your registration to another attendee until 3/29/2024. Registrations are non-transferrable after 3/29/2024. All transfers are the responsibility of the registrant and must be agreed to in writing with The Photo Managers before transfer. To cancel or transfer your registration, please contact us at support@thephotomanagers.com.
Call for Speakers
The Photo Managers conference is known for providing outstanding training taught by subject matter experts. We are seeking educators on a variety of subjects including topics geared to experienced and new professionals.
By applying, you agree to present your material at both events. Ideally, in-person in Orlando and then virtually for our virtual conference attendees. We will give preference to speakers who can deliver their material in person, but we will also consider virtual-only presentations, especially from our international community.
Book Your Room in Columbus
We are sold out of discounted rooms at the conference hotel. You can still book at full price or stay at a nearby hotel (overflow options below).
Here is a schedule of the best days to arrive based on what you are attending.
Arrival Days:
Tuesday, April 2
2024 Masterclass Arrivals & Cocktail Reception
Wednesday, April 3
2024 Masterclass Full-Day Intensive
Digital Marketing Bootcamp (arrive by 9am)
Entrepreneurial Thinking Workshop (arrive by 1pm)
Thursday, April 4
Conference Starts at 9am
Departure Days:
Saturday, April 6
Conference Ends at 12pm (NEW in 2024: We are moving the Dinner/Dance party to Friday evening so that you can depart Saturday afternoon without missing out on any of the conference)
Monday, April 8 / Tuesday, April 9
Spend the weekend exploring Columbus and experience a total solar eclipse on the afternoon of Monday, April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse is a rare and spectacular event. On average, one happens somewhere on the Earth only once every 1.5 years. Only 21 total solar eclipses have crossed the lower 48 states in the entire existence of the United States.
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
Thank you to our 2023 conference sponsors
