Convention Season '26: "Plan Your Dive...Dive Your Plan!"

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by Skip Cohen

The expression about diving your plan comes from scuba diving. Your time underwater is valuable and limited, so you always want to make the most of it. The same thing applies to any convention or workshop you're headed to in the months ahead. You want to maximize your investment and get the most out of every trip.

It's Throwback Thursday, so I thought I'd have some fun with convention shots over the last ten years. And I'm combining my "albums" with a post out of the SCU archives to help you get the most out of every conference you attend, starting with IUSA next week. ​ Check out more photographs below.

Getting the Most Our of Every Convention

Photoshop World Orlando

1. Why are you going to this convention? It might sound like a stupid question, but some of you go to party, others to buy, and more of you to learn and network. Figure out what the most important thing is you want to get out of the show before you get there.
2. Check the weather forecast wherever you're headed! It's pretty obvious we've aggravated Mother Nature this year around the country. You're going to be out in the evening, so pack accordingly. I know this seems so basic, but I'm amazed at how many people never check a couple of days before.
3. What companies do you need to visit? Take a few minutes and look around your office, studio, or the trunk of your car. Isolate every product you use as a photographer and list its manufacturer. Now, look at every company whose services you use. Your lab, frame company, web design, album company, etc., should all be on the list. Your first goal BEFORE you get to the show is to isolate every company that's involved in your business. ​Here's the link to the IUSA list for next week.
4. New products and companies: Are there products you need for your business or new services you require?  For example, you've read posts about Marathon's Bella Art Prints and Albums here on the SCU blog. Make it a point to stop by Marathon (booth 347) to check out their complete product line and services.
5. Walk through the print exhibit. This is a terrific time to get a feel for imaging trends, as you'll see just about everything in the prints submitted for competition.
6. Walk the trade show, aisle by aisle! One of the best things about any convention is finding out about companies you may not have worked with before! Start in one corner of the show and work your way through EVERY company exhibiting, even if they're showing products you don't use.
7. Wear comfortable shoes!
8. Make plans for breakfast and dinner meetings NOW. Nothing beats time with old friends, as well as new ones. Never eat a meal alone! When it comes to dinner reservations, they don't come easy in any convention town, especially like a venue like the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. If you're heading out for dinner, it helps to know where and when you're going. Think about making a couple of reservations in advance, even if you don't know who you'll be having dinner with!
9. Update your phone book! Make sure you have the cell numbers for friends and associates you want to catch up with. There are few things as frustrating as wanting to meet somebody at a convention, but you've got no way to contact them.
10. Put the "social" into social media. So many of you have friends you talk to all the time online, but have never met in person. You hang out in various forums with them and share a lot of great discussions about photography. Check who's going to the convention you're headed to and set up a time to get together. It's a lot of fun to physically meet people whom you've talked to regularly, but only in cyberspace!
11. Check out the special programming going on in the various booths.
12. You snooze, you lose! Look, I was young and stupid once, too, and there are few things as fun as going out with friends and bar-hopping. However, you're at the show for a reason, and if you need to sleep in late the following morning, your evening out with friends might become the most expensive BAD investment you can make if you miss appointments or presentations you had planned to attend.
13. "Growth only happens outside your comfort zone!" Review the programming and decide in advance which speakers you want to hear. Plus, always pick at least 1-2 programs entirely out of your comfort zone. 
14. Call your insurance agent! If you're taking any serious gear with you, check to make sure you're adequately insured. I remember one year, a woman left all her camera gear in her room but didn't check to make sure the door closed completely when she went out for dinner. Everything was gone when she got back, and she was NOT covered by her insurance. Another photographer had two lenses lifted out of his camera bag while he was listening to a presentation.
15. Publish a couple of press releases! Let's talk about those pictures you're taking while at the show - use them for your own publicity campaign. For example, let's assume you want to expand your business and you're attending a few programs outside your comfort zone. Get a photo of you and the speaker, then write a short post about expanding your business into that new area of expertise. The same goes for any new equipment you might be considering buying at the show. A large-format printer, for example, would be a great topic for expanding your services to the community. In the same respect, working with a new lab would give you access to new products to talk about.
16. Utilize their assets without depleting yours! Get yourself approved for a leasing or a higher credit line before you leave for the convention. If you're going there to shop for new gear, it's so much easier when you know what you can afford before you hit the trade show floor.
17. Talk to the people around you when you attend any program. A photography convention is unique because you're all there for the same reasons. Make it a point to get to know the people sitting on either side of you. It's amazing what you can learn by just talking to each other.
18. Talk to the icons! I'm always amazed by how many of you are intimidated by your favorite photographers. The truth is, they're there to teach and meet other photographers interested in their work. Just walk up, introduce yourself, and thank them for whatever inspiration they've given you. They don't bite!
19. Analysis Paralysis: Take time at the end of each day, before your head hits the pillow, to do a quick overview of who you saw, what you learned, and what companies you can scratch off your list. If you wait until you get home after the convention, it will be too late!

The one thing I find most frustrating with attendees at a big convention is that they just haven't planned their trip. They got their tickets and made it to Nashville or Vegas, but then everything fell apart. Plan your experience so you're not wasting time and, even more important, your money.

Like the main rule in scuba diving...Plan your dive, dive your plan!

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