The Perfect Way to Recharge Your Battery!

by. Skip Cohen

One of the greatest benefits of attending any conference or convention is building your network and recharging your battery. While there were some early hands-on shoots yesterday, for me and most of the attendees, the event started with my keynote program last night.

If you haven't experienced the excitement of a conference, it's hard to explain. There's an electricity in the air fueled by anticipation, passion for the craft, creativity and the simplicity of people getting together who have many of the same goals. 

For me, it's been a special trip...catching up with old friends and making new ones. Kevin Gilligan came in from California, Matthew Jordan Smith came from Japan, and Chamira Young came from Michigan.  All three of them have been instrumental in helping me build my career over the years, and being together made the trip that much more special. It really was a reunion - Matthew lives in Japan, and we haven't caught up LIVE since before the pandemic. Kevin and I have been friends for ten years, yet this was only the second time we've been together in the same location. Chamira and I have done 150+ podcasts, yet we only met briefly at WPPI many years ago.

This was also my last official presentation, and I wanted to make it one of my best. For years, I've used the quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson, "I am a part of all that I have me!" My point was easy to understand - The average person meets 80,000 people in their lifetime (resourced from Google). Each person contributes to our life, and combined with events, creates the infrastructure of who we are, not much different than an architect's design for a building.

In my presentation, rather than just talking about marketing ideas, I wanted to share the back stories and the people/companies who blazed a trail in imaging based on creativity, technique, and marketing. We're all made up of stories. So, when focusing on ideas to help photographers grow their business, the presentation became one of the most fun I've ever shared at a convention.

Today was the first full day of programming, and as usual, ClickCon did not disappoint. The trade show was busy; the models, makeup artists, and hair stylists were all going almost nonstop, and the attendees were everywhere! At a moment mid-afternoon, when things had slowed down a little, I wandered into the models' room. With a dozen "stations," the stylists and makeup artists were ready for every request!

If you weren't able to make it to ClickCon, check out the next imaging conference coming your way. Nothing beats the energy of being with other artists, educators, business owners, and vendors. It's that energy that gives birth to new ideas and unlimited creativity!

Plus - one of the best ways to recharge your battery!

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A rare moment when things slowed down in the models' room