Whew! What an awesome time. I had such a blast at Imaging USA 2011 in San Antonio last week, the first time I've ever attended in my 10 years as a professional photographer. And I didn't even attend the classes. I filled up my time there with a couple parties, the certification exam, the trade show, the print exhibition, and catching up with old friends. And that was plenty! Still holding my breath for the results of the exam. We were told to expect results in 3 weeks. I'm hoping that was their attempt to "under promise and over deliver," and that maybe just maybe we'll hear something before that. I was disappointed that it rained the whole time I was there, but the beautiful convention center and inspiration overload made up for the lousy weather.
So, I thought I'd share just a few of the highlights of the convention from my perspective.
Booth That Extracted The Most Money From Me
Oh yes, that would have to be Barbour Backdrops. Wow. The quality of these backgrounds is simply remarkable. They have developed a process that enables them to create the look and feel of a faux wall right on canvas. With many years of experience creating faux finishes, they are creating a product of the highest quality and craftsmanship. They tested it and got it right until they could create and roll the backgrounds, keeping them flexible and not cracking. I've looked a good deal online at the faux backgrounds that are computer generated onto a wrinkle-free poly fabric background, and am disappointed when I get up close and touch and feel them. Although people seem to like them and love the lightweight wrinkle free versatility, I can't get past the cheap look when they're hanging there, but the backgrounds from Barbour look really upscale and expensive. I think you really have to see them in person to appreciate the quality 
and texture. They almost have the look and finish of leather.
What I also love about Barbour Backdrops is the fact that this is a family run business, so it makes me happy to have my little family-run business support their family run business (which is not nearly as little as mine at this point!). One of the owners spent a lot of time with me telling me all about the product, and it's clear that he's enthusiastic about what they do.
I picked out a couple of backgrounds that I feel will both be universally great with families, boys and girls. It it so hard for me to commit to a background, but I feel these will provide me with good versatility while helping to set me apart from other local photographers. I really expected these backgrounds to be more expensive given the quality.
Booth With the Cutest Stuff
Design Revolution. Totally. And I got away with spending only $35 with them! Not quite sure how I pulled that off. Their booth was jam-packed with all these adorable little hats, tutus, tops and other baby clothing you feel like you have to buy right that second or else you'll die. I never actually really even got inside their booth because it was so crammed with female photographers clawing their way to the goods that you could barely turn around. But I got to see their stuff the night before in a little pre-show hospital suite hosted by Lori Nordstrom's PhotoTalk Forum, so that was cool. I thought I'd gotten some shots of the Design Revolution booth, but I'm not finding them, so you'll have to settle for this photo of Julie Klaasmeyer (famous baby photographer extraordinaire) being sweet and pretending she's my BFF while I hold up the super-cute newborn hat I bought from her.
Coolest Booth Design
Finao totally dominated the "coolest booth" category in my opinion. When you're walking the trade show floor for hours with a bag full of heavy promotional materials, you get exahasted. Coming across this huge booth with loads of ottomans, sofas and papasan chairs was like finding an oasis in the desert! It was all set up to look like some hip hookah bar, and you could stay as long as you wanted by grabbing a seat and pouring through the countless albums that were on tables and shelves throughout the booth. The only problem is that they were a little off the beaten path, on the very far edge of the expo floor, so I didn't discover them right away.
Best Convention Inspiration
Since I did not attend any of the classes, which I'm sure were terrific, I drew most of my inspiration from the print exhibition, which contains the merit-winning and Loan Collection images from last year. It had me crying and laughing and staring in wonder. Wish I'd had a lot more time to go back through the exhibit a couple more times.
We observed that low-key character studies seem to do especially well in competition, and there were lots and lots of images of animals. Babies not so much! There was also lots of digital composite work that is totally beyond me, but way cool to look at.
[Mary Lynne Ashley is a Colorado Springs portrait photographer specializing in babies, children and maternity photography.]
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