All activities are located in Murphy Hall unless otherwise noted.
Friday, Feb 8 Student day
9 am-noon, Room 100: Lightning rounds with photography professionals. Find out what their job is like, and bring your questions for Hannah Foslien, sports photographer; Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber (Ackermann + Gruber), freelance editorial photographers; Deborah Pastner, Star Tribune director of photo and multimedia; Nate Ryan, The Current and freelance commercial work; Carly Danek, KARE TV; and Eric Hylden, Grand Forks Herald.
Noon-1:30 pm, Heggen Room (104): Networking Lunch with the Pros
1:30-3 pm: Afternoon Breakout Sessions 1
- Canon, Room 15: Intro to the newest cameras and gear, Matt Carman, Canon USA. Take a look at — and get your hands on — Canon’s newest equipment. In this session, Matt will walk you through how it all works.
- Handling visual ethics tangles, Room 25: Regina McCombs, University of Minnesota HSJMC. Confused by what’s ethical for a photojournalist to do — or not do? When to take the picture, or not? Join this session to talk about tricky tangles and how to get the photo and do right by your subjects.
- Getting started with VR, Room 10N: Mark Vancleave, Star Tribune. Mark will walk through how he’s put together those cool 360 videos, and talk about how you can do it, too.
- Getting your first job, Room 10C: Kevin Martin, Star Tribune. Photo editor Kevin Martin has seen a lot of resumes and a lot of young photographers. He’ll talk about tips for looking for — and landing — that first job out of school.
3:15-4:45 pm: Afternoon Breakout Sessions 2
- Intro to Adobe Lightroom, Room 10N: Evan Frost, MPR News. Lightroom is deceptively simple software with powerful possibilities. Evan will show you a few ways to take advantage of it.
- Sony, Intro to the newest mirrorless cameras and gear, Room 15: Ben Manlove, Sony. If you’re curious about Sony’s mirrorless cameras, here’s your chance to get your questions answered and your hands on the gear.
- How to talk to anyone, Room 25: Courtney Perry, freelance. When you’re getting started in photography, one of the most difficult things can be talking to strangers and asking to take their photos. Courtney will talk about strategies to have genuine conversations with your subjects.
- Simple lighting techniques, Room 10C: David Bowman, freelance. Adding lighting to a setting expands the potential for your photography, but getting starting with instruments can be intimidating. David will explain a little theory, then show you how it works in the studio.
4:45-5 pm, Room 100: Student day wrap-up
6 pm Opening reception for all at Buffalo Wild Wings, 2001 University Ave. SE.
Everyone welcome, whether you’re attending the conference or not.
8 pm, Room 130: Visual MN College Contest Open Judging.
Listen in on the discussion as judges Barbara Davidson, Richard Koci Hernadez and Deborah Pastner choose the winners of the VisualMN college contest. It’s a great way to learn!
Saturday, Feb 9
8:30-9 am, Heggen Room (104): Coffee and Donuts
9-10:30 am, Room 130: Conference Opening, with Richard Koci Hernandez, “Everything you know about photography is wrong — and that’s okay.”
10:45-Noon, Room 130: Richard Tsong Taatarii, Star Tribune, NPPA Best of Photojournalism and World Press Award winner, “Movement of the people: How Bob Marley’s anthem captured a prophecy of the geopolitical zeitgeist.”
12:15-1:30, Whole Music Club, Coffman Union: Lunch with Vendors at the Whole Music Club, Coffman Union
Stop by and talk with:
Adobe: Adobe Creative Cloud delivers the world’s leading creative desktop tools, mobile apps, and services. Featuring apps such as Adobe XD, Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator, Creative Cloud helps people produce their best work.
ASMP-MSP: The mission of ASMP-MSP is to educate, advocate and provide an inclusive community for photography professionals.
National Camera Exchange: Family owned and operated for over 100 years, National Camera Exchange provides expert customer service along with the largest selection of photo & video products in the Midwest.
Print Arts Midwest: Print Arts Midwest is a new Minnesota-based non-profit organization with a mission to help photo and print artists learn and grow. We are planning on having educational facilities to help you learn photography, both film and digital.
2:00-3:15: Breakout workshop sessions
- “That’s a mighty big camera for such a little girl”, Room 130: It can be tricky dealing with sexism anytime, but when in the field trying to get work done, it can be particularly challenging. This discussion of ideas and coping mechanisms will be lead by Bea Chang, KARE-TV, with help from Hannah Foslien, Getty Sports, Carly Danek, KARE TV and Ann Arbor Miller, freelance.
- Pro tips on building a better portfolio, Room 25: Deborah Pastner, Director of Photo and Video, Star Tribune. To get that next (or first) great job, your portfolio needs to stand out. Deb has some suggestions on how to make it do that.
- Top Ten Tips for Documentary Filmmaking, Room 15: Melody Gilbert, independent filmmaker. That idea you’ve had sitting on the back burner for a documentary project? Melody (taking a break from the film festival circuit for her documentary, Silicone Soul) will give you ideas on how to get it cooking.
- Canon: Hands-on intro to the newest Canon cameras and gear, Room 10N: Matt Carman, Canon USA. Take a look at — and get your hands on — Canon’s newest equipment. In this session, Matt will walk you through how it all works. Equipment is also available for checkout during the conference.
- Sony: Hands-on intro to the newest Sony mirrorless cameras and gear, Room 10C: Ben Manlove, Sony. If you’re curious about Sony’s mirrorless cameras, here’s your chance to get your questions answered and your hands on the gear. Equipment is also available for checkout during the conference.
3:30-4:45 pm, Room 130: Chad Nelson, KARE-TV, NPPA TV Photographer AND Editor of the Year, “Good storytelling brings people to life, great storytelling keeps them alive forever.”
5-6:15 pm, Room 130: Barbara Davidson, presented by Canon, “Leap of Faith — a photojournalist’s transition from staff to freelance.”
7 pm: Dinner nearby with small groups based on interest topics. Sign up at registration.
Sunday, Feb 10
8:30-9 am, Heggen Room (104): Coffee and donuts
9-10:30 am, Room 130: Cheryl Diaz Meyer, “Empathy and objectivity can co-exist in photojournalism.”
10:45-Noon: Breakout Workshop Sessions
- Understanding your intellectual property rights, Room 130: Blake Iverson. Dealing with rights contracts and image theft can be challenging for photographers, whether you’re freelance or an employee. Blake will talk about knowing your rights, and some ways to deal with problems.
- TENT: Color and type for photographers, Room 15: Sara Quinn. Design is often best when it gets out of the way of your photos, right? Yet, crafting a smart framework is key to creating important context for your storytelling. Sara will talk you through the essentials of good typography, color and grid across platforms.
- Intro to Lightroom, Room 10N: Rikk Flohr, Adobe. Rikk will walk through the basics of using Lightroom and learning the workflow.
- Sony, Room 10C: Hands-on intro to the newest Sony mirrorless cameras and gear, Ben Manlove, Sony. If you’re curious about Sony’s mirrorless cameras, here’s your chance to get your questions answered and your hands on the gear. Equipment is also available for checkout during the conference.
- Canon, Room 25: Hands-on intro to the newest Canon cameras and gear, Matt Carman, Canon USA. Take a look at — and get your hands on — Canon’s newest equipment. In this session, Matt will walk you through how it all works. Equipment is also available for checkout during the conference.
Noon-1 pm, Room 130: Visual MN Photo College Contest Awards (enter by Feb. 4!) and Conference Wrap Up
