If you're a photographer that specializes in school photography or sports photography, the School and Sports Photography Annual Conference and Trade Show (SPAC-USA) is a must-attend event for you.
The conference and trade show kicks off tomorrow, January 23, 2019, and runs through Saturday, January 26 at the South Point Hotel and Casino Conference Center in Las Vegas. With guest speakers, learning opportunities, and plenty of chances to meet other photographers, the event is chock-full of valuable events that can help you take your school and sports photography business to the next level.
Also at the event will be dozens of vendors showing off some of the latest, greatest products for photographers.
Below, I've listed five must-see vendors at this year's SPAC-USA event.
Click Props
What makes Click Props the ideal partner for school and sports photographers is their extensive line of tough-as-nails photography backdrops.
Their backdrops are made of thick and durable 550gsm vinyl, so they can stand up to the kind of high traffic you get when you set up shop at a school and take several hundred photos.
They’re ideal for sports, too, because no matter how much mud, sweat, and grass the kids get on the backdrop or floorground, cleanup is a breeze!
Simply wipe them down, dry them off, and they’re good to go for the next group.
But don’t think that because these backdrops are utilitarian that they aren’t beautiful…
In fact, Click Props Backdrops has hundreds of gorgeous options that fit in with any kind of theme you’re going for in school or sports photography.
Better still, Kat Armendariz, operator of Click Props Backdrops, and her team are dedicated to helping you capture the best possible photos you can.
That means that they aren’t just in it for the money. Instead, the Click Props family strives to deliver the highest-quality products to you so you can help those kiddos look their very best.
There’s a reason why Click Props Backdrops is a three-time winner of the Best Professional Studio Accessory award. These backdrops are top-of-the-line, durable, and affordable, and with Kat and her team to help you find just the right backdrop, awesome photos are just a click away!
Learn more about Click Props Backdrops
FujiFilm
What makes FujiFilm so attractive to members of the school and sports photography industry is their wide range of cameras and lenses that get you optimal results without having to carry around gear that is big, bulky, and heavy.
Their GFX cameras - the 50S and 50R - offer medium format performance in a body that's about the same size and weight as a professional DSLR. And with 51.4-megapixel sensors, the school and sports photos you take can be turned into breathtakingly large prints thanks to all that resolution.
Of course, Fuji has the X-line of cameras as well, which offers excellent features, small and lightweight bodies, and a smaller price tag as compared to the GFX models.
Either way you go, it's hard to be the quality and reliability of a FujiFilm camera!
Calotype
When you specialize in high-volume photography, you understand how overwhelming it can be trying to keep track of each client and their order.
But that's no longer the case thanks to Calotype...
Calotype is a web-based, end-to-end suite of solutions for photographers that allows you to manage multiple workflows.
You can easily track client data like names, dates, and schools as well as organize images, create online proof galleries, and more.
In other words, it's like your own little assistant to help you improve the functioning of your business and increase your ability to manage client relationships.
What's not to like about that?!
Spider Holster
When you have to work with a few hundred kids for school pictures or have an entire sports team worth of kids to photograph, every advantage you can get to make your workflow more streamlined is certainly worth it.
And one of the best ways you can streamline the way you work is to keep your cameras accessible - yet safe and secure at the same time. Spider Holster does just that...
Spider Holster puts your camera (or two cameras) right on your hips for a comfortable carrying experience.
Thanks to their ingenious pin-style connector, you can quickly and easily grab your camera and pull it up to your eye and replace the camera securely in the holster as you move around.
On top of that, you don't need a camera strap because your gear will be safe and sound mounted on the belt around your waist. In that regard, this holster system is a more comfortable, more functional, and easier way to carry your gear!
Learn more about Spider Holster
Panasonic
It's no secret that Panasonic has been at the forefront of innovation for decades and decades.
That's certainly true of their cameras, many of which are small, compact, and easy to use, yet come loaded for bear with features that help you create more impressive photos.
Their GX9 compact camera has a gorgeous rangefinder-style body, a 20.3-megapixel micro four-thirds sensor, native ISO range up to 25600, and 6fps burst shooting with continuous autofocus.
This rig also features in-body image stabilization, WiFi, Bluetooth, a three-inch vari-angle touchscreen display, 4K UHD video at 30p, and an electronic viewfinder with 2.75-million dots.
And that's just the start...
Panasonic has all kinds of offerings to share with you at this year's SPAC conference and trade show.
So, mark your calendars, take note of these must-see vendors, and head to Vegas for a great show!