Thoughts on Shutterfest 2023…Not For Me

Model IG: @uma_purrmann

This year I attended Shutterfest from 4-6 April in St. Louis at Union Station.  I heard it was a good conference to attend and not like traditional photo conference because it had more hands-on workshops and the ability to rent models during down times.  Thus, I thought I would give it a try, since I must burn some leave from my normal day job.  I was sadly disappointed in the conference and didn’t feel it lived up to the hype.

Venue/Food

The venue, Union Station, is beautiful and has a ton of nice places to shoot.  I would go to a cosplay convention there.  It has more interesting features and variety then the Gaylord for Katsucon.  Sadly, I really didn’t get to shoot any models in the beautiful parts, we’ll get to that later.  I did not stay at the conference hotel, but two blocks up the road at a Marriot (I like my points).  I don’t feel I missed anything by not staying at the conference hotel, since I like to sleep.  

As for food options, the hotel has a restaurant and a bar that serves food, there are also couple restaurants next door to the venue that are reasonably priced.  The conference also brings in several food trucks each day for lunch and dinner.  So reasonably priced food was not an issue. 

The Classes/Seminars

Shutterfest uses the Guidebook app for their event.    However, unlike other events where you just show up to a class/seminar, you had to register for the class/seminar ahead of time via the Guidebook app.  They then check people via a QR-code on the app.   I believe they do this, especially for the hands-on classes to keep the numbers low so people have an opportunity to shoot if they want.  I registered for five hands-on classes and two seminars.  Note, for those of you who have used the Guidebook app for other conventions this conference uses the app correctly and I had no issue with the app.

I was disappointed with the hands-on classes; I didn’t feel I got anything out of them.  For example, the first class was on beauty lighting.  The instructor set up a standard clamshell lighting, dialed in all the setting, then told the class what the setting were, and everyone took the same photo.  There is no learning, with that method.   This seamed to be par for the course when it came to hands on classes.  

I was also extremely disappointed with the lighting for diverse skin tones class.  I was hoping to learn something about things to consider and challenges especially when editing. Such as taking into consideration undertones and how different skin tones reflect and absorb light differently.  However, the whole class can be summed up by the phrase “use your passport color checker” to get the right skin tones.  I also don’t think it helped that the instructor was focusing more on commercial work rather than creative portraiture.  But if the solution is using a color checker, I don’t need a two-hour class on that, a 5-minute YouTube video would work just fine.  Finally, there was no discussion of what to do if you don’t have or can’t use a color checker or grey cards.  The class could have been so much better, but it focused on one tiny solution for one type of situation.

The only class I felt I got something out of was about building your photography website.  I also felt like the person teaching this class was the only person who was qualified to teach a class.  I liked that he prefaced what he said worked very well for him but might not work well for all genres of photography.  He also talked about some of the psychology of site design and how one could personalize the core areas of a website to their brand and cliental.  I liked that he showed his site and explained how it evolved based on the types of clients he was trying to attract.   I felt like he wanted to educate people and not provide a cookie cutter solution, but a general tools and guidelines that can be modified to meet a person’s specific needs.  The only thing I wish we could have done, because we ran out of time due to questions, was review a few other websites to see what should work and what might not.

In general, I felt like most of the instructors for the classes I attended didn’t know how to teach and the information they covered could be 5-minute YouTube videos.  They also didn’t use microphone, so in some cases it was hard to hear them.  They didn’t tether to screen, so they just showed the back of their camera, resulting in only the people in the front really seeing anything.  Additionally, where some of the classes were held was not great, resulting in people standing for two hours (no chairs) and/or being squished together.  This was an issue for some of the hands-on classes.  I ended up walking out of all but two classes after giving them at least an hour of my time.  The other main issue was if you did not have a Godox or Westcott trigger, you had to hope the instructor had one you could borrow to participate in any of the hands-on portions involving off-camera flash.  This is something I wish was mentioned before the conventions or in the class overviews.

 

Model IG: @missredmodel

Rent a Model/Shoot Booths/Afterhours Shoots

The one thing that is supposed to set Shutterfest apart from other conferences is the fact they have over 200 models with a good portion of those portioned off for their rental program.  If you partnered with another photographer, you could use a model for an hour-long photoshoot anywhere around the conference area.  If you couldn’t find a partner, you could use a model for 30-minutes, but you had to stay in the demo zone.  The demo zone looked like an 80s-mall and had a few backdrops set up you could use.  To rent a model, you filled out a form with gender and the genera you wanted and then they would go in the back and find you a model. 

I used the program twice, both times for 30-minutes.  I wish the 30-minute option were expanded to the main body of the hotel, at least the lobby area.  My normal cosplay convention session is 45-minutes, and I can get to at least three locations in that time, so I could have easily shot in the lobby area and made it back in 30-minutes.  My other complaint with the model program is the limited genres available, I don’t do weddings, boudoir, or high school seniors, which were the predominate genres.  They had no options for avaunt guard, edgy, street, or punk.  When I asked for the craziest look available, I got a very nice person in a basic ball gown.  While I love me some ballgowns, I was hoping for something a bit less vanilla.  However, my definition of crazy might be a little warped; thank you cosplay community.   I will say both models I worked with were very nice and professional.  I got some great shots that I can work into my portfolio from both models. 

Model IG: @_tylerjneumann

The vendors at the conference also set up several shoot booths, which were staffed with models in different looks.  Most of the looks were standard portrait looks, though everyone was going crazy for the models wearing big angle wings.  Most of the shoot booths were set up with continuous or hot lights.  I ended up shooting at around ISO 800 when I was shooting at any of the booths, just so I could maintain my aperture and shutter speeds. 

Models IG: @apexx_model and @dejas_lyfe

The other thing Shutterfest is known for is setting up “afterhours” shoots.  These sessions you are supposed to set up yourself via the model Facebook group.  The other option was if you already knew people, was to just join their session.  I was able to set up one afterhours session and join one group, a mushroom hat group,  but the process didn’t feel organic.  Finding groups via the model page was worse than trying to find a group on a cosplay convention page, since no one was allowed to set up or share events on the page.  I really felt like it was all about who you knew to get into any interesting afterhours sessions.  It probably also didn’t help that I wasn’t going to keep shooting till midnight or 3:00AM.  I like sleep thank you very much. 

Model IG: @lucyrosemodeling

Model IG: @Jmamodeling

Vendors

For the supposed size of the conference, I did expect more vendors.  I was able to make a full lap of the vendor area in about 10-15 minutes.  Most of the vendors were album and print shops.  However, they did have Canon, Westcott, Sigma, and Tamron representation.  I was able to talk to a Canon representative about the R5 and R6 Mark II as well as hold and fiddle with the camera.    When I go mirrorless, I’ll probably get the R6 Mark II.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have any I could borrow for 30-minutes to shoot with, but at least I got hold them and understand the features.  I also was able to talk to the Westcott tech rep about some sync issue I been having since introducing the FJ400 to my kit.  He supplied some possible solutions and was super helpful about a few other questions I had regarding their new silicone gels.  The vendors I thought were great, I just wish there were a few more related to gear rather than albums and prints.

Model IG: @hannarybread

Overall Vibe

I really felt the conference really centered around beginners and people who shoot boudoir, weddings, maternity, and senior portraits.  All things I don’t shoot.  Then the business classes, seemed to be focused around in person sales.  That is one of the reasons, I didn’t take any of the business classes because they didn’t promote any options beyond in person sales. 

I also found the attendees at the conference a bit obnoxious in some cases.  While I had a few nice conversations with a few photographers, I felt the atmosphere just wasn’t very welcoming as everyone already had their group.  Now, conference promoters want you to make friends via the Facebook group before the conference.  Well that just doesn’t work for a lot of people and me for a variety of reasons.  This is not a conference for introverts.  While I can be extroverted when needed, I’m mostly and introvert and did not feel welcomed enough to show the extrovert side.

Two major complaints, that were posted in the Facebook group during the conference were not being able to hear the instructors and spaces not being ADA complaint.  Instead fixing the issue, the advice was just pivot by attending a different class, walking the vendor area, or using the rent a model program.  Those are not good solutions if you have to pre-register for a class and/or the issue is ADA compliance.  People with disabilities, just can’t pivot and have the right to attend a class they signed up for.  Also, this is the ninth year for this conference, some of these issues should have been worked previously.  The other thing that rubbed me the wrong way though was the “#slumberfest” sniping.  I get you really shouldn’t be sleeping in the hotel lobby or during a class, but there is no need to take a photo of the person and put them on blast in a semi-public group.  I find that is just rude, you don’t know why that person has their eyes closed it could be a migraine, or over stimulation.   Overall, I just felt I didn’t fit in with a good portion of the attendees or the bad portions were really on display masking the better portions.

Model IG: @Toby.s.holmes

Final Thoughts

I went outside my comfort zone and tried something new, and it didn’t work.  I will not be going back to Shutterfest.  While I might not have gotten a lot out of it because I didn’t pay close enough attention to the class descriptions, thus ended up in a bunch of beginner classes instead of the more advanced classes.  I don’t feel like I learned anything different then if I watched a YouTube video from more well-known photographers.  Honestly, I felt like the instructors weren’t that great, and the hands-on classes were a bit pointless since you really didn’t learn to do it yourself.  I did like the model program, and a chance to talk to a few of vendors but that is not enough bring me back.  I just don’t think this is my type of photography conference, I think something a bit more traditional would be more beneficial for me.