WPPI 2017- Wedding & Portrait Photographer Convention

I won an expo pass from Rangefinder Magazine to the WPPI 2017 Expo & Convention in Vegas a few weeks back! It was my first time going to a photography convention! It was a fun opportunity to see the newest photography technology, equipment and products as well as learning from different instructors in their areas of expertise! I took classes from Sue Bryce, Rob Greer, Matthew 'The Body' Kemmetmueller & Melissa Jill. I purchased a new Speedlite modifier from MagMod to help with fill flash for weddings in the Summer! :)

It was super fun going from 4 inches of snow in Seattle to 60 degress in Vegas! My bff joined me on the 2nd day which was awesome. We had super delish Thai food at Lotus of Sian & Irish food at Nine Fine Irishmen and gluten free breakfast (orange blossom French toast) at the Four Seasons. Not pictured: Eating at Canaletto Ristorante at the Venetian having a pasta trio and cocktail by myself, seeing Frank Marino's Diva's Drag Show (also solo) and yeah, I foolishly didn't take any class pictures either! Whoopsy.

Overall, it was really cool to see everything in one place but it was definitely overwhelming trying to fit everything into 2 days of the convention with over 200 vendors and tons of speakers. Next time I'll plan to be there earlier in the day as the expo closes by 4pm.

Coach Pre-Spring '17 - Dinky Crossbody Bag

Whoa. What an amazing amazing opportunity it was to be apart of Coach's Pre-Spring 2017 Influencer Campaign for their Dinky crossbody bag. The Dinky is beyond lovely and the perfect size for traveling. The oxblood and cherry color leather is so soft. I love the gold stamp on the inside of the bag too. I'm definitely going to cherish this purse for years to come.

The gorgeous Natalie Ischer was a fantastic model. We had fun imagining new areas to show off the purse in such a diverse location. After wrapping up the Dinky bag shots, I took some lovely portraits of her as well I really dig.

King Street Station in Pioneer Square, Seattle was our amazing location. I had only been to the other side of the station and for some reason hadn't found this amazing larger area(?!). It is so beautiful in there and was the perfect setting to display this modern but classic bag. The palm trees, white walls, ornate crown moulding, art deco light fixtures and subway tile, oh yesss!

I love doing lookbooks + social media content for brands SO MUCH! Quickly becoming one of my favorite types of sessions.

xo Haley

Vancouver KiZouk Festival Weekend

Whoo hoo! My first time technically leaving the country in 10 years last weekend! (sidenote: what the heck, how did I let that happen?!) Ate soooo much good food and had so much fun.

Went up to Vancouver to perform on our Brazilian Zouk dance team lead by my BF Rob & his partner Cat. It was super duper nerve wracking to perform in front of a ton of professionals and other dancers! We practiced for months on the choreo and we did pretty freaking great!

It's been 2 years officially since I started taking Brazilian Zouk classes. I have never been a performer and always admired people who could express themselves through the art of dance. It's been super rewarding and fun (and also REALLY hard and frustrating), but I'm finally getting confident with myself, my body and my dancing! I've also met sooo many great people through dancing.

I'm super grateful to my boyfriend Robert who is an amazing and patient instructor. He's let me tag a long on sooo many classes and performances the past 3 or 4 years. I love spending time with him and seeing him shine as a teacher and performer! Thanks for not kicking me out when I sucked & got mega frustrated, babe! hahah. He's teaching Zouk all over the world and I'm so proud of him! Thanks to Cat for helping me out so much this year as an instructor and being so positive and helpful! Kelsey, thanks so much for the private 2 weeks ago, it helped me so much!

Besides the super fun classes and social dancing that went on until 3 or 4 am every night, we had a crazy party in our hotel room which was a blast. I wish I had photos of everything but I tend to put my camera away at parties and events so I can really enjoy myself. #photographerproblems

I had the best time planning our meals and scouting for fun spots! Eating out and exploring are basically my favorite things besides photography (and puppies). If you are gluten free like me, I highly recommend the places pictured below:

  • Nuba (Delicious and healthy Lebanese food)
  • Bao Down (Chinese and Filipino style Bao and other food and drinks. They have GF fried adobo chicken!)
  • Tacofino (amazing drinks and awesome tacos. Their neon logo sign and mid century modern decor are also #goals)
  • Mosquito (cocktail and dessert bar, yummy chocolates and macarons)
  • Cartems Donuterie (offers awesome GF donuts, go early)
  • Lemonade Bakery (GF HEAVEN! OMG! Seattle needs to step their game up HARD)
  • Long's Noodle House (amazing and cheap Chinese/Taiwanese food. The Xiao Long Bao were so good)
  • Laduree (more macarons. Expensive but good)
  • SURA (freaking delicious Korean food. They had Army Base Stew which I had been meaning to try, soooo spicy & hearty)

Also, The Steam Clock is fun & also hit up the Nike Outlet by the airport! DEALS!

xo - Haley