I’ve taken a handful of photography workshops in various cities across the country over the last several years, but recently a good photo friend of mine convinced me to attend the annual Click Away Photography Conference in Seattle. I went because I LOVE Seattle (for a short amount of time I seriously considered relocating from NYC to Seattle), I’d never attended a large conference like this before with over 1000 attendees, and because I thought it would be a fun long weekend away with my friend!

I love Pike Place downtown – the market is really neat, and the cobblestone streets are always filled with hustle & bustle.

I have to admit that the on-location breakaway sessions from the conference were a bit overwhelming. Dozens of women photographers all vying to take photos of the same family, modeling for us.

I think a lot of photographers use conferences like this to build their portfolio. As I am so grateful to have many wonderful clients already, I decided to stay on the outskirts for many of these sessions to observe the instructor and other photographers. That little boy was really adorable though!

The famous bubble gum wall downtown always attracts tourists; this woman was so cute blowing her bubble gum bubble in front of it. And I loved the sign that says “Cash for your Banksy” — do people really own Banksys here, and are willing to sell them for cash from a billboard?!

One class I really loved at the conference was the studio portraiture. This little model I had was such a cutie, and I loved learning more about studio photography. It might be something I’ll offer one day to clients!

All in all, I am really glad I went to the conference! My friend Elizabeth and I enjoyed meeting other photographers and exploring more of Seattle!