My First Shutterfest Experience! ~ Photography Conference: April 2026 ~ St. Louis, MO
Today's blog is just a bit different from what you're used to seeing around here...
Why?
Here on the Brittney Corey Photography blog, I typically share my OWN work... whether it's a boudoir session, brand story shoot, or wedding coverage. That may sound like a no-brainer, but it's extra important to point out before we dive into this post!
Instead of reading about one of my photography sessions, today you'll be reading about my experience at a photography conference. In April of this year, I attended Shutterfest! Shutterfest is an in-person conference that's held every year in St. Louis, and I've been trying to go for years. The only thing stopping me was my schedule, but this year the stars aligned... and I was totally free to attend!
The reason I was SO interested in attending is the format of the event. Shutterfest has the typical show room floor with vendors, and they also have tutorial-style presentations where you can learn from other professionals and educators in the industry. But on TOP of this, Shutterfest offers plenty of time for you to get behind the camera and actually try out the techniques you learned in class.
...And that's exactly what I did!
I took advantage of the conference's after hours sessions, rent-a-human opportunities, and model connections. This resulted in a few mini boudoir sessions (some with male models which doesn't happen often!) at the convention itself. During these shoots, I was able to try out what I learned AND play around with some of the different creative concepts I had in mind. And the creative visions didn't stop there... When I got back home to Vancouver, Washington, I was inspired to plan two "model call" style sessions that you can check out here and here!
With the rest of my time at Shutterfest, I took a lot of classes that focused on marketing and streamlining workflows. And of course I also signed up for courses that focused on my main specialties, boudoir and business branding. Thanks to these sessions, not only did I leave feeling creatively inspired... I also left thinking about new processes I could add to my business and different types of branding services I could provide.
As an extra special bonus, I got to have lunch with my original boudoir makeup artist, Morgan Nichols! She had to leave the Portland, Oregon area and move to the Midwest several years ago for her husband’s job. It was SO great to catch up and see her again!
Now that you've read ALL about my time at Shutterfest, don't forget to check out the two sessions that I was inspired to plan because of my time there! (You can read about them here and here.)
And for all of my local photography friends who might be looking to attend a conference but aren't sure if you can make the trip out to St. Louis... I've also attended some other amazing conferences, so I can answer any questions you may have about ClickAway, Imaging USA, or WPPI.
Or if you're feeling inspired to attend Shutterfest next year... send me any questions you may have, and hopefully I'll see you there!