WPPI 2019 - Red Rock Canyon Photoshoot

Epic environmental portrait of Asian model in long, flowing, red dress, standing on in Red Rock Canyon during dusk and stormy clouds in background.

WPPI is a wedding photographers convention hosted in Las Vegas every February, where thousands of photographers attend to network, learn from top photographers of the industry, and explore new products and equipment from top photo suppliers. Industry leaders host public talks, classes, photowalks, and masterclasses, making this event an excellent place to learn new techniques from the best.

Dreamy pre-sunrise weather on I-15 north!

I originally had plans during WPPI week this year but I’m glad I was able to make time to go! Due to my schedule, I was only able make a one-day trip - it was an exhausting day where I was awake and alert for 24 hours but the trip was extremely fulfilling and I’m glad I was able to make it happen. Big thanks to Emerald for coming along and agreeing to model on such short notice!

The biggest highlight of the expo this year was seeing early prototypes of the 5 new Canon RF lenses, recently announced additions to their mirrorless system lens lineup. Many camera manufacturers made big pushes to challenge Sony in the mirrorless market, and I’m excited to see what’s coming up!

Here are some highlights from the expo! Scroll to the bottom for highlights from the Red Rock Canyon photoshoot.

First person to arrive at the Canon booth!

Canon brought display prototypes of 5 new lenses they announced in early February! Excited to see where they’re going with the new EOS R system - look how small those lenses are!

I’m amazed how small Canon is planning on making their 70-200mm 2.8 RF (left) and 85mm 1.2 RF (center) lenses! I love traveling light and my 70-200mm 2.8 and 85mm 1.2 lenses are the biggest and heaviest pieces of equipment in my bag, always.

Love the Fuji GFX system! Favorite part of the convention last year was taking their GFX 50S out on loan for a day. Medium format gives so much extra depth, perspective, and detail. One trade-off is that they’re so bulky, but they’ve addressed that … — Love the Fuji GFX system! Favorite part of the convention last year was taking their GFX 50S out on loan for a day. Medium format gives so much extra depth, perspective, and detail. One trade-off is that they’re so bulky, but they’ve addressed that in the 50R. I’ll trial one out next year and write a blog post on it, for sure!

New Fuji GFX 50R! Rangefinder style mirrorless medium format camera that’s much smaller than the 50S. I got a chance to take out a GFX 50S loan last year, and I was blown away the . Excited to see what new lenses they add to this system and how they… — New Fuji GFX 50R! Rangefinder style mirrorless medium format camera that’s much smaller than the 50S. I got a chance to take out a GFX 50S loan last year, and I was blown away the . Excited to see what new lenses they add to this system and how they develop it out over the next few years - might decide to add one to my kit eventually :)

In the afternoon, we went out to the Red Rock Canyon with Stanley Wu and had a ton of fun doing portraits in the desert landscape. This was during the rainy week in the end of February, big thanks to the fortunate weather for bringing us cool temperatures and super photogenic clouds!

All photos were lit with my Godox AD200 with a Magmod MagSphere and Maggrid combo. This super compact 200W light is powerful for it’s size and the equally portable Magmod light modifiers are my favorite tools for on-location photoshoots - I like traveling light and these tools easily fit in any of my camera bags!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the photos!