It’s a star-studded cast, in order of apperance, Dane Sanders, Scott Bourne, Jerry Weiner, Joe Buissink, Vicki Taufer, Jasmine Star, Kevin Kubota, Stacy Pearsall, Jonathan Canlas, Kirk Voclain, Yervant, Cliff Mautner and Kay Eskridge. And, there are a few fun surprises planned over the 2 1/2 day program! 

The theme for next summer is diversity.   You still need  to focus on your primary specialty, but in a tough economy you want to be able to take on every job that walks through your front door.   So, we’re going to talk a lot about weddings with a great collection of instructors specializing in children and family, pets, boudoir, high school senior and golden senior, marketing, business, social media, and lighting!   And, we’re going to have fun doing it! 

Remember “fun”?  It’s that too often forgotten word in business today.  Well, we’re going to work hard and play hard and thanks to MGM’s summer package, at $79 a night, it’s not going to break the bank for a great room in one of Las Vegas’ nicest hotels.  Plus, there will be a 2 for 1 dining and entertainment card similar to last year along with a one time entertainment and dining credit per room (details are on the MGM site).

Best of all, we’re going to own the entire third floor of the Conference Center, which is approximately 80,000 sqaure feet – that means everyone has a seat in all the programs.  They’ll all be set up classroom style, meaning, you’re sitting at a table, not in a chair like a theater.  It’s easier to listen, take notes and there will also be free wifi, so you can stay in touch with business while your away.

The Lighting Lab is this year’s newest edition, run by the very best – Tony Corbell and Bobbi Lane.  We’ll have at least two sets with plenty of lights and they’ll be there all day Monday and Tuesday.  We’ll have a few models, backdrops and the very best Profoto has to offer in professional lighting.  The Lab will be open from 9-12:00 and 2:00 – 5:00 on both days, giving attendees a chance to ask their questions of the very best in a completely unstructured environment.

The sponsors this year are the very best in our industry, but we’ve intentionally limited the number of companies participating.  We don’t want you buried in decision-making, but we do want you to have a good feel of the support that’s out there to help you grow your business.  In alphabetical order…

Albums Inc, Asukabook, Azura Albums, B&H Photo Video, Big Folio, Fujifilm, DWF, GhostRighters, GoingPro, GraphiStudio, H&H Color Lab , Jill-e Designs, Kubota Image Tools, Marathon Press, Marketing Essentials International, The MAC Group, Midwest Photo Exchange, Nik Software, onOne Software, Photodex, PhotoOne Software, PhotoFocus, Pictage, PWDlabs, Simply Canvas, SmugMug, Triple Scoop and WHCC.

Last but not least – thanks to the support of the sponsors and the photographic community, we’re working hard to keep the cost to attend within everyone’s budget.  The cost for this year’s program is the same as last year at $279 per attendee and there’s even an early bird special of $199 until April 1st.  It then goes up to $249 for May and June.

Think about your experience in past summers.  Summer School is a great way to recharge your battery before the fall season kicks in.   Plus, for those of us who were a little less focused than others when we were kids and had to go to summer school – we never had an opportunity to learn this much or have this much fun! 

I’m looking forward to seeing you in Vegas!

First, you don’t want to be a “one trick pony”.  You want to be as diverse as you can be, so that you can handle every request that comes your way.   Second, develop a relationship with another photographer whose skillset compliments yours.  This will give you the ability to refer business back and forth to each other.

Diversity is critical to your growth and survival and there’s no theme more appropriate for next summer in Las Vegas, August 8-11.  Topics covered will include weddings and album design,  portraiture: children’s, family, high school seniors and pets, social media, business/marketing and photojournalism.  A new addition for next year is the “Lighting Lab” with multiple hands-on programs each day taught by the magicians of light themselves,  Bobbi Lane and Tony Corbell.

The speaker line-up for next summer is pretty amazing…

Scott Bourne, Joe Buissink, Jonathon Canlas, Tony Corbell, Kay Eskridge, Kevin Kubota, Bobbi Lane, Cliff Mautner, Dane Sanders, Jasmine Star, Vicki Taufer, Kirk Voclain and Yervant.  A very special new addition to the Summer School faculty is Stacy Pearsall.

Stacy is the most decorated and award-winning female combat photographer in U.S. history.  She will share her remarkable stories and images of war and demonstrate how reinventing her photographic talents helped launch a new and successful studio business. Her extraordinary journey of beating the odds is sure to revitalize the optimist in all of you.

Other additions will include short business snipets each day from the Guru of Biz himself, Jerry Weiner.  He’s done some terrific guest blogs on business applications here at Skip’s Photo Network and we’re working on short easy to understand techniques you can implement as soon as you return home.

The MGM Grand Las Vegas, is home once again for Summer School.  They’ve guaranteed a terrific $79 rate using the code SSS005, which is now open.  They’ll also be providing a two for one dining card similar to last year’s program and a $25 per room per stay entertainment/dining credit.  Plus, we’ve ramped up the WiFi in the “classroom”, so that you can multi-task and stay in touch with home base and your business throughout the program.

We’re planning on registration going live mid to late February with an incredible early bird bonus.  So, while it might be hard right now to think about what you’re going to be doing next August, think about diversity, creativity, networking and what you need to expand your skill set.

Summer School was never this fun, this cool or for that matter this “hot” when you had to go as a kid!   More information will be available here and at the new MEI500.com blog within the next week.