Earlier this year in March, my good friend Michelle (who is also an AMAZING photographer) and I decided to go to Showit United 2019 together! We were SO PUMPED because it was our first time going for both of us, and it did NOT disappoint (already grabbed my ticket for 2020! ;)) We also decided to stay an extra 6 days to explore more of Arizona!!

We flew in together the day before the conference, which was amazing because we had time to relax and the POOL is just amazing there! The resort where the conference is held + where we stayed is nestled in a big hill and is such a unique spot! We were able to just hang out and chill before attending the welcome party on Sunday evening! 

The conference exceeded any and every expectation I had… I have been to two photography conferences before and this is one of my favorites, for sure! The speakers there were INCREDIBLE but the community was just as amazing. It was awesome to meet so many educators that have been instrumental in helping me grow my business (including Amy & Jordan Demos, Katelyn James, Caroline Logan, and many more!) and to just see them hanging around was so cool! 

If you’re a photographer too, COME TO SHOWIT UNITED 2020. I’ll be there. ;) But also, another thing I loved about this conference is how you won’t feel alone. I think it’s easy to be overwhelmed when you see 400+ other photographers in the room… but everyone is SO welcoming and after the first night, it’s not intimidating at all! 

I’m usually not a huge fan of styled shoots (especially when there’s more than one or two photographers), BUT there was a stye shoot at United that Lauren Fair was leading… I knew it was going to be GORGEOUS so I had to go!! It was so fun!

At this point in my business, it can be easy to go to an educational event and feel like you didn’t learn a whole lot… but that was definitely NOT the case with Showit United. Even though my business has grown and I’ve implemented SO MUCH, I still learned a lot about things I can tweak and change in my business! Posing tweaks and website changes are two of the biggest things I learned and totally didn’t expect to learn anything with those, which is crazy!!

After the conference ended on Wednesday (it was 4 days, if you include the first evening) Michelle and I grabbed our rental car then drove all the way up to Page, Arizona! We visited Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend while we were there for a quick two nights and WOW, are those spots gorgeous. Michelle and I had already been to the Grand Canyon so we were just excited to explore other areas of Arizona! 

Now Horseshoe Bend:

After Page, we went down to Sedona, Arizona for a few days! We explored the area, including downtown, and stayed on an adorable Airbnb on a farm (we had a horse neighbor!!). It also had a fire-it which was PERFECT for some brunch s’mores each day. :) We also went horseback riding one morning and it was a BLAST. I rode horses weekly until I was about 15 years old, and Michelle acted like a natural!! 

We even were able to set up a photo shoot with two couples at Bell Rock and WOW, was it amazing. We definitely don’t have scenery like that in Ohio, haha! It was so fun to be inspired and shoot in a relaxed setting, we had two amazing couples (and a sweet pup)! 

Few sneak peeks from the shoot! Eeeee! Arizona is so dreamy!

In Sedona, we stayed at an adorable Airbnb! We even had a horse as a neighbor and a firepit for s’mores! :)

Our last evening we were in Phoenix, so we stopped at a beautiful local park, Papago Park, and grabbed some final headshots in the gorgeous desert! We were a little headshot-ed out from the whole week (aha, that’s what happens when two photographers travel together) but it was completely WORTH IT.

I had such a fun trip, especially because I got to do it with one of my best friends, Michelle! She is the best travel buddy! :)