SEMINARS
Ideas and insight from the industry’s best
Get Inspired, Get Better and Grow Your Business
The WPPI 2027 Main Stage opens with a keynote and continues with sessions led by some of the most respected photographers and educators in the industry. They’ll share how they create their best work, how they price and sell it, and how they’ve grown businesses that last. You’ll get practical ideas you can use as soon as you’re home, a fresh look at your own work, and the motivation to make your next year your best one.
Main Stage seminars are open to All Access and Full Conference pass holders.
Mark Seliger
Opening Keynote
Mark Seliger has spent four decades making portraits that feel like conversations. As chief photographer for Rolling Stone, he shot more than 185 covers, then went on to shape a generation of images for Vanity Fair and GQ, including the Oscar Night sessions that became a book of their own. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London, and his commercial clients range from Ralph Lauren to Netflix to Rolex.
Yet the through line of his career has never been fame. It’s curiosity. Whether he’s photographing a music icon, telling transgender stories on Christopher Street, or pulling large-scale platinum palladium prints in the darkroom, Seliger brings the same patience and trust to every subject.
In this keynote, Mark opens up about the way he sees, the choices behind images you already know, and what it takes to build a body of work that lasts. Expect candid stories, hard-won insight, and a fresh way of thinking about the person on the other side of your lens.
More Inspiring Voices Taking the Stage
Explore even more of the photographers and educators who make WPPI 2027 unforgettable. Each brings a unique perspective, creative energy, and expertise to inspire you throughout the week.
Art Streiber
Coming Soon
Dana Scruggs
Coming Soon
AB+DM
Master Editorial Lighting from the Basics to Multi-Light Setups
Miles Witt Boyer
Proof of Human: Photography in the Age of AI
Meg Loeks
Guide the Eye: Editing for Visual Impact
Jerry Ghionis
Beyond Beautiful Light: Make Any Light Extraordinary
Susan Stripling
Booked Isn’t Enough: How to Build a Profitable Photography Business
Natalie Franke
Own Your Audience: The Marketing Plan Every Photographer Needs
Esther Kay
Pose with Intention: Directing Connection and Movement
Mark Clennon
Inside Two Shoots from Research to Final Frame