What do you get when you put 15,000 Wedding and Portrait photographers in a Vegas hotel? This isn’t the beginning of a bad joke. It’s WPPI. And over the years I’ve learned that there are certain things in my WPPI Survival Guide that I absolutely couldn’t survive the conference without.

The conference is big, the classes are spread out, and slot machines are distracting – so sometimes a sister just needs a plan of attack, ya know?!

1. Comfortable Shoes: Ten million miles. That’s how far you walk in a day at WPPI. So while maybe you have this picture of yourself in adorable heels or complicated gladiator sandals, just give yourself a break on this one and pack the tieks.

2. Notebooks: Generally I take about umpteen gillion pages of notes at a conference. I do a lot of doodling. Sometimes it’s quotes. Usually it’s just “Ashley + Graham = Love 4 Ever”. Important stuff.

3. Reusable Water Bottle: All the walking and note taking makes a person thirsty. Bring this and make use of the water fountains. You’ll thank me later.

4. Camera Bag: Three words: Free. Sensor. Cleaning.

5. Phone and Charger: There’s a lot of communication going on at WPPI. “Hey, which tower are you in? Let’s meet for drinks!” “Awesome! I’m in tower seven hundred and twelve, see you in a jiffy! (aka after I’ve hiked across the entire Nevada dessert to get there).”