Image By: Chris Fritchie
2027 KPPA
Winter Shutter Expo
February 12th - 14th, 2027
Double Tree by Hilton Hotel
2098 S. Airport Rd
Wichita, Kansas 67209
Early Registration (Oct. 1st - Dec. 12th): $180
Holiday Special: End of the Year Sale (Dec. 13th - Jan. 14th): $225
Registration: $250
Social Package-For Non Attendees and Life Members $90
Single Day Registration: $135
Banquet Ticket Only: $50
Schedule
Friday, February 12, 2027
11 am - 1 pm Registration
12 Noon First Timer Welcome
1 pm – 5 pm KPPA Annual State Image Competition
Find competition rules and information by following the link.
https://kppa.org/competition_main
5 pm - 7 pm Dinner on your own
7 pm - 8:30 - Linda Hamlin-Landscapes
8:30-? - Hospitality, Snacks, Drinks & Surprises
Saturday, February 13, 2027
7 am - 8 am Registration
9 am – 11:45 Rob Brown
11:45 am – 1:15 pm Lunch and Annual Meeting
1:30-3:00 - Greg Pollock
6 pm - 7 pm Cocktail Hour
7 pm - 9 pm KPPA Banquet and Awards - Hearts Behind The Lense
Hospitality Following
Sunday, February 14, 2027
7 am - 8:45 am Board Meeting - Swearing in New Board
9 am - 11 am Chris Fritche
11 am - 12:30 Break/Lunch on Your Own
12:45-3-4 Chris Fritche Program Continues
All Schedules Subject to Change
Image By: Rob Brown
Hotel Accommodations
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
2098 S. Airport Rd,
Wichita, Kansas 67209
Guests may call the hotel directly at 785-539-7531 Group Code "KPP"
Guests may also book online with the link below, the discounted rate has already been applied.
Sunday Featured Speaker
Chris Fritchie
"Children's Fine Art: Storytelling from Capture to Creation"
https://www.magicmakersstudio.com/
Spend a full day with award-winning portrait artist Chris Fritchie exploring the creative process behind his children’s fine art imagery. This hands-on workshop will cover dramatic lighting, purposeful posing, storytelling, and the thought process that turns a portrait into a finished piece of art.
Chris will demonstrate how he photographs with the final image already in mind, then take those captures into post-production to share the Photoshop and editing techniques he uses to build atmosphere, depth, drama, and emotion.
From concept and capture through the final edit, you’ll see how lighting, posing, storytelling, and post-production come together to create images that don’t just show what a child looks like—they tell a story.
Chris Fritchie, M.Photog., M.Artist, Cr.Photog., CPP
Chris Fritchie is an award-winning portrait artist, educator, and co-owner of Magic Makers Studio in McKinney, Texas. Since beginning his professional photography career in 2006, Chris has photographed more than 150 magazine covers and built a reputation for creating dramatic, story-driven portraiture that blends photography, lighting, and digital artistry.
Chris was named the 2024 MPI International Portrait Photographer of the Year, and his work has received numerous honors through Professional Photographers of America and the American Society of Photographers.
A nationally recognized educator and photographic competition judge, Chris has taught at Texas School of Professional Photography, Imaging USA, ShutterFest, and photographic organizations throughout the country. His teaching focuses on helping photographers move beyond simply creating technically correct photographs and begin creating intentional images with story, emotion, and impact.
Saturday Featured Speaker
Greg Pollock
"Product Photography: From Simple Setups to Professional Results"
Join Greg Pollock of Pollock Photography for a practical, hands-on look at product photography. Drawing from real-world commercial assignments for clients including Lifestyles Magazine and TradeSafe, Greg will share finished images, behind-the-scenes insights, and the techniques used to create them.
During this two-hour class, Greg will conduct a live product photography demonstration using both off-camera flash and continuous lighting. Attendees will learn how to choose backgrounds, control reflections and shadows, shape light, select camera angles, and turn a simple setup into a polished commercial image.
Whether you're interested in adding product photography to your business or simply want to strengthen your lighting skills, you'll leave with practical techniques you can use on your next shoot.
Saturday Featured Speaker
Linda Hamlin
"Still Learning, Still Looking: Strengthening Vision in Landscape Photography"
Website link here
In this program, Linda Hamlin shares the thought process behind her landscape photographs—from recognizing a promising subject in the field to making deliberate choices about light, framing, composition, and visual design. Rather than offering a formula, she shows how careful observation, decision-making, and refinement can help photographers create more intentional images.
Linda will connect her process to the experiences that have strengthened her work: continued education, competition, critique, and lessons learned from unsuccessful attempts. Using selected images, she will demonstrate how asking what is working—and what is not—can sharpen technical execution, creative judgment, and visual intention.
Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how Linda recognizes possibilities, makes compositional decisions, and refines landscape photographs. They will also gain practical ideas for developing a more intentional and personal photographic voice in their own work.
Linda Hamlin is an award-winning competition photographer specializing in landscape and portrait photography. Her landscape work celebrates the character and wonder of the natural world.
Linda views competition as both an honor and a meaningful learning experience that continually inspires her to refine her craft and create more expressive images. She plans to continue competing, growing artistically, and traveling to discover and photograph new places and landscapes.
Saturday Featured Speaker
Rob Brown
"Volume Photography: It Ain't Sexy, But It Can Be Profitable"
Half-day session with Rob Brown, Tee Rage Portraits & Frames
Volume photography isn't glamorous, but it's one of the most predictable, profitable lines in a studio. In this half-day session, Rob Brown shares how Tee Rage Portraits & Frames has built its school and athletic program over 13+ years in Northeast Mississippi.
What you'll learn:
- How to pitch and win school and athletic program contracts
- Building shoot schedules that protect class time and practice time
- Tethered capture and a workflow that keeps names, rosters, and images matched correctly
- Online ordering and direct-to-family delivery that keeps staff out of the money and package handling
- Product and pricing structure for team, individual, and senior night portraits
Who it's for:
Studio owners who want to add volume work, or tighten the program they already run.
Rob Brown has spent his career proving that volume photography isn’t the consolation prize of the portrait industry — it’s the smartest business in it. As owner of Tee Rage Portraits & Frames, Rob has built a thriving studio around school, sports, and recreational league photography, mastering the two-sided sale of landing the account and then selling parents on the memories that follow. His systems-driven approach to picture day logistics, order forms, and fulfillment have turned volume work into predictable, scalable revenue — proof that, in Rob’s words, “it ain’t sexy, but it sure is profitable.”
Beyond volume, Rob also photographs seniors and operates as a licensed Magic of Santa studio, bringing the same attention to craft and customer experience to individual portrait sessions. Rounding out the business, Tee Rage’s in-house framing services let clients turn their favorite images into finished keepsakes, adding another layer to the studio’s full-circle approach to portraiture.
Rob joins the Kansas PPA 2027 convention to share the real, replicable systems behind building a profitable volume photography business — from prospecting and closing accounts to running an efficient picture day and keeping clients coming back year after year.
Register today for Winter Shutter Expo!
Early Registration (Oct. 1st - Dec. 12th): $180
Holiday Special: End of the Year Sale (Dec. 13th - Jan. 14th): $225
Registration: $250
Social Package-For Non Attendees and Life Members $90
Single Day Registration: $135
Banquet Ticket Only: $50
