More and more professional photographers are standing up, standing strong and driving their businesses higher than ever. Just look at the 10,000 industry professionals that attended Imaging USA and SEPCON this January (January 10-12, 2010)!

“I have only been sleeping a few winks a night because of all the ideas I gathered at Imaging USA,” comments Ana Schechter, owner of ANAPHOTO in New York City. “After days of marinating in that atmosphere, you are already living and breathing the new era of your business.”

Getting in this kind of mindset is often the first step to success, and it’s a step many SEPCON and Imaging USA attendees took in more of a leap. Schechter wasn’t alone in cramming in both inspiration and tangible, take-home skills from this event, held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. Classes were packed, even those at 7:00am, for successful photographers know you are never done learning. The Imaging EXPO trade show floor was another learning spot, where photographers found new items to introduce in their businesses. And the hallways and parties were packed with people sharing challenges and ideas.

The result? “A must-have experience for all photographers desiring to better their businesses,” according to Dawn McCarthy of Dawn McCarthy Photography in Fla. The crowds simply prove photographers’ desire to make 2010 their strongest year yet. 

The buzz that began at this event quickly rose to the online streams of Twitter, Facebook and individual blog posts. Overwhelmingly, photographers shared their new goals for 2010…and their renewed fervor for the photography profession. Inspiration like this can act like helium, providing the push to try new ideas. As Julia Woods, M.Photog.Cr., adds, “Up is in in 2010!”

That’s where the game change starts—individuals pushing themselves and their businesses up, up and away. And that take-all-comers approach to life, art and business seems to be growing in this industry. It’s a determination to rock the world, one photograph at a time.

Will YOU make it a give-it-all-you’ve-got-and-then-some kind of year, too?

SEPCON and Imaging USA are heading to San Antonio, Texas, next year (January 16-18, 2011). For details, registration and more, visit www.ImagingUSA.org.