Great Lakes PhotoMax is Michigan's annual photography conference presented by the Professional Photographers of Michigan, bringing photographers together for two days of education, inspiration and community.

Join us February 13–14, 2027 at The Kensington Hotel in Ann Arbor, Michigan for education designed to strengthen both your photography and your business.

PHOTOMAX 2027 EDUCATION

Explore this year's featured programs designed to strengthen your creativity, your craft and your business.

Staying Overnight?

Grow Your Business Through Community

Building a successful photography business doesn't always mean finding more ways to advertise—it can mean becoming more connected to the community around you.

In Grow Your Business Through Community, Julie Collins will explore how intentional networking, community partnerships, strategic charitable giving and authentic relationship-building can create new opportunities for your business. Julie credits these strategies with generating more than $50,000 in additional studio revenue in 2025, demonstrating how genuine community involvement can translate into meaningful business growth.

Attendees will leave with practical ideas for building stronger local relationships, identifying opportunities for collaboration and creating connections that can continue working for their business long after the initial introduction.

Stop chasing leads. Start building connections.

Julie Collins Bio - Julie Collins, M.Photog., CPP, is a creative entrepreneur, educator and award-winning portrait artist with more than a decade of experience building a multi-six-figure photography studio rooted in connection and service. As the owner of Julie Collins Photography in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, she is known for blending artistic excellence with an exceptional client experience and creating custom artwork designed to become lasting family heirlooms.

Julie serves as President of Professional Photographers of Southeast Wisconsin and Chairperson of Education and Activities for the Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association. She is also the co-host and creator of Love Your Belly, an annual community event supporting pregnancy, motherhood and local women-owned businesses.

A former teacher, Julie brings her background as an educator together with her experience as a photographer and business owner to help other professionals build stronger businesses through authentic relationships, strategic collaboration and meaningful community connections.

Sondra LaRay Miltenberger

Transforming Wedding Moments into Masterpieces: Crafting Art without Sacrificing Story

Wedding days don't stop for the perfect photograph. Moments unfold quickly, emotions are real, and photographers have to balance creating something extraordinary with allowing the story of the day to unfold naturally.

In Transforming Wedding Moments into Masterpieces: Crafting Art without Sacrificing Story, Sondra LaRay Miltenberger will explore how she creates bold, artistic wedding imagery without losing the authenticity of the moment. Through composition, creative lighting, natural posing and learning to trust your instincts, attendees will discover ways to create photographs with greater depth, emotion and purpose while remaining present to what's happening in front of them.

While rooted in wedding photography, the creative principles explored in this program extend well beyond weddings. Portrait photographers working in any genre can take these ideas back to their own work and use them to approach people, light and moments more intentionally.

Where real moments meet creative vision.

Sondra's Bio - Sondra LaRay Miltenberger is an award-winning Michigan wedding photographer and the founder of Sondra LaRay's Photography. After years as a hobbyist, she established her business in 2017 and has since grown it into a team of photographers and second shooters dedicated to preserving once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Her work blends authentic emotion with fine-art portraiture, using creative lighting and dramatic techniques to create images that are both meaningful and visually striking. Sondra's photography has been published in more than eight magazines and featured by industry brands and publications including Canon, AfterShoot, MagnetMod and PPA Magazine.

At the heart of her work is a belief that photographs should do more than document a moment—they should preserve its story for generations to come.

Two days not enough? You'll also want to check out Pre-con on Friday, Feb. 12, 2027, with Jenn Lewis! 

The Business of High School Seniors

For more info or to sign up:

Precon Registration

LEARN & GROW: THE FUN WAY!

PhotoMax offers hands-on photography workshops led by nationally recognized photographers from across the country. Join us for a weekend of insightful education, inspiring conversations, and game-changing networking with fellow photographers and vendors. Elevate your photography business while having fun. 

PhotoMax is a PPA Continuing Education merit event!  Working toward a PPA Degree? Attend the Pre-Con Feb 12, and the Conference, Feb 13 & 14th, 2027 and earn TWO Merits in ONE weekend!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS