Speakers

This year’s lineup of over 60 speakers, returning vets and newbies alike, are here to deliver an incredible experience for all ShutterFesters! 

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Shutterfest 2027 Speaker Lineup

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Mecca Clarke

Specialty: posing , brand photography, marketing

Mecca Clarke is an Atlanta-based brand photographer, educator, and founder of Black Girl Shoot, a creative community and conference empowering Black women in photography and media. Known for her bold visual storytelling, posing expertise, and strategy-driven approach to branding, Mecca has built a six-figure photography business while helping photographers create profitable, sustainable brands of their own. Through speaking, education, and hands-on workshops, she teaches creatives how to elevate their client experience, market with intention, and create imagery that converts.

Follow Mecca Clarke:

Website | Social Media

Mecca Clarke’s Classes:

Mastering posing for portraits

Hands-On   

Intermediate   

Class Description:

Mastering Posing for Portraits is a hands-on class designed to help photographers confidently direct and pose clients in a way that feels natural, flattering, and intentional. In this live teaching experience, Mecca Clarke breaks down her approach to posing real people — from body positioning and hand placement to facial expression, movement, confidence coaching, and creating emotion within an image.

This class goes beyond “Pinterest poses” and focuses on understanding why poses work, how to adapt posing for different body types and personalities, and how to help clients feel comfortable in front of the camera. Attendees will walk away with practical posing techniques, real-time demonstrations, and actionable strategies they can immediately apply to portraits, branding sessions, and client work.

What to Bring to Class:

Primary Topics: Posing
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Early Bird Tickets

April 22-25 2024 | St. Louis MO.
  • Learn from 80+ top speakers
  • Trade Show Access
  • Work with over 200 models
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SKILL LEVELS

Beginner: Just starting out or relatively new to a given subject matter. Basics will be covered and the course will move at a slower pace. The instructor will spend a little more time trying to explain concepts to ensure everyone is following. On a scale of 1-10 consider this level a 1-3 on the given topic.

Intermediate: Has a grasp of some basic concepts. This course level will move at a faster pace and assume you have basic knowledge covered on the given subject matter. On a scale of 1-10 consider this level a 4-6 on the given topic.

Advanced: You have working knowledge of the given subject matter, but are looking for more fine-tuning and some advanced topics to take your work to that next level. DO NOT expect instructors to explain basic concepts in this course. On a scale of 1-10 consider this level a 7-10 on the given topic.

Class Types

Hands-On

These are shooting courses. You will be shooting and working. Bring your camera, gear, or whatever you need for the course and to create create images. Expect to have some level of shooting.

Live Demonstration

These are instructor-led courses where you will see a live demonstration of what the instructor is teaching. You can still bring your camera to these courses and you can photograph, but the goal of the course is NOT for you to shoot or to ensure you get a shot. The goal is for you to see how and why the instructor does what he/she does in order to get the final result.

Lecture

These are non-shooting courses. Typically classroom-based, bring your laptop and notepad and focus on learning!