Inside SPAC: The Largest Conference Shaping School, Sports, And Volume Photography

GaryPageau , ,
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The Dead Pixels Society sits down with SPAC’s leadership, Coree Cooper and Calvin Harrell Jr., to unpack how a volunteer-driven nonprofit became the world’s largest gathering for school, sports, and volume studios—and why its focus on workflows, profitability, and community sets it apart.

Harrell describes how SPAC evolved from film-era hotel meetups into a global hub with attendees from Europe, South Africa, and beyond. We get specific about what matters to operators right now: RFPs, data and capture workflows, ecommerce platforms, on-demand print, AI-enhanced processes, and the sales moves that win and retain school and league accounts. The SPAC agenda is designed for impact—Schools 101, Sports 101, and Volume 202 for scaling teams; a dedicated trade show with 100+ volume-first vendors; and a Workflow Walkthrough that lets you compare cameras, lighting, backgrounds, extraction, and software in side-by-side pods before you buy.

Cooper also dives into SPAC’s culture of access: scholarships for first-timers, 15-minute coaching sessions that often turn into year-long mentorships, and the live-voted King/Queen of the Hill session where peers pitch ideas that save or make real money. Expect smart ways to raise average order value with banners, ornaments, and yearbooks, plus a look at a new digital yearbook solution set to debut. Beyond sessions, curated excursions—Valley of Fire portfolio shoots, Atomic Golf, and the neon museum—build real connections. New this year, the SPAC Zone on the trade show floor creates a quieter space for meetings, quick coaching, and networking.

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Gary Pageau is principal of InfoCircle LLC, continuing his marketing communications career. InfoCircle LLC is a marketing and communications consulting firm, specializing in business-to-business markets. For nearly 25 years, he was with PMA International, serving most recently as Publisher, Content Development and Strategic Initiatives. His primary responsibilities included overseeing the Association’s editorial department, marketing research unit, education and corporate relations department.