Business by Day, Stargazers by Night with VPP

Join Brittany and Dean of Two Adventurous Souls for a dynamic evening that blends business savvy with creative inspiration. Start with Brittany’s no-nonsense Business Bootcamp, where you’ll gain the tools and insights to confidently price your work, plan your finances, and set yourself up for long-term success. After a dinner break, Dean takes you on a cosmic journey into Landscape Astrophotography, sharing how he captures stunning nightscapes and the gear, planning, and techniques behind them. For those who dare to stay up late, an optional hands-on shooting session under the stars will cap off the night—bring your gear, your questions, and your sense of adventure!

Business Bootcamp
3-5pm

The business side of being self-employed isn't glamorous but it's a necessity for success. Figuring out Pricing your Services, Cost of Doing Business, Financial Goals for your business, and factoring in all your personal finances is a daunting task. We've got a spreadsheet for that! (I told you it wasn't glamorous.)

Brittany has used this method of operating a full year ahead & spreadsheet to know exactly when to drop the day job and dive head first into being a full-time business owner. It also helped her, 7 years after going full time, make it through the COVID shutdown with very little impact to business and personal finances. In Brittany's "Business Bootcamp" class you'll get all the tools you need to understand all the numbers to make your business & life tick - if you put in the hard work.

It's the million-dollar question asked on national forums: "How do I know when it's time to go full time?" Whether you're just starting out, thinking about when is the right time to leave the "day job", or a seasoned professional looking to really dial finances in for your business, this class will have something for you.

Bring your computer, a list of all your current package pricing, expenses, personal info (you don't have to, but it makes it easier to follow along if you can enter info on your computer in real time) and caffeine!

A Night with the Stars: An Introduction to Landscape Astrophotography
6:30-8:30pm 

Welcome to an introduction to Landscape Astrophotography! Take a journey into capturing the cosmos, with Dean Bugaj, MainePPA’s 2025 Landscape Photographer of the year. This class is geared to those souls who laugh in the face of sleep and think being outdoors on a mountain, next to the ocean, or overlooking a lighthouse lit only by the billions of stars in the sky sounds like a good time. Join Dean for for a evening of information and optional experiential learning on capturing the night sky. Learn about gear, settings, constellations, star trails, planning, composition and more! Dean will discuss some of his work and approach to capturing capturing the night sky and landscape to create truly awe inspiring nightscape imagery.

Evening Hands-on Practice
9pm

ABOUT: Two Adventurous Souls

Brittany has been a wedding and portrait photographer for 16 years, 12 of them full-time. She began her career as a solo photographer under “Brittany Rae Photography,” with her husband Dean initially just assisting by carrying gear and holding light stands. Eventually, she handed him a camera—and he didn’t disappoint. Dean grew into a skilled photographer and now joins Brittany as a lead shooter for Two Adventurous Souls, traveling the world capturing weddings and adventures together.

Brittany has served in leadership roles with the Maine Professional Photographers Association, including President, and was also a PPA council member. Most recently, she was President of NACE Maine, where she collaborated with state officials to help shape reopening plans for the events industry during the COVID shutdowns.

Dean has spent the past seven years photographing landscapes across Maine and beyond. He’s a four-time Maine PPA Landscape Photographer of the Year and was most recently named Maine PPA Photographer of the Year. What began as a supportive role on Brittany’s wedding shoots turned into a passion, especially after seeing her night sky images from a class with Mike Taylor in 2014. That moment sparked Dean’s obsession with photographing the stars—now his work lives on as Wanderland Photographic, where he captures the beauty of the night sky and the natural world.