Vienna Schedule
Vienna 2026, The Unsexy Stuff
We were last here in October 2022. That was show number twelve. Now it’s show number nineteen, and Vienna felt like the right place to do something we’ve never done before.
For ten years, Way Up North has celebrated the work that makes you feel something. The creative risks, the portfolio pieces, the stories that remind you why you picked up a camera. We’ve built eighteen events around that energy.
But there’s a conversation we’ve been dodging.
The work that actually keeps a photography business alive isn’t the work that gets shared. It’s the stuff nobody talks about on stage because it doesn’t photograph well and it won’t go viral. This year’s theme is THE UNSEXY STUFF. The Monday morning after the inspiration high. The real work that bridges the gap between creative fulfilment and a business that lasts.
Ten presenters will take the stage, each interpreting the theme in their own way. Every talk is followed by an interview, so you get more than the surface version. The Way Up North Awards winners will also be announced live on stage, celebrating the best work across the wedding photography community.
If this is your first Way Up North, welcome. If you’ve been with us before, you know the feeling. Welcome to Way Up North Vienna.
May 4th
Event Registration, 18:00 – 20:00
Red Bar @ Social Hub Vienna
Kick off your WUN experience over a drink at Red Bar. Teddyfromthebox + Ryon will be on the decks while you settle in. Here’s what you need to know:
No need to bring anything. No printed invoices required.
We’ll match your name to the guest list and hand over your event badge.
Our home for the evening is Red Bar. All drinks are purchased at Red Bar. Social Hub has other spaces including a restaurant, but our event is exclusively in Red Bar.
Can’t make it to evening registration? Pick up your badge at the venue during the event days, or have a friend collect it for you.
Missing evening registration?
- Collect your badge at Stadtkino during the event.
- Or send a friend to grab it for you.
👉 Important: No badge, no entry to Stadtkino.
May 5th
Doors Open, 07:30
Stadtkino
One thing to know about Way Up North: we start on time. Not five minutes late, not ‘whenever everyone’s settled.’ On time. It catches some people off guard. You’ll adjust.
The foyer opens at 07:30. Grab a coffee, meet our sponsors, and connect with fellow attendees. If you missed registration the night before, pick up your badge here.
Cinema doors open at 08:20, with the show starting at 08:30.
You must wear your badge to enter the cinema. No exceptions.
Seating is first come, first served with no reserved spots.
Block One, 08:30 – 10:30
Gil Gropengießer
Career-building decisions no one discusses
The unglamorous decisions that turn talent into a sustainable career. Strategy, client thinking, high-end markets, sales calls. No sugarcoating. Built to last, not just to impress.
Mati Machner
The Invisible Finish Line
An industry without arrival. A talk about constant pressure, endless growth, and why wedding photographers struggle to ever feel successful or satisfied.
Block Two, 11:00 – 12:00
Dan Sauer
A Foundation That Crosses Borders
How clarity, communication, and intentional systems protect creativity, build trust, and create sustainable photography businesses without burnout, hype, or chasing constant validation.
Block Three, 13:30 – 15:15
Evgeniya Savina
The Quiet Power of Rejection
An honest conversation about rejection in the industry: why it hurts, why we hide it, and how handling it well can shape your direction, strengthen your resilience, and guide smarter creative and business choices.
WUN Awards, Part I
Sponsored by Imagen
The Way Up North Awards kick off with the submission categories, sponsored by Imagen. Ten winners per category, covering everything from Best Flash to Best Moment and beyond. These are the first results announced on day one, with the individual awards revealed on day two.
Block Four, 15:45 – 16:45
Joshua Huggett
Unhinged
Buckle up for 45 minutes of pure Australian fuckery – a career’s worth of taboo topics crammed into one hour. I may never be invited back.
Pic-Time Storytelling Evening, 20:00 – 22:00
Auditorium @ Social Hub Vienna
Not ready for the day to end? Good.
The Pic-Time Storytelling Evening is back, and this time it means something extra. We created this format with Pic-Time in this very room at our first Vienna event in 2022. Coming back to where it started feels right.
The format is simple: submit an image below. If yours gets picked, you’ll be invited to share the story behind it on screen. It’s one of the best nights at any Way Up North event. But it only works if you submit.
Spaces are limited. Add your image below.
May 6th
Doors Open, 08:00
Stadtkino
Day two. Doors open at 07:30 for early birds. Coffee’s ready, sponsors are set up in the foyer, and yesterday’s strangers are today’s friends. Come early, settle in, pick up the conversations where you left them.
Cinema doors open at 08:20, with the show kicking off at 08:30.
Remember: you need your badge to enter the cinema. No exceptions.
Block Five, 08:30 – 10:30
Kim Raaf
You Can Just Do Things
Movement first, clarity later: Choose discomfort and do it before you’re ready.
Reni Maria
It’s all about you
Let’s make wedding photography more diverse by finding your own unique voice.
Block Six, 11:00 – 12:15
Tomasz Wagner
Systems for a Creative Life
The decisions that reduce friction, protect energy, and support a long, meaningful creative life: in work and beyond it.
Block Seven, 13:45 – 15:30
Sophie Berard
Beyond Burnout: Designing Life Balance
What happens when you reach your threshold and still have to keep going? This talk explores my personal story of reaching my limits and what it taught me.
WUN Awards, Part II
Sponsored by Imagen
Sponsored by Imagen, the second part of the WUN Awards recognises the individual contest winners. By this point, three finalists have already been announced, and in Vienna we reveal the overall winner for each.
- Europe’s Best Photographer
- Film of the Year
- Story of the Year
- Europe’s Best Wedding Filmmaker
- Europe’s Best Young Photographer
Block Eight, 16:00 – 17:00
Melina Weger
Followers Don’t Pay Rent
What 115,000 followers taught me about empty weeks, full calendars, and why bookings come from clarity, portfolio, and identity – not attention.
Wooden Banana Party, 21:00 – 02:00
The legendary Wooden Banana Party returns to close out Way Up North Vienna, and this year’s theme is RAINBOW BANANA. Interpret that however you like. We want colour.
Two days of spreadsheets and systems deserve a proper send-off. DJ Odizz takes the decks, bringing his signature mix of hip-hop, RnB, afrobeats, and dancehall. He’s held down residencies across Vienna’s best clubs for over ten years. The man knows how to close a party.
WUN ticket holders? You’re already on the list. Flash your badge at the door and walk right in. No badge means door staff have to check your ID against the guest list, which slows everything down.
Friends & Family without a WUN ticket? They’ll need a party ticket. Grab one below and make sure they don’t miss out.
Vienna, let’s do this properly.
Wooden Banana Party Vienna
€30.00 +VAT
