By now all of you have received your SONOPP dues renewal notices in
the mail. Your SONOPP dues are due
now. As each of you decide what associations you choose to
belong to and which ones you will let lapse, I want you to seriously
examine the true value of your SONOPP membership. For a mere
$90 a year, you have the opportunity to listen to some of the best
photographic educators in the state. Each month, these
speakers share valuable insights to what makes them successful.
As the photography business becomes more and more competitive, I
can't understand why any professional photographer would not want to
take advantage of the expertise of these photographers to gain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace.
In addition, the camaraderie and fellowship obtained by attending
our meetings is invaluable. Over dinner or drinks, I have
gained numerous ideas and insights to improve my business. It
is great to share both successes and problems with colleagues.
Last, promoting the fact that you belong to the local professional
photographic association can help you to book more jobs. This
year, SONOPP is looking to invest in advertising the association and
its membership. We are trying to set ourselves apart from just
anyone with a camera.
Please support your association and send your dues back in a timely
fashion. You'll be glad you did.
After graduating from
Kent State University with a Business
Administration degree, Joanna soon realized
that large corporate America was not for
her. She had always had a love of
photography and with her husband, Aaron;
they combined talents and opened
Visualizations Photography Inc. in 1999.
Joanna spends most of her time working on
the administration and marketing of the
business, however when she is in the camera
room she enjoys photographing children and
young families. Her other specialty is
weddings. “Witnessing a moment of love,
whether a new mother with her beautiful new
baby boy or a father giving his only
daughter away, is something special that I
am able to capture for my clients. I
photograph the emotion that will last a
lifetime.” Awarded the as one of Ohio’s Top
Ten Photographers in 2003, Joanna is well on
her way to becoming one of the states most
talented photographer. Joanna spends her
free time with her husband and their
wonderful twin daughters, as well as
coaching and contributing time to the local
youth sports community.
Join Joanna as she
takes you through the journey of childhood
and how to capture that journey in images.
From maternity portraits through
adolescence, there are unique ways to
showcase each of these special milestones in
life. She will help you to understand the
experience parents are searching for in
photography and how they are willing to pay
top dollar for it. Promotions and marketing
ideas that have been tried and tested will
be discussed, as well as unique products
that have created additional add-on sales to
almost every session. Finally, Joanna will
talk about her methods of photographing in
the camera rooms – the simple backgrounds
and props that she and her staff use. This
program will be beneficial to any portrait
photographer who is looking for that next
“cool” concept!!
Oh, yes, here's a
snippet of Joanna's
work:
click here.
This Month's Featured
Links
This is very, very cool. Well worth the 7 minutes to
watch it:
Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame)
scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology)
creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation
features that outstrip all expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y
Arcas, shows it off in this
standing-ovation demo.
Okay, down to business now: let's get after Uncle Harry.
Patrick, jump on it. It's gonna happen in
The Big Apple -- please make it happen here!
Did somebody ask for sharpening techniques? I thought
I heard a faint cry. I've already shown you two useful techniques,
both simple, but if you want something beautifully complex, and love to work hard,
have a peek here.
Thanks to all of you for filling out your Membership Data Sheets when
you sent in your dues! You all took the little bit of time to help
us out, and I'm proud of you all.
(I'd be even prouder if you
would join us in the "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" effort, and
come to our September 10th meeting at 6:30 at
Mackenzie's. NILMDTS is an
important way for Professional Photographers to give back to our communities.)
By the way, one
of the Membership Data Sheets that came back to us was from Doris
Crawford, who is an Honorary Member. She wrote this brief note at
the bottom:
Thanks for sending us these info sheets. Even though
it's been 57 years since I joined SONOPP, I am proud to be
an Honorary Member. We learned and profited through
the years we were in business from the old Cleveland Society
of Professional Photography!
And another Membership Data Sheet came from Honorary Member John
Gargus, who also wrote a brief note at the bottom:
Emma and I celebrated our 70th
Wedding Anniversary May 5th of this year.
Neither Doris or John
have email, but you could call them or drop them a note of
congratulation. Phone numbers and addresses can be found in the
Website's Member
Data.
Even the Honorary Members took time to update their information!
Wow!
The members listed in the box on the right all have
birthdays this month.
Please bring a
cupcake for each of them to the August Meeting!
Jerry Wolfe
Ron Brown
Tim Lower
Lou Gaeta
Harry Flynn
Commentary
Here's a bit of advice from one who knows:
City Church Warning
by Patrick Rice
In recent months, I have photographed weddings in several Cleveland churches
and noticed an increased number of "suspicious" individuals hanging out at
the back of some of these churches. As all of us who have been in the
business for several years know, photographers have been the victims of
equipment theft at some churches. It is actually a very simple theft
in many cases. The unsuspecting photographer has his/her camera case
in the back of the church, and when he/she moves toward the front of these
large churches to photograph the exchange of rings, the thief grabs the case
and walks out the door. Even if you suddenly noticed the theft
occurring, what can you do at that moment?
My advice is to be very vigilant when you are at some churches. Look
for people who look "out of place" or not dressed properly to be attending a
wedding ceremony. If the church has security, alert the guard to watch
over your equipment cases. I did exactly this on my last wedding and
the suspicious individual was escorted from the church. In a large
downtown church, he chose to sit in the one pew that just happened to have
my camera cases.
Crime increases as economic conditions deteriorate. Don't be a victim to a
devastating loss.
And a position on a controversial topic:
Drawbacks
To Relinquishing Your Electronic Image Files By Patrick Rice
Unfortunately, more and more photographers are
caving-in to client requests to relinquish their electronic files on a CD or
DVD. While there is the illusion that you are booking additional work
because of this policy, it is a shortsighted gain at best. First of all, if
a client truly wants to secure your services, not receiving the electronic
image files will not be a determining factor in their decision. Second,
releasing the electronic image files allows the client to have YOUR images
printed at ANY local drug store, super store or warehouse club. These
facilities do not maintain the same high standards of quality control that
professional color labs adhere to. Both the client and the professional
photographer lose when inferior images are printed from your electronic
files.
To validate this statement, I did a market test that
any photographer can repeat in their area. I placed a single wedding image
of a bride and groom in church posed on the altar on a CD and brought it to
several of my local drug stores, super stores, and warehouse clubs. The
results were eye-opening! The bride’s white dress had a colorcast of red,
yellow and blue from three of the stores where the print was made. While a
few of the stores made an acceptable print, none had the ‘snap’ that you
receive from a professional color lab. Moreover, one of the stores actually
printed the image out of focus!
When your client takes your electronic image files to
one of these stores for their cheap printing and receive inferior results,
who do you think suffers more? I believe that the reputation of the
professional photographer is damaged every time this occurs. Worse yet,
once you relinquish your electronic image files, you’ll never even know when
your client experiences this type of problem. Your reputation as a
professional is being irreparably tarnished and you aren’t even around to
provide an explanation! When your client’s friends and family view inferior
quality prints of your work, they will probably assume that you created the
images poorly. It is doubtful that they will fault the store that printed
the photos. Over time, the professional photographer’s referrals will
diminish and they will secure viewer bookings and wonder why. Knowing the
way some photographers think, they will then probably lower their prices
thinking that will solve their problems. Soon, they will be out of
business or looking for a “real” job to pay their bills.
Sadly, professional photographers are currently causing
the problems that will lead to their demise.
And some recent letters from PPA:
Dear PPA member,
PPA Member Dennis Kirkpatrick understands the importance
of backing up image files. But even the best-made plans can go awry…and that
is when you need a backup for your backup.
Kirkpatrick's business had a carefully designed system and procedure for
backing up images. "All my employees are to back up our RAW images
files immediately upon returning to the studio. After they have been
processed, those RAW files are backed up again. The two copies are
stored at different locations. Great policy…but it is only as good as the
employee or owner is at following it!"
While out of town a hard drive crashed, and Kirkpatrick returned to find no
lab manager, no backups for over four months, all the work gone, a new hard
drive on the iMac, and no effort made to get the data recovered. He
faced unhappy clients from all angles.
Fortunately for Kirkpatrick, he was a PPA member. He asked for
assistance from PPA and the Indemnification Trust, PPA's unique Malpractice
Protection Program. With the Trust's financial help, and the recovery
skills and discounts of DriveSavers, Kirkpatrick was able to get back the
files he needed. In his own words, this service is an "unbelievable
benefit…just for being a member."
But even though the Trust was there for Kirkpatrick, no photographer wants
to lose images. As he says, "even with these great benefits, if you
don't practice what you preach and back up your work, you may not be as
lucky as I was at recovering them." (PPA recommends backing up your
image files on removable media as soon as possible after a job.)
As Kirkpatrick learned, disasters can still happen…even when you think
you're prepared for them. When it does, you can depend on PPA to be
there, backing up your business.
Sincerely,
Al Hopper
Director of Membership, Copyright & Government Affairs
Dear PPA Member,
Last week I shared a member's experience with PPA's Copyright & Government
Affairs (C&GA) Department…but what we helped her with that day is just a
fraction of the services we provide on a daily basis. And those member
services are in addition to our important work with Congress and federal
agencies. Here are some C&GA Department highlights from a single day last week:
Discussed five PPA members' copyright questions.
Issued two intervention letters to copyright infringers.
Arranged for an attorney consultation about a subpoena for photographs
received by a member from past clients' divorce proceedings.
Held conference call with the US Patent and Trademark Office: Discussed the
STOP (Strategy for Targeting Organized Piracy) program and how it can help
protect photographers' copyrights.
Provided resources to PPA members who were writing contracts and image
license agreements.
Held conference call with the Intellectual Property Counsel from
FedEx/Kinko's: Reviewed the results of the most recent RECON action
surveying retailers and provided assistance in recognizing professional
photographs.
Explained to several members how to legally license music and suggested
several sources.
As you can see, we're ready to help with a variety of questions and issues. PPA is the only professional photographic association with a full-time
Copyright & Government Affairs department. While we can't act as attorneys
(staff members are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice), we are
knowledgeable, experienced, can suggest excellent resources (check out the
Download Area in the Members Only section of www.ppa.com), and get involved
directly if needed. Professional photography is not just about creating fantastic images. You
can depend on PPA to be there to help you navigate the intricacies involved
in owning a business and protecting your copyrights; it is all part of
membership. Go ahead and give us a call via the Service Center at
800-786-6277.
Sincerely, Al Hopper Director of Membership, Copyright & Government Affairs
now. As each of you decide what associations you choose to
belong to and which ones you will let lapse, I want you to seriously
examine the true value of your SONOPP membership. For a mere
$90 a year, you have the opportunity to listen to some of the best
photographic educators in the state. Each month, these
speakers share valuable insights to what makes them successful.
As the photography business becomes more and more competitive, I
can't understand why any professional photographer would not want to
take advantage of the expertise of these photographers to gain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace. 
