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Commentary
Patrick Rice's Comments:
As you should know by now, the Gigi Clark seminar and meeting had to be
canceled due to lack of interest. We only had one person call in
to register for the program and now I am starting to hear people say
they wanted to attend.
SONOPP cannot plan to bring in national speakers on
speculation. Break-even for this program would have required at
least 20 attendees. As blunt as this may sound, everyone needs to
either Put Up or Shut Up. Far too many people are too quick to
pass judgment on the actions of the SONOPP Board of Directors.
If you really want to do some good, get involved.
Ask to serve on the Board of Directors or ask to serve on a committee.
In the history of this association, it has never been easier to be
involved. The SONOPP Board meets just an hour before dinner at
every meeting. Leave your business just a little earlier and sit
in on a meeting. Tell us what you think while we are trying to
plan our speakers and programs. Become part of the solution.
One last thing. For all of the "former" SONOPP members
who no longer pay their dues, but still choose to vocalize their
unhappiness with the way SONOPP is being run - GET A LIFE!!!! Your
opinions are welcome along with your $90 dues renewal check.
Bill Morley's Comments:
Bella Photography markets and sells photographic talent
at reduced prices. At an ever increasing pace, more and more
photographers are turning to them in tough times to supplement their
income. Here's the catch: they must be willing to discount their
work! Some photographers have no problem with that, but savvy brides
are doing their homework and uncovering the discrepancies between what
the photographer normally charges and what Bella is charging for that
photographer's work.
The following e-mail was posted on the Digital Wedding Forum. It
illustrates the folly of becoming part of a "photographers warehouse":
"Hi Photographer (name
undisclosed),
Some things happened yesterday that I feel like I should share with you
not only because it involves you and I think you have a right to know,
but also because I'm not really sure where to go from here.
You probably noticed that I made my initial payment via Pictage Sunday
night. I planned to drop the contract in the mail Monday morning
but before I did, I got a call from Bella pictures. I'm not sure
if we ever discussed other photographers I had been talking to but
basically my decision came down to working with Bella, a company that
sounded really reputable and professional but also very affordable, and
you, both reputable and professional and amazingly talented. Mike
and I had a lot of thinking to do after we left your place because we
really, really love your style and your talent is undeniable. Money,
though, was a big factor. To be honest, you were out of our price
range but we decided to take a huge cut in product credit and make some
other sacrifices in order to be able to work with you.
So, yesterday, a rep from Bella called to check in. Having just sent in
my payment to you, I told her that I found an amazing photographer that
I felt really good about and decided to go with instead of Bella.
She said she understood and asked me your name. I told her and
then, after a surprised pause, she told me that you were also a Bella
photographer, and that if I had gone with Bella, I might have been able
to work with you anyways seeing that you are available on my date.
After checking she said that if I decided to go with Bella, they
couldn't guarantee you as my photographer, and assured me that no matter
my decision, it sounded like I'd end up with amazing shots. She
had no doubt in your abilities.
Now I understand that this is your business and that none of this was
intentional -- Just a weird, unusual situation -- but, considering what
went into our decision, I can't help but feel a bit like a sucker
knowing now that you work for much less than we agreed. Mike and I
still love the thought of working with you and have absolutely no doubts
that you would do an amazing job, but I can't say that this whole thing
yesterday didn't sour it a bit.
Is there anything else you might be able to offer by way of price or
product now that this has all come up?
Please excuse the long email. I hope that writing you about this was the
right thing to do. Take care and I hope to hear from you soon,
Bride"
My response:
I guess what this boils down to is photographers are
basically using Bella to do their marketing for them, instead of doing
it themselves. If we are too lazy to go after brides ourselves, why are
we shocked when our value is homogenized?
The great tragedy is that clients really saw artistic vision in this
photographer, and were willing to make the investment, but after their
discovery, who can blame them for feeling like a 'sucker'?? Now
they will be spreading the word about it to the whole world. This
is just another instance of what Patrick Rice declared "The devaluing of
photography"!
You know, when things get a little slow, the temptation is always there
to accept less than you normally would, and I do sometimes work with
brides if I know the date isn't going to be sold, but there's something
about a "photographer's clearinghouse" that repulses me! (it reminds me
of those Kellogg's Variety Packs: all flakes and powdered sugar).
No wonder brides think we're all the same!!!!
We photographers need to wake up and take charge of our own futures, and
not let some mega-marketing machine 'pimp' our talents. When the
going gets tough, we need to devise better marketing strategies for
finding those ever elusive brides!
Bill Morley
Some recent letters from PPA:
Professional Photographers of America (PPA) urges all members, photographers
and small business owners to ask their Congressional Representatives to
support The Equity for Our Nation's Self-Employed Act (H.R. 3660),
co-sponsored by Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI 3rd) and Congressman Wally Herger
(R-CA 2nd).
Self-employed individuals, including self-employed photographers, pay for
health insurance costs with after-payroll tax dollars. This means that the
money they use to buy health insurance for themselves and their families is
subject to an additional 15.3 percent tax that no other employers or
employees must pay.
All business entities other than sole-proprietors receive a deduction for
health insurance premiums as an ordinary and necessary business expense for
all employees, including owners. Employees and the owner pay for their
health insurance premiums pre-tax; therefore, they are not subject to FICA
taxes. However, sole-proprietors (Schedule C filers) do not receive
this benefit. Their premiums are not paid with pre-tax dollars and are
exposed to self-employment tax. Again, sole proprietors are the only
business entity that does not receive a full deduction of health care costs.
Health insurance premiums average almost $12,000 per year for family
coverage. It is estimated that HR 3660 will save every self-employed
individual about $1700 annually.
As you can see, HR 3660 is important legislation and represents a step in
the right direction to lower the already high tax burden carried by small
businesses and the self-employed. We encourage all photographers
(regardless of PPA membership), their employees and other small business
owners to contact their Congressional Representatives, using the following
link:
http://www.copyrightdefense.com/congress.html.
In addition to making it easy to send an e-mail to your Congressman, this
link will also take you to a sample e-mail that you can send or personalize.
While it takes extra time, we strongly encourage you to personalize your
message if at all possible; we know from our visits to the Hill that
personal messages carry extra weight.
If you have questions about this legislation, feel free to contact the PPA
Government Affairs Department at
mmatthews@ppa.com, or Kate Spaziani at
Kate.Spaziani@mail.house.gov
in Congressman Kind's office.
Dear PPA Member,
You're used to photographic tradeshows, but have you ever heard of a
copyright tradeshow? PPA and its allies in the Copyright Alliance were at
one yesterday, impressing on Congress the importance of copyright
protection.
Discussions about copyright often revolve around movies and music,
forgetting the huge impact that customer infringements can have on a
photographer's bottom line. At yesterday 's Copyright Exposition, PPA made
it clear that professional photographers must be considered in any and all
copyright deliberations.
PPA and the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) worked together,
sharing tradeshow space and ensuring that Congress received a strong message
from photographers at the Copyright Exposition in the Cannon House Office
Building in Washington, D.C. Other organizations participating in the
Exposition included the Motion Picture Association, the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA), NBC, Business Software Alliance and others.
By banding together with other creative organizations, we multiply and
amplify our voice, message, and impact.
At this show, PPA unveiled and demonstrated to Congress the Photographer
Registry, PPA's newest Web site—designed specifically to hhelp consumers and
clients find their copyright owner/photographer. We strongly encourage you
to visit the Registry (www.PhotographerRegistry.com) to set up and activate
your account. (PPA Members' contact information was uploaded into the
database, but you can change it at any time. Log in using your PPA Member
number as the username, and the first ten characters of your last name,
including capitalization.)
While PPA works to keep Congress educated on copyright, it is just as
important that you keep educating and informing your clients on copyright.
Educating your clients, marking your work and making sure that clients
(including all those who receive a print) know how to contact you…all are
kkey steps in protecting your rights and helping to protect the copyrights
of all photographers. For more information on specific things you can do to
protect your copyrights, and for sample license agreements, contracts and
customer information, visit the Copyright Downloads and Member's Only
Downloads sections at www.ppa.com.
Speaking up to clients, to the public and in Congress is an important part
of keeping copyrights protected. And it's something we—yyou and PPA—can do
together to make a greater impact.
Sincerely,
Al Hopper
Director of Membership, Copyright & Government Affairs
Dear PPA Member,
Have you ever had a great marketing idea that
you wanted to run by someone to get their opinion? Ever have a
question about how to handle a tricky customer situation? Want to
bounce ideas off somebody?
When you start thinking about such subjects, who do you talk to?
You—like many PPA members—might be a self-employed busiusiness owner working
hard to succeed. You are the idea person, decision-maker, planner and
doer. You look in the mirror to find your marketing, customer service and
production departments. But you're not really alone. You've got
people…a whole network ready to help!
At www.OurPPA.com, a free online forum
site maintained by PPA, there are more than 9,000 of your fellow
photographers ready and eager to share ideas, thoughts, questions and
answers. With 100,000+ posts, you can probably find a conversation
(thread) that addresses your question. If not, just start a new one!
Consider the variety of these conversations on OurPPA.com:
- Post-wedding workflow
- How a studio made record-breaking portrait sales this past month
- How to light dancers during a reception
- Comments and critiques on images
- Great, low-cost ideas for marketing children portraits
- And there are even some posts on sharing rooms at Imaging USA!
I've always been impressed with how willingly PPA members share their
experiences and ideas. It happens at PPA Affiliate meetings, at
Imaging USA, and 24/7 at OurPPA.com. And it's one of the best things about
being part of a membership organization like PPA.
Sincerely,
Al Hopper
Director of Membership, Copyright & Government Affairs
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