VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

TIDEWATER DISTRICT

FEBRUARY 2014 | VOL. 19 #2

2014 OFFICERS

SECRETARYTREASURERLT GOVERNORGOVERNORRichard St.Peter, FP

rstpeter@charter.net

(757) 372-7021

Erin L. Clark, CPP

images@enephoto.com

(757) 472-2955

Tracy McGee, CPP

tracy@kaiserphoto.com

(757) 513-0388

Bob Harper, CPP

bob@bobharper

photography.com

(757) 325-8300

2014 Superheroes Convention guide and schedule is here! Find out who is coming by visiting the

VPPA .org website or click here.

Scholarship ApplicationsHave no fear, scholarships are here! Download your applications by visiting the

VPPA.org website or simply click here.

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VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

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2014 VPPA Superheros Convention Registration

There is now a seamless way to register yourself and those in your studio quickly. The online checkout

is through PayPal, widely recognized as a leader in online processing. You can pay for anything you

purchase with your credit or debit card in PayPal, and you do not need an account with them.

Another feature with this system, it will allow you to go back and add items to your registration. If you

decide later you want to add a PreCon class, meal tix, whatever, you will be able to log back in and

add it on.

One of the features we are most excited about, is online registration for non-members. We have been

heading in the direction of being paperless for years. This will cut down on expense and paper waste,

and make it more inviting for non members to participate.

This will allow non-members to get immediate notification that they have registered. You will also get a

receipt mailed to you at checkout.

GET REGISTERED!Go to www.VPPA.org. Click on I am a photographer, then education. On the convention tab, when you

click on it, you will see a link to the registration page. Once there, members need to enter an access

code which is Superheros. It is not case sensitive. This will allow you, as a member to see the full

registration form. Our pre-con class registration is EXCLUSIVE to VPPA members until January 17th.

After the 17th, they will be open to the public and once full, they will be closed. You will be able to see

the number of slots left in a PreCon class as people register.

Let non-members know, they are invited to the Convention too!

VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

A Look Back...From the January Meeting

We thank Erin Clark for hosting last month’s

Tidewater Chapter meeting. We also appreciate

Lisa Carter, of Photography by Lisa, and her helpful

presentation about newborn photography.

Next month’s meeting...Where: Anne Companion Photography,

112 Kings Way, Hampton, VA 23669

When: Monday, March 17th at 7:00PM

Guest Speaker: Jessica Robertson (see below). If you are

interested in attending a mini-workshop by Jessica earlier that

afternoon, please contact Erin Clark at images@enephoto.com

or (757) 472-2955.

A Complete Picture Senior Por t ra i t Photography

Jessica Robertson strives to capture enduring images that will be cherished for a lifetime by each of her clients. She has run her successful business and been a VPPA member for over ten years. Jessica founded her brick and mortar studio in Ashland, Virginia in 2005 and established herself as the premier senior portrait photographer in her community. With a staff of two full-time, dedicated team members, she photographs over 200 seniors a year with an average sale of $1,200 per senior. The key to their success has been creating consistent, service-oriented, quality portraiture for a community which not only has a need, but an appreciation for the art. By capturing the Senior demographic, Jessica Robertson Photographic Artistry establishes clients who return for portraits during all stages of their lives including weddings, baby and family portraits. After all, seniors grow up to become brides and grooms who have children and families of their own.

VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

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Jessica’s presentation is focused on providing an authentic picture of the entire process of creating senior portraits and delivering practical information which you can use to streamline your high school senior business into a successful segment of your overall company.

She will share how her team markets to seniors and their families, and fulfills the vision of both the seniors and their parents. You will learn how to create relationships based on trust and reassurance which result in clients that last a lifetime. The studio’s consultation process and communication practices help create satisfied clients who not only return for more portraits of their own, they promote the studio to their friends and family. This presentation will also explain keys to having a successful senior session including compositional elements, posing, and lighting styles for on location and in studio. You will learn how this studio does its sales process and Jessica will highlight products that sell. This portion will also include advice on pricing and packaging your portraits for a no-pressure sales environment. Over 95% of Jessica’s clients purchase a portrait size image. Finally, Jessica will also share how she is able to build relationships with the best vendors so that her studio can deliver a high-quality finished product to its clients.

This is an honest presentation. Jessica is not promoting fluff or gimmicks which will guarantee your success, just sound business practices which have helped her quickly establish deep roots in her community.

Jessica earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Photography from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. Jessica has won numerous awards at the state and regional level and recently received her AFP. Professional Photographers of America twice honored her as Professional Photographer of the Year and accepted a variety of her prints for loan collection. D

VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

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Dear Fellow VPPA Members,

I want to make you aware of some exciting educational opportunities with special incentives coming up in 2014. My Awake The Light Photo Workshops and Tours company will be holding two workshops in Richmond this spring.

LIGHTROOM UNLEASHED is an in-depth hands-on Lightroom 5 workshop to be held March 16 - 20. This will be three days of intensive Lightroom instruction designed to significantly improve your skills, increase your understanding of how Lightroom REALLY works, provide some creative tips, and get rid of bad habits (that we ALL have when working in Lightroom). Details here http://awakethelight.com/lightroom-2014/

BUTTERFLY FLUTTERBY will immerse you in butterfly action at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens on May 27 - 29. This wonderful facility is photographer friendly and provides a wide variety of butterfly species. Personalized attention throughout both days. Details here http://awakethelight.com/butterfly-workshop/

As a long-time member of the VPPA, I’m pleased to offer a special incentive to any VPPA members who take either of these workshops. A portion of your fee will go back to your own District to help fund its programs, and another portion will go to the VPPA to help defray the cost of the convention and other expenses. So you can help your District, help your state, and get some great education in the process. PLUS there is an Early Bird discount if you register for the Lightroom workshopbefore January 15.

All Awake The Light photo workshops are known for the high level of education provided. You will receive group instruction, plus extensive personal attention whether it is in the classroom or in the field. The goal is for you to go home at the end of any of our workshops with much more knowledge, greater skill, more confidence, and expanded creativity than you started with.

If you have questions or wish to register, email me at awakethelight@charter.net, or call757-773-0194. I hope to see you in Richmond!

Best regards,Mollie Isaacs

WAKE THE LIGHTPHOTO WORKSHOPS AND TOURS

IMAGING USA 2014By Ty Swartz, CPP, USN Ret.

After serving three years in Japan I returned to the U.S. Upon retirement it

was my goal to join PPA and become a professional photographer. Life has

a way of getting involved and that dream wasn’t realized until November

9, 2013 when I received notification that I achieved the status of Certified

Professional Photographer.

The first order of business was to focus on building a business and part of the

vision included attending Imaging USA in Phoenix. Part of the planning included

scheduling pre-conference courses. We arrived the evening of January 8 and

checked into our hotel to get a good night sleep because classes lasted all day.

GO TO

IMAGINGUSA.ORG

TO FIND OUT

ABOUT 2015’s

NATIONAL

PHOTOGRAPHIC

CONVENTION,

EXPO, AND IMAGE

EXHIBITION.

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VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

The first class we selected to attend was the

SMS workshop, Business Basics for Wedding

Photographers taught by Carrie Wildes, (www.

carriewildes.com) based in Tampa Florida. This

class was designed to help identify what we needed

to do to establish a business that is profitable. We

were taught about competitive advantage among

other wedding photographers, business models,

marketing, sales and pricing structures.

Thursday evening for three hours I was invited to

participate in a webinar with Melanie Anderson,

(www.andersonphotographs.com). She

focuses most of her business in Maryland on

High School Seniors. She was kind enough to

share her templates and marketing plans to help

with developing a marketing plan and defining the

type of equipment needed to build a portrait studio

that focuses on high school senior photography.

This was a great overview on how her business

was run and what she does to stay relevant to

her customers. Plus, she had a really good ring

light setup that was interesting.

Friday’s class was mainly taught by Bridget

Jackson from the PPA. Bridget discussed a variety

of business related items that helped us focus on

setting our prices and business strategies that

will help create a profitable solution to many of

our initial start-up circumstances. Overall, if you

operate as a professional photographer then this

is one class that is a must to attend.

The knowledge and guidance you receive is

simply amazing.You leave with the knowledge that you are a

“Small Business Owner”

who happens to do photography.

Instead of exploring Phoenix I decided that

attending another pre-conference class was

more important since I’ve been to Phoenix and

explored it in the past. The course that I selected

was Getting Schooled with High School Seniors,

taught by Bruce Berg, (www.bruceberg.com/

photography/seniors). Bruce spent the first

part of the morning talking about how his variety

of marketing plans worked and how is modeling,

not ambassador, plan worked.

Just before lunch, Bruce had two high school

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VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

seniors come in. He discussed his approach to

photography and his techniques. The class was

small enough we were able to use our cameras

and the studio lights provided. This was a great

hands own class and really helped understand this

market. Since I don’t shoot high school seniors

I am interested in learning, but for now I have

decided to focus on weddings and maybe dabble

a bit in seniors, mainly to get the experience.

From the time we arrived at Imaging USA there

were so many things to see and do relating to

photography that I spent most of my time taking

notes and meeting some really awesome people.

Saturday night had so many events happening

that you really had to choose what events to

attend. I had won two tickets to a Photoshop

training class with Juleanne Kost and met Bob

Harper (www.bobharperphotography.com)

only to realize that we were not that interested in

learning more Photoshop and departed to attend

other events.

Bob and I separated as he went to the PPA

Charities Celebration while I was invited to attend

the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

(www.n o w i l a y m e d o w n t o s l e e p . o r g )

informational seminar with Sandy Puc’

(www.sandypuc.com). I was already accepted

as a photographer and now volunteer in Hampton

Roads, so we spent most of the evening doing

hands on photography with Sandy. A very rare

one-on-one with a PPA great.

Afterwards I attended the PPA Charities event and

bid on a couple of items, but was quickly outbid.

That was okay, because I wasn’t really committed

to spending my Imaging new equipment money

just yet.

Sunday came, and I was first to arrive and ready

to learn more about how other photographers

were managing and building their business.

The first class I attended was Building a Better

Business taught by Jennifer Rozenbaum

(www.jenerations.com). The class was okay,

but not what I was looking to learn. So I left ten

minutes into the class and attended The Subtle

Art of Persuasion taught by Jon Allyn

VISIT JON ALLYN’S WEBSITE ATWWW.JONALLYN.COM

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VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

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VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

(www.jonallyn.com). This was a great class on

building client relationships and how to build a

studio that differentiates itself from other studios.

The mid-morning classes were hard to choose

from because they all sounded good. Suggestion

is to have a group of friends attend different

classes then trade notes. But I did select

Prosperity & Purpose: The Photography Business

Through a Different Lens, taught by Jeffery Shaw

(www.jeffreyshaw.com). He had a really good

perspective on how to look at your business so

you are moving forward and not staying stagnant.

Something that I am learning is very easy to do

with a business.

In the afternoon I was able to

attend The Fundamentals of

Photographing High School

Seniors, taught by Kibbee Walton

(www.artisanportrait.com). He

showed hands on techniques

on how to manage a high school

senior portrait session. He was

very focused on parent and

grandparent involvement. By doing

this, you create an emotional experience and

through that experience you can build lifetime

relationships that will help your sales and

customer loyalty.

Sunday’s must-attend event was Getting it Right

in the Camera, with Sandy Puc’ (www.sandypuc.

com). She spent the program going over how to

manage lights and built your studio setup from

a single light source all the way to five lights to

create amazing in camera images that require

zero editing. My take away is if you are spending

any amount of time color, exposure correcting

after your shoot you need to go back and learn

how to get a perfect exposure.

After Sandy finished I headed over to The Loop’s

(www.theloop.ppa.com) gathering and had an

opportunity to meet many of the photographers

around the PPA that I have communicated with

using The Loop. If you are a member of the PPA

get connected with The Loop. There are some

really smart people there and they want to help

you when you’re stuck with a question.

After meeting people at The Loop it was time for

HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR

PORTRAITS

the Imaging USA’s Welcome Party. This was an

interesting event. They had a red carpet set up

and brought models in to pose for photos. I really

liked the food and meeting people. I thought it

was a little weird with the models and still trying to

figure out why a few photographers were running

around with cameras shooting them. I was there

to meet and greet and not take photos.

Monday morning came too quickly. I arrived to

see Jared Platt (www.jaredplatt.com) teach his

class on Post-Production Speed in Lightroom

5 and Photoshop. I am always interested in

learning more about speeding up my workflow.

I am able to go through 2,500 images in about

an hour (selection) and then send the selected

images to www.postedits.com for correction

before presenting them to my customers.

After Jared’s class, I attended My 10 Favorite

Money Making Nuggets taught by Kimberly Wylie

(www.kimberlywylie.com). This was a great

class to gather additional ideas that seem to be

working for her. I was starting to see an overall

theme: as a small business owner, building

relationships is the key to success.

The final class that I attended was hosted by Steve

Kozak (www.stevekozak.com) for new Certified

Professional Photographers. He provided his

insight about photography and where it is going

and how to leverage our certification to stand

out from other photographers. The big take

away from him is don’t just Facebook and send

e-mails, but actually pick up the phone and call

people. He was right! I sent e-mails to potential

brides and right after his class I took the time to

call the 25 people I had emailed and consulted

with eight. I booked three! Wow, who would have

thought the phone works for business?

Once Steve’s class was finished I headed up to

the Grand Imaging Awards and was stunned at

the work presented for competition. Since I have

a goal of achieving my Master of Photography

I would really need to step up my game and

start entering photographic competitions. I am

currently editing six images from 2013 that I want

to enter, but my game really needs to step up so VISIT KIMBERLY WYLIE ATWWW.KIMBERLYWYLIE.COM

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VIRGINIA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION

I can start achieving merits.

I was scheduled to fly out Tuesday afternoon

returning to the reality of life, but not before I was

able to sneak in one more class, Maximizing Your

Senior Sales with Kent Smith and his wife Sarah

Smith (www.kentsmith.com). They were very

motivational and helped me visualize how I want

to set up my consultation room and present my

brand as an experience and not just a sale.

I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss the Expo

Floor. There was a lot of vendors there selling

lots of different items and I was able to buy new

photographic accessories. I needed soft boxes

and another pocket wizard. Also, I decided to

buy custom designed USB thumb drives, a Ring

Light, along with backgrounds and a floor from

Silverlight. I enjoyed seeing all the new and

creative items, but had a shopping list of things

to purchase and was able to keep pretty close to

the list.

Overall, attending Imaging USA was one of

the best photographic experiences of my life. I

learned so much and I’m now trying to find the

time to go through all the information, DVD’s and

products. As I continue my journey to building a

new photography business I have come to this

realization: successful photographers have a

brand, build relationships and continue to grow

as photographers.

With my excitement, I am already

blocking out time for Imaging

USA 2015 in Nashville. My goal

for 2014 is to generate $50K

in gross sales so I can attend

the three-day SMS Business

Breakthoughs Workshop.

Until then I am building the brand,

setting my prices, and finding

my voice as a photographer. I

am so excited that 2014 is here,

and I am now a small business

owner that happens to specialize

in wedding photography. D

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