Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) Is Published Monthly for $27 Per Year (U.S

WEDDING STYLES PROFITABLE OPTION CLIFFHANGER P. 2 5 By the numbers P. 2 8 A high-volume line P. 7 2 Weddings that wow Balance

©HEATHER PICKETT JUNE 2016 New Desktop/Tabletop Options for Metal Prints

Acrylic Base Curved Metal Prints Metal Prints Clear Acrylic Bases turn your Metal Curved Metal Prints make a unique Standing Base Prints into modern looking desktop desktop display of your images. They displays. Available in fi ve sizes for come in two shapes: Concave (curved Metal Prints prints up to 11x17 in size. in) and Convex (curved out). Available Perfect for table tops, bookshelves or in glossy aluminum only. offi ce desks. Made of a single sheet of aluminum with a 2” contoured base, angled perfectly for tabletop viewing. Available in glossy aluminum only.

PROFESSIONAL PRINTS FOR 69 8x10ONLY$1. Your choice of LAB CORRECTED or NO CORRECTION for the same price.

Great Prints. Great Prices. Easy Ordering. It’s that Simple. We off er the highest quality photographic prints in over 80 sizes. We also off er a wide variety of other products including: greeting cards, books, albums, trader cards, mugs and much more. meridianpro.com | 800-544-1370 THE perfect WEDDING ALBUM

bella ART ALBUMS©

Bella Art Albums are a beautiful way for brides to forever remember their special day. Handcrafted using archival inks, acid-free papers, 1/4” moisture resistant, acid-free, warp-free boards and the ﬁnest textile cover materials. Bella Art Albums are created to last for 200 plus years.

SEE THE BEAUTY FOR YOURSELF AND RECEIVE 25% OFF STUDIO SAMPLES. Learn more at MarathonPress.com/PPA-Specials.

Design. Print. Websites. Marketing. www.MarathonPress.com CONTENTS | JUNE 2016 ppmag.com ©KANSAS PITTS ©KANSAS ©CHARLETON CHURCHILL

72 ©EMIN KULIYEV 82 64

4 PPMAG.COM DEPARTMENTS FEATURES

64 All the world’s a stage IN EVERY ISSUE Nuptials through the lens 10 Editor’s note of Emin Kuliyev 16 Giveaway By Eric Minton 18 On the cover 18 Merited 72 New heights 26 Ask the experts Charleton Churchill marries an 90 Perspective adventuresome spirit with a 98 Final frame career covering weddings By Jeff Kent FOREGROUND 82 Golden hour 13 Character development 14 Eye to eye Kansas Pitts bottles beach vacation joy 16 All natural By Amanda Arnold 17 High emotion

SUCCESS 25 Favorite wedding styles 28 Pumping up the volume By Jeff Kent 36 Cowgirl with a camera By Karin Leperi 40 Animal eyes By Angela Lawson

THE GOODS On the Web 45 Beauty to go: Profoto OCF Beauty Dish ppmag.com/win ppa.com/cpp Enter to win: Lensbaby Twist 60 Certified professional 46 Start painting: Corel Painter 2016 ppmag.com/gallery/ photographer info By Betsy Finn darryll_jones ppa.com/edu 54 Storage solution: A gallery of Darryll Jones’ Educational resources WD My Cloud EX2100 Eric images By Stan Sholik theloop.ppa.com High-power agility: ppmag.com/news/shaken theLoop forum 58 Sekonic LiteMaster On Mt. Everest to cover a ppa.com/trysquareone Pro L-478DR-U-EL wedding, Charleton Churchill Square One calculator By Stan Sholik found himself in the midst of tragedy

Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly for $27 per year (U.S. rate) by PPA Publications and Events, Inc., 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Ste. 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303-1608. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Professional Photographer magazine, P.O. Box 7126, St. Paul, MN 55107.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 5 “ I don’t worry about getting sued. I plan for it.”

Even if you haven’t made a mistake, defending a lawsuit can be a big cost for your business. Customized insurance from Hiscox can help you keep moving forward with conﬁ dence.

Get a fast, free quote at Hiscox.com/planonit or call our licensed insurance agents at 866-524-5745 Mon–Fri, 8:00am–10:00pm ET. Your policy could start as low as $22.50/mo.

#encouragecourage.

Professional Photographer is the official journal 2016-2017 PPA PPA STAFF of Professional Photographers of America BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chief Executive Officer President David Trust, CAE Director of Publications EDITORIAL OFFICES *Lori Craft [email protected] Cr.Photog. Jane Gaboury Professional Photographer Chief Financial Officer [email protected] [email protected] 229 Peachtree Street NE Chief Operating Officer Suite 2200 Vice President Scott Kurkian, CAE Senior Editor Atlanta, GA 30303-1608 U.S.A. *Rob Behm [email protected] Joan Sherwood (404) 522-8600 M.Photog.Cr., CPP Director of Certification [email protected] [email protected] Julia Boyd, CAE SUBSCRIPTIONS Associate Editor Treasurer [email protected] Professional Photographer Amanda Arnold *Stephen Thetford P.O. Box 7126 Director of Publications [email protected] M.Photog.Cr., CPP St. Paul, MN 55107 Jane Gaboury [email protected] Art Director/ (800) 742-7468 [email protected] [email protected] Chairman of the Board Production Manager Director of Membership *Michael E. Timmons Debbie Todd Kristen Hartman, CAE TO RENEW OR SUBSCRIBE M.Photog.Hon.M.Photog. [email protected] [email protected] ppmag.com/subscribe M.Artist.Cr., CPP, F-ASP Editor-at-Large (800) 742-7468 [email protected] Director of Events Jeff Kent Fiona Hendricks, CMP Directors [email protected] PPA MEMBER SERVICES [email protected] Audrey L. Wancket Professional Photographers Contributing Editors M.Photog.Cr., CPP Director of Sales of America Don Chick & Ellis Vener [email protected] & Strategic Alliances (800) 786-6277 Wayne Jones [email protected], ppa.com Greg Daniel Director of Sales [email protected] & Strategic Alliances M.Photog.Cr., CPP, F-ASP Wayne Jones Periodicals postage paid in [email protected] Director of Education Atlanta, Ga., and additional Angela Kurkian (404) 522-8600, x248 Mary Fisk-Taylor mailing offices. M.Photog.Cr., CPP [email protected] M.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI, API [email protected] [email protected] East/West Region POSTMASTER Director of Barbara Bovat Ad Manager Send address changes to Information Technology Cr.Photog. Tara Truitt Professional Photographer Scott Morgan [email protected] (404) 522-8600, x230 P.O. Box 7126 [email protected] [email protected] St. Paul, MN 55107 Jeffrey Dachowski Director of Administration M.Photog.Cr., CPP Central Region Wilda Oken [email protected] Ad Manager [email protected] Marina Anderson Clark Marten Director of Marketing (937) 902-8217 M.Photog.Cr., CPP and Communications [email protected] [email protected] Carla Plouin Advertising Services Manager Kathryn Meek [email protected] M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API Cheryl Pearson Executive Assistant [email protected] [email protected] Sandra Lang Steve Kozak Advertising Services [email protected] M.Photog.Cr., CPP Coordinator [email protected] *Executive Committee of the Board Linda Rosendahl [email protected] Industry Advisor Michael Hanline [email protected]

Professional Photographer, official journal of the Professional Photographers of America Inc., is the oldest exclusively professional photographic publication in the Western Hemisphere (founded 1907 by Charles Abel, Hon.M.Photog.), incorporating Abel’s Photographic Weekly, St. Louis & Canadian Photographer, The Commercial Photographer, The National Photographer, Professional Photographer, and Professional Photographer Storytellers. Opinions expressed by Professional Photographer or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of Professional Photographers of America, Inc. Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Copyright 2016, PPA Publications & Events, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.

Over the past 10 years we helped photographers develop styles based on beautiful analog

SURFHVVHV1RZ([SRVXUH;DOVRKDQGOHVWKHSUDFWLFDOVLGHRIDSURIHVVLRQDOZRUNȵRZLQFOXGLQJ

OLJKWQLQJIDVWSKRWRRUJDQL]DWLRQ:HFRPSOHWHO\HOLPLQDWHGIUXVWUDWLQJFRQFHSWVOLNHFDWDORJȴOHV

That lets you non-destructively edit RAW images without an import step and easily work on the Photo © 2015 Christopher Wilson. All rights reserved. Exposure and Alien Skin Software are registered trademarks of Alien Skin Software, LLC.

same photos from multiple computers. TRY EXPOSURE FOR FREE. ALIENSKIN.COM SAFE BET LEADING LINES EDITOR’S NOTEEDITOR’S CAUTION COULD HOLD YOU BACK

X The issue of safety is on my mind. This morning I parked my car in the garage across from our office tower at the usual pre-dawn hour that starts my day. Once on the sidewalk, I saw a character standing not far from me. As soon as I began crossing the street he was behind me,

muttering loudly as he followed me toward the building entrance. Several yards ahead, an office worker was entering the building. He was halfway through If you always play it safe, there’s the door when the sound of the little room to grow. But if you never stranger’s monologue made him stop play it safe, you or your business may reflexively and turn to look behind not be around long enough to grow. him. Then he saw me hotfooting it to the door. And he did a gracious kindness: He waited for me to get to the entrance while he held the door so that I wasn’t alone on the dark sidewalk with a stranger in tow. I’m pretty certain I wasn’t in an unsafe situation. But I wasn’t particularly comfortable with someone following me for even a short distance. Safety is a conundrum: If you always play it safe, there’s little room to grow. But if you never play it safe, you or your business may not be around long enough to grow. COMING NEXT MONTH We didn’t set out to focus this month’s content on safety vs. risk; it just bubbled up through the creative process. Fired up Hobbies are never far from Adrian Henson’s heart Emin Kuliyev shares some of his delightfully non-traditional wedding images in this issue (“All the World’s a Stage,” p.65). A native of Azerbaijan who came to the United States 16 years ago, Kuliyev draws forth the drama and humor of the emotional intensity inherent in weddings. There is a satisfying sense of risk to his compositions. And you can’t help but feel like at some time in your life you were very nearly there. With a different aesthetic sensibility but no less spirited body of work, Char- leton Churchill could be described as an adventure wedding photographer ©ADRIAN HENSON ©ADRIAN (“New Heights,” p.72). Groom with backpack? Bride with hiking boots? Cliffs and creeks? No problem. Churchill’s clients tend toward young intrepid couples who want something beyond safely traditional. Churchill gives it to them, infusing his work with a commercial feel that brides-to-be find oh so pinnable. Photographer Kansas Pitts isn’t doing anything unsafe by the seaside. The risk she took was in shifting her niche from newborns to family vacation portraits on Big step the beach (“Golden Hour,” p.82). It’s a genius move cultivating clients who are Six photographers on moving to medium-format spending family time (and discretionary income) in the Florida panhandle each summer. Happy vacationers who are relaxed and anxious to memorialize their Print it special time on the Gulf coast make excellent portrait prospects. Here’s how you sell clients physical prints So what’s on your summer docket? Anything a bit risky? Share your images and tales of adventure with us via social media (see “Stay in Touch” at the bottom left STAY IN TOUCH for URLs). •

[email protected] twitter.com/ppmagazine

Jane Gaboury facebook.com/ppmagazine theloop.ppa.com Director of Publications

10 PPMAG.COM

FOREGROUND Edited by Amanda Arnold CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ADVENTURES OF A STORMTROOPER

Meet Eric, the tiny stormtrooper. Darryll posts,”he says, “and that fuels me like you “Eric’s life is basically a reflection of my own,” Jones began making photographs of Eric five cannot believe.” says Jones. “He is a sad, grumpy, 40-some- years ago when the dark and cold of his Unit- thing male whose life is falling apart, nothing ed Kingdom home got the best of him, and Jones sketches potential compositions be- ever goes right, but he keeps going.” He also he needed some cheering up. “I took a few fore tracking down props. He’s always been keeps Jones laughing. “Fun is the bottom shots, uploaded them to the new Instagram a Canon guy but admits he’s increasingly re- line, really.” app and my old DeviantArt account, and lying on his Sigma Quattro DP0 with Foveon boom, I was hooked,” he says. sensor and wide-angle lens to capture Eric’s outdoor adventures. “It’s so small and So was everyone else. Nearly 100,000 people easy to use, and the results are astounding.” On the Web follow Eric’s adventures (#haveyouseeneric) Outside the studio he uses natural light, on Jones’ Instagram account (@darrylljones). sometimes with a small reflector; in-studio A gallery of Darryll Jones’ Eric images “People mail me every day almost telling he uses a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Profo- ppmag.com/gallery/darryll_jones me how much they look forward to my to lights. ©DARRYLL JONES

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 13 EYE TO EYE TOP OF MIND OF TOP FOREGROUND HUMAN-ANIMAL BOND

XFlora Borsi’s self-portrait series, “Animeyed,” highlights both the peculiarity and the com- monality among species. “I love animals and somehow wanted to show that we are very similar to them,” says Borsi. “I also wanted to make a point of how unique and special they are, one by one—from fish to cat.” The project involved combing through 120 Adobe stock images to select interesting animal subjects, observing the angle, lighting, color, and texture of each. Borsi then created a mood board of hair and makeup concepts that would complement selected animals’ looks. Each self-portrait took an hour to make, and each image manipulation took up to 20 hours. Her biggest challenges? Selecting stock photos with the proper angles, crop, and lighting; cutting the animals out from the background; drawing the outlines in Photo- shop to mask; and arranging the two images to create a seamless, nearly believable look. “I tried to explore the human identity, what

makes us human, and what the relationship IMAGES ©FLORA BORSI is between animals and people … the beauty they give us through their look and their ex- istence,” she says. “People appreciate a pretty body and face, but these species are less appreciated, in my opinion. So I wanted to draw attention to their unique look.” •

14 PPMAG.COM MYTH: Film is dead.

TRUTH: It’s been reincarnated in a digital camera.

The art of fi lm photography is back. The Olympus PEN-F lets you shoot spectacular fi lm-like images. Just use the monochrome and color profi les to capture shots with all the warmth and graininess you’d fi nd from a photo taken decades ago. A vast array of artistic features coupled with customizable dials gives you on-the-fl y creative control. The PEN-F. Capture the world in vintage style.

Rediscover the beauty of fi lm at getolympus.com/PENF ALL NATURAL TOP OF MIND OF TOP FOREGROUND HAUNTING IMAGES FROM HANDMADE CAMERAS

IMAGES ©ADAM DONNELLY AND DAVID ©ADAM AND DONNELLY IMAGES JANESKO

David Janesko and Adam Donnelly construct site-specific cameras from found materials in natural settings.

XIt started in grad school. David Janesko meant at the time,” he admits. But the con- There are self-imposed rules for the con- and Adam Donnelly, students at the San Fran- cept eventually led to the duo’s project, “Site struction: no tools, such as hammers or cisco Art Institute, were interested in build- Specifi c Cameras,” for which they choose a shovels, may be used, and aside from the ining cameras, with Donnelly focused on mak- location—a beach, desert, or woods—and stant fi lm and light-sensitive paper on which ing pinhole cameras and Janesko on creat- build a camera from found materials. While they print their images, nothing but found ing lenses. other people may see an area’s logs, sea- materials may be incorporated. Non-natural One day Janesko suggested the idea of weed, abandoned tires, and shells as refuse, materials (like tires) are permitted as long as “fi nding an aperture in the world,” says Don- Janesko and Donnelly use these leavings to they’re found onsite, but it’s not OK to tear nelly. “I didn’t really understand what he capture pinhole images. down live branches or leaves. Often the hardest piece of the puzzle is tracking down the pinhole. They’ve had luck using a keyhole shell and even a whale bone JUNE GIVEAWAY: LENSBABY TWIST 60 LENS with a tiny hole in it. Otherwise, the “camera,” large enough for one of them to sit inside X The metal-bodied 60mm f/2.5 Lensbaby Twist and hold fi lm or paper to the hole, must be 60 lens spotlights subjects and surrounds them completely light tight, which means packing with a swirling blur and enhanced vignette. on mud, sand, or leaf litter. This re- creation of the 1840 Petzval lens is rec- Are they surprised at the images that ap- ommended for use on full-frame cameras and pear on their silver gelatin paper and Fujifi lm is available in Canon EF, Nikon F, and Sony E FP-100C? Defi nitely, says Donnelly. “When mounts, valued at $279.95. lensbaby.com we started getting recognizable images—not Win a Lensbaby Twist 60! just abstract—where you could understand Enter today: ppmag.com/win the scene we were photographing, it amazed us. We are surprised every time.” •

16 PPMAG.COM IN PHOTOGRAPHIC PACKAGING HIGH EMOTION THE THRILL OF THE CATALONIAN CASTELL

X For Barcelona-based photographer Joan Figueras, photographing the castell festivals of Catalonia, Spain, isn’t just a personal project. It’s a life project. “It’s not something you can abandon,” he says of his passion to share this cultural phenomenon. “I have a feeling I will always take pictures of these human towers.” Castells can reach 10 people high, with small children ascend- ing the tower to the top. The human structures are recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. The biggest challenge is to capture the essence of what is a very QUALITY large, fast-paced, and emotional event, says Figueras of the biennial Concurs de Castells castell competition in Tarragona. “You see peo- & ple crying and shouting,” he says. “You see children from fi ve years old to people who are 99 or 100 years old. It’s not simple. It’s a very Selection complex cultural manifestation.” The towers are built in just two to three minutes and can tumble at any moment. With as many as 15 teams competing in one arena FOLDERS & MOUNTS fi lled with 15,000 people, Figueras, who uses a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera, a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, and a 70-100mm long lens, works hard to maneuver through the crowds, capture the emotion on people’s faces, and show the towers from angles both above and below. His favorite photos are the ones that freeze the emotional roller- coaster that is the construction of a castell: the quiet struggle to construct the tower, the triumph when the smallest child reaches the top, the disappointment if the tower tumbles before completion. He’s even begun capturing sound recordings to further document the impassioned environment. “If you are able to portray all of this, that is very touching to me—to show the core of it is the challenge so that people who don’t belong to this culture can feel it deeply,” he says. •

Our products are proudly made in the USA of the highest-quality materials with the best price – GUARANTEED! Your work deserves the best possible packaging. Tyndell Photographic has the widest selection so your prints are presented

©JOAN FIGUERAS the way you intend.

1-800-827-6278 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 tyndellphotographic.com17 IMAGES FROM THE PPA LOAN COLLECTION LOAN PPA THE FROM IMAGES MERITED

LOAN COLLECTION / ©HEATHER PICKETT

ON THE COVER

X“Balancing Act” was created in the studio and was intended to mimic a similar image Heather Pickett, CPP, had created for the family’s fi rstborn child. “This type of shot has become a staple in the newborn community for single babies, but I had never seen it before or since with a set of multiples,” she says. “As soon as I released the shutter, I knew I had something unique.” The newborns were lying on a beanbag looking up at the ceiling, with the father’s hands resting next to one newborn’s back. Pickett took the photo from above, looking down on the babies. The babies were never held aloft as it appears. Heather Pickett Photography is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and specializes in fi ne-art newborn photography. heatherpickettphotography.com

LIGHTING DIAGRAM CAMERA & LENS: Nikon D4S, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens EXPOSURE: 1/200 second at f/3.2, ISO 200 LIGHTING: The main light was a Paul C. Buff Einstein with a 64-inch white para- MAIN LIGHT Paul C. Buff bolic umbrella with a diffusion screen. Einstein 64" white POST-CAPTURE: Applying a low-opacity layer in Portraiture, Pickett retouched parabolic umbrella with diffusion screen each newborn to remove flaky skin and even out the skin tone. She extended the black background with Photoshop and applied a black-and-white gradient and added grain using Topaz Lab plug-ins.

BEAN BAG

CAMERA POSITION overhead PARENT

ABOUT THE LOAN COLLECTION The current Loan Collection comprises 1,085 photographs chosen for distinction by jurors of PPA’s International Photographic Competition. The compositions are considered the best of the best in contemporary professional photography, having been awarded the Loan Collection distinction based on their success in meeting the 12 elements of a merited image. ppa.com/ipc

18 PPMAG.COM

19 Nikon Nikon Ip used 1/25 second at 1/25 second Available light light Available and travel photography. and travel photography. CAMERA & LENS: CAMERA EXPOSURE: LIGHTING: POST-CAPTURE:

• and Adobe Lightroom Photoshop to adjust highlights, saturation, and shadows. contrasts, 24-70mm D800, Tamron USD lens f/2.8 Di VC • f/5.6, ISO 1250 • • Terry Ip, CPP, made “Pillars of “Pillars made CPP, Ip, Terry

terryipphotos.com Faith” in Barcelona the day before Faith” cruise to boarding a Mediterranean anniver- celebrate his 30th wedding a neighborhood near Strolling sary. walked into an old “We the hotel, we later found Gothic cathedral that of Barcelona,” out was the Cathedral “I was amazed to see how he says. of this 13th- magnificent the pillars Be- were. century imposing church cause of the darkness in the church’s to hold my breath and I had interior, keep my camera steady to capture all the beauty in front of me with the Terry 1/25 second f/5.6 exposure.” Arling- Ip Photography is based in and specializes in fami- Texas, ton, ly portraits X

LOAN COLLECTION / ©TERRY IP

JUNE 2016 JUNE | PILLARS OF FAITH OF PILLARS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER IMAGES FROM THE PPA LOAN COLLECTION LOAN PPA THE FROM IMAGES MERITED

LOAN COLLECTION / ©DANI MILLER

PUREST PETAL

X “Purest Petal” was made in Dani Miller’s St. Charles, Iowa, studio during a client’s newborn session. Miller loves to incorporate fresh fl owers into her newborn photographs, especially LIGHTING DIAGRAM for girls, she says, and felt inspired by the simple colors to produce a soft look for this image. “Each time I have a newborn come into the studio it feels as though I am creating something that will honor the wonderful celebration,” she says. “This little soul was perfect from the CHAIR beginning to the end of the session.” Sugar Hill Photography specializes in newborn, child, and fi ne-art photography. sugarhillphotography.com

• CAMERA & LENS: Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens MAIN LIGHT FILL LIGHT Natural • EXPOSURE: 1/80 second at f/5.6, ISO 200 SweetLight Super window light Silver Reflector 4'x6' • LIGHTING: Natural light from a window to camera right and a 4x6-foot SweetLight Super Silver Reflector to camera left • POST-CAPTURE: Miller used Adobe Camera Raw to fix mild color issues and Curves and Adjustment Layers to bring everything together. She applied an oil painting technique in Photoshop CC.

20 PPMAG.COM

MAKER Kaylee Greer

Joshua (the inspiration behind it all)

Riveting Storyteller Colorful Personality Passionate Volunteer Pet photographer Kaylee Greer trusts Miller’s Lab to transform her beautiful imagery into timeless photo keepsakes.

luxe d metal

pearl canvas gallery ap

miller's signature album

We tell stories, we chase ideas, we make our own rules. A force to be reckoned with – we are makers.

fine art mural

MILLERSLAB.COM

SUCCESS STRONGER BUSINESS, BETTER LIFE WEDDING STYLE FAVES CLIENTS PREFER CANDID AND TRADITIONAL

Which style of wedding photos is most popular with clients? Candids take the cake. Here are the most popular wedding photo styles by the numbers.

Couples who find 11% these photographic 34% High-fashion styles appealing Want wedding photos in multiple locations 47% Artistic

59% 66% Natural/Environmental Prefer one location for wedding photos 64% Traditional

83% ©ISTOCK Candids

Source: Thumbtack Weddings Trends Report 2016

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 25 the client when they came for their initial sales session. This single campaign created a nice five-figure bump to her 2015 revenue. ANSWERS SUCCESS Kathryn’s business model is a hybrid of finished product and digital files. After a mini- mum order of $1,500 is met, her clients may purchase digital files as an add-on. Her 2015 Spring Cleaning Sale was an effort to clear her servers and generate cash during the slow winter months. Because she sells digital files in the course of her business, selling files from previous sessions didn’t pose a dilemma, as it would have for me.

©ISTOCK In fact, she found three distinct advantag- es to this type of sale: • Clients who had previously placed large orders were excited to purchase the digital files for their own digital archive purposes. ASK THE EXPERTS • Clients who had previously placed small- OUT WITH THE OLD er orders were able to buy the digital files. • Clients who for one reason or another Q. I have a storage unit dedicated to old client of Deasy Photographic in Dublin, Ireland, never actually placed their order (couldn’t files that I don’t want to maintain forever. How sums it up: “Our studio is dedicated to the decide, couldn’t afford it, etc.) purchased the could I go about pricing and selling these? For premium photographic print at a premium digital files, resulting in a sale that may nev- example, I have years of image files of families price. Part of the service our clients pay for is er have happened otherwise. showing the kids growing up. Should I just give the digital archiving of their images.” Kathryn ran the sale via an email campaign those to the client since they’ve already pro- Archiving is just part of the deal at my stu- for just one week. She sent an email followed duced income for my studio for decades? And dio. Clients are assured that the file of every by an email 24 hours before the sale expired. what about files from random and small orders? portrait they purchase will be digitally ar- This method created a sense of urgency and A. You don’t have to be in business long be- chived on and offsite. Images that aren’t confined the questions and requests to the fore the storage requirements for your im- purchased aren’t archived. week of the sale. age files begin to mount. After a period of Since this is my 10th year in business, I As you can see, there isn’t a “right” way time, is it advantageous to sell those files or started talking to my clients last year about to do business. You decide which strategy is simply give them away to your clients so you what we could do with all the images we’ve best for you. don’t have to deal with them anymore? created through the years. During my 2015 Now for the question: Should you ever give First consider doing neither of those things. holiday order sessions, I proposed the idea of the files away? Sooner or later, all of us While it might seem like a quick source of a “Years in Review” album featuring images will have a client who passes away. When I revenue to sell digital files from past sessions, from the past 10 years. Of course not every learn of a client’s death, I contact the family ask yourself if this practice fits with your busi- client will purchase such an album, but some and offer to make a print for the funeral ser- ness model. I run a high-end product-based will. I expect some will even add an image vices at no cost and then give the digital files studio and have a policy of not selling printable or two that they didn’t purchase previously. to the client’s family so they may use them digital files for my portrait work. I encourage For my business, this feels like the best for the funeral program or include them in you to ask yourself two important questions: way not only to capitalize on older session the funeral video. • 1. Would doing this cannibalize my future files but to get those portraits into my clients’ Allison Tyler Jones, CPP sales by effectively training clients to wait hands via a finished product I’ve designed. Allison Tyler Jones Photography Inc. until the image files go on sale? On the flip side is my friend and colleague 2. After years spent educating my clients Kathryn Langford of Photos by Kathryn in about the importance of the printed portrait, Vancouver, Canada. Kathryn runs a high-end am I damaging my brand by now offering product-based studio and in 2015 began mar- ANY QUESTIONS? digital files for sale? keting digital files from past sessions to her If you need help with business issues or photographic technique, email If you’re not satisfied with the answers to clients. She called it her Spring Cleaning Sale [email protected]. We’ll put a PPA these questions, don’t sell digital files even years and offered the files for $1,000 per session, expert on the case. after the sessions are complete. Sonia Deasy including all the digital image files shown to

26 PPMAG.COM

PPMAG.COM Kirsten Grupa Kirsten nancial eggs David Grupa cialized in senior portraits, and while both cialized in senior portraits, in the senior portrait basket was a little concerning. the studio’s add to that apprehension, To bookings for senior portraits were on the averages were good—in fact, Sales decline. they had improved averages in recent years in- the level of using advice from PPA—so as much of an issue as the come wasn’t photog- “With open spaces in their bookings. photographers ran successful businesses (which they ultimately merged in 2014), the thought of having all their fi SITUATION volume operation was not where he wanted high- developed a low-volume, So he to be. with a focus on senior por- service business, as time wore on and circum- However, traits. that singular focus needed stances changed, Maybe a line of work in volume- some revision. based sports photography was a viable part of the picture after all. married fellow photographer David In 2012, Kirsten CPP. Cr.Photog, Kirsten Holscher, (now Grupa since marrying David) also spe-

David Grupa, M.Photog.Cr., began his pho- M.Photog.Cr., David Grupa, HOW TEAM PHOTOGRAPHY AUGMENTS PORTRAIT STUDIO BUSINESS tography career back in high school. He had tography career back in high school. teams T-ball a little business photographing He made some sim- for the local rec league. handed out 5x7s ple black-and-white prints, “I and got about $50 in return. to the teams, he laughs. thought I was rich,” he would join the ranks of the later, Years full-time professionals when he opened a Minnesota, portrait business in Maplewood, Though he had a back- Paul. a suburb of St. ground and interest in team sports photog- his colleagues told him that a high- raphy, X by Jeff Kent by PUMPING UP THE VOLUME THE UP PUMPING

IMAGES ©DAVID GRUPA SPORTS AND DAVID GRUPA PORTRAITS 28 SUCCESS CASE STUDY PRO TOOLS F raphy as the only source of income for the on picture day. David stepped in and helped O R PRO LIGHT whole family, I get antsy when we’re not out, then continued with the sports teams busy,” says Kirsten. “We had a little more contract during the following years. Looking downtime, and we wanted to fill up the at the income it provided, David and Kirsten ONLY SUNBOUNCE GIVES schedule. We also wanted to diversify.” started to think about adding a high-volume YOU COMPLETE CONTROL For a few years previously, David had work- sports division to the studio. OVER NATURAL LIGHT ed with some sports teams at a local school. The Grupas managed to pick up a contract The gig started as a fill-in when the school’s from another school as well as one from a contracted photographer failed to show up nearby parks and rec department. With REFLECT with the new Sun Mover Tight-Fit Screen NEW

The new Tight-Fit Screen is for anyone already using the Sun-Mover Silver, Zebra or Translucent 2/3 by Sunbounce. The Tight-Fit Screen allows the photographer to transform their 2-in-1 Sun-Mover into a 3-in-1 in no time at all. The tension of the Sun-Mover is not compromised, and the new skin pulls over the Sun-Mover ﬁtting snuggly, offering additional colors and patterns at a great cost and space savings. Sun Mover Tight-Fit Screens are available in ZIG-ZAG SILVER, ZIG-ZAG GOLD and BLACK-HOLE. Sun-Mover is now available in a smaller size, “Junior“ with the dimension of 66 x 68cm.

products.hasselbladbron.com/sbppa PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 three clients on the roster, David and Kirsten SOLUTIONS TAKEAWAYS decided it was time to get serious about The Grupas turned to the educational resourc- team sports photography. “Volume sports es offered by PPA, starting with a seminar on CASE STUDY SUCCESS represented a big chunk of money that we volume-based sports photography. Next, they START AT SQUARE ONE. The Square hadn’t tapped into,” says David. “And it’s logged on to PPAedu (ppa.com/edu), which One calculator lets you see out how year-round. In Minnesota, portrait work can they found to be a treasure trove of informa- your workload relates to your revenue. be very seasonal. With sports work, there’s tion, guidelines, ideas, and inspiration. “Spe- The calculator will even populate the always something going on.” cifically, we found a lot of great sports and fields with PPA benchmarks for over- But how could they make the new busi- team photography insights from people who head expenses and cost of sales, which ness line work? The marketing, the work- have been doing this a long time,” says David. you can change to match your actual flow, the structure were all relatively new to They also found a lot of help on theLoop numbers. ppa.com/trysquareone David and Kirsten, and they needed help. (theloop.ppa.com), PPA’s online forum where

DON’T GO IT ALONE. Figuring everything out on your own can be a lonely road, one marked by a lot of point- less mistakes. Connect with people who have gone before you and know what they’re doing. PPA is full of ex- perienced pros who are happy to help. You’ll be surprised how quickly your knowledge grows.

SEEK REAL-WORLD ADVICE. Find personal contacts, instructors, classes, articles, videos, and other resources provided by working professionals who are living the information they provide. There are many routes to success, and sometimes you need to hear a variety of perspectives to find the path that’s right for you.

BE ACTIVE. When starting a new business line, you’ve got to get out and go after it. Call prospects, follow up, and actively engage the market. Once you’ve built your network and book of business, the leads will start to come to you.

GET INVOLVED. PPA has a wealth of resources, but you’ll never find them if you don’t get involved. Take classes, join committees, volunteer, network in person and on theLoop. The connections and the knowledge can be life changing.

30 PPMAG.COM PRO TOOLS F O PRO LIGHT R

ONLY SUNBOUNCE GIVES YOU COMPLETE CONTROL OVER NATURAL LIGHT

the Grupas gathered information about con- mittees within PPA, David had been going to tracts, marketing materials, and other sports Imaging USA for years but rarely had time photography topics. The content is divided to attend educational programs. At Imag- by communities and into different subjects. ing USA 2016, however, he finally went as You can ask questions or participate in dis- a regular attendee and soaked up every bit cussions on various issues. “That resource of knowledge he could find. “I sat through DIFFUSE has been great,” says David. “You ask a pretty much every program on the sports question, and three or four people will post track,” he recalls. “I went to the Coach’s Cor- an answer. These are working professional ner set up by Jeff Gump, [Cr.Photog.], where Bright noon day sun, the enemy of photographers, our peers, so the informa- I talked to instructors and other photogra- outdoor image makers - no more with tion has been very useful.” phers from different parts of the country. Sun-Swatter! Built on Sunbounce’s high quality light weight aluminum frames, David and Kirsten also started using PPA’s That was so incredibly valuable because I Sun-Swatter is an overhead handheld Square One calculator (ppa.com/trysquare- connected with all of these folks who are out diffusion system for the exacting image one). Square One allows you to determine there doing it. These were professional pho- maker. With 4 different diffusion options your target sales average based on your fi- tographers working at all different levels, and 4 available sizes, Sun-Swatter gives nancial goals. You work backward from your in different markets, trying different things. you beautiful overhead light any time of desired income level to determine the num- The real-world education I’ve received from day without the weight of heavy frames ber of sessions or the average sale per ses- those connections has been invaluable.” or additional stands and sandbags! sion you need to achieve to meet your goal. The peer networking extended to other That resource was helpful to the Grupas as events at the convention, where David and they determined their pricing and target Kirsten were able to form bonds with fellow sales average for each sports shoot. photographers and set up ongoing collabo- Then, of course, there was Imaging USA. rations. “Being able to turn to other people A longtime volunteer on a number of com- who have been doing this longer than us and products.hasselbladbron.com/sbppa

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 we would a potential portrait client.” a potential portrait we would mem- from other PPA Based on suggestions during educa- insights gained bers and from set up David and Kirsten tional programs, and processing, days, new systems for picture sales. During shoots, David typically pho- During shoots, sales. handles orders and tographs while Kirsten they scale up to For bigger jobs, prep work. add additional hands a second shooter and moving smoothly. to help keep the process The approach and the new systems have Revenue from sports photography worked. 15 percent of total sales accounted for about to 40 percent That number jumped in 2014. in 2015 and appears to be holding steady Significantly, at around that rate this year. that increase in sports photography revenue come at the expense of senior portrait hasn’t Those sales have remained steady, revenue. overall revenue is up substan- so the studio’s work. tially as a result of the influx of sports sales are also more diversified, The studio’s which helps Kirsten and the schedule is full, “Knowing that we have sleep better at night. RESULTS The Grupas set up a sports photography The Grupas set up mimics in many ways, marketing plan that, It was a senior portraits. their marketing for but the education and feed- little unorthodox, them back they received from peers helped the adapt their portrait-based marketing for know what type of “We new business model. “So we market says Kirsten. client we want,” David to both individuals and organizations. net- does a lot of face-to-face marketing and makers in identify the decision We working. and charge of our target leagues or schools much like then market to them individually, learn what’s important and what isn’t, what what and what isn’t, important learn what’s has been so what doesn’t—that works and Kirsten. says valuable,” involved is so im- “Getting David agrees. with “Just being involved he says. portant,” has exposed me to peo- at a deeper level PPA I am met otherwise. ple I would have never business and our them, smarter because of long run.” has benefitted in the

SUCCESS CASE STUDY PRO TOOLS F O PRO LIGHT R

ONLY SUNBOUNCE GIVES YOU COMPLETE CONTROL OVER NATURAL LIGHT

BLOCK

Sunbounce gives you the best control over natural light, and now the wind too! Our unique Wind-Killer fabric reduces the wind by 75%, giving camera operators and wind-swept models relief from being blown away!

more money coming in and from different completely different business line, the vol- Our Black Hole material provides an sources allows us to breathe easier and en- ume-based sports work, in the new openings opaque fabric for absorbing light, or joy our time with our family,” says Kirsten. in our schedule. We’ve been really success- has the versatility to block or reﬂect. “That is a tremendous relief.” ful throughout this transformation because Available in Black / Silver and Black / Soft-White fabrics! “This has all been an exercise in adapt- we’ve had colleagues who are willing to tell ing to changing circumstances,” adds Da- us how they were successful. We didn’t do vid. “As we watched the numbers change in anything brilliant; we just followed their ad- terms of the volume of our senior sessions, vice. It’s all worked out great so far!” • we knew we needed to adapt. We used PPA resources to bring up our average sale so we didn’t need to compete on a volume level in grupaportrait.com that part of our business. Then we fit in a davidgrupasports.com products.hasselbladbron.com/sbppa

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016

PPMAG.COM BREAKING INTO INTO BREAKING FINE ART passion, and research your Know • business about it as a everything of state in a constant niche. Remain learning. with a signature yourself • Brand with your consistent and stay style, genre. true to your message. Stay demo- clientele: target your • Know and income, discretionary graphics, preferences. purchasing and markets galleries • Research and clients, target that sell to your with your galleries out to those reach portfolio. a huge can make framing • Custom avid collectors. to difference and then galleries • Start with local success. on your build them and list awards • Accumulate online bio. in your on what sells and de- an eye • Keep more. that niche even velop BRANDED FOR SUCCESS BRANDED FOR a niche. It’s a specialty where there’s little a specialty where there’s It’s a niche. wiggle room for making a profit, and this is wiggle room for making a profit, where Gooch has defied the odds. lifestyle; she Western discover Gooch didn’t “I grew up with was born and raised in it. a camera in my hand and on the back of a been riding and train- She’s she says. horse,” ing horses for so long that her knowledge of their basic instincts has become intui- also dedicated herself to learning She’s tive. and the behav- lifestyle, Western about light, ior and habits of wild horses in their natural environment. is a magnificent West “The spirit of the “From its says Gooch. teacher to humanity,” ghost towns to its cowboys and galloping us back to takes West American the horses, remind- something wild and unrestrained, ing us of a sense of freedom that many of us Horses teach us about hon- have forgotten. esty and authenticity because they know no Amer- horses are Wild other way of being. the vast landscape. Here, she can smell the Here, the vast landscape. sagebrush-scented air and hear the leaves rustled by mountain breezes. unabashed love for all Add to this Gooch’s and you can understand how things equine, she may have willingly cornered herself into

Some people believe the cowboy and cow- TAMARA GOOCH LASSOES AND FINE-ART COMMERCIAL CLIENTS WITH HER LOVE OF THE WEST girl lifestyle is history, a relic of America’s America’s a relic of girl lifestyle is history, not But that’s storied past that is no more. some- There’s sees it. Gooch Tamara how sparks West thing unique in the way the in out senses it when she’s She her spirit. X by Karin Leperi COWGIRL WITH COWGIRL A CAMERA

IMAGES ©TAMARA GOOCH 36 SUCCESS NICHE MARKET ica’s last remaining icon of the West and a huge part of our Western heritage.” Gooch does editorial photography for mag- azines such as Cowboys & Indians, Ranch & Reata, Western Horseman and Natural Horse. She knew she’d made it as a fine-art photographer when she was invited to participate in the 2012 Desert Caballeros Mu- seum inaugural exhibition, “Cowgirls with a Camera.” In 2015, her work was displayed at Denver’s International Airport art exhibition, “Facing the Wind.”

TRAIL TO FINE ART Gooch’s approach to fine art is straightforward: “Build your portfolio, your database, and work it. Tweak it and find out who your ideal client is. Make it personal and make it unique and always show your best work.” While she enjoys the post-processing as- pect of her work, she knows that what sells images is unfiltered emotion. “From the standpoint of framed pieces, my clients want more than just a standard photograph; they want something that captures the essence and spirit of the horse,” she explains. Although her works hang in many West- ern galleries, there’s one location that’s most dear commercially: “If I could afford to do only one location, it would be Aspen,” says Gooch. “There has to be some sort of travel base when gearing for the high-end market, and the best gallery locations have to be involved with tourism for the constant flow of traffic. The East Coast and Europeans love horses and Western lifestyle, so other strategic locations are New York City, New Jersey, Boston, Park City, Nevada, and California.” She also sells a lot of her fine-art prints at the annual Cowboy Christmas market in Las Vegas. “It’s successful because it dovetails with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and people come to buy,” she notes. COWGIRL’S SADDLEBAG CORRALLING COMMERCIAL WORK Gooch uses Nikon equipment, and her favorite combination is the D810 camera and Gooch is in the sweet spot where clients often either a 70-200mm f/2.8 or 300mm f/2.8 lens. “I’ve been trying out the Nikon seek her out. “I got my start photographing 85mm f/1.4 for portraits and love the shallow depth-of-field. I also have a D4 that I’ll my daughters at hunter/jumper horse shows use in low-light situations but find myself turning to the D810 for its larger file size. I when they were young. Soon other parents, print very large prints, 40x60 inches or more at times, and the large files are essential.” riders, and trainers asked me to photograph Props are everything to the Western lifestyle and not always available, so Gooch car- them and their horses, and things just grew ries a ready supply of ropes, saddles, slickers, hats, boots, leather gloves, and stirrups from there,” she says. to set the mood. Her reputation spread by word-of-mouth,

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 37 NICHE MARKET SUCCESS

38 PPMAG.COM and before she knew it, high-end clients and the horse racing industry were contact- ing her for special gigs. “The commercial/ promotional photography I do comes from high-dollar equestrian facilities that are advertising stallions for breeding and foals for sale,” says Gooch. “I also do some work for the horse racing industry, where promoting winning stallions is a must for syndication.” Her tactic with commercial clients, who’ve seen it all when it comes to Western photography, is to try to stand out from the crowd by offering unique images. Because diversification is a wise bet in any industry, Gooch also books portrait sessions with individuals. She photographs senior sessions each year with Western teens who want their animals in the picture, usually horses and dogs. And other portrait clients seek her out as well. “I do quite a few fantasy horse shoots where I use indoor horse are- nas as my studio incorporating various lighting, smoke machines, bubble machines, et cetera. Then I outfit the women in fabulous gowns and have amazing horses available for them to pose with.” Customers love the results.“I am always looking for that certain emotional connection with the viewer even as I like to experiment with my shooting and post-processing,” Gooch says. “Always make sure to keep your clients happy as they talk: Make it good talk.” •

tamaragoochphoto.com

Karin Leperi is a writer and photographer in New Mexico.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 PET POINTERS PET SUCCESS IMAGES ©AGL PHOTOGRAPHY IMAGES

The image on the left shows the natural catchlights from a 30x60 soft box on camera left and a fill reflector on camera right. In the right image the catchlights have been edited for photographic competition to look more uniform and more like catchlights in human portraits. ANIMAL EYES SHAPE AND LOCATION AFFECT CATCHLIGHTS by Angela Lawson, Cr.Photog., CPP

X Animal eyes reflect light differently than human eyes. The breed cast day or in open shade, the catchlights will appear as an angled and species of an animal, the angle of the eye itself, and how con- crescent at the top of the eye. vex (spherical) the eye actually is are all elements that determine It’s important to note that the shape of the catchlight itself can where the catchlights in the eye fall relative to where the light differ as well. If the light is coming from a large source like a sources are placed. large soft box, window, or the sky, the catchlight will look like the shape of the source, much like in a human eye. However, the DOGS smaller and more round the light source, the more the catch light If a dog’s head is facing directly toward the camera and the main will look like a bright dot. light source is close to the camera, the catch lights will most often both reflect from the very inner part of each eye near the nose CATS rather than a more central location as you see in human eyes. Cats’ eyes reflect catchlights in a way that falls between those of a dog If we move the light source to the side for more directional light, and a human because cat eyes are not as convex as a dog’s, and their and the dog’s head is angled or tilted, the catchlight in the eye faces have a depth similar to humans’. Be aware that cats’ pupils can closest to the main light will be near the center of the eye, typically change size and shape relative to the light itself, so there will always around the edge of the pupil area. The eye farther from the main be slight variations depending on the breed as well as the light source. light will have just a small portion of a catchlight tucked up into the upper corner of the eye near the bridge of the nose or may have BIRDS no catchlight at all. Some birds and other exotic pets, especially nocturnal animals When the main light source is coming from the sky on an over- that have bulging eyes set a bit more to the side but still forward

40 PPMAG.COM Sew Trendy Accessories www.sewtrendyaccessories.com

facing, typically have catchlights that form in a ridge or long shape along the line of the bulge of the eye, either on the top or to the side, depending on where the main light source is coming from.

OVERALL In most cases, with animals that have very convex eyes located on the sides of the face like rabbits, ferrets, and guinea pigs, you’ll see the catchlight in only one eye. You’ll get more pleasing results by photographing them with their head at a slight angle. If photographed head-on, there often won’t be any catch lights showing at all. This typically holds true for horses as well. Most dogs’ and cats’ eyes refract color much better than a human’s eye. Examples are the beautiful ice blue color of a husky’s eye or the stunning green-gold eyes of a cat. Though viewers may think Handmade the eye color has been boosted in Photoshop or overworked, animal eye color can be truly vibrant. Designer Maternity Gowns Girls Gowns Flower Crowns & Newborn Photography Props

@sewtrendyaccessories @sewtrendyacc

*Photographer discounts available

When a dog’s head is tilted, the catchlight in the eye closest to the main light will be near the center of the eye, typically on the rim of the pupil. The eye farther from the main light has just a small portion of the main light reflection tucked in the upper corner of the eye, near the bridge of the nose, and a catchlight from the fill reflector.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 PET POINTERS PET SUCCESS

With the dog’s face forward, the catchlight from a fill reflector on camera left reflects in the center of the nearest eye and offset toward the nose in the other. The main light on camera right, modified by a 30x60-inch soft box, is reflected only in the nearest eye.

As animals age, their eyes develop nuclear sclerosis, much like a human’s eyes. By about the age of 7, many animals’ eyes begin to get cloudy. It’s not the same as cataracts but produces a similar look. Due to the convex nature of an animal’s eyes, the cloudiness is more visually prominent when any light source is aimed at the eyes, as the eye has more area for the light to pass through. When you think of how you want to edit or not edit the catchlights in your pet portraits, consider the viewer. For clients, you likely won’t need to edit catchlights, or only slightly edit them, because pet’s eyes will look natural to the owner. However, in photograph- Cats’ eyes are less convex than dogs’ and the depth of their face is close to ic competition or portfolio review for certified professional pho- that of a human. Their eyes will reflect more of the main light and will be tographer credentials, not all jurors and reviewers closely exam- closer to the same position in the eye. ining the image may be familiar with how animal eye catchlights are different from those in human portraits. In fact, traditionally, pet photographers have edited catchlights to resemble those of human subjects for competition images. This situation is in a state of change as more jurors and reviewers find common ground on cri- tiquing animal eye catchlights, so make your own choices based on your photographic vision and the intended audience for the image. •

aglphotography.net

Angela Lawson is the owner of AGL Photography, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

42 PPMAG.COM

THE GOODS PRODUCTS, TECHNOLOGY & TECHNIQUE BEAUTY TO GO LOCATION MODIFICATION

Descended from the Profoto classic Soft- light Reflector, the new OCF Beauty Dish features some bold modifications to make it small and lighter while maintaining its ability to create creamy, crisp light.

This beauty dish is made of fabrics rather than metal and collapses to fit in a small carrying bag. Just snap it onto an OCF Speedring—no rod fumbling required—and get a full 56-centimeter light modifier.

It comes in silver or white and includes a deflector plate, diffuser, and carrying bag. It can be used with Profoto B1 and B2 Off-Camera Flashes and OCF Gels. Suggested retail is $179, speedring sold separately.

profoto.com COURTESY PROFOTO

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 45

PPMAG.COM The color picker allows you to pull color data from the sourceimage or select specific colors. justments to your image before painting, you can use the Underpainting panel, or just make the adjustments in Photoshop prior to importing the image. begin To the Auto-Paintingprocess, define the source image from the Clone Source Click the floppy panel. disk icon with an arrow in the bottom left corner to define the sourceYou file.can switch source files at any point while editing, which done I’ve to pull in different colors for the background and foreground; the possibilities endless. are Smart select panel, Auto-Painting the In Stroke Painting and Smart Settings, then click which play, lets Painter deter- 2016 mine all the settings and creates a finished painting quickly. Just click don’t away to another window or do any other editing elsewhere because the Auto-Painting will stop. can (You also stop it intentionally at any time.) The process begins with big brush strokes and progresses down to smaller sized brushes. The final painting may or maynot be what you envisioned, so many artists use it as a starting point for further refining such as bringing out the details in the face. like If you don’t it, just clear the canvas and adjust your settings. Auto-Paint When want you to add your own hand brushwork to an image, you can use the clone source tab in conjunction with clon- click- of ing tools. Unlike clone Photoshop’s tools, matter which are simple very limited, a Painter allows turned 2016 be to brushes It’s standard its of many cloners. into ing the clone stamp icon in the color pick- If theer. color picker shows shades of gray, Painter pulls the color data from the source image; if it shows various colors, you can manually select the color for your brush. tograph: auto-painting, painting from a a from painting auto-painting, tograph: clone source, and free painting. The first two methods have the quickest learning curve. From the Get Started tab, you can click Photo Art to have Painter arrange the workspace beginfor you. You by opening the image you’ll be painting (known as the source image). I prepared my source image by bumping up the color saturation and simplifying the background by removing a chair. In the and auto-painting panels Auto-Painting, I primarily Underpainting, used Clone Source. bump up the To saturation, change the contrast, or make general ad- WITH COREL PAINTER 2016 PAINTING FROM A PHOTO FROM PAINTING PAINTING START START CPP by Betsy Finn, M.Photog.Cr., Each release of Corel Painter introduces I removed the background and chair to simplify the original (left) before beginning. On thestage right of is the a Auto-Painting process when the brush sizes are smaller and more detail begins to appear. X features for all kinds of artists, and for photographers who want to offer digital painting, the additions to Corel Painter are 2016 designed to make the process easier. The new welcome screen helps point you in the right direction from the beginning with tabs labeled Learn, Get Content, Get Started, and Get Inspired. These tabs lead you to training content, add-on brush sets, preset workspaces, and artwork created with Corel Painter to show you some 2016 beautiful examples of possible. what’s Three options are availablefor making a digital painting from an existing pho-

IMAGES ©BETSY FINN 46 THE GOODS TUTORIAL SOVEREIGN.

The first, reigning over the Art line of high level artistic lenses.

With a wide aperture of F1.4 and superior optics, the 35mm lens sets a precedent of inspiring the artist and returning stunning images.

35mm F1.4 DG HSM

Case and Hood LH730-03 included. USA 4 Year Service Protection

SIGMA USB Dock Update, adjust & personalize. Customization never thought possible. Sold separately.

SIGMA Corporation of America | 15 Fleetwood Court | Ronkonkoma, NY 11779, U.S.A. | Tel: (631) 585-1144 | www.SigmaPhoto.com Follow us Twitter @sigma_photo and Facebook.com/sigmacorporationofamerica The Photo Portrait pack ($29.99) is a new bar displays what the brush looks like and add-on of 15 brushes that streamline the how the brush stroke renders. I also tested photo painting process. It has brushes for the Hair Set pack ($29.99), which includes painting background, skin, hair, and the 15 brushes, and I found the textures and like. I found that these brushes took the varieties to be impressive. guesswork out of getting started. Just hov- Armed with this combination of brushes, er over a brush, and the bottom of the tool- I filled in rough strokes on the face and hair.

Above, left: These are some stroke examples of the brushes I used most frequently from the Photo Portrait brush pack. Right: The Hair brush pack offers impressive variety.

HELPFUL FEATURES • The brush library has been reorganized to feature the top 300 brushes, making it easier to find what you want. • Visual tool tips, tutorials, and brush hints are integrated in the software to help you learn your way around. • The welcome screen gives easy access to dynamic tutorials, brush packs, photo workspace, and more. • Blending is improved across layers and media types, and it’s easier to edit blending brush variants. • You can now import and edit pixel-based Photoshop brush stamps.

PPMAG.COM RDERa Y O OU FREER MANUFACTURING 2016 CATALOG ® ™ T Freedom Cloth Backdrops Roll Up Floors ODAY!

“The World’s Largest Manufacturer of Photographic Backdrops and Props” www.dennymfg.comwww.photonovelty.com 1.800.844.5616

CPM7635 - Perfect Storm Freedom Cloth® Backdrop - Photo by Jordan Chan It’s important to keep in mind that a lon- tency is particularly important if you plan ger brush stroke will pull original color to enter your work in the International Pho- and tone through to areas that might not tographic Competition. have originally had that color. So for parts To practice brush technique, I did a quick of your image needing more detail or with still life painting of a lime based on a photo greater tonal ranges, use shorter, stippled I took. I had fun experimenting with the strokes. For obvious brush strokes in the Sargent brush and palette knife. If you’re final image, you can leave them as is or going to work on portraits, you will likely use the blending tools to smudge the colors. Short strokes that circle around will produce a better blend. If you’ve ever done any shading and blending with traditional media like graphite or pastels, you’ll be familiar with this concept. When you’re learning how to paint and finding your style, it’s tough to know when to stop. You could fine tune for hours and still not feel done. Aim for a consistency of real- ism, textures, and brush technique throughout your image even though they may be applied to areas differently. For an extreme example, photorealistic eyes look out of place if the rest of the painting is impressionistic. Consis-

In this closeup you can see the brush texture in the face.

PPMAG.COM Quality Matters

ChromaLuxe print media takes your images to the highest level with unmatched quality and durability. Created speciﬁcally for the high end photo market, specially coated sheets of metal, wood, and table top panels create intensely vibrant and incredibly long lasting prints. The variety of offerings, along with the ease with which they can be presented, makes this a perfeact ﬁt for any residential or commercial space.

Available at all major photo labs. Ask your lab for genuine ChromaLuxe today.

www.chromaluxe.com

ChromaLuxe® is a registered trademark of Universal Woods, Inc. ©2016 feel more encouraged if you start simple. are countless customizing options, and Don’t pick a complex portrait as your first with the addition of photo-oriented brush painting: Start small and work your way up packs, there is a drastically reduced learn- from there. ing curve. If you have Photoshop brushes Overall, I think Painter 2016 is fantastic. I that you just can’t do without, Painter 2016 loved being able to paint with different media allows you to import them and even edit the and walk away from my creative session settings. One caveat: If you’re used to Pho- without a drop of paint on me. The brushes toshop, you may bemoan the lack of a his- were responsive and realistic, and I was tory panel or history snapshots, so save of- able to produce finished paintings quickly. ten and as multiple versions. I have a lot of room for improvement, but Painter 2016 is $429 (upgrade for $229), the nice thing is that Painter 2016 includes and brush packs are $29.99 per set. A fully a number of ways to get you started. functional 30-day free trial of Painter 2016 For photographers who aren’t used to is at painterartist.com. • working with traditional media, the hints and visual tool tips are a godsend. The brush Betsy Finn is a portrait artist in Michigan. strokes are intuitive and realistic, there bphotoart.com

PPMAG.COM

I chose to set up the EX2100 in RAID 1 for

COURTESY WD data protection. I could have configured it as two separate 4TB drives, one 8GB drive, PRO REVIEW GOODS THE or RAID 0. Other My Cloud lines offer room for up to five drives for more redundant RAID configurations. The EX2100 allows me to simply pull out one of the drives if it fails, plug in a new drive, and wait until it rebuilds the data and returns to normal operation. With all of the computers in the studio playing nicely together, I decided to set up my Android phone and tablet, my iPad, and the laptop I take on location. Android and Apple devices require the free WD My Cloud app from their respective stores. Laptops need to have the free WD My Cloud Desktop EX2100 with two 6TB Red drives for Windows or Mac to access the device from anywhere with a network connection. It’s easiest to do this when connected wire- lessly to the network on which the NAS STORAGE SOLUTION is attached, and that’s what I did. It was all WD MY CLOUD EX2100 very straightforward. by Stan Sholik I used the same process to set up access on my Windows and Mac home computers. It XAs still image and video file sizes increase of choosing a device from the WD site. I set- took minutes, and I now have access to the and the need to access them on multiple tled on an 8GB My Cloud EX2100 NAS from EX2100 for all my devices wherever I have devices anywhere in the world becomes the Personal Cloud, My Cloud Expert line. a network connection. WD removed the more important, the requirements for me- The EX2100 is available for $559.99, complexity of NAS with the EX2100. dia storage become more complex. Even my which includes two 4GB WD Red hard But wait, there’s more. If you can’t fill up modest studio sports four desktop comput- drives. Red series hard drives are designed the EX2100 with photo or video media, you ers and a laptop, and I’m never without my for NAS devices and feature 1 million hours can also use it to back up a Windows com- iPad or Android tablets and, of course, my mean time before failure (MTBF) as well as puter with WD Smartware Pro software or smartphone. Away from the studio I need to special features to lower power consump- a Mac with a seamless connection to Apple access images to show clients and upload tion and heat when idle. Time Machine right out of the box. You can i mages f rom ses sion s for proc es si ng a s soon The EX2100 arrived with a two-sided also back up to a remote NAS, to Elephant as I return. I also need my Mac and Win- Quick Installation Guide that showed the Drive cloud backup, to Amazon Web Ser- dows machines at home to be able to access four steps needed to configure the device vices, and others. And you can stream con- photos from the studio computers. to my network. Given what I’d heard from tent stored on the EX2100 to media play- A solution to the storage problem has other photographers with NAS devices and ers, Smart TVs, gaming consoles, and oth- existed for many years in the form of my lack of network knowledge, I had my er Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) network-attached storage (NAS) devices. doubts. But I was wrong to be concerned. devices. These can hold multiple large hard drives, Setup was as easy as plugging in the For me, I’m just pleased to have an af- use RAID configurations to guard against EX2100 power brick to a wall socket and fordable RAID 1 storage device holding all data loss, and be part of a network avail- connecting to the studio network with the my media files that I can access from any- able to other computers and the internet supplied Ethernet cable. After using my web where I have an internet connection and on for access from virtually everywhere. browser to connect to it on the network and any device I own. • NAS would be an ideal solution if not for choosing English from the language op- two major downsides: network complex- tions, the EX2100 walked me through a few ity and cost. Enter the WD My Cloud line setup screens, and I was done. The NAS Stan Sholik is a commercial and of NAS devices. Even before dealing with shows up as any other hard drive does on advertising photographer in Santa Ana, the complexity of setting up a NAS on your Windows or Mac whether they’re connected California, specializing in still life and network, you must navigate the complexity to the network by cable or through Wi-Fi. macro photography.

54 PPMAG.COM Introducing Xpozer Exceptional Images Deserve an Exceptional Presentation

Image by Frank Doorhof It’s a Frame Changer! As seen at WPPI! Your images are printed on striking Vivid Satin material. With no frame needed, they ﬂ oat away from the wall for a modern gallery look. The lightweight patented aluminum tension hanging system makes Xpozer highly portable and quick to assemble--perfect for displaying at shows or shipping to clients or loved ones. Group multiple Xpozer Prints to create beautiful wall displays, and change them up as often as you like with Xchange Prints.

Learn more at bayphoto.com/xpozer

Get 25% off your fi rst order with Bay Photo Lab! 25% For instructions on how to redeem this special off er, OFF create a free account at bayphoto.com. Your First Order

LIGHTING GOODS THE IMAGES ©STAN SHOLIK

The Sekonic’s Power Control display (far left) makes it easy to adjust the exposure for each group or the overall exposure. The numbers above each group give you immediate feedback on lighting ratios. Other screens shown (left to right) are the measuring screen, measuring modes, tool box, and settings for flash channels and groups.

L-478 touch screen meter in 2012 with two HIGH-POWER AGILITY models, the base L-478 and the L-478DR. The SEKONIC LITEMASTER PRO L-478DR-U-EL DR model could remotely trigger PocketWiz- ard-equipped flash units and trigger and by Stan Sholik control the power level of hot shoe flashes connected to PocketWizard ControlTL receivers. XGiven the current makeup of digital SLRs raphers using high-power electronic flash. With adapters you could trigger AlienBees and the utility of multiple hot shoe flashes The latest Sekonic touch-screen LiteMaster and White Lightning monolights and Zeus and associated flash controllers, many pho- Pro meters let you meter continuous light power packs, and with the PowerST4 receiv- tographers have written off light meters and a nd el e c t r on ic fl a s h ou t pu t a s wel l a s c ont r ol er you could trigger Elinchrom RX flashes. flash meters as archaic. Sekonic has defied the output of professional flash systems. The Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478DR-U-EL that thinking to make life easier for photog- Sekonic introduced the state-of-the-art meter extends Elinchrom compatibility with wireless radio triggering and full power control of all EL-Skyport-enabled Elin- chrom flash units. It includes all of the features of the base L-478D-U meter such as ambient and flash metering for still photography and cine metering for video. New is the T-F mode, which lets you set shutter speed and aperture and have the meter show the ISO for proper exposure. PROS CONS This model gives you metering versatility • T-F mode provides ISO setting • Cannot turn off one group to meter and an array of custom settings; however, necessary for user-defined the two or three others a dim display in bright light is a downside. shutter speed and aperture • Screen is dim in sunlight I tested the L-478DR-U-EL with two • Easy to set and adjust lighting ratios Elinchrom BRX 500/500 sets, giving me and overall light output four 500-joule heads and softboxes to work • Fast, intuitive operation with color with. I also used the Elinchrom EL-Skyport touchscreen Plus HS mounted on my Nikon hot shoe to trigger the flash units.

58 PPMAG.COM It’s an amazing and versatile system. Once the flash heads are turned on and the meter measuring mode is set to radio flash, the meter quickly recognizes each flash head. Setting the FCH (frequency channel) and groups you wish to use is easy. Avail- able to you are 20 frequency channels and four groups plus All. I used FCH 1 and set each head as a separate group, allowing me to control the output of each head individually. If there are multiple heads in the same group, adjusting the group output ad- justs the output of all the heads. With the heads set up, set the ISO and shutter speed on the main menu and press the measuring button to take a reading. Each light group can be measured separately using Flash Power Control. Selecting one of the groups and pressing the measuring button triggers the units in that group. You can then use +/- to adjust the output of the units in that group. Once you have the Left: Lighting setup for this portrait was quick and easy with the main light as Group 1, the fill light as Group 2, and the hair light as Group 3. With the camera mounted vertically it was much easier to use the power levels of each group adjusted you can Sekonic meter than the EL-Skyport in the hot shoe mount. Right: Using the same lighting setup it took select the All button and measure the just a second to lower the output of the fill light for a higher lighting ratio.

Flash Brackets Clamps

Gimbal Heads Arca-Type Plates

Sliders Custom L-Brackets

Ball Heads Made in USA

Got Gear? www.ProMediaGear.com Manufactured at our factory in Chicago, IL Image shot inside the CNC Machine (888) 413.3332 • (708) 263.4443 [email protected] Manufactured in Chicago, IL combined output. If the overall expo- to being able to adjust light output with sure needs to be adjusted, use +/- with the handheld meter is that it saves you All selected. The Modeling Lamp but- from craning your head sideways to make LIGHTING GOODS THE ton works the same to adjust lamp output. adjustments when the camera is mounted The beauty of this is how the Flash Pow- vertically on a tripod and the EL-Skyport er Control displays the exposure informa- transmitter is mounted in the hot shoe. tion. As you meter each group, the meter I came across one shortcoming to the sys- displays the f/stop for the group at the top tem, but it’s due to the EL-Skyport, not the of the readout in large numbers and for the Sekonic. I wanted to be able to meter the individual groups above each group num- main and fill light together without the hair ber. The readout above each group gives light, but you can’t meter two or three groups you immediate feedback about lighting ra- together, just single groups or all groups. tios. Using +/- buttons you can adjust the That aside, the Sekonic L-478DR-U-EL light output of each group then take a new represents the state of the art in hand-held reading and immediately see the new light- meters for Elinchrom flash owners, both in ing ratio. The All button takes a reading, useful features and ease of use. The Sekon- and the combined exposure is displayed ic L-478DR-U-EL is priced at $399. • at the top of the display with info on each group below. Setting and adjusting overall light level and lighting ratios has never Stan Sholik is a commercial/advertising been so easy or so visual. photographer in Santa Ana, California, In the moment it took for the model to turn in the Th i s i s a l l much easier to accompl i sh t ha n specializing in still life and macro opposite direction I was able to adjust the fill light up and lower the output of the hair light for this to describe. The color touchscreen definite- photography. His latest book is “Legal exposure. ly speeds the operation. Another advantage Photography” (Amherst Media). ADORAMA WANTS TO BUY YOUR USED PHOTO & VIDEO GEAR

ITS WORTH MORE THAN YOU THINK! Whether consumer level, professional gear or even vintage cameras, your used equipment can easily be turned into cash or upgraded equipment.

Get a fast, free quote online at Adorama.com/TradePP or in our NYC store. < Scan Here to see how easy it is to sell and trade up!

FREE 1-3 DAY SHIPPING on most orders over $49*

*details at adorama.com/shipping 42 W 18TH ST NYC | 800.223.2500 | adorama.com/tradepp ADVERTISEMENT

The Bon a Vie opens from the center out. ZOOKBINDERS HELPING PHOTOGRAPHERS SELL PHOTOGRAPHY

Q: WHY ZOOKBINDERS? HOW ARE YOU HELPING PHOTOGRAPHERS SUCCEED? 3. The service helps clients get album orders back to their photographer A: Throughout our 21-year history we’ve had a reputation as a quality in days or weeks instead of months or even years. house, but in today’s uber-competitive, time-starved world, we’re also pro- 4. Just days after entering the design phase, brides preview their design viding services that help photographers give their clients a better experi- in a convenient virtual album. They can request revisions from our design- ence while making it easier for them to spend more money on photography. ers right there in the system. 5. Once they’re in love with their design, they can even elect to upgrade Q: ALBUMS CAN BE A THROBBING HEADACHE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS. to a larger album or add parent copies at retail prices the photographer HOW DOES ZOOKBINDERS MAKE ORDERING ALBUMS LESS PAINFUL? has set up. A: Photographers say it takes their clients forever to pick images and that designing the album is tedious, and there are so many emails back and Q: EXPLAIN WHY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE forth with changes and revisions. PHOTOGRAPHY. Too many brides say getting their album took too long, was too confus- A: We’ve all been to restaurants where the food might be good, but the ing, and they just didn’t know where to start. service is awful. Guess what? We don’t go there anymore! Worse yet for Zookbinders addresses these concerns with innovative services that be- that restaurant, we’ll also tell our friends not to go there. However, if the gin when the photographer has an edited collection of images. Here’s how: food is decent and the service is amazing, we’ll continue to go and tell our 1. We build an easy-to-use web gallery for each of your clients with friends. It’s the same with a photography business. images we recommend for the album. 2. We invite clients to add or subtract from our suggestions, making it Q: HOW CAN A BETTER EXPERIENCE LEAD TO HIGHER SALES? easy for them to add more images at retail prices the photographer has A: Smart photographers recognize the importance of in-person sales. They’ll set up. The service generates upsells in the form of added images and create a reveal event for the couple and their family by creating a slideshow integrates neatly with our design service. of selected images set to the music of the couple’s ﬁrst dance. They’ll get

62 PPMAG.COM ADVERTISEMENT

The Bon a View gives a unique story-telling experience. Signature Zook Book, a former Hot One award winner

Clones can be made of any album Zookbinders offers.

zookbinders.com

The “splash” cover them excited by showing them creative album ideas, wall art options, and attention grabber that will help differentiate you from everyone else and thank you cards over a glass of wine or freshly baked cookies. Maybe they’ll help you get hired. even have a special gift print ready for them to take home. These personal We just added an 18x18 that has been very popular as a sample album. touches can be a game changer for post-event sales and referrals. We liken it to the shiny red sports cars that dealerships put in the front of the showroom. Q: WHAT’S THE KEY TO GETTING REFERRALS? Although we targeted the Bon a Vie for weddings, we’ve been surprised A: Imagine your client sharing their wedding sneak previews (with your at how popular it’s been for boudoir and high school senior clients. Boudoir watermark on them, of course) the day after their wedding with hundreds of clients are typically looking for something unique, and senior photogra- Facebook friends and Instagram followers. Imagine the bride telling her phers tell us high-school girls like that it’s different from their parents’ friends and co-workers about the awesome reveal you treated her and her wedding album. husband to, the beautiful gift print you surprised them with, or the blog post you put up that morning. Imagine the looks on their faces when she shows Q: WHAT’S NEXT FOR ZOOKBINDERS? off her wedding album barely two months after her wedding. She might hear A: We’ll continue to provide innovative products that draw attention and “My cousin got married a year ago, and she still hasn’t gotten her album! Who’s that help photographers get hired. For album design clients, we’re being your photographer? These pictures are gorgeous!” You’ve effectively turned your asked to work directly with their clients on revisions so they can spend less clients into your sales force, and that’s the kind of advertising you can’t buy. time on post-event tasks. We’ve hired more sales support consultants who offer free help to pho- Q: YOU JUST LAUNCHED AN INNOVATIVE NEW PRODUCT. WHAT’S SO tographers with everything from pricing and products to improving their UNIQUE ABOUT IT? workﬂ ow. The majority of the folks on our support team are working pho- A: The Bon a Vie album opens from the center like French doors. Each tographers, and there’s nothing we love more than helping a photographer spread unfolds in a format that’s fresh and new. It’s a head turner and an solve a problem.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 63 All the world’s

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 65 Start a conversation with Emin Kuliyev and exquisitely the personalities of individuals you quickly realize you’re in the presence of navigating one of the seismic moments of a philosopher in the long tradition of Rus- their lives. All the world’s his stage, too—he’s sian existentialism. He just happens to use photographed a bride walking through an photography as his medium. American desert canyon and a couple cud- “What do you mean by ‘professional pho- dling as they gaze at the Aegean Sea coast. tographer’?” he asks, and this turns out to be But perhaps he holds more kinship with a rhetorical question as he delves into the writer Anton Chekhov, as his images focus on income, equipment, experience, artistry, and the minutest details while keeping us ever- opportunity that modern photography entails. aware of the wider universe beyond the He mentions the newest iPhone’s capabilities characters’ comprehension, like the bride Sthat encourage people who’ve never taken and groom kissing on a New York City street an image before to call themselves photog- corner surrounded by the blur of passing rapher: “Same name, photography, but new traffi c and pedestrians. meaning,” Kuliyev says, sounding much like Invoking dramatists for comparison (though philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin discussing dia- he started it with his Shakespeare reference) logism: “People kill the meaning of profes- is not to insinuate that Kuliyev’s images are sional and kill the meaning of photographer. tragic. If there’s a common theme in his wed- It’s like if you have a pen you’re a writer, but ding images it’s that the viewer wishes he or you’re not Shakespeare.” she had been invited to the event. “I’m like Forty-seven-year-old Kuliyev, a native of a mirror; I can refl ect people’s emotions,” Azerbaijan who lived for a time in Moscow, he says. Through his photography, Kuliyev is both a professional and a photographer by tells the story of the couple’s big day—the any defi nition. He makes a living as a wed- families’ and friends’ day, too—starting with ding photographer in New York City. And breakfast and then everything from make- though he demurs at the suggestion that up and dressing to the morning after. “I’m he is an artist, he creates engaging but in- chronicling every step,” he says. describable images, even with his iPhone— He used to average 10,000 images per though more often he uses lenses of his own wedding day, but about six months ago he making. He’s Shakespearean in the way he started incorporating video into his reper- expands the tools of his medium to portray toire. “I’m not a video guy; I shoot video as a

66 PPMAG.COM PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 67 photographer,” he says, using the Sony Alpha cause he already has the footage, he gives a better than yesterday. I have to. Every year I a7R II to capture key moments, then review- short video to clients as a gift. try to change my vision and spark.” ing the footage frame by frame just as he For his wedding photography business, One of his sparks came when he bought would a series of still images. “When I know Kuliyev markets himself as a photojournal- his first Sony Alpha a7 mirrorless camera. I have just minutes before [the moment ist. It’s an apt descriptor, given the many Its smaller sensor allows Kuliyev to adjust passes], I will shoot video because I know I moments—and those moments presented the types of lenses as well as the lenses’ will get something.” Compared to even rap- through many different perspectives and position relative to the camera body. In his id-shutter photography, video expands the points of view—he presents in his wedding apartment, a wall of shelves is filled with number of potentially perfect captures of portfolios. However, he insists that “photo- what look like manufactured lenses but that moment, he says. The number of his still journalism” is just a label, an easy identifier are really his own creations. He’s collected images has decreased to an average of 3,000 for potential clients. His other online galler- a wide spectrum of lenses—one he demon- per wedding, but he’s shooting about 100 ies show him pushing not only the aesthetic strates is a 125-year-old movie projector videos now—about 80 percent of his cap- but also the technical boundaries of photog- lens—which he connects to pipes that can tures—giving him some 100,000 images to raphy. Even Kuliyev’s transition to video is be attached to one of the mounts he’s al- choose from. That also means five to seven part of his never-sated desire to get a leg up tered for that purpose. The mounts allow days of editing. “It kills all my time,” he says, on his competition as well as himself. “I try him to focus the same as he would with any but he feels the product is better and, be- to be better than anybody else; I try to be manufactured lens, but the type and length

68 PPMAG.COM

my eyes.” He began with portraits but soon moved to weddings, getting his start by photographing his first wedding for free. He also teaches photography, doing workshops and one-on-one sessions for photographers around the world via Skype. From that no- charge start he now offers packages from $5,000 to $8,000 per wedding plus travel expenses. Wedding photography is the only way an independent photographer is sure to make a sustained living, he says. He tried stock photography but abandoned it as too much administrative work for too little income. “I’m not sure I’m successful,” he says. “Photography is not for people who want to be rich. For me, I’m happy. Photography is my passion. I like what I do.” Yet, he doesn’t consider himself an artist—in part, he says, because art is immeasurable but also because as a wedding photographer, “I do it only for the money.” That may not fit his definition of art, but it must be pointed out—especially since he brought it up— that Shakespeare used his pen to make mon- of the lens gives him a range of effects. into a career break. While Kuliyev was recov- ey, too. • “I’m like a painter with so many brushes, but ering from the injury and unable to work he I collect, like, 300 brushes,” he says. “Now bought a Canon PowerShot G2 and taught I can paint in very different variations.” himself photography, discovering his true em34.com He includes only a couple of his experimen- calling. “I was a photographer without a cam- tal lenses when he does a wedding assign- era all my life,” he says. “I was shooting with Eric Minton is a writer in Washington, D.C. ment and looks for an opportunity to use them—“it just gives me a little bit more vari- ation from anybody else”—but in his spare time he experiments with each lens and posts the results on his website and Face- book page. Kuliyev didn’t initially pursue photography as a career. When he was 21 he worked in a music store and had to label tapes by hand. “After a couple of years it was boring for me,” he says, so he decided to do more interesting labels by buying a computer and teaching himself Photoshop. His new skills led him into a career as a graphic designer and eventually to the United States, emigrating in 2000. He started taking design classes at Bronx Community College, but two years later he was in a car accident in which his leg was broken so badly it laid him up for nearly a year. To this day he doesn’t walk without pain. What was a bad break at the time turned

70 PPMAG.COM

72 New BY JEFF KENT heights

Charleton Churchill marries an adverturesome spirit with a career covering weddings

Charleton Churchill was an outdoor adventurer first. Then he became a wedding photographer. At some point, like a good marriage, the two became one. A longtime photographic hobby- ist, Churchill had been practicing his photography during various outdoor adventures, learning the skills as he went. Then, in the mid- 2000s, he started planning a trip to climb Mt. Everest. He decided to step up his photography game so he could better capture what he saw and felt on the mountain. As Churchill’s photography skills improved, people close to him began to notice. He started getting re- ©MICHAEL COHN

Charleton Churchill

73 74 PPMAG.COM to notice. He started getting requests for per- branched out on his own, booking eight wed- sonal photography, including friends who dings that year. In 2010 he booked 17 wed- asked him to shoot their wedding in 2008. dings and was named Best Photographer of At first, he refused, insisting that he wasn’t the Year in Sacramento by the local KCRA a wedding photographer. Eventually, he A-List. His business caught fire and bookings agreed, and when the couple saw their im- catapulted to nearly 40 in 2011. He started ages after the event, they were blown away, picking up media coverage, awards, and a he says. “‘Oh, my God. These pictures are so growing fan base for his unique approach. different,’” Churchill recounts. Churchill’s process for building his busi- Different. The description intrigued him, ness has been intentional. In the beginning and he started to think he might be on to he took some jobs that weren’t a perfect fit. something. As he began getting more wed- It helped get his feet under him and make a ding photography requests, Churchill pon- lot of images. As the years progressed, he’s dered how he could forge his own path in been able to home in on his ideal client and the world of weddings. “The concept I want- on the type of imagery that inspires him. ed to pursue was a type of adventure wed- Never a fan of the traditional nor the ding photography,” he explains. “Not jump- trendy, Churchill has always tried to zig while ing out of planes or anything crazy—just a others zag. For example, he was heavy into style that demonstrates an appreciation for outdoor, on-location lighting when every- the outdoors, for an adventurous lifestyle, one else was all about natural light. When and for how those things can be applied to a some trends started to shift toward what he beautiful wedding.” was doing, he pivoted to a new method. It’s Churchill worked some jobs with another a constant battle to stay ahead of the game, wedding photographer so he could learn but that challenge is part of what motivates the ropes. He also took several photogra- Churchill. “I’m always thinking, How can I phy classes to further his skills. In 2009 he shoot this wedding differently than I did last

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 75 time?” he says. “That’s the key to success for me, always trying to outdo myself.” One issue with constant innovation is the struggle to maintain consistency in the face of trying new things. Early on, Churchill had to work his way through that struggle like any other creator, seeking the right balance between an identifiable brand and the next breakthrough. “I had people ask me, ‘What is your thing?’” he says. “I’ll admit that it took me a while to figure that out because I was always experimenting. I’ve now locked in on what I love, and I’ve been able to really focus on the work that is me.” As his work has evolved, Churchill has been increasingly selective of the images he shows on his website and blog and how he’s building his brand through images. This process helped him define both his professional image and his target client. “When talking to couples, I’d ask them what kind of images they like,” says Churchill. “Sometimes, they’d show me things they’d seen on Pinterest. I’d

76 PPMAG.COM

Sometimes, pushing the envelope means going out on a limb without expectation of profiting from those efforts. Churchill has done a few free weddings just to shoot the event as a personal project. Prior to a wedding, he researches the event geography on Google Maps to help define a creative vision for the images he wants to make. And he typically allots time on the wedding day to try some innovative shots based on these concepts, even if that means staying long after the reception ends to play with these ideas. For special projects, Churchill has put out a call for participants and offered to trade them his work in exchange for their time and travel expenses if they pay their way to the destination. Some of his most notable images have come from these personal projects or from incentivizing clients to go on location for some additional shots by offering a lower rate on these adventure shoots. For one en- gagement shoot in Alaska, Churchill put out a call for subjects, a hair stylist, and makeup artist. Several couples responded, as well as hair and makeup pros. BHLDN, Anthropolo- gie’s wedding brand, even stepped in to provide clothing and accessories. “You have to get out there and do it,” says Churchill. “Stop thinking about it, and make it happen. Ask for willing participants. Ask for sponsors. If it’s just in your head, but you don’t do it, then someone else is going to do it first. I think fear blocks a lot of photographers, and it’s gotten in my way before, too. But you have to get past it. If you have ideas, you can’t wait. If you do, it never gets done. Be brave. Attack, plan it well, and do it. Re- gardless of whether you fail or not, at least you’re trying.” •

charletonchurchill.com

say, ‘Those are good, and we can do that if you For a couple of years, Churchill worked hard really want it, but a year from now everyone to educate. He tried to convince his clients to On the Web will have seen those images somewhere else. give his ideas a try. A few did, and the results On Mt. Everest to cover a wedding, Don’t you want something original?’ To do produced several photographs that have be- Charleton Churchill found himself work that way, you can’t be lazy. You have to come cornerstones of his portfolio. “As I push in the midst of tragedy work for it. Clients aren’t always convinced. the envelope more and more, I am getting more ppmag.com/news/shaken There’s a lot of education involved.” clients that are interested in what I do,” he says.

78 PPMAG.COM

The Professional’s Source TM

BandH.com Free EXPEDITED SHIPPING

on orders over $49*

C F E

B D

Shop B&H, where you will ﬁ nd all the latest gear at your ﬁ ngertips and on display in our SuperStore. Download the B&H App

Consult a Professional w/ Live Chat online www.BandH.com Visit Our SuperStore Where you will ﬁ nd information 420 Ninth Avenue, NYC on over 400,000 items 800-947-9964 | 212-444-6664

*Applies to In-Stock Items. Some restrictions may apply. See website for details. NYC DCA Electronics Store Lic.#0906712; NYC DCA Electronics & Home Appliance Service Dealer Lic. #0907905; NYC DCA Secondhand Dealer – General Lic. #0907906 © 2015 B & H Foto & Electronics Corp. B&H - The leading retailer of the Latest Technology

Cash in or Trade up A Apple MacBook Pro B Profoto B2 250 Air C Nikon AF-S NIKKOR D Oben CT-2491 CF Tripod with Retina Display TTL To-Go Kit 300mm f/4E PF ED VR and BC-166 Ball Head Used #APMBPMGXC2LL #PRB2250ATTGK #NI3004E #OBCT2491K2 Equipment $2,29900 $1,99500 $1,99695 $66995 We Buy, Sell, E Sony Alpha A7S F Zeiss 135mm f/2 APO G Litepanels Astra 1x1 H Canon EOS 5DS Mirrorless Camera Sonnar T* ZF.2 Lens Bi-Color LED Panel DSLR Camera and Trade #SOA7SB #ZE1352ASZFN #LIA1X1BC #CAE5DS $2,19800 $2,12200 $1,35000 $3,69900

I Panasonic Lumix J 3DR Solo K Nikon D750 DSLR L DJI Inspire 1 DMC-GH4 Camera Quadcopter Drone Camera with Quadcopter 4K Video with Interface Unit (No Gimbal) 24-120mm Lens and 3-Axis Gimbal #PADMCGH4BK #3DRSOLO #NID75024120 #DJINSPIRE1 $2,29799 $99995 $3,39695 $2,89900

Kansas Pitts bottles beach vacation joy

By Amanda Arnold

Kansas Pitts and family

82 83 he beach is a popular place for famil- a designated stretch of Santa Rosa Beach at 30 minutes, the length of time that’s best for ies to gather for their annual vaca- sunrise or sunset, and the resulting wide-an- the light and the attention spans of small child- tion. And Kansas Pitts, who’s based in gle shots are unusually colorful—the lovely ren (and vacationing dads). Florida summers Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, has seen pinkish-orange hue of sky and sand during are hot and muggy—admittedly not great for more than her share of them, happily. the golden hour, with the family wrapped by hair. So she warns clients about the humidi- T Her studio, which sees return clients light, smiling and laughing. ty, suggests hair products, and most import- from throughout the Southeast each year, “Most of the old-school beach pictures were ant, snaps the close-up shots at the begin- thrives on these sun-soaked vacationers. close up and very controlled,” she says of the ning of the session while hair and makeup When she started out, Pitts planned to fo- market when she entered the game. And while are fresh, saving wide-angle environmental cus on newborn photography, signing up for she captures a few of those posed shots, too, shots for the end. Most of her sessions are workshops to learn more about that niche. In her signature images are less planned and at sunset, which takes place around 8 p.m. the meantime, she was receiving significant- more dramatic. Families pay a lot of money to in the summer, but she’s been encouraging ly more calls for family portraits on the beach. come to the beach to relax and have fun, she clients with small children to try a sunrise “I guess maybe because I was doing it differ- says, so she creates a session that’s an exten- session, since little tykes tend to be wiped ently—with a wide angle lens and more envi- sion of that fun and a product that reflects it. out after a full day at the beach but are balls ronmental,” she says. So she reimagined her “That started to set me apart,” she says. of energy in the morning. studio to appeal to the families who vacation The sales and ordering session is also ex- along the Florida panhandle each year. TAKE IT EASY pedited, both to reduce stress on the client While mom, dad, and kids are the primary Given that her clients are on vacation, first and to make purchasing easy. If a family subjects in her work, the sun always plays a and foremost is making the session stress- is vacationing in Florida for a week, Pitts central role. Portrait sessions take place on free, which she accomplishes by keeping it to schedules the photo session on Monday,

84 PPMAG.COM PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 85 Tuesday, or Wednesday and the sales session on Thursday or Friday. She edits the photos the night of the photo session and immediately orders proofs so she’s ready to show clients the work on a quick turnaround. “I have clients come in before they go back home so they don’t have to go it alone,” she says, since going through proofs online to make buying decisions can be overwhelm- ing. Like the photo session, she keeps the sales session short—just 20 to 30 minutes. That’s enough time to display a brief slideshow, some sample prints, and various types of wall portraits, which are hung on the studio walls. “A lot of them have heard of the acrylic and metal [prints] but they’ve never seen it in person,” she says, and lately many clients prefer the metal prints to canvas since they brandish vivid sunset colors so well. “They’re very eye-catching,” she says. The goal is for clients to receive their order at home as soon as they return from the beach.

HAPPY RETURNS During Pitts’ busy season, which runs from mid-March to Labor Day, she photographs three to six beach portrait sessions a week. She attracts new clients via her SEO-savvy BEACH STYLE blog and social media and then retains them Pitts helps clients choose a wardrobe with a breezy scheduling and purchasing by directing them to her Pinterest process (thanks to her workflow software) page for examples. She loves when and simply keeping in touch. clients eschew white for blush and These days she credits referrals for her turquoise colors that look great on packed schedule. But in the beginning, it was the beach. She also advises the mom the internet and good SEO, she says. When to choose her outfit first—since she’s people are booking a vacation, they’re look- often the one most worried about how ing a lot of things up online, and she want- she looks in the photographs—then to ed her studio to show up in searches. She model the rest of the family’s outfits blogs about 80 percent of her sessions im- around her selection. mediately after each sales session, and she In addition, Pitts recently purchased tags clients when she shares those posts on several formal dresses for girls that social media. “I got rid of the typical web- clients are permitted to borrow for site a couple of years ago and merged my the session. “There are really pret- blog and website into one,” she says. The ty things out there for little girls but site automatically updates with new images they are in the $200 to $400 range,” each time she blogs a new session. And even she says, and most parents don’t want though she blogs a lot, it still takes just 45 to spend that much money on a dress minutes of her entire week, she says. “Every the child will wear once for a photo time you blog a session, you have another session. She takes that burden off the opportunity to reach somebody.” family and at the same time puts her Keeping in touch with clients post-session subjects in clothes that look great for is paramount since some of them return an- a beach sunset. nually or biannually to the Panhandle. The ShootQ workflow software she uses allows

86 PPMAG.COM her to set a reminder to send a specific client an email about a year after they booked their initial session. During the winter holidays, she sends each client a card and a small gift or a gift certificate for the coming year—a reminder to schedule a session if they plan to return. Pitts also sends clients a questionnaire when they schedule a session with her, which helps her learn more about them and deliver a better overall experience. “I really just want to know everyone’s names and ages and to ask them what attracted them to me so I know what they’re looking for,” she says. “And I try to ask about any special circumstances with the family—anything from autism to a broken leg or a prosthetic leg, or something as simple as, ‘My youngest takes a little while to warm up.’”

INTO THE SUN Pitts’ signature wide-angle images are cap- tured during the hour before sunset or the half-hour after sunrise, at times that vary as the season progresses. She prefers not to incorporate artificial light because it means keeping the family in one spot, which she feels diminishes authenticity. But going with natural light also means “embracing a certain level of grain and trying out different noise- ware,” she adds. Her photos are backlit, with the family blocking the sun, which is low enough in the sky during the golden hour for that positioning. “The light wraps around them and doesn’t give them too much haze or glare,” she says, making for a dynamic image. Pitts uses the Canon EOS-1D X, an upgrade from the Mark III, because it handles noise better and the burst frame rate is faster, benefits for chasing kids on the beach. She rarely stops shooting during her brief 30 minutes with families, capturing photos even as she chats, trying to loosen them up. For her wide-angle images, she wants an organic look, so she often tells the parents to embrace and then asks the kids to run up to Mom and Dad and give them a big hug. Or she simply tells them to play in the water— an easy sell for a vacationing family. “I don’t tell them exactly where to go. I set them up to create a moment,” she says. That moment becomes a memory—forever framed on the family’s wall. •

kansaspitts.com

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 87 TRENDING

“Animal Friends” — the perfect newborn/toddler album Introducing the world’s ﬁ rst professional auto design Vibrant metal prints in standard and custom sizes up design for girls or boys! Free Image Loader® tool inserts function in Fundy Designer Version 7. Design your ablums to 40x60, visit www.colorplak.com for more details or call your images with the click of a button. with a click of a button. 877-988-8840.

THE ALBUM CAFE FUNDY SOFTWARE COLORPLAK thealbumcafe.com fundydesigner.com colorplak.com

Providing personal editing teams for event, portrait, Your monitor is a tool you need to be able to trust. Get TRUE Vintage View-Camera Mailbox is hand-crafted to ensure real estate, and product photographers. Affordable, SCREEN COLOR with Datacolor Spyder5. See your images years of durability and service. Perfect for promoting your personalized attention, from a U.S.-based team of exactly the way you intended. business, or showing off your passion for photography. professionals. Use promo code: 20OFF2016 strandcraftcustomdesigns.com

PICSERA DATACOLOR STRANDCRAFT CUSTOM picsera.com datacolor.com/trending DESIGNS, LLC ©BELLY BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS ©BELLY BEAUTIFUL

Handmade maternity gowns, girls gowns, ﬂ ower crowns, Capture their attention and their smiles with Rebookü and H&H Color Lab have partnered to provide and newborn photography props. Photographer discounts Shutter Huggers! you an all in one design & print solution with new available! Leather Wrap Albums and your favorite rebookü template.

SEW TRENDY ACCESSORIES SHUTTER HUGGERS REBOOKÜ sewtrendyaccessories.com shutterhuggers.com rebooku.com/book-design/

Fill . I can’t I can’t . PPMAG.COM DACY. Study ma- CANDI ppa.com/cpp DECLARE YOUR DECLARE 3. PASS THE IMAGE SUBMISSION. SUBMISSION. IMAGE THE PASS 3. CERTIFICATION STEPS CERTIFICATION 1. out and return a candidacy form with a candidacy form out and return fee. the $200 application THE CPP EXAM. PASS 2. terials and prep classes are available available classes are terials and prep test. the for get ready to help you required: are Fifteen unique images rep- nine are and compulsory Six are work. purchased of your resentative ppa.com/cpp wait to see the list of certified professional • photographers continue to grow this year. way to do that is by becoming a certified way to do that is by becoming a certified professional photographer (CPP) through The CPP designation shows potential PPA. clients they’re hiring someone who provides and professional-quality goods and services demonstrated a certain level of techni- who’s certification field, In any cal skill and artistry. is no and photography is a sign of authority, is a professional desig- “Certified” exception. nation the public understands and values. of meeting Recently I had the pleasure This member Shawn Lee. Detroit-area PPA has challenged himself to be- Shawn year, the He sees value in attaining come a CPP. him certification for his business: It will set him apart in a competitive market and give I believe Shawn will achieve new confidence. of his goal and be able to see the benefits adding these credentials to his name. Why Are you certified? So the question is, not challenge yourself to earn this important credential for yourself and your business There are currently about 2,200 this year? And there member roster. CPPs on the PPA are an additional 1,000 in the process of be- Why not join them? coming certified. Find a buddy to Strength is in numbers. or better yet, go on this journey with you, Accountability put together a whole group. and you can encour- will keep you on track, Get age each other throughout the process. on theLoop and join one of the communities dedicated to the certification process. For more information on the pathway to visit attaining the CPP,

ceive exactly what I was expecting—a trea- pro- As we all know, sured family heirloom. have a barrier fessional photography doesn’t have to have a college don’t You for entry. have to take classes; you degree; you don’t to have a portrait studio to even have don’t be a professional photographer. set mean you shouldn’t But that doesn’t One yourself apart as a skilled professional.

What would you do if you had to hire SETTING YOUR SKILLS APART YOUR SETTING someone to capture one of the most important moments for your family and that capture had to be something you’d treasure for trust that wouldn’t You the rest of your life? would you? I responsibility to just anyone, know I wouldn’t. with I could count on, I’d look for someone the skills and experience to ensure I’d re- X

by Lori L. Craft, Cr.Photog. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

©MICHAEL TAYLOR 90 PERSPECTIVE THROUGH THE LENS OF PPA ment for theft/damage if you do not have it SMALL-TOWN POWER covered specifically for business use. I personally have not found good advertis- ADVICE FROM THELOOP ing avenues that work. Client referrals and business networking seem to be my major X Relocating is one of life’s biggest chang- ideas to your situation and location. Get out and sources. After that it is through my sports es and hassles. Maybe you’re thinking of in touch with people. In most cases, the peo- work and direct mail to past clients. moving or have moved to a smaller town. ple reached out to me and asked for my card. Joanne Fabian Does your photography business have to Al Wilson J. Gray Fabian Photography, suffer just because your potential client pool Al Wilson Photography, Rome, Georgia Souderton, Pennsylvania shrank? Not necessarily. Ever heard of being the big fish in the little pond? A: Join a local business net- A: The Chamber of Commerce is a must: Be This topic was addressed on theLoop working group as that will active. I am an ambassador with our cham- (theloop.ppa.com), PPA’s online commu- be time and money well ber of commerce and I have agreed to trade nity, where photographers pose questions to invested. … Connect with chamber event photos for dues. peers, offer advice, and learn from the trials businesses in the area that Bob Messina and successes of others. Here’s the question market to your ideal cus- Bob Messina 1st Photography, and some valuable answers from theLoop tomer. See what you can do Valencia, California participants: photographically first for them. Do they need photos for their marketing, website, etc.? A: Meet people, shake their Q: Advertising your work can be tricky de- Then see what you can do together—may- hands—the more the bet- pending on where you live. One practice may be an event to benefit both your businesses ter. Don’t always be in pro- work for one area or region but not generate —and then they will most likely turn and mo mode. Be a real per- as many leads in another. Is your studio or want to see how they can help you. I do son. Potential clients will business nestled in a small town? If so, how co-branded gift cards (5x5-inch cards made take to that faster than a are you advertising? at my lab). The cards have the other busi- slick promo line or other ness’ info and logo on one side and my cliché gimmick. A: 1. I joined my local Cham- offer to their customers on the other side. Ask your happy clients to talk about you ber of Commerce. The business owner then gifts the card to to their friends. The request is usually taken 2. I traveled my local area their best customers. It’s a win-win. They as a mild compliment by your happy client and photographed as many look great for gifting to their clients and I as an unexpected effect of social psychology: of the attractions, scenic get business. I’d also look into getting in- Clients like to feel valued by you, and your areas, and landmarks as volved with a local nonprofit that your ide- simple request demonstrates that. I could find. I chose the al customer might be attracted to and do a I have a private portfolio on my iPad Mini. best of the best for prints. Some of these now charity auction with them. Everyone loves to see the latest photos, espe- hang on the walls of local businesses (medi- There are countless ways to get rolling. cially at church dinners (great icebreaker for cal facilities, restaurants, attorneys, etc.). Make sure your website is tightly edited, those awkward moments between folks who 3. While out capturing all those imag- have good SEO on your site, and carry busi- don’t know each other all that much). es, I wore my self-promo jacket. Keeping it ness cards and marketing materials every- Advertising without knowing the demo- simple and easy-to-read from a distance, it where with you. I’m not sure I’d advertise graphics of your market does not work well contained nothing more than the business on your car as it might make it a target for at all. name, logo, phone number, and specialties thieves looking for camera gear. Dig into the demographic data that is on the back (portraiture, fine art, nature, Tara Patty, CPP freely available at the U.S. Census web- travel). I was receiving calls while out shoot- Tara C. Patty Photography, site. Knowing who my target market is and ing and was asked to stop and talk face-to- Colorado Springs, Colorado digging into the census data some more, I face with a few callers. This has worked well can figure out how and where to target my in more ways than one, especially while do- A: I will add to this that a marketing directly to those whom I want as ing a little street photography in the historic sign on your car can null clients. Knowing your market and how to downtown district, which is very busy. and void your regular car break it down into bite-sized units, you can 4. Local and area arts and crafts shows insurance. Check with your actually see yourself achieving. • are great for getting your work out there for agent, and also know that Charles Burgess people to see. your car insurance may Burgess Photography, If you decide to try any of these, tailor the not cover your equip- Pensacola, Florida

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 91 IMAGING USA: PPA’s annual convention is ALPHABET SOUP the largest of its kind, with education sessions, pre-conference workshops, commit- THROUGHLENS THE OF PPA PERSPECTIVE TERMS AND ACRONYMS YOU NEED TO KNOW tee meetings, and parties. The next Imaging USA is in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 8-10, 2017. imagingusa.org INDEMNIFICATION TRUST: Think of it as malpractice protection. The Trust protects you from allegations of negligence while on

assignment, including digital image data loss relating to a paid contracted assignment, failure to be at the event or assignment at the specified time, missed or missing images, and client dissatisfaction with services rendered. ppa.com/indem IPC: PPA hosts the International Photo- graphic Competition (IPC) annually. It’s the industry’s largest and longest running photographic competition. Photographers can earn exhibition merits for their work. This is where the annual Loan Collection is determined, which are said to be the best of the best of IPC. PPA also works closely with Af- filiates to enable district photo competitions. ppa.com/competitions LOAN COLLECTION: Images that earn a merit in the International Photographic Competition are judged a second time for inclusion in the Loan Collection. Each year,

©ISTOCK the Loan Collection is exhibited at Imaging USA, and it’s featured in a hardcover book published by Marathon Press. ppa.com/ipc NONPROFIT: PPA is a nonprofit organization, which means the money the association ac- crues from membership dues and programs is funneled back into the association to ben- X If you’ve felt in the dark about some of the surance of professionalism. ppa.com/cpp efit members and the photographic industry. terminology on the PPA website or at PPA DEGREES: PPA’s degrees include Photo- PHOTOCARE: Up to $15,000 of equipment events, here’s some help. graphic Craftsman (Cr.Photog.), Master Art- insurance coverage is available to members BUSINESS CHALLENGE: This year-long ist (M.Artist), and Master of Photography at no additional cost. It includes protection educational program teaches studio busi- (M.Photog.). To earn a degree, you must be from loss due to fire and theft, plus photo ness skills via interactive, online workshops. a PPA member and accumulate 25 merits equipment and computer hardware break- ppa.com/challenge through image competition, continuing edu- age, and off-premises or on-location world- CALL-A-DOCTOR PLUS: Contact a doctor cation, and teaching. ppa.com/degrees wide coverage. There’s no application re- any time of day or night and have prescrip- FACES OF PPA: This program seeks profiles quired, but you must opt in online at your tions sent immediately to a local pharma- of PPA members, their photos, and inspiring My PPA page. ppa.com/photocare cy. It’s $8.95 per month for PPA members. quotes, which are shared with the world via PHOTOVISION: This cinematic-quality vid- cadrplus.com social media and Professional Photographer eo education is available 24/7 to members. CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER magazine. ppa.com/faces It delivers in-depth knowledge from pros (CPP): Certification signifies a level of know- FIND-A-PHOTOGRAPHER: Find-A-Photog- working in their own studios and on loca- ledge and skill. The CPP is earned through rapher is a free 29,000-photographer-deep tion. photovisionvideo.com testing and image submission. Certification database consumers can tap into to search for PPA BENCHMARK SURVEY: This program is widely recognized by consumers as an as- a pro in their area. ppa.com/findaphotographer enables members to take their financial

92 PPMAG.COM pulse and measure—or benchmark—the health of their studio against the indus- JUST CALL try’s most successful studios. It also provides comprehensive analysis and guidance PPA CUSTOMER CARE CAN HELP for healthy financial management. ppa.com/ benchmark PPAEDU: This online learning portal offers education on photography and business topics. It incorporates an assessment tool that measures your current knowledge level and then suggests a plan that helps you master the photographic and business skills you need most. ppa.com/edu SEE THE DIFFERENCE: This package of videos, brochures, and other marketing tools enables members to show potential clients what a difference it makes to hire a professional. ppa.com/freeresources ©ISTOCK SUPER 1 DAY: Formerly Super Monday, this program showcases day-long peer-to-peer education across the country. Programs take place over the course of two weeks. X If you ever have a question regarding your our members. Our members are never just ppa.com/super1day PPA membership—understanding a bene- a number, but the lifeblood of PPA. We try THELOOP: PPA’s online social network is fit, how to work toward a degree or certifi- to hear them—to connect and respond effi- where members ask questions, get answers, cation, details on the International Photo- ciently and immediately.” The team’s goal is share tips and critiques, and get online peer- graphic Competition—contact the PPA mem- to be as accessible and approachable over to-peer support. theloop.ppa.com ber care center, which prides itself on provid- the phone as staff would be in person if a WORLD PHOTOGRAPHIC CUP: This Olym- ing the utmost in quality customer service. member walked into the Atlanta headquar- pics-style photographic competition is a co- Member care team members get weekly ters. “We have high expectations with mem- operative effort between The Federation of training and updates to keep them abreast ber care,” says Draper. “Our goal is always to European Photographers and PPA. It’s a team of the latest news about PPA, says PPA Mem- give our members a positive experience.” competition that aims to unite photogra- ber Experience Manager Cinnamon Draper. The next time you need to reach PPA with phers worldwide in a spirit of friendship and “We’re on the right track at the member a member care question, just pick up the cooperation. worldphotographiccup.org • care center, primarily being there to serve phone and call 800-786-6277. •

2016 AFFILIATE SCHOOLS JUNE 5-9 JUNE 12-15 JULY 17-22 Kansas Professional Florida Photography Workshop PPSNYS Photo Workshops Photographers School Daytona Beach, Florida Geneva, New York North Newton, Kansas fpponline.org/school_general_info.php ppsnysworkshop.com kpps.com JUNE 12-17 JULY 24-28 JUNE 12-15 West Coast School Image Explorations East Coast School San Diego Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Photographic Workshops westcoastschool.com imageexplorations.com Raleigh, North Carolina eastcoastschool.com JUNE 20-23 Winona School of Professional Photography Winona Lake, Indiana winonaphotoschool.org

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 93 LABS

Advertise in the LABS section of PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERAd size: 3.625” x 4.33”

Ad size: 3.625” x 4.33”For more information, contact your advertising For information, contact your advertisingrepresentative: representative:

TARA TRUITT TARA TRUITT Eastern & Eastern & Western Western Regions Regions 404-522-8600, x230 404-522-8600, x230 [email protected] [email protected]

MARINA ANDERSON MARINA ANDERSON Central Region Central Region 937-902-8217 937-902-8217 [email protected] [email protected]

94 PPMAG.COM LABS

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 95 LABS THE SHOP

96 PPMAG.COM THE SHOP

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | JUNE 2016 97 PPMAG.COM On the Web The dramatic story behind story The dramatic photo this Mt. Everest ppmag.com/news/shaken

©CHARLETON CHURCHILL 98 FINAL FRAME IRRESISTIBLE RESOLUTION ly! a different product on sale each day fill your bucket with some amazing deals Sale runs July 18-29 Ju in s a Christm of ys a d

Image by Karen Goforth 1

Now Free Softlight Kit or softbox and speedring when you buy a D1 kit

Purchase a D1 kit with two heads and get the RFi Softbox 2x3’ and a speedring for free. Or purchase a D1 kit with three heads and get the Softlight Kit for free. Offer valid from March 1 to May 30, 2016.

Learn more at www.profoto.com/us/d1