Professional photographer 2008 03

MARCH 2008 | WWW.PPMAG.COM | $4.95

©Parker Pfister

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PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | MARCH 2008

CONTENTS

MAKING THE MAGIC HAPPENLauded Australian photographer Jerry Ghionisfinds beauty and prosperity in reinvention

by Lorna Gentry

ONE OF A KINDPark Pfister’s special knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary

by Stephanie Boozer

ENGINEERING A NICHE The tale of Mike Colón and the spiraling wedding market

by Jeff Kent

WEDDINGS: DESTINATION SUCCESS

Business insights for destination wedding photography

by Jeff Kent

IMAGE BY JERRY GHIONIS

104

116

82

94

Features

DepartmentsCONTACT SHEET

20 Party time for Kathy Malaspina

22 Essay: Vive la digital!by Laurie Klein

26 Professional Photographercover contest announced

28 Sacred to sensational: Cliff Mautner’s studio

PROFIT CENTER

33 What I think: David Schwartz

36 Married to marketing by Lorna Gentry

42 Because you’re worth itby Charles J. Lewis

44 The joy of marketing: Attractive pricingby Sarah Petty

THE GOODS

49 What I like: Gene Higa

52 Pro review: Nikon D3by Ellis Vener

58 Archiving: Safe and for saleby Audrey Gray

66 Substrates: Extraordinary printsby Laurence Chen

70 Photoshop and Lightroom:What’s the difference?by Andrew Rodney

76 Tutorial: Photoshop Actionsby Rick Ralston

ON THE COVER: After his first wedding, saysthis month’s cover artist, Parker Pfister, “I sworeI’d never shoot another wedding.” We’re glad hereconsidered. Pfister has been shooting weddingsand portraits exclusively since 1999. Read moreabout Pfister in our feature on p. 104.

6 • www.ppmag.com

14 FOLIO

126 CALENDAR

133 PPA TODAY

154 GOOD WORKSPROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | MARCH 2008 | WWW.PPMAG.COM

Being paid to do beautiful wedding photography in exotic destinations

sounds like a dream come true. Yes, it can be enjoyable and rewarding, as long as you know

that being there on someone else's dime is hardly the time to relax. Take some tips on making

it work from destination photographers Garrett Nudd, Gene Higa and Jessica Claire.

©Jessica C

laire

CONTENTS

82

Mind. Body.

8-9 whcc.indd 2 2/13/08 9:23:03 AM

A Picture-Perfect Relationship

Photography.

8-9 whcc.indd 3 2/13/08 9:23:50 AM

director of sales and strategic alliancesSCOTT HERSH, 610-966-2466, [email protected]

western region ad managerBART ENGELS, 847-854-8182, [email protected]

eastern region ad managerSHELLIE JOHNSON, 404-522-8600, x279, [email protected]

circulation consultant MOLLIE O’SHEA, [email protected]

editorial officesProfessional Photographer

229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303-1608 U.S.A.404-522-8600; FAX: 404-614-6406

Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly subscriptions

Professional Photographer P.O. Box 2035, Skokie, IL 60076; 800-742-7468;

FAX 404-614-6406; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.ppmag.commember services

PPA - Professional Photographer 800-786-6277; FAX 301-953-2838; e-mail: [email protected]; www.ppa.com

Send all advertising materials to: Debbie Todd, Professional Photographer, 5431 E. Garnet, Mesa, AZ 85206; 480-807-4391; FAX: 480-807-4509

Subscription rates/information: U.S.: $27, one year; $45, two years; $66, three years. Canada: $43, one year; $73, two years; $108, three years.

International: $39.95, one year digital subscription. Back issues/Single copies $7 U.S.; $10 Canada; $15 International.

PPA membership includes $13.50 annual subscription. Subscription orders/changes: Send to Professional Photographer, Attn: Circulation

Dept., P.O. Box 2035, Skokie, IL 60076; 800-742-7468; FAX 404-614-6406; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.ppmag.com.

Periodicals postage paid in Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Professional Photographer magazine,

P.O. Box 2035, Skokie, IL 60076Copyright 2008, PPA Publications & Events, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.

Article reprints: Contact Professional Photographer reprint coordinator at Wrights’s Reprints; 1-877-652-5295.

Microfilm copies: University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106

Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly for $27 per year by PPAPublications and Events, Inc., 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2200, International Tower, Atlanta,GA 30303-1608. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offices.

Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressedby Professional Photographer or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions ofProfessional Photographers of America, Inc. Professional Photographer, official journal of theProfessional Photographers of America, Inc., is the oldest exclusively professional photographicpublication in the Western Hemisphere (founded 1907 by Charles Abel, Hon.M.Photog.), incorporatingAbel’s Photographic Weekly, St. Louis & Canadian Photographer, The Commercial Photographer,The National Photographer, Professional Photographer, andProfessional Photographer Storytellers. Circulation audited andverified by BPA Worldwide

10 • www.ppmag.com

PROFESSIONAL

senior editorJOAN [email protected]

features editorLESLIE HUNT

[email protected]

editor-at-largeJEFF KENT

[email protected]

art director/production managerDEBBIE TODD

[email protected]

manager, publications andsales/strategic alliances

KARISA [email protected]

sales and marketing assistantCHERYL [email protected]

EDITORIAL

Show us what you’ve got2008 COVER PHOTO CONTEST

Here at the magazine, we consider ourselves pretty fortunate when

it comes to the industry we cover. While other trade magazines

might struggle to find photography to grace both the cover and the

inside pages, we need only look to the inspired images our readers

are creating every day.

There’s a catch though. In an industry comprised of independent

business owners, it’s sometimes challenging (quite often, actually) to

hear about all the top talent we know is out there. We comb the

forums and online galleries,

pore over the PPA Loan

Collection, read all the

industry publications, keep an

open eye at events, scour

regional newsletters, and take

welcome recommendations

from photographers who have made it to the radar screen.

To broaden the search, we thought of a new tactic to help you

find us: The first-ever Professional Photographer Cover Photo

Contest. We liken it to a nationwide talent search, and we hope we’ll

be introduced to a spate of gifted artists whose work we’ve never

seen, but will fill our magazine far into the future.

So we invite you to submit your entries to us before the May 31

deadline, and take a shot at creating the image that nearly 50,000

PP readers will see when they open their mailboxes in late fall. And

there’s more—not only do you have a chance at the cover, but to win

valuable prizes as well. The first place winner, runners up and those

who win honorable mention will be awarded first-rate gear from

our contest’s generous sponsors, Microsoft, Bogen, Canon, Kodak

and Miller’s Professional Imaging.

Head over to www.ppmag.com to learn all about the prizes,

contest rules and submission guidelines. (A word to the wise:

Entries may be submitted only as uploads to www.ppmag.com.

no print or e-mailed submissions will be accepted.)

We’re looking forward to meeting you! �

Cameron Bishopp

Director of Publications

[email protected]

technical editorsANDREW RODNEY, ELLIS VENER

director of publicationsCAMERON BISHOPP

[email protected]

All entries mustbe uploaded atwww.ppmag.com

Three amazing cameras designed to inspire. Starting with the powerful EOS-1Ds Mark III. With a 21.1-megapixel

full-frame CMOS sensor, dual DiG!C III Image Processors, and a 3-inch LCD monitor, it’s far and away the most remarkable

camera Canon has ever created. The innovative, feature-filled 10.1-megapixel EOS 40D lets

photographers take the next leap forward, with its DiG!C III Image Processor and 6.5 frames-

per-second shooting. Along with the exceptional EOS-1D Mark III with its blazingly fast 10.5

frames-per-second shooting and 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, Canon makes the creative

process easy, rewarding and, most important, inspiring.

©2008 Canon U.S.A., Inc. Canon, EOS and DiG!C are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States. IMAGEANYWARE is a trademark of Canon. All rights reserved.

To get more inspired about the Canon EOS system, go to: www.usa.canon.com/dlc

Professional Photographers of America229 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 2200Atlanta, GA 30303-1608404-522-8600; 800-786-6277FAX: 404-614-6400www.ppa.com

2008-2009 PPA board

president*DENNIS CRAFT M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, [email protected]

vice president*RON NICHOLSM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

treasurer*LOUIS TONSMEIRE Cr.Photog., [email protected]

chairman of the board*JACK REZNICKICr.Photog., Hon.M.Photog., [email protected]

directorsDON DICKSONM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

SANDY (SAM) PUC’ M.Photog.Cr., CPP, [email protected]

RALPH ROMAGUERA, SR.M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, [email protected]

CAROL ANDREWSM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

SUSAN MICHALM.Photog.Cr., CPP, [email protected]

TIMOTHY WALDENM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

DOUG BOXM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

DON MACGREGORM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

industry advisorKEVIN [email protected]

legal counselHowe and Hutton, Chicago

PPA staffDAVID TRUST Chief Executive Officer [email protected]

SCOTT KURKIANChief Financial [email protected]

CAMERON BISHOPP Director of [email protected]

DANA GROVES Director of Marketing &[email protected]

SCOTT HERSHDirector of Sales & Strategic [email protected]

J. ALEXANDER HOPPERDirector of Membership,Copyright and [email protected]

WILDA OKEN Director of [email protected]

LENORE TAFFEL Director of Events/[email protected]

SANDRA LANGExecutive [email protected]

*Executive Committee of the Board


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folio| Comprising images selected from the files of the PPA Loan Collection, Folio is a monthly sample ofaward-winning photography by PPA members. The Loan Collection is a select group of some 500photographs chosen annually by the PPA print judges from more than 5,000 entries.

THOM ROUSE“It has been greatly entertaining for me to watch viewers scrutinize this image,” says Thom Rouse, M.Photog.MEI.Cr., CPP, ofRouse Imaging in Dekalb, Ill. Rouse combined several images taken with his Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro digital SLR and 28-105mmTamron f/2.8 SP AF LD IF lens. Images in the mix include a weathered sidewalk for the background, a tree under an overcast sky,and a portrait captured in mixed incandescent and window light. Rouse used Adobe Photoshop to create the final image, whichwon a Fujifilm Masterpiece Award, ASP Regional Medallion, and ASP Gold Medallion.

©Thom Rouse

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CHRIS BELTRAMI“Perkin’s Cove” is a favorite

spot for Chris Beltrami,M.Photog.Cr., F-ASP, of

Beltrami Studios in Barre, Vt.,and his wife, who regularly

visit Maine’s Ogunquit Beachin the summertime. Waiting

for the late afternoon light tofully grace these returning boats,

Beltrami aimed his CanonEOS 20D digital SLR and

50mm Canon f/2.8 EF lensfrom the deck of his rental

house and exposed the imagefor 1/125 second at f/8, ISO200. He digitally enhanced

the saturation and sharpness,and embellished the reflectionsin the water for the final image.

BARRY RANKINWith a Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro digital SLR and Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D AF ED lens, Barry Rankin,M.Photog.Cr., of Dirla Studio in Bay City, Mich., captured “Bewitched” for a Nashville singer’s CD cover.A 300WS Photogenic PowerLight 1250 behind a 4x6-foot Larson Soff Box provided the main lighting,with a second 300WS PowerLight 1250 and a 2x3-foot Larson Soff Box for fill. A 200WS PhotogenicPowerLight 1250 and a 14x48-inch Larson Soff Strip hung above the subject, while a 200WSPowerLight and 14x48-inch Larson Soff Strip illuminated the left side of the frame.

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©Chris Beltrami

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CONTACT SHEETWhat’s New, Events, Hot Products, Great Ideas, Etc.

©Kathy Malaspina

BY STEPHANIE BOOZER

Looking to boost yourchildren’s portrait business?Consider portrait parties andwatch the leads come in

If the thought of a sales party with a hostess

sends you running for the door, reconsider.

In-home sales gatherings have been working

for some pretty big companies.

“Some of my best clients come from portrait

parties,” says Kathy Malaspina, of Precious

Moments Photography in Tyner, N.C., who

has been reaping rewards from these events

for the last three years. “People have a great

time, and the parties are so easy to do.”

Here’s how it works: The hostess supplies

the guest list, mails the invitations, makes

the shooting schedule, and handles all the

hostess duties in her home or the photog-

rapher's studio. Malaspina shoots a series of

mini sessions with each child. Then she

packs up and leaves.

The hostess directs the guests to the studio's

Web site to view proofs, and encourages them

to place their orders within a specified time—

simple as pie you don't even have to bake.

As an incentive, Malaspina grants the

hostess a maximum of 15 percent commission,

which is credited toward the hostess’s own

purchase. She requires a minimum of 10

sessions for each event, which must be

booked back-to-back to maximize her time.

Malaspina also offers a $35 credit for each

party the hostess books in a day, and an

additional $25 credit for subsequent bookings.

“This really pushes the hostess to urge

her friends to schedule parties,” she says.

Malaspina provides the invitations, which

include her images and studio info, and tips

about preparing for the session. The hostess

will pick up and deliver the print orders.

“It’s not bad for an afternoon’s work,” says

Malaspina, who pulls in orders of $1,200 to

$2,500 per party. “It’s not so much the

money as the exposure. Word of mouth is

the best advertisement you can get.”

Averaging about 10 parties a year,

enough to generate a healthy number of

standard portrait sessions, Malaspina says

her portrait parties have become popular for

children’s birthday parties and sleepovers.

You don’t have to limit yourself to kids. “A

lot of people do pet parties,” says Malaspina,

who also suggests marketing parties for wed-

dings, family reunions, and other milestone

events. “They make great fundraisers, too. I

did one last year for the local animal shelter.”

Malaspina’s setup is light, usually one

light, a table, a small backdrop, and maybe a

few props, depending on the theme of the

party. Shooting each mini-session outdoors

is the best way to minimize your equipment

needs. In her experience, it’s best to set up

the portrait area away from the rest of the

guests, so each session is semi-private.

“You’ve definitely got to work it just like

everything else,” says Malaspina. “But these

are a great way to go out and do something

quick and out of the norm, and they set you

apart from everyone else.”

For more about Kathy Malaspina and herstudio, visit www.preciousmomentsphotos.com.

March 2008 • Professional Photographer • 21

“Some of my best clientscome from portraitparties. People have agreat time, and theparties are so easy to do.”

Nine months ago I was still fighting digital and

dragging around a boatload of negativity. I went

Nine months ago I was still fighting digital

and dragging around a boatload of negativity.

I went through the usual throes of resistance

and the arduous period of adjustment. There I

was, spending 75 percent of my time behind

a computer, no time to plan, no time to market,

no time to grow creatively, no time to relearn

infrared photography—a passion of mine—sans

film, working harder on less work and making

less money. Some boon, digital technology.

But in addition to changing my workflow in

the last year, I’ve worked on changing my atti-

tude. You know what? Life is wonderful again.

We are a healthy hybrid studio today. I

have a digital camera converted for infrared

photography and I love it. It’s different, and

that’s the point. It gives clients another

option, and it frees me from having to kill

the spontaneity of the shoot to plunge into

total darkness for a change of film, while

praying the exposures were on the money.

With digital IR, most of the time they are.

I’m thinking about doing all my commer-

cial work digitally. I still like the results I get

from black-and-white film better. I’m not

selling out, I think I’m becoming a smarter

businesswoman. My personal fine-art work

will continue to be a mix of film and digital.

I hired a a recent college graduate to

handle my digital workflow, and I have my

life back again. I actually have the time to

work on a new book and a huge project that

I feel will take my photographic business in

a new direction.

With the help of Michael J. Losier’s “Law

of Attraction,” which I highly recommend,

I’ve stopped dwelling on how tough things

are. I need to embrace all that’s happening

in my life right now, and be grateful for it.

For example, for some time, I’ve been

trying to reorient my business from pre-

dominately wedding photography to mostly

portraiture. From shooting 70 weddings a

year, I’m down to about 10. I used to take in

$1,800 per wedding, now my billing starts

at $15,000. My brides come back time and

again for maternity, family and generational

portraits. I had a gala to celebrate my 25

years in business and more than 125 clients

attended. They bought my fine-art prints,

and I generated portrait bookings. To be

mindful of these successes is to feel grateful.

I’m still passionate about photography.

My recent work is some of the best I’ve done

in years. My clients don’t care if I’m digital

or not, as long as my passion is there and

my photographs are brilliant.

I had taken the digital movement

personally, feeling like the industry was out

to make my life difficult. Now I see what it’s

actually been doing—giving me this huge

opportunity to grow, to look at things

differently, to get out of my box and the way

I’ve done things for years and years. The

most important thing for me, besides sup-

porting my family, is to grow as an artist.

Laurie vs. the digital revolution? Doesn’t

work for me anymore.

Laurie Klein’s studio is in Brookfield, Conn.(www.laurieklein. com).

CONTACT SHEET


Vive ladigital!

©Laurie Klein

Photography wasn’t broken.How come we needed digitaltechnology to fix it? One holdoutfound a very good answer.

BY LAURIE KLEIN

ESSAY

The sole winner of the 2008 Hot One Award forTelephoto Zoom Lens is the smc Pentax-DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED AL[IF]SDM (right). In February’sProfessional Photographer, we called a tie betweenthe Pentax lens and the Tamron SP AF70-200mm

f/2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro lens, which failed to meet alleligibility requirements.


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Images will be judged on technical, artistic

and compositional merit. You may submit as

many images as you wish, provided they are

representative of the work you sell to your

clients. What we’re seeking are real-world

examples of portrait, wedding, commercial

and event photography.

All work submitted must be previously

unpublished and original, with written

releases on file from any subjects pictured

in the image.

Helping Professional Photographer

magazine editors choose the best entries

will be guest judge Helen K. Yancy,

M.Photog.M.Artist.MEI.Cr.Hon.M.Photog.,

CPP, F-ASP, Hon. F-ASP, currently serving

as the chairman of PPA’s Print Exhibition

Committee.

In addition to landing the cover of a 2008

edition of Professional Photographer, the

winner will receive generous prizes from our

contest sponsors, Bogen, Canon, Kodak,

Microsoft and Miller’s Professional Imaging.

Prizes will be awarded to 2nd-, 3rd-,

4th- and 5th-place winners, and as many

as 25 entrants will receive prizes for honor-

able mention.

HOW TO ENTERGo to www.ppmag.com to enter. Only

digital files uploaded at www.ppmag.com

will be accepted. Mailed print images and

e-mailed digital images will not be

accepted. Format/Specifications: Submit

low-resolution images only, in standard

digital formats (.jpg, .pdf, etc.). Images

should be 525x700 pixels; file size should

be no more than 250k. A high-resolution,

print-quality version (300ppi at 9x12

inches) must be available for each image.

The submission deadline is Saturday,

May 31.

Don’t miss your chance to show the world

your talent! Head over to www.ppmag.com

to learn more.


CONTACT SHEET

Cover contest announcedProfessional Photographer’s cover photo contest kicks off March 1

Have you always dreamed of getting your work onthe cover of a magazine? Well, here’s your chance!This month you’re invited to submit photographsfor a chance to have your image featured on our cover. Just one talented photographer willsee his or her image published on the cover of a 2008 issue of Professional Photographer(mailing to almost 50,000 readers monthly).

Go to www.ppmag.comto enter.

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The front door of Cliff Mautner’s photog-

raphy studio opens to an elegant foyer, but

it's the allure of the 2,000-square-foot space

beyond that draws visitors to his studio in

downtown Haddonfield, N.J. The large room

is harmoniously divided among handsome

viewing, meeting and shooting areas. Light

fills the area between the 13-foot ceiling,

wood floor and wainscoted walls. A 30x13-

foot exposed brick wall spans the back of the

studio, its faded and worn bricks seeming

original to the building, but they were

installed as part of Mautner’s master plan.

“Beyond being a place to shoot, I wanted

it to look like a SoHo art gallery to display

my work,” says Mautner, a New York native,

who worked with interior designer Michelle

Cheutin. “The exposed brick gives it a

distinct look. My goal was to have clients

walk in and think, ‘This guy is credible, he

has style, he’s expensive, and he has good

taste.’ It’s all about the client experience.”

Upstairs is a 1,300-square-foot. office he

shares with studio manager Anne Vasquez,

and downstairs is a three-bedroom apart-

ment where he lives with his children. Built as

a Baptist church in the 1920s, the building later

became a dance studio run by one of the orig-

inal Rockettes, which turned out to be a bless-

ing. For years, the main foot traffic here was

the soft steps of barefoot dancers. so the

nearly 90-year-old beech wood floors needed

very little work. “The floor guy was floored,”

Mautner laughs.

That was about the extent of a financial

break for him, though. “Everything else—

and I mean everything—is new.” The

$225,000 renovation took about a year to

complete, but the results are spectacular. A

photojournalist with the Philadelphia

Inquirer for 15 years, Mautner had been a

home-based wedding, portrait and

commercial photographer for a decade

before opening this studio in 2006.

Professional Photographer: Your shooting

area is so large. How did you design a

lighting system with enough flexibility to

accommodate it?

Cliff Mautner: I have the option of stepping

back more than 50 feet to photograph my

subjects. I have two zones of rails for the

lighting system that allow me to position the

lights however I want them. On the rails are

four Profoto ComPact 600 monolights attached

to scissor mechanisms that can extend all

the way from the ceiling to the floor. That

gives me plenty of range—from the back to

the front third of studio. I can easily high-

key or drop them out altogether and use

natural light. I had four 10x14-foot windows

installed, which gives me northwest light, a

beautiful Rembrandt light not easy to

produce artificially. I have a Bogen

backdrop, but I also use the brick wall as

background, shooting at a shallow depth of

field so it drops out of focus.

Since you were going for a gallery look, why

isn’t your work hung traditionally?

CONTACT SHEET


All images ©Cliff Mautner

Cliff Mautner turned a 1920s church into a studiowith SoHo soul

BY LORNA GENTRY

From sacred to sensational

I added chair rails to wainscoting that was

already there so I could prop up my photos

on it. I did that so clients can pick them up

and inspect them. I didn’t want them to be

untouchable. It also makes it easy to change

the images. Cable lighting enables me to

direct the lights in any direction, and they

add to the studio’s gallery look.

What’s the most impressive feature of your

studio?

The DWIN TransVision 4 projector, with a

separate video processor and high-definition

capabilities. It projects to a 92-inch hi-def

Da-Lite Neutral Gray screen, which enriches

the blacks in my images. This system is used

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and yes, I do watch some sporting events

on it!

Lorna Gentry is a freelance writer in Atlanta.

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GO TO PPMAG.COM TO ENTERSubmission deadline: Saturday, May 31, 2008

Have you always dreamed of seeing your work on the cover of a national magazine?

Here’s your chance! Beginning March 1, 2008, submit your photographs for an

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Contest Rules & Judging: Images will be

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You may submit as many images as you wish,

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Professional Photographer P R E S E N T S Business, Marketing and Sales Strategies

What I thinkPricing for profit leads DavidSchwartz to long-term success

What do you wish you knew when you were first

starting out? That it takes time to develop a look.

I spent so much time attempting to emulate

others. I should have spent the time soul-

searching and stretching myself to come up with

new ideas and techniques that felt right to me.

Reaching an affluent client requires having a look

he can only get from you.

What’s the biggest business risk you’ve ever taken?

I walked away from a nice salary to pursue

something I’ve always loved. Making the leap to

full-time photography was a tremendous risk.

What’s your deal breaker? I pre-qualify my

clients before we meet. I make sure they

completely understand my pricing and that my

photography fits within their budget. I don’t

negotiate on price when they visit, and if they

attempt to do so, I will cut the meeting short.

What is the biggest business mistake pro photog-

raphers make? Attempting to run every aspect of their

business. I believe in farming things out to spend

more time behind the camera. We need to remember

that we make our money taking pictures.

What is the most important element in a successful

photography business? Pricing. Ensure that your

pricing strategy brings you the income you need to live.

IMAGE BY DAVID SCHWARTZ

WWW.DAVIDSCHWARTZPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Photography by Gregory Heisler.

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“Every year there are 22 percent more

photographers in the marketplace,” says an

animated Christa Hoffarth of South Lake

Tahoe, Calif. “That number scares me.”

A healthy fear of competition may propel

Hoffarth to work harder, but what distances

her from the pack is smart marketing for

her eponymous wedding photography

business. Her deft techniques were recently

recognized with the 2007 PPA AN-NE

Marketing Award for her outstanding

wedding marketing campaign. The annual

award, which honors member photographers’

creativity and effectiveness in marketing, also

went to finalists Peter Holcombe, API, CPP,


Recognized with the 2007 PPA AN-NEMarketing Award, these three marketingcampaigns share a focus on the importance oftargeted promotion, attention to detail, andmaintaining effective Web sites and blogs.BY LORNA GENTRY

Marriedto marketing

All images ©Cheryl Pearson

INNOVATIVEMARKETINGSTRATEGIES

PROFIT CENTER

Christa Hoffarth designed her AN-NE award winning-weddingmarketing campaign to make a bigfirst impression on upscale clients.

of Holcombe Photography in Lafayette,

Colo., and Albert Lewis of Mulberry

Photography in Truckee, Calif.

These three photographers agree on the

importance of focused promotion, paying

attention to detail, and maintaining effective

Web sites and blogs. They differ in approach

when it comes to brochures, due in part to

their differing markets, business strategies

and targeted audiences. The three promotions

are a study in contrasts, but the effect is the

same: greater profits.

Christa Hoffarth is a natural at marketing.

Last year she designed a new brochure and

other promotional material for her wedding

photography business. Because most of her

clients are out-of-towners, Hoffarth says her

Web site and brochure are the only selling

tools she has. And because competition in

her marketing area—San Francisco, San Jose,

Sacramento and Lake Tahoe—is fierce, she

has to make a lasting first impression in print.

Targeted at upscale wedding clients, her

brochure denotes sophistication. “My clients

spend anywhere from $200,000 to $1

million on their weddings, with the average

being $300,000,” says Hoffarth. “Most of

my brides are MBA grads. In fact, a lot of

my brides were together in the same MBA

program, like at Stanford, for example.”

CHAIN REACTION. To appeal to these

monied professionals, Hoffarth’s brochure

design is eye-catching, sleek, contemporary

and fun. The six pages of the 6x6-inch, matte-

finish brochure are bound with an elegant

silver chain. Her printer, Blossom Publishing

in Winona, Minn., drills holes in the card-

stock pages, and Hoffarth finishes each hole

with a silver grommet before threading the

ball chain through the pages. Following the

photo-imprinted cover page are two pages on

pricing, a page about reprints and albums, a

press information page, and a page with an

explanation of her philosophy of wedding

photography. A DVD of her work—an

“indispensable portable marketing tool,” she

says—is seated in a sleeve affixed to the

back. A clear plastic routed business card

foil-stamped with her contact information

goes on the front cover. For mailing, she

slips the brochure into a transparent self-

sealing envelope.

“These brochures have texture appeal

and sound to them,” says Hoffarth. “They

have a feeling of immediacy, and the clear

plastic envelope makes the brochure even

more apparent.”

Each brochure costs $3.50 to produce, so

Hoffarth pre-qualifies brides who request

one. She got the idea for the piece from her

enjoyment of saving shopping bags from

expensive boutiques. “I use them again and

again,” she admits, because they’re well made

and aesthetically pleasing. She figured her

clients would feel the same way about high-

quality promotional items, and apparently

she was right. “My brides keep these

brochures and give them to their friends, so

they continue to market for me for years.”

Once a couple hires Hoffarth, she mails

the contract and payment information with

thank-you cards and a complimentary

bride’s emergency survival kit in a clear

acrylic box. Inside are dress chalk, safety

pins, hairpins, deodorant, stain remover,

sewing kit, breath mints and pain reliever.

Ever mindful of branding, all her packaging

and marketing materials are color and logo

coordinated. Hoffarth’s colors are a con-

centrated light blue and white, which appear

as solid colors and in a loose floral pattern.

“I still print proofs, so I package them in a

beautiful black-and-white box and use my

brand colors as accents—a blue silk ribbon

Albert Lewis targets his brochure to event planners. The quality of every component communicatesthe sophisticated aesthetic that he will bring to a wedding.


and custom tag that I write a personal note

on. With the package I send a gift, a 3x3-

inch bride book. We also send a first-year

wedding anniversary gift, an accordion

photo book in our colors with graphics and

black-and-white images. The outside of the

box is a floral black-and-white print that

matches our marketing motif.”

NATIONAL FOCUS. Like Hoffarth, AN-

NE finalist Albert Lewis of Truckee, Calif.,

caters to affluent wedding clients in the

Lake Tahoe area, as well as in Palm Springs.

Lewis, too, relies on a sophisticated brochure

to sell his services. Unlike Hoffarth’s, however,

Lewis’ targets wedding coordinators and

event planners. “Eight-five percent of my

brochures go to event planners,” he says.

“The piece communicates quality and the

wedding coordinators have been very

complimentary. Many tell me they keep it

on their desks, and some call after they

receive it. Because our clients come from all

over the country, we mail it nationwide.”

Clean and elegant, the gate-folded bro-

chure opens to an impressive 26 inches long.

Inside is a mini portfolio of the studio’s work,

which is showcased on individual sheets of

heavy matte card stock held in place by

small rivets. The outside cover is fine-ribbed,

grayish-green paper embossed with the

studio’s logo, a stylized mulberry tree. Inside,

the colors are cream and a serene green, with

the exception of the contact page, which is

standout mauve, the color of mulberries.

Hand assembled, each brochure costs Lewis

a whopping $32, but he maintains that these

head-turners are generating high-end business.

Naturally, he’s selective about whom he markets

to, and he screens the recipients carefully.

With a background in graphic design,

fashion photography and art direction (he

was an art director for Nordstrom and

Neiman Marcus), Lewis knows good visual

marketing. “My degree is in graphic design

so it’s in my blood,” he chuckles. “It’s hard to

design for yourself, so I work with a design

firm. With the brochure, we tried to integrate

the photography and guts of the piece with

the overall design. The design catches the

eye of the type of client we’re going for. This

is not in-your-face marketing. We wanted to

create a mood and drive business on the

sophistication of the piece. This brochure says,

‘If we can do this, then we can apply these same

aesthetics to photographing your wedding.’”

Lewis’ 2007 ad campaign also included

five No. 10 envelope-size cards mailed peri-

odically throughout the year. Each card fea-

tured images from a wedding the studio

photographed, along with one-word head-

lines (such as “Luminous,” “Bliss,” “Captivating”)

and a heartfelt account of how he and his

wife and fellow photographer, Tari, felt

about the wedding. There is no sales language.

Reading like a wedding photographer’s blog,

these cards are intended to generate enthusiasm,

showcase Mulberry’s work, and keep the

studio’s name in the eye of their target audience.

MAILBOX WOW. Peter and Kathy

Holcombe’s printed brochure wasn’t taking

their business in the direction they wanted

to go. “In 2005 we were averaging $3,500

on wedding packages,” says Peter. “We

wanted to break out of that mold and go

after high-end clientele. So in 2006 we did

something different from the tri-fold, printed

piece we had been doing.”

“We feel a brochure is limiting,” Kathy adds.

“It doesn’t show off our images or demon-


PROFIT CENTER

Peter and Kathy Holcombe garnered the favor of wedding planners by sending them four-packs ofcustom-labeled Jones Soda.

strate the quality of our work. We decided to

produce a DVD that shows how we’re different.”

Once the Holcombes created the DVD,

they packaged it in a striking way. “Our

materials arrive in a padded silver envelope,

which gives it the ‘wow’ factor right out of the

mailbox. The DVD is wrapped in a rectangular

aluminum tin with a custom sticker, ribbons

and tissue paper. Fitted inside the tin is a bro-

chure with rounded corners.” Brides feel that

opening the tin first gives them the feeling of

opening a gift. "It has really given us a leg up.”

Right away the results were dramatic.

Within a year bookings increased and the

Holcombes averaged $7,800 per wedding,

which handsomely offset the $10-per cost of

the mailing. (They also screen brides before

going to the expense of mailing to them.)

Now Holcombe Photography attracts a

clientele that’s in the 27 to 32 age range,

who, says Kathy, are professionals with at

least a B.A. degree. Peter adds, “We do get

the younger clients too, usually from families

who can afford [an upscale] wedding.”

JONESING FOR ATTENTION. In 2007,

the Holcombes decided to continue with the

tins, and go out a little further on the creative

limb with a dynamic new campaign involving

Jones Soda. This time the target wasn’t brides

but event planners at upscale venues in the

area. The Holcombes had been knocking on

their doors for five years with little success.

Peter likes to research marketing ideas on

the Web, and he learned from Photojojo, an

online photo newsletter (photojojo.com), that

the makers of the popular soft drink Jones

Soda will print personal photos on its bottles

for a fee. “We thought it would be a clever way

to make a first impression on people we’ve

been trying to get to know,” says Kathy.

They ordered 16 sets of four-bottle

packages in four Jones Soda flavors. One of

four wedding photographs was printed on

each bottle, along with catchy messages on

the labels, such as, “Holcombe Photography:

refreshingly unique,” “Don’t trust your

wedding photography to the bland,” and

“Call us for full-flavored images and service.”

On the bottlenecks they hung custom-made

tags with fun wedding images, like a close-up

of a bride putting on mascara, along with such

pithy tag lines as “Keep an eye out for us.”

The Holcombes shipped the bottles by

UPS and FedEx so they could track delivery.


A day after delivery, they called each recipient,

and they were blown away by the response.

“The amazing thing is that we got thank-you

notes from these coordinators,” says Kathy. “I

don’t think anyone gets thank-you notes for

promo materials,” Peter marvels. “Our goal of

the follow-up phone call was to set up a

meeting to show our book and get to know

them. We got a meeting with everyone.”

This imaginative campaign put Holcombe

Photography on 12 of the 16 venues’ preferred

photographer list, and five of the venues

now display their wall portraits and books.

The cost of the campaign was high, about

$70 per venue, but the return on the invest-

ment more than paid for it, they say. The

Holcombes now average $12,000 per wedding.

Says Peter, “I think marketing is one of

the most exciting aspects of this business.

It’s all problem-solving and thinking

through.” “We’re passionate about marketing

and our business,” adds Kathy. “We calculate

carefully. At the beginning of each year we

figure out how much we want to work, how

much we need to make, and then design our

[marketing] materials according to that.”

For the Holcombes, provocative market-

ing fuels a business that underwrites the

good life. �

Lorna Gentry is a freelance writer in Atlanta.


PROFIT CENTER

MARKETING ON THE ROADChrista Hoffarth shares her marketing knowledge this month alongside another savvy

marketer, Laura Novak (www.novakphotography.com), in a workshop at Novak’s

Wilmington, Del., studio, March 4-5.

Hoffarth creates templates that photographers can use in their promotions to

ensure their brand is uniformly reinforced in their brochures, business cards,

letterhead, tags and more. Checkout Hoffarth’s marketing site for photographers,

Jellyfingers.wordpress.com.

Kathy and Peter Holcombe share their know-how in increasing wedding sales at the

Imaging Workshops of Colorado, (www.coloradoworkshops.com) May 19-21.

41 studio logic.indd 1 2/13/08 9:30:06 AM

The better you become at presenting your

fees, the higher those fees can be. Here are

five keys to successful presentation.

SELF-CONFIDENCE. You need to

practice—no kidding, practice—presenting

your fees in a self-assured way that says cus-

tomers are already gladly paying those fees.

You need to look, act and sound self-

confident and successful, even before you

are. I’m not suggesting that you lie to

anyone. You can make a great living by

being honest!

You want to sound as if the studio is

busy. You want clients to see that you have

to pore over your booking calendar to find

an opening for them.

GENTLE DISARMAMENT. When a

prospect says something negative, such as,

“Your fees are high,” be ready with a cush-

ioned response. First, acknowledge that you

understand how she feels—“I know exactly

how you feel, and I understand.” You want

to continue working with this prospect, so

don’t argue, confront or correct.

KNOW YOUR LINES. How many

times have you thought of the perfect

comeback too late? Write down and

memorize good replies to typical questions

and likely objections in all phases of the

sales process. For example, early on you

might take control of the conversation like

this: “Before we go any further, let me give

you an idea of what you can plan on investing.

Is that okay? For a portrait of the kind you

described, most folks invest between [your

figures here] and get a large framed portrait

PROFIT CENTER CHARLES J . LEWIS, M.PHOTOG.CR.

It’s not the price, it’s the way you present it. Trainyourself to be comfortable talking about your fees.

Because you’re worth it


for themselves, plus a few smaller prints for

friends, family and the workplace. Does that

fit into your budget?” Notice that no exact

print sizes have been mentioned.

You want the ballpark figure you’re

quoting to be an honest representation. Add

up the sitting fee, an 8x10 print (the prospect

probably considers that “large”) and a couple

of 4x5s. That’s the starting figure. For the

high figure, add about 20 percent to cover a

few more of the small prints.

Closer to closing the sale or ending the

conversation, ask a well-worded question

to see how close the prospect is to making

a decision. My favorite is, “How do you

feel about that?” I use it all the time, in

all sales situations, including the presenta-

tion of the fees.

YOU DON’T NEED HER MONEY.

You want to get the decision today, but you

don’t want to sound anxious. Always talk in

terms of how she will benefit by working

with you over any other photographer.

Memorize the unique qualities you specified

in your business plan, and always open with

your guarantee of satisfaction.

GUARANTEE SATISFACTION AND

GET A PAYMENT TODAY. Keep men-

tioning that if the caller isn’t thrilled with

your work, you’ll do whatever’s necessary to

delight her, or you will return her money in

full, no hassles, no hard feelings.

If you will take action in these ways,

you’ll be able to charge more for your

photography, and see dramatic improve-

ment in your profits and cashflow. �

For more tips from Charles J. Lewis, visitwww.cjlewis.com.


Keep mentioning that if the caller isn’t thrilled with yourwork, you’ll do whatever’s necessary to delight her, or youwill return her money in full, no hassles, no hard feelings.

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’’‘‘

Remember that “silly little millimeter”?

When you buy something for $1,999,

you say you’ve spent less than $2,000. Well,

you have, by $1. That little bit less than two

grand makes a big difference psychologically.

When I consult on marketing with pho-

tographers, I like to start by determining if

their expenses are in line, including the

cost of sales, employee wages, administra-

tive expenses, and general overhead. If

those are in line, I like to evaluate their

pricing. Sometimes studio owners ask what

their pricing has to do with marketing.

Believe it or not, pricing is a key ingredient

of the marketing mix.

I’ve seen photographers struggle with

pricing and creating a rate card, and I’d

like to share some tips to make it easier.

One of the largest problems with pho-

tographer rate cards is that they’re con-

fusing, often overwhelming. Simplify! If

you present too many choices, it’s going to

take way too long to explain it all to your

clients. You want to keep clients inter-

preting information through the emotional

side of their brain, not totting up the facts.

The more you have to explain, the more

they have to employ logic to make the

decision.

If you have more than one target market,

you can have more than one set of prod-

ucts, and certainly more than one rate

card. For example, you might offer albums

to high school seniors, but not to buyers

of child and family photography. You need

separate, exclusive lists of your products

and prices.

And you don’t have to offer every great

product you saw at Imaging USA, especially

in a boutique business. Just because a

competitor offers a certain item, you don’t

have to if it doesn’t go with your brand or if

you simply don’t like it.

Boutique items such as photo jewelry,

purses and personalized greeting cards

make fine add-ons and incentives, but

aren’t necessarily high-profit items. You

don’t want to undermine your more

profitable portrait sales, so it’s a good idea

to make a separate rate card for them, or

even require a minimum purchase before

clients can order them.

Use prices to make people do what you

want them to do. Take the session fee, for

example. If it’s better for you not to

photograph on location, set your location

session fees twice as high as studio

sessions. If the fee doesn’t discourage the

client, it will be worth your while to do it.

If you notice that your in-studio sessions

average three times more sales than

location sessions and take half the time to

do, you might lower the studio session fee.

If you want to limit your Saturday or

evening hours, it’s amazing how higher

session fees or minimum purchase

requirements will encourage people to find

time to come in during the week.

I’m a big believer in using business

management software that helps you


In a clever marketing strategy, pricing can actuallyenhance your studio’s image. Pricing can evenmake people do what you want them to do!

Party like it’s$1,999TIPS FOR CREATING

ATTRACTIVE PRICING

SARAH PETTY, CPPTHE JOY OF MARKETINGTM

I’m a big believer in using businessmanagement software that helps youidentify your most profitable sessions. Itcan help you decide if you you shouldcharge more for large groups, additionalclothing changes, all manner of extras.

45 albumx.indd 1 2/13/08 9:32:16 AM

identify your most profitable sessions. It can

help you decide if you you should charge

more for large groups, additional clothing

changes, all manner of extras. You might

find that the large orders that result from

group portraits make it unnecessary to

charge higher session fees.

You also need to weigh the benefits of

packages against a la carte pricing. There

really isn’t a right or wrong answer. Looking

at your sales averages will help you choose a

method. If you do offer packages, make sure

they contain enough value for the price to

encourage people to invest in more than

they would otherwise.

Rate cards are not a marketing brochure

for your company, but a vehicle for stating

your prices. Still, they should be well designed,

simple and clearly worded. I don’t have a

problem with a rate card leaving the studio,

but only if it’s part of your sales plan. I don’t

believe in posting prices on the Web. I want

prospects to call the studio so we can chat.

Rate cards can also help illustrate the value

of your photography. They must be

beautiful! One of my favorite guidebooks is

“The Non-Designer’s Design Book,” by

Robin Williams (Peachpit Press). It presents

the principles of using type and graphics

effectively. Use photography to illustrate the

products wherever possible. It is much

easier to sell a collection of six images if

people can see how they look together. The

look and colors of the design must also be

consistent with your brand identity.

With the ease of digital printing, it’s cost

effective to produce full-color rate cards in

small quantities. We order ours from White

House Custom Colour in quantities of 25 or

50, so if we need to adjust our prices, it’s not

a huge expense. We like to print them on

small, elegant folded cards—it makes such a

difference in how people perceive your work.

Always include a very high-priced item on

your price cards. You may never sell the

item, but it will lend value to your other

products and will allow you to keep raising

the prices. Now we all dread presenting

price increases, but the increase is less

glaring when you use odd numbers: $1,999

is less than $2,000! �

Sarah Petty Photography is in Springfield,Ill. (www.sarahpetty.com).


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Professional Photographer P R E S E N T S Products, Technology and Services

What I likeGene Higa is always on themove, and so is his gear

What makes your workflow flow? The Bay

Photo Lab ROES system. We can upload every-

thing from reprints to album pages to greeting

cards. Orders magically show up at our door

days later. We can do it from anywhere in the

world as long as we have an Internet connection.

What’s the best equipment investment you’ve

ever made? My Canon EOS 5D. The full-

frame image sensor brought me back to the

35mm days.

Little thing, big difference ... My 12-inch Mac

laptop has traveled the world with me. I use

it to back up image files, create slideshows,

conduct workshop presentations and keep

in touch on the road.

What hot new product are you going out of

your way to use? My iPhone. Just for fun, I’ll

have my assistant grab an image of my clients

and me at their wedding. I immediately e-

mail it to them along with a thank-you note.

Has a piece of equipment ever changed the way

you approach your photography? The Canon

50mm f/1.0 lens. It keeps me moving on the job.

What is the most valuable piece of gear for

shooting on-location? I have this custom

Tamrac belt pack with four pouches for

holding gear. It helps me stay mobile and

have every essential ready for action.

IMAGE BY GENE HIGA

WWW.GENEHIGA.COM

To say that Nikon users have waited a long

time for a full-frame DSLR is an under-

statement. Under this kind of pressure,

Nikon needed to get it right the first time.

With the D3 they have.

Wedding, event and studio shooters, you

now have a high-resolution DSLR that’s superb

at high ISO, has an extended dynamic range,

especially in the highlights, and excellent

color accuracy under a variety of lighting

situations. I exposed thousands of frames,

ranging from snapshots to architectural to

portrait photography, under ambient light,

carefully controlled lighting and lit studio-

on-location portraits, at ISO settings from

100 (L-1.0) to 6400. The results pleased not

only me, but notably picky clients as well.

I even tried the H +2.0 setting (ISO

equivalent 25600). It works, although you’ll

want to reserve it as a fallback when using

flash would be disruptive or dangerous, or

when your flash batteries have died. It’s also

worth saying that even with frequent image

viewing on the camera’s large high-

resolution LCD, the D3 consumes minimal

battery power.

The D3 exhibits a reduction in the

chromatic aberrations common to other

full-frame 35mm-based DSLRs. Nikon’s

THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW

All im

ages ©E

llis Vener

Nikon’s first full-frame DSLR tops previous models and blows the competition out of the water. BY ELL IS VENER

Completely rightNIKON D3

The quality of high ISO images from the D3 maylead you to shoot with less light than you havebeen. Exposure: 1/60 second at f/2.8, ISO 6400.

Expeed digital imaging concept—optimized

in-camera image processing technologies

that speed capture rate, refine image quality

and handle images in 16-bit color—deserves

much of the credit for this.

You can see the benefits of Expeed tech-

nology by comparing images captured with

a D3 and D300 to those captured with earlier

Nikon DSLRs with the same lenses, and fac-

toring in other technological advances, as in

sensor design. This is true with both in-camera-

produced JPEGS and NEF (raw) photos.

Nikon and many of the brand’s users

assert that it takes Nikon’s Capture NX soft-

ware to get the most out of your D3 NEF

files, but I do most raw processing in Adobe

Photoshop Lightroom 1.3.1. because it’s faster

and I prefer its interface. Qualitatively,

Capture NX can do a better job of NEF

processing (especially with the implementa-

tion of Nik Software U Point technology), but

the difference isn’t great enough with general

work to sacrifice the speed of Lightroom.

The D3 handles like an evolved version of

previous top-end Nikon DSLRs. The topside

LCD and top deck controls are the same, save

for the addition of an optional live view mode.

The crisp, bright, 3-inch, 920,000-dot

(VGA) LCD monitor dominates the camera’s

back. The new LCD is not only better for

previewing, but also makes menu navigation

and setup more efficient. Protected by a

pane of tempered glass, the LCD no longer

has a plastic cover.

Some of the control buttons have been

modified or moved. The changes are important

if you’re a D2 shooter accustomed to operating

the body by feel. The control buttons to the

left of the LCD are much the same, but the

zoom function is now the second button

from the top. To the right of the LCD there

are a few notable changes: the combined

AE/AF lock button moved down and to the

left, away from the AF on button it was

paired with on the D2 series. The AF sensor

field choices have narrowed from four to

three. And in the lower right corner, the AF

on button and the main command wheel for

vertical shooting have been reversed. The

media compartment door is wider to

accommodate two CompactFlash cards. The

last DSLR I saw with two CompactFlash

card slots was the $8,000, 6-megapixel

Kodak DCS 760 of 2001. Having two CF

cards is useful in a couple of ways: You can

set the camera to record to both cards for in-

camera backup, or to overflow from one card

to the next and seamlessly continue writing


Call 631-656-7400, visit www.qtm.com or your professional photo dealer for more information.

Now Your Canon or Nikon Flash Commands A Lot More Power!The new QUANTUM QNEXUS lets your Canon or Nikon flash wirelessly control the added lighting power and per formance of QUANTUM QFLASH :

Supports all dedicated Canon and Nikon wireless flash functions including

Manual, Automatic, TTL and TTL-Ratio up to 200 feet.

Compact, lightweight Qnexus receiver/decoder mounts directly to the new

Quantum Qflash 5d-R.

Qflash portable flash units deliver 150 to 400 watt-seconds of studio

quality lighting with no limit to the number of wireless Qflashes employed.

Qnexus-compatible factory upgrades also available for Qflash 4d and

5d models.

or you can shoot NEFs and JPEGs simulta-

neously, dedicating a card to each format. I

used the first option more, with either a 2- or

4GB SanDisk Extreme IV card or a Kingston

266X card in slot 1, and a 16GB Sandisk

Extreme III card in slot 2 to backup the less

capacious cards. The Canon 1Ds (Mark II

and II) and 1D (Mark II and III) also have two

media slots, but the second is for an SD card.

Like earlier Nikon models and the com-

peting Canon 1D series, the D3 is a large, heavy

camera, especially with a large aperture zoom

or prime lens attached. A D3 with AF-S

Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens adds up

to about 5 pounds (body, battery, and lens)

to carry around. That’s not a pleasant workout,

and adding a flash or, worse, a flash on a

bracket makes it even rougher. Please, Nikon

and Canon, work on lightening your high-end

cameras while retaining the capabilities.

Image quality is the real reason to con-

sider the D3. Like the D300, it’s a 12-mega-

pixel (12.1 officially) camera, but we know

pixels are not all equal. With a total sensor

area slightly more than 100 percent larger

than the D300, the D3 has larger individual

photoreceptors on the CMOS chip, which

parlays into lower noise at high ISO

equivalents, as well as a greater dynamic

response range at all ISO settings, a premium

for photographers who shoot in low-light

and sometimes high-contrast situations,

such as photojournalists, sports photographers

and wedding and event photographers.

Also top-notch is the sensor’s rendering

lifelike flesh tones, even under a variety of

lighting. The D3 got it right in my test shots

under lighting conditions ranging from

electronic flash with a soft box; tungsten

television studio spotlights; and mixes of

existing light, including all sorts of daylight,

candle light, both standard straight and

compact fluorescent tubes, and some really

nasty and badly ballasted mercury vapor


specs:Nikon D3

SENSOR: 3:2 aspect ratio, 23.9 x

36.0 mm; CMOS

RESOLUTION: FX format (full

frame) 12.1 effective megapixels

(4,256 x2,832 pixels);

DX format (APS-C crop) 5.14

megapixels (2,784 x 1,848 pixels); 5:4

format (30x24mm) 10 megapixels

(3552 x 2832 pixels)

METERING: TTL full-aperture

exposure metering, using 1,005-pixel

RGB sensor: 3D Color Matrix Metering

II (type G and D lenses); Color Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses); Color Matrix

Metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data); center-weighted (weight of 75

percent given to 8-, 15- or 20mm circle in center of frame, or weighting based on average

of entire frame); spot, meters 4mm circle (about 1.5 percent of frame) centered on

selected focus area (on center focus area when non-CPU lens is used)

ISO EQUIVALENTS: ISO 200 to 6400 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 EV; with additional

0.3, 0.5, 0.7, or 1 (ISO 100 equivalent) EV below ISO 200, and 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1 (ISO

12800 equiv.), or 2 (ISO 25600 equiv.) EV over ISO 6400

WHITE BALANCE: Auto (TTL white balance with 1,005-pixel RGB sensor), seven

manual modes with fine-tuning, color temperature setting, white balance bracketing

possible (2 to 9 frames in 1/3 increments)

SHUTTER: 1/8,000 second to 30 second in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV; Bulb

VIEWFINDER: SLR-type with fixed eye-level pentaprism; built-in diopter adjustment

(-3.0 to +1.0); 100% coverage (vertical and horizontal); about 0.7X magnification with

50mm lens at infinity

LCD MONITOR: 3-in., approx. 920,000-dot (VGA), 170-degree wide viewing angle, 100%

frame coverage, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment.

LIVE VIEW: Tripod shooting mode, contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame; hand-held

shooting mode, TTL Phase-difference AF with 51 focus areas (including15 cross-type sensors).

LENS COMPATIBILITY: DX AF Nikkor all functions; other Nikkor lenses with limited

function; IX Nikkor lenses not supported

FLASH: NIKON i-TTL Speedlight flash units and Nikon CLS

MEDIA: 2 slots: CompactFlash(TM) (Type I/II, compliant with UDMA); Microdrives

MSRP: $4,999


Skin tones looked great under television studio lighting.Exposure: 1/640 second at f/2.8, ISO 3200 with a Nikon70-200mm f/2.8G AF-S Nikkor.

fixtures. The ISO equivalent ranged from

100 (L -1.0) to 25600 (H+2.0).

The D3 also shines in 3D-tracking

dynamic predictive autofocus. Nikon’s

Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus module uses

51 focus points in a rough oval pattern,

including 15 cross-type sensors and TTL

phase detection, and operatives in light

levels ranging from -1 to +19 EV (as

measured at IS0 100, 68 degrees Farenheit).

Color information from 1,005-pixel 3D

Color Matrix Metering II enhances

autofocus performance by helping the AF

module predict the motion of a subject not

only as it moves across the frame, but also as

it gets larger or smaller, and moving toward

or away from the camera. You have a choice

of single point, dynamic area AF, or

automatic area AF sensor patterns. The

most useful of these is the dynamic mode.

When the subject and the camera are

not moving, using the Live View Tripod

mode in conjunction with that big LCD

makes a large difference. You can zoom the

display to an area of any size anywhere in

the frame and, with the camera or lens set

to manual focus, carefully focus on the

exact area you want, just as you can with a

view camera, ground glass and a magnifier,

but in many ways better.

The D3 is capable of shooting 9 frames

per second in the FX or 4:5 aspect mode,

up to 11fps in DX mode. With a fast CF

card, you can capture a large number of

frames before the buffer fills. The official

buffer capacity ranges from 108 small, basic

JPEGs (0.4 MB on average) to about 16

uncompressed, 14-bit-per-channel NEF

files (24.7MB on average), giving you lots of

options for sequential shooting. The D3 is

also capable of shooting 8-bits per channel

in the TIFF file format. Why TIFF? I

suspect it’s at the request of some

government entities.

There are some real operational goodies

tucked into the D3’s firmware. Every pho-

tographer will have personal favorites, but

aside from the Live View Tripod mode, I

particularly like these:

• The two ways of using the camera’s orienta-

tion sensors as a virtual horizon tool. The

most obvious way is through the large virtual

horizon display on the rear LCD, accessed

through the camera setup menu—very useful

when the camera’s mounted on a tripod. If

you need to see the tilt angle in the viewfinder

or on the top deck LCD, you can set the custom

function menu to activate the virtual horizon

with the Fn button near to the lower right of

the lens mount. The degree of tilt is indicated


by what would otherwise be the over- and

underexposure scale.

• The programmable intervalometer..

• The ability to program the camera for

up to nine different non-AF lenses (which

comes with every Nikon in the D2 series).

• And a really big deal: a tool to

measure the sharpness of your lenses. You

can use the autofocus fine-tuning tool with

up to 20 CPU-equipped AF Nikkor lenses,

including multiple lenses of the same type

used on one D3 body (in other words, if

your studio has multiple 24-70mm f/2.8G,

70-200mm f/2.8G, 80-200mm f/2.8 D

AF, or 300mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor lenses).

This tool isn’t needed to correct any slop at

the Nikon factory, but to optimize

individual camera bodies with individual

lenses, which cinematographers have

done for decades. �



Using the camera's built-in intervalometer, I shot a sequence of 240 frames at 1fps of the OceanVoyager tank at the Georgia Aquarium, and later made an 8- second movie using Apple QuickTime Prosoftware. Exposure: 1/100 second at f/2.8, ISO 3200, with 14-24mm f/2.8G Nikkor at 14mm.

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PROFESSIONAL

Photographer Leah Fasten of Boston recently

experienced a workflow best-case scenario.

Editors at Make magazine asked her to shoot

a portrait of an MIT scientist named Drew

Enby. Fasten had a great day with Enby, return-

ing from the shoot with a number of strong

images, which she edited and uploaded to her

online archiving service, PhotoShelter. She

sent the Make editors a link to her Enby gallery

on PhotoShelter, they chose a winner, and

paid Fasten. She still owned long-term copy-

rights to the image, and everyone was happy.

Flash forward a year-and-a-half.

Fasten gets a call from Esquire

magazine’s photo editor, who wants to hire

her to photograph—guess who? That hot-

property, MIT scientist Mr. Enby.

“I don’t love re-shooting subjects,” says

Fasten. “I sent the editor a link to my [Enby

archive] gallery. He downloaded a low-res

file from the PhotoShelter Personal Archive,

showed it to his editor, and within a day, he

had the image he needed. It was just so easy!”

Easy and profitable. Fasten’s business

acumen and navigable archive system allowed

her to shoot once and score twice. You never

know when an image will suddenly be in

demand again—just ask photojournalist

Dirck Halstead, whose archive happened to

include a shot of President Bill Clinton

embracing a young intern named Monica—

so many photographers are asking how to

make their image collections key-worded,

searchable, and above all, stored securely.

One option, of course, is a do-it-yourself

indexed archive on DVDs, but disks can fail

over time. Another solution involves

multiple hard drives, deciphering RAID

specs, and housing servers in the basement,

headache inducers all, and then you’ve got

to think about how you’ll transfer or even

access your archives as your hardware

becomes obsolete. Another option is to

outsource the task to an online archiving

service. There are several outfits to choose

from, which offer varying services and

presentation styles at varying costs.

Philadelphia photographer Scott Lewis

looked at a couple of firms, then chose

PhotoShelter, a company offering a solution

for archiving, image protection, distribution

and sales, based in New York. A significant

portion of Lewis’ work is wedding photography,

so he needed a service that would allow him

to upload 500 or more images in one sitting,

THE GOODS: ARCHIVING

Two photographers discuss their experienceswith PhotoShelter, an online archiving serviceand stock agency.BY AUDREY GRAY

Safe and for saleONLINE ARCHIVING AND SALES


The Personal Archive gallery user interface allowsthe photographer to choose and edit file data forbrowsers and potential clients to see.

Image ©Grover Sanschagrin/PhotoShelter Inc.

and quickly sort them into a half-dozen galleries

for his clients’ viewing. Lewis says he’s noticed

over the past year that PhotoShelter’s online

presentation is evolving to accommodate the

needs of wedding photographers, and he’s

been happy with its geographically redundant

data storage system from the start.

“You always want backups of the back-

ups,” says Lewis. “For $500, I can take two

to three years’ worth of weddings and store

them somewhere safe. My house could blow

up and I’m still covered. … If someone calls

me in five years because their grandmother

died and they want to have a nice, beautiful

print made [from one of the wedding

shots], I need to have that picture! That’s

just good business. I’ve safeguarded it for

that moment.”

PhotoShelter was founded in 2005

by Allen Murabayashi, an Eddie AdamsLeah Fasten uses her online archive to post a private gallery of images after an assignment. The clientcan select, purchase and download high-res files.

©Leah Fasten/PhotoShelter Inc.

workshop graduate and a founding employee

and senior VP of engineering at hotjobs.com,

and a handful of technological innovators

and professional photographers, including

Grover Sanschagrin, executive producer of

SportsShooter.com.

“The other founders were interested in

what I’d done in technology,” recalls

Murabayashi, now CEO of PhotoShelter. It

became clear that photographers were running

into workflow problems, from the distribution

of high-res files to controlling usage rights, he

adds. “We see ourselves as a soup-to-nuts solu-

tion for everything that happens after the shoot.”

PhotoShelter offers photographers two

primary products, the Personal Archive and a

stock photo sales and pricing and copyrights

management service, The PhotoShelter

Collection. The archive currently holds

work of 19,000 photographers; more

than 10,000 photographers have

submitted images for The Collection since

it became available to them last September.

Leah Fasten, a PhotoShelter user since

its early days, says it’s worth the $800 to

$1,000 a year she pays for the Personal Archive

service. “I worked with them to create a

custom archive that works seamlessly with

my Web site (www.leahfasten.com).”

Fasten has about 5,000 images in her

personal archive, 1,000 of which she’s made

searchable to the public. That’s one of a

number of PhotoShelter security measures,

from watermarking to privacy settings, that

Fasten uses regularly. PhotoShelter does not

provide visitor tracking per se, but it does track

the number of times each image is viewed.

“I have all sorts of choices about whether

I want someone to download an image, the

file size, how many times, and the length of

time an image will be available,” she says.

“There’s a record of who’s downloading and

when, plus, you can’t right-click on an

image. Realistically, I know that when an

image is online, someone can find a way to

steal it, but PhotoShelter makes it very hard

to do that.”

PhotoShelter’s e-commerce back-end

allows photographers’ clients to buy an

image online with a credit card, then

download it directly. The company also

offers printing and shipping through

partner lab EZprints. Neither Fasten nor

Lewis uses EZprints often, preferring

instead to take a hands-on role in the

production and delivery of prints.

“It’s clear to me that with 5,000 images

sitting in my archives, a few of them could

have another life as stock,” says Fasten.

“I like the idea that I don’t even have to

market the work myself. They can do it

for me.”

Murabayashi says PhotoShelter plans to

make a significant investment this year in

promoting the Collection nationally to ad

agencies, designers and editors. “We’re not



Watermarking options allow you to apply information from your IPTC copyright field to the image orto overlay an uploaded file of your own.

Image ©Allen Murabayashi/PhotoShelter Inc.

The SnapLab™ system. The compact, transportable digital photo lab.

Whether at a wedding or other important event, you could be earning

additional money making gorgeous, long-lasting prints on location

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them out right on the spot—no PC required! Real prints at 3.5x5, 4x6, or

5x7s with the speed of Sony dye sublimation. Make a happy day even

happier—with the Sony SnapLab on-location digital photo lab, the

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When they ask if you make

prints on location, say “I do.”

3336A_Professional_Mag_Jan08.v1.indd 1 10/8/07 7:25:44 PM

trying to be microstock at all. We have

reservations about an image for a dollar,” says

Murabayashi. “In The PhotoShelter Collection,

the minimum you can price a photo is $50.”

In late 2006, PhotoShelter struck an

exclusive agreement with fotoQuote, a

pricing standard for stock photography, to

help photographers set their own prices for

each image in the Collection, as well as in

their Personal Archive. The PhotoShelter

Collection gives photographers at least 70

percent of the purchase/usage price, which

is more than many stock agencies. “We

have a much more Web 2.0 ethos,” says

Murabayashi, referring to how the Web is

transforming in regard to usage and purpose.

Lewis and Fasten both view The

PhotoShelter Collection as impetus to give

themselves more creative and personally

fulfilling assignments and, potentially, to

make cash on stored images, if they take

the time to keyword each image to make it

searchable. “This technology is making the

fun stuff easier to do,” says Fasten. “I do

think you have to be somewhat of a digital

expert to be a photographer these days,

but luckily, you don’t have to create your

own archive.”

Billed monthly, the PhotoShelter

Personal Archive service is priced on the

client’s use of storage space. Accounts

range from the free Starter account that

includes 50MB of space, to the

PhotoShelter Pro account for $49.99

monthly with 100GB of storage. With a

Pro or Standard account, photographers

can purchase an additional terabyte of

storage for $1,000 per year. The

PhotoShelter Collection is free to join. �



PhotoShelter uses fotoQuote price guides,which makes it easy to set standard orcustomized prices and rights management foryour images.

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With the availability of varied substrates for

professional inkjet printers, photographers

can present their work in a way that was

once the sole province of expensive

commercial printers. Here’s a look at some

of the substrates that are getting

photography off the wall.

INDOOR/OUTDOOR

BANNER MATERIAL

Large banners command your attention.

Mounted on banner stands, they become

more versatile than billboards because you

can place them wherever you like. They can

announce your image as they simulta-

neously define a space. Jamie Perry of

Excess Studios in Rochester, N.Y., used

banners to advertise the studio’s presence at

a big cheerleading event. “We didn’t really

think of selling the banners until we saw

that the girls loved them and wanted them

for themselves. When their friends saw

them, they wanted them, too.” Two hundred

cheerleaders went home happy, and Perry

had discovered another way to keep the

studio’s printer busy.

The banners were printed on versatile

LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth, a light-

weight and resilient material. You can roll it,

unroll it, even spill water on it. LexJet provides

free profiles for most major makes of printers,

making color management a straight-

forward process. Perry recommends placing

clips or other weights on the material as it

feeds to keep the fabric from bunching.

Perry also uses LexJet Water-Resistant

Polypropylene, which is strong, resilient and

easy to print on. He’s been wanting to brighten

up the studio’s high ceiling by hanging

images from the rafters, and Polypropylene

proved to be the best material for the job

because it doesn’t stretch and sag over time

like other materials he’s tried. He says ink

adheres well, and the almost matte finish of

the print minimizes reflections.

Banners can accentuate as well as dominate.

Smaller banners in the form of tapestries or

flags can add character and elegance to a

space. Artist Holly Alderman did just that

with interpretive photographs hung as tap-

estries on the grounds and buildings at Saint-

Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish,

N.H., where they remained for several months.

For weather resistance, she and her print-

maker chose LexJet Water-Resistant Satin

Cloth. Alderman also liked this material

aesthetically for its slight translucence.

With highly translucent materials like 3P

Polyvoile, viewers on both sides of the banner

can see the image, as well as see through the

image to what lies beyond. This soft, elegant

touch can have a dramatic effect. Portrait

THE GOODS: SUBSTRATES

You can print on more than photographicpaper—and in your own studio.BY LAURENCE CHEN

ExtraordinaryprintsMATERIAL

DIVERSITY


©Gary Box

Highly translucent 3P Polyvoile lets light throughand makes an ideal material for locations whereviewers can see the image from either side.

photographer Gary Box of Sapulpa, Okla.,

uses Polyvoile to separate his studio’s

window display from the gallery inside.

Polyvoile is so porous that it should be

printed at 720dpi rather than 1,440dpi.

After 24 hours of dry-down, it’s safe to

remove the backing material and hang or

mount the banner.

Tracy Lovett took advantage of LexJet’s

Water-Resistant Polypropylene banner

material to create photo-lamps that she

calls Photo-Luminaria. Made in a process

that Lovett and her husband developed,

these indoor/outdoor lamps feature photos

of her clients. “The inkjet printing was the

easiest part,” she says. “If you use profiles

and soft proof in Photoshop, you’re fine.

When printing for backlight situations, I

like to increase the saturation, but that’s a

personal preference.”

She uses thermal glue to secure the

Water-Resistant Polypropylene to the lamp

frame; Polypropylene’s rigidity holds its

shape. Lovett says the lamps can sustain six

to eight “really good” months outdoors in

the shade before noticeable fading occurs.

Southern exposure reduces the longevity to

about three months. She offers economical

replacement prints to encourage her

customers to keep returning. For indoor

lamps, she uses LexJet Water-Resistant

Satin Cloth.

Any printing begs the question of longev-

ity. While the answer ultimately depends on

numerous factors, Tom Hauenstein of LexJet


Fibrous fine-art papers like Moab's Moenkopi paper Unryu provide a tactile

experience and stand out in presentations where backlighting is possible.

©Chris Conrad

generally estimates that for the Polypropy-

lene and the Satin Cloth materials, you can

expect two to three years of indoor use

before there's noticeable fading. Outdoors,

he says six to 12 months is typical. He

believes most customers actually observe

greater longevity. Is there an advantage to

having to replace your art periodically? For

situations where seasonality, custom

signage, or staying fresh is desirable, change

will likely keep your audience’s attention.

FINE-ART PRINTS

Most everyone admires the texture of

Japanese papers and wants to handle them.

It’s a shame to trap them behind glass. Moab

by Legion Paper recently introduced a line

of Japanese Washi paper, called Moenkopi

(moe-in-koe-pee), coated for both dye- and

pigment-ink sets . The name is actually Native-

American in reference to the paper’s environ-

mentally sensitive qualities; its distinctive

fibers come from mulberry plants, which

remain unharmed by harvesting.

The three archival varieties reflect their

respective weight and character. The Unryu

55 and the Kozo 110 varieties, available in

44-inch rolls, are machine-made, while

Bizan 300 sheets are handmade

individually in Japan. Kozo has a relatively

smooth surface, while Unryu grabs your

attention with the coarse texture of the

thick and thin fibers running through it

(“unryu” means “cloud dragon paper”).

Slightly translucent, Unryu is ideal for

backlighting. Bizan has the most textured

surface, both dimpled and wavy, and it has

hand-torn deckled edges. Bizan is sold

exclusively on the Moab Web site.

Chris Conrad, among the first to print on

the new material, says the Moenkopi papers

are comparable to any high-quality fine-art

paper. Printing is straightforward with Moab-

supplied profiles; Conrad uses the Epson

Enhanced Matte profile with equal success.

Paper of character requires imagery to

match. Conrad likes Unryu for his black-

and-white work. For color, he suggests

using muted tones to suit the paper’s

“dreamy texture.” Jim Graham, another fan

of Moab papers, says the Moenkopis are

best suited to images that will be enhanced

by the paper’s “gentle nuances.” For

presentation, both Conrad and Graham

recommend taking non-traditional

approaches. “I would try to show the entire piece of paper, mounting it somehow so it

stands off its backing,” says Conrad, “it is a

true tactile experience.”

WALLPAPER

If your photography dominates a wall so

much as to be the wall, then photo wallpaper

is the obvious answer. When a children’s

oncology clinic wanted to soften the mood

of an examination room, photographer Jack

Puryear in Austin, Texas, found a solution in

printing his image on LexJet WallPro, an inkjet-


Tracy Lovett makes indoor/outdoor luminaries fromimages printed on water-resistant polypropelyne.

Think big. Murals printed on wallpaper can bring character and new dimensions to dull office and exam areas.

THE GOODS: SUBSTRATES

©Tracy Lovett

©Gary Box

compatible wallpaper that installs with

standard wallpaper paste. Puryear used

profiles, made test prints, and applied two

coats of protective coating to bring out the

full image quality on the wallpaper. The

image so inspired one child that he added

a creative contribution in Crayon. With

the coating, it cleaned up fine without

harming the image.

For the treatment room, Puryear printed

five sections on 36-inch rolls at 100dpi. “If

you get really close, it looks grainy, but at a

normal viewing distance it looks fine.” (He

allowed 1.5 inches for overlap.)

The professional installation of Puryear’s

photo wallpaper took about an hour-and-a-

half. Although it’s a simple job, he recommends

hiring an experienced wallpaper hanger to

do it quickly and easily.

AVAILABILITY

Many of these materials are available in rolls

intended for professional wide-format inkjet

printers; most start at 24 inches wide. Check

with the supplier for details, and if you don’t

have an appropriate printer in-house, ask

the supplier for referrals to studios in your

area that will do the printing for you.

Photographers interested in fabrics

with even greater longevity and durability

should investigate dye-sublimation

printing on such materials as poly-silk,

which is washable.

New display and substrate ideas are in

development and help is available from manu-

facturers and distributors who are becoming

more aware of the photographic end-user’s

needs and the importance of client support.

Here are some Web sources to explore:

www.breathingcolor.com • www.drytac.com

• www.exhibitors-handbook.com •

www.hahnemuehle.com • www.ivey.com •

www.LexJet.com • www.moabpaper.com •

www.pacificmount.com. �


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Qual tyLightof

The

Li

I spend far too much time online reading

various photo-centric Web sites, where the

same questions are often asked, such as, “I

have Adobe Photoshop and Bridge, why

would I need Adobe Lightroom?” It’s a

logical question. There are significant

differences between the two.

Photoshop was designed to edit pixels.

To do so, Photoshop needs access to every

pixel, even if you’ll be editing only 22 out

of the 22 million in the file. That can tax

your processor and slow your workflow.

Photoshop has to work with rendered pixels.

Rendered means that the color values, color

space and gamma are baked in. Like a cake

recipe gone awry, it’s nearly impossible to

remove the individual ingredients, remix

them properly and re-bake the cake. With

Photoshop, you can make a good show of it,

but it takes effort, and it’s just not as good as

it might have been.

Some image corrections are difficult or

impossible to achieve on rendered pixels.

For example, you can’t correct highlight data

where none exists as a result of how the

initial pixels were originally rendered. Severe

white balance adjustments are extremely

difficult to correct on rendered images.

Altering an image that appears dark, has a

severe colorcast, or needs saturation

adjustment requires changing pixel values, a

slow process that causes data loss.

However, in presenting you each and every

pixel, Photoshop has the ultimate set of tools

to precisely select and edit only some of

these pixels. Consequently, Photoshop works

primarily with one image at a time. Droplets

and batch commands provide a limited

means of working with multiple images;

still, each image has to be opened and every

pixel has to be loaded into RAM before you

can view and manipulate multiple images.

Lightroom at its core is a raw processor.

Though you can import existing rendered

images, Lightroom is most powerful

working with raw, non-rendered, essentially

grayscale data to produce new colored pixels

that represent how you want to render the

image. A raw file is like having individual

ingredients that you can remix and re-bake

at any time. Rendering isn’t color correction,

it’s image creation. You should minimize, if

not eliminate, the need to globally color

correct or “fix” pixel-based images.

Lightroom uses instructions (metadata)

to describe how a raw image should be

processed into pixels. It doesn’t open a full-

resolution, pixel-based image; it shows a

series of previews based on how the final

image will appear if you tell it to build those

pixels. This process has a number of features

that Photoshop doesn’t. First, it’s fast and

flexible. You view either a low-resolution

preview of the entire image or a screen-size,

full-resolution preview (1:1 or greater). The

THE GOODS SOLUTIONS BY ANDREW RODNEY

Nearly every modern photographer knows what Photoshopcan do. What does Lightroom bring to the table?

Figure 1: Exporting one or more images selected in Lightroom brings up this dialog, where I canspecify how I want my pixels built from the metadata instructions. I asked for full-resolution, 16-bitProPhoto RGB rendering. I could ask for smaller resolution images in differing ways and these newpixel-based documents could be built as specified.

What’s the difference?


computer doesn’t alter the pixels, it just shows

you what the current metadata would produce.

You can change your mind at any time, since

all you’re doing is rewriting the metadata.

Once you want to actually produce a pixel-

based document, Lightroom performs a single

computation of the metadata to produce a

new set of pixels from the raw data, which is

truly non-destructive editing.

Metadata editing in Lightroom also allows

you to quickly apply a set of rendering

instructions to multiple images—just copy

and paste the metadata instructions from

one raw file to others. The computer doesn’t

need to do the heavy lifting of generating

pixels until you tell Lightroom to export the

data (or print it from the Print module or

upload a Web gallery) based on these

instructions (Figure 1).

Lightroom has some simple clone-like

tools that produce what appear to be pixel-

based edits, but are merely an additional set

of instructions. Suppose you have 300 raw

captures and notice that there was a dust

spot on the camera sensor. You can clone

out the single spot, and that instruction will

be applied when the rendered pixels are

built from the raw. Better, you can copy and

paste this single set of instructions to all the

other images (Figure 2). Lightroom will auto-

matically select a clone source and apply the

dust removal on all the other images, even if

the orientation of the images varies. In Photo-

shop you’d have to open each image, use the

clone tool, then save the image to disk.

Furthermore, if for some reason you don’t

like how you edited the dust spot (or any

instruction-based edit) in one of the 300

images, you can always go back to Lightroom

and remove or update that one edit. Unlike

Photoshop, the edit list (history states) remains

with each image, even if you quit Lightroom.

The metadata instructions are either stored


Figure 2: If you have 1,000 images that need the same global correction, it takes only seconds tocomplete in Lightroom. I copied settings from the image in the upper left, then used the SyncSettings command to bring up this dialog, where I can specify which instructions onto paste to all ofthe highlighted images.

THE GOODS

Figure 3. XMP metadata is seen here, opened using a text editor. It describes all the edits of one image, inplain English. Once I convert my images into DNG, this data exists within the DNG, no sidecar files necessary.

as small sidecar files or embedded into a DNG

(see www.ppmag.com/reviews/200709_

adobedng.pdf).

You can make virtual copies of one raw

file and produce multiple sets of instructions

without having to create multiple pixel-based

images. This saves time and disk space. One

version could show the desired color and

tone instructions, others could show black

and white, with and without a split tone, one

a different crop. Each of them can be rendered

out to a pixel-based image at any time.

Photoshop becomes a necessity for

selective editing, compositing, and complex

blending of multiple images. In Lightroom,

all instructions for color and tone are global;

there are no provisions (yet) for altering

only a part of an image. For precise pixel

editing, true retouching and compositing,

you need to render the images as pixels and

work on the data in Photoshop.

Try to conduct all the global tone and

color rendering work in Lightroom, then

hand off the rest of the work to Photoshop,

with the goal of not going back into

Lightroom for further global work—possible

but somewhat counterproductive.

I’ve concentrated only on Lightroom’s

rendering abilities, but it has much more

functionality. While Bridge is just a file browser,

Lightroom is a database that can be the

heart of your digital asset management.

There’s a module for making Web galleries

and a print module that takes printing

multiple images to a new level.

Too many people, some Photoshop gurus

included, have failed to recognize that they

should render the best possible data from

the start of the process, at the raw rendering

stage. Lightroom gives us the tools to

properly render image data and go far

beyond what Photoshop can “fix” on an

existing pixel-based document. Investigate

this exciting new process and think about

editing instructions first, then pixels. �

Andrew Rodney owns The Digital Dog, adigital imaging training and consultingbusiness in Santa Fe, N.M. The author of“Color Management for Photographers”(Focal Press), he lectures around the country.Rodney is an alpha tester for Adobe Systems,was placed among the “Top 40 PhotoshopExperts” by Wacom Technologies, andinducted into the NAPP Photoshop Hall ofFame in 2007. Learn more atwww.digitaldog.net.


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Adobe Photoshop records a series of tasks you do individually to

create an action that you apply at once to a single file or a whole

folder of files. Photoshop records each task separately as a

command that appears in its own block, which you can edit later.

A set of commands (represented by a stack of these blocks) make

an action. They’re fast to record, easy to edit and portable between

Windows and Mac platforms.

THE TUTORIAL

1. Create a main folder named Project 01, then create a folder

inside it named Print and another named Web (Figure 1). It

doesn’t matter where you put the Project 01 folder, as long as you

know where to find it. These folders will store the new image files

we create in this tutorial.

2. In Photoshop, open the Actions palette (Window > Actions)

if it’s not already visible. Go to the Actions palette menu and

select New Action (Figure 2). Type in Action 1 for the name

and click the Record button. Photoshop will now record what

you’re doing.

THE GOODS: TUTORIAL

PhotoshopActions

THE EASY WAY TO AUTOMATE REPETITIVE TASKS


Figure 1

Figure 1: Begin by setting up folders for the new files you’ll create.

Figure 2: To access the Actions palette menu, click on the button in the upperright corner.

Figure 3: This is the copyright section of the File Info window.

Figure 4: The buttons at the bottom of the Actions paletteare VCR-like. The square is Stop, the circle is Record and theright-facing arrow is Play.

This tutorial shows you how to create anaction that performs a set of generalworkflow tasks. It also shows you how touse Photoshop actions if Adobe Lightroomis your main image editing program.

BY RICK RALSTON

3. Open a raw image file, make whatever adjustments you choose

in Camera Raw (or use a preset) and click the Open Image button.

In the Actions palette you’ll see that the first command has been

recorded. You can click the right-facing arrow on the command to

see all the recorded settings. Photoshop is still recording.

4. Select Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask and apply this filter.

Later we’ll see how to exclude this command, delete it entirely, or

record another filter.

5. Resize the image to 6 inches on the longest side at 300ppi. To

make sure this works for both landscape and portrait images, go to

File > Automate > Fit Image and type in 1,800 pixels for both width

and height (6 x 300 = 1,800) to reduce the image appropriately for

its orientation.

6. Go to File > File Info to enter some metadata. I’ve selected

Copyrighted in the Copyright Status pull-down menu and entered

information in both the Copyright Notice and Copyright Info URL

fields (Figure 3).

7. Convert the color space by selecting Edit > Convert to Profile

and selecting ProPhoto RGB from the Profile pull-down menu.

8. Save the image (File > Save As), navigate to the Project 01

folder, and select the Print folder. Select TIFF from the Format pull-

down menu and click the Save button.

9. With the image still open, resize it to 2.5 inches on the longest

side at 72ppi (File > Automate > Fit Image) and type in 180 pixels

for both width and height (2.5 X 72 = 180).

10. Convert the color space by selecting Edit > Convert to Profile

and selecting sRGB from the Profile pull-down menu.

11. Save the image (File > Save As), navigate to the Project 01

folder, and this time select the Web folder. Select JPEG from the

Format pull-down menu and click the Save button.

12. Close the file.

13. To stop recording, go to the Actions palette menu and select

Stop Recording (or click the Stop button at the bottom of the

Actions palette as shown in Figure 4).

You can run this action on a single image by first clicking on the

check mark to the left of the Open command to uncheck it (Figure 5).

The recorded command specifies the particular image you opened

when you recorded the action. You’ll see why you recorded this step

when we get to the Batch feature. Single-click Action 1 to highlight

it, then click the right-facing arrow at the bottom of the Actions

palette to run it.

You can edit an individual command by double-clicking on it

and changing the settings. You can exclude a command by

deselecting the check mark next to it in the Actions palette. For


Figure 5: To exclude a command click on the check box to the left of the com-mand to deselect it.

Figure 6: You can run an action on a folder of images using the Batchsettings above.

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instance, if you don’t want to include the Unsharp Mask filter, you

can exclude it before running the action. You can also delete a

command by selecting it and clicking the Delete key. To add another

command, highlight the command you want it to follow and click

the Begin Recording button at the bottom of the Actions palette,

record a command and click the Stop Recording button. You can

also rearrange commands by dragging and dropping them. This

works from one action to another as well.

To run this action on a folder of images, select File > Automate

> Batch and make the selections as shown in Figure 6. Make

sure to include the Open command before proceeding or the

Batch process will not work. Note that we are overriding the

Open commands, which bypasses the particular image recorded

in the command, but keeps the Camera Raw settings. Also, by

checking Suppress File Open Options Dialogs, the action won’t

stop and wait for you to click the Open Image button when

opening raw files. We’re not overriding the Save As commands

because the action specifies two different folders, and the Batch

command can specify only one.

ADOBE LIGHTROOM

If most of your workflow is done in Adobe Lightroom rather

than Photoshop, you can do everything in the action above

except run the Unsharp Mask filter. Lightroom is not a pixel

editing program, so you’ll need to enlist Photoshop to do the tasks

it can’t. In an automated workflow there’s only one way to do

that. Save a Photoshop action as a droplet (converts an action

into an application) in Lightroom’s Export Actions folder and

specify that it’s to run when exporting from Lightroom.

Lightroom’s Export command works first, then Photoshop opens

the files, runs the filter and re-exports them. You’ll need to run

this once for the Print images and again for the Web images.

Let’s see what that looks like:

1. Record an action in Photoshop with only three commands:

Unsharp Mask, Save As to the Web folder as a JPEG, and Close.

2. Select File > Automate > Create Droplet. This window is

similar to the Batch window. First make sure None is selected in the

Destination pull-down menu. The droplet has to be named

(Unsharp Mask) and saved into a particular folder (Save Droplet In

at the top of the window)—finding it isn’t easy. Click Choose. On a

Mac, the location is Users > yourname > Library > Application

Support > Adobe > Lightroom > Export Actions. On Windows it’s

C: > Documents and Settings > yourname > Application Data >

Adobe > Lightroom > Export Actions.


Note: On Windows some folders may be hidden. If you don’t see the

Application Data folder, highlight your user folder (in Documents

and Settings) and select View > Customize This Folder > General tab

and click in the Hidden box until it is completely clear.

For this droplet, confirm that the Override Action Open

Commands box in the Play section is unchecked. The other three

boxes don’t matter in this tutorial. Name the droplet Unsharp Mask

so you can identify it in Lightroom’s Export window. Click OK.

3. In Lightroom import your raw files. Add the metadata

(copyright info) using the Metadata panel. You can also do this

during the import process.

4. In the Export window (File > Export) select the Print folder as

the Export Location, TIFF as the format, ProPhoto RGB as the color

space and Resize to Fit at 1,800 pixels for width and height (same as

Photoshop’s Fit Image). To run the Photoshop droplet, select

Unsharp Mask from the After Export drop-down menu at the

bottom. If you’ve placed the droplet in the correct folder, it will

appear in this menu.

5. Click the Export button.

6. Do this again for the Web images using the settings from the

Photoshop tutorial and the Web folder as the Export Location. You

can use the original raw images if you wish, but it’s faster to use

the exported TIFFs in the Print folder. They are smaller and

have already had the Unsharp Mask filter applied. Import the

images in the Print folder and export them as JPEGs and skip

the Photoshop droplet.

This action gives you one example of actions’ potential. Observe

what you do during a given day. Does your workday contain

repetitive tasks that don’t really require anything more of you

than remembering all the steps and punching the buttons?

Your time is much more valuable than that. Think of the

Photoshop and Lightroom automation features as your assis-

tants. They don’t ask for a salary, never call in sick and actually

do what you tell them. �

Rick Ralston works in the graphics group at The Coca-Cola Companyin Atlanta. He is the author of “The Designer’s Apprentice:Automating Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign” (Adobe Press). Healso writes a graphics automation blog at www.theAutomatist.com.

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Do you catch yourself daydreaming over your work, imaginingromantic faraway places? If wanderlust is forever distracting you,there might be a profitable way to give in to it.

Destination: SuccessBusiness insights for destination wedding photography

s mainstream wedding photography

becomes more creative, more couples

are attracted to the idea of

importing a photographer to cap-

ture their destination wedding.

Such weddings typically include

25 to 80 guests, cost thousands to produce, and

require the same care and forethought—if not

more—as traditional weddings. And couples

are willing to pay a premium for the service.

Destination wedding clients want to docu-

ment the destination experience as much as

the actual nuptials, so the wedding photog-

rapher must also be a travel photographer.

He must know how to capture the soul of

the location, as well as the spirit of the

people who’ve chosen it. He must be flexible

and adventuresome, yet bring order and

expertise to the experience.

The key to success in destination wedding

photography is to view it as a business endeavor

rather than a paid vacation. That means being

completely prepared for every conceivable

circumstance, and having the professionalism

to deal with the unexpected. We talked to

three in-demand pros about how they’ve

become successful in this dynamic business.

GARRETT NUDD

FAVORITE DESTINATION: PARIS, FRANCE.

“Photographing in Paris was pretty amazing,

being that it’s one of the most romantic and

artistic cities in the world. Just being there

was an inspiring experience.”

Two years ago, Garrett Nudd Photography

did zero destination weddings. This year,

©Garrett Nudd

WEDDINGS By Jeff Kent

A

Destination: Aspen, Colorado


destination weddings will account for

about 30 percent of the studio’s wedding

business. The Chattanooga, Tenn.,

operation has accomplished this impressive

business growth in two ways: One, the

husband-wife team of Garrett and Joy

Nudd actively promotes destination work

in all the media; and two, they know how

to inspire their clients’ confidence in them.

“When a bride hires a photographer, it’s

not just about the images; her primary

need is a feeling of security,” explains

Garrett. “She wants a photographer who’s

familiar with travel, who knows how to

handle an event, who knows what he’s

doing and makes her comfortable in

knowing he’ll do the job right.”

The Nudds opened their first studio

in Orlando, Fla., one of the world’s most

popular destination wedding locations.

Though they weren’t traveling for wed-

dings, they got plenty of experience dealing

with wedding parties that were. When they

moved to Chattanooga, the Nudds got

involved with a local university that

attracts an affluent, international student

body. They began moving in a circle of

people who travel extensively. They talked

up their penchant for destination work,

and their experience with destination

weddings in Florida.

They started landing gigs in Aspen,

Santa Barbara, Savannah, St. Augustine,

Key West, and as far away as Norway,

Scotland, France and Italy.

The Nudds customize a package for each

destination wedding. These weddings tend

to cost about 25 percent more than local ones,

with packages averaging $8,000 to $10,000

per wedding. If they’re working with a wed-

ding coordinator who has referred the couple,

the Nudds charge a flat fee for their services

and add travel expenses. If the bride contacts

them directly, the fee is all-inclusive.

Destination: Scotland

Destination: Paris

©Garrett Nudd

©Garrett Nudd

WEDDINGS


A key element in the Nudds’ pricing is

the number of days they’ll be away from the

studio. “That’s a cost people often overlook,”

Garrett says. “Flight and hotel are obvious,

but lost income is very important—like

being away from the business for several days.

We have a young daughter for whom we need

to make arrangements as well, so that’s another

factor. We look at each destination event indi-

vidually and decide if it makes sense for us.”

Beyond the profit and prestige of

destination photography, the Nudds see

traveling as a way to expand their creative

horizons and revitalize their photography.

“Being able to photograph in a different

place is a great way to stay fresh and

artistic,” says Garrett. “If we’re in the

Caribbean, I often get up before sunrise

for a walk on the beach to think and

reflect. That, as an artist, is so valuable—to

be far from home, to clear your mind. To

me, that’s the biggest benefit of destina-

tion weddings for a busy wedding

photographer.”

To learn more about Garrett Nudd Photog-raphy, check out www.garrettnudd.com.

GARRETT NUDD’S LESSONS FROM THE ROAD• Schedule plenty of time for travel on the front end. Planes can be late, connections

missed. Things can happen to prevent your being somewhere on time.

• Carry the necessary electrical current adapters for your equipment on international trips.

• Foreign cuisine may not agree with you, so do some research ahead of time to

locate places that will accommodate your special diet or preferred cuisine.

• Figure out the best time to shoot outside—daylight hours are different in every destination.

• Sometimes when you’re staying at the same venue as the clients, you end up working

for them all weekend. If that’s not in your contract, consider how you can work in time

for your own needs.

Destination: Italy

©Garrett Nudd

GENE HIGA

FAVORITE DESTINATION: THE PHILIPPINES.

“We shot seven locations in six days. It was

the most exotic wedding I’ve ever done.”

Like the others, Gene Higa kick-started his

destination wedding business through word-

of-mouth marketing. Beginning with his

existing client base, in 2004, the San

Francisco-based wedding photographer

began spreading the word. He promoted his

desire to work destination weddings to

brides, then asked them to mention him to

their bridal parties, their friends and their

families. The more pleased the local clients,

the more willing they were to talk him up in

their social circles. Now Higa books events

from Hawaii to Hong Kong, Tuscany to

Thailand.

Higa’s non-local bookings account for

about 25 percent of his total workload, or

roughly 10 destination events out of 40

weddings a year. In 2006, Higa hit nine

countries and every major U.S. city. In 2007,

he scaled back the travel by about 50

percent and began courting more high-end

local clients. “There aren’t a lot of photog-

raphers in the Bay Area who really focus on

destination weddings,” says Higa. “That sets

me apart. I show exotic destination images

to everyone, even people who are planning

to get married in San Francisco. You walk

into my studio and see large photos of

Greece, Peru, The Philippines. It gives

clients the impression that I’m trusted

enough to do these big destination events, so

I can definitely handle their local event. My

perceived value goes up significantly.”

For Higa, destination weddings provide

the additional benefit of filling traditionally

slow periods. Many of his destination couples

get married in warm-weather locations

during San Francisco’s winter months.


WEDDINGS

Destination: Thailand

©Gene Higa


TIPS FROM GENE HIGAThings people don’t always think about when planning adestination wedding job

SAFETY AND STABILITY. Keep up

with the news about the area you’ll

be working in. It’s important to insure

your equipment and take plenty of

precautions. Before leaving for a trip,

I photograph all my gear and write

down the serial numbers. I make backup

copies of my passport and travel

documents. I carry one copy with

me and leave another with someone

back home.

GETTING IN AND OUT. Research visa

regulations, entry documents and exit

documents for your destination.

Sometimes these documents need to be

arranged far in advance. If you show up

without them, you’re out of luck.

STAY IN TOUCH. We carry a World

Phone so we always have cell phone

access. Or you can buy a SIM card that

works in that country for your mobile

phone. Phone access is useful for keeping

in touch with the bride and groom, as

well as the business back home.

GET ACCLIMATED. The hardest part of

any destination wedding is getting there.

I like to arrive a couple days before the

event so I can get acclimated, recharge

and get in the groove.

Destination: Peru

Destination: Barbados©Gene Higa

©Gene Higa

When Higa would otherwise be tidying up

the studio and filing his income taxes, he’s

off in the tropics generating income.

Higa’s destination packages begin in the

$20,000 to $25,000 range. Like Claire and

the Nudds, his custom quotes include his

services plus travel expenses. Higa makes his

own travel arrangements, accumulating fre-

quent flier miles and hotel points, but he asks

to be included in the group lodging and travel

rates that clients negotiate for their guests.

His fees include an associate photographer,

Ann Hamilton, who accompanies him on all

destination jobs. Their commissions range

from one-day wedding coverage to week-

long shoots to document every adventure.

“The experiences are second to none,”

says Higa. “I’m going out there, seeing the

world, and getting paid to do it! The best

part is coming home with all those beautiful,

exotic images. From a photographer’s

standpoint, it’s pretty amazing.”

For more from Gene Higa, includinginformation on his Image X destinationwedding workshop, visit www.genehiga.comand www.imagexworkshop.com.


WEDDINGS

Destination: Philippines

JESSICA CLAIRE

FAVORITE DESTINATION: SANTORINI,

GREECE. “It was so beautiful, such an idyllic

place to photograph a wedding.”

Orange County, Calif., wedding photographer

Jessica Claire began doing destination wed-

dings with a 2004 assignment in Cabo San

Lucas, Mexico. The bride, a referral from a

local wedding coordinator, was active in

destination wedding message boards. Blown

away by Claire’s work, the bride posted

kudos up and down the boards.

Before long Claire was getting five to 10

inquiries a day about doing destination

weddings. She snapped up the gigs that

interested her, in such places as Greece,


WEDDINGS

JESSICA CLAIRE’S DESTINATION WEDDING TIPSTRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT. Shoot a destination wedding before you invest heavily

in that market. Even if you lose money on that first job, the experience can be worth it.

You’ll get a more realistic idea of what it’s like to work in that area.

GET CONNECTED. Network with travel agents, local coordinators and vendors. Let

them know you love shooting at their venues or destinations and that you want to do it

again. Send them images. Don’t make it hard for them to refer someone from far away.

DON’T BE A STRANGER. Respond to calls and e-mails quickly, especially when

you’re dealing with a client who doesn’t live near you. Be totally available to non-local

prospects, because it’s easier for them to work with someone closer to home.

DO IT YOURSELF. It pays to make your own travel and lodging arrangements. Include

the costs in your total package price.

“When I started the destination work, Iwas eager for the experience, and I treatedeach trip like a little vacation. That changedover time. The more you travel, the lessglamorous it is. If you want to run a seriousbusiness, you can’t forego your profitstaking vacations on someone else’s dime.”

Destination: Cabo San Lucas

©Jessica Claire

Hawaii, St. John and British Columbia.

It was fun. It was exciting. But profitable,

not so much. “When I started the destination

work, I was eager for the experience, and I

treated each trip like a little vacation,” Claire

remembers. “That changed over time. The

more you travel, the less glamorous it is. If

you want to run a serious business, you can’t

forego your profits taking vacations on some-

one else’s dime. I took a hard look at my

costs and started raising my prices to make

it really worth it to do destination events.”

Claire’s customized price quotes include her

travel expenses and commute time, even rev-

enue she could have generated had she not been

traveling. In general, her destination packages

sell for about double the price of a local wedding.

“Making money on destination weddings

involves so much more than adding on the

cost of the flight and the room,” says Claire.

“There are also costs like parking at the

airport, meals, shipping wedding albums to

out-of-town clients, having equipment sent

to you, paying extra to travel with gear,

Internet access fees at the hotel and all the

incidentals that come with traveling.” And

then there’s the cost of opportunity lost. “If

you travel for a wedding on Memorial Day

weekend, you can shoot only one wedding.

At home you could have shot two or three.

You have to charge accordingly,” she adds.

Word-of-mouth marketing and vendor

referrals have been critical. As Claire’s prices

increase, so do her clients’ expectations of

personal service. With destination packages

starting at $10,000, clients aren’t finding her

in the Yellow Pages. They want someone

referred by others of the inner circle. Claire

works extra hard to establish relationships

with all her clients, their friends and

families, and naturally, the resort managers,

wedding coordinators and travel agents who

specialize in destination events.

Claire includes destination event info on

her Web site and writes about the weddings

on her blog. “If I post about a particular

destination, it will come up in search

engines,” she explains. “Brides searching for

info about those locations may come across

my blog, where they can look at my recent

work and learn more about me. There’s no

one magic bullet for finding destination

brides. They live all over, and they don’t hear

about photographers from just one source.

The challenge is to make as many connections

as possible and let all those people know you

do destination wedding photography.” �

For more on Jessica Claire, visitwww.jessicaclaire.net.

Destination: Greece

WEDDINGS

©Jessica Claire

happenMaking the magic

All images ©Jerry Ghionis

Lauded Australian photographer Jerry Ghionis finds beauty and prosperity in reinvention.

B Y L O R N A G E N T R Y


In July, Microsoft anointed him an “Icon of

Imaging.” Never one to rest on his laurels,

Ghionis celebrated his success by

reconfiguring his business model.

This month Ghionis opened an

eponymous boutique photography studio in

the Docklands area of Victoria Harbour in

Melbourne. His present studio, XSiGHT

Photography and Video, in Melbourne, con-

tinues to be run by his brother and business

partner, Nick, an accomplished photographer

as well. The new studio, run by Ghionis and

his wife, Georgina, and his personal assistant

Sally-Ann Sargood, will cater to an elite

clientele, and have more individualized

services and higher prices than XSiGHT.

This month Ghionis also publishes his first

coffee table book, and launches an online

classroom called The I.C.E.Society.

Maintaining the status quo was never

enough for Ghionis. Even though his first

studio was successful, several years ago

Ghionis changed the name to XSiGHT,

added a state-of-the-art theater, and doubled

his fees. He doubled the number of clients

as well. Over the years Ghionis has given

seminars and workshops worldwide and

won numerous international awards, including

four of the last five International Wedding

Album of the Year awards from Wedding &

Portrait Photographers International.

Professional Photographer caught up with

Ghionis between seminars in Melbourne.

Professional Photographer: You’re at the pin-

nacle of your career, so why change your studio?

Jerry Ghionis: We’ve all heard the saying,

“If it works, don’t fix it.” I prefer, “If it works,

make it better.” There is always a better

way—a more efficient, less expensive and

more effective way. I would rather risk and

fail than be safe and boring. Rather than

hat a year 2007was for AustralianphotographerJerry Ghionis.In March American Photo

Magazine named him one

of the top 10 wedding

photographers in the world.

concentrating on being the best, I concentrate

on being better than last week and being dif-

ferent. I encourage new photographers to be

as passionate about their business as they

are about their photography. My biggest rein-

vention yet is the introduction of my new

studio. I am ready for the next phase in my

career. I’m starting from scratch. It’s been 10

years since I started my own business, and I

can’t wait for what the next 10 years will bring.

Your approach to photographing weddings is

different from the popular photojournalism style.

What is your technique and why is it successful?

When I started, I was told that a wedding

isn’t about me, it’s about the bride and groom.

I grew tired of waiting for magic to happen

on its own. An artist’s paintings say as much

about the artist as the subject. Why should

photography be any different? Aren’t we

artists? I love beauty, glamour and fashion.

In fact, those who inspire me most are fashion

photographers—Herb Ritts, David LaChapelle,

Patrick Demarchelier, Sante D´Orazio,


Mario Testino, Horst P. Horst, Helmut Newton,

Richard Avedon, among many others.

If I waited for moments on a wedding

day rather than create them, my albums

wouldn’t look as dynamic as they do. My

albums feature images that I captured as

well as those I created. When viewing her

photographs, a bride first looks to see how

beautiful she is and then looks for expression,

emotion and storytelling. Ironically, the bride

who wants to look beautiful doesn’t want to

be posed, which tells me brides want to look

glamorous and natural. Emotion often beats

perfection, but why not have both? I make

my images appear as if I happened to be in

the right place at the right time.

What gives your images that touch of drama?

Through lighting—video light, candlelight,

ambient light. I also use shadows and

reflections. I vary angles, cropping and

perspective. Mainly it’s the last-minute

finesse, the last direction. It could be a slight

parting of the lips or tilt of the head.

You seem to love saturated color. Why?

Because it’s exciting and stands out from what

other photographers do. Color evokes certain

emotions and demands attention. I never shoot

in black in white, but I do convert images to

black and white. Black and white and sepia

represent about 10 to 20 percent of the images

in my wedding albums.

How many weddings do you shoot in a year?

People often have the perception that I don’t

shoot much anymore because I’m away teach-

ing. In 2006 I was away from home for about

three months, collectively, but I still shot 65

weddings. The same for 2007. But from this

year on I’ll be photographing fewer weddings,

(continued on p. 102)

MARKETING, THE GHIONIS WAY

Five key things photographers should

remember in planning marketing and

advertising for the year:

1. Work on marketing that costs you

nothing—ask clients and vendors for

referrals and maximize relationships with

people who can help you.

2. Try a same-day slide show at the

reception. It’s the best direct marketing

you will ever do and you can charge good

money for it.

3. Don’t be a tightwad! Don’t think

about the advertising dollars you’re

spending; think instead about the return.

4. When presented with an advertising

opportunity, ask yourself, Is there a

better way I can spend this money?

5. Don’t forget to consider yourself a

brand. Build it and they will come.

JERRY GHIONIS’CAMERA BAG

CAMERAS:

Canon EOS 5D (x2)

Canon EOS 20D

LENSES:

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM

Canon 24-105 f/4 L USM

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

SanDisk CompactFlash cards

LIGHTING:

Canon Speedlite 580EX

Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2

Lowel id-Light video light

Sunpak ringlight flash

“Rather thanconcentrating onbeing the best, I concentrateon being betterthan last week.”

(continued from p. 98)

doubling my prices, and offering a more bou-

tique service. Portrait and fashion photography

make up about 20 percent of my business.

What makes your wedding albums award

winning?

I believe it is the simplicity of design, which

allows the photography to speak for itself. A

good design goes unnoticed. It’s all about the

images. It’s harder to be simple than it is to add

a lot of bells and whistles. Wedding albums

shouldn’t be too fashionable. I want my albums

to look great 50 years from now. Most of our

albums are a mix of matted and magazine styles,

made by Seldex Artistic Albums in Australia.

In my new studio, every album will be cus-

tomized and tailored to suit individual clients.

What is the number one way a professional

photographer can improve his or her business?

Surround yourself with great people. Without

a good staff, your studio is only four walls. Stop

being a control freak and get some help. Educate

yourself. Seminars and workshops can literally

change your life. After all, knowledge is power.

Don’t be too precious about the work.

Consider yourself first a businessperson who

happens to be a photographer. Artistically,

don’t be safe or stay in your comfort zone by

setting up pose number 23 in location

number 57. Comfort zones have never been

synonymous with artistic expression. Learn

to observe and listen to people. Become a good

communicator. My images are solid …

because of how I communicate with my

clients. �

See more of Jerry Ghionis’ work and get info about his seminars, workshops, DVDs,and Picpockets educational tools atwww.jerryghionis.com.

A freelance writer based in Atlanta, LornaGentry has covered the professionalphotography industry for 15 years.

“I grew tired ofwaiting for magicto happen on itsown. An artist’spaintings say asmuch about theartist as the subject.… Aren’t we artists?”

One ofa kind

Parker Pfister’s special knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary

BY STEPHANIE BOOZER

“I want people to know

me as a photographer.

Not a wedding or a

portrait photographer,

just a photographer.”

A CV boot from an old Honda Accord and a

rechargeable deer light aren’t exactly typical

gear for a camera bag. But for Parker Pfister, one

man’s trash can be another man’s treasure.

“I’m kind of an inventor,” he says, as he

describes the inexpensive lighting option he

found at a neighborhood Wal-Mart. “About

five years ago I unleashed the deer light on

the world, and the response was amazing.”

The rechargeable “deer light,” about the

size of a gallon jug, lasts 40 minutes on a full

charge. The lights are used in an unlawful

hunting practice in which “guys drive around

at night with these huge spotlights hunting

deer,” says Pfister. “I thought, Wow! That

would be the coolest thing to light portraits with.”

Pfister rigged a deer light with a soft box,

and discovered some of the best artificial

lighting he’s seen. “People kept asking me

how I was getting this gorgeous lighting. I

love showing up with funky stuff like this at

a wedding,” Pfister says.

The CV boot? Pfister turned it into a tilt-

shift lens for his Canon EOS-1D Mark II. “I

really miss film and large format cameras,”

he explains. “I figured out that I could take

the rubber CV boot from this ’84 Honda

Accord, put my Canon body cap on one end,

and a large format lens on the other. Now I

have a truly unique tilt-shift lens.”

Pfister’s penchant for the organic quality

of film led him into developing a set of

Adobe Photoshop actions that have become

wildly popular. The set is saved in layers, so

photographers can alter them to suit their

own style and purposes.

“I’m kind of an inventor,” he says, as he describes theinexpensive lighting option he found at a neighborhoodWal-Mart. “About five years ago I unleashed the deerlight on the world, and the response was amazing.”

“Digital is way too clean. People have no idea

what I shoot—film or digital—and I love that.”

Pfister’s unconventional methods and

beautiful images have made him a popular

speaker and teacher. “I’m always in awe

when I watch Parker shoot,” says his wife

and business partner, Melissa. “He has an

amazing way of seeing a shot that no one

else ever would. And he’s very fast. He never

hesitates when he’s shooting.”

Pfister was 6 when his grandmother gave

him his first camera, and he was hooked. At

11, he won the county and state fairs of

Ohio with an image of a toad, and eventually

took second place in the world at the St.

Louis Fair. From then on photography

became his calling. He shot his first wed-

ding in 1984 with his father, an ichthyolo-

gist, who also happened to photograph

weddings on the side.

After that wedding, says Pfister, “I swore

I’d never shoot another wedding.” Later,

Pfister headed west to Oregon to pursue

landscape and large-format photography,

and he accumulated a portfolio of fine-art

work as well. He reluctantly agreed to shoot

another wedding, but only on his own

terms. “I fell in love with it,” he says. “I was

able to show my personality and my style,

and really take on the wedding day.”

Pfister has been shooting weddings and

portraits exclusively since 1999. His

inventive spirit keeps it fresh because he’s

always got some crazy new idea to try. He

won’t divulge his latest inventions, but he

will admit to rigging up his own ring lights,

and says he’s having fun playing with

Westcott Spiderlites, which are “super-duper

cool and fit my style perfectly,” he says.

“The biggest way I combat burnout is

that I never go in with a plan,” says Pfister,

who scoffs at the idea of scoping out the

location ahead of time. “It’s all about the

light anyway, which is always changing. We

run around looking for gorgeous light. It


may be in the ugliest part of the church, but

if the light’s perfect, it’s going to sing.”

Situated in the mountain town of Asheville,

N.C., the Pfisters’ studio is more of a fine-art

gallery than a typical studio. There’s no

camera room, and no portraits or wedding

shots adorn the walls. Instead, the space is

dominated by Pfister’s fine art and land-

scapes, making clients feel they’re taking in

an exhibition as well as sizing up a wedding

photographer.

“I realized that this space is really my mar-

keting tool,” he says. “People walk in and say,

‘Wow, this guy’s a real photographer,’ then

sit down and look at the wedding books.

When someone spends 10 minutes up front

just looking at my pictures, I know they’re

my kind of client.”

The Pfisters limit their wedding bookings

Situated in themountain town of

Asheville, N.C., thestudio is more of afine-art gallery than

a typical studio.There’s no camera

room, and noportraits or wedding

shots adorn thewalls. The space is

dominated byPfister’s fine artand landscapes.

"SuccessWare helped me

become very profitable and create

a wonderful debt-free life for my

family through a business that

I dearly love. But in any business,

adversity can appear at any time.

The focus SuccessWare provides

gives me the insight to keep my

studio on track - even through

back-to-back hurricanes."

Frank Donnino

Donnino Galleria Portraits | Boynton Beach, FL

Read Frank’s story at

successware.net/success_stories.

©20

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Carol Andrews, Sam Puc, Jason & Tammy Odom, Audrey Wancket, Mary Fisk, Jamie Hayes, Lori Nordstrom, Susan Michal, Jeff & Julia Woods, Jed & Vickie Taufer. Michael Redford, Sarah Petty

Frank teaching The Baby Plan at a workshop.

to 20 a year, portrait sessions to 30 or so.

They do everything themselves, from

shooting to printing to hand-binding

albums. Designated both a Canon

PrintMaster and Canon Explorer of Light,

Pfister prints all final images with a Canon

iPF 8000 printer onto Hahnemuhle paper,

though he’s looking forward to testing a new

“all-green” album printed on bamboo paper,

a renewable resource.

The Pfisters use a traditional English

signature binding method with their albums,

which are popular among both wedding and

portrait clients. Most important, they

reserve time to develop strong personal

relationships with their clients.

“We try to create a one-of-a-kind expe-

rience for our clients,” says Melissa. “We want

them to be able to look at every image and

remember how they felt in that exact moment.”

“We actually call our bookings ‘commis-

sions,’” says Pfister, who averages about

$12,000 per wedding and $4,000 to $5,000

per portrait sitting. “We meet with our clients

as often as we can, have drinks, dinner,

whatever, so that we’re really comfortable at

the wedding. We couldn’t do that if we were

doing 40 weddings a year.”

Limiting commissions also provides time

for Pfister to continue to explore the world

with his camera. “I have to shoot daily,” he

says. “I shoot random things just to see how

light reacts, see different angles. Once you

see something in a different way, you can

mold it to whatever look you want to create.”

Pfister is content with his present workload,

and enjoys a happy balance of teaching,

photography and inventing.

“I’m always trying to see how I can do

things differently,” says Pfister. “I want people to

know me as a photographer. Not a wedding or

a portrait photographer, just a photographer.” �

See more of Parker Pfister’s wedding portfolioat www.parkerjphoto.com, or check out hisAdobe Photoshop actions at www.pjddr.com.

113 faces.indd 1 2/13/08 9:37:08 AM

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114 ghionisL.indd 1 2/13/08 9:37:33 AM

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ENGINEERING A NICHEThe tale of Mike Colón and the spiraling wedding market

BY JEFF KENT

ith each new price point, there is so muchmore that’s expected. You’re dealing with acompletely different group with different wants and needs. The trick is tounderstand what’s required and deliver it without being asked,” says Mike Colón.

As an electrical engineering student at

Cal State Fullerton, Mike Colón spent his

extracurricular hours working at three photog-

raphy studios. The more he photographed,

the less he wanted a career in engineering.

Deciding his future lay in photography, he

didn’t switch his major to art and photog-

raphy, but to business. “I wanted to learn

how to run a business,” says Colón. “I had no

intention of being a starving artist.”

Colón’s skill with a camera opened doors,

and his business acumen helped him make the

most of his opportunities. Now one of the most

recognized names in wedding photography,

Colón runs a studio that averages about $25,000

per wedding. He speaks at industry events

around the country, maintains a quiver of big-

name sponsors, and sees his images gracing

major ad campaigns—all this in about 10 years.

Working out of Newport Beach, Calif.,

Colón began by shooting a mix of action

sports and sports portraits, along with an

occasional wedding. He hooked up with an

established wedding shooter who taught him

the ropes, then sent him referrals for a fee. In

the first year with the photographer, Colón

booked some 25 weddings, and fell in love

with it. “I was in a happy place every

weekend. It was good pay, consistent work,

and I got to be my own boss,” he says.

In January 2000, with wedding refer-

rals flowing in, Colón dropped everything

else to focus solely on weddings. He figured

that by dedicating his energy to marketing

and building a specialty business, he could

establish himself as an expert. Expert

status draws experts’ pay.

Colón’s first investment was a top-notch

Web site. He started advertising in maga-

zines and bridal publications, going into

debt to buy full-page ads like the major

players. He also started building relation-

ships with other wedding photographers,

such as fellow SoCal shooters Becker, Jon

Barber and Joe Photo.

At Becker’s instigation, the group organ-

ized an online calendar to post open dates,

so they could refer prospects to one another

if they were already booked. The system

helped all of them build their businesses in

the otherwise cutthroat competition of the

Southern California market.

The kick-start in drawing a client base

emboldened Colón. “Every time I felt like I

was making progress, it would give me

confidence and I would get more aggressive,”

he says. “Rather than sitting back, I would

actually spend more money. I would max

out my credit cards to invest in the business.

With each new investment in the business, I

would raise my fees.”

At first, he bumped up prices incremen-

tally to get his packages on par with the

A-list photographers in the area. His first big

increase was from $4,000 to $6,000. Then

he upped it to $7,500. Then $10,000.

Colón decided to decrease his bookings

and really focus on the upper tier market.

In one fell swoop, he doubled his rates to

$20,000 per wedding. It was an enormous

risk, but it if worked it would take Colón to

the level he wanted to retain for the rest of

his career. He wasn’t being haphazard, but

executing a plan, backed by increased ser-

vice, product quality and personal respon-

COLON’S GEAR

CAMERA: Nikon D3

LENSES: 200mm Nikkor f/2G ED-IF AF-S

VR; 70-200mm Nikkor f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S

VR Zoom; 105mm Nikkor f/2.8G ED-IF AF-

S VR Micro; 85mm Nikkor f/1.4D AF;

50mm Nikkor f/1.4D AF; 24-70mm Nikkor

f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S Zoom; 14-24mm Nikkor

f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S Zoom; TC-20E II (2X)

AF-S, AF-I Teleconverter

ON-SITE DISPLAY EQUIPMENT: Epson

Powerlite 1810P Multimedia Projector;

Epson 80-inch portable pop-up screen;

Apple 17-inch MacBook Pro

DIGITAL DARKROOM: Apple Mac Pros

with Cinema Displays; Epson Stylus Pro

3800, 4800 and 7800 printers; Mitsubishi

CP9550DW dye-sub printer; Apple

Aperture 1.5; Alien Skin Exposure 2.0

STORAGE DEVICES: Tamrac Big Wheels

Rolling StrongBox 692; Epson P5000

Multimedia Storage Viewers; Lexar Pro 8GB

300X CompactFlash cards; SmartDisk

80GB FireLite mini external drives; 7.5TB

Sonnet SATA mirrored RAID enclosures


sibility for his clients’ happiness. “With

each new price point, there is so much

more that’s expected,” says Colón. “At each

level, you’re dealing with a completely

different group with different wants and

needs. The trick is to understand what’s

required and deliver it without being asked.”

Word in the industry spread like juicy

gossip. Who was this kid? Competitors,

vendors, sponsors and clients saw him in a

new light. “The price increases did more

than target the clients who wanted to

spend that amount of money, they created

buzz. They helped me stand out from the

pack,” says Colón.

Colón’s success confirmed his instinct

about his new target market and helped

establish him as a leader in the industry. He

began speaking and giving seminars,

creating a name for himself as a wedding

photography expert.

In the era of Internet-fueled information

exchange, says Colón. “Shoppers for high-

end products do their research.” “When a

bride has money to spend, she wants the

best. She looks in the magazines, searches

the Internet, and sees whose name keeps

popping up. If I keep to myself and never

share my knowledge with anyone, then I

don’t have a chance at that bride. But if I

build a network and a reputation, it

translates into people knowing me and

respecting me.”

“I’ve worked very hard to create a brand

that appeals to the high-end bride. So

much of that brand is based on a con-

fidence that I will do a great job no matter

how high the stakes,” says Colón. When

you have that confidence, there’s no limit to

what you can accomplish.” �

To see more from Mike Colón, visitwww.mikecolon.com.

Set Yourself Apart.

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Nik Software, the leading digital photographic

fi lters for Adobe® Photoshop® that let you

craft a style all your own.

Used by today’s top professionals, Color Efex Pro 3.0 offers

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New fi lters like Bleach Bypass, Polaroid™ Transfer, Glamour

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The way you see photography will never be the same.

Download the free, full-featured trial software at

www.niksoftware.com/prophoto

© 2007 Cherie S

teinberg Cote

123-nik.indd 1 2/13/08 9:38:17 AM

Current EventsApril 4-8S: PP of Washington, Wenatchee, Wash.;Radley Muller, 360-676-9279; [email protected]; www.ppw.org

April 6-9C: PPSNY, Hilton Rye Town, Rye Brook, N.Y.;Barbara Bovat, 518-851-2187; [email protected];www.ppsnys.com

April 12-15C: Heart of America, Mid America Center, CouncilBluffs, Iowa.; Stephen Harvey, 620-624-4102;[email protected]; www.hoappa.com

April 13-15C: Montana PPA, Billings, Montana; ScottFairbanks, 406-761-2059;[email protected]; montanappa.org

April 14S: Connecticut PPA, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Cromwell,Conn.; Harvey Goldstein, 203-430-8276;[email protected]; www.ctppa.com

April 21S: PP of Massachusetts; Steve Meier, [email protected], www.ppam.com

April 26-29C: New Hampshire PPA; North Conway, N.H.;Lorraine Bedell, 603-743-5732; [email protected]; nhppa.com

April 27-29C: PP of New Jersey, Bally’s Hotel & Casino,Altlantic City, N.J.; Leslie Meltzer, 866-985-4300; [email protected]; wwwppanj.com

May 18-20S: PP of Louisiana, Marksville, La.; DaynaPonthieu, 318-359-6633; www.ppla.net

May 18-23W: Imaging Workshops, Mountain Summit,Breckenridge, Colo.; Jeff Johnson, 303-921-4454;[email protected]; www.coloradoworkshops.com

June 15-16C: PP of Oregon, Mt. Bachelor Resort, Bend,Ore.; Arlene Welsh, 800-370-5657; [email protected]; www.pporegon.com

June 16S: PP of Massachusetts; Steve Meier, [email protected]; www.ppam.com

June 22-23S: Kentucky PPA; Embassy Suites, Lexington, Ky.; Randy Fraley, 606-928-5333;[email protected]; www.kyppa.com

June 22-24S: PP of North Dakota, Northern Light Seminar,Doublewood Inn, Bismarck, N.D.; Poppy Mills,701-222-3040; [email protected]

June 22-25S: Texas PPA, YO Ranch Resort, Kerrville, Texas;Doug Box; 979-272-5200; [email protected];www.tppa.org

August 2-5C: PP of Louisiana, New Orleans, La.; DaynaPonthieu, 318-359-6633; www.ppla.net

August 15C: Tennessee PPA, Marriott Cool Springs, Frankin,Tenn.; Ernie K. Johnson, 615-509-5737;[email protected]; tnppa.com

September 12-15C: PP of Oklahoma, Radisson Hotel, Tulsa,Okla.; Ted Newlin, [email protected];www.ppok.org

September 13-16C: PPA of New England, Radisson HotelNashua, N.H.; Roland Laramie, P.O. Box 316,Willimantic, CT 06226; [email protected]

September 13-17C: Georgia PPA, Athens, Ga.; Tom McCollum;770-972-8552; [email protected];www.gppa.com

October 3-7C: Southwest PPA, Sheraton Arlington Hotel, Arlington, Texas; Michael Scalf, Sr., Box 1779, Blanchard, OK 73010-1770; 405-485-3838; [email protected];www.swppa.com

October 5-6S: Kentucky PPA; Hyatt Regency, Lexington,Ky.; Randy Fraley, 606-928-5333; [email protected]; www.kyppa.com

October 12-13C: PP of Colorado, Denver, Colo.; Jeff Johnson;303-921-4454; [email protected];www.ppcolorado.com

October 20S: PP of Massachusetts; Steve Meier, [email protected]; www.ppam.com


calendar

Submit your organization’s convention, work-shop, seminar or exhibition dates to ProfessionalPhotographer at least six months in advance.Editors reserve the right to select events to beannounced on these pages, and to determinewhen announcements will appear. Editors arenot responsible for conflicting or incorrect dates.For readers’ convenience, each event is identi-fied by a code preceding its name: C=Convention,W=Workshop, S=Seminar, C/E=Approved PPAContinuing Education Seminar, E=Exhibit. Sendall Calendar of Events additions or correctionsto: Sandra Lang, Professional Photographer,229 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA30303; FAX: 404-614-6404; [email protected].

PPA EVENTS

Professional Photographers of America (PPA)has a proud tradition of providing its memberswith outstanding educational opportunitiesthrough its annual events, PPA-Merited classesand its PPA Affiliate School Network. Don’tmiss out on the vital knowledge you’ll gain atthese events! For information on PPA events,call 800-786-6277 or visit www.ppa.com.

June 6117th Annual International PrintCompetition Deadline for Entries

July 22-23Judges Workshop, Daytona Beach

April 7Super Monday

October 9-18PPA Fall Cruise

January 11-13, 2009Imaging USA, Phoenix

January 10-12, 2010Imaging USA, Nashville

Certification ExamApril 6Washington

April 10California

For a complete list of exam dates, go towww.ppa.com and click on Certification.

Image Review

Online submission:May 9, August 8, & October 10


PPA members receive both merits and the best-published prices.

March 30 - April 2International Photographic Arts School,Mariott Hotel & Conference Center,Indianapolis, Ind.; Janell Spencer, 812-384-3203; [email protected];www.apag.net/ipasschool.html

March 30 – April 4Triangle Institute, Greentree Radisson,Pittsburgh, Pa.; Samuel Pelaia, 724-869-5455; [email protected]; www.trianglephotographers.org

March 31 – April 4California Photographic Workshops,Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, Calif.;James Inks, 888-422-6606;[email protected];www.cpwschool.com

April 6-11New England Institute, Ocean Edge Resort,Brewster, Mass.; Sal Genuario, 401-738-3797; [email protected]; www.ppane.com

April 27 – May 2Texas School, Texas A&M University,College Station, Texas; Donald Dickson,806-296-2276; [email protected];www.tppa.org/school.htm

May 4-9Georgia School, N. Georgia Tech,Clarksville, Ga.; Tom McCollum, 888-272-3711; [email protected];www.gppa.com

May 4-9MARS (Mid-Atlantic Regional School),Grand Hotel, Cape May, N.J.; AdeleBastinck, 888-267-6277;[email protected]; www.marsschool.com

May 6-9 and May 11-14Wisconsin Professional PhotographersSchool, UW Stevens Point-Treehaven,Tomahawk, Wis.; Phil Ziesemer, 715-536-4540, [email protected]; www.wiprophotoschool.org

May 18-22Florida School of Photography, DaytonaBeach Community College, Daytona Beach,Fla.; Teri Crownover; [email protected];800-330-0532; Marybeth Jackson-Hamberger, [email protected];www.fppfloridaschool.com

May 18-22Imaging Workshops of Colorado,Breckenridge, Colo.; Jeff Johnson, 303-921-4454; [email protected]; www.coloradoworkshops.com

June 1-5Kansas Professional Photographer School,Bethel College, Newton, Kan.; RonClevenger, 785-242-7710,[email protected]; www.kpps.com

June 1-5Mid-America Institute of ProfessionalPhotography, University of Northern Iowa,Cedar Falls, Iowa; Charles Lee, 641-799-8957; [email protected];www.maipp.com; Al DeWild,[email protected]

June 8-12Illinois Workshops, Grafton, Ill.; Bret Wade,217-245-5418; [email protected];www.ilworkshops.com

June 8-13Great Lakes Institute of Photography,Northwestern College, Traverse City, Mich.;Greg Ockerman, 313-318-4327; [email protected]; www.glip.org

June 15-20West Coast School, University of San Diego, San Diego, Calif.; Kip Cothran, 951-696-9706; [email protected];www.prophotoca.com

June 22-25Golden Gate School of ProfessionalPhotography, Mills College, Oakland, Calif.;Julie Olson, 650-548-0889; [email protected];www.goldengateschool.com

June 22-26PP Oklahoma School, St. Gregory’sUniversity, Shawnee, Okla.; Glenn Cope,580-628-6438; [email protected];www.ppok.org/school.html

July 13-17Image Explorations, Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia; Don MacGregor, 604-731-7225; [email protected];

www.imageexplorations.ca/

July 20-25PPSNY Photo Workshop, Hobart/WilliamSmith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y.; LindaHutchings, 607-733-6563; [email protected]; www.ppsnysworkshop.com

August 4-7Long Island Photo Workshop, SheratonHotel, Smithtown, Long Island, N.Y.; Jerry Small, 516-221-4058; [email protected]; www.liphotoworkshop.com

August 10-14East Coast School, Sheraton Imperial Hotel,Raleigh, N.C.; Janet Boschker, 704-567-0775; [email protected];www.eastcoastschool.com

August 24-27Carolina Art & Photographic School,Randolph Community College, ArchdaleCampus, Creekside Park, N.C.; Bob Henderson, 336-288-1132; [email protected]; www.capsartschool.com

September 28-October 2Lamarr Williamson School of SouthCarolina; Springmaid Resort, Myrtle Beach,S.C.; John Wrightenberry; 803-781-2130;[email protected]; www.ppofsc.com

Send all additions or corrections to: MarisaPitts, Professional Photographers ofAmerica, 229 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite2200, Atlanta, GA 30303;[email protected].

2008 PPA-AFFILIATED SCHOOLS

October 20-21C: Wisconsin PPA, The Osthoff Resort,Elkhart Lake, Wis.; Donna Swiecichowski, 920-822-1200; Paul Tishim, 715-384-5454; Deb Wiltsey, 866-382-9772; wppa-online.com

October 26-27C: PP of Iowa, Airport Holiday Inn, DesMoines, Iowa; Chris Brinkopf, P.O. Box 108,Sumner, IA 50674; 563-578-1126;[email protected]

October 26-28S: Northern Light/Minnesota PPA; Nicole Bugnacki, 763-390-6272;[email protected]

November 2S: PP of Louisiana, Northern Exposure,Shreveport, La.; Dayna Ponthieu,318-359-6633; www.ppla.net

November 9-10C: PP of Ohio, Hilton Easton, Columbus,Ohio; Carol Worthington,[email protected]

Future EventsJanuary 31 - February 3, 2009C: PP of Iowa, Airport Holiday Inn, DesMoines, Iowa; Chris Brinkopf, P.O. Box 108,Sumner, IA 50674; 563-578-1126;[email protected]

February 20-23, 2009C: PP of Oregon, Mt. Bachelor Resort Bend,Ore.; Arlene Welsh, 800-370-5657; [email protected]; www.pporegon.com

February 20-25, 2009C: Virginia PPA, Renaissance Hotel,Portsmouth, Va.; William Garrett, 434-836-2751; [email protected]

February 26-March 4, 2009C: PP of North Carolina; Sheraton ImperialHotel, Durham, N.C.; Loretta Byrd, 888-404-7762; [email protected];www.ppofnc.com

February 27-March 3, 2009C: Wisconsin PPA, Marriott ConferenceCenter, Madison, Wis.; DonnaSwiecichowski, 920-822-1200; Paul Tishim,715-384-5454; Deb Wiltsey, 866-382-9772; wppa-online.com

March 28-31, 2009C: Heart of America, KCI Expo Center,Kansas City, Mo.; Stephen Harvey, 620-624-4102; [email protected];www.hoappa.com

April 3-8, 2009C: Minnesota PPA; Joanie Ford, 763-560-7783; [email protected];mnppa.com

April 4-8, 2009C: Northern Light, Minnesota, Jeff Fifield,218-722-377; [email protected]; NicoleBugnacki, P.O. Box 567 Ironton, Minn.;56455; 763-390-6272

April 25-28, 2009C: SEPPA, Athens, Ga.; TomMcCollum; 770-972-8552; [email protected];www.4seppa.com

August 8-12, 2009C: Tennessee PPA, Marriott Cool Springs,Frankin, Tenn.; Ernie K. Johnson; 615-509-5737; [email protected];tnppa.com

November 15-16, 2009C: PP of Ohio, Hilton Easton, Columbus, Ohio; Carol Worthington, [email protected]

February 26-March2, 2010C: Wisconsin PPA, Radison HOtel, GreenBay, Wis..; Donna Swiecichowski, 920-822-1200; Paul Tishim, 715-384-5454; Deb Wiltsey, 866-382-9772; wppa-online.com

April 10-13, 2010C: Heart of America, KCI Expo Center,Kansas City, Mo.; Stephen Harvey, 620-624-4102; [email protected]; www.hoappa.com

November 14-15, 2010C: PP of Ohio, Hilton Easton, Columbus, Ohio; Carol Worthington,[email protected]

March 4-9, 2011C: PP of North Carolina, Sheraton ImperialHotel, Durham, N.C.; Loretta Byrd, 888-404-7762; [email protected];www.ppofnc.com

April 2-5, 2011C: Heart of America, KCI Expo Center,Kansas City, Mo.; Stephen Harvey, 620-624-4102; [email protected];www.hoappa.com


PPA-ApprovedContinuing Education Seminars

PPA members receive both merits and the best-published prices.

April 21C/E: Arizona Spring Fling, Phoenix AirportHilton, Phoenix, Ariz.;[email protected];www.arizonappa.com/seminars.html

April 28-May 2C/E: David Ziser’s Digital Master Class;Cincinnati, Ohio; 800-292-2994;www.davidziser.com

March 3-8C/E: Painter Panache Master; Jeremy Sutton,San Francisco, Calif.; 415-626-3971;www.jeremysutton.com

May 5-9C/E: From Traditional to Digital; JeremySutton, San Francisco, Calif.; 415-626-3971;www.jeremysutton.com

July 12-18C/E: Copan Honduras Study AbroadExcursion with Paul Wingler, Suzette Allen &Jon Yoshinaga; 800-483-6208; [email protected];www.suzetteallen.com/copan

August 1-4C/E: Oxford Painter Workshop; JeremySutton, San Francisco, Calif.; 415-626-3971;www.jeremysutton.com

September 12-17C/E: Great Gatsby Impressionist Workshop;Jeremy Sutton, San Francisco, Calif.; 415-626-3971; www.jeremysutton.com

October 20-23C/E: Painter Creativity; Jeremy Sutton, SanFrancisco, Calif.; 415-626-3971; www.jeremysutton.com

November 2-6C/E: The College! Master Biennale; JeremySutton, San Francisco, Calif.; 415-626-3971;www.jeremysutton.com

PPA AFFILIATE SCHOOLSBahamas International School of Professional Photography (Bahamas)—www.bispp.com

California Photographic Workshops (CA)—www.cpwschool.com

Carolina Art & Photographic School (NC)—www.capsartschool.com

Delta School (MS)—www.deltaschool.com

East Coast School (NC)—www.eastcoastschool.com

Evergreen School of Professional Photography (WA)—www.ppw.org.

Florida School of Photography (FL)—www.fpponline.org

Georgia School (GA)—www.gppa.com

Great Lakes Institute of Photography (MI)—www.glip.org

Golden Gate School of Professional Photography (CA)—www.goldengateschool.com

Illinois Workshops (IL)—www.ilworkshops.com

Image Explorations (British Columbia)—www.imageexplorations.ca

Imaging Workshops of Colorado (CO)—www.coloradoworkshops.com

International Photographic Arts School (IN)—www.ppofi.org

Kansas Professional Photographer School (KS)—www.kpps.com

Lamarr Williamson School of SC (SC)—www.ppofsc.com

Long Island Photo Workshop (NY)—www.liphotoworkshop.com

MARS (Mid-Atlantic Regional School) (NJ)—www.marsschool.com

Mid-America Institute of Professional Photography (IA)—www.maipp.com

New England Institute (MA)—www.ppane.com

PP Oklahoma School (OK)—www.pposchool.com

PPSNY Photo Workshop (NY)—www.ppsnysworkshop.com

Texas School (TX)—www.tppa.org/school.htm

Triangle Institute (PA)—www.trianglephotographers.org

West Coast School (CA)—www.prophotoca.com

Wisconsin Professional Photographers School @ Treehaven (WI)—www.wiprophotoschool.org

132 affiliates.indd 1 2/13/08 9:38:46 AM

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEDennis Craft, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, F-ASP

2008-2009 PPA President

news from the world’s largest professional photography association | Professional Photographers of America | www.ppa.com

PP

AN

ews &

Notes

P 1

As you read my rst message as the PPA President, I am thrilled to tell you that the organization has just surpassed the 20,000 member mark. What a privilege to be President during this exciting time for the Professional Photographers of America. After all, being a PPA member (since 1987) is one of the most important things I have done for my photographic career and business.

I was a member for two years before I attended my rst PPA convention in 1989. My wife Lori and I never thought we had time to attend. But as Ron Nichols, now PPA Vice President, was receiving his Masters Degree that year, we thought we would sacri ce the time to support our friend (and make our rst trip to Las Vegas). During that rst convention, we were introduced

to so many new experiences: the overwhelming tradeshow, programs that inspired as they taught, and—most importantly—a new network of friends in the industry. Our PPA experience was just beginning.

Now, every year, we look forward to spending time with old friends…and making new ones along the way. This year in Tampa we had lunch by the bay with our good friends from Montana, Clark and Rachel Marten. Not only did we discuss our respective businesses, we also shared stories about our children and enjoyed the brief time spent with old friends. And we again had the opportunity to make new friends, David and Ally McKay from California. David was in a Christian Rock band before photography, and we actually met via that connection.

As you can see, PPA is more to me than just another trade association. I can belong to a number of different organizations that will help me with my photography skills and my business knowledge. But there is only one organization that provides the best learning opportunities, mentors that truly care, and friends that will go the extra mile and last a lifetime.

And that brings me to what I would like the President’s Message to become this year. I have been so blessed with my PPA experience and the people I have met, so I will feature a different person from my journey each month. They might be from my travels this year as president or someone who has made an impact on my life in the past. I hope this will give you a glimpse into the wonderful people that make up PPA and help you re ect on those you have met during your own walk through life.

Again, thank you for this incredible opportunity to serve as your president this year. May we all grow and prosper…not only in business, but also in our friendships.

FRIENDS MET ALONG THE WAYSae Lee, M.Photog.Cr., F-ASP West Hollywood, California

In July 2000 I had the opportunity to present a program to the Professional Photographers of Korea. Sae Lee, a photographer from California (originally from Korea), organized the trip and traveled with Tyler, my son, and I. It was an experience that opened my eyes and heart to a very gracious group of photographers and a culture that I had never experienced before.

My son was 10 years old at the time, and I thought it would be great for him to accompany me on this trip. Sae Lee introduced us to Mr. Kim and his son Tae Hung, who was also 10 years old. These two boys from different countries, different cultures, and different languages bridged all those barriers in about ve minutes. You would have thought they had known each other forever. Tyler still talks about his special trip with me and the people he encountered along the way.

Sae opened my world (and my son’s) to a culture and people that we have both come to love. These kind and caring photographers have been in uenced by Western photographers while maintaining their own styles. For the introduction to such creative photographers and wonderful friends … Thank you, Sae.

Dennis Craft, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, F-ASP2008-2009 PPA President

TODAY MARCH | 08

GREETINGS

© Dennis Craft

133-136 ppatoday.indd 1 2/13/08 9:39:50 AM

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Dennis Craft, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, F-ASP

PPA Member since: 1987

Shoots: CHILDREN & FAMILY PORTRAITS

Location: MICHIGAN


PP

AN

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& N

otes

TODAY

P 2

CONGRATULATIONS TO AWARDS& DEGREE RECIPIENTSPeople came from all around to congratulate recipients at this year’s Awards & Degree Ceremony during Imaging USA. For a complete list of award and degree recipients, please visit the Competition & Awards section of www.ppa.com.

SUPER MONDAY: ONLINE AND NEXT MONTHIt’s back in April…the event that makes Monday the treasured day of the week: Super Monday. On (and around) April 7, 2008, photographers around the country will open their intellectual doors to others. See all the courses detailed online at http://events.ppa.com. Pick your favorite and get ready to learn.

NEW PPA WEBINARSDon’t have the time or money to travel to your education? Let us bring it to you! With PPA’s new webinars, you can learn in the comfort of your home or studio. These online seminars—produced by both PPA and Studio Management Services (SMS)—feature business and photography experts. Watch your inbox for information about the upcoming topics and times.

2008 COUNCIL MEETING ATTENDANCEThe 2008 PPA Council meeting was held January 9 in Tampa, Florida. A record of attendance is available in the Members Only section of www.ppa.com.

THANKS IMAGING USAVOLUNTEERS! If you didn’t know already, Imaging USA—our record-blowing educational convention and tradeshow—would never have been the success it was without all the convention volunteers.

PPA QUICK NOTES…

Dennis Craft, new PPA President and owner of Craft Photographic Gallery, didn’t understand photography or business when he bought his rst photography studio. “I wouldn’t recommend it,” he says wryly. He’s learned a lot since then.

It started with a vacation to Hawaii. He wasn’t about to take a trip to that island paradise with just a point-and-shoot, so he bought his rst 35mm “real” camera. But when he got off the plane, it didn’t work. While a lab xed it, Dennis decided he better learn to use what he had bought. Back in Michigan, he took some photography classes at a community college, started to learn the intricacies…and became absorbed.

After three classes, his brother—an accountant—told Dennis of a photography business one of his clients wanted to sell. “Well, I bought it. Back then, if you were a photographer, you had business—it was a much smaller industry, I feel,” comments Dennis. “I survived those rst few years.”

So how did he “survive” so successfully? He took the advice a lab rep gave—he joined his local and state photography associations. “My best education was from all the people I met in the associations,” Dennis adds. “And once I joined PPA, my opportunities expanded. I could network and learn from photographers all over the country. I absorbed information any time I could ask questions.”

To him, education and networking are the two biggest advantages. “A lot of associations try to emulate PPA, but they don’t come close,” he says emphatically. In his mind, a lot of PPA’s strength comes from the Af liate network. “That structure is brilliant, allowing us all to keep interacting and growing under PPA.” With the local, state, and regional Af liate groups, photographers can retain stronger ties to each other, to education, and to the photographic community.

Just as he relishes the connection PPA and the Af liates provide, Dennis also cherishes the connection his art allows. “As photographers, we can connect with our clients in a way other industries can’t,” he says. “It’s how I know that I really did nd the right profession.”

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MEET PPA’S 2008-2009 NEW BOARD MEMBERS


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We are pleased to introduce the three newest members of your Board of Directors. Check out www.ppa.com for biographies on your entire Board of Directors.

Doug Box, M.Photog.Cr., APIA professional photographer with many hats (he even owned a child care center for 18 years),

Doug lives on his hobby, a 110-acre cattle ranch in Caldwell, Texas. A PPA Approved Juror and Councilor, he has been a PPA member since 1980 and has owned a studio for 35 years. He has instructed at the International Wedding Institute, 18 PPA Af liate schools, and seminars and conventions located throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Scotland, Wales and England. On the publishing side, Doug’s articles and images have graced most professional photographic publications. He is the author of The Power of Business marketing systems and several books, including Professional Secrets of Children’s Photography, Professional Secrets of Photographing Weddings, and Natural Light Photography.

Along with serving on the PPA Board, he is currently the Executive Director of Texas Professional Photographers of America (TPPA). He has served as Past President of TPPA, Executive Director of American Society of Photographers, publisher of ASP Magazine, and chairman/member of many PPA committees.

Don MacGregor, M.Photog.Cr., APIMacGregor Studios started in 1974, growing from humble beginnings in an apartment to

a 3500 sq. ft. building in Vancouver. Don focuses on wall portrait and wedding work, and he has visited the awards podium virtually every year since obtaining membership. Numerous Best of Class, Gallery, Epcot, Fuji and aggregate awards in almost every portrait and wedding class…he can claim them all. In addition to his awards (which also includes the National Award and the Ross Sanddal International Award), Don has spoken at many platform and convention programs for national, state and provincial conventions over the years throughout Canada and the United States. Along with serving as a PPA Board member, he is the Past President of Professional Photographers of Canada and Professional Photographers of BC. Don is also a member of the prestigious Cameracraftsmen of America.

Kevin Casey, (Industry Advisor)President & CEO, Collages.netKevin Casey founded and built Collages.net from

scratch with no previous experience in the photography business. But after holding key roles in two start-up companies (medical and clinical lab industries), Kevin gained the necessary know-how. His technical sales and marketing experience—ranging from product development to building markets for a wide range of innovative products, services, and tests—prepared Kevin to lead Collages.net to success. The idea to scan photos for photographers and post them online has quickly evolved into a multi-million dollar corporation. Collages.net’s leading work ow, online posting, and printing solutions now help over 10,000 pro photographers increase their competitive advantage. In addition, Kevin has a BA in Mathematics from College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He even spent 6 years in the U.S. Air Force as a B-52 combat crew member.

Guiding the world’s largest professional photography association is a tough job, and PPA is fortunate to have the right visionaries at the helm. Our board of directors understands exactly what you face daily and knows the programs, education, bene ts, and services you need to be successful. After all, they are practicing professional photographers just like you.

We’re pleased to introduce this year’s PPA Board of Directors:

Dennis D. Craft, PresidentM.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, F-ASP

Ron Nichols, Vice President M.Photog.Cr., API

Louis Tonsmeire, Treasurer Cr. Photog., API

Jack Reznicki, Chairman of the Board Cr.Photog.Hon.M.Photog., API

Don Dickson M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Sandy (Sam) Puc’M.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI

Ralph Romaguera, Sr.M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, F-ASP

Carol AndrewsM.Photog.Cr., ABI

Susan MichalM.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI

Tim WaldenM.Photog.Cr, F-ASP

Doug BoxM.Photog.Cr., API

Don MacGregorM.Photog.Cr., API

Kevin Casey, Industry AdvisorPresident & CEO of Collages.net

2008-2009 PPA BOARD MEMBERS

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AFFILIATE SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT


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FPP FLORIDA SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHYMay 18 – 22, 2008 | Daytona Beach, FloridaDaytona Beach Community CollegeContact: Teri Crownover; 800-330-0532Web site: www.fpp oridaschool.comTuition: $500 FPP/PPA members; $650 non-membersCourse information:Vital Photoshop Skills - Suzette AllenFundamentals of Photoshop - Al AudlemanEnvironmental Portraiture - Doug BoxTurboCharge Your Work ow - Mark CampbellFoundations of Portraiture - Bruce EvensenIntro to Corel Painter - Jane Conner-ziserPortraits & Weddings - Hanson Fong & Janice WendtPower Marketing - Mitche GrafHigh Octane Weddings - Curt LittlecottHigh School Seniors - Larry PetersLearn to See & Control Light - Barry Rankin,The Next Level with Corel Painter - Jeremy SuttonMastering the Light - John WoodwardMaster’s Class - Al Gordon, Tim Kelly & Greg Daniel

MID-AMERICA INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHYJune 1 – 5, 2008 | Cedar Falls, IAContact: [email protected] site: www.maipp.comTuition: $625 members; $675 non-members (tuition only)Course information:Photoshop for Fun & Pro t (advanced) - Suzette AllenSeniors, Families & General Portraiture - Jean, Dave, & J. D. WackerIntroductory Portrait Techniques - Doug BoxThe ABC’s of Business - Aletha Speakar & Steve LarsonTaking It to the Next Level - Monica Sigmon & Michael TaylorPortraying Families & Children - Dennis CraftThink Inside the Box - Gary & Pamela BoxPhotoshop (intermediate to advanced) - Mark CampbellThe Walden Experience: A Journey through Imaging - Tim & Beverly WaldenMastering the Techniques: How to be a Complete Photographer - Hanson FongBrand New Course for Brand New Photographers (basic level, 2-day course) - Robert LloydMastering the Light - John Woodward

Art Reed, retired from Eastman Kodak, passed away on January 16, 2008. Art, who was 82, died from complications while hospitalized for a fall. He is survived by his wife, Marj, two children and two grandchildren. Art was a honorary life member of SEPPA, Georgia and Florida Professional Photography Associations and a long-time PPA and PMA member.

He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and began his professional photographic career in Auburn, NY. He was invited to join the Eastman Kodak Co. for a 35-year career—in both the domestic and international markets—and retired in Atlanta as Regional Manager. He is remembered for his patriotism as a WWII veteran and a citizen, one who

had great pride in being a member of the Kodak corporate family. Art understood the value of relationships and was committed to helping others.

Art recognized that the needs of the professional photography market, as well as his staff’s, were constantly changing. He is credited with coining the phrase “we have to remain rigidly exible!” “Find out what keeps your

customer awake at night and then go x it” was another favorite that led to

improved customer satisfaction.

The world and the photographic industry have lost a true gentleman and a devoted friend with the passing of Art Reed.

IN MEMORY…ARTHUR J. REED, JR., CR.PHOTOG.

Super Monday is next month, and the International Print Competition is gearing up. So what can you do to get ready? Ask questions, get ideas for the best programs, debate the best competition print choices, and more…all on OurPPA.com. The forum is

designed to let you connect with other professional photographers because sharing thoughts leads to even better discoveries and skills.

http://www.ourppa.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30

http://www.ourppa.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10

CONVERSATIONS ON OURPPA.COM

133-136 ppatoday.indd 4 2/13/08 9:40:37 AM

137 benefits.indd 1 2/13/08 9:41:09 AM

COMING TO ORLANDO, FL. APRIL 2-4, 2008

REGISTER TODAY! CALL 800-738-8513OR VISIT WWW.PHOTOSHOPWORLD.COM

PHOTOSHOP WORLD IS THE OFFICIAL CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PHOTOSHOP PROFESSIONALS

REGISTRATION OPTIONS

NON-NAPP MEMBER(before February 29, 2008) includes a full-year NAPP membership $599

(after February 29, 2008) includes a full-year NAPP membership $699

NAPP MEMBER(before February 29, 2008) $499(after February 29, 2008) $599

Mark Your Calendar! The world’s largest Adobe® Photoshop® educational event, featuring the

latest Photoshop CS3 training, and an expanded 3-day tech expo is coming to Orlando,

Florida!Photographers, graphic designers, Web developers, educators, art directors, students,

and Photoshop fanatics — this is the conference you don’t want to miss in 2008!

Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Photoshop Incorporated.

Photoshop®World:

138-napp.indd 1 2/13/08 9:41:28 AM

WHERE THE PROS GO FOR THE BEST IN REPRODUCTION SERVICESLabTab



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Corporate Color/Prolab Express (www.prolabexpress.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Contemporary Photography/J. Hartman (www.jhartman.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Custom Brackets (www.custombracket.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Custom Color Corporation (www.customcolor.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Dalmatian Lab (www.dalmatianlab.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Denny Manufacturing (www.dennymfg.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Denny Manufacturing (www.photonovelty.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Digineg (www.digineg.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Diversified Lab (www.diversifiedlab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Draper Imaging (www.draperimaging.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Drive Savers (www.drivesavers.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Dury’s (www.durys.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Dyna-Lite Inc. (www.dynalite.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Ed Pierce Seminars (www.edpierceseminars.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7emotion Media Inc. (www.emotionmedia.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Epson (www.epson.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-35Express Digital (www.expressdigital.com/cheer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Filmet (www.profilmet.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Focal Point Studios (www.notecard.info) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Foto Figures (www.fotofigures.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Fredericks Photo Lab (www.fredericksphotolab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140GP Albums (www.gpalbums.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Graphic Authority (www.graphicauthority.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Group Photographers Association (www.groupphotographers.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . 139GTI Graphic Technology Inc. (www.gtilite.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Hallmark Imaging (www.hallmarklabs.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Herff Jones (www.hjpro.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142HiTi Digital America Inc. (www.hi-ti.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Jerry Ghionis (www.theicesociety.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114-115Jonathan Penney Inc. (www.jonathanpenney.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Kambara USA Inc. (www.kambara.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150The Levin Company (www.levinframes.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Lustre Color (www.lustrecolor.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55, 143MPIX (www.mpix.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15McKenna Pro (www.mckennapro.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Mamiya (www.mamiya.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 29Meridian Professional Imaging (www.meridianpro.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover IIMichel Company (www.michelcompany.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Michigan Photo (www.michiganphoto.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Microtek (www.microtekusa.com or www.artixscanm1.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Midwest Sports (www.midwestsportslab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Miller Professional Imaging (www.millerslab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13More Photos (www.morephotos.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Morris Group (www.themorriscompany.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147MyPhotopipe (www.myphotopipe.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91National Direct Marketing Services (www.ndmservices.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Neil Enterprises (www.neilenterprises.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Nik Software (www.niksoftware.com/ppadfine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Nikon (www.stunningnikon.com/challenge.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 18-19Noritsu (noritsu.com/M300) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63North American Photo (www.naphoto.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142, 144Onlinephotofix.com (www.onlinephotofix.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151PR Photo Lab (www.prphotolab.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Pacific Mount (www.pacificmount.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Perfection Distributing Inc. (www.perfectiondistibuting.com). . . . . . . . . . . . 148Photobook Press (www.photobookpress.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Photoprism Color Lab (www.photoprismcolorlab) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Pictobooks (www.pictobooks.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146, 149Pictology (www.go.pictology.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148PocketWizard (www.pocketwizard.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Printmakers Chicago (www.printmakers.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Profoto (www.profoto-usa.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover IVPortrait Weavers (www.portraitweavers.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Sekonic (www.sekonic.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Simply Canvas (www.simplycanvas.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79, 145Sony (www.sony.com/dpf). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Speedotron (www.speedotron.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Sto-fen (www.stofen.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151Student Marketing Group Inc. (www.studentmarketing.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Studio Dynamics (www.studiodynamics.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Studio Logic (www.studiologic.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Studio Pro Group (www.studioprogroup.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Successware (www.successware.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111Tamron (www.tamron.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Unique Photo Supplies (www.uniquephoto.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Used Camera Buyer (www.usedcamerabuyer.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Veach Co. (www.veachco.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150White House Custom Color (www.whcc.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9, 24-25White Glove (www.wgbooks.com). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146Zookbinders (www.zookbinders.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Publisher not responsible for errors & omissions

PROFESSIONAL

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Buyer’sGallery

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THE MONTHLY

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USE TO FIND

THE PRODUCTS

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BROWSERS

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Buyer’sGallery ad specs:Ad size: 21⁄4” x 43⁄4



Contact your advertisingrepresentative:Bart Engels, Western Regional Manager,847-854-8182; or Shellie Johnson, Eastern Regional Manager,404-522-8600, ext. 279;for more information.

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THE DENNY MFG. CO., INC. is the World’s Largest Manufactureof Hand Painted Backgrounds, Computer Painted Backgrounds,Muslin Backgrounds, Studio Sets, Props, Lift Systems, andrelated Studio Accessories. Contact us today to receive ourFREE 180 page color catalog filled with exquisite productsand ideas to help you succeed in Photography. Write P.O.Box 7200 Mobile, AL 36670; Call 1-800-844-5616 or visitour Web site at www.dennymfg.com.

STUDIO DYNAMICS’ muslin and canvas backdrops offerquality and value at outlet prices! Call 1-800-595-4273for a catalog or visit www.studiodynamics.com

CHICAGO CANVAS & SUPPLY—Wide Seamless Canvas andMuslin, Duvetyn, Commando Cloth, Theatrical Gauze, Velour,Sharkstooth Scrim, Leno Scrim, Gaffers Tape, Primed Canvas,Gesso, and Deka Fabric Dyes—Fabrication Available. Curtain Track& Hardware for Moveable Curtains and Backdrops—Easilyinstalled. Quick turn around time. Our prices can’t be beat. Visitour website or call for a free catalog and samples. 773-478-5700;www.chicagocanvas.com; [email protected]

KNOWLEDGE BACKGROUNDS—The #1 manufacturer ofquality handpainted canvas and muslin backdrops. Proudlyhandcrafted in the U.S.A. Call today toll free: 888-849-7352 for your free copy of our 2008 Product Catalog; orvisit us on the web at: www.knowledgebackgrounds.com

CAMERA REPAIR

HASSELBLAD REPAIRS: David S. Odess is a factorytrained technician with 31 years experience servicing theHasselblad system exclusively. Previously with HasselbladUSA. Free estimates, prompt service, reasonable rates anda 6 month guarantee. Used equipment sales. 28 SouthMain Street, #104, Randolph, MA 02368, 781-963-1166;www.david-odess.com.

CANVAS MOUNTING

CANVAS MOUNTING, STRETCHING, FINISH LACQUERING.Original McDonald Method. Considered best AVAILABLE.Realistic canvas texture. Large sizes a specialty.WHITMIRE ASSOCIATES, YAKIMA, WA. 509-248-6700.WWW.CANVASMOUNT.COM

COMPUTER/SOFTWARE

SUCCESSWARE®—Studio Management Software availablefor both Windows® and Macintosh®. Recommended by AnnMonteith, the nation’s foremost studio managementconsultant. Call today for a FREE SuccessWare® Tour 800-593-3767 or visit our Web site www.SuccessWare.net.

Learn how you can revolutionize customer and ordertracking and ignite your marketing fire with customizedsoftware that knows what’s going on in YOUR business—even when you don’t! More professional photographerstrust Photo One Software, powered by Granite Bearthan all other studio management software combined! 5Powerful Guarantees: 5 days to customize your PhotoOne to match your studio; personalized phone training foryou and your staff; 75 minute no-hassle guaranteedsupport call-back time; 365 days of unlimited support andusable upgrades and a 365 day unmatched money backguarantee! Zero-Risk. Only $299.00 deposit gets youstarted. Call 888-428-2824 now for your free workingdemo or visit www.photoonesoftware.com. Photo One,Building better businesses, one studio at a time.

DIGITAL

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS—Kessler Color producesSTUNNING images from digital files. Try our rapid FTP siteand get a FREE 16 x 20. New Service—E-Vents fromKessler Color. Get 8x10 units for [email protected]. 800-KES-LABS.

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHERS—Kessler Color’s digital unitsstart at $.90 each. Beautiful color and great value! Call 800-KES-LABS.

EDUCATION/WORKSHOPS

DIGITAL PAINTING FORUM. The Digital Painting Forum,hosted by Painter Master Marilyn Sholin has thousands ofinternational members and over 50,000 post about Corel®Painter, Essentials, and Photoshop.Forums includetutorials, brushes, digital painting, art, and the business ofcreating, marketing and selling digital art. This forum hasa small subscription fee that is well worth the educationgained. www.digitalpaintingforum.com

WALL PORTRAIT CONFERENCE. April 20th-25th, 2008. Sixday Wall Portraiture concept to completion. The original wallportrait school. Has changed the lives of many! Emphasis onpublic acceptance, concepts, sales, portrait finishing and more.Yakima, Washington, 509-248-6700, www.wallportrait.com

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

DIGITAL PRINTERS; FUJI-NORITSU; MINILABS; NEW& USED, FACTORY AUTHORIZED. INSTALLATION ANDTRAINING. FINANCING—$600 UP. DELIVERY—INSURED.WWW.DIRECT-RESOURCES.COM; 877-318-3015.

HENSEL INTEGRA 500, 3 heads, power packs, stands,snoots, case, cords, complete. Like new! $750 or bestoffer. Call: 319-389-0723.

FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES

PROSHOTS STUDIOS—Always dreamed of owning yourown portrait studio but don’t know where to start? With aProshots franchise you can be open for business in as littleas 4 months. NO exp. necessary! Our all digital full servicestudios come complete with everything you need to be inbusiness. We train, support and walk you thru each step.Total investment including your franchise fee only$60,000. For more information call Darrell Collie at864.350-6735 or visit us at www.proshotsstudios.com

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED: Assistant photographer for contemporaryphotojournalistic wedding coverages in Orange County, CAarea. Must have digital equipment. E-mail John [email protected].

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Experienced DigitalPhotographers in South Florida with back up equipment. Mustbe creative and consistent. Email [email protected].

Well established Studio in CODY WYOMING seekingbusiness partner. Must have a minimum of 10 yearsexperience in running your own studio operation.www.singerphotography.com/partner for details

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERNORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN

Harmann Studios is a progressive portrait company withmultiple locations with emphasis in seniors, children,families, sport, and school photography. We have been inbusiness for more than 45 years and have unlimitedresources to make our portraits stand out. We are seekinga candidate with 5 years of portrait experience, goodorganizational skills, exceptional understanding of DSLRcameras, and most of all, a fun and adaptive personality.Health, vacation, and flexible scheduling are just some ofthe benefits we offer. Please send resumes and sampleimages and sample images to John Harmann [email protected].

PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER.Company: Club Services of America. Description: Family portraitphotographer with wanderlust. Great earning potential forexcellent family photographer with quality portraitexperience. Photograph and sell to Country Club membersthroughout the United States. Many assignments arewhere the weather is good: south in the winter and northin the summer. OK to travel with spouse. PPA Certified orMasters of Photography are preferred. Requirements:Must have tools of the trade and a dependable automobile.Family portrait photographer. Some sales experience.Excellent knowledge of digital photography. See ourwebsite at: www.clubservicesofamerica.com. Email resumeand sample portraits to [email protected].

PHOTO LAB MANAGER—Responsible for digital photoprocessing. Large in house production lab. Must havegeneral knowledge of photography. Candidates will beproficient in producing color correct portrait qualityimages. Fax cover letter and resume to FCS 315-733-3214.No phone calls please.

INCORPORATION SERVICESINCORPORATE OR FORM an LLC today! Your art isa business. Treat it like one. The Company Corporation canhelp you incorporate or form a limited liability company inas little as ten minutes. We are fast, accurate andaffordable. Provide additional credibility to yourphotography studio or business at the fraction of the costof using an attorney. Call 1-800-206-7276 or visitwww.corporate.com today!

LAB SERVICES

ACADEMY PRODUCTIONS INC.INNOVATIVE PRINTING SOLUTION

Complete Imaging Service for today’s professionalphotographer Processing—Proofing—Film—Digital Files

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ClassifiedAdvertisingCLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES

Classified rates: • $1.50 per word; • $2.00per word/ words with all caps or bold face.• $10.00 per issue—Confidential Reply BoxAds (Optional)—$30 minimum per ad.Closing date is 20th of the second monthproceeding issue date. Remittance must bereceived with order. NO ADS ACCEPTED BYPHONE. Remittance to: ProfessionalPhotographer Classified Ads, 229 PeachtreeNE, Ste. 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303; 800-339-5451, ext. 221; FAX 404-614-6405.


PECHMAN PROFESSIONAL IMAGING(DIGITAL OR FILM)

Portraits & Units 8x10 16x20

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SCHOOL/WEDDING Photographers. Low package pricesstarting at 19 images. Wedding 10x10’s, you design weprint $2.49. www.PhotoPrintPros.com.

PLATINUM GICLEETM FINE ART B&W from your digitalfile or negative up to 40 x 60. New DuraFiberTM

Media provides deep blacks and waterproof, non-scuffsurface, great for hand-coloring. Also available in sepia, color, split-tone. Call for free sample. JonathanPenney, Inc., Master Printmakers. 631-874-3409.www.jonathanpenney.com

SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHERS The most versatile sportsprogram available. Digital or film, quality & service is ourmotto. See www.sportsphoto.com

HAND PAINTED OILS; Transparent, Deluxe, and CanvasStretched up to 40x60. A complete photo art lab servingphotographers since 1965. Traditional and Digital printingservices. Fiber based B&W up to 30x40. Giclee Fine Artprints. Restoration. Free estimates & pricing guide. 800-922-7459 Venetian Arts www.venetianarts.com

UNITED PROMOTIONS, INC.

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10% DISCOUNT from our low List Price for prebuilt orderssubmitted in ROES (free software), Photolynx, OzE,Workstream or other pre-approved software via our website, FTP or on CD’s. Fast Delivery. Wallets to 40" wide prints.

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NEW PRODUCTS - Dye-Sub Photo Plaques andGallery Wraps on Canvas.

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MARKETING

REVEALED: HOW TO GET MORE REFERRALS ANDREPEAT BUSINESS THAN EVER BEFORE! Studiesshow you can see a 10, 25, EVEN 100% INCREASE inreferrals and repeat business by ‘staying in touch’ with aclient newsletter. But who has the time? Photographersusing my unique, “DONE-FOR-YOU” NEWSLETTER systemreport spending only around 60 minutes on their newsletterand getting $750-$18,500 back every month! See foryourself… Request your FREE Special Report and SamplePackage at www.TheStudioNewsletter.com to learn more.

STOP WASTING YOUR TIME AT BRIDAL SHOWS. No hasslesystem automatically follows up and gets referrals. FREE24/7 toll-free recorded message. 800-301-2062, Ext. 703.

PHOTO RESTORATION

1st PHOTO RESTORATION FREE! Try us, you’ll like us!Point & click easy. No sign up cost. 100% guarantee.Online leader since 1993. Wholesale only to professionals.www.hollywoodfotofix.com or call 888-700-3686.

PRESENTATION BOXES

BOXES—FREE SAMPLE PRESENTATION BOX—FROMTHE ORIGINAL BLACK BOX MANUFACTURE—Fastdelivery, Finest quality 4"x5", 5"x5", 4"x6", 8"x10",11"x14", 16"x20", 20"x24". AUFENGER BOX, 4800 COLLEYAVENUE, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 23508; 757-440-1147(phone); 757-440-1149 (fax); 888-440-1146 (toll free).www.aufengerbox.com

PRESENTATION BOXES available for immediate shipment;19 sizes—4 stock colors. For FREE catalog & samples call800-969-2697 or fax request 800-861-4528. BUYDIRECT AND SAVE. NPD Box Company, 3000 QuigleyRoad, Cleveland, OH 44113. www.NPDBox.com

PRESENTATION BOXES-BOX MANUFACTURER BUYDIRECT AND SAVE. Complete line of Print and Proofboxes. Hinged presentations. Better Quality, Lower Prices.Product mfg in our own plant. Customize with logo, andchoose colors with ease. Tissue included! Call 401-725-3646 for free samples. H-B Packaging Group 575Lonsdale Ave. Central Falls, RI 02863 www.h-bphoto.com.

RETOUCHING

WHEN YOUR NAME is on the line, nothing but the best will ever do. Our retouchers know what you need: fastservice, a retouch that looks like the photo was neveraltered and the lowest prices in the industry. If you demandthe best log onto www.retouchup.com and your first 10retouches are free just to prove our claims—the best—thefastest and the least expensive or call 888-700-3686.

SALES AIDS

BOXES—FROM THE ORIGINAL BLACK BOX MANUFAC-TURE—FREE SAMPLE—Fast delivery, Finest quality4”x5”, 5”x5”, 4”x6”, 8”x10”, 11”x14”, 16”x20”, 20”x24”.AUFENGER BOX, 4800 COLLEY AVENUE, NORFOLK,VIRGINIA 23508; 757-440-1147 (phone); 757-440-1149(fax); 888-440-1146 (toll free). www.aufengerbox.com

CREATIVE FRAMES…Designed frames for the professionalwedding, portrait and school photographers. Our framesare manufactured here in the USA. Visit us atWWW.CREATIVEFRAME.COM to see our full line.

5000 POSTCARDS $149 UV Coated5,000 Business cards for $60.00

www.colorphotobusinesscards.com$10 off /with ad

STUDIO FOR SALE

FLORIDA STUDIO: High-End 35-year business inbeautiful Tampa Bay available at $460k with ownerfinancing. Nets over $150,000 annually without weddings.Magnificently landscaped real estate is also available.Retiring and ready to sell call VR Business Brokers 727-499-6500 or e-mail [email protected].

WESTERN COLORADO—just hours from national parks.40 year-old established studio plus client list. Amazingoutdoor photo park. Thriving economy in this sunnycollege town of 150,000 - a great opportunity. Owner willassist your transition. Call 970-596-1975.

CHARMING, well respected NORTHERN CALIFORNIAfull service portrait studio in a cute country town which hasalways supported a photography studio. Originallyestablished in 1996 as strictly a wedding business,expanded based on consumer demand. PHENOMENALvisibility on primary Business Route in the downtown area.No competition for 25 miles. Recent recipient of down-town beautification award from Chamber of Commerce.Growing high school senior, photo restoration andcommercial markets. Successware, Roes and LLC in place.Strong web presence (www.ricecreekphoto.com). Regionaland national advertising in place. Selling due to death infamily and relocation. Owner will assist transition. 100%turn-key. $90K negotiable; [email protected].

HOME/ STUDIO FOR SALE. Three bedroom Cape Codwith 20 x 30 x 10h addition, with full bath and basementon corner lot. (Perfect for home studio) Busy street,separate office entrance, parking in front and side ofhouse. Five minutes to I-95, fifteen minutes toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania and/or Wilmington Delaware.Retired, asking $ 295,000. Phone 610-859-8596 Cell610-505-4018.

STUDIOS WANTED

COLUMBUS CAMERA GROUP, INC. buys whole studiosor any part including cameras, film, darkroom, long roll,lighting, and misc. No quantities too small. Call 800-325-7664. Ask for Eric.

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n our youth-obsessed culture, senior citizens

are often a forgotten population. From Hanna

Montana to High School Musical, it’s all

about the craziness of kids (and big profits

for Disney). The focus is on youth, and the

message is “Out with the old, in with the new.”

Not so in Berkeley, Calif., where the

North Berkeley Senior Center (NBSC) has

created a model for active, involved seniors.

One of the most successful centers of its

kind, the NBSC offers a nonstop smorgas-

bord of activities, educational programs and

community meal services. Allen Stross,

M.Photog., a PPA member since 1955, is one

of the center’s most active participants. He’s

been attending events at the NBSC for about

a decade. He serves on the NBSC Advisory

Council, the City of Berkeley Commission

on Aging, and the Berkeley Historical

Society. He also volunteers as the NBSC’s de

facto photographer, covering events, outings

and special programs. He donates all the

images to the center and to the senior citi-

zens pictured.

“Not only does Allen take photos, he has

them developed within a few hours, and then

passes them out free of charge to the delight

of his subjects!” says Suzanne Ryan, recently

retired director of the center, who continues

to express gratitude for Stross’ services.

At 84, Stross isn’t even thinking of retire-

ment. He provides event photography for

several nonprofit associations, pursues per-

sonal documentary projects, and works with

local art and community fairs. His work

with the NBSC began with a volunteer gig

photographing food for the center’s meal

program. “I documented the good and the

bad,” he remembers with a laugh.

After giving his food photos to the NBSC’s

nutritionist for displays and menus, Stross

started documenting NBSC field trips, officer

elections, on-site programs, parties and other

events. “I decided years ago that I wanted to

document the senior experience,” he says.

“So that is what I’m doing. I’m creating a

photo record.”

For others interested in volunteering at a

senior center, Stross recommends first get-

ting to know the staff and senior denizens.

Familiarize yourself with the programs and

the people, and you will be welcomed, he

says. Stross also suggests leading classes for

seniors; in particular, many seniors are

eager to learn about digital photography.

Looking back on more than a half centu-

ry in professional photography, Stross is

pleased by what he has accomplished, and

excited by what he has yet to contribute.

“I’m a photo philanthropist,” says Stross. “I

take photos and I give them away. Forget

the money. When you donate your photo-

graphs, you get the satisfaction of supplying

something for people that lasts beyond you.

It’s your legacy, and you will be appreciated

for it. There are not many professions where

you can do that.” �

To learn more about Berkeley’s senior pro-grams, visit www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/hhs.

Images wield the power to effect change. In this monthly feature, Professional Photographer spotlights professional photographers using their talents to make a difference through charitable work.

Share your good works experience with us by e-mailing Cameron Bishopp at [email protected]

good works |

Centered on seniorsALLEN STROSS PURSUES LIFE AS A PHOTO PHILANTHROPIST

©Allen Stross

I

C3-colorinc.indd 1 2/13/08 9:41:59 AM

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Professional photographer 2008 03

Education

Transcript of Professional photographer 2008 03