Professional Photographer 2011 09

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editorial offices

Professional Photographer229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303-1608 U.S

404-522-8600; FAX: 404-614-6406Professional Photographer (ISSN 1528-5286) is published monthly

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FAX 847-291-4816; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.ppmag

member services

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Advertising materials contact:

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$66, three years. Canada: $43, one year; $73, two years; $108, three yeInternational: $19.95 one year digital subscription.

Back issues/Single copies $7 U.S.; $10 Canada; $15 International.PPA membership includes: Domestic $17.50, Non-Domestic $42 annual subs

Subscription orders/changes: Send to Professional Photographer, Attn: CiDept., P.O. Box 3606, Northbrook, IL 60065-3606; 800-742-7468

FAX 847-291-4816; email: [email protected]; Web site: www.ppmagPeriodicals postage paid in Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing offic

Postmaster: Send address changes to Professional Photographer magaP.O. Box 3606, Northbrook, IL 60065-3606

Copyright 2011, PPA Publications & Events, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.

Article reprints: Contact Professional Photographer reprint coordinatoWright’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 yea

Publications and Events, Inc., 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2200, International Towe

GA 30303-1608. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, Ga., and additional mailing office

Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions exp

Professional Photographer or any of its authors do not necessarily reflect positions of Pr

Photographers of America, Inc. Professional Photographer, official journal of the Pr

Photographers of America, Inc., is the oldest exclusively professional photographic publicat

Western Hemisphere (founded 1907 by Charles Abel, Hon.M.Photog.), incorporating Abe

graphic Weekly, St. Louis & Canadian Photographer, The Commercial Photog-

rapher, The National Photographer, Professional Photographer, andProfessional

Photographer Storytellers. Circulation audited and verified by BPA Worldwide.

4 • www.ppmag.com

PROFESSIONAL

senior editor

JOAN SHERWOOD

[email protected]

features editor

LESLIE [email protected]

editor-at-large

JEFF KENT

[email protected]

art director/production ma

DEBBIE TODD

[email protected]

sales/strategic alliances as

CHERYL PEARSON

[email protected]

circulation

MOLLIE O’SHEA

[email protected]

director of sales & strategic alliances

BILL KELLY

404-522-8600, x248; [email protected]

eastern region ad manager

KARISA GILMER

404-522-8600, X230; [email protected]

central region ad manage

BART ENGELS

847-854-8182, bengels@ppa

western region ad manag

AMY WALLS

404-522-8600, X279 awalls@p

publications sales staff

EDITORIAL

director of publications

CAMERON BISHOPP

[email protected]

Loan sharpKEEPING UP WITH PPA’S ANNUAL IMAGE COMPETITION

This month, we bring you an issue heavily influenced by Profes-

sional Photographers of America’s International Photographic

Competition (IPC). Our cover is an image created by Platinum

medalist Jim LaSala, whose “Hope & Despair” went Loan in this

year’s competition. On p. 94, you’ll find a gallery of images by the

IPC 2010 and 2011 Diamond Photographers of the Year—we’re

able to bring you the most recent year thanks to advances in the

methodology of competition scoring and reporting.

If you don’t know much about IPC, we invite you to take a few

moments to brush up. Your first question may be, What’s the

difference between this photographic competition and other photo

contests? For starters, the entries are judged by industry profes-

sionals with years of training and experience. And for $35, the judges

will critique a case of four of your images, an invaluable educational

opportunity to grow in your artistry and master your technique.

Entrants receive a PPA merit toward earning a Master of

Photography degree, two merits if an entry goes Loan. Merits are

stepping stones to advanced degrees and official recognition as a

bona fide professional photographer with the highest level of skill

and commitment to excellence. Your customers would love to

know their favorite photographer is a true master of the art.Plus, if your image scores high enough, it becomes part of the

PPA International Traveling Loan Collection. Not only will the

image be on display at various exhibition sites, it will be show -

cased in the year’s Loan Collection coffee table book.

Head over to ppa.com/competitions to learn how you can

prepare for 2012’s event. n

Cameron Bishopp

Director of Publications

[email protected]

Join us on Facebook at

facebook.com/PPmagazine

Follow us on

twitter.com/PPmagazine

contributing editors

DON CHICK, LORNA GENTRY,

ROBYN L. POLLMAN, ELLIS VENER



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THE DIAMOND

STANDARD A look at some of the bestphotographs of 2010 & 2011

Compiled by Jeff Kent

EVENTS: IT PAYS TO PARTY

Clever ways to generate sales before, during and aftercelebrations

By Lorna Gentry

POSING: POLISH YOUR SKILLS

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81

86

94

Features

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER SE

CONTENT



DepartmentsCONTACT SHEE T

20 History saved in an instant

24 Giveaway of the month

24 PP Asks: Favorite wedding pro

26 Good, clean fun

by Pete Wright

28 Cover artist Jim LaSala

PROFIT CENTER

31 What I think: Vicki Taufer

32

Ask the experts34 Living the dream:

How to get your point acrossby Kimberly Wylie

40 Starting over:The psychology of pricingby Kalen Henderson

42 Pre-season Santa isho-ho happy by Bruce Berg

48 Credit cards: Processing optioby Jen Christensen

THE GOODS

53 What I like: Lauri Baker

54 Roundup: Albums and booksby Robyn L. Pollman

64 Presentation software & serviby Theano Nikitas

70 Pro review: Zeiss Distagon T*35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 lensby Stan Sholik

72 Workflow: 5 tips to faster fusby TJ McDowell

ON THE COVER: Jim LaSala, M.Photog.MEIcaptured “Hope and Desire,” a PPA 2011 Loan

Collection image, in Port Au Prince on a trip t

with a relief organization. In the acres of tent

tering people who lost their homes in the ear

quake of 2010, there were children laughing,

playing and surviving, including these two gir

“We can no longer hide behind a piece of equ

and separate ourselves from the world,” LaSa

For more competition winners, turn to p. 94.

8 • www.ppmag.com

14 FOLIO

73 IMAGING USA

115 PPA TODAY

130 GOOD WORKSPROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER | SEPTEMBER 2011 | WWW.PPMAG.COM

"Going Loan," or being accepted into the PPA Loan Collection, like “Worker

Bee” (above) by Ed Sharp and “Happy ” by Paula Mignogno (p. 7), is a grand achievement. Then there's

an elite group of photographers who get all four of their International Photographic Competition entries

accepted into the Loan Collection. They become Diamond Photographers of the Year. In this issue,

we showcase a selection of their images from the 2010 and 2011 collections.

CONTENTS

94

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Professional Photographersof America229 Peachtree St., NE, Suite 2200

Atlanta, GA 30303-1608

404-522-8600; 800-786-6277

FAX: 404-614-6400

www.ppa.com

2011-2012 PPA board

president*DON DICKSONM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

vice president*TIMOTHY WALDENM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

treasurer*RALPH ROMAGUERA SR.

M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API, [email protected]

chairman of the board*LOUIS F. TONSMEIRE, JR.Cr.Photog.Hon.M.Photog., [email protected]

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

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

DON MACGREGORM.Photog.Cr., API

[email protected]

MICHAEL GANM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

CONSTANCE S. RAWLINSM.Photog.Cr., [email protected]

ROB [email protected]

LORI CRAFT

[email protected]

MICHAEL TIMMONSM.Photog.Cr, [email protected]

industry advisorKEVIN [email protected]

PPA staffDAVID TRUST, CAEChief Executive [email protected]

SCOTT KURKIAN,CPA, CAE

Chief Financial [email protected]

THERESE ALEMANDirector of Marketing [email protected]

CHRISTEL APRIGLIANODirector of Member Value& [email protected]

CAMERON BISHOPPDirector of [email protected]

BILL KELLYDirector of Sales &Strategic [email protected]

WILDA OKENDirector [email protected]

DAWN ROBBDirector of [email protected]

COREY B. SHELTONDirector of IT &

Online [email protected]

LENORE TAFFELDirector of [email protected]

CLAIRE WHITEDirector of Allied [email protected]

SANDRA LANGExecutive [email protected]

*Executive Committeeof the Board

12 • www.ppmag.com



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f olio| Comprising images selected from the files of the PPA Loan Collection, Folio is a monthly sampleof award-winning photography by PPA members. The Loan Collection is a select group of some500 photographs chosen annually by the PPA print judges from more than 5,000 entries.

KAREN SMITH

As an add-on to a 6-month-old’s portrait session, Karen Smith, M.Photog., of Images by Karen in

Orrville, Ohio, offered up this bubbly tub scene. With a Canon EOS 40D camera and Canon 70-200mmf/2.8 L USM EF lens, Smith captured “Don’t You Ever Knock?” for 1/125 second at f/5.6. A 600WS

Photogenic PowerLight 1500 and 4x6-foot Larson soft box provided the main lighting, with a 300WS

Photogenic PowerLight 750 bounced off the ceiling for fill. A 160WS Photogenic StudioMax II and 9x24-

inch Larson Soft Strip served as hair light, and two 300WS Photogenic PowerLight 750s flanked the

backdrop. Smith performed minor retouching with a Kubota action in Adobe Photoshop. imagesbyks.com

©Karen Smith



JOSE YAU

Jose Yau, of Jose’s Photography in Waco, Texas, create

“Take the Bull by the Horns,” (above) with a Canon EO

Mark III camera and a Canon 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USMlens during a local rodeo competition. He exposed the

frame for 1/1,250 second at f/4, ISO 200, and used Ad

Photoshop with a Topaz Labs plug-in to perform mino

retouching. josesphotography.com

JACK FOLEY

“I was in the right spot as a morning mist turned to a drizzle

and everyone in the gondola started to open their umbrellas,

(right) says Jack Foley, M.Photog., CPP, of Jack Foley

Photography in Hanover, Mass. To create “Rainy Day,” Foley

captured six images with a Nikon D200 camera and a Nikkor

17-35mm f/2.8 D IF-ED AF-S Zoom lens as the gondola flo

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©Jack FoleySeptember 2011 • Professional Photograph



CHRIS LOMMEL

“I had less than five seconds to get the shot,” says Chris Lommel, M.Photog., CPP, of Lommel Photography in Big Lake, Minn., of “Doesn’t M

If They’re Black or White.” With a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM EF lens, Lommel exposed the puppies fo

1/125 second at f/11, ISO 200. A 400WS Photogenic PowerLight 1250 with a 4x6-foot Larson soft box was the main light at camera left, refl

by a 42x72-inch Larson silver panel. Behind the camera, a 150WS Photogenic PowerLight 600 and 4x4-foot Larson soft box provided fill, w

200WS Photogenic PhotoMaster with a 2x3-foot Photoflex soft box and Photoflex flex grid with four 36-inch strip reflectors hung above the

puppies. A 100WS Photogenic PowerLight 1500 SL with a 9-inch Photogenic round honeycomb grid lit the background, and two 100WS

Photogenic PowerLight 600s with 10x36-inch Larson sidekick soft boxes flanked the puppies from behind. Lommel used Adobe Photoshop

LucisArt to enhance detail and texture, and to swap out one puppy. lommelphotography.com

ris Lommel

DOUG PENINGER

Doug Peninger, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, of Studio 104: The Fine Art of Photography in High Point, N.C., created “The Filling Station” as a gift for th

owner of a popular pub in downtown Raleigh. With a Nikon D300 camera and Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR lens, Peninger ex

the image for 1/10 second at f/3.5, ISO 800. After processing the image with Nik and Topaz filters, and several manipulations in Corel Painter,

Peninger used selective color to highlight the bottles and the glowing Guinness sign. The image won a Kodak Gallery Award. studio104photography

©Doug Peninger



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CAROLLE DACHOWSKI

While traveling in Bar Harbor, Maine, Carolle Dachowski, M.Photog.Cr., of Dachowski Photography in Manchester, N.H., came upon this tranqui

scene. With a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II camera and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM EF lens, Dachowski exposed “Safe Harbor” for 1/8,000 s

at f/8, ISO 640. She made minor adjustments in Adobe Photoshop to create the final image. dachowskiphotography.com

JEREMY MCCOLM

Jeremy McColm, M.Photog., CPP, of Lifetouch in

Shakopee, Calif., was volunteering in a village in

Haiti when this group of local boys caught his

attention. With a Canon EOS 5D camera and

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM EF lens set to

100mm with a UV filter, McColm exposed

“Brotherhood” for 1/1,000 second at f/2.8, ISO

400. He performed minor retouching in Adobe

Photoshop CS4. “It was an overcast day and the

concrete school we were building was right

behind me, reflecting beautiful light back at

them,” says McColm. “It was my favorite image

from the whole trip.” lifetouch.com

arolle Dachowski

©Jeremy McColm



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CONTACT SHEET

A slice of photo history was on view until

August 21 at Westlicht, a nonprofit gallery in

Vienna (westlicht.com). “Polaroid

(Im)possible: The Westlicht Collection” is a

partial showing of the gallery’s recently

acquired collection of 4,400 one-of-a-kind

prints by 800 international artists, including

Ansel Adams, Minor White and Yousuf

Karsh. It is a smaller part of the famous

Polaroid Collection, and how Westlicht

acquired it is a fascinating story of a failed

Ponzi scheme, irate artists and photo

historians, and an international rallying of

analog photography fans.

Westlicht’s portion of the Polaroid Collec-

tion, known as the International Collection,

has been held in trust since 1990 at the Musée

de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. In

June, it was to be auctioned off piecemeal by

Sotheby’s in New York, by order of a Minnesota

bankruptcy court. A month before the artwork

was to go on the auction block, the Impossible

Project, a group of entrepreneurs who

the last Polaroid instant-film plant in t

Netherlands and now produces new fil

Polaroid cameras, joined Westlicht in p

chasing the International Collection in

The Polaroid Collection, housed in

Somerville, Mass., didn’t fare nearly as

In June, 2010, a portion of it was auc t

piecemeal. Critics didn’t want to see th

International Collection suffer a simila

Some of the most valuable prints in the


What’s New, Cool Events, Interesting People, Great Ideas, Etc.

HISTORY Vienna gallery and analogenthusiasts rescue theInternational Polaroid Collection

in an eleventh-hour cliffhanger.BY LORNA GENTRY

©OlivieroToscani/Westlic h

tCollection

SAVED IN AN INSTANT

Oliviero Toscani: Andy Warhol with camera

1974, Polaroid Type 105



U.S.-held component of the collection were

sold as individual artworks at Sotheby’s in

New York, also by order of the Minnesota

bankruptcy court. Proceeds of the $12.4

million sale went to repay creditors, includ-

ing those from the corporation’s second

bankruptcy in 2008, when Polaroid was

ensnared in a $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme run

by Minnesota businessman Tom Petters,

whose company, Petters Group Worldwide,

purchased Polaroid in 2008.

Chief among the critics of the sale was

artist Chuck Close, who was among the first

to use the Polaroid 20x24 camera, and who

has numerous works in the collection. Unable

to stop the 2010 sale, Close and others in the

international photo community, including many

photo historians, were outspoken about this

year’s planned sale of the International

Collection. “These were not Polaroid’s works

to sell,” Close told The Art Newspaper in

April. “I gave my best work to the collection

because it was made clear that it was going

to stay together and be given to a museum.”

Polaroid founder Edwin H. Land, whodied in 1991, began collecting photography

decades ago. When the company went

bankrupt in 2001, the collection included

more than 16,000 images by well-known

20th century artists. Most of the photos were

added through the Artist Support Program,

in which artists were given cameras and film

in exchange for prints and product feedback.

Ansel Adams contributed more than 400

photos, the most of any artist. He also helped

Land build the collection by selecting and pur-

chasing non-Polaroid photos by master pho-

tographers such as Dorothea Lange, Margaret

Bourke-White and Edward Weston.

A new book, “From Polaroid to Impossible,” by Hatje Cantz, highlights the (Im)PossibleCollection, which includes new works by

photo artists using Impossible film.

September 2011 • Professional Photograph

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CONTACT SHEET

PP ASKS …We love hearing from all of

you on our Facebook page.

We ask the questions, you

provide the brilliant

answers. This month, we’re

talking jaw-dropping products that makwedding clients go, “Wow!” Here are jus

few of the responses readers posted on

wall. Click the Like button to join the

conversation at facebook.com/ppmagaz

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE

WEDDING PRODUCTS THES

DAYS?

Metal prints seem to be the hot seller ri

now, in large sizes like 2x3 feet or more.

—Cec

Most brides want a 16x20-inch canvas

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in a spiral-bound book to put in their pu

—Dawn

Mini-accordion gift books for brides to

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—Maggie

I offer boudoir sessions, and the groom

the pictures in a photo book, or a few o

best ones enlarged and waiting for them

the honeymoon suite.

—Ashley

My couples love customized reception bfilled with photographs from their engag

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My brides love the canvas-covered art a

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My clients’ favorite product is a complim

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A wallet-sized mini-book of 20 images.

an unexpected gift that makes them lig

when they pick up their album and canv

—Elizabeth T

To see our next question and be eligible for

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zoom. The Olympus PEN E-P3 retails for $899.99.

Visit olympusamerica.com for full product details.



Trash the Dress (TTD), Rock the Smock,

Liberation Session—we’ve all heard of the

post-wedding practice of photographing a

bride doing unspeakable things to her wedding

gown in the name of art. Brides do it to be

different, or to shock people, or to out-do

someone else.

Brides and especially their parents, the ones

paying for that amazing $5,000 gown, have

some major misconceptions about those

sessions. Let’s get clear on what really goes on.

Foremost, the unfortunate garment is

usually not the gown the bride got married

in. You can find bargains on second-hand

wedding dresses on Craigslist, eBay or a local

thrift store. For about $50 (and sometimes

for free), your clients can probably find a

dress similar in style to their own, and you

can go into the session carefree.

If your client wants to do a TTD session

but doesn’t want to buy another gown, and

certainly doesn’t want to damage the gown,

you don’t have to trash the dress. You don’t

have to take her into the ocean or river

muddy morass that will destroy the go

You can achieve an amazing TTD port

in an off-the-beaten-path location wit

casual pose. You can give the perceptio

trashing the dress without damaging i

a white bed sheet hidden under the go

protect it from damage where you pos

Posing the bride in an old chair in inteesting surroundings in a non-tradition

way will do the trick, too. We’ve done

sessions where we smeared grease or p

on the bride to fit the environment, bu

were careful to get nothing on the gow

What do brides do with these portr

They’re not the kind of portrait you see ha

on walls, and probably not in the album,

These images work well in a small frame

sibly a trio, on a surface in the home or

If you can pull the groom into the imag

they’d make a fun finale for the wedding a

There’s some money to be made in TT

but probably not as much in product sa

you’d like. What you’re selling is the expe

so charge a premium up front for the se

We sell them as boutique sessions, sp

sessions that require going on location

CONTACTSHEET

Good,clean fun


All images ©Pete Wright

The not-so-dirty little secretsof trashing the dress

BY PETE WRIGHT, M.PHOTOG.CR.



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take more time than bridal portrait sessions.

Our real benefit comes from getting new

clients after they see those lively, fun, profes-

sionally shot trash sessions. If you can show case

fantastic images that stand out from the norm,

you’ll be remembered. When a future bride sees

something different, she’s likely to spend extra

time exploring the rest of your specialties.

It just might be worth it find some cool

$50 dresses and photograph a few models

in faux TTD sessions to get some experience

with the challenges and sample images. Take

more gear and lighting than you think you’ll

need. You might get only one shot at it—

Murphy’s Law always applies at these shoots.

Start the shoot like a typical bridal session

at the location, dress intact, allowing the

bride to get comfortable in front of the camera,

while you get into a rhythm. It might yield

additional sales ops, too. Do the trashing in

a progression. If the bride’s getting wet,

there’s no going back, so first have her stand

in the water, then down on her knees, then

sitting in the water, and finally lying down.

Always take a moment to walk around look -

ing for other interesting angles.

A TTD shoot could even be an enga

ment session, and a beautiful opportun

to sell a unique illustrated guest registe

the reception.

Trash the Dress sessions aren’t for e

one, but they are fun to look at. Give th

bride a clear idea of what is involved in

session—it might be perfect for her. Th

brides we’ve photographed say the exp

ence was truly liberating and the most

they’ve ever had in front of the camera

PW Photography is in Richmond, Va.(pwphotography.com).

CONTACTSHEET


©J i m

L aS al a

As a Platinum medalist in the International Photographic Competition (IPC) this year, Jim LaSala, M.Photog.MEI.Cr., of ArtisticEfex in Flemington, N.J., h

images accepted into the PPA Loan Collection, one of which graces this issue’s cover. Another, “Third World Hierarchy,” we feature above. LaSala’s had a t

images “go Loan” over the course of his career. Why does he continue to push himself to compete in the IPC? “It means growth. It means a way to keep m

creativity at a higher level, as well as a way to strive for more,” says LaSala. “If you want to be a better photographer, just try following PPA’s 12 elements

photographic competition. It’s a way to make you a better photographer, period.” The Brooklyn-born and bred LaSala, who specializes in fine art, photojou

and portraiture, is a master of digital art. Take a few minutes to enjoy LaSala‘s recent work at jimlasala.com.



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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/professional-photographer-2011-09 31/132September 2011 • Professional Photograph

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

What do you wish you’d known when you were starting out? More abou

running a business, and that I’d realized I’d enjoy running a smaller

business with less overhead and fewer employees more than a large

studio with lots of employees.

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

storefront and signing a five-year lease. We were fairly naive when we

did it, and didn’t realize all the pressure and stress that would come

along with having a large studio.

What do you consider your big break—the turning point? We’ve had thr

significant turning points. The first came after taking Ann Monteith’s Guerill

Marketing class and signing up with PPA Studio Management Services. Th

second was when we moved into our storefront. The third happened recent

when I learned that my identity is not my business, and my business is no

my building. With newfound freedom, we decided to rent out half of our spa

to cover our mortgage payment, and I can work just a few days a week

IMAGE BY VICKI TAUFER

VGALLERY.NET

What I think Vicki Taufer on identity and the customer experienc



Q. What’s the best strategy for responding

to e-mail inquiries?

A. Whether responding to e-mail, Facebook

private messages, or keeping a blog, today’s

photographer needs keen writing ability.

Photographers can usually read people. We

look for audible and visual clues about how

our clients feel about us, our images and

what they’re willing to buy. It’s harder to see

the cues when potential clients are online.That’s why our studio’s primary goal with

written communication is to engineer a face-

to-face meeting, or at least a phone

conversation, where our friendly demeanor is

apparent, and we can discover what the

prospect really wants.

We’ve had some success with making

e-mail responses specific and personal. For

instance, when potential clients mention the

venue of their wedding, we write a bit about

our wonderful experiences photographing

there, and mention its staff and all its

winning attributes.When people want our sitting fees by e-

mail, we still try to connect, with something

like this: “Our session fees range from $150

to $300 depending on the kind of session

you choose. We love the spontaneity of

outdoor sessions, and we have several ideal

spots for families in our area. If you prefer

the polished look of a studio portrait, we

have all kinds of settings for that as well.

Which would suit you and your family? Can

we schedule a time to chat on the phone, or

better yet, won’t you come to the studio so I

can show you the benefits of each session?”Try framing your answer in questions that

are a call to action—scheduling a face-to-

face meeting.

—Jeff Dachowski, Cr.Photog., CPP

Q. For our price list, I know I need to

calculate work time into cost of sales

(COS); we’ll have costs there when we

start to outsource tasks. But what if it’s

only the owners’ time in question and

we’re the only ones getting paid?

A. On a day-to-day basis, we have to

consult with clients, do sessions with them,

and then sell to them. These tasks are all in

our job description, as are important tasks

done at certain intervals, such as marketing,

bookkeeping and projections. These fall into

the column under owner’s salary.The tasks that should go under COS?

Any tasks I used to pay a lab for, pre-digital.

So, when pricing an 8x10 portrait, I don’t

include my time doing the photography or

the selling in my COS. I do include the cost

of the retouching, special design, custom

artwork and possibly color correction.

There’s a popular mindset in this

business that if we retouch, edit, correct, or

enhance the work ourselves, it doesn’t cost

us anything. It does cost something. Your

time is not valuable? Definitely include

average and reasonable costs for time indoing artwork and retouching in your COS,

and ultimately your pricing. When the day

comes that you need to outsource such

work, your COS will be covered and

accounted for.

—Mary Fisk Taylor,

M.Photo.Cr., CPP, ABI, API

Q. I’m re-opening my photography busi-

ness, but I haven’t reached the $20,000 in

annual income to qualify to work with PPA

Studio Management Services. Are there

other resources you could recommend?A. Any PPA member, regardless of sales

volume, can participate in Business Basics,

PPA’s two-day business and financial

management class. It’s designed for those

just starting out, transitioning to full-time,

or in your case, re-starting. You’ll get a lot

of information specific to running a photog-

raphy business, taught by experienced, suc-

cessful photographers, who’ve gone th

PPA training themselves. The schedule

online, and you can register there, too:

Go to ppa.com/education-events/sms/

basics-business.php.

There are several other business resoavailable for PPA members online as w

you can’t attend a class. I recommend

starting with the PPA Business Handbo

and Studio Financial Benchmark Survey

Analysis. Those will give you the key m

you need to set and track goals, and it’

based on successful real-world studios

sure to read the recent series called “T

Seven Deadly Sins of Financial Manage

ment” in the Resources section of ppa

It’s a great place to start. n

—Bridget Jackson, manager of PPA

Management Se

Got a question? The SMS team wants

to hear from you. E-mail our panel of

experts c/o PP editor Cameron Bishopp

[email protected].


PROFIT CENTER

Ask the experts Answering e-mails, calculating work costs, business resources

MENTORS FROM PPA STUDIO MANAGEMENT SERVICES ANSWER YOUR BUSINESS,

MARKETING AND SALES QUESTIONS. FOR INFO ON WORKSHOPS, GO TO PPA.COM.

STU DI O MANAG E ME NT SE RVI C E S

©Getty Images



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Owning your own business forces you to wear

many hats. Not all of them are a good fit—no

one actually enjoys those unpleasant but nec-

essary discussions with upset customers, less

than obliging vendors or under-performing

employees. As with shooting techniques and

bookkeeping, you can learn skills to help get

your point across with integrity and grace.

Here are some tips on doing so that I’ve

learned from one tough teacher: experience.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. When a prob-

lem arises, it’s imperative to have a clear

objective—a resolution or the desired outcome

—before diving into a conversation. Some-

times you need to take a breather to clea

head before continuing a heated con vers

For instance, if an employee is not doin

job, the conversation will be much mor

ductive when you have examples to dem

strate your point, well-defined expecta tio

and a plan of action. It will allow you t

focused on the specific issues at hand an

prevent unproductive emotional deviat

TIMING IS EVERYTHING.Sche

time for the difficult conversation with

other person; it’s less stressful than wa

for a “good” time. When that’s not poss

ask the other person if now is a good ti

talk. That’s always important with an u

customer because you’ll seldom have fu

control of the situation. If it’s not a goo

time, ask when the other party would l

you call back. The results of the conver

PROFIT CENTER

Smoothing tough talk How to get your point across gracefully

LIVING THE DREAM BY KIMBERLY WYLIE, M.PHOTOG.

In her monthly column, Kimberly Wylie discusses the business of photography, how the model

is changing, and how photographers can adapt. Wylie left her career as a successful financial

analyst for her dream job, photography. She joined Professional Photographers of America and

took advantage of the association’s Studio Management Services, and embraced the culture of

learning, mentoring and teaching others. Wylie now has a 3,500-square-foot studio in Dallas,

and her business is among the highest grossing in the nation.

©Kimberly Wylie




©2011 Collages.net Inc. All rights reserved.

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will be better when you do.

START WITH THE TRUTH. Don’t

beat around the bush. Acknowledge that the

conversation is going to be difficult, and keep

it clear and simple. With an employee, I’d

acknowledge the difficult situation, then say

I want to better understand the employee’s

point of view so I can help come up with a

solution that works for both of us. That sets

the right tone for the talk.

STATE THE POSITIVE. There are

positives in every situation. If you can start

with one, you’ll establish a less defensive

foundation for the conversation. If I were

upset with a vendor and just launched into

my argument, I’d make it harder to get him

to work with me. People will be much more

likely to cooperate if I start with my appre-

ciation of the company’s attention to detail or

quality or products, then explain how the pres-

ent glitch is hurting my relationship with my

customer, and hence my business. We usually

know when we’ve messed up and it doesn’t help

the situation to have it thrown in one’s face.

PAY ATTENTION. You’ve had conver-

sations with people who enter with a one-way

agenda, so sure they’re right that they w

even listen to your side. That talk ends

nowhere. If you genuinely want to mak

progress, you have to come ready to lis

and respect the other’s point of view. T

might be a facet you’re unaware of, and he

it might show you how to empathize a

cooperate in a more constructive way. M

sure to watch for non-verbal communi

from both of you, and use your body

language to show that you’re listening.

FOLLOW UP. Once there’s a solut

both parties can at least live with, keep

conversation going. Set deadlines for y

expectations to eliminate confusion in

future. Sometimes good solutions go ba

to a lack of communication about the n

steps to be taken and the timeline. The

service happens when you feel underst

when a solution is agreed on and expect

are set, and when follow-through actu

happens. Stop at the solution and you’

likely face a problem down the road.

GIFTING. It can be productive to f

up a tough conversation with a token of u

standing. We made a gift program part

our solution for upset customers. If it is a

problem, we’ll make it a 5x7 or 8x10 pr

for a medium problem, a small accordi

album; for something huge, we handle it

vidually. Our goal is great service all the

but sometimes things go awry. This is ou

of saying we understand and value our c

In the heat of the moment, when em

can take over, tough conversations beco

miserable, and real resolution impossib

Just remember how you feel when a cus

is calm and pleasant in explaining a pro

versus angry and defensive. Human na

prompts you to truly want to help that

pleasant customer. n

For more good ideas from Kimberly Wyvisit livingthedreamworkshop.com or fher on the Web, Facebook or Twitter.

©Kimberly Wylie



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When she retired from photography, Kalen

Henderson never thought she would miss studio

life enough to return. In this series, Henderson

shares what she’s learned starting over in an

industry dramatically different from the one

she first entered more than two decades ago.

When I sold my studio in the summer of

2006, I had a feeling something bad was about

to happen to professional photography.

Things were going so well that a sharp

correction seemed inevitable. My colleagues

were questioning my sanity, wondering why

I was abandoning ship in calm waters.

Digital imaging was becoming quicker,

better and cheaper every day, and my clients

were starting to think that if Nikon

spokesman Ashton Kutcher could take great

digital images, they could too. Madison

Avenue had people convinced that a great

camera made a great photographer. A few years after selling, I started a new

studio from scratch. Our first hurdle in the

startup was the stalled economy. Because

Congress was refusing to take my calls or fix

the whole thing, I had to handle it from

here, one 8x10 at a time.

It would be impossible to reinvent myself

with my price list from 2006, so we came up

with a pricing theory for the current market

and mindset. I consider myself lucky to work

with Kate Ridinger, not only because she’s a

skilled Photoshop artist, but also because

she has a college degree in psychology. That

degree comes in handier than any business

or art degree I can imagine, especially in

constructing a price structure.

We wanted to continue to sell digital files,

a practice I adopted in my previous studio.

We knew it was a product clients wanted,

especially with the advent of Facebook, screen

savers, e-mail, websites and all the other digital

venues. Our planned business model would

weigh heavier on volume and repeat business

than on one-time, big-money clients. We

wanted our clients to understand the concept

of affordable professional photography, which

became our mission statement. If they could

have a professional experience at a price they

believed to be “fair,” we felt they wouldn’t

yield to the temptation to buy their own

gear and try doing their own photography.

Pricing was one place Kate’s psychology

came in handy. While carpooling to work one

day and discussing the cost of fuel-efficient

cars, we discovered something about ourselves,

and we suddenly realized it was true of all

consumers as well. We all have subliminal

price points we apply to every purchase wemake. For example, for a fuel-efficient car, a

price of $20,000 seemed reasonable to me.

A price tag of $50,000 was not reasonable.

A $10 pizza at lunchtime seemed reasonable

to both of us, but a $30 lunch pizza, regard-

less of the toppings, was not reasonable.

We figured every consumer had a reason-

able price in mind for the photography they

wanted, be it $200, $500 or $5,000, so we

set our price points at those amounts for our

child and baby photography, seniors and

copy restoration. Not a soul flinched at our

prices. Within six months, we had inched

the price up slightly, saw no flinching, and

got calls from repeat clients.

We began to casually ask our clients what

they felt their budgets could handle in the

way of professional photography, and t

responded with bold, truthful answers

this economy, purchases over $300 we

frowned upon. Purchases under that thre

were easy to digest, regardless of how o they were made. So we could get a new m

in our studio at least two or three time

year, have her happily spend $300 afte

each session, and count on her returnin

the near future. If she’d had to pay $90

what she wanted after the first session

wasn’t likely to return any time soon.

Adapting this theory, monitoring it c

and keeping a stringent watch on our b

line allowed us to finish our first year i

black—a feat almost unheard of for a f

year business. We’ll continue to test our th

and to talk and listen to our customers

hope to ride out the rough economy on

of the wave rather than underneath it.

Kalen Henderson’s and Kate Ridinger’s StudioK is in Danville, Iowa (thestudiok

PROFIT CENTER

Starting overStep 3: The psychology of pricing in a down economy

BY KALEN HENDERSON, M.PHOTOG.MEI .CR., CPP, API

©Veer




Around mid-November, my business tends

to slow down before the frantic push of

December. About four years ago, I was brain-

storming to think of a promotion that could

inspire both established and new clients to

come to the studio, very possibly in inclement

weather. I dreamed up a new holiday promo-

tion and nervously set it in motion. Would

people in my area, hard hit by the economic

downturn, buy images that could be com-

pared with those of volume photographers if

they were different? Yes, I discovered,

because we still believe in Santa Claus.

I had to come up with something unlike

the Santa images done in malls all over the

county. I certainly couldn’t compete on

price, and probably not with the quick

turnaround of the mall services, but that’s

not necessarily what all consumers trul

want. There’s a backlash from fast food

instant messaging and Twitter. And pe

are tired of getting lost in voice mail lim

they cherish true customer service.

So we offer unrushed Christmas car

sessions with St. Nick. We have a secon

seasonal set we can move to if a child i

afraid of the big guy. Plus personalized s

and a variety of poses and expressions t

choose from.

I put an ad on Craigslist for a Santa

After a week, the sole response was fro

local 20-something actor. I wasn’t exci

about dealing with the whole fake bear

rental costume thing, but then I got lu

with a response from Pete, a member o

of those official Santa groups. His annu

gig doesn’t begin until Thanksgiving, a

likes to work in his off season. Our ses

needed to be in mid-November to give

time to fulfill the orders. In addition to

experience, Pete had an authentic Sant

look, owned four custom-made Santa o

and his fee was $250 for eight hours’ se

That first year, we wrote and called

established clients, offering a free sessiexchange for four cans of food to donat

local food bank. I’ve always enjoyed pr

moting local non-profits, and it’s good

ness, too. We made two different studio

one with Santa and one with pillows an

snow frosting the windows. We schedu

new groups every 20 minutes, still givi

kids more than usual face time with Sa

We gave kids gift bags, and Santa him

offered cookies. We booked 12 clients tha

though only eight were able to keep th

appointments. With our pricing structur

sales average was over $400, so it still pa

The next year, we changed the sets,

moted the sessions on Facebook, and e-m

the clients from the previous year. We b

15 clients, and 12 showed. The average

PROFIT CENTER

Pre-season Santa is ho-ho happy This year, consider a new twist on Old St. Nick

BY BRUCE BERG, M.PHOTOG.CR.

A l l i m

ages©B ruceB erg



again over $400, mostly for holiday cards,

but some prints for gifts as well.

I was running out of fresh ideas for sets

the next year, so I asked an upscale furniture

store about helping me stage a set in the

studio. The owner countered with an offer

to do the sessions in the store. I’d miss the

ease and access of our studio, but it seemed

like a great idea—I’d have all the props I’d

need. (Because of the short notice, the store

didn’t have time to do joint marketing with us.)

We scheduled a day and a half and used

Facebook alone to spread the word. We booked

all 36 time slots and had people on a waiting

list. New clients got our price list in the mail.

With Facebook communication, we ran into

a problem; many of the new clients weren’t

qualified buyers. After seeing our $175

minimum purchase policy, several called to

cancel. The waiting list evaporated. Some of

the clients didn’t make it in, but we did 22

sessions with a sales average of $400 each.

This year the furniture store is advertising

Santa sessions, too, and we’re expanding our

promotional efforts. Instead of asking for

canned goods, we’re charging a non-

refundable $25 session fee that will be

donated to the food bank. If a child get

and can’t make it in, the non-profit wil

benefit. Our Santa loves coming back

because it’s easier and more enjoyable th

his mall stints.

This holiday promotion is not only p

able and fun for us, but also helps our

munity, and best of all, brings more joy

the kids than a mall Santa ever could.

Santa Claus would come to your town,

if you invited him. n

Bruce Berg Photography is in SpringfieOre. (bruceberg.com).

Find a qualified Santa Claus at thesewebsites: www.aorbsinc.com;www.realsantas.com; www.forbsantas.




© 2011 onOne Software, Inc. All rights reserved. onOne Software is a registered trademark of onOne Soft ware, Inc. The onOne Software logo and Perfect Layers are trademarks of onOne Software. Adobe, Photoshop Lightroom are either registered trademark s or trademarks for Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Aperture is a trademark of Apple. All other trademarks are the property of trespective owners.

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FOLHQWV7KHVHUHODWLRQVKLSVNHHSWKRVHFOLHQWVFRPLQJEDFN\HDUDIWHU\HDU“With MpixPro’s amazing knack for providing productgs that sell , and thgeir amazingly fast gturnaround, I am abgle to get back to mgy most important rgelationshmy husband and chilgdren - all while progviding my clients wigth products they wigll have for generatigons.”

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Where discerning photographer

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Little pieces of plastic brought Adam Squier

of Squier Photography in Dublin, Ohio, legit-

imacy and a competitive advantage. Accepting

credit cards was one of the first business deci-

sions he ever made. “It did a couple of things:

It showed customers we’re not some fly-by-night

operation, and made it easy to pay us,” he says.

Squier says about 70 percent of his cus-

tomers pay with credit cards, and the studio

takes them all—Discovery, Visa, MasterCard,

and even American Express.

“Photographers might think Amex is

more expensive than the other cards, but for

us, it’s no more expensive than a Visa that

gives buyers cash back, and almost everyone

these days uses one of those,” says Squier.

A bit of research could lead you to a system

that works well for you. While you’re looking,

the criteria below can help you decide.

THE PROCESSOR. There are hundreds

of credit card-processing companies, not all

of them a good fit for photographers. For

instance, some charge businesses a fee, even

for a handful of transactions. That adds up

over the year. You might like to go with a

firm that offers support during your business

hours; not all of them stay open nights and

weekends. And you probably want a company

whose monthly statements are understand-

able without having a law degree.

For the past six years, Midwest Transaction

Group (MTG) has been offering tailored

ser vices and competitive fees exclusively to

PPA members. Charlie Creamer, MTG

president, says, “We know a monthly

minimum becomes cost-prohibitive for

photographers who watch every dime.

We’re big on full disclosure up front on ourprices. As for customer service, any time

you call our company, you’ll get one of us. I

take the Thursday night shift.”

MTG has no monthly minimum charge

or start-up fee, and won’t charge a termina -

tion fee if you decide that accepting credit

cards doesn’t work for you.

With the popular studio management

software SuccessWare, the default credit

card processor is PayJunction. You don’t

have to use PayJunction, but most

SuccessWare users do. Mike Franzel,

who handles Pay Junction’s pho tography

accounts, says his company will meet your

processor’s price if you make the switch.

Judy Graham, vice president of Success-

Ware, says the company chose PayJunction

because it allows photographers to co

payments over time. You can charge y

customers for a deposit or sitting fee u

front, then schedule subsequent paym

and let the system bill the customer’s

for you. If you want to process transac

using SuccessWare with a company ot

than PayJunction, there is a gateway f

Transactions can be done outside

SuccessWare, though.

USAGE FEES. Fees vary widely. T

one you can’t avoid is the transaction

every processing company charges on

The industry average ranges from 20

cents per transaction. The company c

also charge a percentage of the total b top of that, usually between 2.14 and

percent. Costs also vary by the kind of

Visa and MasterCard charge about th

same amount. American Express, Dis

and any card that gives the user point

miles or cash back on charges cost

merchants a little more.

Fees you might be able to avoid incl

start-up fee—some as much as $250. Y

can expect to pay monthly statement o

gateway fees. Many companies charge

$10 to send you a statement, and mont

gateway fees range from $10 to $50.

THE PAPERWORK. In addition t

business info, the processing company

ask for a copy of your business license,

profit and loss statement, copies of you

PROFIT CENTER

Credit worthy Do you take credit cards? Is it time for you to start?

B Y J E N C HRI STE NSE N

Accepting credit card

might be less complica

and expensive than yo

think. A bit of researc

could lead you to a syst

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tax return, even a photo of your office to verify

your location. All processing companies

require two-way access to your bank account

so they can deposit funds and withdraw fees.

Companies typically run a credit check

on you. “We just want to make sure they’re

not in bankruptcy,” say PayJunction’s Franzel.

“We want to make sure you’re an actual

business, like any bank would.”

Companies usually total your charges

for the day, and deposit that amount in

your bank account within two business

days. With any company, you should get

monthly statements that list the trans-

actions and the fees you’ve been charged.

Squier says MTG’s statements are easy to

read, and if the customer ever has a

question, he or she can talk directly with

the person who handles the account.

THE HARDWARE. There are three

general ways to process a credit card: a

credit card terminal (swiper) connected to

a phone line, a computer program, or a

mobile app. Most processing companies

now offer all three.

If you choose to use a credit card terminal,

it’s more cost-effective to buy one outright

rather than leasing one. You can buy it through

your processor and other outlets, such as

eBay. They’re not uni versally compatible,

so make sure the terminal works with your

processor. Your processor will program the

terminal remotely once you have it.

To accept credit cards online, you’ll need

to install shopping cart software. BigCommerce

and Shopify software are available online.

Again, make sure the software works with

your processing company.

If you use SuccessWare, you don’t n

swiper. You can print credit card receip

and keep up with all customer informa

straight from the software.

The newest way to accept credit car

through a mobile device, a wonderful o

for photographers who spend a lot of t

in the field. Most processing companie

their own mobile apps, but there are o

popular apps, such as Square and Intu

GoPayment. Typically, the company se

you a piece of hardware that attaches t

your mobile device; you can also key in

information manually.

Make sure the mobile app you cho

has a good encryption feature to avoid

becoming a target for hackers. The

encryp tion should be at least 128 bits

(the standard used by most retailers)

W e h a v e b e e n a n a u t h o r i z e d C a n o n d e a l e r f o r o v e r 2 0 y e a r s a n d w e s e l l m o r e 5 D M a r k I I s t h a n a n y t h i n g e l s e . W e o f f e r u n p a r a l l e l e d a d v i c e a n d s u p p o r t f o r t h e 5 D M a r k I I , a n d a l l o f C a n o n ’ s c a m e r a s , l e n s e s , s p e e d l i t e s a n d p r i n t e r s . G e t y o u r 5 D M a r k I I a t w w w .c a l u m e t p h o t o .c o m

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“I JUST CAN’T SEEM TOGET AHEAD!”Sound familiar? That frustration is what draws many photographers to PPA’s Studio

Management Services (SMS). You’re a good photographer, but if you can’t manage

your business, you’ll end up bankrupt, burned out or both. Let us help you get ahead…

and you may just go farther than you’ve ever dreamed.

PPA.COM/STUDIO-MANAGEMENT-SERVICES // [email protected] // 888-851-0405

PPA’S STUDIO MANAGEMENT SERVICES

2-DAY WORKSHOP:BUSINESS BASICSBasics of running a successful photography business

TOPICS: business planning, fincancial

management, marketing, pricing, sales

COST: $349

TIMES:

November 5-6 .................Atlanta, GA January 12-13 ..................New Orleans, LA**Both a wedding and portrait focused version are available during Imaging

USA’s pre-convention. Cost is $199. Details on imagingusa.org.

3-DAY WORKSHOP:BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGHSIntensive instruction to take you to the next level

KEY TOPICS: business and financialc management,

branding, targeting, marketing, sales

COST: $499 workshop / $450 add-on consultation

QUALIFY: at least $50,000 in gross sales

TIMES:

November 7-9 .................Atlanta, GA

January 12-14 ..................New Orleans, LA**Part of Imaging USA’s pre-convention. Details on imagingusa.org.

WORKSHOPS CONSULTATIONSONE-TIME CONSULTATION:GET ME STARTEDPersonalized help from an experienced SMS

Mentor and PPA staff accountant

GOAL: business analysis, financial planningand specific recommendationsQUALIFY: $20,000 in annual gross salesand attend a 2-Day WorkshopCOST: $600

ONGOING CONSULTATIONS:KEEP ME GOINGOngoing consultations and reviews with an

SMS Mentor and PPA staff accountant

GOAL: guidance for goal-secttingand fine-tuning your plansQUALIFY: complete a One-Time Consultationor attend a 3-Day WorkshopCOST: $400 - $600 per quarter



both sending and receiving data.

IS IT WORTH IT? Photographer

Adam Squier says yes, noting that his

customers tend to make bigger purchases. “I

certainly get calls from people asking if I

take cards. They seem doubly happy when I

tell them I take American Express. It really

is one of the ways to give you an edge over

the competition,” said he says. n


MOBILE APPS

Most credit card processing companies have

developed their own apps, but the mosttalked about software these days is by Square,

a company started by Jack Dorsey, the creator

of Twitter. A company rep says Square has

shipped 500,000 credit card readers so far,

and the number is growing quickly.

The service doesn’t require a signed con-

tract. When you activate a Square account,

you get a free credit card reader, which usually

plugs into your smart phone or iPad headphone

jack. There’s no setup or monthly trans-

action fee. Instead, you’re billed 2.75 per-

cent of each transaction, unless you enter

credit card numbers manually, which costs

3.5 percent plus 15 cents per transaction.

For example, if you swipe a credit card to

charge a $20 sale, $19.45 will be d

in your bank account, $19.15 if you

manually. New merchants are limit

receiving $1,000 per week, and all actions are processed in about 24

your weekly transactions amount to

$1,000, the overage will be held for

at least until you’re deemed a trusted

For security purposes, you don’t g

to customers’ credit card informat

customer wants an electronic recei

can send it via e-mail or text mess

The one real disadvantage of Sq

the lack of phone support, so if yo

trouble, you’ll have to figure things

self. To get person-to-person custo

port, you’ll have to use your traditi

providers or a system like Intuit Go

or Pay Anywhere.

“The newest way to accept

credit cards in through a

mobile device, a wonderful

option for photographers

who spend a lot of time

in the field.”

W e o f f e r t h e c o m p l e t e r a n g e o f C a n o n l e n s e s a t t h e l o w ea u t h o r i z e d d e a l e r p r i c e s . O u r e x p e r t s a t 1 - 8 0 0 - C ALU M E T a ra v a i l a b l e t o h e l p y o u s e l e c t t h e p e r f e c t l e n s f o r y o u r n e x t p r o j e cE x p l o r e C a n o n l e n s e s a t w w w .c a l u m e t p h o t o .c o m

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SUCCESSWARE.NET | 800.593.3767

What do top studioowners use to manage?

These owners have all chosen SuccessWare to help them manage their

businesses. Other software may track your business but they all fall short

when it comes to managing your business. SuccessWare is the only studio

management software that will assist you with; creating a business plan,

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you the knowledge to make solid management decisions necessary toachieve your goals and take your studio to the next level. You can’t get that

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TRACK. PRICE. PLAN. PROFIT. MANAGE.

Don’t just take our word for it, see what Jed, Vickie and other successful

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“Having a financial management program that lays everything out

of you so that you can get the information you need, when you nee

to make good business decisions is vital...the bottom line for us is

SuccessWare puts us in control.”

Jed & Vickie Taufer | VGallery | Morton, Illinois



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

What’s the best equipment investment you’ve

ever made? Pro-level lenses—fast primes and

zoom lenses that offer a constant maximum

aperture give me the flexibility to work in

some of my clients’ older, darker homes. The

lenses allowed me to ditch my lights and

shoot every session with available light.

When you need to move fast, what’s your

most valuable piece of equipment? Other

than my running shoes, it would have to be

my Kelly Moore bag. I wear it cross-body to

keep extra lenses close at ha nd on location.

Disguised as a handbag, it’s great when I run

errands or stop for lunch on the way home

from my shoot.

Has a piece of eq uipment ever changed the

way you approach photography? Two items

have greatly complemented my approach.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II with its improved

handling of low light and high ISO allowed

me to take my natural light work to locations

where previously I could achieve only artsy,

grainy images. My Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L

lens allows me to put more distance between

myself and my subjects when I want tocapture spontaneous moments without

becoming part of them, and it does so while

still allowing me to shoot wide open.

IMAGE BY LAURI BAKER

LAURIBAKERPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

What I like Lauri Baker enjoys theversatility of pro glass



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sold separately), you can control and meter up to

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and even store complete setups on the supplied

Micro SD Card.

Of course, you can turn the recycle beeper and

slave eye on or off, and meter, control and examine

every parameter of each light (up to 16 lights) from

the palm of your hand. Fast 0.08 to 1.7 second

recycle and crash proof power supplies allow up

to 12 fps shooting and reliable operation from our

brand new 3.5lb Vagabond MiniTM Lithium batterysupplies.

In short, no mono ash on earth even begins

to come close to the All American Einstein™ 640.

You’ll truly be singing:

“What The World Needs Now is Einstein™,

Sweet Einstein™”

EINSTEIN™ E640Self-Contained Studio Flash(re ector not included)

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Presentation is everything with photography.

If you want your presentations to make the

right kind of emotional impact, you should

go beyond simply projecting the client’s images,

no matter how large your screen. There’s a

variety of software with tools to help you stage

in-studio presentations with music that will

wow your clients. Some of these apps can

whip up slideshows to help with the selection

process, while others produce slideshows

that can be sold as standalone products.

ANIMOTO

This cross-platform online slideshow service

is incredibly easy to use, whether your

presentation is a combination of video and

stills or still images alone. Pro and Reseller

subscriptions come with more than 1,000

commercially licensed songs, although you

can use your own music as well. Of the multiple

slideshow styles provided, only three were

available in HD (720p) at press time, but

Animoto is working on HD versions for

every style. Some stock still images and

video clips are available for free, and others

can be purchased via links to Getty images

and iStockPhoto (iStockPhoto offers a 20-

percent discount to Animoto users).

Ease-of-use is aided by Animoto’s patent-

pending Cinematic Artificial Intelligence,

which analyzes the music, automatica

syncs images, and matches motion an

transitions to the audio track. Users c

produce a standalone Web page for ea

photographer-branded video to share

clients, and add an end-of-video butto

drive clients to another website. Mobile

are available for the iPhone, iPad and

Touch, along with Adobe Lightroom a

Apple Aperture plug-ins at no extra c

PRICING: Lite: Free but with stric

limitations; Plus: $5 per month; $30 p

year, with limitations and additional fe

480p (DVD) and 720p HD videos ($3

$6, respectively); Pro: $39 per month;

per year; Reseller: For B-to-B marketin

sales, $499 per year

animoto.com

BOINX FOTOMAGICO PRO

Mac-only FotoMagico Pro has a mult

of features for creating customized sli

shows of still and video images. Amon

app’s custom features are pan and zoo

slide transitions, non-destructive colo

adjustments, text elements, watermar

and more. Triple audio tracks—music

sound and narration—are enabled wi

built-in audio recorder and automatic

ducking to balance the sound levels am

the audio tracks. Other useful feature

include a teleprompter and an option

$4.99 app that turns your iPhone or i

Touch into a remote. The multiple exp

options include QuickTime, MPEG-4

full 1080p HD. There is a bundled plu

to quickly integrate slideshows into F

Cut Pro, Motion or Adobe After Effec

The plug-in can also be used to launc

FotoMagico from within these video a

PRICING: FotoMagico Pro version

$139.99; FotoMagico Home: $29.99

boinx.com

THE GOODS: ROUNDUP

Sales soar with a fantastic, emotion-tuggingpresentation. You have a choice of options that will dazzle, with features that fit your needs.

BY THEANO NIKITAS


On with the showYOUR GUIDE TO PRESENTATION SOFTWARE & SERVICES

Animoto is an online service that creates a musically synchronized show with stills, video or both.



EMOTION MEDIA

With this simple-to-use, cross-platform soft-

ware, photographers can create slideshows of

20 to 150 still images, in one of 30 slideshow

styles, and with the ability to output them as up

to 720p HD video. You can include proofing

galleries of up to 2,500 images in the same

project or on a separate DVD. eMotion pro-

vides a selection of automated decorative label

designs that include your logo, titles and a

selected image to use on a DVD. You can

burn your own DVDs or, for as little as

$5.95, have eMotion burn and deliver them to

you or the client (eMotion burns proofing

DVDs to a video stream, adding a layer of

protection against clients downloading and

printing them on their own). DVDs are fully

authored, with menus, buttons and brand-

ing. For extra impact, eMotion offers a

variety of DVD packaging, including leather portfolios in silk-lined boxes. A single

leather folio with gift box costs $18.95; a

double, $24.95.

eMotion also carries a selection of music

tracks—250 and growing—that are fu

licensed for resale to individuals or bu

nesses on DVD or digital media and de

The soft ware has a variety of sharing o


With side-by-side Start and Finish frames, it’s easy to add zoom and pan effects in FotoMagico Pr

eMotion Media makes it easy to add music to slide-

shows with a growing selection of licensed songs.



for slideshows and several levels of pricing,

including pay-as-you-go for individual projects.

PRICING: Pay as you go: $6.99 to $39.99

for proofing, $29.99 to 49.99 for slideshows;

Unlimited Monthly: $49.99; Annual Sub-

scrip tion: $289.99

emotionmedia.com

PREEVU

This multi-faceted program is more than

basic presentation software. You can create

slideshows set to music for viewing images

with your clients, although they’re not

exportable at this time. Plus, PreeVu pro-

vides integrated mat and frame styles and

colors that can be added and changed in

real time during the presentation. Better

yet, PreeVu includes home-view options

that show the client how the finished

product will look on a wall in the living

room or bedroom. Sample home-view


THE GOODS: ROUNDUP

PreeVu offers a home-view option, so your clients can see how their images will look as part of their home decor.

Photodex’s simple-to-use ProShow Web comes with hundreds of user-selectable styles and eff



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photos are pro vided, but photographers

can upload pic tures of the client’s home for

the ultimate in realism. You can show images

side-by-side and framed or unframed to

make it easy to choose between similar

photos. You can also create albums and

online proofing galleries with this app.

PreeVu is also an order processing and

management tool with dynamic pricing. As

the photographer and client select sizes,

mats, frames, etc., the price is updated with

each change. You can choose a markup

percentage over wholesale and let the

software do the math, or set individual

prices for prints. Process your orders with

integrated vendors from within the software

or send orders to any outside vendor. PreeVu

has plans to integrate photo labs for order

fulfillment in the near future. Either way,

PreeVu includes a client database that

main tains order history. It’s a well-integrated

piece of software that helps streamline

the selection and ordering process.

PRICING: Monthly subscription: $39;

Yearly subscription: $299

preevu.com

PHOTODEX PROSHOW

PRODUCER, PROSHOW GOLD,

PROSHOW WEB

Photodex offers three different presenta tion

products: Windows-only desktop software

ProShow Producer and ProShow Gold, and

the cross-platform, online ProShow Web.

All three can incorporate stills and video,

offer hundreds of user-selectable styles and

effects, as well as optional style and

transition packs, and output HD files up to

1080p. ProShow Web is the only Photodex

slideshow product that comes with a royalty-

free music library. The Web version has

three subscription levels with simple

slideshow creation for photographers who

don’t want to tweak every setting, but none

stands up to the full control and

customization of the desktop software.

Producer and Gold offer far more e

sive editing options and controls, incl

the ability to create and customize eff

select font, size, and color of captions

titles, use multiple layers, add voiceov

and sound effects, produce sophistica

menus and a wide range of output op

The optional Devices Plug-in ($19.95

allows you to create content for a num

of devices, ranging from the iPhone to

T-Mobile My Touch and everything in

between. There’s also a free ProShow

in for Lightroom.

ProShow Producer takes it further

custom branding, advanced editing, k

framing, masking, adjustment layers,

and more customization for captions

effects, including interactive captions

Watermark ing, copy protection and th

ability to add images in real time from

camera as the slideshow plays are par

Producer’s many capabilities. If you c

dream it, you can probably achieve wi

this program.

PRICING: ProShow Web: Free; P

$30 per year; Premium $150 per year

$25 per month; ProShow Gold: $69.

ProShow Producer: $249.95

photodex.com

TIME EXPOSURE PROSELECT

PROSELECT PRO

ProSelect and ProSelect Pro are more

than simply slideshow production app

although you can turn a presentation

a QuickTime slideshow from within t

program or upload it to Animoto. The

presentation sections of ProSelect are

main strengths. Sorting images into v

yes, no, and maybe piles is one-click


THE GOODS: ROUNDUP

Time Exposure offers optional room-view col

to create a virtual display of clients’ imag

I

C

fS

d

P

’



SOFTWARE OPERATING HD VIDEO PLUG-INS/APPS SPECIAL FEATURES PRICE WEBSITSYSTEM OUTPUT

Animoto Lite, Plus, Mac, PC Limited 720p Free Adobe 1,000+ licensed Plus: $5/month, animoto.c

Pro, Reseller HD depending Lightroom, Apple music tracks $30/year

on style; more Aperture plug-ins, included (Pro + optional fees

HD output TK iPhone, iPad, & Reseller only) Pro: $39/month,

iPad Touch apps $249/year

Reseller: $499/year

Boinx FotoMagico Mac only 1080p Final Cut Pro, Pro version: Pro: $139.99 boinx.com

Pro, Home Motion, Adobe Teleprompter ; Home: $29.99

After Effects feature app to

(bundled/Pro) use iPhone, iPod

Touch as a

remote ($4.99)

eMotion Media Mac, PC 720p n/a Offers proofing Pay-as-you-go: emotionm

option; DVD from $6.99

authoring, burning Monthly: $49.99and special Yearly: $289.99

packaging options

Photodex ProShow Web-Mac, PC; 1080p Free Adobe All three offer con- Web: free photodex

Web, Gold, Producer desktop Lightroom (Producer); trol over transitions, Web Plus: $30/year

PC only optional ProShow styles and more. Premium: $25/month

Devices plug-in ($19.95; Web has royalty or $150/year

Gold and Producer); free music. Gold Gold: $69.96

free Presenter and Producer Producer: $249.95

plug-in for offers layers

Web browsers and much more.

PreeVu Mac, PC N/A (no n/a Mat, frame and Monthly: $39 preevu.co

slideshow homeview options; Yearly: $299

output color processing

available at and integratedthis time) dynamic pricing;

free onlline

proofing gallery

Time Exposure Mac, PC Quicktime or Photoshop actions Frames, mats, ProSelect: $397 timeexpo

ProSelect, upload to can be used; homeview, multiple ProSelect Pro: $659

ProSelect Pro Animoto templates produced templates, export

in Photoshop can sales data to

be imported accounting programs;

tethered shooting

simple. Frames and mats can be added in

real time. Everything is template-driven,

but you can also create your own templates

in Adobe Photoshop and use them in

ProSelect; you can also use Photoshop

actions. With the Pro version, photog-

raphers can create book layouts, and use

the high-resolution production module to

create lab-ready files.

Room-view collections can be purchased

separately, or you can use clients’ photo-

graphs of their homes to virtually place and

size images during the presentation, or upload

them to an optional Web gallery (various

subscription rates apply). Invoices and sales

data can be created in the program and

exported to various accounting programs,

including ShootQ. As an extra bonus,

ProSelect now supports tethered sho

A new update was released at pre

with many improvements, including

multi-column image list, a new Work

with Rooms module, and precise alig

for room views.

PRICING: ProSelect: About $39

ProSelect Pro: About $659.

timeexposure.com n



For five years, Carl Zeiss has produced single

focal length, manual focus lenses for camera

bodies that accept Nikon, Canon, Sony,

K-mount, and M-42 screw-mount lenses.

These lenses are highly regarded by landscape,

close-up and portrait still photographers, for

both film and digital cameras. Videographers

have also become a major market.

The latest in the series is the Zeiss Distagon

T* 35mm f/1.4, presently available with

Nikon and Canon mounts. I tested the

Nikon ZF.2 model.

Zeiss incorporates an improved T* anti-

reflection coating and a nine-blade aperture

for a nearly circular diaphragm. If you’ve

ever wondered about the pleasing bokeh

effect, you’ll instantly know it when you

view images shot at f/1.4 with this lens.

The silky smooth focusing ring on the

35mm f/1.4 rotates through about 150 degrees

from minimum focusing distance to infinity,

for extremely accurate focusing. At an aper ture

of f/1.4, the image is four times brighter than

one shot with an f/2.8 lens, making focusing

easy, even with the viewfinder screens in modern

digital SLR cameras. The focusing ring stops

when you turn it to infinity or the minimum

focusing distance, so you always know where

those points are. These attributes are what

endear Zeiss lenses to videographers.

The aperture ring includes half-stop

detents that click firmly into place betw

the marked aperture settings. The exte

use of metal in the lens construction gi

the look, feel and weight of classic Nik

The 35mm f/1.4 is a monster compare

my 35mm f/1.4 Nikkor. The Zeiss weig

more than twice as much, is twice the

length, and requires 72mm filters rath

than the Nikkor’s 52mm filters. Havin

tested other Zeiss lenses, I wasn’t surp

to find the 35mm f/1.4 superior to my

Nikkor 35mm f/1.4, but it’s surprising

far more superior it is.

Even at maximum aperture, the Ze

shows superb sharpness in the center o

lens. Sharpness falls off somewhat to t

edges of the frame, if you ever place the

subject near the edge of the frame whe

shooting wide open. By f/2, sharpness

excellent everywhere. There’s a hint of

distortion at f/1.4 on a full-frame came

but that too disappears by f/2. Distort

non-existent on a DX-format camera.

Vignetting is quite apparent at f/1.4

full-frame camera and requires stoppin

down two stops to eliminate it. I’m a lit

surprised by this, given the size of the l

but I’m a fan of vignetting, so it doesn’

THE GOODS: PRO REVIEW

Zeiss not only lives up to expectations, it exceeds them.

BY STAN SHOLIK


As good as it getsZEISS DISTAGON T* 35MM F/1.4 ZF.2 LENS

The lens handles bold colors equally as we

subtle ones. Even though the lens is manu

focus, the viewfinder is so bright that it is

to focus even on a banner blowing in the w

The stitching on the foreground flag is tackAll images ©Stan Sholik



bother me. Vignetting was less apparent

with my old Nikkor, the only facet in which

the Nikkor beat out the Zeiss.

If the Zeiss lens has a weakness it’s the

way it controls chromatic aberration near

the edges of the image with a full-frame

digital camera. Chromatic aberration was

invisible on film, but more obvious than I

expected in images from a D3X. It’s easily

corrected in post, but I expected better.

Fast prime lenses open new possibilities

for all photographers. The low-light capability

enables photojournalists to capture images

in difficult available-light situations. The

beautiful quality of out-of-focus backgrounds

and the strong vignetting make the lens

useful for portrait and fashion shooters. The

astounding overall image quality when

stopped down by two stops, where f/2.8

zoom lenses suffer the worst image quality,

renders the lens appropriate for landscape

photographers as well. And even sports

photographers, if they can get close enough

to the action, would benefit from the ability

to increase shutter speed by two EV and

eliminate distracting backgrounds. The

Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 lens for Nikon and

its Canon equivalent are valuable additions

to the Zeiss line of ultra-fast lenses, joining

the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.4.

MSRP for the 35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 lens is

$2,395, with a street price of about $1,850.

See lenses.zeiss.com for more information

about the 35mm and the other Zeiss lenses

for Nikon, Canon, K-mount and M42

screw-mount bodies. n

Stan Sholik is a commercial/advertising photographer in Santa Ana, Ca., specializing in still life and macro photography. His fifth

book, “Nik HDR Efex Pro” (Wiley Publishing)will be published next month. Find moreimages at ppmag.com/current_issue.


Ultra-fast lenses aren’t only for shooting at maxi-

mum aperture in low light. Here I stopped the lens

down to increase the depth of field and increased

the ISO so I could hold the heavy lens steady in

the light at dusk. I was amazed that the lens was

able to accurately render all of the subtle tonal

variations I saw in the failing light at sunset.

ZF.2 OVERVIEW

The original series of Zeiss lenses for Nikon

was designated ZF. ZF lenses function with

all film and digital SLRs that are designed

for Nikon lenses, from the original Nikon F

to the latest D3 models, as well as Kodak

and Fuji digital SLRs. Not only are the

classic Nikon metering prong (which can be

easily removed if desired), auto-indexing

(AI) ring and tiny secondary aperture scaleincluded, but both the aperture and

focusing rings rotate in the same direction

as Nikon’s original lenses. Even the

markings are engraved and filled with white

paint—no silk-screening here.

While the ZF series is still available, the

newer ZF.2 lenses are enhanced versions of

the ZF lenses. They feature an electronic

interface (CPU). This CPU enables the ZF.2

lenses to support all-important operating

modes such as shutter priority, aperture

priority and programmed auto exposure or

manual exposure settings even on non-AI-

compatible camera housings. No longer is it

necessary to set the parameters in the

camera menu, as the lenses now transmit

standard data such as focal length, speedand the aperture setting to the camera. This

data can then be viewed in the EXIF data of

each picture.

The metering prong is not available on

the ZF.2 lenses, so you cannot use light

metering on older cameras (F, F2, Nikkormat,

etc.). The ZF.2 lenses have a mech

lock on the aperture ring to lock it

lowest setting and prevent uninte

adjustment while taking pictures.

even have the engraved number

representing the smallest aperture

with orange paint, just as the Nikk

lenses did.

While the mechanicals may seem

the 35mm f/1.4 is thoroughly mode

Technicians at the Carl Zeiss factorOberkochen, Germany, create the o

and mechanical specifications along

quality targets for the ZF lenses. P

is done at the Cosina factory in Jap

the watchful eye of Carl Zeiss empl

charge of quality assurance.



Introducing photo fusion to your lineup isn’t

just about keeping up with the competition,

it’s what’s best for your business. Shooting

fusion wedding videos has turned our wedding

customers into volunteer marketing machines.

Customers come back to tell us how envious

their friends are when they see thier video.

Referrals aside, fusion videos have increased

our wedding sales average.

However, creating a video can be time con-

suming. After a few weddings, I was about

ready to give up. I’m glad I didn’t, because

there were easy solutions to some of my big

time-eating problems. In post-production,

my first videos took at least 40 hours. Now

I’m down to five.

Here are some of the solutions I found

for making the most of my time.

1. LIMIT LENS TRANSITIONS. Less

is more with gear for doing fusion. The best

setup for me is one wide-angle lens (a 17-35mm

Tamron)for moving clips and one telephoto

lens (a 70-200mm Sigma) for general use

and close-ups. Both lenses are excellent for

video and photo. The temptation is to switch

lenses frequently, but with video, changing

lenses usually means changing stabilizing

devices, which translates into minutes rather

than seconds for the transition.

2. QUICK RELEASE PLATES. After

researching video stabilizers, I found Steady

Tracker to be the best solution for fusion. It

gives you steady footage, but also the kind of

control you need for a still shot. The biggest

obstacle was transitioning from the Steady

Tracker to a tripod. I wanted a way to

mount and unmount the camera quickly.

Good news: Manfrotto makes a quick-

release adapter exactly like the one on my

tripod that easily fits on my Steady Tracker.

Now the transition from my Steady Tracker

to tripod takes me about 15 seconds, plus

the time it takes to change lenses.

3. VIDEO LIGHT. The easiest lighting

setup for fusion is natural light, but frequently

that’s just not enough. I tried shooting with

a flash for photos and natural light for my

video, and it was frustrating. I was constantly

changing settings and missing key moments.

With a video light, I know that whether I’m

doing photos or video, the look will be

consistent, and I won’t need to change any

settings as I switch back and forth. I use an

inexpensive 126-LED unit purchased on

eBay. I can mount it on the camera for video

or hand-hold it for better angles on stills.

4. KEEP VIDEO CLIPS SHORT. At

first, I took long video clips just in case the

bride and groom requested it. So far, none

has. Plus, I’m not a videographer. I’m using

the clips to produce a highlight video.

Shooting only short clips takes my total post-

production time way down. I can quickly

sort the keeper clips, and use each clip once.

No time wasted breaking apart longer clips.

5. ANIMOTO HIGHLIGHT VIDEO.

Recently, Animoto added video clip compat-

ibility to its slideshows. Using Animoto may

have been the single most important factor

in cutting down my time in post-production

—it cut it almost in half. I don’t have to

about transitions between clips. I don’t

to create motion effects for the photos.

have to do is upload my photos and vid

clips, and put them in the right order. An

does the rest, and the videos come out

ing professional. That might not be be

everyone, especially if you lack super-fa

Internet upload. With the potential to s

much time, it’s definitely worth looking

You can find a post-ceremony Animoto

light video at larissaphotography.com/fu

We typically do one video from the cere

and one of post-ceremony shots, and th

combine them on the DVD for the cust

If you’ve got any tricks for making

fusion faster and easier, I’d love to hea

them. We can learn from each other a

end up giving our cus tomers a better

experience and amazing videos. n

TJ McDowell runs a photography stud St. Louis, Ill., with his wife Larissa. Forinformation, visit his blog for photograat larissaphotography.com/blog.

THE GOODS: WORKFLOW

How to save time creating photo fusion videos.

BY TJ MCDOWELL


Fusion simplified 5 TIPS TO MAKE THE PROCESS EASIER

© TJ Mc Do we l l

Fusion combines still images and special

moments on video to tell the story of the



What’s more fun than photographing people having fun? Thereare many ways to capture the excitement at all kinds of partiesand special occasions. Get the scoop on how to make it pay.

hree years ago, Mary Fisk-Taylor,

M. Photog., Cr., CPP, of Hayes &

Fisk Photography in Richmond, Va., added

an event photography division to her portrait

and wedding studio. Her decision to invest

was twofold: the faltering economy was

adversely affecting her bread-and-butter wed-

ding and portraiture business, and she saw

an untapped niche in the Richmond area.

Fisk-Taylor’s event photography has grown

to include high-end work, such as bar and bat

mitzvahs, boutique event photography for

dance recitals and nursery schools, high-

profile charity events, and high-volume school

photography, including proms, graduation

and sports. She’ll even throw children’s

birthday parties in her studio.

Professional Photographer looked at some

of the innovative ways that many photog-

raphers are capitalizing on party photography.

UPSCALE PARTIES

Mainstream and social media heavily

influence teens, especially with proms and

coming-of-age parties, including Swee

and Quinceañera parties, which celebr

Latina girls’ 15th birthday. YouTube vid

MTV and magazines that exclusively c

these once-in-a-lifetime events are crea

a demand for large, often lavish parties

“I treat bar/bat mitzvahs and

Quinceañera parties like I do weddings

says Clay Blackmore, M.Photog.Cr., of

& Co. in Rockville, Md. “I do beautiful

portraits and get the family together be

the event so that we can be super creat

and relaxed. The teen will share those

pictures with friends and they’ll want t

too. Family pictures are the most impo

especially with Quinceañera.”

Quinceañeras are less common in

Richmond, but Mary Fisk-Taylor shoots

By Lorna Gentry

It pays to party Clever ways to generate sales before, during and after celebrations

EVENTS



of bar/bat mitzvahs. “Just like a wedding, I

shoot the family, do portraits of the girl or

boy, cover the ceremony if it’s not Orthodox,

and the party afterward. I usually spend

more time shooting a bar mitzvah than a

wedding.” She charges up to $15,000 for

bar/bat mitzvah photography. Because so

many people have their own digital cameras

or smart phones, she doesn’t sell a lot of

residuals. “Like weddings, with bar and bat

mitzvahs it’s best to get the money up front

because there won’t be a lot of money after.”

Jill Kisel of Heartprint Wedding and

Event Photography in southwest Connecticut

agrees. “At mitzvah parities there are a lot of

people taking pictures, including the MC

and DJ, who show them in slideshows,” she

says. “I also compete with photo booths. But

there are pictures I take that they can’t. I take

art photos, like capturing the environment

and getting unique architectural detail shots

that look great in an album. I do portraits ahead

of time. With mitzvahs there’s a general price

that people don’t want to [exceed], but I’ve

found that we can upsell with albums. Clients

won’t commit to them ahead of time, but if

you make a beautiful album, they’ll want it.”

ENTERPRISE IDEAS

Birthday, retirement and anniversary parties

can be profitable if you get creative. Here are

some ideas:

CREATE YOUR OWN NICHE. Two

years ago, Michael Kormos became New

York City’s first baby event pho tographer.

“There are a lot of people in New York who

like to commemorate children’s birthdays,”

he says. “These parents really put a lot of effort

into making it a memorable event.”

Kormos treats kids’ birthday parties with

the same gravitas that’s typically reserved for

adults, but he keeps the photos appropriately

fresh and fun by using unusual angles and a

fisheye lens. “We post the photos online and

share the proofing gallery with the invited

guests and family.” Business is brisk, and not

only with orders. “When they’re online

see the other types of children’s photog

we offer. The party photography has re

helped get the word out about us.”

THROW YOUR OWN PARTY. O

weekends Mary Fisk-Taylor hosts birth

parties in her studio. Called “Party Lik

Rock Star,” her birthday party service i

turnkey. “All the moms have to do is gi

an invitation list. We print and send thinvites. On the day of the party we hav

pizza, cupcakes and gift bags. We even

out thank-you cards after the event.”

During the party, Fisk-Taylor engag

children in a craft project of decorating

picture frames. “We take every child’s p

which they put in their decorated fram

These events are a great marketing too

because we get 25 to 30 moms in the s

I give all the guests gift cards for 25 pe

off on a portrait. These parties create

residual business for me.”

OFFER PHOTO BOOTHS. Pho

booths have become so popular at part

that Renae Lamb of Grandeur Photog

in Citrus Heights, Calif., plans to purch

one for her wedding packages. Comme

EVENTS

Kisel




made booths can cost up to $12,000, she

says, but you can rent a booth for about

$800 for four hours. Lamb anticipates the

booth will pay for itself in a relatively short

time, as she also plans to rent the booth to

other wedding photographers.

Fisk-Taylor built two photo booths. Both take photos, and one records video as well.

The videograms are short—typically less

than a minute—and give guests an opportunity

to send personalized messages. “People want

photo booths to be fun and different, not

just a box,” says Fisk-Taylor. “They want fun

backgrounds, themes and hats so they can

be goofy and have a good time.”

THE SCHOOLS MARKET

“School photos don’t have to be bad,” says Fisk-

Taylor with a groan, as she remembers her

own pictures as a schoolgirl. “Photographers

need to take the time to make good images.

I know if I create quality images then

parents are going to buy them.”

Proms are a tough market, she concedes,

in part because every kid has a camera. “You

have to create exciting images, pictures they

can’t get using their cell phone cameras. We

use a fan and elevated camera angles to

make the photos more fashion forward. And

we do funky backgrounds.”

She adds that she sells more prom images if she puts them on DVDs or e-mails them.

“They’ll buy because they really want to o

Fisk-Taylor’s studio works only with sc

they have contracts with to shoot all its e

from dances to graduation and sports. “P

alone are just not that profitable anym

CHARITY EVENTS

“Any time we hear about a fundraising

we donate portrait sessions to be aucti

says Scott Elder of Midwest LifeShots

Photography in Rochester, Minn. Elde

hosts a charity event at his studio every

February. “We donate as much as we ca

because we believe the more you give t

more you get back.”

Fisk-Taylor welcomes charity even

“It’s 100 percent community service a

great branding for my business,” she s

“Every year the SPCA in Richmond h

high-end fundraiser called the Fur Ba

photograph it for free and give guests

prints stamped with our logo and prin

on site. We do it to get our name in fr

Richmond [society] because when on

those [attendees] wants a family por

they’re going to think about us becaus

support the same charity.” n


EVENTS

ALWAYS CLICK AND TELL

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but when it comes to photographing part

experts say it pays to blab about it. “When we shoot parties, we upload pictures to

website or blog right away and give shout-outs to the vendors” who serviced the

parties, like florists and caterers, says Mary Fisk-Taylor. “Then you let them know

they can put a link to your website on their sites,” which raises your website’s SEO.

“Often, media outlets like The Knot and Martha Stewart and bloggers will take no

and want to use some of your images or will link to your site.”

Wedding and portrait photographer Clay Blackmore coined a term for today’s br

the “iBride.” “She’s image-based, Internet savvy, intelligent and impatient,” he say

That description is just as apt for teens and young adults. That’s why after an eve

Blackmore immediately uploads select images to his Facebook page. “We’re alway

the offensive by not letting orders take too long. You can go to the best restauran

town, but if it takes an hour to get your entrée, then it’s not the best restaurant.”

Michael Kormos



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rofessional photograp

should know how to p

their subjects in the mo

tering way. Whether your s

classic portraiture or spontaneous slice-o

knowing the basics of posing will help

create images your clients will love.

Maybe rules are meant to be broken

to yield a satisfying result, you want to

the rules intentionally, and that means kn

what those rules are. The posing adage i

advice: If it turns, twists or bends, then

twist and bend it. Lest you turn your su

into pretzels, we’ll review some posing

THE C-CURVE AND S-CURV

When you create a half-, three-quarter

body pose, consider the shape of the su

body if you were to draw a vertical lin

through the center of the figure. Mos

poses will form an S or C shape. C po

are generally pleasing for males or fem

but an S pose is almost always reserve

females. Often, the difference is solely

the tip of the head. (See Figures 1-8).

DIAGONAL LINES

In still photographs, something needs t

the place of movement to convey the

or emotion. It’s done through incorpo

angles in the composition. Diagonal lin

(creating obtuse or acute angles) are m

dynamic than completely vertical or hori

lines, which tend to make the compos

look static. An easy way to get a diagon

in a standing pose is to have the subje

(continued on

You can turn, twist and bend your subjects to the most flatteringpositions, once you know all the angles. Whatever your photographapproach may be, good posing never goes out of style.

POSING By Holly Howe, M.Photog.Cr.

Polish your posingHow to help your clients look their best


A l l i mag

es©K ei t h Howe

Figure 1: Line through the center of the body forms

an S curve. This pose works better for female subjects.

Figure 2: The body forms a C curve. This pose

works well for males and females.

Figure 3: In this static portrait, the subject’s head-on stance does nothing to flatter her figure.

Figure 4: Subject shifts weight to one foot, creatingangles; notice that even with head tipped toward

the shoulder, the pose forms a feminine S curve.

P



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Figure 6: A less static pose, creating inte

angles.

Figure 7: With the subject centered on the stool

with her weight evenly distributed, the shoulders

slump, the chin is raised, and the entire body

width faces the camera.

Figure 8: Sitting on the edge of the stool

angled away from the camera, the subject’

forms an S curve with tipped shoulders an

posture, and appears to be more slender.

Figure 5: Another static pose, now with an

inappropriate focus.

HOW TO: HANDS

Hands are a challenge for many photog-

raphers. There are a couple simple principles.

For men, try to show the broader side of the

hand and have the fingers curled. For women,

show the side or narrowest view of the hand,

generally with the fingers extended. Avoid bend-

ing the wrist or fingers at 90-degree angles.

An open hand

looks heavier

and is about the

same size as the

subject’s face, so

it competes for

attention. Notice

the finger pop-

ping up on the far

side of the post.

Photographing

the side of the

hand looks more

graceful and

feminine and the

smaller size does

not compete

with the face for

attention.

Interlaced

fingers can look

busy. Two hands

together are as

large as a face

and compete

for attention.

Tuck the hands

under folded

arms to direct

attention to

the face.

Maybe rules are meant to be broken,

but to yield a satisfying result, you want to

break the rules intentionally , and that

means knowing what those rules are.

POSING



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(continued from p. 86)

put his or her weight on one foot. In a seated

pose, have the subject put his weight on one

hip, tilting the pelvis to yield a diagonal line.

In a head-and-shoulder pose, have the sub-

ject slide forward to the edge of the seat, roll her

weight slightly to one side, and twist her legs

to the opposite direction. You’ve got an S curve.

FLATTERY

“Can you make me look thinner?” Yes. P

the subject’s body at an angle to your

will shave off pounds. Pose a large subj

an extreme angle. A very slender subje

might look best posed almost directly a

camera. This rule is especially helpful w

photographing large and thin subjects

same portrait to even out the perceived

differences in body size. (See Figures 12

In sports and in posing, the difference

between good and great can be mere in

Taking a few extra seconds to finesse a

might be all it takes to go from good to

dynamite. Analyze your work to identify

little errors you consistently make, as w

places where a little posing tweak would

improve the portrait. In your next session

down a mental check list of those factors

you trip the shutter. It might slow you d

at first, but sooner than you think, you

be finessing your poses without even

realizing it. n

Holly and Keith Howe’s studio, Photogr Images, is in North Platte, Neb.(photographicimages1.com).


HOW TO:

HANDS

Resting the face

against the hand

squishes the

cheek and makes

the eye smaller.

A broken wrist

pose is uncom-

fortable to

hold and looks

painful. Avoid

90-degree

angles.

Touch the hand

to the face but

do not rest

weight on it.

This avoids

displacing the

cheek.

Hands

positioned

pointing to

camera cause

unattractive

claw-like

appearance and

the forearms are

shortened.

More graceful

side of hand

presented to

camera, weight

shifted to create

more visually

interesting

angles.

Figure 12: The subject fully faces the camera.

This pose might be acceptable with slender

subjects, but it's not highly flattering.

Figure 14: Picture perfect.

Figure 13: At a nearly 90-degree angle, the h

looks too large for the body.

POSING



LEFT: With the whites of eye

showing below the iris, the su

looks almost bug-eyed, and t

portrait looks unsettling.

RIGHT: Tip the chin up slight

iris just touches lower lid.

LEFT: Cutting the eyes too fa

the side suggests slyness or

dishonesty. Partially hidden b

bridge of her nose, the far ey

looks spooky.

RIGHT: Create a more pleasin

expression by turning the face

slightly back towards camera

turning the eyes slightly away

LEFT: The arm pit does nothing flattering for the portrait subject. MIDDLE: By turning the arm away

from camera and the main light, it falls into the shadow side and is partially hidden. RIGHT: Another

solution is to only photograph the arm pit when the subject is wearing long sleeves.

LEFT: Photographing straight into the hip emphasizes the subject’s bottom. Not a problem on a

slender model, but a heavier subject will not be pleased. MIDDLE: By rolling the sub ject onto her

hip, attention is diverted from her bottom. Her figure is also presented in a more flattering way.

However, she now appears as wide at the knees as her hips. Her legs have also been short ened and

her knees look like stumps. RIGHT: By rolling her further onto her hip and elongating her legs, we

now show a more pleasing feminine form, which tapers from the hips to the ankles. Also, by having

her pull her shirt down over the white tank, it no longer draws the eye to the widest part of her

body. Viewers’ attention stays on the face.

HOW TO: EYES

The direction of the subject’s gaze can

convey a world of emotion and person-

ality traits. If I want the subject to be

viewing something close up, I ask her to

direct her eyes slightly toward the bridge

of her nose. For a more distant gaze, I’ll

ask her to direct her eyes slightly outward.

To convey thoughtfulness or shyness, the

subject should look down slightly. Slyness

or flirtatousness are conveyed through a

sideways glance. Looking up usually

conveys the subject’s joy or happiness.

Your subjects will be inclined to turn their

eyes to you, regardless of the pose, so

tell them where to turn their eyes. A last

word, if the position would be uncom-

fortable for the subject to maintain for

long, it will look painful in the portrait.

HOW TO: BODY PARTS

Every subject you photograph will have

opinions about his or her body. You may

not share those opinions, but as a profes-

sional photographer, you can demphasize

the areas they find problematic. Two areas

we often deal with are the bottom and

the armpits. Most woman prefer to have

their bottom look smaller. I’ve yet to see

a photogenic arm pit.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/professional-photographer-2011-09 92/132Prices, specications, and images are subject to change without notice. Manufacturer rebates are subject to the terms and conditions (including expiration dates) printed on the manufacturers’ rebate forms. Not responsible for typographical or illustrative errors. © 2000-2011 B & H Foto

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Mark Garber & Jennifer Gilman

“Entering the IPC is the best thing you can do

to enhance your photography skills. Every year,

just knowing we’re going to compete against

some of the finest photographers in the world

makes us push ourselves harder t o create imag es

worthy of one of the highest photography honors,

being accepted into the PPA Loan Collection.”

MARK GARBER,

2011 DIAMOND RECIPIENT



In the last year, the PPA Internationa

Photographic Competition (IPC) adde

digital image entry capabilities and

updated the submission process. Th

result is a more accessible, diverse a

competitive event. That’s why the

accomplishments of the most recent

named Diamond Photographers of th

Year are more impressive than ever.

These photographers scored four PPA

Loan Collection images out of four

entries, no small feat. Out of thousa

of IPC entrants, only a few reach this

level—seven in 2010, a dozen in 2011

These image makers have been rec

nized in a competition specifically desi

to help photographers improve their cmeasure themselves against their pe

and further their professional credent

In these pages, we present a special

ture covering both the 2010 and 201

Diamond Photographers of the Year. T

the diamond standard. Prepare to be daz

sta ndard

the A look at some of the best photographsof 2010 & 2011



JENNIFER GILMAN, M.PHOTOG.CR

MARK GARBER, M.PHOTOG.CR.Mark Garber Photography, Dayton, Ohio

2011

“URBAN ROMANCE” (P.94)

In this spread from their album “Urban Romance,” husband-

team Jennifer Gilman and Mark Garber wanted to add a sex

the wedding story. After editing and processing the images

room, Gilman laid out the album in Photoshop in one of her

designs. Combining contemporary design with graphic funda

Gilman uses negative space and numerous panoramas to g

viewer’s eye time to pause and reflect. The approach work

Gilman and Garber have a combined total of nine Diamond

(four for Jennifer, five for Mark), and 24 Loan Collection a

CAMERA: Nikon D700

LENSES: Variety of Nikon lenses—Garber’s favorite is th

70-200mm f/2.8 while Gilman prefers the 50mm f/1.4

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom


son Skinner

©Mark Garber & Jennife

JASON SKINNERJason Skinner Photography, Las Vegas

2011

“GRACED”“I wanted to create an image suggestive of the vague feel

lingers after a beautiful, haunting dream,” says Jason Skin

self-taught photographer earning his first Diamond award.

lit his subject with two monolights modified by umbrellas

white V-cards just behind them. He had the dancer jump repwhile an assistant waved the red fabric behind her. He sho

a low angle from about 20 feet away to elongate the subject

without distortion. In post, Skinner neutralized the skin ton

added a hint of magenta. He reduced the contrast, sharpe

dancer’s skin, and smoothed imperfections. Last, he gently

the edges of the fabric and the dancer’s skin with a wide b

to increase the falloff from the shallow depth of light.

CAMERA: Canon EOS 50D

LENS: Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5

LIGHT: Two 450-watt-second monolights

SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop

SHUTTER SPEED: 1/250 second

APERTURE: f/5.6

ISO: 100



JOE CAMPANELLIE, M.PHOTOG.CR., CPPCampanellie’s Portraits, Damascus, Md.

2011

“BATHED IN LIGHT”With the goal of capturing the beauty and delicacy of a great white egret in full

breeding plumage, Joe Campanellie returned to this location for several days, in

hopes that all the elements for the image would come together. Using a tripod

with a rotating head, Campanellie made sure he could stabilize the camera, yet be

ready to move if necessary. In post-production, he used Photoshop to correct the

exposure and do minor cleanup, and used the Low Key Vignette action from Digital

Doctor. “This image is special because of how the light interacts with the d

of the great white egret and his feathers,” says Campanellie. “As artists, our

to see light and how it interacts with the world around us drives our creative

CAMERA: Canon EOS-1D Mark II

LENS: Canon 500mm f/5.6

LIGHT: Ambient

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop

OTHER GEAR: Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with a Wimberly head


APERTURE: f/5.6

ISO: 400

©Joe Campanellie



STEPHANIE MILLNER, CR.PHOTOG., CPPStephanie Millner Photography, Rome, Italy

2010

“HEALTHCODE VIOLATION”“Necessity is the mother of invention when working with small animals,” says

pet photographer Stephanie Millner. “I needed something to constrain a rat,

and I had a martini glass at my disposal. The image developed from there.”

Millner lit the scene with the main light modified by a soft box, a kicker with

a strip light, and a hair light bounced by a reflector off the low ceiling. In Photo -

shop, Millner used layer masks on the background, touched up the background

with Imagenomic Portraiture, and used Topaz Adjust on the glasses.


LENS: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8

LIGHTS: AlienBees B400 and B800

SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop and Imagenomic Portraiture


APERTURE: f/11

ISO: 100


©Stephanie Millner

BEN SHIRKShirk Photography, Wilton, Iowa

2011 ELECTRONIC IMAGING

“TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL”To create this image, Ben Shirk photographed the players individually, in studio,

using two lights with grids shining left to right, a hair light and a 3x4 soft

box placed at 90-degree angle to the players’ right. Then he began building

the background. Outside, he dug up a hosta plant, and photographed the

dirt. In Photoshop, he used the Clone tool and a quick mask to place the

dirt beneath the floor. He extracted the players from the original images

and placed them in the composition using the Magic Wand and Quick Mask

tools. Finally, he added details—pipes, water, birds and an old trophy.

CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark II


LIGHT: White Lightning strip lights

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

OTHER GEAR: RadioPoppers©Ben Shirk



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With flower-shaped lens hood. Compatible mounts for Canon and Nikon. This lens is not designed for use with35mm film cameras and digital SLR cameras with image sensors larger then 24 X 16mm



ul Ernest


PAUL ERNESTPaul Ernest Photography, Dallas

2011

“CHASING BUTTERFLIES”“Andrew Wyeth’s 1948 painting, ‘Christina’s World,’ has always been

special to me,” says Paul Ernest. “I wanted to take another approach

to it, giving it a stylized effect with the butterflies. I also wanted to

pursue the idea of a ladder propped in mid-air. The elements just came

together to create this image.” Ernest set up the model on the ladder

with a brace to hold it in position. With Botticelli as the inspiration for

the pose, he captured the image. Then he went to work in Photosho

and with onOne Software to do the composite work on the sky and

add the butterflies, which came from images he’d captured at a near

butterfly farm.

CAMERA: Nikon D3

LENS: 24-70mm f/2.8

LIGHT: Ambient

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop and onOne Software

SHUTTER SPEED: Varies by image in the composite

APERTURE: f/8

ISO: 400

JERRY GHIONIS, M.PHOTOG.CR.Jerry Ghionis Photography, Docklands,

Victoria, Australia

2011

ALBUMWith a style that’s a mix of vintage glamour and contemporary

fashion, four-time Diamond award winner Jerry Ghionis shot all

the images from this untitled album in a square format as an

homage to Hasselblad medium-format film photography. To

accomplish this effect, he masked the camera mirror in a square

format in his viewfinder, and later cropped the full-frame image

during raw conversion. The album showcased a single image per

page with elegant simplicity. For this image, Ghionis positioned

the bride’s lace to frame her eye. His only post-production work

was basic color correction.

CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark IILENS: 70-200mm f/2.8



APERTURE: f/3.2

ISO: 500

©Jerry Ghionis



LYNDA BROWN, M.PHOTOG.Rod Brown Photography, Defiance, Ohio

2011

“ENCHANTED RETREAT”Lynda Brown noticed this little path to a hotel while visiting Venice, Italy. The

glow from the lights made the scene look warm and inviting, and an irresistible

place to photograph. After capturing the image with a Nikon D3 camera, Brown

enhanced the warmth with Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro and Corel Painter,

letting the warm and cool tones play off one another.

CAMERA: Nikon D3

LENS: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8

LIGHT: Ambient

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro and Corel Painter

OTHER GEAR: Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with Kirk ball head


APERTURE: f/13

ISO: 2000

KRIS DOMAN, M.PHOTOG., CPPKD Portraits, West Jordan, Utah

2010

“THE FORCE IS STRONG IN MY FAMILY”“I am drawn to children and their self-image in relation to their imaginary worlds,”

says Kris Doman, best known for her whimsical portraiture. “Kids’ realities are so

infused with fantasy that they have a hard time separating them.” The members

of this client family were avid “Star Wars” fans, so Doman wanted to reflect that

in the sibling portrait. Hand-holding her camera low, she shot upward to make the

children appear larger than life. She processed the image in Adobe Lightroom and

used Photoshop to swap two figures from another take. She adjusted the color

and contrast, added the moon, and drew in the light saber blades.



LIGHT: Ambient

SOFTWARE: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop

SHUTTER SPEED: 1/400APERTURE: f/4

ISO: 200©Lynda Brown

©Kris Doman



Melinda Hughes-Berland

MELINDA HUGHES-BERLAND, M.PHOTOG.Hughes Photography, Santa Rosa, Calif.

2011

“THE EDGE OF THE EARTH”To create a magical image with a sense of depth, Melinda Hughes-Berland took 12

separate images captured in different locations and assembled them in Photoshop.

Her primary challenge was creating consistent light across all the different images,

which ranged from pastoral scenes in California to a juvenile giraffe in a stall. Carefully

and methodically she blended together several layers, then burned and dodged to

make the giraffes’ heads show up better and give the appearance that the entire scene

was in a “fantasy tunnel.” Hughes also softened the background while keeping the

subjects perfectly clear.

CAMERAS: Nikon D300 and D700

LENS: 70-120mm f/2.8

LIGHT: Ambient


APERTURE: Varies by image in the composite

ISO: 400




SIN UNG YOU2011

“WOMAN IN RED”“Red color always strikes me as a

symbol of women,” says Sin Ung You in

describing his inspiration for “Woman in

Red.” Working in his studio, You createdan artificial window light for his main

light, and then used a studio light

modified by a large soft box for fill.

Because the camera room of his studio is

on the small side, You made the area

surrounding the woman look larger by

expanding it in Photoshop.


LENS: 24-105mm f/4

LIGHT: Hyundai studio lights


OTHER GEAR: A reflector for

supplemental light


APERTURE: f/5.6ISO: 200

ROBERT O. SEAT, M.PHOTOG.CR.Photography by Robert O. Seat, Batesville, Ark.

2010

“LIVING MY FATHER’S LEGACY”“I captured this scene of the young man leaving the ba

a long day’s work, as his father had done before him,” s

Robert O. Seat, a specialist in family, child and senior

portraiture for more than 34 years. The image is a com

of two photographs, a landscape photographed on an ic

winter morning and a young man photographed with hi

in back of Seat’s studio. Seat processed the base image

made color adjustments, then added the subject in PhotoHe added the clouds with texture and pattern overlays

various blending modes. Seat finished the image with a

effect he created with the Antique Plate in Nik Silver Efex

CAMERA: Nikon D200

LENS: Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8

LIGHT: Ambient

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Nik Viveza and Nik Silver E


APERTURE: f/7.1

ISO: 100

©Sin Ung You

©Robert O. Seat



©Ann Naugher

ANN NAUGHER,M.PHOTOG., CPP

Hopkins Fine Portraits, Tulsa, Okla.

2011

“LILY, SOFT AND SWEET”Child and family portrait photographer Ann

Naugher landed her third Diamond recog-

nition with the help of images like “Lily,

Soft and Sweet,” a portrait that demon -

strates natural yet technically adept style.

The mother of this 3-year-old wanted a

soft and classic image, so Naugher com-

bined the brown-and-pink dress with the

antique chair for a perfect color combination.

Illuminating the scene with a 4x6-foot

Larson soft box, an umbrella fill light and

three reflectors, she captured the image when

the little girl laid down her head. Naugher

retouched the portrait in Photoshop and

digitally painted it with Corel Painter.



LIGHT: Photogenic Powerlight 1250 and

Larson Soft Silver Reflectosol and

Photogenic Gold Reflectors


& Corel Painter

OTHER GEAR: Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet & Pen

MICHAEL E. TIMMONS, M.PHOTOG.CR., F-ASPGallery 143, Vassar, Mich.

2010

“PIAZZA SAN MARCO”“I enjoy taking time to offer the viewer a unique look at an ordinary subject,”

says Michael Timmons, a fine-art and interior décor photographer, who

promotes his Diamond status to prospective clients. Timmons captured

“Piazza San Marco” on a rainy day in Venice, Italy, with a Canon EOS 5D Mark

II camera. In Photoshop, he used several Nik filters before converting the

image to black and white with Nik Silver Efex Pro. “The young woman

walking in the rain added a sense of perspective to the size of the piazza

says Timmons.



LIGHT: Ambient

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Lucis Pro, Topaz Adjust and Nik Co

Efex Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro

OTHER GEAR: Tripod, cable release and a rain cover


APERTURE: f/22

ISO: 100

©Michael Timmons



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RICHARD STURDEVANT, M.PHOTOG.CR.Sturdevant Studio, Garland, Texas

2011 ELECTRONIC IMAGING

“DEADMAN’S HAND” (ABOVE)

“I saw this saloon, and my mind conjured this image immediately, bringing to life

the original title ‘Aces and Eights, Deadman’s Hand,’” says Richard Sturdevant. He

shot the image at ISO 6400 in the available light, while a floodlight bounced off

the saloon wall. “It is Americana,” he says. “Everyone loves the Old West and

the characters it represents. The style is art mixed with Western legend.”

CAMERA: Canon DSLR

LENS: Canon 85mm f/1.2

LIGHT: Profoto flood light



APERTURE: f/6.3

ISO: 6400

2011

“THE WINNING MOMENT” (RIGHT)

In this sports action shot of a high school senior, Richard Sturdevant showcases

his love of sports. After compositing two images, he painted it artistically in Corel

Painter 11. This style resonates with Sturdevant’s clientele, and he’s booking com-

missions for similar images. “This is an example of how the expected can become

the unexpected,” says Sturdevant. “Sell a sports action shot and they will buy

the photo. Turn it into a work of art and they will invest in a family heirloom.”

CAMERA: Nikon DSLR

LENS: 300mm f/2.8

LIGHT: Profoto


SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1,250 second

APERTURE: f/2.8

ISO: 6400

©Richard Sturdevant

©Richard Sturdevant




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JON ALLYN, M.PHOTOG., M.ARTIST, CR., CEIJon Allyn Photography, Milwaukee, Wis.

2010

“ALWAYS THE ROMANTIC”A sport, portrait and commercial photographer, Jon Allyn combines an eye

for poignant moments with dry-brush painting techniques to create works

of art. In “Always the Romantic,” the capture was fairly straightforward,

then Allyn added punch in post-production. He did minimal cropping to

eliminate distractions, added tulips, and changed the tone of the subject’s

clothing for contrast. He enhanced the lighting on the subject’s face

create depth. “It is truly rewarding to do something meaningful that

be treasured for generations,” he says.



LIGHT: Ambient



APERTURE: f/9

ISO: 400

RICHARDCARPENTER,

M.PHOTOG.CR., CPPJudson Rick Photography, Cheyenne, Wyo.

2011

“COWBOY DOWN”Richard Carpenter has spent the last five years

photographing rodeos in Wyoming. “Cowboy

Down” is part of a series illustrating the

innate danger of the sport. Shooting with the

fastest shutter speed at f/2.8, Carpenter com-

posed the rodeo images by the rule of thirds.

“Then I decided what elements could be

added for impact,” he says. Here, he applied

layer effects to enhance the Western look. The

final image was printed on watercolor paper.

CAMERA: Nikon D300

LENS: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8

LIGHT: Ambient


SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1,000 second

APERTURE: f/2.8

©Richard Carpenter




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DARRELL A. MOM.PHOTOG.CR., CPP, AMoll Photography, Norwalk,

2010

“THE OLD MILL”Because of a scheduling conflict, D

Moll arrived at this scene around

not early in the morning as he wo

liked, but when the clouds rolled i

lighting was perfect, and the area

still. He set up for a long exposur

render the water smooth, as well a

depth and keep the focus sharp th

out. In post-production, he used t

Photoshop Transform tool to stra

the lines of the building, and Nik

Efex Pro 2 to enhance the building

CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mark

LENS: Canon 24-105mm f/4

LIGHT: Ambient


Camera Raw, Nik Color Efex Pro 3

Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

OTHER GEAR: Gitzo carbon fibe

with a Gitzo leveling head, Kirk BH

head, bubble level, Singh-Ray Colo

Polarizer and Singh-Ray Galen R

Graduated Neutral Density Filter

cable release and Hoodman Hoo

SHUTTER SPEED: 1.3 second

APERTURE: f/14

ISO: 50

WILLIAM BRANSON III,M.PHOTOG.CR.

William Branson III, Durham, N.C.

2010

“SUGAR AND SPICE”“I search for ways to set myself apart and

make my portraits exceptional,” says William

Branson III, a portrait artist whose signature

style incorporates digital painting. “I establish

a means of communication with my clients that

results in an artful collaboration.” For “Sugar

and Spice,” after Branson did the camera studies,

he and the client selected elements from each

to combine into the perfect portrait. The

portrait was enhanced using Corel Painter and

finished off in Adobe Photoshop with Nik

Color Efex Pro 3 and other plug-ins.


LENS: Canon 70–200mm f/2.8

LIGHT: White Lightning Ultra1200

SOFTWARE: Adobe Photoshop, Corel

Painter and Nik Color Efex Pro 3 and plug-ins

OTHER GEAR: PocketWizard remote

triggers


APERTURE: f/7.1

ISO: 100

©Darrell A. Moll

©William Branson



Life is good, and it is getting better every day…

The adage, “the more

you give, the more

you will receive,”

certainly holds true in ourprofession. I learned years

ago the importance of giv-

ing back to the community

that supports my business.

I love volunteer work—I’m

on the boards of Rotary,

United Way, my Chamber

of Commerce, Industrial Foundation, YMCA, Boy Scouts

and many others. But I have also discovered that the rela-

tionships I build while volunteering are great for business.

Many of my customers come from my fellow volun-

teers. (When we work on fundraising events, they get to

know me better and almost always become new clients.)

Donating portraits to local charity events is another great

way to gain business and do good things for the community.

I am always happy to donate a portrait session and print to

an auction. There’s free advertising for the event, too, when

I prominently display my studio name on the portrait or

easel. Plus, we are usually able to encourage the winner to

upgrade the print size or buy additional ones!

Another great charity choice for studios is participating

in Family Portrait Month or other PPA Charities promo-

tions, which often help raise money for Operation Smile,a medical charity. PPA Charities (www.ppacharities.com)

helps photographers combine their individual efforts to

make an even bigger impact, and it has many resources to

help. It can be a good way to give back and grow your busi-

ness at the same time.

After all, a studio that is seen as supporting their com-

munity has potential to be even more successful. So, pick

your favorite charity, and make it your goal to give more

of your time to help others. I can almost promise you will

be rewarded both personally and professionally. As Orison

Swett Marden said, “We must give more in order to get

more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces

the generous harvest.”

Remember: We are PPA. May God bless you this year!

Gerald “Jerry” Fine, Founder of Neil Enterprises Inc.

Jerry Fine passed away on July 5, 2011, at the age of 85. He and his wife, Lois, enjoyed 62

years of marriage, raised a beautiful family and created a thriving business: Neil Enter-

prises. Jerry founded that company 50 years ago and guided it to become the largest photo

novelty company in the country. A marketing and merchandising innovator, he pioneered

a myriad of photo-related promotional products, including the photo mug and photo

keychain. The company is now in its third generation with Jerry’s children and grandchil-

dren working there, including Neil Fine, the current president. Jerry had a vision, entrepre-

QHXULDOVSLULWDQGJHQHURVLW\WKDWDOZD\VSXWSHRSOHRYHUSURʏWV2XUKHDUWVJRRXWWRKLV

family, friends and the many lives he has touched.

PPATODAYSEPTEMBER 2011

PRESIDENT’SMESSAGEDon Dickson, M.Photog.Cr., CPP - 2011-2012 PPA President

Your Success is Our Business.

©

C h r i s H a n o c h

INMEMORY



MARATHONS TOMISSION TRIPS:PHOTOGRAPHINGFOR CHARITY

You know the power of photography to inspire emo-

tions. So, it probably comes as no surprise that

your photography skills are often highly prized by

charitable organizations. Photographing for a charity can

be a valuable relationship for all involved—just ask Laurie

Weaver of TreeTales Photography.

Growing with Charities7KLV7H[DVEDVHGSKRWRJUDSKHUDFWXDOO\JRWKHUʏUVWSUR

“gig” from a charity! She was asked to photograph the

\HDUO\5DFHIRUWKH&XUHIRUWKH$XVWLQ$IʏOLDWHRI6XVDQG. Komen for the Cure. “When I saw my images on the

JumboTron, I was hooked forever,” recalls Weaver. “Now

I see them in the Komen Austin marketing brochures, and I

feel like I’m making a difference.”

As Weaver grew in her photography business, she kept

working with charities, including becoming a PPA Charities

Operation Smile Studio. She says such charities guide her,

“providing wonderful opportunities I would not have been

exposed to any other way, especially as a new professional.”

In fact, she recently returned from one of those opportuni-

ties: an Operation Smile mission trip to Ethiopia.

Going on a MissionB“I didn’t know what to expect or what gear to pack,” says

Weaver about documenting the Ethiopian mission. There,

Operation Smile medical volunteers provided surgeries

to children suffering from facial deformities. From theWZRGD\SDWLHQWVFUHHQLQJWRWKHʏYHGD\VRIVXUJHULHVDQG

follow-up days of post-op, she helped capture the miracles

that medical charity is known for.

“My favorite images were the parent and child inter-

actions,” Weaver adds. “The parents anxiously watching

as doctors peered into the child’s mouth. Or carrying the

child to surgery. Or best of all, their faces upon seeing their

EDELHVIRUWKHʏUVWWLPHSRVWVXUJHU\ȆWKHʏUVWWLPHWKH\ȊYH

seen their faces whole.”

Those are the kinds of images that bring the charity’s

missions to life for those who aren’t there. Photography is

a way to make the cause real, encouraging more donations,

more volunteering and more overall awareness. That’s the

power of a photograph for charities.

And to some of those helped by Operation Smile, the

photographs were more than priceless.

Weaver had packed a small printer (and paper and

inks) all the way to Ethiopia because she heard that the

families might not have any photos at all. “I’ve never been

as moved as I was watching those families with their 5x7s,”


Images © L



she says. “The smiles wouldn’t leave their faces as they just

stared at their photos. How can a photograph be more pre-

cious than when it is a singular treasure?”

Knowing the Charity Pros & ConsDespite Weaver’s positive experience with Operation Smile

and others, she urges you to be smart about committing

your time. Consider the pros and cons before beginning anycharity relationship. She also suggests the following:

Research the organization and their events. If you are

asked to photograph a marathon, do you know what will

happen to the images afterwards? Are you expected to post,

sell or store them?

Ask yourself if you can handle the potential emotional

drain. This is an important step in charities like Now I Lay

Me Down to Sleep, where you volunteer infant remem-

brance photography.

'HʏQHZKDW\RXDUHZLOOLQJWRFRPPLWDQGZKDW\RX

hope to receive (like access to contact information). Con-

trol the relationship and go in with the terms clear, “or you

could be quickly overwhelmed with requests.”

%HDZDUHRISRWHQWLDOVDFULʏFHV “Even the best planning

can leave you in the position of choosing between a char-

ity’s needs or a client’s,” Weaver says.

Be patient.,WWRRN:HDYHUVHYHUDO\HDUVWRʏQGWKHULJKW

FKDULWLHV$QGRQFH\RXʏQGWKHPWKH\PD\UHTXLUHWUDLQ-

ing, background checks and more.

Making Your Work Matterȍ,I\RXDUHOXFN\HQRXJKWRʏQGDFKDULW\FDSDEOHRIVSHDN -

ing to both your heart and your business, grab hold and

KDQJRQȎGHFODUHV:HDYHU7KDWȊVGHʏQLWHO\WKHFDVHZLWK

the Operation Smile mission. “Some part of it still touches

my heart every day. The parents were desperate to make

things better for their children. To have been even a small

SDUWRIWKDWEURXJKWPHVXFKLQWHQVHSULGHDQGIXOʏOOPHQWȎ

There, she saw again the power of a single image.There, she saw again the power we have as a group, making

a difference for others. “It matters,” she says simply. Are

you ready to make your photography matter in a similar

way?


PPA CHARITIESOPPORTUNITIESInterested in documenting a mission trip like

/DXULH:HDYHUGLG"+HURSSRUWXQLW\VWDUWHGZLWK

PPA Charities, and here’s a list of ideas for you:

Become an Operation Smile Studio —For $240

(the cost of an Operation Smile surgery), you can

support the cause year-round. You’ll also get in

WKH33$&KDULWLHVGUDZLQJWRJRRQDPLVVLRQWULS

like Weaver!

Join in Family Portrait Month Ȇ,WȊVDQDWLRQZLGH

charity-driven promotion during the month of

2FWREHUKHOSLQJEXLOGEXVLQHVVSURʏWVJRRGZLOO

and donations for Operation Smile.

Volunteer at the PPA Charities Celebration — :KHWKHU\RXZRUNRQWKHDXFWLRQRUWKHSDUW\

LWVHOIKHOSLVDOZD\VDSSUHFLDWHGDWWKLV\HDUO\

event held at Imaging USA.

%HSDUWRIDIʏOLDWHIXQGUDLVHUV —PPA Charities

Ambassadors hold different events around the

country to raise funds. More grassroots efforts ar

the goal!

Smiles Day (coming soon!) —PPA Charities is

UHOHDVLQJWKLVQHZSURPRWLRQDOHYHQWDQGLWV

UHVRXUFHVLQ,WZLOOEHDRQHGD\HYHQWIRU

VWXGLRVZKHUHFOLHQWVZLOOGRQDWHDFHUWDLQDPRXQ

to receive a session and/or print.

Get involved today:

/HDUQPRUHDWZZZSSDFKDULWLHVFRP



MAKING CHARITYWORK…WORK

M

any photogra-

phers want to get

involved with

local charities. But how can

you make such involvement

really worthwhile—to both the

charity and yourself? Maybe

you need to take a fresh ap-

proach like PPA board member

Michael Gan, M.Photog.Cr.,

CPP, did.

How to Get Better Donations for

Charity AuctionsDonating items at auctions are common ways photogra-

phers help raise money for charities in their area. Still, it

didn’t work for Gan’s Meritage House of Photography

DWʏUVW3HRSOHPDGHORZELGVDQGGLGQȊWUHGHHPWKHJLIW

FHUWLʏFDWHVȍ3OXVZHRQO\UHDFKHGRQHSHUVRQIRUWKHHQWLUH

charity function,” he adds.

It was when Gan tried a different approach to chari-

ties—becoming part of the live auctions—that he struck

gold. During auctions, he now asks attendees how many are

willing to donate a certain amount to the charity (in return

IRUDVWXGLRJLIWFHUWLʏFDWH2QHRUWZRXVXDOO\VWDQGXS

and he has them remain standing as he repeats the offer for

a lower donation and so on.

“We tend to end up with about 15 guests willing to do-

nate $500 or so each,” Gan says. “So, we’re raising a LOT

more for the charity…and we have a higher chance that

more of them will redeem.” In fact, some of his past charity

JLIWFHUWLʏFDWHUHFLSLHQWVKDYHJLYHQWHVWLPRQLDOVZKHQKH

makes the offer at later auctions. Talk about word-of-mouth

marketing!

How to Better Manage Charity Clients

Treating it like your regular business can also help make

that charity work…work. Gan keeps detailed records about

different charities like you would for clients. Those records

help him know what to expect, such as how interest in his

auction offerings tend to die down after three years. That’s

why he works a maximum of three years with the same

charity, then takes a break for two years to wait for renewed

interest.

Collecting contact information is also as important

with charity clients as it is with your regular clients. When

someone donates at the auction, Gan gives them a gift

DFWLYDWLRQIRUP7RJHWWKHJLIWFDUGWKH\KDYHWRʏOORXWWKH

form and mail it in. This allows him to follow up with therecipients, encourage them to redeem the gift card, and add

them to his other prospect list!

Of course, the ultimate goal should be to bring in

increased donations and goodwill, not just revenue for you.

“Everything has to be done in the spirit of doing good for

the community. If your charitable contributions focus more

on you, it will fail,” Gan reminds. “Create the experience

for the charity, not yourself.”

How to Better Prepare YourselfTo begin working with charities, Gan says general network-

ing skills are a must:

Ȓ&UHDWHIULHQGVKLSVʏUVWEHIRUH\RXVXJJHVWLGHDV*DQ

met most of “his” charities from his Chamber of Com-

merce connections.

Ȓ8VHWKHȍ:,1ȎDWWLWXGH:HOFRPLQJ,QWHUDFWLQJ1XUWXU-

ing) when you are networking.

Such networking skills will help you connect not only

with charity organizers, but also with those who donate. For

instance, Gan talks to people at charity auctions, explaining

what he offers and how he can help. “It gets the participants

hyped up about donating before I even make the live auc-

tion offer!”

Through trial and error, Gan has upped his charitable

donations considerably. It now generates almost 80 percentof his business! But as he reminded us earlier, that was

wasn’t his goal with the charity work. (It’s just the result of

his smart managing.) Try out some of his ideas, and see for

yourself.


“Charity work has to do with the ideathat strengthening your community

strengthens all businesses in that

community, including yours.”


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/professional-photographer-2011-09 119/132September 2011 • Professional Photographe

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PHOTO PROPS

PHOTOGRAPHY PROP BOUTIQUE—FashionTouch.Wide selection of handmade knit and crochet baby hats,cocoons, blankets, diaper covers, tutus, leg warmers, fauxfur rugs etc at Fashiontouch.etsy.com.

PHOTO RESTORATION

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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, 4807COLLEY AVE., NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 23508; 757-440-1147 (phone); 757-440-1149 (fax); 888-440-1146 (tollfree). 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, 11760 BereaRd., Cleveland, OH 44111. www.NPDBox.com

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SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

AVAILABLE, WILL TRAVEL: Assistant photolooking for part-time work. Reasonable. Have wedding and event experience. Have contemphotojournalistic digital equipment: 5DmarkII with lighting, and multiple Canon L-series telephoto, ultprime, and macro lenses. E-mail [email protected]. Raleigh, NC.

STUDIOS FOR SALE

AWESOME DALLAS AREA PHOTOGRAPHY STUwell established, newly remodeled, state of the artfor sale. In business over 20 years with a great repand large client base. Big, spacious studio, with equipment, backgrounds, props, specialty scenes, screen protection room. Owner wants to slow dowassist with the transition. Call 214-837-5823.

WALK TO WORK! 30 year well-established, sucfull-service photography studio in Central WV. Hugeroom, large work area in energy-efficient 4,000sf studio. Beautifully landscaped 1.5 acre portrait park witfeatures. Lots of backgrounds, equipment, props,event sets with clothing, computers, database, proDependable client base. Adjacent 2,600sf open plan home with large kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Enjoy smliving and outdoor recreation. Owners ready to rethelp with transition. Serious prospects only call 304-872View property http://nicholasphoto.com/index2.php#/pEnter password: studio

PORTRAIT STUDIO, gallery, archive, sincedowntown 40202. Easy studio to make [email protected] or call 502-584-3744

VENTURA COUNTY, CA. Profitable, full-photography studio with lucrative school accountssales $210,000k. Call Robert Rauchhaus (DRE#018for information. 805-705-8512.

STUDIOS WANTED

COLUMBUS CAMERA GROUP, INC. buys whole or any part including cameras, film, darkroom, lolighting, and misc. No quantities too small. Call 807664. Ask for Eric.

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or the last three years, portrait

studios across the country have

been providing family portraits to

overseas military personnel free of

charge, through the Portraits of Love project. Portraits of Love is a

joint effort of the PhotoImaging

Manufacturers and Distributors Association

(PMDA) and Soldiers’ Angels, a volunteer-

led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization provid-

ing aid to the men and women of the United

States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force,

Coast Guard, veterans and their families.

This year, Portraits of Love aims to give

10,000 U.S. military personnel around the

world holiday portraits of their loved ones.The three-month portrait-making portion

of the program runs through November 30.

The project organizers are asking profession-

al photographers to volunteer to conduct the

family sessions in the studio or at military

bases or select USO offices in their area.

Military families may also get complim

ry sessions at JC Penney portrait studio

Participating photographers are inc

in a database made available to soldiers

ilies, who can call the nearest studio to boo

session. After shooting the session, the ph

rapher is to upload the images to SeeHer

and give the family printed instruction

for viewing and ordering them (the car

are furnished by Portraits of Love). Ph

printing and mailing are provided by Fuj

“In 2010, we had more than 400 ph

raphers host portrait sessions for famil

military bases and in studios throughocountry,” says Joellyn Gray, president of P

“This year we hope to double that effor

deliver a small taste of home to even m

servicemen and servicewomen who are

able to be with family during the holid

season. The photography community h

always been amazingly generous with i

time and resources around this cause,

we believe we’ll be able to do even mor

with their support this year.”Participating photographers will re

the PMDA Portraits of Love Photograph

Kit, which includes a poster for display,

instruction cards, a thank-you gift courte

Fujifilm, a listing on the PMDA databas

a link to the photographer’s website, m

exposure on the Portraits of Love webs

and through national PSA placements, a

most important, the satisfaction of givin

back to the soldiers who are serving oucountry abroad. n

For more information or to sign up, vis pmdaportraitsoflove.com.

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

Share your good works experience witby e-mailing Cameron Bishopp [email protected]

Portraits of LovePMDA AND THE SOLDIERS’ ANGELS

©Avant Garde Images Inc.



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Professional Photographer 2011 09

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