CPP Information

Hey Guys...

As promised here is more information about the CPP Process from Bruce.

Bruce Allen Hendricks November 24 at 12:05pm Report

There are 5 CPP's in Canada, myself, Inge, Craig Minelly and 2 guys out of Ontario. Inge was the first person to write the test inside of Canada - the rest of us had to travel to the US to take ours.

Anna Beaudry of BC is going through the process now, she has submitted her images (no results yet that I know of) and is planning to take the exam in BC with Craig sometime probably in the first few months of 2011.

Here is the link to the PPCC site:http://www.certifiedphotographer.com/

It's my goal to get PPOC officially on board with the program like PPA is (it originally was a part of PPA - but now it is run as a separate entity - kinda). Seeing this is an internationally recognized organization, believe it can go a long way as to helping separate the wannabe's from the rest of us.

On a side note, I would also suggest every photographer be a member of PPA. They offer so much value for the membership dollar it is amazing. I'm not dropping PPOC, but what PPA does for their members is amazing.

Congratulations to Inge!

Inge just received her oficial notice that she is now a Certified Professional Photographer!

Congratulations Inge. Great Job.

Keep watching for more info about certification!

Court rules against Photographer on copyright issue.

by

Mary Fisk-Taylor, M. Photog., Cr., CPP, ABI, API

www.hayesandfisk.com www.reallifestudios.net

I want to take a minute and talk to you about something I know a lot

about... MAKING MISTAKES. I could spend time sharing some

marketing ideas, sales plans and even discuss posing and lighting, but

the topic that I feel very confident about discussing right now concerns

mistakes I have made along the way.

For over 15 years, I’ve co-owned a photography studio and recently

opened a new studio with my family. During that time, I’ve spent

a considerable amount of time and energy to insure success by

having appropriate retainers, contracts and model releases, as well

as maintaining our memberships in our Professional Photography

Associations, mainly the Professional Photographers of America. I have

attorneys, mentors and accountants and I’ve felt very confident in my

efforts and accomplishments... until March of 2010.

It was at that time that I received a Summons from the County Sheriff.

Much to my shock, a client was suing me in small claims court.

Needless to say, I was very upset by this situation. I reviewed the claim and remembered the client, her session and her complaint but never thought she would have the nerve to sue me.

We had photographed the plaintiff’s daughter’s senior portraits back in the summer and, from the very beginning, they were difficult clients.

However, in an effort to satisfy the client we worked through broken

sales appointments, a grumpy teenager and even a re-shoot for the

yearbook photo due to a hair malfunction. I really thought we had

handled this with the utmost customer care and service. After all, we had truly bent over backwards, even honored a last minute and suspiciously bogus gift certificate just to get through this session.

When the client finally ordered the portraits, we all walked away from the studio that day pleased. They finally agreed with each other on the order, finally approved the teenager’s hairstyle, picked their portrait sizes and paid their money. Great! We were on the home stretch now. All we need to do is get the artwork finished, get the portraits printed and deliver this order. No problem, right? Wrong!

At our new studio we include the image on a DVD with printing rights, so when we delivered the portrait order three weeks later. We also delivered a DVD to the client. She picked them up, looked them over, shook our hands and drove away. But, two weeks later we received an irate phone call. The client wanted us to reprint all of her portraits. Of course, I was surprised and wanted to know why, what was wrong or what mistake had I made? Could it be the color, artwork or mounting?

What could it be? As it turns out, this client loved the portraits. The only complaint was that I had “cheapened” the work with my logo/copyright in the right hand corner of the portraits.

I was speechless, after 16 years in business I had never had this

complaint and quite frankly did not even know what to say. I proceeded to explain to the client that this was our logo, our copyright and just like every portrait on display in our studio, every image in our mall displays, every image I had ever printed for a client we always included this signature. I told her that if there were any defects or flaws with the prints I would be happy to make new portraits for her but I was not willing to print any portraits without this logo. She hung up on me. So, a client that wanted me to print portraits without a logo/copyright on them sued me. When the summons arrived I immediately contacted PPA (Professional Photographers of America) and worked via telephone and email with the Indemnification Trust program. The attorney, Mr. Stephen Morris and paralegal that I worked with were amazing, and I cannot say enough wonderful things about them. They sent me great information and ideas, a complete guide regarding this case and how to handle a small claims court claim and were overall my biggest cheerleaders through this catastrophe. The day I arrived in court I felt very confident, I had all of my information from the Indemnification Trust attorney, I had a letter from my lab that explained the necessity of printing portraits with the logo/copyright on them, I had pictures of my entire studio with portraits all over the walls displaying our logo and I had my entire family by my side. I could not possibly lose this case, right? Wrong! I lost, plain and simple. I lost the case.

Now, in my opinion the judge was very grumpy and kind of mean but

she made things very personal in court, which I found alarming and

defeating. She actually said to me at one point that she has great picture of her kids from Portrait Innovations and they do not have tacky logos on them. TACKY, she used the word TACKY! Seriously she actually said that! She also told me that she would never buy pictures with logos on them because it is not her job to advertise for me. Regardless of all of this opinion she told me that unless I had my client sign something that explained to her in black and white that she would be receiving portraits with a logo/copyright on it then I was wrong in the eyes of the courts.

Obviously I did not have any such wording in my invoice, model release or sales contract that my client had signed. Never occurred to me in a million years that I needed such a thing. Assuming that this was my right as a business owner or even that it was implied by the multiple 14 Texas Professional Photographer samples displayed in our place of business was not enough. So, I had a choice to make, reprint everything without our name on it or pay the plaintiff a full refund, including the full cost of the bogus gift certificate and her stylist’s charges. I chose to pay the money because there was no

way I was going to print portraits without our logo/copyright.

I wrote the check and walked out of the courthouse so defeated. I could not understand how I even ended up defending what I felt was so right. I emailed the Indemnification Trust attorney’s office through PPA and Mr. Morris immediately responded with shock and disappointment. His support and follow up was really important and it did make me feel better. I felt even better when he told me that through my PPA membership and the Indemnification Trust I would be reimbursed for what it cost me minus my deductible. That was a great surprise and it made me feel somewhat better about the whole terrible situation.

Mr. Morris also sent me some quick notes and suggested that I add the

following to all of my invoices, sales contracts, etc., to avoid something like this in the future:

“Client understand and expressly agrees that the Studio (your name her) places its logo on the front of all final photographic prints it produces for its clients.”

We now have this on all of our paperwork and even thought I may not

run into this problem ever again our studio is at least covered on this

issue.

Maria Matthews, the PPA Copyright & Government Affairs Manager,

also contacted me. She sent me a very supportive email and wanted to

offer the following reminders: “On contracts, it is extremely important to make sure everything about your studio procedures/policies, and the nature of the assignment gets recorded. Establishing a paper trail is one of the best ways to ensure that both photographer and client are on the same page and have a successful relationship.”

She also had the following advice: “On the Trust... PPA members

should know the Trust is here to help when incidents arise. Since it’s

not insurance, there is no need to fear being dropped or experiencing

a sudden rate change. Unless a member tells us they are experiencing

difficulties with a client (whether or not the client has threatened or

filed a lawsuit) we cannot ensure they have the protection they need.

The sooner an issue is brought to the Indemnification Trust attorney’s

(Stephen Morris) attention there’s a better likelihood of a happy ending. Similarly, it is extremely important to ensure PPA members maintain their membership (i.e. stay current on dues) so there’s never a moment they are without a coverage.”

This was a lesson learned... learned the hard way, but learned. Now I

can look at this situation and understand why and how it happened and know that I am wiser because of it. I think that one of the best things that I got from this was a brand new appreciation for PPA and what my membership truly means to our studio and me. So, thanks PPA for your assistance and guidance through this journey of professional photography.

Mary Fisk-Taylor, along with Jamie Hayes, are frequent instructors

at the Texas School of Professional Photography. In their class, they

share the fundamentals that have helped them become established

as one of their area’s leading studios. Learn more about Mary and

Jamie and their class at www.TexasSchool.org.

Pricing Your Work in a Tough Economy

The marketing assistant for a ceiling fan manufacturer called me in early November for a quote. She needed photographs of a Chicago restaurant interior to be used in a brochure and on their website. She had located my business by searching on Google for a Chicago architectural photographer. She liked our work, especially the lighting of the interior spaces.

Her photography list included images with and without people, showing various angles of the space making sure to highlight their fans. My contact did indicate they had no budget for professional models, but she would not share her overall budget with me. I was cautiously optimistic - she was thorough, indicating she hired photographers regularly, she had a deadline, and she appeared to want my expertise.

I went to the restaurant website to get an idea of what we would be facing. The location has cathedral ceilings with skylights on either side of the fan. The décor is dark with dramatic lighting. The space would be a challenge to light properly - keeping the mood and also showing off the featured ceiling fan.

I put together the estimate making sure to cover all the details necessary to give this client the same quality of work featured on our website. The quote included scouting the location, planning with the restaurant owner, lining up restaurant employees to pose as customers and budgeting to pay those employees a small fee allowing me to secure signed model releases, an assistant and an average amount of digital postproduction. I wrote up the license for the client to use the images as they outlined. The estimate came to $3,200.

The marketing assistant thanked me for my time, but told me we were too expensive. She said they customarily paid $600 to $700 for this type of assignment.

Wow. I have become accustomed to low budgets, but this was really incredible. This manufacturer was looking to complete a commercial assignment with very specific parameters, released models and a bundled license of rights for a budget comparable to a one-time use editorial job.

This was an easy one to walk away from as their budget did not even come close to covering my cost of doing business, let alone qualify as fair compensation for the licensing package requested. Still, the experience nags at me. Did someone take this job? Has this manufacturer been using photographers with no liability coverage? Quite a risk when they are asking for fans 14 feet in the air to be cleaned and polished. Do they have releases for all the people appearing in the photographs on their website?

It was hard to imagine a professional working at this rate and covering all these bases. Did the client eventually pay more? I hope this is what happened, but I also know that many photographers are running scared in this economy.

Pricing professional photography - even in good economic times - requires the careful consideration of many factors, including:

• How the images will be used
• The photographer's cost of doing business
• What the market will bear for the specific type of work
• The production needs of the project

Pricing in a tough economic climate adds an additional layer of difficulty. The downward pressure on photographers' fees has been intense in recent years due to the increased democratization of the service we provide, the new ease of image distribution and the ever-growing availability of free or nearly free photographs. When this recession hit the entire global economy in late 2008, our existing problems were compounded.

There are times when you may need to lower your price to get the work, but it is much wiser to negotiate a change in the parameters of the job rather than unilaterally lowering your fee.

Let's say, for example, that a client needs four products photographed, three views each. Your estimate is over their budget. Rather than cutting your price, suggest they only do two views per product or use the same background for each image. The client gives something up and you can give on the price.

The biggest risk you take in lowering your fees in tough times is that clients will not be willing to raise them again when the economy improves. If you work with clients creatively to meet their currently tighter budgets, you do not damage your fee structure for the future.

Remember that your fee structure is not a dartboard: Your fees should be based on the costs of being a professional, the production needs of the assignment and the licensed use of the work. When you price based on specifics you can pinpoint, you can negotiate and defend your fees with confidence. This is what distinguishes you as a professional.

Tip #1

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has a step-by-step guide to pricing and licensing photography

The steps are:

1. Creative Fee: Your cost of doing business + the specifics of the assignment
2. Licensing Fee: How the client will use the image
3. Production needs of the job: These are the expenses
4. Know your market: Industry practices for a particular kind of work

PRICE = 1 + 2 + 3 (adjust for 4)

TIP #2

IF YOU DISCOVER THAT YOUR COST OF DOING BUSINESS IS DRAMATICALLY HIGHER THAN THE PREVAILING FEES CHARGED FOR THE TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY YOU WANT TO DO, YOU MUST REEVALUATE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN. EITHER CHANGE YOUR OVERHEAD AND SALARY GOALS OR CHANGE THE TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY YOU ARE DOING. THERE IS NO WAY TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS IF THESE TWO FINANCIAL ASPECTS ARE CONSISTENTLY OUT OF SYNC.

http://www.adbase.com/Blog/Building-Your-Business/PricingYourWork

5 Essential Tips For Killer Black and White Photos

Black and white photography is often treated as the inferior alternative to colour - after all, why limit yourself to monotone shades when you can use the full spectrum of colours? But this is a very limited way of thinking, because black and white photos can often be even more striking than the colour equivalent. Follow these five essential tips to make the most of your black and white photography.

1. Shape and Form

By removing colour from your scene, you are doing away with one of most potentially distracting elements in your photo. This will focus the viewer's attention on the shapes and forms within a scene. When composing your shot, look beyond the colours in the scene and instead arrange your scene's elements in a way that is visually enticing.

2. Contrast

Without differences in colour to separate the objects in your scene, contrast becomes even more important, because it will stop objects merging into one another. If you are photographing a light subject, try to frame it on a dark background, and vice versa. Increasing the variety of tones and shades in your scene also helps to add depth.

3. Pattern

In colour photography, the colours themselves can often distract attention away from any patterns within a scene. However, by shooting in black and white you can direct the viewer's attention back to the pattern, making it appear much more prominent.

4. Texture

Whenever we look at a photo, we immediately begin to build up a mental picture of the scene in our mind. One of the main ways our brain does this is by using the colour information available in the photo. Of course if we shoot in black and white, this colour information isn't available, so the brain pays more attention to other elements, such as texture. This makes the texture appear more detailed and engaging.

5. Lighting

Lighting affects all of the above elements, and so it is absolutely essential to a good black and white photograph.

When framing your scene, think about how the lighting affects the shapes, contrast, patterns and textures in your scene, and try to choose a shooting angle that emphasises the most important ones.

Side lighting usually gives excellent results because it adds depth to your three-dimensional objects with highlights and shadows, and enhances the textures, patterns and surface details within the scene.

http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Essential-Tips-For-Killer-Blackå-and-White-Photos&id=785376

PROOF OF A PORTFOLIO VS. PROMISE OF A RESUME

People that have “done it” will be able to do it again. Whether it’s shooting a successful commercial assignment, hanging in a museum, making a music video, or whatever. It may not be a de-facto truth, but that’s what’s believed on the open market. It’s SAFER for the person hiring a creative if they can point to something that you’ve already done. One reason I get a lot of work is that I’ve done a lot of projects. They’re banking on my portfolio–work I’ve actually completed, work that I can point at, not a “resume,” or work that can be surmised.

I’m not saying it’s right or fair. It’s just the way it is.

But what if we’re not on the up-side of experience? For someone trying to get their first chance at anything where the keys to the kingdom are closely held by someone else, this can be a huge paradox.

If what you think you need is a new platform to show you can do something, you’re barking up the wrong tree. “Just gimme a shot and I’ll deliver” won’t cut it, no matter how loud you say it or how much you hope for it. The people making the decisions want proof. After all, if you fall flat, it usually means their ass is cooked.

So instead of lamenting “woe is me”, try this: Don’t create a resume, create a portfolio. Create actual WORK that looks like what you want to get “discovered” for. And make that work very strong.

Stop waiting for someone to take a chance on you. Do the work. And then show it to whomever’s got the keys to the kingdom. Once you’ve “done it”–and done it well–the phone will ring.

http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2010/10/proof-of-a-portfolio-vs-promise-of-a-resume/

Sunrise to Sunset

Hey Folks...

Here is a handy dandy link for us...

Thanks for the idea Marlene!

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=265&month=10&year=2010&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1

Sunrise and sunset in Winnipeg Africa | North America | South America | Asia | Australia/Pacific | Europe | Capitals | Custom Clock Search for city:

Time/General Weather Time zone DST Sun & Moon

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Winnipeg is capital of the province Manitoba Modify parameters Show full month: JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember Year: 19901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024202520262027202820292030 Body: SunMoon Columns: rise/set/noon timerise/set time/azimuthtwilight/rise/set (sun)all columns Change location Rising and setting times for the Sun Length of day Solar noon Date Sunrise Sunset This day Difference Time Altitude Distance (106 km) Oct 1, 2010 7:29 AM 7:07 PM 11h 38m 15s − 3m 41s 1:18 PM 36.8° 149.757 Oct 2, 2010 7:30 AM 7:05 PM 11h 34m 34s − 3m 41s 1:18 PM 36.4° 149.716 Oct 3, 2010 7:32 AM 7:03 PM 11h 30m 53s − 3m 41s 1:18 PM 36.0° 149.674 Oct 4, 2010 7:33 AM 7:00 PM 11h 27m 12s − 3m 40s 1:17 PM 35.6° 149.631 Oct 5, 2010 7:35 AM 6:58 PM 11h 23m 31s − 3m 40s 1:17 PM 35.2° 149.589 Oct 6, 2010 7:36 AM 6:56 PM 11h 19m 51s − 3m 40s 1:17 PM 34.9° 149.547 Oct 7, 2010 7:38 AM 6:54 PM 11h 16m 10s − 3m 40s 1:16 PM 34.5° 149.504 Oct 8, 2010 7:39 AM 6:52 PM 11h 12m 30s − 3m 40s 1:16 PM 34.1° 149.461 Oct 9, 2010 7:41 AM 6:50 PM 11h 08m 51s − 3m 39s 1:16 PM 33.7° 149.418 Oct 10, 2010 7:43 AM 6:48 PM 11h 05m 11s − 3m 39s 1:16 PM 33.3° 149.375 Oct 11, 2010 7:44 AM 6:46 PM 11h 01m 32s − 3m 39s 1:15 PM 33.0° 149.331 Oct 12, 2010 7:46 AM 6:44 PM 10h 57m 53s − 3m 38s 1:15 PM 32.6° 149.288 Oct 13, 2010 7:47 AM 6:42 PM 10h 54m 15s − 3m 38s 1:15 PM 32.2° 149.245 Oct 14, 2010 7:49 AM 6:40 PM 10h 50m 37s − 3m 37s 1:15 PM 31.8° 149.201 Oct 15, 2010 7:51 AM 6:38 PM 10h 47m 00s − 3m 37s 1:14 PM 31.5° 149.158 Oct 16, 2010 7:52 AM 6:36 PM 10h 43m 24s − 3m 36s 1:14 PM 31.1° 149.115 Oct 17, 2010 7:54 AM 6:33 PM 10h 39m 47s − 3m 36s 1:14 PM 30.7° 149.072 Oct 18, 2010 7:55 AM 6:32 PM 10h 36m 12s − 3m 35s 1:14 PM 30.4° 149.029 Oct 19, 2010 7:57 AM 6:30 PM 10h 32m 37s − 3m 34s 1:14 PM 30.0° 148.986 Oct 20, 2010 7:59 AM 6:28 PM 10h 29m 03s − 3m 34s 1:13 PM 29.6° 148.944 Oct 21, 2010 8:00 AM 6:26 PM 10h 25m 30s − 3m 33s 1:13 PM 29.3° 148.902 Oct 22, 2010 8:02 AM 6:24 PM 10h 21m 57s − 3m 32s 1:13 PM 28.9° 148.861 Oct 23, 2010 8:03 AM 6:22 PM 10h 18m 26s − 3m 31s 1:13 PM 28.6° 148.820 Oct 24, 2010 8:05 AM 6:20 PM 10h 14m 55s − 3m 30s 1:13 PM 28.2° 148.779 Oct 25, 2010 8:07 AM 6:18 PM 10h 11m 25s − 3m 29s 1:13 PM 27.9° 148.739 Oct 26, 2010 8:08 AM 6:16 PM 10h 07m 56s − 3m 28s 1:13 PM 27.6° 148.699 Oct 27, 2010 8:10 AM 6:14 PM 10h 04m 29s − 3m 27s 1:13 PM 27.2° 148.660 Oct 28, 2010 8:12 AM 6:13 PM 10h 01m 02s − 3m 26s 1:12 PM 26.9° 148.621 Oct 29, 2010 8:13 AM 6:11 PM 9h 57m 36s − 3m 25s 1:12 PM 26.6° 148.582 Oct 30, 2010 8:15 AM 6:09 PM 9h 54m 12s − 3m 24s 1:12 PM 26.2° 148.544 Oct 31, 2010 8:17 AM 6:07 PM 9h 50m 49s − 3m 23s 1:12 PM 25.9° 148.506 All times are in local time for Winnipeg