Pastel Cherub by Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr., CPP
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STAFF Publisher
Duane Blocker, CPP
Graphic Design/Layout Theresa Campbell, CPP Proof Readers Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Kevin Falcon, Cr. Photog., CPP Aileen Harding, M. Photog., Cr., CPP Photographers Nicky LaWell, Cr. Photog., CPP Laura Mansur Guerra, CPP
Duane Blocker, CPP
The past two meetings we’ve had Steve Kozak presenting on how to market your business and Terry Wier talking to us about the coming A.I. revolution and how it will affect our businesses. Bottom line we need to stand out and create that which comes from our vision and expertise. If you are relying on a few Photoshop plugins that won’t differentiate us, those buttons will be available to everyone. Dennis Kelley presented The Sport of Lighting in July with a sports model. In the next three months we will have some amazing speakers: In August we have our own Carol Andrews. Carol will take us through marketing during the day. She will do some of the exercises that Steve Kozak didn’t have time to do. This will be hands on, you will be working on your marketing text and images. Be sure to read up on what to bring. The items required include 10 images, a laptop, and a yellow note pad. For the evening we will work on creative vision, bring five magazines (not celebrity mags) a glue stick, scissors, and an open heart, we’re going to get creative!
PPGH WORKSHOP SERIES PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Editor Theresa Campbell, CPP
My goodness it’s July already, hard to believe! As representatives of your guild we strive to give you education to inspire and assist you in your photographic business regardless of it’s size. We strive to have a variety of programs and a large number of workshops. We keep the cost down as much as possible. We are a non-profit organization but we need to be financially responsible as well. Our current venue for our meetings is the Houston Food Bank. It’s in a more industrial section of town but the meeting room is amazing with dual projection screens and a good sound system. If you haven’t visited I encourage you to come to a meeting.
In September we have a program with Megan DiPiero in the evening and a next day workshop. Her program Start With Headshots is about how she uses headshots to branch into different other sessions that her clients desire. Megan is an amazing speaker! Do not miss this one. Check the website for more fantastic, hands-on workshops coming up. ~Duane Blocker, CPP, President, PPGH
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PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS GUILD OF HOUSTON 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
To contact your officers or director, just click on their name.
Chairman of the Board Kevin Falcon, Cr. Photog., CPP
President Duane Blocker, CPP
Vice-President Kathy Kinser, CPP
Executive Director Teri Whittaker, M. Photog., Cr., CPP
Board Member Theresa Campbell, CPP
Board Member Michael Crawley, CPP
Communications/Graphic Design Teri Whittaker, M. Photog., Cr., CPP Fellowship Chair: Kathy Kinser, CPP Financial Review Board Liaison: Kathy Kinser, CPP; Chair: Kim Christensen, Armando Chacon, M.Photog., Cr. Photog., CPP; Kat Mack Image Competition Board Liaison: Tara Flannery, CPP; Chair: Sherry Piché, M.Photog, CPP; Kevin Falcon, Cr. Photog., CPP, Angela Petersen
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Treasurer Alison Montgomery, Cr. Photog., CPP
Board Member Tara Flannery, CPP
Board Member Cornell McGee, CPP
PPGH COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Membership: Chair: Cornell McGhee, CPP; Michael Reiland; Sandy Buller
Procedures and Controls Board Liaison: Teri Whittaker, M. Photog., Cr., CPP
Web Site Board Liaison and Chair: Kevin Falcon, Cr. Photog., CPP
Mentor Program /Certification Chair: Laura Mansur, CPP
Scholarships Board Liaison and Chair: Kevin Falcon, Cr. Photog., CPP
Welcoming Curley Marshall, M.Photog., Cr. Photog., CPP
Nomination Tom Hathcock, M.Photog., Cr., CPP; Aileen Harding, M.Photog., Cr., CPP, Kim Christensen; Mitch Daniels, Cr. Photog; Belinda Higgins, M.Photog., Cr., CPP; Teri Whittaker, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Photographer Board Liaison: Laura Mansur, CPP; Denzal Lovett
Librarian Chair: Curley Marshall, M.Photog., Cr. PPGH Workshop Series Board Liaison: Teri Whittaker, M. Photog., CPP; Booker Shelton, Jr. Photog., Cr., CPP; Chair: Aileen Harding, M.Photog., Cr., CPP
2 JUL 2019
Secretary Laura Mansur, CPP
THE VIEWFINDER
Social Media Board Liaison and Chair: Kevin Falcon, Cr. Photog., CPP Telephone Joan Reynolds; Diana Waguespack; Lenora Stein; Carver Shivers; Wayne Dale Ceasar ViewFinder Board Liaison: Theresa Campbell, CPP Viewfinder Editor/Chair: Theresa Campbell, CPP; Karen Butts, M. Photog., Cr., CPP
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FROM OUR MEMBERS
y Duane Blocker, CPP b ROBERT BRAYTON: SCIENCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY As promoted, Robert’s program was technical but do not equate that with boring, it was far from that. I think the main takeaway was we should be testing our equipment to know what to expect. This was critical in the days of film, but Robert believes it’s no less important today even though we have tools on the back of our camera. Let me give you a little background, Robert is a second generation photographer. He and his dad did architectural photography and some of you may have had the opportunity to take his workshop on that subject. Robert now spends his time doing astrophotography which is extremely technical. He did show us some of that specialized equipment but I digress. Have you ever tested the focusing on your lenses, we did. Robert showed us how and we used the LensAlign calibration system to check the focusing of our lenses. Then we
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tried to imitate the blur we were seeing. Why do we use Gaussian blur rather than other types of blurs in Photoshop? What is the Bayer filter and what does it do? How do you inspect your sensor for dust and how do you clean it, we did that. How does your camera respond at different ISO settings. How about different light sources. We had about four labs and reviewed the results. If this is offered again you should avail yourselves to attend this workshop. By the way, if you do, bring your camera outfit including a tripod and a flash, you will need these. I guess you can tell I enjoyed the class and I have a far greater understanding of how my camera operates. Highly recommended.
VOTE
The PPGH annual elections will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at our annual Business Meeting. The Nominating Committee Members were Mitch Daniels, Aileen Harding, Kim Christensen, Duane Blocker, and Teri Whittaker (chair). The committee met June 27, 2019. The Nominating Committee carefully reviewed the eligibility requirements for each office to see that the nominees met the requirements and were willing to serve in the capacity for which they are being nominated. After careful consideration, the Nominating Committee has chosen for the 2020 slate of Officers and Directors the following Professional Active Members who they feel will diligently and timely perform the duties of that office as required by the PPGH bylaws. The following slate of Officers and Directors for 2020 is: Chairman of the Board – Duane Blocker, CPP President – Kathy Kinser, CPP Vice President – Laura Mansur, CPP Secretary – Tara Flannery, CPP Treasurer – Alison Montgomery, Cr. Photog., CPP Membership Director - Cornell McGhee, CPP Director at Large - Theresa Campbell, CPP Director at Large – Michael Crawley Director at Large – Joan Reynolds Nominations will be accepted from the floor for all positions except Chairman of the Board. Only Professional Active Members and Lifetime Members may vote. Voting may be done in person OR online. An email will be sent when online voting becomes available. Please plan to attend! We look forward to seeing you! ~ Teri Whittaker, 2019 Nominating Committee Chairman
FROM OUR MEMBERS
y Kathy Kinser, CPP b WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND PPGH MEETINGS? What are the benefits of in-person education? With a speaker at our meetings, you will have face-to-face interaction. You are able to read his/ her body language and gestures. You can also engage in spontaneous conversations with other photographers at your table which can help you to learn. Other photographers can help you gain a different perspective on what is being presented. Best of all, you have the opportunity to interact with the speaker during the class by asking questions during the presentation, during the break, and after class. You also will have the opportunity, at a live demo, to see the equipment the presenter uses. Many times, if a particular print product is discussed there will be samples with the presenter’s images, so you can hold and feel the actual product. Does print competition have value for you? Of course, entering print competition will give you the greatest value because we learn by our mistakes. Come to our meetings and watch as the judges score and comment on images that have been entered. Listening to the judges critique another photographer’s work is helpful but more impactful when it is your work being critiqued. The knowledge you gain by attending is invaluable. Winning a ribbon in a particular category is an extra bonus that you can use to promote your expertise in your business. You may even win “PPGH Photographer of the Year”! Is there a special camaraderie among PPGH members? You bet there is. A great advantage is being around other photographers, not only enthusiastic about photography, but willing to share ideas. You’ll uncover opportunities to connect with different types of mentors and develop your area of photography or add-on new areas of photography. You’ll get new and fresh ideas from fellow photographers. If a photographer has a prior commitment when a client calls, they are more likely to refer to another PPGH member. Another invaluable tool is discussing a current road 6 JUL 2019 Fonts: Aparajita and Mistral
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block you have encountered with certain types of clients or genres to get advice from other experienced peers. Discussing common challenges can make you feel more confident in the current photography market. Don’t overlook the possibility of learning new techniques from one of your peers at the meetings. We don’t learn only from the presenter. PPGH has 200+ members who can be fantastic resources to other members. But do I need to attend every monthly meeting? You cannot build relationships by randomly attending meetings that seem to be of interest to you. You need to regularly engage in conversations with others over a period of time to develop trusting relationships. It doesn’t happen at one meeting. You can get answers to your questions but relationship building takes repetition and time. If a photographer has a relationship with you and familiarity with your work, he/she is more likely to refer someone requesting a different genre to you if that is your specialty. Action Items 1. Regularly attend monthly meetings. 2. Support each other. 3. Share with others. uild long-term relationships by regularly 4. B engaging with contacts. 5. Meet and get to know other photographers who you can assist and can assist you in return. 6. Meet valuable contacts. 7. F ind new opportunities to work with other photographers. 8. Set up a play date with another photographer. ome with an open mind to get new and fresh 9. C ideas. 10. Exchange best practices. 11. Give more than you receive. 12. F ind an accountability partner. Look for someone that you connect with and then become accountability partners. There’s nothing to spur you on more than another photographer asking you if you completed a task or something new you had previously committed to do by a certain date. Have fun! We’re not here forever, make every moment count.
y Kim Kuhlman, PhD, M.Photog., Cr., CPP b THE NEED FOR WEBSITE SPEED
FROM OUR MEMBERS
(Blue Sky Digital Strategy, Kim Kuhlman Photography, and Chile Dog Photography)
We photographers are mostly do-it-yourselfers. I think sometimes it’s because most of us are really curious, but I think that it’s most often because of our budgets. When it comes to your website — your storefront in the digital age — most of us realize that it’s vitally important, but it’s a lot to wrap your head around and can be a horrible time sink. When you hear the term, Technical SEO, I’m sure that most of you are ready for me to geek out. Well, I’m going to try to de-geek it a bit for you so that you can get a better handle on how to make Google work for you rather than against you. In this series, I’m going to introduce you to Technical SEO, show you how to test your website, and finally I’ll give you a few things you can do to improve its technical performance. I work exclusively with WordPress, so your mileage may vary if you use another platform. However, the tools I will be talking about can tell you what you need to discuss with your website provider to help you on the technical side. What the heck is "Technical SEO?" Hopefully you know what SEO is. Search Engine Optimization has become quite a buzzword. Just in case you don’t know what it means, SEO is the process of optimizing your website and it’s content so that search engines like Google will rank your website/ webpage higher in the search results for your ideal clients. There are three types of SEO: 1) T echnical SEO: The equivalent of a foundation for your website. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for the search engines to crawl, understand and index your content. A major component of modern technical SEO is page loading speed. 2) On-Page SEO: Keyword research and content optimization. That is, making sure your text, images and video are optimized so that the search engines can tell what they are about and in what context.
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ff-Page SEO: Mostly comprised of building quality 3) O backlinks from high authority websites in your field or niche. It also includes good old fashioned nondigital marketing. In this article, I’m only going to focus on technical SEO because it really is the foundation of your website. Everything else rides on it. The search engines use over 200 factors in their algorithms. You need to remember that user experience (often called UX) is the only thing the search engines care about. If their users (including your potential clients) can’t quickly find what they need, they will simply go somewhere else to find that information. On the other hand, some people point out that Google stated (on April 9, 2010), “While site speed is a new signal, it doesn’t carry as much weight as the relevance of a page.” Things have sure changed since then, but don’t do it for your SEO, do it for your users, and Google will reward you. Being a geek myself, I have to show you some data that demonstrates what I’m talking about. In the process, I’m going to share with you the tools that Google and others provide to use on your own website(s). Using these tools may just give you an advantage when it comes to ranking and save you some time in the process. Mind you, technical SEO is definitely not a cure-all, but practicing it will give your website a solid foundation on which to build your content. The Data So, what data can I show you? I could obviously cherry pick the websites of various well-known photographers, but being a geek, I know that is not terribly valid way of doing things. To get an unbiased data set, I decided to look at the websites of the members of the PPA Board of Directors. (Sorry, Board Members. Please consider this a complimentary technical SEO audit. I have kept identifying information to myself.) There is one thing all these successful photographers have in common. They all HAVE a website. If you don’t have a website, you know what you need to do. There are a couple of caveats that I need to mention here: Caveat #1: This is a small sample set, but these are all well-respected and accomplished members of our community. I had to satisfy my curiosity with a random group of websites. That’s not to say that this little
exercise is by any means scientific. It is not, but the results are really fascinating nonetheless. Caveat #2: The measurements of various performance metrics is affected by many variables like server load, distance from the server to the user’s computer, Internet traffic load, routing to get around traffic loads, connection speed, device type, number of tabs open in the browser, etc. When collecting this data, I attempted to keep as many of these variables constant and run multiple tests when available. If you were to run exactly the same tests, you would likely get different results, albeit slight. I ran the test again after about six weeks, and got similar results.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
The Need for Speed Perhaps the most important of the ranking factors is your page loading speed. If your site doesn’t load and become interactive within about 2 seconds, your potential clients will simply move on to the next website of your competitor. No one really knows how those 200+ factors I mentioned are weighted but there are two very specific reasons that the search engines have a need for speed. The first reason is our everdecreasing attention span. There are many studies such as those listed in Google’s article at https://blueskydigit. al/performance that have demonstrated that a website that loads slowly will lose potential visitors. We are all simply too impatient to wait. The second reason driving the need for speed is that mobile is quickly overtaking desktop in usage (actually, it already has) and the users in developing markets are simply skipping desktops altogether to access the Internet. Data is still relatively expensive, especially in developing markets, so Google is stressing mobile first indexing to encourage a faster Internet. Now, you may think that doesn’t apply to your potential clients, but they are using smartphones, too. If your site takes longer to load, they will move on. So will Google in ranking your site.
Visitor Loss vs. Load Time Despite everything you have probably heard about Google, the Googlers do everything in their considerable power to help you out. They provide a lot of tools to help diagnose potential problems with our websites (so does Bing). The first one gives you an estimate of visitor loss based on your site’s loading time. The first set of data I’m going to show you (Fig. 1) was obtained using Google’s https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com, which is powered by webpagetest.org. Webpagetest.org is an open source project that is supported by Google. The TestMySite tool measures several things, but for now we’ll just be looking at the estimated visitor loss as a function of loading time on a 3G mobile network. The first thing you notice about this data is that the visitor loss is not linear at first. You get a HUGE advantage by having a loading time of less than 5 seconds. Only one board member’s site loaded in 4 seconds. As with everything Internet, there is a caveat here.
Figure 1. Estimated visitor loss as a function of page loading time for the homepages of the 2018 PPA Board Members’ websites as measured with https://testmysite. thinkwithgoogle.com.
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FROM OUR MEMBERS
THE NEED FOR WEBSITE SPEED (Continued) Google’s own tool, TestMySite, measures Google’s own homepage, https://google.com, as loading in 3 seconds over a 3G connection. The estimated visitor loss is “Low,” instead of a percentage. If you look at Google’s homepage using https://webpagetest.org over a cable connection (1.5Mbps), we usually get a load time of around 3.4 seconds. However, if we run the same test using an emulated 3GSlow connection (400 Kbps), Google’s homepage takes just under 15 seconds to load! If we change to the 4G emulator, Google’s homepage loads in just under 4 seconds. Yes, 5G service is coming, but the gist of all this is that your site needs to load fast, period. Google is constantly doing research on the conversion rates of landing pages. I highly recommend that you review their article on mobile benchmarks at https://blueskydigit.al/mobilebenchmarks for more information. Another good article from Google on 2018’s Speed Update can be found at https://blueskydigit.al/2018SpeedUpdate. How Can We Measure Website Performance? In coming issues, I’ll fill you in on some of my favorite free tools for measuring the technical performance of your website(s). These tools give you plenty of great suggestions on how to improve the performance of your site. Then I’ll also give you some actionable steps you can take to make your website faster and boost your rankings. If you’re running on WordPress, I’ll give you my very favorite plugin for compressing your beautiful images without degrading their quality. I’ll also tell you about my favorite WordPress caching plugin.
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If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop me an email at kim@blueskydigitalstrategy. com and put “PPA Technical SEO Question” in the subject line. You can also check out my blog at https://www.blueskydigitalstrategy.com. We also have a fledgling private Facebook Group, Blue Sky Digital Strategy (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ blueskydigitalstrategy), where you can ask for help and find lots of good information on all aspects of SEO and Social Media. And, if you made it this far, I’ll give you a complimentary website audit. Just mention that you saw it here. PPA members and one website only, please.
IN MEMORY An extraordinary man with the courage to live a life distinctively his own. An artist who shared his gift of seeing people and life in a unique way by painting with intricate light. He bestowed his kind heart and fierce loyalty as gifts upon those closest to him. His intellect and passion for perfection were evident in everything that he did - music, art, photography, and building. He delighted in his Chicano culture and celebrated it as a source of inspiration and strength. His infectious smile, laugh, and calming presence are just a few of the things this world has lost. We are proud to be your wife, your children, your family, your friends, your colleagues and your neighbors, and for our lives to have been shaped by you. Our words cannot capture the depth of our love for you please just know that we love you and miss you now and always.
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NEW MEMBERS:
IMAGE COMPETITION  / GUILDS
Did you know you can enter the PPGH Local Photographic Competition at any level of membership? The image competition held at our monthly PPGH meetings is a great way to hone your skills and get feedback from proven and respected professionals in this industry. These talented individuals volunteer their time to judge images and provide valuable feedback utilizing the 12 elements of a merit image. You can earn merits on a local level and progress your image to the next level of competition to earn recognition and even degrees through the Professional Photographers of America. All district competitions lead to the annual International Photographic Competition. Visit these links to learn more about entering competition.
To learn about the guidelines for entering image competition at PPGH meetings visit:
http://www.ppgh.org/Resources/ Documents/Image%20Competition/2015%20PPGH%20Image%20 Comp%20Rules.pdf
Follow along with image judging on the Game Day App, downloadable from https://printcompetition.com/. Membership is optional but if you join PrintCompetition.com you can search thousands of archival images to see scores and hear audio from the image competitions. It is a terrific resource.
To learn about upcoming competitions throughout the region visit:
http://www.ppa.com/competitions/
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HONE YOUR
SKILLS IN IMAGE
COMPETITION
MAY 2019 | MASTER
|
First Place
Pastel Cherub by Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr. Photog., CPP
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MAY 2019 | MASTER
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Second Place
EL Maestro by Armando Chacon, M.Photog., Cr.Photog., CPP
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MAY 2019 | MASTER
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Third Place
The Louvre by Armando Chacon, M.Photog., Cr.Photog., CPP THE VIEWFINDER Fonts: Aparajita and Mistral
JUL 2019 15
MAY 2019| ACTIVE
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First Place
Longing by Tara Flannery, CPP
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MAY 2019 | ACTIVE
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Second Place
My Baby Girl My Love by Diana Waguespack, CPP
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JUL 2019 17
MAY 2019| ACTIVE
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Third Place
Double Trouble by Alison Montgomery, Cr. Photog., CPP
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JUNE 2019 | MASTER
|
First Place
The Watchman by Aileen Harding, M.Photog., Cr. Photog., CPP
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JUNE 2019| MASTER
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Second Place
Early Morning Catch by Aileen Harding, M.Photog., Cr.Photog., CPP
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JUNE 2019 | MASTER
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Third Place
La Fleur by Armando Chacon, M.Photog., Cr.Photog., CPP
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JUNE 2019 | ACTIVE
|
First Place
No, I'm Not Sleepy by by Alison Montgomery, Cr. Photog., CPP
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JUNE 2019 | ACTIVE
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Second Place
One Enchanted Evening by Diana Waguespack, CPP THE VIEWFINDER Fonts: Aparajita and Mistral
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JUNE 2019 | ACTIVE
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Third Place
Cascade's Halo by Michael Reiland, CPP
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Your photography degree is a big deal. Show it off to make it work for you! “ PPA’s degree program has gotten
me recognized in my community as a true professional in the industry. Earning recognition through awards and degrees has been a true asset to my success in the photography business.
”
Gregory Finney M.Photog., CPP
PPA’s merit & degree program is one of the largest in the industry…and its only purpose is to help you be more! Master of Photography, Master Artist and Photographic Craftsman are all designations you can be proud to earn.
Only a small fraction of professional photographers have earned these prestigious degrees. Stand apart from the pack. You can become one of those few. Begin your journey to photography excellence with PPA.
Learn more & get started at:
PPA.com/Degrees
Empowered
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