TAPPA Tribune - February, 2014

February, 2014

Bob Coates Cloud Storage Salon Competition Photoshop Tips

The TAPPA Tribune Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

A little history lesson: TAPPA was formed in July of 1996 in my studio’s camera room by about 25 enthusiastic photographers with one thing in common... they loved photography enough to commit themselves to it as a profession.

That train of thought hasn’t changed in 18 years. TAPPA members still love photography enough to call it a profession - full or part-time - it doesn’t really matter, we do this because we enjoy it and we do it because we’re good at it.

Some of us are fortunate enough to pay the bills with it, some don’t really care, and that’s alright too.

Photography is for everybody, but if you’re serious about making a real go of it as an occupation, then the place to be on the second Tuesday of every month is the Doubletree Hotel on Cypress. TAPPA is a happening place, and word on the street is that TAPPA membership brings value to the profession.

We’re the largest guild in the state of Florida, and the eighth largest local PPA affiliate in the country. We got there because we bring in great speakers to give great programs, are served great meals by a great hotel staff, and we’re run like a well oiled machine.

I’m looking forward to all that 2014 brings, and I know you are too. So buckle up and hang on tight, because this industry has turned a corner this year and the market is ripe with paying clients!

Kevin E. Newsome President, TAPPA

2

TAPPA Tribune

CONTENTS The TAPPA Tribune is published monthly for the membership of the Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association. Its purpose is to share knowledge and insight with the photographic industry.

The deadline for submission of articles and ad changes is the 15th of the month.

Permission is hereby granted to reprint the contents of this newsletter, provided the authors and The TAPPA Tribune are recognized as the source.

The ideas and views expressed do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association; they are solely those of the author.

Editor: Chuck Vosburgh 300 62nd Street North St. Petersburg, FL 33710 Chuck@ChuckVosburgh.com 727.743.1740

Advertising: To advertise in the TAPPA Tribune, please contact the editor for rates and distribution information.

Contents Bob Coates

4

Image Salon Competition

6

Salon Judges

10

When Cloud Storage Rains on Your Parade

11

Upcoming Events

12

Print of the Month Rules

12

Print of the Month - Portrait

13

Print of the Month - Social Function

16

Print of the Month - Unclassified

18

2013 Financial Statement

24

Photoshop Tips

25

Meetings: TAPPA monthly meetings take place the second Tuesday of the month at: Doubletree Hotel 4500 W. Cypress Street Tampa, FL (one block east of Westshore Blvd).

Networking Dinner Meeting

Visit TAPPA on FaceBook

6:00 pm 6:30 pm 7:30 pm

Register online at TAPPA.org

On the cover: First place, Portrait by Constance Avellino

TAPPA Tribune

3

THIS MONTH’S PROGRAM

Bob Coates

I started taking photographs with an SLR I borrowed from a friend for a vacation back in 1983. After successfully managing other peoples businesses for 14 years while photographing on the side, I decided to follow the quote “Do what you love and you will become a success.”

Every day is a new discovery, a new way of seeing and new way of processing images to see my reality come to life. In this business the variety never ceases to amaze me. One day shooting jewelry in the studio, the next day getting images for a brochure, the next capturing a personality and yet another standing in the middle of the desert waiting for the light to get “just so.”

At Bob Coates Photography we “Specialize in not specializing” this allows us to come up with

4

TAPPA Tribune

interesting new ways of photographing subjects. Combining the techniques of different types of photography and utilizing the newest software and Photoshop techniques leads to new ways capturing images.

People who hire Bob Coates Photography do it not just for the expertise – but for the experience brought to the job.

Bob Coates Photography is based in beautiful Sedona, Arizona and available for location and travel assignments as well as studio work, editorial shooting and photographic education.

Certified Master Craftsman Photographer by Professional Photographers of America.

Member – Arizona Professional Photographers Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals and other photographic associations.

Meeting Details Tuesday, February 11, 2014 Social 6:00 Dinner 6:30 Program 7:00 Member with PayPal RSVP

by Noon February 7th: $25 After the 7th: $35 Register online at TAPPA.org Doubletree Hotel 4500 W. Cypress St., Tampa

Panansonic Lumix Luminary.

Published Magazines and Books:

I’ve been named a Panasonic Lumix Luminary. If you have a photography group I am available for teaching my programs on Fine Art, Marketing, Black and White Art conversions and Personal Projects. These are at no charge to the photo group and are not a commercial for Panasonic Lumix Cameras (but I do love the micro 4/3rds and the Lumix) Get in touch with me if you are interested in finding out more.

Caribbean Travel and Life, Cruise Travel, Scouting, Porthole, Realtor, Rangefinder, Shutterbug, Professional Photographer, Photo Electronic Imaging, New York Daily News Caribbeat, SignCraft, Sailing World, Pro-Lighting Series: Nightshots, Pro-Lighting Series: Beauty Shots. Books published by Amherst Media written

by Bob – Photographer’s Guide to Wedding Album Design & Sales and Strategies and Techniques for the Digital Photographer.

bob@bcphotography.com

TAPPA Tribune

5

NEXT MONTH’S PROGRAM

Image Salon Competition

The TAPPA Salon Competition will be held at this month’s meeting, This competition will be all-digital. If you need any help getting your files ready, PPA has an online tutorial at ppa.com/competition/tutorials.php.

Meeting Details Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Procedures & Rules

Social 6:00 Dinner 6:30 Program 7:00

Please study and follow carefully. Not doing so will prevent judging of your entry. Complete the official entry form. Be sure to sign the certification.

Member with PayPal RSVP

by Noon March 4th: $25

ELIGIBILITY: Any member of TAPPA in good standing.

After the 4th: $35

ENTRIES: A total, not to exceed 6 images, may be entered by one photographer per salon judging. Images previously entered in TAPPA Salon Competitions may not be entered again. No two images shall be of the same subject.

Register online at TAPPA.org

ENTRY FEE: The entry fee of $5.00 covers one to six entries.If you are not attending the competition, the entry fee is $15. Please pay that evening. If you are not attending but placing entries please let me know a couple of days before the event.

ENTRY FORM: The completed entry form must be done at the time of entry.

6

TAPPA Tribune

Doubletree Hotel 4500 W. Cypress St., Tampa

ENTRY DEADLINES: Entries must be uploaded onto the website. Go to the TAPPA website and then to: PrintCompetiton.com The deadline for all entries is 24 hours before the salon.

or more makers.

Send ALBUM ENTRIES ONLY, 24 hours before salon, to: Constance Avellino at cap_studios@hotmail.com

FILE NAMING: Will be done automatically. But of course you will need to title your entries.

IMAGE PREPARATION: Always SAVE a copy of your competition print file before attempting this!

CLASSIFICATION OF ENTRIES: Entries must be designated by the entrant in one of the six (6) categories listed on the entry form. If the chairman feels the entry is placed in an incorrect category, he/she may change the entry’s category. Color and Black and White images will be judged together in all categories.

See tutorials at http://www.ppa.com/competitions/tutorials.php

1. PORTRAIT: This category includes portraits of men, women, children, couples (2 people), groups (3 or more), and environmental portraits.

Files must be sized so the longest dimension is 4,000 pixels (20 inches at 200 ppi). Each file must contain an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10. Total file size should not exceed 3.5 MB.

File Preparation:

2. SOCIAL FUNCTION: This category includes social function portraits or candids.

Entries must be uploaded to PrintCompetiton.com at least 24 hours before the salon.

3. COMMERCIAL: This category includes illustrative, industrial, architectural, and product photography. Live models may be used for these entries.

All files must have the longest file dimension at 4,000 pixels (20 inches at 200 ppi), have an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10.

4. UNCLASSIFIED: This category includes abstracts, pictorials (non-portrait), animals, figure studies and photojournalism.

Studio identification or entrant’s name cannot appear on any file within the entry.

5. ELECTRONIC IMAGING: This category includes digital restoration, image enhancement. Entries will be judged for digital, artistic and technical proficiency.

File naming will be done automatically. But of course you will need to title your entries when you upload.

6. ALBUMS: This Category includes wedding albums, story

Album File Preparation:

book and portrait albums. Albums can be from 1

Entries must be emailed to the Salon Manager 24 hours before the salon.

TAPPA Tribune

7

All page/spread files must have the longest file dimension at 4,000 pixels (20 inches at 200 ppi), have an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10.

SCORING: 100-95 EXCEPTIONAL

79-76 GOOD

Each page/spread file may contain as many images as you desire.

94-90 SUPERIOR

75-74 AVERAGE

89-85 EXCELLENT

73-70 FAIR

84-80 VERY GOOD

69-0 UNACCEPTABLE

An entry may contain up to 36 page/spread files Files are to be numbered in viewing order using two digits (i.e., 01 jpg, 02 jpg, 03 jpg, etc.).

All individual files must be compressed into a single ZIP file. ZIP file must be named: LastName_Album_Title (use _for spaces, e.g. Sewell_Summer_ Wedding.zip) Studio identification or entrant’s name cannot appear on any file within the album entry.

Judging Procedures: Each salon will be judged by a panel of three qualified judges using FPP and PPA guidelines including point scoring procedures.

The score of the three judges will be totaled and averaged for the final score. When a judge’s score varies 10 points or more from the average score, it becomes an automatic challenge and the photograph must be discussed and re-scored.

A judge may initiate a challenge at any time.

8

TAPPA Tribune

Prints are scored from 0 to 100 as follows:

All entries receiving scores of 78-79 are automatically challenged and re-judged. On the re-judging, the change of a score is by a 2/3 majority vote of the judges.

AWARDS: Ribbons will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place in each category. Merit ribbons will be awarded to all images scoring an 80 or above.

A Best of Show ribbon will be awarded to the print judged best by the panel of judges.

Send ALBUM ENTRIES ONLY, 24 hours before salon, to: Constance Avellino at cap_studios@hotmail.com

Salon Judges

Peter A. Burg Peter A. Burg is sought after as a lecturer, mentor and judge by other photographers. He has received the following degrees, awards and recognition: Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman, Certified Professional Photographer, Florida Degree of Photographic Excellence, Florida Service Award, Florida Education Degree and Qualified Panoramic Photographer. He is a two time recipient of the Kodak 50th Anniversary Award for Consistent Quality and The Becker Award for Creative Photography.

He has also been awarded the FPP Past President’s Award for Photographic Excellence, and was the #1 Photographer at the 2010 FPP convention. He has also received numerous Kodak Gallery awards, and several Fuji Masterpiece Awards. He was also the first photographer

to ever score a 100 at SEPPA. He has traveled extensively throughout the US, Canada, British Isles, China, Tibet,France, Cuba and Italy. His work has appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, Builder Architect, Winter Park Home Magazine, Fifty Plus, Sun Coast Builder, Bowlers Digest and Billiard Magazine.

Gregory Daniel M. Photog.,Cr., CPP, F-ASP, FDPE, FSA

title of Master of Photography and The American Society of Photographers Fellowship Award. In addition, Greg is a member of the prestigious Cameracraftsmen of America, and is a proud founding member of the International Society of Portrait Artists (ISPA). He is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Professional Photographers of America.

Third judge to be announced

Greg and his wife Lesa Daniel are internationally recognized for their artistry. Though he is one of the most awarded photographers in the United States, Greg has the utmost privilege of living out his passion every day alongside Lesa in operating their portrait photography galleries in both Indialantic and Titusville Florida.

He has achieved both the TAPPA Tribune

9

When Cloud Storage Rains on Your Parade

By Chuck Vosburgh, CPP Backing up files has always been a challenge for photographers and with increases in bandwidth and lower prices, cloud storage is looking like a better solution for off-site backups, but not every cloud has a silver lining.

Recently I switched to a new (to me anyway) online backup service called JustCloud. JustCloud is fast, “unlimited”, the interface is easy to understand and the application works perfectly. And it looks good too! The happiness faded when I discovered that my files were not being backed up, and worse yet I have no idea how long this has been going on.

Concerned, I contacted technical support which repiied promptly with an answer that surprised me. Here are a couple quotes from the response:

“Put basically, your account has reached our fair usage dynamic limit. This dynamic limit is calculated by taking the average backup space of our top users who have backed up less than 100mb in the last 30 days. Regrettably your account has exceeded this dynamic limit by 50GB.” I thought it was unlimited! It isn’t now. After I got over my self-righteous indigity, I reasoned that it’s their business and they can do whatever they like.

Here’s my one remaining complaint; there was no notification of any kind that things had changed and what’s worse, the app led me to believe all was well. For that I feel a bit deceived.

“Regrettably this is due to a breach of our terms and conditions and specifically our Fair Usage Policy.”

Who knows how long I’ve been paying for nonexistent backups? continued on page 21

10

TAPPA Tribune

Upcoming Events

Print of the Month Rules - Prints are to be mounted.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Bob Coates

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Salon

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Mike Potthast

- Size: 8x10.

- Electronic Imaging size can be two 8x10 taped together on the back and spread open for viewing.

- Three entries per member each month.

- There must be at least three entries in a category for that category to be included in the monthly competition.

- All entries MUST have your name and the category you wish to enter on the back of the print.

- Prints must be turned in before 6:25 pm.

Prints received after 6:25 will not be accepted!

Winners: - Please send your winning files to POM@TAPPA.org for the newsletter as soon as Possible. Deadline for publication is one week after the meeting.

- Name your files by your last name-place-category. For example Smith-1st-Portrait.jpg - Any resolution 1000 pixels on the longest side or greater is acceptable. JPEG format is preferrable.

TAPPA Tribune

11

Print of the Month - Portrait First Place: Constance Avellino

Print of the Month - Portrait Second Place: John Paul Kindig

Print of the Month - Portrait Third Place: Michael Landes

Print of the Month - Social Function First Place: John Paul Kindig

Print of the Month - Social Function Second Place: BooRay Perry

Print of the Month - Social Function Third Place: Pedro Carrillo

Print of the Month - Unclassified First Place: Carol Walker

Print of the Month - Unclassified Third Place: Ron Grecco

Print of the Month - Electronic Imaging Second Place: Michael Landes

Print of the Month - Electronic Imaging Third Place: Michael Landes

Things change Evidently, the terms had changed at some point.

Fair enough, but some kind of notice would have been nice. I can’t say that the web site is deceptive because it too has changed:

When I signed up

Now

Here’s the deceptive part Every day, my control panel indicates that my files have been backed up successfully even though they weren’t and that I have unlimited backup space even though I don’t. There’s even a little bar graph that shows the miniscule amount of data I have stored. If I had a catastrophic failure at this point I would have been faced with a lot of irreplaceable data being lost. Fortunately, nothing happened that required the use of my online backups.

My control panel continued on next page

22

TAPPA Tribune

Things change part two Evidently, the online backup industry is moving toward tiered pricing based on storage amounts and the prices are much higher. The question that remains is at what point is online storage cost prohibitive?

For my business, it’s time for me to start taking a look at the alternatives.

What now?

Having up-to-date off-site backups is vital. Most of the work I produce can not be reproduced in the event of a catastrophe so taking every possible precaution is important. What now?

JustCloud

I plan on asking as many of our industry leaders as I can how they handle the issue of off-site backups and I want your input as well. This is an important issue that needs immediate action! I will report back soon with my findings.

Send me your comments at Chuck@ChuckVosburgh.com

Carbonite

Mozy TAPPA Tribune

23

2013 Financial Statement

2013 TAPPA Financial Statement Assets Checking Petty Cash CD

$ 7,348.98 $ 200.00 $12,098.06

Fixed Assets Accumulated Depreciation Equipment

-$1,236.00 $2,734.50

Total Assets

$21,145.54

Liabilities & Equity Retained Earnings Net Income

$18,328.38 $ 2,817.16

Total Liabilities & Equity

$21,145.54

24

TAPPA Tribune

Treasurer's Statement TAPPA had a very good year financially. The Board of Directors worked very hard at reducing expenses, but more importantly, Seminar Chair Christine Reynolds and President Benjamin Todd combined efforts to bring the Mini Seminars back, and by doing so, generated over $2,700 for our Scholarship Fund. A large portion of that was awarded at our Awards Banquet in December, the rest, held over for the 2014 Scholarship Fund. The Board is very optimistic about the future of TAPPA's finances for 2014 and is looking forward to another positive year.

Any member wishing to view TAPPA's financial records, may do so by notifying the Treasurer with a 30 day notice, and particulars as to what you'd like to see.

Photoshop Tips

Provided by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals

Align Multiple Images

Blend Mode Keyboard Shortcuts

Opening several similar images as layers in Photoshop from Bridge (Tools>Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop Layers) or from Lightroom (Photo>Edit In>Open As Layers in Photoshop) aligns the outer dimensions of the images. To align the contents, select all the layers in the Layers panel, go to Edit>Auto-Align Layers, and click OK. Provided by John Shaw

If you’re constantly changing blend modes, remembering the keyboard shortcuts for them is easy. They always involve Option-Shift (PC: AltShift) and a letter (usually the first letter of the blend mode). For example, Option-Shift-M (PC: Alt-Shift-M) is Multiply, -O is Overlay, -S is Screen, etc. Some are different (F is actually Soft Light), but they’re close, and using them, you’ll work a lot faster.

Blur Your Selection Edges

Provided by Matt Kloskowski

After selecting an object and placing it into a new composition, runthe Blur tool around the edge of the image. Oftentimes, the edges ofthe selection are too sharp for the depth of field of the compositeimage. Set the Strength low in the Options Bar so that you have control over how blurry the edges look.

Bypass The New Layer Dialog

Provided by Pete Collins

Pressing Command-Shift-N (PC: Ctrl-Shift-N) creates a new layer and brings up the New Layer dialog so you can name it. Personally, I find it kind of annoying and not a lot faster than clicking on the Create a New Layer icon. However, if you throw the Option (PC: Alt) key into the mix, it’ll bypass the New Layer dialog and just create a new blank layer.

Provided by Matt Kloskowski

TAPPA Tribune

25

Capture Time

Changing The Opacity

Make a preset to rename your files in Adobe Bridge or Lightroom based upon the capture date. When you travel, reset the clock in your camera to the local time zone. This way, all your image captures will match up with your itinerary and there will be no confusion as to location. Just remember to reset the clock when you get home.

There are a few ways to change the opacity for a layer, brush, etc. Most know you can click on it and drag the slider, but you can also click-and-hold on the word “Opacity” and drag to change it. If you like to have more control, highlight the opacity value and press your Up or Down Arrow key. Add the Shift key to change it in 10% increments.

Provided by John Shaw

Provided by Calvin Hollywood

Change Canvas Color

Colorize Your Favorite Commands

The canvas area outside of a document’s boundaries is gray by default. You can change it by Right-clicking anywhere on the canvas and choosing Select Custom Color. Grab your color from the Color Picker that pops up. Beware that color will influence how you see other colors, so that’s why it’s gray.

Do you need every command in every menu for your retouching? You can hide all the commands that you don’t need and colorize all the commands that you use often. Go to Edit>Menus and twirl open one of the menu items. Click on the Visibility (Eye) icon to hide a command, and then on None in the Color column to choose a color for your favorite commands. To see all the hidden commands on a menu, choose Show All Menu Items from that menu.

Provided by Colin Smith

Change Preferences On The Fly Preferences shouldn’t be looked at as a one-time change--you can change your preferences many times a day if it helps you be more productive.

Here’s what I suggest: change a preference, do your work, and then press Command-Option-K (PC: Ctrl-Alt-K) to return you directly to the preference setting you changed last.

Provided by Dave Cross

Provided by Calvin Hollywood

Copy Smart Filters To Another Document Here’s a quick way to copy smart filters from one document to another. Because you can’t directly drag smart filters to another document, drag the smart object that they’re attached to into a second document, and then simply drag the smart filters from the copied smart object onto a new smart object. Then, delete the copied smart object.

Provided by Dave Cross

26

TAPPA Tribune

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2014 Officers President

Kevin Newsome

813 968-2810

Kevin@NewsomesStudio.com

Vice President

Susan Black

813 230-6472

Susan@Bespics.com

Secretary

Carol Hackman

727 867-9254

HackmanC@tampabay.rr.com

Treasurer

Christine Reynolds

813 760-0831

ChristineR@aol.com

Past President

Benjamin Todd

813 431-2873

Benjamin.Todd@Verizon.net

Directors

Constance Avellino

813 600-8152

Me@ConstanceAvellinoPhotos.com

Lee Burgess

813 245-3320

Lee2810@verizon.net

BooRay Perry

813-728-7110

booray@boorayperry.com

Melissa Sewell

813 230-7092

Melissa@DontBlinkllc.com

Chuck Vosburgh

727 743-1740

Chuck@ChuckVosburgh.com

Committees Delegate

Julie Johnson

Membership

Melissa Sewell

813 230-7092

Melissa@Dontblinkllc.com

Program

Susan Black

813 230-6472

Susan@Bespics.com

Salon

Constance Avellino

813 600-8152

Me@ConstanceAvellinoPhotos.com

Door Prize

Amber Wilkes

605 351-5865

ambi57106@yahoo.com

Scholarship

Susan Black

813 230-6472

Susan@Bespics.com

Audio Visual

Lee Burgess

813 245-3320

Lee2810@verizon.net

Newsletter Editor

Chuck Vosburgh

727 743-1740

Chuck@ChuckVosburgh.com

Photographer

Elizabeth Kraker

727 403-1436

LizQueenBee1963@yahoo.com

Web Master

Lee Burgess

813 245-3320

Lee2810@verizon.net

TAPPA Tribune

27