Tappa Tribune - April, 2015

April, 2015

The Salon Issue Colorspace Winning Salon Photos Prom Tips

The TAPPA Tribune Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association

Contents President’s Message

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PTEC News

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2 Studios Are Getting a Full Business Makeover This Year!

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This Month’s Program

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Color Space

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Salon Competition - Portrait

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Salon Competition Social Function

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Salon Competition Unclassified 16 Salon Competition Commercial 19 Salon Competition Electronic Imaging

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2014 TAPPA Financial Statement 25 Photos from the meeting

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Committees 28 Board of Directors

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On the cover: Spring Salon Best of Show Winner The Last Band Member

by Elvin Velez

Visit TAPPA on FaceBook

Photo by Randy Van Duinen

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TAPPA Tribune

President’s Message

April President’s Message If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do May Flowers Bring?

I cannot believe it’s already April—I’m still putting away Christmas decorations! Each year seems to fly by faster than the last, and I continue to wonder where times goes. The older I get, the quicker days pass.

Despite the flurry of activities, I’m making time to enjoy special moments. Right now that means spending time with my daddy who came in January to escape snow and ice. At the end of this month, our “snowbird” will fly home to the Hudson Valley region of New York. His perfectly-timed departure lets him avoid the sweltering Florida heat and enjoy the spring flowers at home as they poke their heads up from the earth.

On April the 8th, we’ll celebrate his 88th birthday.

Going to a spring training game for the Yankees ranks high on his wish list, so my family will do that with him as part of celebrating and showering him with love.

Although I know we’ll miss him when he leaves, the good news is that we’ll get him back sooner than normal. Rather than waiting until after Thanksgiving and Christmas, he’ll be here for both because my youngest daughter is getting married in late

November. We’ll get to share an entire season of holidays with a joyful wedding in the middle.

We’ve got so much to look forward to this year!

Reflecting on March, I’m extending a huge thank you to everyone who made our Print Salon such a success. Our judges were wonderful and our salon committee worked their tails off to make every detail flow smoothly. Congratulations to each of you who received a merit or a placement award.

Looking ahead, our next salon will be June 16th.

We pushed it forward a week to avoid conflict with Florida School. Mark your calendars and plan to participate. Since we’ve begun judging prior to the meeting, the judges’ image-by-image continued on next page

TAPPA Tribune

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President’s Message continued from previous page

critique during the guest speaker portion of the meeting is a wealth of insights, suggestions, and comments. It’s extremely beneficial to see and hear the reasons why they score the way they do, and has deepened my understanding of the art of print competition.

Florida School will be held June 6th through 10th at Daytona State College in Daytona. This is one of the most useful and valuable educational opportunities for yourself and your business.

My time and financial investment has come back tenfold in both personal and professional growth and experience. Taking several days to focus on learning new things has made me a better photographer and business owner. Lasting friendships and connections are icing on the cake.

I attended my first one in 2010 and haven’t missed a year since. My outlook remains—I can’t afford not to go. Have you signed up yet? While the early bird registration ended March 31st, don’t let this keep you from attending.

Back to the April Showers question posed as the title of this message. The answer is–Pilgrims. My dad recently hit us with this one over breakfast.

He’s priceless and we love him so much. Happy Birthday, Daddy! We wish you good health and bunches of love.

To my TAPPA family, have a beautiful month and do take time out to enjoy those you care about.

Blessings, Susan

PTEC News Commercial Photography Program Awards from The Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association’s Photography Competition held in Tampa recently. Graduate student Elvin Velez received First Place Portrait, Merit Award and “Best Of Show”, student Lisa O”Geary received 4 Merit Awards and Third Place Unclassified, while instructor Michael Landes received First Place Electronic Imaging, Second Place Commercial, Third Place Portrait and Third Place Social Function and 5 Merit Awards.

4 Prom Tips from theLoop

By Professional Photographers of America (PPA) By: Lauren Walters

Prom season is coming up! For a photographer, prom can be a tricky setting to work in - not to mention the formality of the portraits. So how do you survive a prom photo session? Read up on these tips from theLoop! Don’t wait; it’s just around the corner.

1. Make sure you communicate with the coordinator often to ensure you both are on the same page. You will want to discuss backgrounds, props, times, etc. Prior to the prom, drop off advertisements for the school to distribute to the students including continued on page 9

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TAPPA Tribune

2 Studios Are Getting a Full Business Makeover This Year!

By Professional Photographers of America

What’s This About?

This year PPA is working with two lucky studios in all areas of their business, to give them a total “makeover”. Every facet of their businesses will be scrutinized to help them be more profitable. The makeover will touch on and improve their business model, branding, pricing, marketing, sales strategy, workflow efficiency and overall profitability--all based on the tools, information and resources set

by PPA’s Benchmark!

Follow these two studios’ progress, challenges and changes. Updates will be posted right here on the blog and you will be able to watch monthly webinar updates to track this year-long process.

It’s a series worth paying attention to, as there will be strategies and business tactics you can apply to your business too.

“PPA is providing these makeovers to provide photographers with real-life accounts of how to be more profitable and to give studio owners actual takeaways they can use in their own businesses,” said Angela Kurkian, PPA director of education. “It’s an all-encompassing approach looking at sales, marketing, workflow and finances to see if the participants are set up to realistically reach their financial goals. PPA’s team of mentors will work with them individually on a monthly basis to help them reach their goals.”

The team of mentors Angela refers to is an accomplished group of active, financially wellestablished photographers who will coach the participants as they face the challenges ahead. The team includes 7 mentors: Sales - Kristin Privette Design - Ashley Brooke Chambers Operations - Gregory Daniel, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, F-ASP Workflow - Dave Doeppel Accounting - Bridget Jackson, CPA Professional coordinator- Angela Kurkian, M.Photog.Cr. Now let’s take a look at the two studios that will be transformed this year:

STUDIO 1 Wes Roberts is a wedding photographer from Smith Stations, AL. Like many, Wes started his photography journey as a part-timer but has now been in business full-time for five years. This year, he is adding a new product line to his mix: seniors. In 2014, 95% of his income came from weddings. In 2015, he wants to transition to 64% weddings and 30% seniors and the remaining 6% for personal and miscellaneous projects. continued on page 7

TAPPA Tribune

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This Month’s Program

Christine E. Reynolds Situational Awareness - Optimizing for Success

What is a great image and how can we create one on demand ? It’s called situational awareness, that is being aware of what the goal is, what is available and optimizing your environment, equipment, and skills in a timely fashion. We are going to provide guidelines for evaluating the situation in simple terms. How to think and problem solve your way through a project.. Tricks and techniques will be shown for lighting ,composition and how to maximize what you have .

Christine Reynolds is Commercial, Editorial, Portrait and Fine Art Photographer. She is a PPA Master Photographer , Photographic Craftsman, Certified Professional Photographer, Florida Master Photographer, FDPE, and PPA Photographer of the Year for 2006.

Her images have won local, state, regional and national awards, including seven PPA Loan Collection Prints and five Show case images since 2006. She also has the PPA National Award for Meritorious Service, Florida Professional Photographer’s Education Degree (FED), Florida Service Award (FSA) and an MBA from USF. In 2011she was honored as one Florida Professional Photographers Top Ten Photographers. In annual FPP print competition she has won over forty awards in the last ten years including eight first place awards and a Best of Show.

Christine’s Philosophy: To capture the pure essence of the moment with technical excellence, an artistic touch, and a sensitive soul.

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TAPPA Tribune

Meeting Details Tuesday, April January 14, 13, 2015 2014 Social 6:00 Dinner 6:30 Program 7:00 Member with PayPal RSVP

by Noon April January 10: 6: $35 $25 After the 3rd 7th $40 $35 Register online at TAPPA.org Doubletree Hotel 4500 W. Cypress St., Tampa

Christine Reynolds, M.Photog. Cr., CPP, FDPE, FED, MBA www.christinereynolds.com

continued from page 5

The studio makeover will oversee all aspects of Wes’s transition. He is also looking forward to working with PPA mentors to create a detailed marketing plan that will get him strategic partnerships to expand his presence in the wedding market and create his niche within the senior market. He also wants to improve his workflow and implement some automation in order to be able to spend more time with his family and eventually become the sole bread-winner. Wes’s long-term vision is to run a sustainable and profitable business that he will be proud to pass down to his children.

STUDIO 2 The second studio makeover recipient is Krista Newbill from Murfreesboro, TN. She photographs weddings, family/child portraits and has some commercial clients as well. She’s ready to shift her sales game from image files only to a product-based price list. Krista’s ultimate goal is to increase session prices, develop product sales and boost her overall net profit... while working less! PPA mentors will help her get there.

These two photographers are just starting their Studio Makeover journey as a means to Be More Profitable. Follow their challenges, fears, frustrations, little victories and giant steps each month! You will find input from one of their PPA mentors on their overall progress and see how these changes affect these two photographers’ lives. And because Wes and Krista’s businesses will have undergone significant changes by the end of the year, we’ll be presenting the full makeover recap at Imaging USA in Atlanta (January 10-12, 2016). There you will see their full before-and-after stories and the overall culmination of how all their hard work helped them Be More.

We’ll post the updates here on the blog each month, but you can also sign up here if you want to receive the updates directly into your inbox each month! Until next time, be well, do good work and... Be More.

Krista has been in business for 11 years (9 fulltime and 2 part-time) and for the past seven, has already been working to consistently increase her rates. With the help of PPA’s mentors, she’s looking to improve her sales strategy and streamline her turnaround times. Her goals also include increasing the (perceived and real) value of her photography services. These changes will most likely imply a redesign of her website, new marketing pieces and an overall branding/image makeover.

continued on page 9

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Color Space

By Booray Perry

I was recently preparing my images for Salon Competition when I noticed something strange.

One of my images didn’t look right.

I use a program called Lumapix Fotofusion for creating albums, mattes, etc. I was creating mattes for all my images but whenever I output them, this one image didn’t look right. It was desaturated. I couldn’t figure out why so I eventually decided to just skip the matte and enter it clean. I mean, the image looked fine in Photoshop, it only looked different when I output it through Fotofusion.

In competition, I got a merit, but it didn’t score as high as another image I submitted. I was a little surprised because I really thought that it was the best image I had but since I am famously bad at picking images for competition I just wrote it off to my being too close to the work.

Then, I got all the images back from Proofcast so I could post them on the website and there was my image, desaturated again! What the hell!

changed the color profile (Edit/Assign Profile).

Now it looks right.

The thing is: Since I was looking at the image in Photoshop, it looked right to me. Only when it went to another program did it look wrong. I should have investigated further. Here’s the image with the wrong profile and the one with the correct profile in Bridge:

See a difference? Me neither!

Now, take a look at what the judges saw:

So, I went back to the files on my computer and took a closer look. All of them looked fine... and then I found it:

I don’t know how I managed to change the color profile, but I did. It should have looked like this:

WOW!

So, I opened the original image in Photoshop and

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TAPPA Tribune

So, always check your colorspace and if you plan to compete at state, regional or national levels, enter in Salon. It may save your ass.

Meeting Fees Go Up for the First Time in Seven Years TAPPA’s Monthly Meeting Fees have been held steady for the last seven years (last increase was in 2008). During that same period, the amount the Doubletree Hotel charges TAPPA has slowly been increasing. It reached a point where your Board of Directors had to look very closely at the finances, and protect the membership’s balance sheet by increasing the meeting fees $5 per meeting.

This change was announced at the February and March meetings, and takes effect at the April meeting. The new monthly meeting fees are listed below.

Please understand that your Board of Directors has the membership’s best interest at heart, and did not take this change lightly.

Would you like to save $10 on your meeting fee?

Be sure to RSVP prior to the Thursday deadline.

EARLY BIRD RSVP - $30 - To receive the lower rate, your RSVP must be received before 11:59 PM, on Thursday, April 9th to take advantage of the discount.

REGULAR MEETING FEE - $40 All RSVP’s after the Early Bird cut off, and at the door walk-ups.

GUESTS - $30 Confirm your RSVP now RSVP & Pay using PAYPAL RSVP & Pay at the Door See you at the meeting!

continued from page 4

prepayment information, brochures, samples, etc. This will let students know of your services, pre-pay, or ask questions. Also, bring extras to the event.

2. Arrive early to allow plenty of time to set up. Odds are the venue won’t have all the supplies you need like a nearby wall outlet.

Bring extension cords, pens, paper clips, a stapler, change, and a secure place to store money. If you can, bring along an assistant to help process the paperwork and payments.

Make sure to let your assistant know the image number for each couple, so he/she can write it on their paperwork. High school is full of awkward moments, which may make for awkward photos. If possible, bring sample photos of poses.

3. Make sure to clarify for each shot if the participating students are just friends or are a romantic couple. It’s not uncommon to see a few same-sex couples come up for photos.

Some of the time, they are just friends, but others may be an actual couple. If it is a same sex couple, pose them just as you would a heterosexual couple. This can be a sensitive subject, but if you’re open and accepting about it, the students are much more comfortable. Considering you’re a professional, it is most appropriate to keep your personal beliefs to yourself when on the job.

4. It is important to have a reasonable turnaround time. It shouldn’t take more than a few weeks max to get back to photos returned to the school. Notify the school and students of your estimated turnaround time ensuring your quality work.

Thank you to Crystal Prahl at Forever Me Photography for your contributions on theLoop. Have any further tips or opinion about prom photography? Check out the thread on theLoop.

TAPPA Tribune

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Salon Competition - Portrait First Place and Best of Show: Elvin Velez

Salon Competition - Portrait Second Place: Missy Duncan

Salon Competition - Portrait Third Place: Michael Landes

Salon Competition - Social Function First Place: Booray Perry

Salon Competition - Social Function Second Place: Booray Perry

Salon Competition - Social Function Third Place: Michael Landes

Salon Competition - Unclassified First Place: Michael DeMartino

Salon Competition - Unclassified Second Place: Curtis Frey

Salon Competition - Unclassified Third Place: Lisa O’Geary

Salon Competition - Commercial First Place: Randy Van Duinen

Salon Competition - Commercial Second Place: Michael Landes

Salon Competition - Commercial Third Place: Susan Black

Salon Competition - Electronic Imaging First Place: Michael Landes

Salon Competition - Electronic Imaging Second Place: Randy Van Duinen

Salon Competition - Electronic Imaging Third Place: Randy Van Duinen

2014 TAPPA Financial Statement

TAPPA had a decent year financially. We struggled this year with accurate RSVP counts which in turn resulted in increased charges for last minute meal costs to the organization. Due to gradual increased meal charges by the Doubletree over the past few years, TAPPA’s monthly meal/seminar fees were forced to be adjusted in kind. Effective at the April meeting, member prices for those who RSVP is $30, NON-RSVP are $40. This is the first increase in monthly meeting fees since before 2008. The Board feels this increase is necessary, in order to continue offering the best educational experience possible. 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 would like to see.

Assets Checking

$6,774.34

Petty Cash

$200.00

CD

$12,101.11

Fixed Assets Accumulated Depreciation

$1,236.00

Equipment

$2,734.50

Total Assets

$20,573.95

Liabilities and Equity Retained Earnings Net Income

Total Liabilities and Equity

$21,145.54 -$571.59 $20,573.95

TAPPA Tribune

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Photos from the meeting

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TAPPA Tribune

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.

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

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

Register online at TAPPA.org

TAPPA Tribune

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Board of Directors

2015 Officers President

Susan Black

813 230-6472

Susan@Bespics.com

Vice President

Constance Avellino

813 600-8152

Me@ConstanceAvellinoPhotos.com

Secretary

Kevin Newsome

813 968-2810

Kevin@NewsomesStudio.com

Treasurer

Melissa Sewell

813 230-7092

Melissa@DontBlinkllc.com

Past President

Kevin Newsome

813 968-2810

Kevin@NewsomesStudio.com

Directors

Carol Hackman

727 867-9254

HackmanC@tampabay.rr.com

Booray Perry

813 728-7110

Booray@BoorayPerry.com

Christine Reynolds

813 760-0831

ChristineR@aol.com

Benjamin Todd

813 431-2873

Benjamin.Todd@verizon.net

Chuck Vosburgh

727 743-1740

Chuck@ChuckVosburgh.com

Committees Delegate

Julie Johnson

Membership

Kevin Newsome

813 968-2810

Kevin@NewsomesStudio.com

Program

Constance Avellino

813 600-8152

Me@ConstanceAvellinoPhotos.com

Salon

Becky Jordan

Door Prize

Glenn Nielsen

glennln@verizon.net

Scholarship

Carol Hackman Terri Daunic

727 867-9254 813 839-2860

HackmanC@tampabay.rr.com terridaunic@yahoo.com

Audio Visual

CJ Moment

813 244-6716

cj@annointedproductions.com

Newsletter Editor

Chuck Vosburgh

727 743-1740

Chuck@ChuckVosburgh.com

Photographers

Booray Perry Christine Reynolds

813 728-7110 813 760-0831

Booray@BoorayPerry.com ChristineR@aol.com

Web Master

Booray Perry

813 728-7110

Booray@BoorayPerry.com

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TAPPA Tribune