TAPPA Tribune - December, 2014

December, 2014

7 Ways to Help Ensure Your Business Succeeds Holiday Party Print of the Month Winners Education Opportunities

The TAPPA Tribune Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association

Contents President’s Message

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This Month’s Program

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Next Month’s Program

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Education Opportunities for Photographers

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Upcoming Events

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Print of the Month Rules

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Print of the Month - Portrait

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Print of the Month Social Function

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Print of the Month - Commercial 15 Print of the Month - Unclassified 18 Getting Your Work Hung!

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7 Ways to Help Ensure Your Business Succeeds

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PPA’s CEO in Washington for More Talks on Drones

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Committees 27 Board of Directors Visit TAPPA on FaceBook

On the cover: Photo by Booray Perry

Photo

by Constance 2 TAPPA TribuneAvellino

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President’s Message

Parting Wisdom My last President’s Message, and thus, feels like a father giving a last bit of advice to his college bound kids.

So here goes...

Floss daily. Flossing helps prevent bad breath. No girl wants to kiss a guy with bad breath, and no client wants a photographer who makes them hold their breath when talking to them.

Keep your dorm room clean. Living in a pigsty is disgusting. Working in one is even worse. Give your clients a clean environment in which to spend their money. They’re more apt to comfortably pull out their wallet in a clean place of business.

Attend your classes and study. You have a goal and it is NOT to see how hard you can party or to “play” photographer on the Internet. The party comes AFTER you’ve successfully utilized what you’ve learned.

Learn something.

EARN your degree. Don’t just go through the motions haphazardly, slapping a blog together, and thinking you’ve “made it.” Prove yourself regularly, to your clients first, to yourself second, and to your competition last.

Pace yourself. A career in photography isn’t a hundred yard dash. It’s a cross country marathon... times 100.

Think Forrest Gump. There are no shortcuts in a marathon - just one step at a time, but steps with a purpose.

Just say “No!” Everywhere you turn, you’re going to encounter someone with something to sell you. If it sounds too good to be true... well, you know. There are no “shortcuts to success,” only hard work. Promises to “take your business to the next level” are just salesmanship. How many levels ARE there anyway? Learn from those who DO, not from those SELL. Lastly, be a good person, in both business and in life. Stay healthy, make good choices, and make friends, not enemies. We, who choose a career in photography, encounter many transient competitors. Do not be distracted by them. Help them only when asked and do not over-advise. The best will stick around and become some of your best friends. The rest will move on to something more suitable for them.

See you December 7th at the Awards Banquet!

Kevin E. Newsome, President TAPPA Tribune

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This Month’s Program

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Next Month’s Program

Kira Derryberry Think Geek: How to Win at Websites

After 20 minutes of listening to the instrumental version of My a fork in your eye than talk to tech support about your website.

Meeting Details

To top it off, the person you finally get on the phone is talking in

Tuesday, January 13, 2014

so many acronyms he may as well be speaking Klingon. Arg! But

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

Heart Will Go On, you’re tired, frustrated, and you’d rather stab

what if you could speak the language?

Join Kira Derryberry as she explains the ins and outs of making your website work for you so that you can spend more of your

Member with PayPal RSVP

by Noon January 5: 6: $25

valuable time making images! She’ll share methods that work

After the 5th 7th $35

best for our industry to get information to your clients efficiently without compromising on design. Focusing on Wordpress as a content management system, Kira will reveal how blogging

Register online at TAPPA.org Doubletree Hotel 4500 W. Cypress St., Tampa

can engage your audience while enhancing your SEO, common pitfalls to avoid, and how to get started (or even start over) the right way. You’ll leave this program with a better understanding of how your website works and armed with the knowledge on how to make it better! continued on next page

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About the Speaker: With a BA from The University of Alabama with a focus on Photography, Digital Art, and Web Design, Kira wins the award for longest degree title in the

Education Opportunities for Photographers

2005 UA graduation program.

Originally from Huntsville, AL, Kira began designing websites when she was 15. She started out in the professional tech world as a dial up support technician, worked her way through college as a web designer for the University and then began her professional career as a web designer at a Tallahassee FL based advertising agency. In 2010, Kira left her tech career to open Kira Derryberry Photography and has hardly put down her camera since. She spends her off time being a wife and mom as well as preparing for the impending zombie apocalypse.

Morean Arts Center

Dunedin Fine Arts Center

Intro to Digital Photography 6-week hands-on class Starts Wednesday, January 7 9:30am - Noon Instructor: Chuck Vosburgh

Beginning Photoshop Elements 6-week hands-on class Starts Wednesday, January 14 9am - Noon Instructor: Charles Osterich

Beginning Photography 6-week hands-on class Starts Monday, January 5 7:30 - 9pm Instructor: David Durbak

Photoshop for Photographers 6-week hands-on class Starts Tuesday, January 13 9am - Noon Instructor: Chuck Vosburgh

Adobe Lightroom 4-week hands-on class Starts Wednesday, January 7 7:30 - 9pm Instructor: Lisa Ferrante

Advanced Photography 6-week hands-on class Starts Monday, January 12 1 - 4pm Instructor: Michael Harris

Photographic Lighting 6-week hands-on class Starts Thursday, January 8 7:30 - 9pm Instructor: Chuck Vosburgh

Basic Digital Photography 6-week hands-on class Starts Monday, January 12 9am - Noon Instructor: Michael Harris

719 Central Avenue St. Petersburg www.MoreanArtsCenter.org

1143 Michigan Bolevard Dunedin www.DFAC.org

The Black and White Darkroom 6-week hands-on class Starts Tuesday, January 13 7 - 10pm Instructor: Michael Harris

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TAPPA Tribune

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Upcoming Events

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

- Size: 8x10.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

TAPPA Holiday Party January 13, 2015

Kira Derryberry Think Geek

February 1st thru 3rd

Imaging USA 2015 imaginguse.org

February 10, 2015

Sandra Pearce Sunday, February 22, 2015

Booray Perry

Master Your Flash Workshop More information on all of these events can be found in this newsletter and at TAPPA.org

- 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.

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Print of the Month - Portrait First Place: Michael Landes

Print of the Month - Portrait Second Place: Lisa O’Geary

Third Place: Lou Bedinotti Photo not available

Print of the Month - Portrait Third Place: Constance Avellino

Print of the Month - Social Function First Place: Michael Landes

Print of the Month - Social Function Second Place: Elvin Velez

Print of the Month - Social Function Third Place: Booray Perry

Print of the Month - Commercial First Place: Randy Van Duinen

Print of the Month - Commercial Second Place: Randy Van Duinen

Print of the Month - Commercial Third Place: Randy Van Duinen

Print of the Month - Unclassified First Place: Lisa O’Geary

Print of the Month - Unclassified Second Place: Elvin Velez

Print of the Month - Unclassified Third Place: Cutis Frey

Getting Your Work Hung!

By Professional Photographers of America (PPA) on November 24, 2014 9:03 PM | Permalink

Hopefully you will get a chance to check out the International Photographic Exhibit (right next to the Expo) at Imaging USA in Nashville. When you do, you might wonder where those beautiful images come from. You might even daydream a bit about seeing your own work up there at Imaging USA 2016 in Atlanta.

You can make it happen. The displayed images make up PPA’s Loan Collection and are chosen by a panel of judges at the International Photographic Competition (IPC), held each year in August. Only the top images make it to the prestigious Loan Collection each year, but don’t let that intimidate you.

Southeast District Entries open: March 23 Entries close: April 24 Judging: April 30-May 2, Charlotte, North Carolina

Click District Competitions for full list of dates, rules, scoring criteria and more.

If you’re feeling inspired and want to be more recognized, a good place to start is your local district competition. Take a look at the 2015 dates.

Entries for the Southwest District competition open next week!

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7 Ways to Help Ensure Your Business Succeeds

By Professional Photographers of America (PPA) on November 19, 2014

By Bridget Jackson, CPA, PPA Business manager

Have you ever read something and thought to yourself, I could have written that! Today is that day for me. In fact, the entire article could have been my quotes.

The article was 7 Ways to Help Ensure Your Business Succeeds by Donald Todrin. He points out business fundamentals have not changed, but new strategies are required in light of the changing economic conditions. The information is poignant when applied to photography business owners, so I decided to do just that! Here are his seven ways to succeed in business tweaked for what I believe to be strategies for the photography industry.

1) Have a written plan that should include the following: a. A financial plan detailing how many sessions you plan to conduct at a certain sales average, an estimate of how much it will take to produce your products (cost of sales), and an estimate of what your fixed expenses will be.

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b. A source of initial financing until the business is self-sufficient. On average, per the SBA, it takes some businesses 3-5 years until they are sustainably self-sufficient. Knowing this, if you plan to use your personal resources, go at it fully understanding that it will take time to replenish. c. A sales plan to achieve your sales average goal.

The plan should include a strategy and a price list set up to achieve the goal. d. A marketing plan to attract the amount of sessions you need to satisfy your financial plan.

The plan should identify your ideal paying client and the appropriate strategy to attract such defined target clientele. Also develop your marketing calendar, detailing the tools to be used, when to use them, and how you will measure your results. (PPA’s Square One tool is a great place to start developing your plan.) e. Detailed workflow from the initial phone call to the delivery of the products. Outlining each step of your process doesn’t only help identify the time required for each session, but it will also help you define outsourcing/employee opportunities.

2) Don’t marry your plan. Even the best laidout plans can eventually go awry. Think of it this way; it’s not necessarily the plan that is important, but what we learn from the planning process and how it shapes and guides our future actions.

3) Keep your ego in check and listen to others. The photography industry is unique in some ways in that there are plenty of mentors out there to help guide you. Find one whose business is a reflection of what YOU would like your business to be. Look past the “flashy stuff” towards finding a mentor who is dedicated to their craft and their photography business.

4) Keep track of everything, and manage your numbers. In order to be successful, it is imperative as a studio that you know how many sessions you need to hold in order to reach your goals. The results of this analysis can tell you if your sales and marketing plans are working. It’s that plain simple. And if they are not working, it may be time to reassess. PPA has made it easy for you to evaluate your numbers. Just go check the online tools, Square One in particular, that will help you establish the basis of managerial accounting.

5) Delegate and avoid micromanaging. This is where your detailed workflow (see 1e) comes into play. It is important for you to remember that you don’t have to do everything. In the beginning, it might make sense, but as your business grows, carve out specific outsourcing opportunities using your detailed workflow. The photography business tends to be seasonal so keep that in mind as well when you are creating your plan. If you find yourself needing help year round, then it is time to take the steps needed to hire on an additional employee.

6) Use the internet! Social media is one marketing tool that is inexpensive but vitally important to building your business. It takes time and effort but if you schedule it ahead of time and take advantage of off-season opportunities to prepost, it will become easier. More importantly, it is pertinent that you do it consistently in order to be effective. Look outside of our industry to see how profitable companies take advantage of free marketing tools.

7) Reinvent your business. Seriously. If you don’t like what your numbers are telling you, make a change. Of course, map out your change, but always remember that it is ok to take calculated risks. It’s not about what you gross, but what you keep in our pockets. Assess your business from a different perspective. Ask yourself what your competitive advantage is. What niche could you carve out of your competitive market, and how could you provide better customer service to elevate your value? Discounting brings down your market’s perception of your value so instead of playing the pricing war, exceed your clients’ expectations by delivering more!

You have made a conscious choice to be a photographer, one that requires time and money.

Always give yourself the best chance to succeed in this ever-changing profession. Knowledge is power--and as an entrepreneur, you are on an endless path to discover what you don’t know.

This is what PPA is here for: to help you be more profitable by continuing to learn about the photography business!

TAPPA Tribune

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Images from Bill Cadzow’s Mini-Seminar

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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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PPA’s CEO in Washington for More Talks on Drones

By Professional Photographers of America (PPA) on November 20, 2014

PPA’s CEO, David Trust, is on Capitol Hill today for several meetings with key people in the ongoing talks on issues that affect photographers. Much of today’s meetings center upon the commercial use of drone photography. As previously reported here on the blog, PPA has begun discussions for exemptions to be made which would allow PPA photographers to use drones on commercial shoots.

We’ll update you as more information trickles down from D.C.!

This morning, David met with Brian Northcutt and Chris Grieco of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

Said David, “It’s interesting how many different issues and concerns the drone photography discussion crosses. It’s becoming more apparent that this is a complex issue that will require a complex fix.”

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Update 4:55 p.m.

David checked back in after meeting with the Federal Aviation Administration: “Just had a very positive meeting with the FAA about granting exceptions for our members using unmanned aircraft (drones) in photography. There are still a lot of hurdles, but we are seeing a clearer picture of what those obstacles are.”

As always, PPA will continue to be a voice to protect photographers’ rights on Capitol Hill. Have an issue you think we need to address? Please let us know!

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

Booray Perry

813 728-7110

Booray@BoorayPerry.com

Web Master

Lee Burgess

813 245-3320

Lee2810@verizon.net TAPPA Tribune

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