Yesterday I got a lovely email from PPA employee & Certification Coordinator, Cassidy Hoffman. Cassidy reminded me that the deadline to apply for a 2015 CPP Liaison position was looming and that they had not received my request to be considered.

Of course, it was something I’d put on the back burner to get to later, but I hadn’t yet, so I checked out the application link and remembered why I’d put it off.

cppform

Yeah, essay questions. Great.

For someone that writes, you’d think that essay questions would be a piece of cake. The truth is, most of the time I run my mouth, it’s because something has inspired me. Or ticked me off. Writing with passion is a piece of cake. Writing to answer questions – meh, not so much.

So, I figure if I gotta do essay questions, they’re gonna pull double duty. So, here we go.

Five years ago, on a warm day in May 2009, I received a blue envelope from the PPA. That was before the CPP exam/image submission results were emailed. You folks working on your CPP today have it pretty good. I waited 38 days for that blue envelope to show up. 38 wretched days. Yet, I digress.

And when I opened the envelope and read that I’d passed both parts of the requirements and was formally ordained a Certified Professional Photographer, I cried.

It meant that much.

Just last month I sat down and filled out the paperwork to renew my certification. I got a little bit grandfathered into a rule change and needed to re-certify after five years, but from here on out, I’m on a three year schedule. I didn’t have to think about whether or not I was going to re-certify. For me, it was a no-brainer.

Without a doubt, the CPP process was THE biggest step in the right direction I ever could have taken with my career. Everything that has come after that process  has only served to improve and add to what I do, but without that first step, none of the rest would have been possible.

I happily received a gold tube just a few weeks ago that contained my Certificate of Recertification. That strikes me a little bit funny, anyone else? I wonder if next time it will be a Recertificate of Recertification. Or a Certificate or Re-recertification. 😉 We shall see, because in another three years, I’ll be definitely going through the process, again. Another no-brainer.

PPA Tube of Gold. Just as cool as Think Geek's Bag of Holding.
PPA’s Tube of Gold. Cooler than Think Geek’s Bag of Holding – just saying.

So, about those questions.

My business, photographic style and why I chose to pursue certification:

My business is as a studio portrait photographer. Mostly. There are times when I teach, write, mentor, design, edit, sing and dance, but mostly I photograph. I specialize in head shots and character portraits. At one point in time I shot everything from school plays to weddings, but over these first five years I’ve settled into a line of work that brings me the most satisfaction and fits well into my skill set. I generally shoot simply and with refinement, and tend to veer towards low key work. I generally use a five light set up and shoot most of my clients with short light.

Five years ago I didn’t know what short light was. Or low key. I didn’t know that the lens that came with my camera from Best Buy was not good for portraits because an 18-55mm lens used for head shots causes distortion. I thought my “style” was whatever Photoshop action was popular and it varied as often the action-sellers kept selling.

Five years ago I described my style as someone’s name, whoever the someone was that I was copying at the time.  It was kind of like saying I cooked in the style of Martha Stewart. Without the jail time, of course.

I was young, a rookie, and I didn’t know any better.

BUT, I came from a lengthy career in manufacturing quality and I understood the value of certification. I held two different certifications through the American Society for Quality and those pieces of paper were the key to unlocking the doors to advancement within my field.

And so I assumed (and rightly so) that the CPP certification would hold similar keys. It was only natural that I would pursue the certification offered by the largest and oldest professional photography non-profit organization in the world. There’s that no-brainer thing, again.

Why are you interested in becoming a CPP Liaison?

Well, as Alice might ask, “How can one become what one already is?” I am a built in spokesperson for the PPA on the value of certification. I’ve been a Liaison for five years, served on PPA’s Certification Committee for a year, and whether or not I continue to be a Liaison, I will always support and respect the program and encourage new photographers to pursue the CPP process as if it were a college educational program. I believe in the CPP program, wholeheartedly. It has helped to make me the photographer that I am today. Because five years ago – I pretty much sucked. Don’t make me prove it – take my word for it – I sucked.

I believe every photographer should possess the skill set that is required to successfully pass the CPP requirements. I believe that setting a standard for quality work in the photographic community can only serve to raise the bar in professional photography, for both my colleagues and our clients.

I believe in doing a job well and with finesse. I believe in knowing what you are doing, showing and teaching. I believe that those three little letters at the end of my name make a difference. They made a difference for me and I’m betting they’ll make a difference for everyone else.

And I’d love to hold the hands of those who’d like to have that difference made in their own careers.

I’d like to make the process easier and more understandable and then clap someone on the back after they pass. Or maybe buy them a drink, goodness knows they’ve earned it.

In the last five years I’ve proctored the exam over twenty times. Both at my studio and twice a year at events held by the Professional Photographers of Ohio. I’ve even proctored at Imaging USA. I have maintained contact and developed friendships with nearly all of those who have gone through the CPP process with me. It’s a hard process and by the end of it – we’ve bonded. Except for the inverse square law stuff – we just try to get through that part without hurting each other. 😉

It doesn’t stop there, though.

The CPP process is only a first step, but it’s a wonderful, large step that hikes us up to a better place. A place that helps ready us to be Craftsmen and print competitors and Master Photographers and ASP Educational Associates and Fellows. It’s the beginning of a pathway to success that I encourage all my CPP candidates to continue on.

It’s a doorway to greatness and I’d like to continue to be a doorman.

Please.

Sincerely,
Christine Walsh-Newton, M. Photog., Cr., CPP

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  1. Ditto Christine Walsh-Newton. I put it off, as well, until the second friendly reminder because of the long form and questions. I thought that being the longest serving liaison in NC would make me eligible for the short form application with a box that says, "check yes if you'd like to serve as a liaison in 2015"…. I recommend pursuing your CPP to every photographer for one reason that makes a good sound bite………… .. "I don't know anyone that can go through this Certification process without improving their game." —Ned Winn Nice essay,btw 🙂