Wootness | the blog of christine walsh-newton – Page 4 – master photographer | photographic craftsman

Shooting for Competition: Let’s Be Realistic

Take a look at this image. A really good look. Pretend you are a judge. Pick it apart and tell me what’s wrong with it. Take a moment, I’ll wait while you ponder…

Does anything jump out at you?

Here’s a hint – the finished image:

"Bluecifer". 2010 IPC General Collection. — “Bluecifer”. 2010 IPC General Collection.

If you’re still struggling – take a closer look at those wing straps – the first image shows them, the second image does not. The second image is from my very first IPC case in 2010 and it earned a merit. During the course of working on it and prepping it for competition, I asked some advice on it. PPA Affiliated Judge Keith Howe asked me the question

“Is this a devil, or a boy pretending to be a devil?”

In other words ‘lose the straps on the wings, we aren’t playing ‘dress-up” here’ (my words, not Keith’s).

This CC made a lot of sense to me. Before photography, the occupation that involved a lot of my free time for the past 30+ years was working at my local community theatre. Over the course of the years, I’d learned to be diligent about propping a production correctly. We would be inviting hundreds of audience members to join us in the suspension of reality. Yet, we still needed to be realistic. If we were to bring you fully into the proper viewing of our play, we need everything about it to be believable; realistic. If I wanted you to believe a dude was a devil, I certainly wouldn’t have him sporting a pair of wings with straps, right?

That’s pretty much how it should be with competition prints, as well.

Your audience is the judging panel. You want them to buy into your story, to be drawn into the image you have created. You’ve paid wonderful attention to your lighting and posing. Now pay attention to the realism factor.

Perhaps you’ve decided that a formal portrait of a woman in an 1800’s ballgown is your next project. Maybe it’s because you found the most awesome dress and became inspired. That’s so cool! And exciting!

But don’t get lost in the wave of creativity that is swirling around you. You need to pay attention to the hairstyle, the makeup, the piece of furniture that you will most likely be using as a prop. And even though the ball gown is long and may cover it up, you’ll want to make sure the footwear is time-period appropriate, as well.

After all this is prepared, you should be ready to go, right?

Take another look. Everything in that image needs to be correct. And I’m betting if you look a little closer, you might find something that’s an issue.

Like hoop earrings.

Or a currently fashionable ring.

Or that ombre haircoloring that’s presently in style.

Look at the floor – is there a carpet or floor covering present that is appropriate to the subject matter? Is every prop, every part of the costuming, every part of your scene tied into the believability factor? Every single thing you add to your image MUST support your concept.

This isn’t official PPA print competition advice, but it’s a process that I utilize in my own entries that I think would be of benefit to competitors who find themselves shooting time-period-ish images.

Here’s another example:

"The Hit Man" 2010 IPC General Collection — “The Hit Man” 2010 IPC General Collection

This image was set in the 20’s. This fellow (Scott) is an actor and had just finished filming a movie called Sugar Wars, which inspired the shoot. [Movie info/FB page HERE]. It had to do with the Mafia, Hit Men and other assorted unsavory characters.

Scott provided his own clothing for the shoot – a practice that I rarely support, but since he is a bona fide vintage clothing expert, he was the perfect person to allow this freedom. [Check out Scott’s project The Fedora Lounge].

I provided the viola case. Note that “viola” is an important word. I had done some research about hit men and Tommy Guns. I did not have a Tommy Gun and didn’t really want one – I’m not all that crazy about putting weapons in comp prints ( a personal work preference only and does not affect how I judge images with weapons) – but I wanted to provide the illusion of a weapon. He was a gangster, after all.

I did some research on Tommy Guns and discovered that they were actually too large to fit in a violin case and required a viola case. That may be an insignificant difference to most people, but to me – it was enough of a difference to assure I had the right case available for the shoot.

Another detail item in the image was the signet ring that Scott wore. It is the letter “D” and stood for his last name. I flipped the image for presentation and of course, the initial has been flipped, as well. I knew this might be an issue and spent some time looking at the image and finally decided that the fancy script of the “D” practically rendered it unreadable in the correct orientation, anyway, so didn’t fret too much about flipping it. (But normally, you wouldn’t want to flip anything with text in a comp image – so pay attention to that kind of thing.)

Eyeglasses are another thing worth considering. This image was enhanced by the use of more traditional-looking, classic glasses and we would not have gotten quite the same impact with a set of horn-rimmed ones, you know?

Walsh-Newton_18 — “Weathered’ 2013 IPC Loan Collection

The next time you’re prepping for a shoot, whether it be for competition, a client, or personal project, I encourage you to really consider every single item you bring onto your “set.”

This IS a production and you ARE the director.

Give us, your audience, the opportunity to respond with a standing ovation because you completely sucked us in to your reality.

The Calm Before the Storm: Northeast District 2015

The days are oozing along and in a few sleeps, I will be heading two hours away to begin setting up for the PP of Ohio’s annual convention, which is also the site of the 2015 Northeast District Image Competition.

I’ve had my case done for awhile, but as is the way with me, I had a change of mind and made a couple of substitutions at the last minute.

I ordered a new print. It was waiting for me today (beneath the dog biscuit), but I didn’t like it and I’ve ordered a re-print. It’s all I can do as the upload file has been locked into place and cannot be changed.

*big sigh*

Part of me is happy with my changes, and part of me wants to kick myself in the you-know-what for not leaving well enough alone.

I’ve been talking with my competitor friends and we’ve been tossing around theories about pushing out of our boxes and trying new things.

And that’s where I’m at. Trying new things, and not being very confident with where that will land me.

I shall hand-carry my case to Columbus, Ohio this Thursday. It will contain whichever of the reprints I deem best and I shall hope that my change of heart doesn’t result in too much disappointment.

So – for the next few days I’m gonna take some deep breaths and think about other things.

Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friends

This is not an article about jewels. It’s about people. People I admire. People who inspire me. People who are on my short list of highest respect and honor.

These people:

This image was taken on February 3 at the closing party of IUSA 2015. It was a lovely party and one of the highlights of the event was meeting up with these colleagues. Robert, Elaine and Robert are from my home state and Jim is from the NY/NJ group. (See previous article about Jim HERE).

Each of these folks is, or has been a Diamond Photographer of the Year. Multiple times. I don’t purposely peruse the Diamond POTY list to find friends – but instead find myself constantly inspired by folks who land there.

They are not just photographers, they are artists.

True artists.

They inspire me to push myself and my work to the upper limits of quality.

They inspire me to open my mind to other facets of photography.

They inspire me to get personal – really personal – with my work.

They inspire me to take risks, to explore the unknown, to launch myself into the air to grab the brass ring.

I am growing as a photographer, as an artist, as an educator and as a person because of these folks.

I am one lucky girl.

Moments in Mentoring: D. Craig Flory, Cr., CPP

I’ve come to realize that mentoring has a variety of faces. What may have been a few moments of discussion can prove to have an incredible impact on someone’s future.

This is one of those stories…

Once upon a time… well, actually, because of the marvel of modern-day technology, I can pin down the date to 2009…

This happened:

I had discovered Mr. Flory’s post on the Our PPA Forum.

He didn’t know it, but I was fairly desperate at the time. The CPP portion of things was not near as organized as it is today. Online test registration did not exist and candidates were at the mercy of the whims of liaisons who didn’t return phone calls or emails. My state offered one test per year at the annual convention. Which looked like I was going to miss, given the state of non-communication I was dealing with. (This newbie-at-the-time had not yet learned the power of knowing the PPA customer service number).

With a sigh of relief, I made plans to travel to Pennsylvania to take the exam. D. Craig was the liaison for Pennsylvania and proctored the exam at a convention that April 17.

We didn’t have much conversation at first, D. Craig and I. He gave the test-takers some pencils and some Hershey kisses and explained the protocol.

When the test was over, we chatted for a bit. He showed me his Craftsman’s medallion, talked about his journey to achieving it, and challenged me to earn it, as well.

It was my first in-person chat with someone from a professional photography organization, now that I think about it.

My first PPA member contact. Hmmmm… (You paying attention here, PPA?)

Honestly, I thought he was a bit off his rocker with the Craftsman thing. I figured he must say that to everyone, it’s probably part of what he “did” with being a liaison and all. But it stayed in the back of my mind.

And then later, I looked into it. And was intrigued.

Without getting all fancy-schmancy with the lingo – it’s a degree awarded for speaking and teaching. And mentoring and writing. And other stuff.

Just like a college degree has a bunch of requirements for classes in your major, this degree requires a certain number of experiences (the PPA calls them merits) in speaking. Then, like college degrees require a bunch of other classes that have nothing to do with your major, you’ve gotta suck it up and get some merits in other stuff, as well, for the Craftsman degree. (They’re earned by volunteering or attending classes and are referred to as Service Merits).

So anyway, the Craftsman Degree required 13 speaking merits and I set out to earn them. And I did. It wasn’t spectacularly easy, but it wasn’t terribly hard. Each time I did it, though, it became easier and there came a time when I began to enjoy it and look forward to it. I was still nervous as heck, but it wasn’t something I dreaded like the first time.

Every once in awhile I’d think of D. Craig and wonder … how did he know? Perhaps it was just a suggestion inspired by his own accomplishment; earning a degree takes a fair amount of work and time. It’s not an instant reward by any means and you must work towards it purposefully. By the time you have completed the requirements, you have truly earned it.

And earn it, I did. In January 2012, I was notified it was mine. Unfortunately, I had not yet discovered the joy of attending the PPA National Convention and I elected to have my medallion mailed to me. (Sidebar: Worst. Decision. Ever.)

And here’s where it gets kind of interesting. whatever prompted D. Craig to challenge me was effective. I didn’t stop. The 13 merits required for the Craftsman Degree were only the FIRST thirteen. I discovered a passion for teaching that I didn’t know I had. And then I began to channel my writing into teaching efforts and discovered an additional facet to my career that had not existed a few short years earlier.

Obtaining the Craftsman Degree allowed me to become a member of the American Society of Photographers. I feel like I’m in the hallowed halls of modern PPA photographic history when I’m at an ASP function. I’ve discovered that they have their own designation, the ASP Educational Associate. Right now I describe it as “the Craftsman Degree on steroids” so I don’t have to go into all the fancy-schmancy talk. It requires a bunch of extra speaking merits. Thirty, to be exact. I’m just about there, so…

Yay me!

But actually, it’s more like…

YAY D. CRAIG FLORY!!!!!

Stolen from D. Craig's FB page because I tried making up a reason to ask him for an image and failed. — Stolen from D. Craig’s FB page because I tried making up a reason to ask him for an image and failed.

Because you reached out to everyone, you reached out to me. And you made a huge huge difference in this photographer’s journey. You helped me in my path to being a Certified Professional Photographer and then you kick-started me towards becoming a Photographic Craftsman. Now, I’m journeying again, thanks to you.

What began as a small gesture of help has dominoed into more.

So very much more.

I am grateful.

Thank you, D. Craig.

Judging: PPCO 2015 Image Competition

One of the things that I’ve discovered about judging is what an incredible honor it is to be asked to do it. I know that sounds all hoity-toity and prim and proper and what you’d expect a judge to say. Publicly, anyway. But it is the truth. You have trusted me to evaluate your prints. With my back to you, you allow me to say what I will about your images. You hope that I am kind and fair. You expect I will be professional. That’s a fair amount of responsibility to place in my hands and I’m always humbled to be asked and hope that I am able to deliver in a way that pleases us both.

It takes great courage to enter your first competition. That’s usually the hardest one. And depending on how your work was received by the judges, that will more than likely dictate whether or not you go on to compete a second time. I know this, and I try to be as careful as I can when judging your images. I want your competition experience to be a positive one. I cannot promise that I will give you the score you hoped for, but I can promise my comments and critiques of your work with be done with great care.

I recently had the pleasure of judging at a small Ohio affiliate, the Professional Photographers of Central Ohio. I was impressed at the number of entries that were in the competition and the quality of photography shown. I had heard that there were a number of first-time entrants with work in the competition and a quick survey showed that there were a number of them present to watch. This intention of this competition judging was to be educational by having comments made on each image. We had two and a half hours to judge 65 images, which was very do-able.

I was even more fortunate to be judging with my good pal Robert Kunesh. He and I co-taught a print competition class this past fall at the Professional Photographers of Ohio conference. It was scads of fun, there were a number of trophy winners in that evening’s competition from our class, and I think we all learned a lot. So, being able to judge with him was a great bonus! Robert and I have both been through the PPA Judges’ Workshop, and he has many years of experience under his belt. I, on the other hand, am rather new to the judging scene, and am still a Juror-In-Training, but I think if you average our years together, it works out.

That is how it works, right? 😉

Robert is highly creative and I am highly technical, so I think, as a team, we provided a nice balance to the judging. We wound up both commenting on almost every single image, which in the end, ran us over time, so I appreciated those who toughed it out to the end. I know staying out late on a weeknight isn’t all that preferable. (When you have two judges that are also print competition instructors – they tend to talk).

One of the lovely things about judging at a local affiliate is that they do not have to adhere to the more formal rules of state and district judgings. They may stipulate their own requirements and choose as few or as many judges as they prefer. They can also allow the atmosphere to be somewhat relaxed in that the judges may spend extra time speaking about the competition process or a photographic theory that presents itself in the course of the judging. We still judged according to the rules, but we were able to maximize the educational potential of the competition.I found great enjoyment judging under these conditions and I applaud PPCO for wanting the process to be educational.

There were many very good images that came across our screen that night. I hope that our input was valuable and I look forward to seeing a lot of those images at the Ohio/Northeast District Image Competition. I won’t go into any of the images here, since we are in the middle of competition season, but I have high hopes for many of the competitors and their images.

Look for me at the PPO Convention in March and let me know how you did. I will be more than likely found in the company of my co-judge, Bob; we’d love to know how your images did in competition and what you’re up to.

IUSA15’s Image Competition Track

I’ve been prepping for the long awaited trip to Nashville. Part of that prep involves putting together a schedule of recommended classes for myself and my students. There’s quite a selection of information available about image competition this year, so I thought it would be helpful to share.

I recommend the following IUSA scheduled events and classes for my fellow image competition junkies, students and mentorees:

Preconference:

Saturday, January 31, 2015:

Link to DAVE’S HUNTSMAN’S BIO

If you are going to be at IUSA on Saturday night, I highly recommend you sign up for this class. Did you catch that? SIGN UP for this class. Dave already has the exact same class scheduled on Friday night that was sold out so quickly the PPA added in a second one. You must preregister for the class. Call PPA at 800.786.6277 to arrange that.

On a personal level – I give Dave five stars as an instructor. He was my judges’ workshop instructor in 2013 and I have high regard for him. Read my judging school post HERE.

♦

Imaging USA 2015

Sunday, February 1, 2015

^^^You need to see the exhibit. Allow yourself plenty of time and you may even want to visit several times. The prints are arranged throughout the exhibit and the digital images are shown on large screens, separated into an alphabetical order across several screens. It takes quite awhile to scroll through the digital images and several sittings to watch is recommended.

♦

^^^ It would behoove you to see ALL of the presenters in this program. They are all PPA affiliated judges and have more experience than you can shake a stick at. (Please don’t bring sticks, it’s just a saying). It’s being offered every day and there is a little bit of change-up with the speakers & topics, but not a lot. If you plan it right, you can hit 2 or 3 of these a day and get them all covered in 3 days.

♦

Monday, February 2, 2015

^^^ Oh, hey, look, here it is again. If you missed it yesterday, please check it out today.

♦

^^^ And here we are for day 2 of Merit Cafe. Which ones are you going to see? I’ll be seeing Donna Goodhale & Jeff Dachowski for sure !

♦

^^^ For inspiration and a gander at the finest photography culled from IPC 2014, you’ll want to be here for sure. Cheer for those on stage and offer your congratulations to our finest PPA photographic artists.

♦

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

^^^OK, this is your LAST chance, I’m serious! Check it out thoroughly because today the exhibit goes down at 3:30 PM. On the positive side, those of you that have been waiting patiently for the return of your prints and cases will have them back within the next few weeks.

♦

^^^I am super duper excited about this!!! See those names in the right-hand column? Those are some uber-talented and successful competitors who are going to share their mad competition knowledge & skilz with us. Be there or be square!

Links to presenter biographies:

Angela Kurkian, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Christie Kline, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Suzy Fulton, M.Photog., CPP

Tom Munoz, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

♦

^^^ Take three of Merit Cafe. The day is a bit short, today, so make sure you see the speakers you weren’t able to on the first two days. I’m probably going to see Gabriel Alonso speak twice. I may ask him to read my grocery list out loud.

♦

^^^And last, but not least. Come to the event that most competitors dream of; the day you get to walk across the IUSA stage and receive your Master’s Degree medallion from your sponsor and shake a bunch of peoples’ hands. It’s heady stuff, I’m tellin’ ya. 🙂 Seriously – show your fellow competitors your support and pride. It’s been a tough journey, no matter how easily it may have seemed for some. And when it’s your turn, we’ll be there for you.

♦

I will be at every single one of these events (except for the Saturday class with Dave Huntsman, I am in the Friday class). If you see me, say hello.

From the Heart: Are You a New Photographer? If So, Let’s Chat…

Being a new photographer can kind of suck. You’re lacking in knowledge. A lot of knowledge. And while you work on your craft and suffer the sometimes harsh criticism of your new peers, just how much knowledge you are short becomes painfully clear.

It’s a really tough spot to be in.

But some of you know darn good and well that you need to get camera-smart right quick. And you’re doing everything in your power to make that happen, no matter what. You’ve got your head down and you’re working hard.

I applaud you for that.

And this post is for you…

♦

Not everyone has your best interests at heart. In fact, to some unscrupulous folks, you are pretty much an easy mark. If you’ve got a desire to learn and you’ve got a little cash in your pocket, well, the sad truth of it is, you will probably be lured into spending some of that before you’ve figured out what you’re buying.

Because you’re new. And because you don’t know any better.

It’s okay to not know any better. Every one of us was once exactly where you are right now. Our hearts were filled with passion and our minds filled with doubts. And hopes. And dreams.

And maybe we were even a little naive.

But remember this: Not one of those people willing to part you with your money was born a photographer. Not one of those people was an overnight sensation. And if you’ve been convinced that a series of templates, mentoring sessions or actions is going to suddenly bring you on par with the person peddling them – I’d like you to stop and think about that a little bit.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of learning from someone who seems to be at the top of their game. But sometimes I think some important steps are being missed. So, I’d like you to stop, turn around, and go back to the beginning.

I want you to learn from the guy next door.

I want you to go to your local photography group and get to know the photographers in your own back yard. Meet them, shake their hands and listen to their stories.

Find someone who has been in business longer than you’ve been alive; because there’s your real measure of success – someone who is doing it and has been doing it. For a very long time. They’re fairly likely to keep on doing it, wouldn’t you think?

Then find another someone just like this.

And then another.

These are the folks you want to learn from. The folks that day in and day out are making photography support them. Without a line of products, templates, videos and packages of fluff. Without a large staff or a 99 city tour. These are the real photographers; the guy next door, with a wife and a couple of kids and in good years, a newer car.

They’re the ones who are gonna make sure you know the difference between broad and short light, how to use a light meter and how to shoot in manual mode. They’re the ones that are going to show you the traditional posing that will provide a solid basis for all your sessions. They’re going to encourage you to seek out and learn a solid and complete skill set that will help you provide for yourself for the long term.

Sounds boring, right?

Well, the plain and simple truth of it is – it can be!

But, that’s not a bad thing.

I don’t say this to put down your choice or talk you away from photography as a career. I just want you to be realistic. It’s going to be a lot of hard work and most of that is going to be a little bit boring.

It’s a job.

A photography career is not the non-stop world tour vacation that some folks are selling it to be. Folks that would like you to spend your hard-earned dollars with them. Hard-earned dollars that are funding their world-tour.

Not yours.

Some of these folks sell the glitz and glamour of the role of photographer and fail to make it very clear just how many years they had to practice daily before they got as good as they currently are.

It’s not that they’re lying to you, or trying to pull one over on you. Instead, I think it’s kind of like having a baby. We cuddle and coo and put hair bows on them the size of Texas, all the while forgetting the 27 hours and 42 minutes of hard labor we endured to get there.

We must market what sells. Hard work and frustration and being broke doesn’t sell. It’s not sexy. It’s the reality of the first years of photography – it’s the reality of the first years of anyone who owns their own business. But no one really talks about that. It’s kind of boring.

Are you sensing a trend?

What fills the seats is the glitter. And right now, you’re being sold some glitter. All the fun and excitement; props and backgrounds, headbands and bows, actions and filters, Senior rep plans, baby plans and pricing plans. All glitter.

It’s like teaching you to make frosting before you’ve learned how to make a cake. From scratch. Cake supports the frosting, it gives it something to grace. I’d like you to ditch the frosting for awhile and learn cake-making.

For awhile I’d like you to stick to your local groups; the guys next door. And as you begin to explore the range of educational opportunities out there, I’d like you to ask them for their advice. And while you’re doing that – stick to instruction that is sponsored by them or some other professional organization. Generally, these instructors are vetted and are teaching for an agreed-upon price that can be afforded by the students. They’re checked out beforehand by the sponsoring organization and there are specific topics that are to be covered.

In a way, it’s a bit of a built-in guarantee that you’ll be happy with your purchase. At the very least, you won’t be hung out to dry in the process.

So, slow down, take a deep breath and start over.

You are not alone. Sometimes you might feel that way; but we’re here for you.

Right next door.

Be More Than A Member; Volunteer

I believe 100% that membership in a professional organization is vital to today’s photographer. Belonging to an organization is a way to network, get educated and just recharge your batteries. I usually come away from conventions and meetings with a renewed sense of hope for myself and my business.

I am empowered through education and fraternity.

One of the organizations I belong to is the Professional Photographers of Ohio (PPO), which is probably fairly similar to many other state-level organizations. I joined them in 2009, volunteered in 2010, was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees in 2011 and a second three-year term in 2014. So, officially, they’re stuck with me through 2017, but the reality of it is – I’ll be around for a long time. As long as they’ll let me. I have found my home in the PPO and I think a lot of photographers would be well-served to find themselves a similar group.

Since you only get out of something what you put into it, I highly suggest that you also volunteer. Don’t just pay your dues and sit in a chair. Meet somebody, help pass out goody bags, put white gloves on and help in the print room, run to the supply room and grab a cord for the AV guy so he doesn’t have to run down that long hallway for the 17th time this hour. Do something. Do anything.

But don’t do it all.

And here’s where I’m going to stop with the “rah! rah!” and get serious. Before you agree to volunteer for anything, take a realistic look at the time you have available to do that. We want you to be effective and have your volunteer experience be a positive one. If you over-commit or burn out because of it, well, that’s no good for anyone.

And when I say “don’t do it all,” I mean that. Take the time YOU need to take to go to classes and other educational opportunities that you are helping organize. Don’t always work behind the scenes – find a good balance that will ensure you remain not only a member, but a happy one. I love it when I see someone offer a lot of time and energy to help out, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if they might not be facing burn-out if they keep it up at that pace.

So, be realistic about the time and energy that you do have available. Do not over-commit – but please commit what you can and still maintain a healthy balance. We don’t want our volunteers to become tired and bitter like the lunch lady that whapped down a pile of beige glop on our trays in the middle school cafeteria.

Day. After. Day.

This is the time of year when organizations are doing their yearly revamp. Annual Conventions are just around the corner and serve, in part, to signify a change in leadership. This is when the past year’s board of directors are finished, there’s a little chair shuffling, the executive board moves up a seat and some new faces appear. Sometimes those are appointed and sometimes those are elected. No matter how they end up there, it’s part of a process.

And sometimes that process is tough. Sometimes we have more seats than people to fill them. I’m sure out there, one of you is just waiting to be asked to take on a larger role in your organization. I’d like to encourage you to just take that step and reach out. Tell us you’d like to be involved. Send us an email, whisper in someone’s ear. If you’d really like to be involved in some part that seems already under control – don’t worry – go ahead and mention it – we can always use more members on our team and maybe we’re just really good at acting like we’ve got it under control 😉

There are basically three levels of volunteer involvement in an organization. For the sake of needing to call them something, we will go with casual, committed and vested:

1. Casual

mark — Print room volunteer Mark Fundak. Mark volunteers every year to help things run smoothly with our print room. I rely on him – he makes my job a lot easier 🙂 ©Tom Welsh Photography

A casual volunteer is someone who has a little bit of time here and there to help out, but just can’t commit to a deeper level. If this is you, then sometimes it’s best to just show up at a convention, find the largest group of people that look like they know what they’re doing (ok, not the ones in the bar) and say “hey, I”m here to help!” – we will totally take advantage of your willingness to help on that basis. This kind of volunteering is fun, spontaneous and much needed, especially when we are in the middle of an event and need some extra hands. And we really do need them!

If this is you – stop off at the registration desk and let the folks that do the paperwork know you are available. You might need to come back when things aren’t crazy busy, but if you are serious about helping – you will be given that opportunity.

2. Committed

tom — A rare photo of Tom Welsh, one of our convention photographers. He’s been in charge of our photography for a long time – we heart him. ©Tom Welsh Photography <– I know, I know!

There are a large number of mid-level volunteer opportunities, as well, some that require just a little bit extra work. Some require a little more than that.

Maybe you’d like to work on a committee or be a committee chair, even. We have at least a dozen committees or small sub-groups at my state and I’m betting other organizations have them as well. These are the positions that are really handy for someone with special skills. Sometimes what you did in your pre-photography days are skills that would be helpful to your organization.

It’s probably not a surprise to anyone that in my previous career as a quality specialist I wrote. I wrote a lot. I was in charge of policies and procedures for nearly twelve years, which made me a perfect candidate to work as the By-laws Chair. You see what I mean? I’m sure you have a skill that would be very helpful to a committee or chairperson in a similar way.

And don’t think you have to have some super hero skill, either. Sometimes just the ability to drive to the airport and pick up a speaker or judge is helpful. Or maybe you have a knack for planning events – or maybe you’ve had your ear to the ground and know exactly the kind of speakers that we need to contact to thrill our members who are wedding photographers. The needs are varied and sometimes surprising – so let us know what you feel your best talent is.

This level of volunteering is sometimes the part that’s overlooked. Why? Because a lot of these folks work behind the scenes. Quietly and unassumingly they do their jobs in a way that provides a backbone for the organization. These aren’t the folks running the show, not the ones you see behind podiums or winning trophies or carrying microphones. They’re a little bit behind the scenes, so their work is not as obvious to someone looking in – but to those of us looking out – we know they’re there – and we appreciate the heck out of them. They help make our organization look good. Very good.

3. Vested

eboard — This is the Executive Board for the PP of Ohio. These guys work hard. Real hard. All. Year. Long. ©Tom Welsh Photography

If you want to become involved on a deeper level, perhaps you’re interested in becoming a member of a board of directors/trustees – these are positions with a fair amount of responsibility and time commitment – find out the meeting and event schedule, first. More than likely you’re going to be expected to attend a number of board meetings and conventions. These are generally unpaid positions, so travel and accommodations will be at your own expense. Additionally, there’s going to be work required of you in between those meetings and events. Many hours of work go on behind the scenes in order to organize and host conventions and other member benefits. There’s no magic staff behind the scenes – YOU are the staff. This is the time to seriously consider the time and resources you have available to be involved at this level.

But don’t let this scare you off. You need to be realistic about the commitment, but I can testify that this level of service to your organization will come back to you ten-fold. Because this post is nearing bedtime story status in length – when you have a moment read HERE about my own personal experience with the PPO and how it has been instrumental in my growth as a photographer.

So, think about it and let me know, let someone know, that you’d like to step it up a bit and be more than a member.

We’re gonna have an awesome time 😉

To become more involved in the Professional Photographers of Ohio, please email us at staff@ppofohio.org or call us at: 614-407-8776. You will reach either Kristin or Susan, who will take real good care of you! Tell ’em Wootness sent you!

This is Kristin - call her to volunteer - she will hook you up! ©Tom Welsh Photography — This is Kristin – call her to volunteer – she will hook you up! ©Tom Welsh Photography

All Day Print Competition Education FREE | Lewis Center, Ohio: March 13/14, 2015

If you are already a PP of Ohio member, this benefit is FREE for you.
If you’re NOT a member – it’s FREE for you, too – YAY!!

All day education for FREE? This is a joke, right?

No joke, folks, here’s the scoop. The PPA allows anyone who wants to attend a District Judging to view it for FREE.

And you know what’s even better?

You can do it TWICE!

That’s right, you can sit in a dark room for two entire days and absorb the combined knowledge of our esteemed judging panel.

Did I say “esteemed” ?

Why yes, yes, I did. The panel we have engaged for this competition are ALL PPA Affiliated Jurors. This is the Northeast District judging, run by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) with some help from the PP of Ohio team. These judges are the cream of the crop and this group contains several of my own personal heroes.

If things go according to past history, we will have a print judging room and a digital image judging room, so you will be able to move freely between them, depending on your mood/preferences. We just ask that you stay extremely quiet in the judging rooms.

Feast your eyes on the educational team we have for you:

judges2015

I’ve said it a jillion times already, but here it is once more:

Aside from participating, watching a print competition is one of the most educational things you can do for your photography. Even if you never enter a competition. Listen and learn as the judges compliment the good things and critique the things that may be holding an image back. Pay attention to the scoring categories and the 12 elements that the judges refer to while speaking about an image.

YOU WILL LEARN.

This will be the best education, HANDS DOWN!

And if you can get this for FREE – HELLO?? What are you waiting for? I expect to see you lined up, waiting to get a front row seat when I show up at 6 AM. Okay, maybe 7 AM.

Get in on this before the powers in charge realize they could be charging.

Judging dates and times are:

Friday, March 13, 2015: 9 AM – 1 PM and 2 PM – 7 PM

Saturday, March 14, 2015: 9 AM – 12 PM and 1 PM – 5PM

Location:
NorthPointe/Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center
100 Green Meadows Drive South
Lewis Center, Ohio 43035

I will be there – please say “hello” if you see me. Slip me your business card so I know who you are – I’ll probably be crazy busy since I’m the print room headmaster – but I will want to meet you 🙂

I hope to see you there!

PS – If you’re not a member and you’d like to hang out for the whole weekend – we’ve got a groovy discount for you – just buy a membership and save all the day-pass shenanigans for another time. If you mention my name (Christine or Wootness), I’ll get a $25 discount when I renew my dues – so thanks in advance for that 🙂

Corn Dogs, Olive Oil and Pink Mashed Potatoes: Thoughts on Customer Service

This article originally appeared in the December 2014 Issue of Southern Exposure, the magazine of the Southeast PPA District, page 15. View it HERE.

In 1983, I worked for a concession stand company, traveling from street fair to street fair across the state of Ohio for five months peddling corn dogs. In exchange for working a number of ungodly hours that had to be against some kind of labor law, I received a paltry weekly sum and all the corn dogs I could eat. They were hot, filling and affordable. I sold them by the thousands. Thirty years later, the sight of a corn dog still turns my stomach.

Hold that thought.

Tucked in the woods, on the shore of a lake is a little bistro. In the middle of nowhere, Ohio, it’s a small treasure to the locals. A bit on the pricey side, with a delicious menu, it became “the place” to go when there was something to celebrate. Birthdays, anniversaries, post-wedding parties; from a table of two to a family group of twelve or so, we’d appear several times a year for a nice evening of food and wine.

On one of these occasions, the menu had slightly shifted, as it sometimes did. It had become trendy to stack food items into a tower, and my medium rare filet mignon was served on a bed on dirty mashed potatoes and topped with the vegetable of the day. Individually, the items were delicious, but I preferred cutting into a nice maison-buttered steak without having to scrape mashed potatoes off the bottom and green beans off the top. I ate the meal with no complaint, but decided that next time I should order the items to be served unstacked. A medium-rare steak… well, let’s just say, pink mashed potatoes aren’t very appetizing.

The next time I ordered that meal from the little bistro on the lake, I asked for the items to be unstacked. When the meal was delivered, it was on three different dinner plates. One for mashed potatoes, one for the steak and one for the green beans. Our table for two already contained two water glasses, two wine glasses, two salads and two plates of appetizers. Suddenly, it needed to hold four more plates, one for my husband’s meal, and three for mine.

I caught the snicker of the wait staff while I tried to arrange the table, and finally had to place one of the plates of food on top my water glass and was forced to hand my salad plate to the waiter, even though I hadn’t finished with. Clearly, I was considered one of “those” customers that had somehow offended the chef (we’ll call him “Richard”) with my request.

Now, maybe this strikes you all as a little funny, but at the time, it wasn’t. I had pleasantly and discreetly asked for my meal that way, and the resulting effort, orchestrated to embarrass, left such a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended) that our visits there eventually stopped and we haven’t been back in a number of years.

Hold that thought, too.

The other day I was shopping for some imported olive oil at a small store in my area. A lovely lady, Kimberly, had opened an olive oil and vinegar shop, somewhat unusual for our area, but her extensive knowledge of her product line and her excellent level of customer service has won her a loyal customer base. As I shopped, I noticed that the olive oils from Italy were missing and asked if I could speak with her as there was a particular reason I wanted some. Due to some trucking strikes on the west coast, her shipments had been held up for an additional week and the oil I was looking for wasn’t available. She asked about the intended recipient of the gift, their food and cooking tastes and recommended a substitute oil from Peru. I sampled it, listened to her explain the qualities and subtleties of the oil and was convinced it would do nicely in place of the oil from Italy. I bought the Peruvian oil with no regrets and went happily on my way.

And now, hold that thought, as well.

And… this has to do with photography…how?

I began to think about our businesses. And how the boutique studio model has become popular. We want to be refined, elegant, specialized and serve the uppermost clientele in and out of our area. Sometimes we do a bang up job of it, like Kimberly. But sometimes, well sometimes we act just like Richard. And we chase our clients away.

I began to think about our clients. And how sometimes they ask for something that is not exactly what we have or wish to provide. Maybe the client has brought in 39 Pinterest pictures of poses so tacky we want to jam our fingers down our throats. Setups we’ve seen a jillion times. Props we are SO. OVER.

Stylistic concepts as common and ordinary as a corn dog.

We’ve been there, we’ve done that, and we have the t-shirt and the keychain. But yet, here’s a bright shiny new client face that wants the tacky corn dog pose. Because they haven’t seen it a jillion times. They like it. They often love it. And sometimes it’s “the pose.” The one they absolutely have to have and plan the whole session around.

It happens all the time. I’ve been reading a lot of questions on some of my forums and online groups asking for advice in how to deal with these kinds of clients. I’m a little bit horrified when I see requests of this nature treated w ith disdain, with contempt, with a “how dare you insult my artistic integrity with your request for tackiness?” attitude. An attitude so thick with indignation that I don’t believe for a minute that the photographer is able to completely hide it from the client. And I wonder if the client winds up feeling like I did at the bistro on the lake.

“But that’s not my style,” they whine.

And the photographer in the industry forums is coddled and placated and their attitude is echoed and approved of by others. Advice to charge extra fees, delete the images, refund the client money and a variety of other creative solutions are often given.

And I’m thinking to myself “Are you kidding me?” When did a client request become an issue? An insult? A situation worthy of this level of angst and unrest?

In the olden days, before digital, before there was a home studio in the basement of one house on every street, there was one, maybe two photography studios that served an entire town. Studios that you could walk in and ask for a certain kind of photography and get what you asked for. No one told you that you were asking for something that wasn’t “their style.” Requests for something special were not countered with policies and rules and additional fees. Did you want family photos? Wedding photos? Anniversary, graduation or first birthday photos? Pictures with your cat, your car, your tennis trophy? Unless you were a total creepster asking for something crass and/or illegal, your request was usually granted.

But these days… we’re acting a little spoiled. A little bit full of ourselves. A little bit like that bistro chef who stuck his nose in the air and made sure I felt as if I were asking for a corn dog in his culinary kindgom.

The next time a customer asks for something that makes you want to roll your eyes, or asks for something slightly different than what you offer, hold that thought. Are you going to act like Richard or are you going to act like Kimberly, the lady who couldn’t quite offer what I wanted, but worked with me to find a compromise that pleased us both?

Somewhere along the line it seems that the customer has been made into the enemy. The last time I checked, those customers were the key to photographers being able to support our businesses, selves and families. Along with the dream clients that hand over artistic control to us, it’s just a fact of life that we are going to have a higher percentage of average, every day clients, whose tastes are more common, and whose need for creativity and specialty is not as high as others. But, they walked through OUR door. They chose US. They have shown that they do, indeed care who they choose as their photographer. Just because their photography requests and ideas do not completely match our own is not a reason to throw down the “they’re not my client” glove. Let’s get over ourselves and step up to the plate and deliver some stellar customer service. Like Kimberly, we can take this opportunity to work with our clients and offer them some creative additional options. Let’s utilize our knowledge and skill set to serve each client as best as we can to fulfill their requests and make them happy.

If we don’t, they may very well never be our client again.