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Florida Photographer Contents cover image “Keen-eyed” Olis Garber Illustrative Wildlife First Place 2014 THE FLORIDA PHOTOGRAPHER is the official publication of the Florida Professional Photographers, Inc. Permission to reprint contents on this publication is granted to similar publications of the photographic industry, provided that the author and THE FLORIDA PHOTOGRAPHER are recognized as the sources. The opinions expressed in any article or column are those of the author and does not necessarily represent the official position of the Florida Professional Photographers, Inc. The Florida Professional Photographers exists solely for the good of its members. The association provides tools and educational opportunities for its members to achieve their business and artistic goals. It is committed to an ongoing exchange of information and experiences between all members in an open and friendly atmosphere.
2015-2
President’s Message
5
FPP, Inc. Board of Directors
6
FPP Section Web Sites
6
FPP Managers
6
PPA Councillors
6
From the Editor
7
New Members
7
Membership Categories & Dues
8
More Reasons to Join
9
Florida School
12
FOCUS 2015
17
Stay True to Yourself
18
Print Competition 2015
19
Competition Rules
23
12 Elements of Wootness
32
Mentors/Scholarships 34
Join the
Florida Professional Photographers See membership application at FPPonline.org
President’s Message Jackson Koontz, III, FSA, FED 2015 After a lulling Winter, I have been looking forward to Spring! My van became a lovely shade of lime green, my house looks like the attack of the caterpillars, I can see the vines creeping up the fence and trees, it is getting hotter... and did I say I have been looking forward to Spring?!?! YES. and why? Because this time of the year is when a lot of things are getting ready to go into full gear and THAT is the exciting part. Florida School is coming up next month! Now, if you have not registered, I am sorry to say the early bird pricing is over, but the investment is always worth it! School Director Marybeth Jackson has done it again with a great line-up of hard decisions on what to take, but any class you take at Florida School is the right decision! Another great educational opportunity is coming your way in late August with FOCUS! Your FPP membership gives you a convention, so when pre-registration time comes, make sure to register (otherwise, just 25 bucks at the door). What will convention bring this year? Print and Image competition, Trade Show, popular and up-andcoming speakers, awards and parties! The biggest change for this year... location, location, location! We will have FOCUS at the Florida Hotel located, attached even, to the Florida Mall in Orlando! Yes, I typed that right.... the MALL! We really have a great opportunity to bring in new people and showcase our work to an audience that may not have made their way to the International Drive area. So come one, come all... and bring a friend! We enjoy and depend on our members to help make the FPP a beneficial and worthwhile organization. If you ever have an idea or suggestion, please come to us with it! We also love it when our members help with the workings of Florida School or FOCUS/Convention. We ALL know, many hands make for easy work. Your help and assistance does just that, so please consider being a part of a committee at Florida School or FOCUS! This year, I am celebrating my 10th year in the FPP and I can't tell you how many times I wish I had heard of the FPP earlier. You are my wonderful family, the best of friends, and good times to be had by us all. Thank you!
FPP, Inc. Board of Directors
FPP Managers
President
Directors
Jackson Koontz,III, FSA,FED 2015 PO Box 6878 Ocala, FL 34478 352-369-4257 actionjacksonpro@gmail.com
Robin Adams, 2016 565 Hickory St. Monticello, FL 32344 850-591-3364 robin@robinadamsphotography.com
Vice President Carol Walker, FDPE,FSA,FED 2015 7925 4th St. North St. Petersburg, FL 33702 727-577-5626 carol@thomasbruce.com Secretary Treasurer
Marty Grivjack, FSA, 2017 17114 123 Terrace N Jupiter, FL 33478 561-744-1777 magriv@aol.com Bill Barbosa, FSA,FED, 2017 725 North A1A, #E 102 Jupiter, FL 33477 561-242-2455 info@billbarbosaphotography.com
Cindy Strickland, FSA,FED 2016 5750 CR 12 Tallahassee, FL 32312 850-545-3110 info@amomentcaptured.com
Marty Newkirk, CPP 2017 8633 Plantation Ridge Road Lakeland, FL 33809 863-808-7281 email@martisparty.com
Past President Martin Gudz, FSA,FED 2014 6174 SW CR 360 Madison, FL 32340 850-973-6373 martingudz@yahoo.com
Convention Mgr. Debbie Alcorn 727-481-9329 debbie@reedyphoto.com Interim Trade Show Mgr. Martin Gudz 850-973-6373 martingudz@yahoo.com Competition Mgr. Robin Adams 850-591-3364 robin@robinadamsphotography. com Florida School Director Marybeth Jackson 954-426-2562 marybeth@marybethphoto.com
PPA Councillors Keely Deuschle 904-403-9553
FPP Section Web Sites Bay – BPPA,
www.bppafl.com
Ft. Myers – SWFPPA,
www.ppswf.com
Jacksonville – JPPG,
www.jppg.org
Lakeland – PPGMF,
www.ppgmf.org
Miami – PPGF,
www.ppgf.com
Ocala – OMCPPA,
www.omcppa.com
Orlando – PPSCF,
www.theppscf.com
Palm Beach – PPGPB,
www.prophotoguild.com
Destin - NWSFPP,
www.nwsfpp.com
Tallahassee – TPPG,
www.tppg.wordpress.com
Tampa – TAPPA,
www.tappa.org
Britney Kirby Fullgraf 863-686-4980 Marybeth Jackson 954-426-2562 Gary Hughes 321-279-0077 Kevin Newsome 813-968-2810 Sandra Pearce 863-763-8684 Robin Phillips 863-682-6958 Kim Warmolts 727-934-4456
from the Editor A beautiful spring in Florida and the year is already in full gear--3 big events for the FPP upcoming: Florida School, FOCUS and, of course, the fall cruise! Have you registered for school yet? If your answer is “no”, well, why not? Live education is one of the biggest benefits with your FPP membership and between now and November you have 3 opportunities to learn. A big “welcome to the family” to the new members listed below. Let me make a suggestion--get involved. You made a great decision for your professional development with your membership! And, lastly, welcome to Christine Walsh-Newton who is joining the magazine as a featured writer. Christine is the author of “Wootness: the Big Girl’s and Guy’s Guide to Starting a Photography Business” and I just know you’re going to enjoy her articles. Again, happy spring!
New Members (since January, 2015) Laura Froehlich Port Orange Professional Traci Newlin Arcadia Professional Danielle Sweet Navarre Professional Audi Trilla Jupiter Associate Harald Prion Venice Professional Reinaldo Acosta Palm Beach Member Latanya Henry Apollo Beach Professional Cary Lozano Miami Member Allen Wyatt St. Augustine Professional Jo Lee Palm City Professional Chris Kapper Tampa Professional Amanda Pratt Madeira Beach Professional Heather Waggoner Lakeland Professional Kristia Knowles Ormond Beach Professional Maria Tovar-Caruso Davie Professional
Executive Director
FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS, INC.
Kaye Newsome, FSA,FED 11738 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, FL 33618 813-760-1933 fpp1933@gmail.com
13804 Lake Village Place Tampa, FL 33618 www.fpponline.org 813-760-1933
Membership Categories/Dues All Membership Dues include registration for 2015 FOCUS!
All members are of Legal Age and are entitled to all the Benefits of the FPP. Certain Privileges are restricted based on Type of Membership. Florida residency required for Professional, Associate, and Non-Professional Membership Types Benefits include: Attend Activities and Service (fees may apply as determined by the Board); Service on Committees; Participation in Photographic Competition; Ability to earn Degrees; & Web site ‘Member Directory’ Listing Privileges may include: Voting rights; Holding office; FPP Logo use; Photographic Awards; Scholarships; & Web Site ‘Photographer Search Listing o $210 PROFESSIONAL – Operates/Employed by a legally established photography business in Florida. Required to submit Sales Tax Certificate Number. Entitled to all FPP benefits and privileges. o $195 ASSOCIATE – Employed by a FPP Professional or Life member. Entitled to all FPP benefits; Privileges limited to Voting rights, Holding office, Photographic Awards, & Scholarships. o $210 MEMBER – Individuals who do not yet meet the requirements for any of the other categories. Entitled to all FPP benefits; Privileges limited to Photographic Awards, & Scholarships. o $135
S TUDENT – Currently enrolled full or part-time in an accredited degree/certification program at a postsecondary school. Does not include continuing education courses or non-degree seeking students. Proof of enrollment required. Entitled to all FPP benefits; Privileges limited to Photographic Awards, & Scholarships.
o $205 SERVICE – Individual or business that offers services and/or sales to professional photographers. Entitled to all FPP benefits; Privileges limited to FPP Logo use, Photographic Awards, & Scholarships. o $195 NON-RESIDENT – Employed outside of Florida. Entitled to all FPP benefits; Privileges limited to FPP Logo use, & Scholarships. FPP Bylaws; Article III - Membership
FLORIDA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS, INC. 13804 Lake Village Place Tampa, FL 33618 www.fpponline.org 813-760-1933
More Reasons to Join... Bill Barbosa, CPP, FSA, FED Director of Membership, FPP
In this issue I want to talk about my growth in the photography field and how it all started when I first joined the local chapter of the Professional Photographers Association section, the Palm Beach Guild, early in my career. I knew that if I wanted to grow as a photographer I owed it to myself to learn and become a REAL PHOTOGRPAHER. I joined PPGPB and then that August went to convention to see what that was all about and WOW! Once you join a group you are up-to-date with what’s happening in your industry. Everyone has doubts about benefits or building personal relationships. There are lots of ways that genuine contact with people in your profession can help your career or business build success. If you are trying to get ahead in business, offer your help to others and you will get plenty of rewards. The FPP will help build you up as a photographer and teach you 4 times per year: Fall Seminar, Spring Seminar, Florida school and Convention! When you network you are building referrals. It’s free to promote your work with friends and group members. You don’t know this but you may find yourself sitting next to someone who will play an important role in your business life. And let’s face it...life is better when you interact with positive people! You might surprise yourself with a mind-blowing idea to boost your business by listening to others. You can also gain long-term friendships. You can become a leader by providing vision and purpose. As photographers we are the eyes behind our work. I joined FPP and my life changed. Today I have a stronger vision of where I am going and what I am worth. In the midst of all my years and dedication I have built trust and a stronger passion to help and see others succeed. I have become a professional photographer with the help of my local sections and state affiliation. Thank you FPP for making me the photographer I am today!
Stay up to date with all the news:
FPPonline.org
Florida School 2015 Marybeth Jackson, M. Photog., Cr., CPP, FDPE, FSA, FED Florida School of Photography, Director
New Dates…New Four Day Workshops…New Two Day Workshops and Instructors! You asked for new dates later in the month of June and a new course format and here you go! As Florida School celebrates its 23rd year; we continue to offer professional and aspiring photographers a unique, hands-on educational experience of practical, real world instruction with some of the best and brightest photography minds in the industry. Our commitment is to help photographers build a satisfying and prosperous career and to provide quality, cost-effective photographic education with some of the leading experts. Sunday Evening…We will also offer after hour’s education (to be announced) along with networking with other fellow photographers and vendors at Daytona State College Sunday evening. Of course, Daytona State College students are welcome and encouraged to attend! Vendors….We will have our equipment supplier on campus during the week to answer any questions you might have regarding products and equipment purchases. We will also have many other vendors that will have displays in the Atrium area on Sunday and Monday and be available for questions, too. Our Host Hotel…..Our official hotel for the Florida School is The Daytona Beach Resort located at 2700 North Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach directly on The World’s Most Famous Beach. Please contact the hotel at 800-654- 6216 or 386-672-3770 and reserve by May 22, 2015 to get the special studio room rate of $97 per night (includes kitchenettes). Don’t forget to mention the Florida photographers for the discounted room rate and we have also negotiated with the hotel to waive the resort fees, too! A late fee of $100 will be applied to all applications received after April 1, 2015. There are no tuition refunds after May 16, 2015. Tuition will include course instruction, daily continental breakfast, Sunday welcome reception & pizza party dinner, Tuesday night celebration dinner, school photograph and a certificate of completion. Travel, housing and some meal expenses are not included in the tuition. Choose your class NOW before classes are closed! Take advantage of our EZ Payment Plan and stretch out your tuition payments. For more in-depth information on the courses or samples of the instructor’s work; check us out at www.fpponline.org
When: August 29 - 31, 2015 Where: The Florida Hotel, Orlando, Florida FOCUS is a three day Photography Learning Experience! FOCUS is open to anyone who wants to attend FPP members: FOCUS is included in your membership For more information please visit www.areyouinfocus.com
FOCUS 2015
Save the date! August 29-31, 2015 The Florida Hotel, Orlando
Debbie Alcorn, FSA, FED, PP, CM Convention Manager, FOCUS
What: A three day photography learning experience put together by Florida Professional Photographers When: August 29-31, 2015 Where: The Florida Hotel, 1500 Sand Lake Rd, Orlando (Note this is a new location!) Who: Randy Van Duinen- “Lighting up the Night” Gregory Daniel- “Artist by Design” Monica Royal- “The Art of Seeing” Jessica Robertson-“Set Your Alarm for Success in the Senior Market” Jim Cunningham-“The Art of Composting” Gary Hughes-“Face First-Confessions of a Headshot Photographer” Ana Brandt-“The Art of Pregnancy and Newborn” Paul Gigante-“Sports, Sports, Sports” Garrett Nudd-“Weddings” This event is free to all FPP Members, just remember to register by August 23, 2015 by visiting the FOCUS website at www.areyouinfocus.com. If you wait and register at the door there will be a $25.00 fee, so don’t delay. Registration is open NOW. FOCUS includes all of the above speakers and a Roundtable on Sunday. We have Competition and Judging, Awards and Parties and above all the best friends you could possibly find. The best way to get the most out of your convention is to help make it happen. Join a committee and join the fun. Plus you get a Service Merit for working on a committee. To find out more about these committees contact Darla Sharp at 270-832-0376 or Bruce Wilson Jr. at 407-846-3838. They are in charge of matching you with the best committee for you! Room rates are $105.00 of booked by Thursday, August 6, 2015. Be sure to mention Florida Professional Photographers to get our group rate. Availability and rate after that date are possible but not guaranteed. FOCUS is open to everyone at the following prices: Guest of an FPP Member $129.00 if pre-registered by August 23rd. At the door $154.00. General Public Full Registration $210.00 (Includes 1 year FPP Membership) General Public Day rates: Saturday Only- $99 All programing and Trade Show if pre-registered by August 23. At the door $124. Sunday Only- $99 All programing and Trade Show if pre-registered by August 23. At the door $124. Monday Night Florida Awards and Wrap-up Party: No Charge. Open to the public. Trade Show- No Charge-register at the door. So Save the Date! Join a committee! Get your competition images ready! Get your FOCUS On!
Stay True to Yourself Gregory Daniel, FDPE, FSA, M. Photog. CR., CPP, F-ASP
Today, more than any other time in our industry, being unique is critically important to the success of both our businesses and personal sanity. Distracting noise in the marketplace is what I hear and experience everyday. Anywhere you turn, there are ads from all walks of life competing for our attention. Many of these ads appear to be attempts at price reductions with an underlying core of desperation or specials as a means to differentiate and stand out from the proverbial crowd. Producing products, services, branding, and experiences like everyone else will land you in the wading pool of commodity. Therefore we arrive at the question on how to rise above the noise and be noticed. I will share with you several concepts and principles that have shaped my path for the past 36 years in business. Stay True To Yourself – I have found this to be the foundation for our success. If you are interested in being different, looking unique and standing apart, look no further than yourself. There is only one you and no one else can be you! Fortunately, early on in my career I found my uniqueness through my undying love of art museums. You could find me in the library poring over books about artists or in galleries observing beautiful pieces during family vacations. Since the late 80’s these art galleries have been a beacon of light for my vision to fuse my love for photography with painterly classics. Staying true to this personal love and vision has not only been incredibly satisfying artistically, but also has set my business apart from the commodity. Your Audience – Certainly it goes without saying that if you want a business to be successful you definitely need to identify who your buyer will be. Commodity is for the world of mass marketing, which is not only expensive but also difficult. Identifying who your specific client is will narrow the wide marketing beam to that of a laser. In our case the audience is comprised of families who appreciate unique handcrafted works of art. This could stand true from shaving products, dining experiences, tailored clothing, interior design, to high-end vacations. Here’s the thing, it is a must to know who to make sure is aware that you exist! The Product – Now here is an area that I commonly see as an issue during my many mentor sessions with students. I truly believe starting with creating one single product that defines who you are is paramount to clearly being able to communicate to your audience. Developing your unique product and seeking feedback from your audience is critical in business success. Clearly our audience recognizes a Gregory Daniel Mixed Media Portrait as our signature commissioned product. These are uniquely designed pieces to fit in the life style of their beautiful homes. Once your defining product is mastered, the lines of communication with your audience are much clearer. I encourage each of you to dig deep inside to find the true you. There is wonderful joy in knowing that the business you have created was built on the foundation of your core desires. Communicating through this beautiful art form with your personal language is a gift to yourself and your audience.
Print Competition 2015 Robin Adams, Competition Manager
This is it! The year of change is 2015 and I’m so excited to present the new rules for FPP Print Competition at FOCUS! Please read them carefully and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Competition Manager, Robin Adams. There is a MAJOR change in how many images you can enter this year and we have a brand new entry structure, so please make sure you read the rules carefully. We also have a new friendly competition going on this year . . . read on for the details. Once again in 2015, we will have Early Bird Entry. The deadline this year for Early Bird entries is 8 p.m. on Friday, August 21, 2014. You must enter all images online, whether you are competing digitally or with prints. Just like last year, you have another week after the Early Bird deadline if you need it. We’re accepting late entries until 8 PM EST on August 27th. Note that dues MUST BE PAID before entering and the entry fees must be paid online. Under no circumstances will dues be accepted late in 2015. The FPP office is packed up and in transit on Wednesday, August 26th, so it is in your best interest to PAY YOUR DUES well before August 21st. You will still have a week to prepare your images, but get those dues paid, please! If your dues are not current, the website will reject your entries, and nobody likes rejection. Our Executive Director, Kaye Newsome, thanks you. Go to: http://printcompetition.com and log-on to enter. Print entries used for judging purposes and Exhibit-Only Prints must be shipped to Debbie Alcorn at Reedy Photo to be received by the deadline of 5 PM Wednesday, August 26. If you prefer to hand-deliver them, they must be received at the Salon Room, bottom floor of The Florida Hotel no later than 8:00 AM Saturday, August 29. Print cases are preferred but cardboard boxes will be accepted. No loose prints will be accepted! Date Action August 21 at 8 p.m. EST Early Bird entries due online at http://printcompetition.com August 27 at 8 p.m. EST Late entries due online at http://printcompetition.com August 26 at 5 p.m. EST Print entries for judging and Exhibit-Only Prints that are being shipped must be received by Debbie Alcorn at Reedy Photo August 29 at 8 a.m. EST All hand delivered print entries for judging and Exhibit-Only Prints must be received in salon room. Best Shot entries also due. August 29 at 8:30 a.m. EST Judging begins
Jeff Burton from PrintCompetition.com will be handling all the files and you will print the appropriate “paperwork” to confirm your entries from the PrintCompetition.com website. In the case of print entries, you will print both the entry forms and labels to be placed on the back of all print entries from the website. Please print them yourself and attach them as required. Category Changes There are no changes to the categories this year from 2014. File Size There are no changes this year in file sizes for entry from 2014. If you missed competition in 2014, please read the file size requirements carefully. Images are 4,000 pixels on the longest size to match PPA’s rules, which was a change from 2013. As we did last year, you may submit digital files or prints for judging in any of the categories except Albums which must be all digital files. Case Fees New for 2015, FPP is moving to a “per image” entry fee! We will now accept single entries and each entry carries its own fee. That means you can enter as few as one single image if you like and pay just $20 for early bird entry. No more $95 case fee, which we understand may have deterred you from dipping your toe in the competition waters. The fee per image goes up to $30 each if you don’t make Early Bird, so I encourage everyone to enter early. Maximum Entries And the good news just keeps coming. . . also in 2015, you can enter up to 10 images for each degree. You spoke and we listened, this allows you to work harder and get your degree just a bit faster. We also increased the number of albums you may enter to three. Exhibit Only A few words about Exhibit-Only prints, if I may. I’d like to challenge Florida in 2015 to make the display area better and bigger than in the last few years. Our new space for The Lounge and Print Display is gorgeous and I’m really looking forward to seeing it set up. However, I’m sure that you’ve noticed the steep decline in the number of prints hung each year and many members commented to me how sad it was. We have added Styrene as an acceptable medium this year, a 16x20 on Styrene will set you back just a few bucks! There are many great reasons to print your images, consider this: 1. When you merit, you’ll have something to hang that ribbon on. And when you win an award, your clients can see the print that won. 2. Images in the gallery can be studied and admired. We do the best we can with a slideshow of the images on monitors, but it’s a shame that it’s only displayed for a few seconds. I suppose it’s fun to stand and watch the slideshow, but when your image comes up, it’s up and gone. Just like that. Bummer.
3. Judges and moderators were very involved last year (thank you!) during every break and in the evenings with advice to members. But what were they critiquing? Prints! If your image is hanging, getting advice is as easy as asking – the print is there for you both to pour over. Every detail can be discussed and the learning curve is out of this world. Your image on the monitor for 3 seconds? Not so much. 4. Finally, having a gallery full of beautiful printed art is just cool. We’re artists and we should display our craft beautifully and proudly. We tell our clients to print our work, why aren’t we? Give us your Best Shot! Are you a photographer? Of course you are. Can you make a stellar image right there in the camera? Do you look at the camera back and get a thrill when you realize “I can print that right now, no stinkin’ Photoshop for that one!” An idea was born last year and it’s taken some time, long discussions, plenty of research and lots of feedback, but FPP is very proud to present a new image contest in 2015. We are asking for your Best Shot. Your very best skills all out there on display in just one image. One RAW image, unretouched. Not tweaked, not dodged or burned, no filters, no liquefy. Not even cropped. An image in the buff to be judged 100% on your photography skills not Photoshop skills. Each member that has entered at least one image and paid for an entry in the 2015 Print Competition will be allowed one entry in the Best Shot Contest.
The Best Shot Contest Rules: Best Shot entries are not considered part of a member’s case and will not take up an entry space. Contest entries will not be considered for any merits or points toward any degree in 2015 or any year after. Best Shot entries may be entered in future print competition, regardless of the final score in 2015, but not in the same contest or the same category, should one be created in future years for RAW entries. In other words, if a category is created in the future for this type of entry (RAW, or Best Shot), you may not enter your image again in that category. The Best Shot Contest entry is free to any member who is competing in the 2015 FPP Print Competition. The Best Shot Contest can be of any subject matter or content captured with no digital or physical post-processing. Any subject matter is acceptable, following the guidelines contained in any other Photographic Open Category, with the exception of albums. Images will be scored using the same methods and guidelines as all other categories. Entries will be judged during the Print Critique program on Monday, August 30th and is not part of the normal print competition judging. A panel of judges will be selected by the Competition Manager and competition committee. FPP’s judges and moderators are eligible to enter the contest, but may not then be eligible to judge the contest entries. The RAW File (see below for list of accepted formats) for judging shall be delivered to the Competition Manager via physical electronic media, such as a flash stick, thumb drive, media card or DVD/CD no later than Saturday August 29 at 8 a.m. EST. before 8 a.m. on Saturday. Entries will not be accepted via email, file upload service or the PrintCompetition.com portal. I would strongly recommend that you save the image to at least two different formats as a back up and bring both with you.
The entry’s metadata must be intact and can be, at any time, studied by the Print Competition Manager, the Moderator and/or any Judge using Camera Raw, Lightroom, Photoshop or other comparable program. Albums are not allowed for the RAW category. Images entered in Best Shot Contest must be submitted in one of the following formats: IIQ (Phase One); 3FR (Hasselblad), DCR, K25, KDC (Kodak), CR2 (Canon), ERF (Epson), MEF (Mamiya), MOS (Leaf ), NEF (Nikon), ORF (Olympus), PEF (Pentax), RW2 (Panasonic) and ARW, SRF, SR2 (Sony). There can be no post production process applied to the image, we created this contest to test your skills as a photographer and the photograph must be straight out of the camera (SOOC). This includes, but is not limited to, white balance adjustment, dodging, burning, or cropping. Altering individual pixels within an image is not allowed (e.g., liquefying, spotting, healing, cloning etc.). Global or localized sharpening is not allowed. Split tones and HDR effects are not allowed. No images will be allowed that have filters, textures, actions or overlays applied to it. If the metadata shows any manipulations, including any file alternations not listed above, a Judge, Moderator, or Competition Manager may, at their discretion, disqualify the entry from the contest and the entry will not be judged or scored. I’m very excited to roll out these changes to FPP’s Print Competition. Best of luck to everyone and get busy making beautiful images! FOCUS is right around the corner and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s best work.
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Competition Rules 2015 Robin Adams, Competition Manager
REGISTRATION DEADLINES Digital Submissions: Online by Friday, August 21, 2015. Registration will be closed at 8 PM EST. Image fee is $20.00 per image. Submissions after 8 PM EST on August 21st will be charged $30.00 per image and are due no later than Thursday, August 27th at 8 PM EST. Fees must be paid online at the time of registration. No payments will be accepted with physical prints. Dues MUST be current before registering your images, and through the end of Convention. If you are in doubt as to your membership status, please contact Kaye Newsome, Executive Director before registering your images. Print Submissions: Shipped cases containing prints must be received no later than 5 PM, Wednesday August 26, 2015. Ship directly to: Reedy Photo Attn: Debbie Alcorn 12125 28th St. N. St. Petersburg, FL 33716 Hand delivered cases must be received no later than 8:00 AM, Saturday, August 29, 2015 at the Salon Room at the Florida Hotel. All images, whether prints or digital, must be registered online by August 21 (Early Bird) or August 27 (Late Registration). Date Action August 21 at 8 p.m. EST Early Bird entries due ($20 per image) online at http://printcompetition. com August 27 at 8 p.m. EST Late entries due ($30 per image) online at http://printcompetition.com August 26 at 5 p.m. EST Print entries for judging and Exhibit-Only Prints that are being shipped must be received by Debbie Alcorn at Reedy Photo August 29 at 8 a.m. EST All print entries that are being hand delivered for judging and Exhibit-Only Prints must be received in the Salon Room August 29 at 8:30 a.m. EST Judging begins Membership Status: All participants must be FPP members, and have paid their annual dues to enter. Visit www.fpponline. org to verify your FPP Membership. Eligible members for salon competition include these categories: Professional, Associate, Honorary Life, Retired, Non-Resident, Service, Student, Member (Non-Professional). (Note: Out-of-State members may enter prints and earn merits toward their Florida degrees,
but are not eligible to win any photographic competition awards.) One to ten (1-10) entries are allowed for each Degree Classification; Florida Degree of Photographic Excellence (FDPE) or Florida Degree of Artistic Excellence (FDAE). FDPE and FDAE submissions may contain all photographic images, or a combination of single images and albums with no more than three albums. Each degree’s entries (FDPE or FDAE) must be entered in a separate case with a separate entry fee for each case. FPP PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION 2015 The purpose of this competition is to allow the entrant to demonstrate their photographic imaging skills and expertise in pursuit of the FPP Florida Degree of Photographic Excellence(FDPE). Both prints or digital files may be entered in this competition. All entries will be judged relative to the 12 Elements of a Merit Image. Prints will be judged under standard competition lighting of 75 foot-candles of tungsten lighting. Digital files will be judged on calibrated NEC monitors. Prints Competition Print Judging Submission: Competition prints must be permanently mounted on double-weight mount board, Competition Mount Board, Gatorfoam ®, Foamcore ® Sintra ® or Styrene. You may not use masonite, glass, metal, stretcher frames, or conventional frames. Any prints submitted on materials not approved will be disqualified from judging. All prints must be able to fit in the hangers provided by the FPP Salon Committee. It is suggested that thickness not exceed 3/8th inch maximum with a minimum thickness of 1/8th inch. Those prints that cannot be hung in the standard mounting brackets will be returned to their respective cases and not on exhibit for public viewing. Prints of any shape and size are allowed within the following parameters: 1. A minimum total image size (not including digital matting) of 80 square inches. This is equivalent to an 8x10 image but does not have to be those proportions. 2. Images must be mounted on a minimum 320 square-inch mount board (equal to 16x20) up to a maximum of 576 square-inch mount board, with the largest dimension no longer than 24 inches. NOTE: For example, this means you may enter an image 80 sq. in. or larger image on a 16x20 mount board (320sq.in.), or … mounted on a 13”x24”mount board (320 sq. in.), great for panoramics; or … up to a mounted24”x24” print (576 square inches),better for including guide prints on EI submissions. 3. You must register online, pay your fees by the deadline and upload the final version of the digital file of each image when you register. The digital files must be 4,000 pixels on the longest edge. They will be used for viewing at the Florida Awards if your image is selected as an Honor Print. 4. You must print and tape the PrintCompetition.com label to the back of each physical print used for judging. Look for the button on the website that says PRINT ALL BACK LABELS. On this label you will find an arrow that indicates the UP orientation of the image. Digital Judging Submission: If you submit digital files for judging, you are not required to submit a print for the exhibit. Therefore you will not have a print on exhibit and will not be considered for print-only awards. However, you
may submit an “Exhibit-Only” print that will not be judged for scoring purposes but will be hung in the exhibit for public viewing. The submission of the exhibit-only print is at the option of the maker. Exhibit-Only Prints maybe of normal density for best viewing on public display. Exhibit-Only prints must include identification “tabs” at the bottom of each print. Use two separate tabs, ¾”high, mounted on a sturdy surface (similar to the mounting board) and hung at the bottom right and left corners with tape. The name of the maker shall be placed on the left side and the title of the print placed on the right side. Leave a minimum 4-inchspace between the tabs for the hangers. The ID Tabs are not part of the print and may be removed after competition for studio/ home/location exhibit. Since the print exhibit will begin being setup early Saturday morning, these will be used to help the salon committee easily identify the image and maker for corners and ribbons. The Kodak Gallery Award and the LexJet Sunset Awards will be judged using competition print submissions only. See below for award requirements. Digital Image Requirements Images Files: Image files must be sized so the maximum dimension in any direction is 4,000 pixels including presentation mats. Each image file must contain an embedded color profile of either sRGB or AdobeRGB1998 and be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10.Monitor Settings will include D65, Brightness of 120cd/m2 and 2.20 gamma. Total file size should not exceed 7.32 MB. It is not the responsibility of the Competition Committee to make sure your submissions comply with the requirements. Album Files: Album entries must be submitted online; only Digital Album submissions will be judged. Page images should be in a 2560x1600 pixel horizontal format. Monitor Settings will include D65, Brightness of 120 cd/m2 and2.20 gamma. It is not the responsibility of the Competition Committee to make sure your submissions comply with the requirements. Entries must be “zipped” files with all pages contained in the one file to be able to submit them on line. PHOTOGRAPHIC OPEN RULES These rules pertain to images captured electronically with a digital camera or scanner. 1. Entrant must have captured and created the original exposure. 2. Any entry which has been reproduced from an existing photograph, graphic or any other artwork produced by another person is a violation of the competition rules and will not be judged, accepted or exhibited. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the Competition Committee, violates copyright, trademark or any other applicable law, that entry shall be disqualified. 3. A maximum of ten entries may be submitted per entrant, with Albums limited to three (3). 4. A case may contain a mixture of both digital and print entries not to exceed a total of ten. 5. No entry will be eligible that has been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class assignment. 6. Entries of the same subject may be entered. In the portrait/social event category, they may NOT be the same setting/background and clothing. They must be completely different in content even though the same subject [person(s)/animal] is in the image. Special consideration will be given to wedding gown portraits regarding clothing. Commercial entries may be of the same product or location but
with obviously different treatments. 7. Entry media may be either print or digital file format. 8. Album entries must be all digital. No physical albums will be accepted. 9. All entries must be titled. 10. No single image from an album entered into competition may be entered in any other category. 11. If an image Merits in any category of FPP competition, it may not be entered again in any other category at any time by any entrant. No image that receives a Merit may be entered more than once under any circumstance. This specifically includes any image in a merited album. ALBUM RULES Albums may be entered in either the Event or Non-Event category. Event albums are for time-sensitive social events such as weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc. Non-Event Albums are for portrait and story-telling albums. Rules for Multi-Maker album entries: 1. All makers of a multi-maker album MUST be a member of FPP. 2. Each maker must pay the appropriate entry fee. 3. Each album entry must have the official entry form submitted with the names for each maker. 4. Images in the album must be the work of the makers, with a minimum of 20 images per maker. 5. Multi-maker albums will be judged as one entry. 6. There is a limit of three (3) albums per maker. 7. Entries must be titled. File Naming– Images There are no file naming rules for uploading images. The PrintCompetition.com system automatically renames files according to standardized rules (i.e. adding the category designations, etc.) File Naming – Albums Albums are submitted as one single zipped file. Each page of the album should be individually named according to the two digit page number. For example 01.jpg, 02.jpg, etc. There are no naming requirements for the zip file since the PrintCompetition.com system automatically renames the file according to the standardized rules. Major Categories - Photographic Open
(See below for specific sub-categories) Portrait Illustrative Commercial Social Event Albums Photographic Open Categories (FDPE Degree) PORTRAITS P-1 Portrait of a Man: Man at least16 years old. May include Figure Study. Figure Study Portraits must be of a tasteful, artistic nude subject. Images deemed inappropriate for public display will be judged and returned to their respective cases. P-2 Portrait of a Woman: Woman at least 16 years old. May include Figure Study. Figure Study Portraits must be of a tasteful, artistic nude subject. Images deemed inappropriate for public display will be judged and returned to their respective cases. P-3 Portrait of a Child: Male or female under the age of 16. P-4 Portrait of a Group: Portrait must be two or more people. May include children. P-5 Environmental Portrait: Subject(s) on location where the environment is significant to the image. P-6 Portrait of a Pet: Portrait of a pet(s) under controlled lighting and a controlled environment, as in a studio. This also includes outdoor portraits where the animal is controlled by the owner or photographer. ILLUSTRATIVE I-1 Abstract: Abstract subject matter. I-2 Landscape: Scenic image of landscape, seascape, cityscape - with or without people. I-3 Wild Animals: Images of animals in a uncontrolled lighting environment. Subjects include wild animals, birds, reptiles and insects. Pets are specifically excluded from this category. I-4 Open: Entry of subject matter that does not clearly fit into any other category. COMMERCIAL C-1 Advertising Illustration: Image created to advertise a product or service. A tear sheet is recommended. C-2 Architectural: Interior or exterior image of a structure. C-3 Industrial: Image created in an industrial environment. C-4 Photojournalism: Storytelling, editorial image produced in a non-studio environment for use in a commercial media.
Note: A tear sheet included with any image should be attached to the back of the print entry, or included in the case if the image is to be judged digitally, in a9x12 manila or white envelope with the image that it goes with clearly identified on each envelope. SOCIAL EVENT F-1 Social Event Formal Portraiture: Image of one or more individuals associated with a social event captured under controlled lighting and conditions. F-2 Social Event Open: Image of one or more individuals associated with a social event not captured under controlled lighting and conditions. Candid shots are appropriate in this category. ALBUMS (Limit of three) A-1 Event Album (Single-Maker):Album depicting a single social event. Minimum of 20 images in the album. A-2 Event Album (Multi-Maker):Album depicting a single social event. Each maker must have at least 20images in the album. A-3 Non-Event Album (Single-Maker): Album depicting any subject. Minimum of 12 Images in the album. A-4 Non-Event Album (Multi-Maker): Album depicting any subject. Each maker must have at least 12 images in the album. ELECTRONIC IMAGING RULES The purpose of this competition is to allow the maker to demonstrate their electronic imaging skills and expertise in pursuit of the FPP Florida Degree of Artistic Excellence. Entries will be judged for digital, artistic and technical proficiency. Entries must have been sourced, composited, manipulated and/ or produced by digital means. FPP members are eligible to achieve FPP Salon Merits toward the FDAE Degree. These rules pertain to images entered in the EI Category: 1. All digital manipulation must have been performed by the maker. 2. Any entry which has been reproduced from an existing photograph, portrait, graphic or any other artwork produced by another person must be accompanied by written permission from that maker and pasted on the back of the print if one is submitted. If a print is not provided, written permission must be included in the case. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the Competition Committee, violates copyright, trademark or any other applicable law, that entry shall be disqualified. This rule does not apply to entries in the Restoration category. 3. Entries are required to be titled. 4. A maximum of ten entries may be submitted per entrant. 5. No entry will be eligible that has been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class as-
signment. 6. Entries of the same subject may be entered. They must be completely different in content even though the same subject [person(s)/animal] is in the image. 7. Entries in this competition may not be and may not have been entered again in any other category at anytime by any entrant. 8. If an image Merits in any category of FPP competition it may not be entered again in any other category at any time by any entrant. No image that receives a Merit may be entered more than once under any circumstance. This specifically includes any image in a merited album. Electronic Imaging Judging and Submissions 1. All entries may include guide images. It should be noted that judges are limited to the information available to them on the entry. Guide images should clearly demonstrate the artist’s talent in producing the final image. 2. Un-retouched or un-manipulated “original” guide images are required in the EA-1 and EA-2 categories and are recommended in all categories to demonstrate the digital expertise of the maker. 3. If an entry requires guide images, they must be displayed adjacent to the finished image in the submitted print or digital file. 4. Entries without guide images may be submitted and judged in certain categories. 5. There are no file naming rules for uploading images. The PrintCompetition.com system automatically renames files according to standardized rules (i.e. adding the category designations, etc.) 6. Entries of the same subject may be entered. They may NOT be the same setting/ background and clothing. They must be completely different in content even though the same subject is in the image. 7. Please refer to submission guidelines at the beginning of these rules for the following: A) Competition Print Requirements B) Mounting Requirements C) Digital Judging File Sizes D) Exhibit-Only Print Submission and Identification. ELECTRONIC IMAGING CATEGORIES (FDAE Degree) ELECTRONIC ART EA-1 Digital Restoration: Entry in this category must demonstrate the ability of the artist to provide digital restoration services. Entry will be judged on the restoration, not the original image. Guide images are required on all EA-2 entries. EA-2 Digital Art: Entry in this category should be an artistic image created using any method a maker
desires, normally Photoshop, Painter, etc., and is not required to appear photographic in its final form. The final image must be based on photographic originals that are clearly recognizable in the final entry. ELECTRONIC MANIPULATION EM-1 Digital Illustrative Art: Entry created with a combination of photographic images and digital tools to provide a final creative image. This category is designed to allow you to use various digital tools and software to produce a final image that gives the impression of a photograph. The final image MUST appear to be photographic. Any image that is obviously derived from a “painting” will not be accepted.
SCORING The scoring ranges are as shown below. Those that score 78-79 will also undergo a thumbs-up/thumbsdown review with four of the six judges giving it a thumbs up to bump it up into the merit category. Scoring: 100 – 95 Exceptional 94 – 90 Superior 89 – 85 Excellent 84 – 80 Deserving of a Merit 79 – 75 Above Average 74 – 70 Average 69 – 0 Unacceptable
Special Information on Awards:
Kodak Gallery and LexJet Sunset Print Awards: The Kodak Gallery Award is presented by the judges to one entry scoring 80 or higher in one of the following categories: Portrait Print, Wedding Print, or Illustrative, Commercial, Electronic Imaging Print. Visit: www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/hub/galleryAward/galleryAwardMain.jhtml for more information. TO QUALIFY: 1. An image must receive a score of 80 or more points during judging to be eligible for a Gallery Award and, as such, is eligible for any award in the Gallery Award categories, regardless of the category to which the entry was submitted. 2. An image may only win one Gallery Award. The Gallery Award submission must be entered with a label on the back signed by the maker saying this image or album has never received a Kodak Gallery Award. The label can be found here: http://www.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/
professional/hub/galleryAward/GalleryAwardsLabel.pdf 3. Only images printed on KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Paper will be eligible to submit for the Kodak Gallery Award. It is the responsibility of the photographer whose entry is submitted to own copyrights to each entry and to have in his/her possession signed and dated releases for each subject, model and location. By entering the competition, the photographer acknowledges and accepts this complete responsibility and grants Kodak Alaris use of the entry.
The Sunset Print Award is presented as the “Best Print in Exhibition,” at print competitions where a minimum of 50 prints are entered into PPA-styled judged competitions. Judging, selection, and presentation are done by the hosting organization in accordance with the published Rules and Qualifications for the Sunset Award.
TO QUALIFY: All printed entries are eligible to win the “Best Print in Exhibition” Sunset award 1. Entries need not be printed on Sunset inkjet media to win 2. An image must be submitted and be judged as a print 3. The image must score >80 points during the PPA-style judging 4. The image will be chosen from the 10 highest scoring prints in the competition 5. The image cannot have won a Sunset award previously. 6. If the winning image is printed on Sunset paper the winner will also receive an iPad Air at PPA District competitions and an iPad mini in all others. To qualify, maker must print and attached the label: http://www.sunsetprint.com/?attachment_id=5059 7. The image must adhere to all rules and qualifications of the host print competition 8. The entrant must have all releases and permission of all subjects appearing in the image Visit: http://www.sunsetprint.com/sunset-print-award/ for more information
Robert Becker Award for Creative Photography: This award will be presented to the maker whose image is judged to be the most creative single image in the overall photographic open category. A minimum score of 85 is required to be considered for this prestigious award.
Susan and Stewart Powers Award: The “Best-of-the-Best” album will be awarded the “Susan and Stewart Powers Award“ as determined by the judges. A minimum score of 85 is required to be considered for this prestigious award. Both Single-Maker and Multi-Maker albums will be considered.
12 Elements of Wootness Christine Walsh-Newton, M. Photog., Cr., CPP
When I first began learning about print competition, I learned about the 12 elements of a merit image. At the time, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me...I just didn't 'get” it. After a bit of time, I learned to understand and appreciate it more, but I felt it needed a little help. There didn't seem to be any real “rules” of print competition. I was looking for a list of down and dirty tips - a list of ideas that would help me do better in print competition. I competed solely in the portrait category and after a few years began to develop my own list of helping hints for entering portraits. And so was born the 12 Elements of Wootness: 1. Don't enter family members for the first few years of print competition. It's hard to hear a critique when the subject of the image is someone you hold dear to your heart. Do yourself a favor and wait until you've gotten a little bit of experience under your belt and can be a little bit more objective. 2. Start with head and shoulder images only. The more things there are in your image, the more things there are to mess up and the more things there are to critique. Keep it simple in the beginning. Learn the proper upper body posing and then move on to learning how to pose arms and hands perfectly, then move on to full body images, etc. 3. Your subject's background and clothing should be in key. Don't put light clothing on a dark background or dark clothing on a light background. You may hear this referred to as “mixing keys.” Don't do it. 4. The lightest area of an image should be the subject's face. Not his hands. Not his shirt. Not the fruit salad he's holding. His face. Wait, why is he holding fruit salad? Didn't we discuss the whole “head and shoulders” thing a few steps ago? I thought so. 5. Print vs Digital. There have been some theories bandied about that those who enter prints have a higher percentage of merits and therefore the judges like prints better. That is hogwash. There are also theories that digital entries have a lesser percentage of merits because judges don't like digital. Again with the hogwash. Don't try to stack the deck and play a game of odds. Prepare your images and present them in the way that they look the best. I tend to enter prints because it's representative of my entire photographic process. You may have to have some test prints made and compare them to your image on a properly calibrated and spec'd monitor to make this decision. 6. Size/Shape. In the past, there were more restrictions regarding the size and shape of your entries. Now the only restriction is that physical prints must fall between 80 and 480 square inches and that digital entries must have the longest side set at 4000 pixels. The best piece of advice I can give you
Christine Walsh-Newton, cont’d...
here is to crop for composition and then add a even presentation/mat/border around all four sides. 7. Subject in the upper right power point. Where the guide lines of the rule of thirds intersect is called a power point. My personal favorite is the one in the upper right. I generally will try and position that point right between the eyes of my subject. If I can't utilize the power point, I will try and line up my subject's eyes on the upper third. 8. Use a black or white mat. The border around the image is considered part of the presentation. In the beginning you may be tempted to utilize bold colors or unusual colors from within the image. Do not do this. Not in the beginning, anyway. You're probably better off using black for low key images and white for high key images until you've observed a number of print competitions and see what kind of colors work best with different types of images. For the most part, I tend not to make my border lighter than my image as that will cause the viewer's attention to stray outside the image portion of the print. 9. Use a small “stroke” of color to separate the main image from the presentation. This should be small and unobtrusive. Utilize a color that is present within your image, but make sure it's the color of something you want the viewer to look at. There is a PPA Edu video that very simply demonstrates how to create a mat and stroke presentation in photoshop and is the way I prepare my own competition images: http://www.ppa.com/edu/product. cfm?ItemNumber=5685 10. Titles: I like to create impact by utilizing emotion in my titles. A title designed to elicit an “awww” response to a litter of puppies or a kick to the gut with a gritty black and white helps round out my image and story-telling. You can also utilize grammatical formations; my own personal favorites are alliteration (all the words in the title begin with the same letter) and rhyming. I do want to caution you to not go crazy finding the completely perfect title. A perfect title is not going to make a merit print and likewise, a bad title will not kill a merit print. 11. Mounting: For digital entries, there is no mounting. For print entries, you will want to make sure that the mount does not detract from the print. Evaluate your print lab and make sure that they have a dark mount available for your low key entries and a light mount available for your high key entries. I generally enter low key portraits, so I like to have my images mounted on black foam core. 12. Finishing: For digital entries, there is no finishing. My finishing directives to my lab include laminating. Most often I order my prints with a high gloss laminate, although recently I switched to a matte lamination for a particularly dark image. Your best bet here is to experiment with the different types of finishes that your lab offers ahead of time so you can make this decision easier. If you just can't make a decision, default to high gloss until you develop your own preferences. Once I get the print home, I make one last tweak to it. If it is a low key image, I will color the edge of it with a black sharpie so that the white edge of the paper is no longer visible from a distance.
Mentors/Scholarships Betty McDonald, Cr., FDAE, FSA, FED Mentors and Silent Auction, FOCUS
Our FPP Convention is just around the corner.Time flies! I just want to remind you again of our Mentor Program and hope you plan on participating by bidding on the Mentor of your choice. Most of our members are familiar with our Mentor Program. To the new members who are not, each year at the FPP Convention we have a Silent Auction where members may bid on the photographer they wish to be their Mentor for a Day. The wining bidders have until May 30, 2016 .to claim their day with the Mentor. The day is chosen at the convenience of both the bidders and Mentors. All the money we receive from the auction goes into the FPP Scholarship Fund. This is the fund that allows us to give Scholarships each year to the Florida School of Photography. Some of the scholarships are awarded at the Convention while others are awarded at the school. So now you ask, how can I win a scholarship? Several ways. One is to work on committees at both the School and the Convention. This year we are adding new Mentors as well as our Mentors who volunteer each year. Money received from this auction goes into the scholarship fund. The Mentors donate their time. This year our auction will include Photographic Merchandise that is donated by some of our Sponsors. We will have the merchandise or photographs on display at the auction. Our booth is inside the Trade Show so be sure and stop by our booth. We will be available for bids during the hours of the Trade Show. This will allow you time to bid without missing any programs. Bidding will close at the same time as the Trade Show. Please pick up your Merchandise at this time. A great BIG THANKS to all who participate. Lets make 2015 a great year. Looking forward to seeing each of you! Betty