Executive Board Chairman Ellis Williamson Ewilliamson17@nc.rr.com
President Rose Mary Cheek rosemarycheek@charter.net
President Elect Ned Winn studiomail@nc.rr.com Vice President Adrian Henson adrian@adrianhenson.com
Treasurer Tim Hester tim@timhesterphotography.com
CAROLINA PHOTOGRAPHER MAGAZINE is a monthly online publication of the Professional Photographers of North Carolina, Inc. Editor Rose Mary Cheek rosemarycheek@charter.net 828-322-2862 Sales & Business Manager Rose Mary Cheek Member Highlights Contributing Writer Catherine Kouri Articles & Sales Submissions First of the Month Publication 15th of the Month
Secretary Danny Daniel useralex2493@aol.com
Executive Director Loretta Byrd Loretta@ppofnc.com
PPNC 427 Greenleaf Road, Angier, NC 27501 919-796-4747 www.ppofnc.com
Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressed by Carolina Photographer or any of its authors does not necessarily reflect the positions of the Professional Photographers of North Carolina, Inc. Association financial information available upon request.
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Who Are We? The Professional Photographers of North Carolina (PPNC) is NC’s largest association for professional photographers. We are an affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America, led by an elected Board of working professional photographers. We are a non-profit, member owned association. We are a community in tune with each other’s challenges. Together, we help each other succeed. From a monthly digital magazine with numerous tips and techniques, to one of the state’s largest photographic conventions and trade show, competitions, seminars, and more, PPNC’s members are connected.
Contents From the Editor From the President District competition-seppa awards Memorial-Dean Craddock Equivalent Exposures- Dave Goldman Thoughts on Print Competition-Adrian Henson
Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 PAGE 8 Page 10 Page 25
This Story will Touch Your Heart A Nine Month Journey of a Mother and her Baby By Deborah Hendrix
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CAROLINA PHOTO EPO HIGHIGHTS Volume Photography To Promote Your Custom Portrait Studio Chris Garner & Cathy Anderson
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Spring Seminar Photo Highights
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On the Cover Editor's Pick - Emma by Mona Kay Sadler
An affiliate of
Fans of Professional Photographers of North Carolina
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From the Editor Our Association had a great loss this month with Dean Craddock's passing, be sure to read his memorial on Page 8. Many will remember Dean's wonderful smile, his warm personality. What a great teacher, mentor and friend he was. We need to give Tom McCabe a shout out for such a great job he and his team did with the Spring Seminar. The location at East Carolina University was in the Fine Arts Building. When we were not in classes, we enjoyed viewing the many portfolio pieces of the students on the walls. The campus at ECU sure has grown since my son attended there in 1993. Be sure to see the images donated by Chuck Hill and Steve Strickland. Remember when you donate a page of imaged you get one service credit. Rose Mary Cheek, Editor
PPNC Directors & Seminar Chair Eastern Directors
Angela Blankenship abphotography2008@gmail.com Marie White Marie@turnerwhitephotography.com Seminar Chair - Tom McCabe tommccabe46@earthlink.net Seminar is Mar 18-20, 2016
PPA National Councilmen Cassie Stone Janet Boschker Joy Batchelor-King
Central Directors
Deborah Hendrix porbydeb@gmail.com George Joell george@gpjoell3photography.com Seminar Chair- Renee McCardell info@mccardellstudios.com Seminar is Jan 23-25, 2016
Western Directors
Brian Allen puregrit@hotmail.com Cathy Anderson Fabulous.photog@gmail.com Seminar Chair - Stephen Dey photo@charlotteimage.com Seminar - TBD
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SEPPA Rep. Loretta Byrd
From the President As of Wednesday the 30th of March we have only 20 weeks until 2016 Carolina Photo Expo. Excitement is stiring amongst the Convention Committee. We are accelerating our Marketing, so look for the Pre-Con class and Speaker information in your e-mail, Facebook and other avenues of Social Media. Speaking of Facebook, I enjoyed a good talk with a Social Media guru, and one of our new members Mike Anderson. He explained to me a little more about how the sharing process works. He said we could post something on our PPNC page, but unless it is shared the information just stays in there. The only way we will get information out is for members to Share the posts. Only sharing, putting it on your own timeline will help to expand our reach.
When I checked out sharing on our PPNC page, I notice there was no share button. Once I clicked on the photo to expand the view, there appeared a share button. So from our Facebook page, just click on the item, go to share to your timeline, or other photography groups you may be a part of. The more sharing, the more our event is seen by others. For any of our Social Media whiz's out there that would like to help with this process of getting the word out, please let me know. We will be grateful for the help. So this month's word is S H A R E!! S H A R E !!! S H A R E !!!!
THANKS
Respectfully, Rose Mary CheeK
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It is my honor to congratulate PPSC as the 2016 winner of the SEPPA Traveling Trophy. The following is a list of the Print Awards: Canon Par Excellence - Photographic Open - Ted Linczak Canon Par Excellence - Artist - Sandra Pearce Best Portrait Award - Dead Man’s Hand by Randy McNeilly Best Illustrative Award - Air Strike by Joe Campanellie Best Wedding Award - Kissing a Married Woman by Barbi Barnum Best Artist - Hand Drawn Graphite by Michelle Parsley Best in Show - Westerly by Ted Linczak SEPPA Fuji Wedding - Classic Elegance by Kevin Jiminez SEPPA Fuji Portrait - Anthony Marill SEPPA LexJet Award - Muse by Randy McNeilly It is my honor to congratulate PPSC as the 2016 winner of the SEPPA Traveling Trophy.
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Memorial Dean Price Craddock February 28, 1938 – March 12, 2016 Dean was the son of Carlton and Vera Price Craddock. Dean Price Craddock, born February 28, 1938 – March 12 2016, was married to Norma. Dean had a love of people, which was demonstrated in his work as a professional photographer. He was Rockingham County’s only Master Photographer. He had earned a degree for outstanding work by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in 1978. He was also awarded the Photographic Craftsman Degree in 1983 by PPA. He was very active in the Professional Photographer of North Carolina (PPNC.) Dean taught at PPNC summer school for many years, served as PPNC President in 1978, and continued on PPNC’s board until his cancer recently kept him from continuing. Dean was also very active in his community. He served as President of the Reidsville Rotary Club in 1986 and was a Paul Harris Fellow in 2000. He 8
was a member of the Corinthian Masonic Lodge #542 AF&AM; where he served as Master in 1970-71. Dean later moved his Masonic membership to the Reidsville Jefferson-Penn Lodge #34 AR&AM. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Greensboro in 1970. In addition, Dean was a United Way Volunteer Photographer in the 1980’s, and American Red Cross blood donor all of his adult life, President of Reidsville Historic Preservation Commission, and served on the board of The Children’s Home in Winston-Salem for 11 years. In addition to these activities, Dean had a passion for airplanes and flying. He earned his pilot license soloing on October 20, 1986. Dean was very active in his church, Main Street a United Methodist Church He served as chairman of about every committee in the church and taught an adult Sunday School Class for 25 years. On his birthday, Feb. 28, he was honored with the class renamed to the Dean Craddock Sunday School Class. He truly loved serving his Lord and his church above all other activities.
Equivalent Exposures by Dave Goldman, Cr. Photog., CPP, CPP Liaison
When it comes to photography we all have a need to change our camera settings quite often depending on the situation. A common scenario that comes to mind is when clients ask the photographer “Can you please blur out the background.” How do you go about achieving this and still keeping the vision you had in mind for the shoot? One concept we teach for the CPP is Equivalent Exposures. What this means in the simplest form is you, the photographer, are looking for another pair of shutter speeds and aperture settings that will give you the same exposure. Something to keep in mind here is that your DOF (Depth of Field) will always change when you change apertures, one way or the other. Let’s say you are starting off with F16, 1/125th @ 100 ISO (Sunny 16 Rule). What would give you an equivalent exposure?
F16, 1/125th @ 100, now we are at F11, 1/250th @ 100 ISO. Taking a photograph with these settings will both give you the same exposure, however your depth of field has just changed because you changed the aperture. In my Skype mentoring class, I teach this as +1 or -1 method. Any time you open up and take in more light, you +1 for each stop and any time you go the opposite way you are cutting the light so you -1 for each stop. Here ISO never changes so that stays at 0, +1 because you went from F16 to F11 and -1 from 1/125th to 1/250th. +1 and -1 equals 0 so you have an equivalent exposure. This method works from some people and for other it does not as some individuals do not do well with numbers or math on the fly.
First let’s take a look at this using the give-a-stop and take-a-stop method. We open up one stop to F11 which allows two times more light and we increase our shutter speed to 1/250th (cutting our light by half). Starting at 10
Another way you can look at it is you went from F16 to F11 so you gained one stop of light so now you need one less stop of light, controlled by the shutter speed. You achieve this by going from 1/125th to 1/250th which reduces the light. In the end it is just the way that you think about it. To add one more item to the mix is when you use a ND or Neutral Filter. These filters have a filter factor. I will just use the basic ones here as ND 2, ND 4 or ND 8 which cut 1, 2 or 3 stops of light. For example, you are shooting a subject and your camera settings are F16, 1/125th @ 100 ISO. You decide to put a ND 8 on your lens which cuts your light down by three stops. You now need to make up, gain or open up three stops of light to compensate for the loss due to the ND filter. You can fix this by changing your settings to F5.6, 1/125th @ 100 ISO which will allow you to blur the background. You can also change your settings to F16, 1/125th @ 800 ISO (which could add noise for a black and white photograph). You could also use F16, 1/15th @ 100 ISO which will require the use of a tripod, etc. I am sure you get the idea by now. I hope this helps you all understand equivalent exposures a little better and happy photographing! Dave 11
Thoughts on Print Competition By Adrian Henson I have often said that print competition is like volunteering for a spanking. And I firmly believe that. As a child we know very little about what is right or wrong, what is correct and incorrect. Without positive and negative reinforcement, we would never have figured those things out. It is an unfortunate part of the human condition in which we must have both to learn and to grow. Situations that only provide positive reinforcement never emphasize the errors of our ways. While rewarding the good things we do is great, if the bad or incorrect things we do are never pointed out and or criticized, we grow into a very flawed product of that situation. We need negative reinforcement as much as we need positive. Print competition is designed to provide both positive and negative reinforcement all in one package. When we make mistakes in our images, we are reprimanded with a score that reflects where the images stand when compared to the photographic standard. When we learn to clean up our mis-
takes, that knowledge will be reflected in our scores. Is a group of judges capable of coming to reliable consensus on what the “standard� of a merit print is? Overwhelmingly, I have come to the conclusion that the answer is yes. It is an interesting fact, which I have tested on a few occasions, where most any group of reasonably skilled photographers, with very little training, can accurately judge merit quality very consistent with an expert pane. This, in no way discredits the need for well trained and well qualified judges. The point is that most any 12
group of five reasonably skilled photographers can discern a quality image from a poor quality image. The hard part is the ability to see beyond the merit standard and then be able to articulate the points that make an image great or not great in an educational and inoffensive manor. Any judge can say a print is great or that a print is terrible, but to be able to explain either of the two informatively and eloquently, is what separates the great judges from the not so great. So why would one subject themselves to a “spanking” multiple times every year? Well, sometimes you don’t get spanked, and actually, if you are learning and growing and really pushing yourself, you get to a point where you get positive rewards more than spankings. The fear of getting “spanked”, mortifies many to the point they cannot bare to enter. Those individuals rarely grow as photographers, they plateau and stagnate on a much lower level than they might otherwise. Those that chose to lay it all on the line and put themselves out there time and time again grow, often to greatness. A key element of this growth is humility. Being able to take criticism and advice about your work with interest and an appetite for learning is an asset that
will take even the most unlikely photographer to unbelievable places in their work. There is a point in every competitor’s career where they get pretty good at getting merits. They often manage a few high scores here and there as well. That is a risky time in one’s growth. It is easy to feel like “I’ve got this” and stop listening, and cease learning. Their growth flounders and they suddenly begin having trouble meriting as easily as they use to. It is at this moment that one has to step back and look to one’s colleagues for help, inspiration, and guidance. We must always consider that no matter how much we know, we never know it all. And what does well in competition today will likely wain in popularity over time. We must always be on the lookout for something new. So how do you avoid as many spankings as possible? Just like in life, the key is to avoid making as many mistakes as possible. Over my 8 years in print competition, I have compiled a dialog of incessantly frequent comments made by judges. I have attended countless hours of judging and after a while, one starts to notice a pattern. Judges complain about the same issues over and over. And interestingly enough, when there is nothing (or not 13
much) to complain about, and if there is any sustenance to the image at hand, it usually merits. So, it might loosely be stated that a merit image is an image that has very few, if any “mistakes”. So you get the merit figured out, what will take your image beyond that elusive merit level? Content. Once you get the issues ironed out, you must figure out a way, photographically, to connect with at least one of the judges on the panel. Once you have done that, you empower that judge with a leg to stand on when they go to fight for your image. If you give any decent judge a photographically clean image and content they can relate they can very likely move your score up. If you figure out content that multiple judges on a panel instantly fall in love with, and a clean image and now you are in contention for the really high scores. Think of it this way, “clean” images, that is images with no tangible issues gets you to the 80 neighborhood. Connection with the minds, or even better, the hearts of the judges will take you the rest of the way. So can this equation go the other way? Can one get a merit with content even when there are issues? Absolutely, however, I have seen a very large number of these images score 79 or barely squeak by with a score in the low 80s even though one or more of the judges “loved’ the image. This is the heartbreaking part of judging. I cannot count the number of times I fell in love with an image from my seat but upon closer inspection had the wind knocked out of me because of (often simple) technical issues. We, as judges like to think there is no fatal flaw, however, we are charged with setting the standard for the photography industry. It is quite misleading to “hang” a print with 14
major flaw even though the content was great. So what are the things not to do? Here is my short list: Sensor Dust, Halos, Over-sharpening, Crooked Horizons, Color Banding, Out of Focus, Bad Composition, Bad Posing, Poor Skin Tone, Clone Tracking, Poor Presentation, Over Retouched, Over Processing, Artifacting, Depth of Field Too Shallow, Boring Subject/No Impact, Too Many Subjects, No Subject or Center of Interest, Poor Print Quality, Blocked Up Shadows, Blown Highlights, Too Easy, Repulsive Subject Matter, Poor Color Harmony/ Balance, Improper Lighting, Incorrect Exposure, Wrong Technique For Subject Matter, Poor Choice of Media Type, Too much Contrast How do you learn how to address these issues? Get a mentor! Find someone who is successful in print competition. These people have a good handle on these issues and how to correct or prevent them from creeping into your images. Be aware that these professionals are often very busy and sought after by many so bear with them if they cannot get to you right away. You are very likely not the only person asking them for help. 15
This Story will Touch Your Heart - A Nine Month Journey of a Mother and her Baby by Deborah Hendrix Capturing Precious Moments to Cherish for a Lifetime The excitement and anticipation that an expectant mother experiences for the nine months leading up to the birth of her baby is usually a time of joy. From the doctor appointments, to the baby showers, to feeling the baby kick in the womb…these are precious moments of a woman’s life. But for Heather Scherer, her pregnancy began as a surprise with unforeseen health issues. “I was 21 years old and so sick; I lost 50 pounds the first 23 weeks I was pregnant and due to living in Boone, NC and bad weather, it took me a while to see a doctor and know for sure that I was pregnant. Along with finding out I was pregnant, I also found out that my baby had hydrocephaly, a condition in which the brain’s cerebral hemispheres are absent to varying degrees and the remaining cranial cavity is filled
with cerebrospinal fluid. On May 15th, I met with a neurosurgeon and the details of the abnormalities of this diagnosis were explained to me,” recalled Heather Scherer. The news was not good and Heather was prepared by the doctor for the fact that her little girl would not live long after she arrived in this world. A Very Special Delivery Heather carried her baby girl for 40 weeks and 5 days, delivering beautiful Adalynne Marcella on July 10, 2014 weighing 7 pounds 13 ounces. “I had to be induced and my labor lasted 40 16
hours and when Adalynne was born it was hard to believe that she was so sick because she was so beautiful and looked normal,” Heather said. Heather, worked to get Baby Adalynne breathing for almost 15 minutes by singing “All Of Me “by John Legend to her while rocking her. That was their song throughout the pregnancy and still is today. With her family surrounding her, Heather prepared for her daughter to die, which was expected to be within a few hours after birth. Since little Adalynne was not expected to live very long, it wasn’t long after her birth that local photographer, Deborah Hendrix was contacted because of her volunteer work with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that offers remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with a free gift of professional portraiture. “After photographing Heather and her baby, I couldn’t believe that such a beautiful, perfect looking baby would die before leaving the hospital, but that is what the doctors thought and 17
what Heather was told,” Deborah said. The chances of a baby born with hydrocephaly surviving beyond a few days are very low. This disorder is due to a congenital condition that derives from either damage to or the abnormal development of the fetal nervous system in the earliest stages of development in utero. After the photo session was over, Heather prepared for her little one to leave this world, but it seems God had other plans... Days and Moments Are Cherished the Most When You Don’t Know How Long You Have Three months after Adalynne’s birth, Deborah invited Adalynne and her mom to her studio to do a 3 month old photo session. “Yes, this sweet baby was still alive and as beautiful as ever. Heather
Adalynne sleeps and wakes for feedings every two hours and has breathing problems and is blind. But she continues to hold on to the life she has here with her mother. The photos that Deborah took on behalf of NILMDTS mean so much to Heather and will mean more in the future. “I know that one day those photos will be all I have to look back on of Adalynne’s life, so they are very dear to me. I am very thankful to have had Deborah photograph Adalynne and me when she was born and then recently. When you don’t know how long your baby will live, we celebrate birthdays every month because there are no guarantees. I never know when I leave a room if I will return and she will have taken her last breath,” said Heather. Deborah photographed Adalynne, at birth, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months in her studio in Clemmons, NC. Last photo session in Hospice 11 Days before she died. It is parents like Heather that make what Deborah does with NILMDTS so rewarding. “Giving Heather and parents like her a gift of photos with their child is emotional. But part of being a human is
told me that most babies do not live past one year with this abnormality. I could not believe the love and tenderness between the two of them,” commented Deborah. Today, every day that Adalynne is here is a blessing for Heather and she doesn’t take a single moment or day for granted. Heather feeds Adalynne breast milk in a bottle and she is eating pretty well. Adalynne does have tremors and seizures frequently, but Heather seems to deal with it all well. “God had a plan and a purpose for all things, including Adalynne,” Heather stated. At two months old, it became necessary for Adalynne to undergo a form of brain surgery, Chorord Plexectomy, to help stop the production of cerebrospinal fluid. 18
being emotional; emotions are fine and it’s okay and good to cry. Being able to give a family an irreplaceable gift like we are able to do through NILMDTS outweighs any anxiety that you may have in your time with the family. Giving of yourself if you’ve been blessed is what life is about, so why would you not give back?” Deborah said. The heart of the mission for those photographers who volunteer their time and talent to NILMDTS is the best gift you can ever give anyone. It is a gift that can never be repaid. For more information on NILMDTS, visit www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org. Volunteers are always needed. To follow Heather and Adalynne, go to http://mylittlewarriorbaby.blogspot.com. Baby Adalynne Marcella Scherer died in Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home in Winston-Salem, NC on April 28, 2015. She lived 9 Months and 18 Days. She weighed 12 pounds at 9 months old. She could never smile, because she was missing 2/3rds of her brain. Just a note to let you know all the sessions and images were donated. Also a thanks to Capturing Hopes Photography. 19
Volume Photography To Promote Your Custom Portrait Studio Chris Garner & Cathy Anderson Many successful photographers today are switching part…if not all… of their business model from high-end custom portraiture to the down-anddirty world of volume school & sports photography. With the influx of so many new portrait photographers in our industry, making a living as a professional photographer is proving to be a challenging task. Bringing photographic expertise to the world of volume photography has been an intimidating, yet very rewarding, experience for many. We have been successfully bridging the gap between volume photographs and custom portraits in our area over the past four years. We are the “go to” photographers in our area for schools and leagues who want something different than what the “big boys” in the volume industry can produce.
We are the trend-setters for volume photography in our region, with those same “big boys” scrambling to reproduce our style. All the while, we are creating the relationships necessary to facilitate the growth of our custom portrait studio. We have found a system that works very well for us, and we know it will work well for other photographers. 20
Highlights
business to promote your custom portrait studio. We are still creative beings, after all. We all still want to be able to create unique portraits instead of the
In our program, we will show you not only how easy it is to break into the volume business in your area; we also will show you how to use that volume 21
same old grind-it-out-over-and-over volume photos on which we use to generate income. Brand new for our CPE 2016 PreCon class, we will be showing participants how we create our newest line of products, “Sportraits.� Sportraits are the combination of high-end portraiture, compositing, and sports portraits. This type of image has been a huge hit with our senior portrait clients, and we will walk you through our process. Success for us lies in the balance of these two totally different photographic worlds, and we are anxious to share the path to that success with others. TPS Photography :: Morganton, NC :: (828) 433-0111 :: www.tpsphotography.com
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Seminar Images
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Thank you Tom McCabe for a Great Seminar
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ONLY 20 weeks
New Members
Michael Anderson Traci Arney Heather Carrow Alex Gutierrez Lea Hartman Susan Madrigal Chelsea Mehalek Melea Schneider Charles Tolan
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www.carolinaphotoexpo.com