Benefits of Guild membership

The GUILD of

PHOTOGRAPHERS

MAKE

THE

MOST

OF

YOUR

MEMBERSHIP

competitions • qualifications • magazine • training and development • discounts backup/storage • personal website • newsletter • community support and social • pro cover

Mark Lynham: Gold Award

The GUILD of

PHOTOGRAPHERS Welcome!

And congratulations! Becoming a Guild member gives you instant access to a range of benefits that will save you money, improve your photography and business (if you have one), boost your learning and stimulate your creativity, wherever you are in your photography journey.

The Guild offers incredible services to its members and wants you to get the most out of joining our community. We've produced this magazine as a taster for you, to show you something of what's on offer and help you check out the things you'd like to take advantage of - there's such a lot available to you. The sooner you start, the sooner you benefit!

MAKE

THE

MOST

OF

YOUR

MEMBERSHIP

competitions • qualifications • magazine • training and development • discounts backup/storage • personal website • newsletter • community support and social • pro cover

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HERE'S JUST A FEW FOR STARTERS NEWSLETTER Our newsletter will be emailed to you automatically, at the address you gave us when you joined, but please check your settings and spam folder to be sure you don't miss the latest news and offers.

FREE MAGAZINE 'Creative Light' is a fabulous bi-monthly publication packed with great articles on photographers, tips, articles of interest and of course amazing images. It can be viewed online or downloaded as a pdf. Link on main website.

FREE PRIVATE MEMBERS FACEBOOK GROUP PAGES We operate several private group Facebook pages, including a general page for advice, discussion and a little fun, a library type page where links of value are shared, a page to sell equipment, a critique page, regional group pages run by members, and more.

PUBLIC FACEBOOK PAGE Our public Facebook page 'The Guild of Photographers' has more than 20,000 likes and showcases a members 'Image of the Day' (it could be yours!), as well as our monthly competition winners and photography news.

DISCOUNTED INSURANCE Our approved supplier has been associated with us for over 25 years, and gives members both discounted cover and great personal support. You get one FREE months insurance per year and pay no policy administration fee.

FOR MORE, READ ON - then log in to the Guild website for more details and to set up your own profile and mini-website: www.photoguild.co.uk

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Gillian Lloyd:Gold Award

RAISE YOUR PROFILE Make your own stunning mini-website! It's simple to design on IT'S SIMPLE TO DESIGN the main Guild website by simply dropping in images and text YOUR OWN MINI-WEBSITE, to a template. It'll look fabulous! Choose your own backround image, gallery images, text and quotes, add contact details HOSTED ON THE MAIN GUILD and links to your social networking pages. You can utilise the SITE. HAVE YOUR OWN Guild's downloadable membership logos too.

Those in business will want to include their profile on the Guild's own powerful 'Find a Photographer' search facility on the main website. Here, potential customers can search for a photographer by area, radius and genre..

USE FREE DOWNLOADABLE GUILD LOGOS

By using the Guild's logos on your website and stationery you are evidencing to potential customers that you are part of a highly respected photographic body committed to a Code of Conduct and high standards for customers. This can be further reinforced through work assessment and the attainment of 'Qualified status' or above, as well as competition awards.

STUNNING SEO-BOOSTED PROFILE ON SEARCH ENGINES, AS WELL AS THE GUILD'S OWN POWERFUL 'FIND A PHOTOGRAPHER' SEARCH FACILITY. MAKE GOOD USE OF THE GUILD'S DOWNLOADABLE LOGOS FOR MEMBERSHIP, QUALIFICATION AND AWARDS

ENTER THE COMPETITIONS

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The Guild's popular and exciting 'Image of the Month' competition aims to encourage and showcase great imagery - portraits, weddings, commercial, landscape, animal, digital art, sport just about anything goes, as long as you are the author of the work. Entries are assessed by a panel of highly experienced judges and higher scoring images are awarded a Bronze, Silver, Gold or even a Platinum Bar. Members achieving a Bronze Bar or above can use Guild logos on their awarded images to recognise their achievement, and physical certification can be posted for framing. Gold Bar winning images are published both on the public Facebook page (20,000+ 'likes') and in the 'Creative Light' photography magazine which has already reached over 1million readers. A prize is given for the 'Image of the Month', which is also displayed on the Guild websitel.

At the end of each year the best images are assessed for the 'Image of the Year' Awards, presented at our Annual Awards Dinner every February - a fabulous, sociable black-tie occasion.

OUR MONTHLY COMPETITIONS CAN HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS - AS WELL AS BEING FUN TO ENTER!

Julie Fraser: Gold Award

Certification, logos and letters to use after your name are issued on achieving each level 19

GET QUALIFIED Like the original craft guilds, we want to protect the quality and reputation of our trade - the photographic profession.

Everyone has a camera now, so qualifications are one way to demonstrate our competence and capability. The process itself is a valuable part of learning, development and improvement.

We have four qualification levels: - Registered (ie untested) - Qualified - Craftsman - Master Craftsman.

Gillian Lloyd: Silver Award

Everyone has a camera now, so qualifications are a valuable way to demonstrate our competence and credibility.

Certification, relevant logos and letters for use after your name are issued on achieving each level.

Qualifications can be obtained in specific genres.

Your qualification can be in any of these areas: - The Guild of Wedding Photographers - The Guild of Newborn & Baby Photographers - The Guild of Professional Photographers (covering all other professional areas) - The Guild of Photographers (for those not running a business - so you don't have to be running a photography business to qualify).

Details of the assessment processes and requirements for Guild qualifications are shown on the main website - log in and have a look at what they could do for you.

Pete Bristo: Gold Award

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT The Guild has some exceptional trainers and puts on great value workshops as well as offering bespoke critiques and mentoring sessions. Some are free, and we work hard to keep prices low and value high on those where we do charge.

Self-development opportunities include workshops and events around the UK and in Europe, as well as image critique and personal mentoring.

We also encourage self-development and mutual support in our private groups to create a community approach to helping each other, which proves very effective.

We arrange workshops and special events around the country, from free photowalks to mock weddings, workshops and seminars by some of the best known names in the industry - including some in Europe.

John Retter: Gold Award

We can also arrange 'bespoke' workshops..

Members can choose a subject and location and pull together a few interested attendees, and we will happily provide the trainer.

Image Critiques are undertaken on the images of your choice with one of our experienced Panel - all national judges - on a 1-2-1 basis, either online via Skype, by phone or in person. This can be of great value not only for personal development, but also to understand what is required when entering national competitions, submitting for assessment processes.

Personal Mentoring goes further. It's an ongoing process to support and encourage you in managing your own learning maximising your potential, developing your skills and becoming the photographer you want to be. You'd work with an experienced Guild Panel member over time on a 1-2-1 basis, online, or via Skype, phone or in person.

Discounted private training is also available. Several of our Panel run private training and offer preferential rates to Guild members.

KEEP UP TO DATE with events via the main website, Facebook and the Guild newsletter.

Nathalie Rouqette: Gold Award

DISCOUNTS AND EXTRAS As a member you can make significant savings such as up to 10% off at the Apple Store, discounted data recovery, insurance cover and much more besides - even save on a new car!

These discounts and savings can very easily more than cover your membership of the Guild for the whole year. There are also some extras available to you once you're a member - some of these specifically for our 'Pro' members. (You can convert from standard to Pro membership at any time: just contact the office.)

DISCOUNTS AT THE APPLE STORE All members benefit from many generous discounts, some of which are shown on our Trade Partners & Discounts page when you log in to the main website. One of our most popular discount opportunities are those at the Apple Store where you can save up to 10% (typically 6% off a MacBook Pro or similar). There are also opportunities to save more than that on their refurbished and warrantied products. The Guild discount applies in-store or on-line.

PRIORITY DATA RECOVERY SERVICE Should the unthinkable happen and you lose your data, we're linked in with LC Technology, a global leader in data recovery, with their award winning software used in over 100 countries, and an in-house recovery service in the UK and USA. All Guild members get a priority service and discounted rates.

FREE DOWNLOADS Log in to the website for sample contracts and terms and conditions drawn up by our legal team. You'll also find information on royalty free music, logos and more. Check out 'files' on the private Facebook page for documents shared by members.

BACK-UP AND STORAGE Unlimited cloud storage and back up for up to four computers as well as external devices.

Windows, Mac and Linux - direct 24/7 support included. Simple to use, runs in background.

Peace of mind for an extra ÂŁ29.50 (+VAT) per YEAR (less than 10p per day).

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION SERVICE For 'Pro' members we've partnered with Pixsy, one of the worlds leading image tracking service providers, for instant access to their Premium service, helping protect up to 20,000 images from Copyright infringement. They will even help you get compensation if your work is stolen!

INTEREST FREE CREDIT SERVICE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS Offering interest free credit is a easy, fast and fuss free way to increase profitability but it's rare a small business can afford to offer it. Our scheme is for for Guild members in business (depending on annual turnover) who can gain increased transaction values and greater sales volumes. It's a easy, fast and fuss free way to increase profitability.

FREE LEGAL AND BUSINESS SUPPORT FOR OUR 'PRO' LEVEL MEMBERS Guild 'Pro' members have free access to a 24/7 legal helpline, free tax Investigation cover, and free 24/7 access to a team of PR experts to assist with negative publicity following an event which could cause damage to reputation. They also have free access to on-line business legal services facility AND have business legal cover included, which includes contract dispute, debt recovery and much more. (This comprehensive cover typically costs £250 if bought independently).

WEDDING AND EVENT INSURANCE FOR CUSTOMERS Offering this will add to your professionalism with customers, showing that you really want to support them with all aspects of their day. Available to all members. Log in to the website to find out more and/or print off application forms to hand to your customers or potential customers.

“I’ve found the Guild events so valuable!

Meeting other photographers, sharing tips and learning has rocketed my skill growth. I love connecting with other professionals and hobbyists. Well worth the time and cost involved!”

- Jenny Jeffries "I am completely head over heels in love with The Guild and everything it stands for.

The Guild is an amazing point of reference, inspiration and support.

It's refreshingly different from any other organisation in that it has a real community feel where likeminded people help and support each other. From beginners to hardened pros, there is a wide range of knowledge and experience to draw on."

- Libby Middleton

Rob Hill: Gold Award

“I feel very lucky to be part of the Guild, it certainly is the friendliest and most supportive group I have been involved with” - Jo Rutherford,

TALK TO THE GUILD ANY

QUESTIONS?

CALL US: 01782 970323 07982 613985 OFFICE HOURS : Monday - Thursday 9am to 4pm Friday 9am to 12pm

EMAIL US: info@photoguild.co.uk WRITE OR VISIT US: Beethoven House 76 Moorland Road Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire ST6 1DY

JUST

ASK!

DON'T FORGET OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK PAGE THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEONE AROUND TO HELP OR FOR A CHAT. YOU'RE PART OF THE 24/7 GUILD COMMUNITY NOW!