April newsletter 2014

INSPIRED APRIL 2014

by napcp

Featuring Tiffany Bender of Munchkins & Mohawks Photography

The

LATEST INSIDE

A Look at Artsy Couture's Brand New Custom USB Drives

Industry News & Announcements, Workshops, Updates and much more!

N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F P R O F E S S I O N A L C H I L D P H O T O G R A P H E R S

Hello friends!

Spring…is that you? Our winter gear is being stashed away, and we’re wel-

coming the change in season with open arms! Spring is a period of rebirth and rejuvenation – and we’re quite ready to fill our books with sessions to capture this precious time. Color is popping up everywhere, and the grass actually does seem a little greener. Put a little spring in your step and join us in celebrating the sunny days ahead!

Shining quite brightly herself, Tiffany Bender of Muchkins & Mohawks is

our NAPCP member highlighted this month. Whether it be the wonder of newborn days or the mischievous glance of a five-year-old, Tiffany aims to capture the important details. She wants her clients to look back and not only see pictures, but also experience memories. We admire her grace through learning from her peers and constantly continuing her education in the industry. Tiffany has a true passion for the art of photography, and that shines through her work and the personality it exudes all on its own.

Canvas gallery wraps, floating frames, high quality photo cubes and more

– that’s Arsty Couture. As our Featured Vendor this month, Artsy Couture offers photo printing like you’ve never seen before. Check them out!

We’d like to give a special thank you to everyone who entered the NAPCP

2014 International Image Competition. Our judges spent many (many) hours critiquing and scoring the images, and after much deliberation (and a lot of coffee), we’ve announced the winners. Thank all of you for another successful competition!

We hope you’ll head over to the NAPCP store soon. It’s open and full of

some pretty exciting new products!

Anything is possible with a little sunshine. Get out there and enjoy this season!

Sincerely

The NAPCP Team

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Newsletter April 2014

TA BLE O F CON TE N TS Pg. 3 .......................................Image Competition Pg. 4 ................................News & Announcements

Pg. 5.Featured Photographer: Munchkins & Mohawks

Pg. 23 ....................Featured Vendor: Artsy Couture Pg. 25 ............................................Video Resources Pg. 26................................. Apply For Membership

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CONGRATULATIONS

After much excitement and anticipation, we are absolutely thrilled to announce the winners of our January 2014 International Image Competition. Uniquely focused on child photography, the NAPCP International Image Competition featured a range of image categories, including Babies, Newborn, Children, Family, Maternity, Siblings, Toddlers, and Seniors/Tweens. Thank you to our amazing judges who dedicated days to scoring, deliberating and judging the hundreds of submissions.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

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Newsletter April 2013

N E W S & ANN OU N CE ME N TS Facebook Community We hope that everyone will continue to partake in our NAPCP Facebook Community page! Join now and get involved with the latest discussions, trending topics, news and updates, and much more! Click here to request to join today!

Vendor Download Page Several of our amazing vendors have contributed FREE downloads exclusively for NAPCP members. These downloads include template designs, educational videos, and much more! We will be adding new downloads every month so make sure to check it out periodically! To view all of our fabulour downloads simply click on the "Resources" tab and select "Vendor Downloads."

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER M U N C H K I N S & M O H AW KS

Images by Tif fany Bender of Munchkins and Mohawks Photography

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T

iffany isn’t just a photographer. Tiffany is a photogra-

pher who knows how to capture memories beautifully. She grew up knowing she could piece together her life through photos her mother had taken, and wanted to carry that tradition into her life today. Tiffany has two children, obsesses over taking photos of them, and truly loves what she does.

Keep reading to learn more about her!

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AT A GLANCE WITH TIFFANY BENDER

1 - Started photographing when? Around the time my daughter was born. I bought my first DSLR April 1, 2009.

2 - Officially opened business? It took about a year to get all my ducks in a row.

3 - Favorite camera? Whatever is in my hands‌. My favorite is my D3S...but for most personal work I just grab my iPhone.

4 - Lens of choice? 70-200 2.8, but I LUUUURRRVEEE my 200 2.0!

5 - Favorite film? I am a strictly digital photographer 6 - Favorite lab? Pro DPI for prints - fuji paper is amazing. Simply Color for canvas products. Millers for image boxes. Artifacts Uprising for gifts.

7 - Favorite framer? Organic Bloom 8 - Favorite age to photograph? There are so many amazing things about each stage of childhood‌ so all of them!

9 - Favorite musician? Mindy Gledhill 10 - Favorite movie? Father of the Bride 11 - Recent favorite read? I am mostly a non-fiction reader. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey Is a book that I never get tired of re-reading.

12 - Favorite client product? Organic Bloom framed wall galleries 13 - 3 things you can't live without? My kids, God in my life, and creating art.

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Newsletter April 2014

Tell us your story. How you started and how your photography, brand, and business transformed over the last few years? I have a background in entrepreneurship‌...I love creating businesses. Before I had Munchkins and Mohawks I actually owned an auto detailing business, can you imagine?! Then with the birth of my daughter I found my love for photography. I coupled that with my love for business and I was off to the races. Pretty early on I knew I loved styling clients. My mom is a designer so it came naturally to me. Soon I became known as the photographer that created whimsical portraits. When I was able to consistently book clients with a similar vision, is when I really felt like I came into my own. I was doing what I loved and my clients were appreciating it.I kind of have the best job in the world!

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Newsletter April 2014

There is a typically a distinct "theme" or "concept" associated with your sessions that we love. How do you come up with these ideas and execute them so well? Ohh...this is one of my favorite parts of my creative process.

We interview our families to get an idea of what their vision for the shoot is.

There are a lot of times that, they come to us seeking advice. If they fall in the latter category, we ask probing questions to gauge their family’s personality. Once we have gathered everything we need, from what the kids love, to what colors and style their living room is decorated in, and even moms fav clothing stores, my stylist and myself have a brainstorming session. I have a bank of ideas we often pull from. We try to match the right clients with the visions...often we are totally inspired and create something new.

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Now executing it is always the tricky part. We have lots of other creatives we work with as well as professionals that help us. As you can see, we use animals often in our sessions .That is most often with the help of a paid vendor. I always say...do what you are good at and delegate the rest!

We love your business name "Munchkins and Mohawks." Tell us what inspired that name. I really wanted a brand that created a visual experience in your head when you heard the name. I felt my business brand should reflect my children because they are the reason I started photographing. But more specifically, my daughter was born premature at only 4 lbs. She was so tiny and we would refer to her as “munchkin�. My older son was always rocking a little faux-hawk- so the name Munchkins and Mohawks was born. It did actually come full circle when my third child joined us. She was actually born with a little curly mohawk...so we decided to keep her- good for the brand ;-) What is one business lesson you wish you learned a long time ago?

I had a lot of great guidance from photographers and entrepreneurs from the 13 | NAPCP

Newsletter April 2014

start. One thing they taught me that was very helpful was to set clear expectations.

When things are clearly laid out it is much easier to make decisions and keep moving forward. Client expectations - I offer a lot of upfront information before clients book with us to be sure we are the right match for them. When they know what to expect, you are able to meet their needs much better. Makes for happy repeat clients who tell all their friends about you! Business expectations - What do you want from your business? How much do you want to work? These are the type of things I wrote out clearly and refer to often. It is easy to overwork and get burnt out on something you are passionate about. Once I set clear guidelines I was able to manage things a lot more effectively.

What is the best advice you can pass along to newer photographers to help them develop a better critical eye on their own work? Get outside critique. We get emotionally attached to our images and sometimes can't see them for what they really are. When you invite others to offer how they are viewing your images, it helps you better understand on how to get your vision across.

Tell us about your typical work day and work week. From sunrise to sunset...

The beauty of it is that there is no “typical” at Munchkins and Mohawks. Every week is different. Some days we are in the studio, other times we are traveling for shoots, and sometimes we are just skipping through the clouds searching for unicorns.

Balance is always an evolving challenge. How do you balance work life and personal/family life? I said it previously, but I can't stress enough…..I do what I’m good at, and delegate the rest. I am blessed to have a lot of help and I know how to prioritize and organize. I listen to a lot of podcasts on productivity which really helps me stay on task. Keeping set work tasks throughout the week has been key for me. So every Monday morning I know I am digging into my inbox, Tuesdays are shoot days, Wednesdays are mentoring and styling days...you get the idea.

Who inspires you in your work as an artist and as a person?

Shel Silverstein has been a huge influence. As a child I would get lost in his books

of poems. The simplicity of the art coupled with thought evoking words would send my imagination into overdrive. Other things that inspire me….

Nature, God’s creation is seriously amazing, I am constantly in awe of it; Children, their wonder and uninhibited spirit make my creative brain happy; Light, it makes all things magical.

If you could teach the world one thing, what would it be?

To love God….. Amen.

Where do you see your life 5 years from now? Ohh- what an exciting question to answer. I would have never guessed I’d be where I am today had to asked me this 5 year ago. But, I see in my future that I will be continuing my passion of shooting children and their families. I will continue to grow my brand in a variety of areas...stay tuned. I will be traveling and enjoying life with my children and friends. #magicallife To see more of Tiffany's work, please visit her site here!

Thank you so much Tiffany!

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WORK SH O PS Start Submitting Now! NAPCP’s July 2012 International Image Competition opened on Monday! The purpose of NAPCP’s Image Competitions is to recognize the accomplishments and creative excellence of our members, rewarding their talent with medallions, priority listing on our directory, vendor endorsements, member points, titles and professional recognition. Members each receive a total of 2 Competition Credits per Competition with their Membership. Details are online!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words … and yours may be featured in our next press release. For the past two International Image Competitions, the winners announcement highlighted the names of the competition winners and received great exposure – collecting thousands of views, postings to other websites, and search index hits. Wouldn’t you like to see your name and photo sent over the wire too?

Members, you can start submitting your best images here!

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