January newsletter 2014

napcp

N EWSL ETT ER

featuring

J A N UA RY 2 0 1 4

Plus

the wonderful Shannon Sewell of Shannon Sewell Photography

The Latest News & Announcements, Workshops, Updates and much more!

Inside

a special look at Vendor Partner

Farmwood Press

Hello friends!

Ready, set…go 2014! Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays has settled down,

we’re gearing up for a fresh start! We love the beginning of a new year – it’s a time to refresh, rejuvenate and refocus. This year, we’ve resolved to setting new goals that will take this community to a new level. We hope you’ll join us in setting some amazing New Year’s resolutions of your own – and, of course, sticking to them!

Our Featured Photographer for this month is sure to inspire imagination and cre-

ativity for the New Year. A woman who believes the most important things in life are to love and to be kind, Shannon Sewell has made a career out of creating children’s photographs influenced by this belief. Her sessions are original, whimsical and out-of-the-box in the best way possible. She’s a trend-setter in her own right, and we admire the way she lets us see the world through her photographs.

New Year…great time to invest in new custom stationary and business cards! Let us

introduce you to our Featured Vendor this month: we’re quite impressed with Farmwood Press. The company combines the classic art of letterpress with designs of today, allowing you to customize a project that perfectly reflects your studio’s personality and style.

Last but certainly not least, the NAPCP January 2014 Image Competition is in full

swing! Be sure to submit your photos by Thursday, February 13…we can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to! We’ve got good things in store for the NAPCP community this year…and we’re excited to share them with you! Stay tuned - and Happy New Year from us to all of you!

Sincerely

The NAPCP Team

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Newsletter Januar y 2014

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

Pg. 5.........Featured Photographer: Shannon Sewell

Pg. 21 ........................................Behind The Scenes Pg. 23 .................Featured Vendor: Farmwood Press Pg. 25 ............................................Video Resources Pg. 26 ................................. Apply For Membership

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COMPETITION NOW OPEN

The January 2014 NAPCP International Image Competition opened last Wednesday and will close at 11:59PM EST February 13th, 2014. 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. We cannot wait to see what you submit!

See the full competition details here!

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Newsletter October 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!

Upcoming Workshops Join Tamara Lackey in her studio in Durham, North Carolina May 20 - 22 for an intense, 3-day shooting-focused workshop, which includes an in-depth shooting clinic, lighting configuration instruction, post-processing and business training. This highly interactive and hands-on shooting clinic will help you to master your technical skills behind the camera, as well as teach you how to set up and work with existing and additional light sources and better utilize natural light in a more controlled fashion.

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Images by Shannon Sewell of Shannon Sewell Photography

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER SHANNON SEWELL

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P

lease meet Shannon. A self-described “hippy soul,” she

has made a career out of tapping deep into the imagination, playing dress up with her children and taking pictures! These impromptu photography sessions struck a chord with Shannon and opened up a new world for her. With her children as her mini muses, she was inspired to start taking pictures of others’ little ones. As seen in InStyle, Baby Couture Magazine and Urban Outfitters, her world is just full of imagination. Please, come on in!

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Tell us your story. How you started and how your photography, brand, and business transformed over the last few years? I think I have a pretty typical start... I had kids, starting taking pictures of them, wanted to take better pictures so started studying/reading/learning. I got good enough that friends and family started asking me to do their photos and the rest is history! I started in portraits- family, children, seniors, newborns... even a couple of weddings! I found my love in commercial work though and transitioned to a point that most of my work is either editorial or commercial (with the occasionalportrait session thrown in).

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You inspire our community with your ability to create magic from your styled sessions. Tell us what goes into piecing everything together for your shoots? Wow- thank you! Most of my shoots begin with a piece of inspiration- meaning I usually find the thing or things I am going to style with first. I always try to use those little pieces in a way that compliments the model... a way that helps tell their story. I absolutely love the imagination of kids, it makes it so easy to style these sessions and create something that is fun for the kids, fun for me... I think just staying true to kids and would be a part of their world makes the viewer enjoy it, too. I basically just start with that inspiration piece and build on what would naturally go with it.

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Who or what inspires you and your work? How? I think it may be easier to list the things that don't inspire me. I find inspiration in movies, books, wardrobe or accessories, personalities, colors, locations, mood, light... any little thing that catches my attention will usually turn itself into a desire to capture it in a picture. I am an introvert and a thinker. When I start thinking about something, I find it easiest to move on to the next thing once I've made a plan to turn it into something tangible.

We love what you've created with Dreamer Journal. Can you share with us a little bit about this project, your collaboration with other artists, and what you envision for future issues. Dreamer was started out of a conversation about wanting to 'collect' all these artists that inspired me in one place. My friend, Julie Martin, and I were talking about how cool it would be to create a place that just

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allowed artists to do their thing- no interference or influence by us- and put it all into a place that it could inspire others. We reach out to artists we love (or they find us) and we just tell them to surprise us... give us something from the heart. It is like Christmas morning every time we get one back. We do a lot of interviews...

I love hearing what goes through their minds, what inspires them... Our goal with Dreamer is just to reach more and more audience. We are so proud of our contributors, we just want to share them with others!

Who are your favorite vendors?

Embarrassingly, I am not savvy at all on vendors. I am always behind on the latest and greatest. I kind of stay in my own bubble and use the same things that I have used for years. My go to is my Canon gear with Black Rapid Straps in my Kelly Moore Bag (the Mimi is my fave). I have used Flourish Actions for years. My two

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new faves are Artifact Uprising (I print all of my books and several Dreamer Magazines through them) and Lensbaby (the Edge 80 is such a fun lens).

How do you balance photography, your beautiful family, and your teaching? I never agree to anything until I am sitting with my calendar. I've learned over the years that reschedules and surprises are very common (and always happen when you don't have time for them) so I basically double book everything... if I have a one day job, I clear two. I still get busier than I would like sometimes but it has gotten rid of the constant struggle to stay on top of it.

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What advice can you give to those starting out?

Follow your gut, just because others do it a certain way doesn't mean it is your way. Talk to and learn from as many different people as you can. Remember what made you fall in love with photography in the first place and hold on to that.

How has your business changed over the last few years? Tell us your daily schedule and how you manage to make it all work! My business has become almost exclusively editorial and commercial work. Those type of jobs are much different than portraits in that there is a lot more planning and preparation in-

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volved. Most of my days consist of at least two hours of email in the morning (which I tackle alongside the kids while they do their schoolwork) and prep work or editing if I have it and afternoons are errands and the kids'activities. I usually only shoot about once a week which means about a day of editing per week, as well. Some days are crazy and hectic trying to fit it all in but most days have a good flow...

Where do you see your life 5 years from now?

I always have such a hard time with this question... is it bad to say pretty similar 17 | NAPCP

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to where I am now? I would love to have more travel experiences and new clients to look back on but, really, I love what I do now and would love to still be doing it!

To see more of Shannon's work, please visit her site here!

Thank you so much Shannon!

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TIP OF THE MONTH 5 TIPS FOR CONCEPTUALIZING SESSIONS OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

by Shannon Sewell

1. Look for inspiration outside of the photo community.

2. Let the client (in my case, kids) be involved in the planning. They are more creative than me most of the time!

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3. Collaborate with other artists. It will take your ideas further.

4. Force yourself to vary where you shoot, time of day, etc. Putting yourself in new situations forces you to get creative.

5. Don't live by the labels of your style or work... we may have 'specialities' but we are all capable of so much more- let whatever inspires you help you create!

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BEHIND

We asked Shannon to give us a peak into her busy day to day life with a few of her favorite

SCENES

WITH SHANNON SEWELL

Instagram captures. Enjoy a behind the scenes look at some of her favorite moments!

W W W. FA R M W O O D P R E S S . C O M

Farmwood Press was born out of a desire to create something of quality and beauty, using one of the oldest forms of modern day printing. Professional Photographers, Chris and Katie Torres of 6 of Four Photography, established Farmwood Press in 2010 after they saw the value of sharing their cohesive brand with letterpress business cards and stationery.

Many take the slow season of the winter months to focus on their branding. This is the time to reflect on your business. Soon, your competition's websites, blogs, logos, stationeries, client gifts and calling cards will be fresh and new. Will you be ready to offer your clients an unparalleled experience? You are faced with the question "How can I add value for my client?"

Letterpress can do this. Farmwood Press would love to help.

I N F O @ FA R M W O O DP R E S S .C O M

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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(c) Jane Johnson Photography

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