NZIPP PRO Report March 2017 by NZIPP NZ Institute of Professional Photography

PRO Report BE INSPIRED, BE SUCCESSFUL, BELONG

NZIPP MAGAZINE MARCH 2017

NOT A MEMBER OF THE NZIPP YET? As an Accredited member of the NZIPP you have the support, networking opportunities and camaraderie of your peers within your industry. It also adds credibility for your clients that you are a professional photographer. Belonging to an institute that represents all areas of professional photography in New Zealand, and through our focus on education, advice, and a wide range of membership benefits we will help you improve the success and vitality of your business. Your accredited member benefits will include: · · · · · · ·

Epson NZIPP Iris Awards (member rates) Infocus Conference (member rates) Meeting and Networking opportunities Professional Development Membership Discounts PRO Report eMagazine Scholarships

Come along to your next regional meeting to check out what becoming a member is all about! Contact info@nzipp.org.nz

MISSION STATEMENT To champion, embrace and communicate excellence and professionalism in photography.

CONTACT NZ Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP) P O Box 133158, Eastridge, Auckland 1146 New Zealand W: www.nzipp.org.nz E: info@nzipp.org.nz

We welcome your feedback and thoughts. If you have something to say, send it through to:

Cover Image:

info@nzipp.org.nz

Image © Keri-Anne Dilworth

PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP

CONTENTS Executive Updates 06 Directors Report 16

Member Profile 28

Keri-Anne Dilworth

Guest Contribution

NZIPP News 05 Infocus 2017 12

Call for Entries

Accreditation Programme

Regional Updates 21

Central Districtis Region

Otago/Southland Region

Canterbury/Westland Region

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s In My Bag...? 36 Michael Watson Events & Useful Links 44

Get Clicking

Regional and National Sponsors 45

Thanks to our Regional and National Sponsors

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Â© Esther Bunning

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EXECUTIVE UPDATE

Directors Report Mel Waite FNZIPP

The importance of best business practice. The end of the financial year is fast approaching, and a lot of us are in the unenviable position of having to spend a lot of time updating our accounts, after spending most of the year avoiding that side of our business practice as much as possible. As people in a creative industry, we can too often get caught up in working on and perfecting our photographic practice. However, it’s easy to forget (to our detriment) about the importance of working on, and perfecting, our business practices - something that is vital to keeping and growing a healthy photography business. Just as it is the photographic world, there are constant changes and developments within the world business, and it is essential to keep on top of these changes in order to save time and money.

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The proposed changes to provisional tax coming into effect as of April 1st, 2018, will impact a large percentage of us. Whilst these changes will mostly be good, it’s key to have clear knowledge of what the changes will mean, so you can understand how they might affect you. If you want to learn more about these changes, you can read about them here: http:// taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/news/2016-04-13-prime-ministerannounces-proposals-simplify-business-tax . A word to the wise - you will need either a lot of coffee or a rather large whisky to get through it! With the idea of keeping current and evolving with our industry, the Accreditation Team recently created an updated e-guide to becoming accredited, including some changes to the business requirements. Within this there is now ‘Best Business Practice’ checklist that we require all provisional members submitting for Accreditation to work through, check and sign stating that they are undertaking at least 80% of what is on the list.

Never be afraid to acknowledge if something is outside your knowledge base. - Mel Waite

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While this list is not, by any means, a full comprehensive guide to running a photographic business, we do believe it is a strong starting point that all photographers, be it new to the industry or well into their photography career, would benefit working though. To keep working on your business practices, I would also recommend using the resources open to all NZIPP members, such as the Base Rate Calculator. As well as utilising other resources that are available to the wider business community, such as the IRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free tax seminars and workshops, which can be found here: http://www. ird.govt.nz/contact-us/seminars/free-tax-seminarsworkshops.html.

Never be afraid to acknowledge if something is outside your knowledge base. You can either take the steps to expand your abilities, or look to outsource those areas of your business. A lot of photographers tend to be perfectionists (including myself!) and acknowledging our weakness can be hard. We have a tendency to work on the things we are good at and ignore the rest, so making the necessary changes can be difficult, but a strong photography practice will only get stronger when supported by healthy business practice.

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3. NZIPP Best Business Practise Checklist Select (tick), to identify, each of the items below which you carry out within your business. This is to acknowledge you are undertaking at least 80% of the NZIPP Best Business Practise standards. Print, sign, date and then submit this checklist with your Accreditation Submission.

I continually review and update my Business Plan

I regularly assess my business costings (The Base Rate Calculator on the NZIPP website is one resource you can use for this)

I hold Public Liability Insurance, business insurance and maintain asset lists

I use the NZIPP Terms & Conditions (or equivalent)

I work within the specifications set out in the NZIPP Code of Ethics

I utilise appropriate booking forms, model releases, property releases, licensing forms, terms of trade, etc.

I have a sound invoicing system

I fulfill my legal tax obligations, including GST requirements

I use pricing schedules, lists and / or estimates

I implementing effective workflow processes and procedures

I maintain a website that is a current and an authentic representation of my business services and product offerings

I maintain a Social Media presence

I undertake networking opportunities, including attend and liaise with others at national, regional and industry events, meetings and catch ups

I undertake ongoing professional development and education, through online courses, attending the Infocus Conference, entering and / or attending the Iris Professional Photography Awards.

Name: Signature:

Date:

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Â© Craig Wetjen

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Â© Mark Rossetto

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Â© Mark Rossetto PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP

S E I R T N E R O W F O L L N A T U C O 2017 CATEGORIES

BOOK (New for 2017) COMMERCIAL CREATIVE DOCUMENTARY ILLUSTRATIVE LANDSCAPE PORTRAIT CLASSIC PORTRAIT CREATIVE TRAVEL WEDDING CLASSIC WEDDING CREATIVE STUDENT NATURE & WILDLIFE

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2017 EPSON / NZIPP IRIS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

CALL FOR ENTRIES The Iris Awards are open to ALL New Zealand and International professional photographers with a category for everyone, and with over $20,000 in prizes.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 2017 IRIS AWARD CALL FOR ENTRIES!

Or visit https://infocus.org.nz/epsonnzipp-iris-awards/

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Â© Simon Devitt

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SPECIAL UPDATE

Guest Contributor - Craig Bullock furtography.co.nz

I might be a newcomer to the NZIPP (after years of dithering about becoming a member), but 2017 marks the 16th year that I have been photographing people’s four-legged companions. There weren’t many pet photographers around in 2001 and I was constantly explaining to people who asked what I photographed, that pet photography is real and that people were indeed prepared to pay for someone to capture the spirit of their fury children on camera. Most often people laughed at me in disbelief, but I didn’t care, I was happy. I moved to New Zealand in 2009 and started to build my business from scratch in a new country. I was just gaining momentum and the earthquakes happened. After hearing all sorts of stories from previous clients about what happened to their animals, I teamed up with a writer and we found a publisher for our book, Quake Dogs. The natural follow up was Quake Cats. This time I also wrote the text as well as photographed all the cats. Both books, to my amazement, were extremely successful and part of the donated royalties raised a significant amount of money for animal charities. I thought the success of the books would have people knocking my door down to have their pets photographed, but that wasn’t the case. My third book, A Dog’s Life, was one of the most challenging projects I’ve worked on, but not because I wasn’t enjoying it, what’s not to enjoy about travelling around this amazing country and photographing puppies! It was more to do with internal politics at my publisher, a change of editor part way through shooting and a merger, but also during my travels, I started becoming ill with what turned out to be a blocked kidney, resulting in surgery a year later. Why am I telling you all this, and why does it all seem so negative? Firstly, let me clarify; these were all positive and humbling experiences, there were just a few spanners thrown in the work for good measure. Like most of us, I am at my happy place when I have my camera in hand and the things I love most in front of the lens. What I am not so good at is everything else, the planning, organizing, marketing, the whole running a business bit really. It has been said that I can be a little stubborn, I’m not one to give in, though the odd tantrum along the way is a certainty, but ultimately I know that overcoming any challenges will help me grow.

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After my surgery it became clear to me more than ever, that I really had to live my dream life and take my business full time. I needed help to make that happen, I’d lost what little confidence I had during the time I was ill. I needed some more education on how to manage the business side of things. I’d done the odd online tutorial and attended a couple of seminars, as well as having tons of help from my husband, Chris, who is very business minded. But I needed more. It was at this time I joined NZIPP and the first few meetings were totally eye opening. I left each meeting with a million thoughts running through my head about how I can make my dream a reality, writing down ideas in my notebook into the early hours. For the first time my thought process shifted somewhat and instead of wishing I could be a full time pet photographer, I started believing I would be one. Then another incredible opportunity came my way. I was accepted onto a course for pet photographers that was being taught by three of the best people in the business. These people are my pet photography heroes. I’d hurriedly applied for a place, thinking I wouldn’t be accepted and, if I did, the likelihood would be that I would still be recovering from my surgery or unable to finance the trip, it was in Spain. I knew I had to find a way to get there so I scraped together every last dollar in my savings account and booked my flight. Three days before I flew to Barcelona, I finally had my catheter removed and I was good to go (there’s a pun there somewhere, but I won’t spoil your next meal). That week just flew by, I learned so much about the business side of things, I also learnt, to my surprise, that I was on the right track for the most part! The instructors were amazing, the other attendees inspirational and we met some of the cutest, squishiest dogs during the practical sessions. And did I mention how incredibly breathtaking the location was? It really was a life changing experience and the whole group of us became great friends and we’ve been in close contact ever since.

This time last week I was sitting in a pool surrounded by jungle filled with the sounds of toucans, macaws and howler monkeys learning about marketing. I was in Costa Rica for another workshop with the same instructors. It is a testament to them that when they announced another week-long workshop with a different curriculum, it was filled entirely of people who had been to Barcelona, though the fact it was being held at a private villa in the Costa Rican jungle might have helped!

Barkelona & Barkarica (see what they did there!) and joining the NZIPP were the best investments I made, not only for my business, but for myself over the past year or so. They have already paid off in more ways than I ever imagined. If I hadn’t joined NZIPP or risked travelling alone to Spain, I’d likely be exactly where I was a year ago, instead I am working on my business full time and I have met dozens of my peers here and overseas who I’m now privileged to call friends.

As far as I was concerned, if I didn’t learn a thing, it would still be worth every cent to have another week with my new friends. We shared stories about how our lives had changed in the months since we first met, how our goals had been achieved, and then some. Let me tell you it did not disappoint on any level. I learned many new things and I returned home once again feeling inspired, invigorated and ready to take my business to the next, next level.

The Barka ladies used a quote at both workshops; “Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire”. So my challenge to you is to take a take a step, however small, outside your comfort zone, find a workshop, a seminar or reach out to a group of people, who knows what inspiration you might find, what you will learn or what kind of magic will happen as a result.

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PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP Â© Craig Bullock

NZIPP ACCREDITATION

Accreditation Programme Sarah Beaufoy MNZIPP, Mel Waite FNZIPP & Shar Devine MNZIPP Accreditation Coordinators

ACCREDITATION

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We are very passionate about NZIPP and adhering to the professional standards of the organisation and industry as a whole. It is important for you to become Accredited, which is a recognisable professional business standard and is valuable for your ongoing growth as a professional photographer and NZIPP member.

Our next Accreditation round is 3 May 2017 and will be limited to 10 submissions, including re-submissions. The next round will be announced open in April with links to the online Accreditation Assessment Application Form and 2017 Accreditation Submission Guidelines. As a guide we would expect that members have a vast portfolio to select from when submitting. You would consider getting assessed for the accreditation category after completing at least; 30 weddings OR 45 portraits shoots OR 45 commercial shoots as the lead photographer. For any questions please contact your Accreditation Advisor or Accreditation Team.

PRE-ACCREDITATION CHECK

If you are a new or provisional member you need make yourselves known to your Regional Chairperson who will put you in touch with an Accreditation Advisor. This enables them to view your work and guide as to when you should be submitting to be assessed.

ACCREDITATION DATES May, August and November 2017.

For any questions please email nzipp.accreditation@ gmail.com

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The strongest path to assured success, is together

REGIONAL UPDATES

Central Districts Region Words by Chris Hill FNZIPP II

For the Taranaki March meeting around 20 photographers gathered at Tony Carter’s studio to listen to a presentation by 2016 NZIPP Landscape photographer of the year Thomas Busby. Thomas talked about his work and showed images that were part of his journey as a photographer, from when he was a student eight years ago through to the present. He shared with the group a very candid recounting of the frustrations and joys of entering the awards and the stories behind the images themselves, from an awardwinning image that was literally shot out a car window to the mornings that he got up at 4am to catch the first light of the day.

As a Fuji X-Photographer Thomas described his transition from using SLR cameras to a much lighter mirrorless system for landscape photography. He then showed a series of 170 images of a firefighter in order to demonstrate the work and experimentation that goes into producing a single image for the awards. After Thomas’s talk there was a chance to socialise and catch up with other photographers that rounded off an enjoyable evening. Everyone enjoyed the honest and frank recounting of Thomas’s journey and his personal philosophy behind the images. There was plenty to inspire both new photographers and those who have been in the industry for a while.

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Otago / Southland Region Words by Nicola Wilhelmson FNZIPP

We launched into our first meeting for the year this month at the good old Thomas Green in Gore, such a great venue for our meetings.

At the end of last year a few of our members attended the Elena Shumilova workshop being held in Queenstown.

We talked about our plans for the year and put some tentative dates in the diary for a few events.

As much as I loved her images the organisation of the workshop was certainly less than desirable. With frustration with the organisers from beginning to end. I would certainly be cautious when looking into any workshops in future which is as shame as it held so much promise. While I felt like I got what wanted from the workshop, there should have been better steps taken from the organisers.

Our region is having an exhibition this year in Dunedin at the community gallery. We are hoping to include a showcase of our members work alongside the touring print exhibition and an audiovisual display of the RSA Veterans project. At our meeting we managed to also fit in some print critique’s for possible Iris entries. Can’t believe it’s that time of year again!

Onwards and upwards to Infocus! I so can’t wait!

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REGIONAL UPDATES

Canterbury / Westland Region Words by Kate Christie Accredited Professional Photographer

We started off our year with the ever-awesome Paul Daly coming along to chat to us about his travels to far and wonderful places. Paul chatted openly about his travel adventures, working on the road and gave us insight into some of his images. He also brought some interesting stats about his travels. 1 Guy 20 Airlines 50 Airports 286 Flights 673275 Kms He knows these stats because he keeps a travel log, I didn’t even know there was such a thing. So Paul has been an NZIPP member for about 10 years, and is based in Christchurch. One day a while back he got on a jet plane, and his early love of landscape photography, morphed into landscapey-architecturaltravel photography with the odd human thrown in for good measure. When at home, he normally shoots work of a commercial nature. Last year he decided he wasn’t busy enough, so joined the Honours team, who work tirelessly to bring you the Iris Awards each year.

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Paul had an amazing time travelling around Sweden and Norway and in the Arctic Circle. This comes with its own unique challenges, ice, snow, freezing -33C temps, needing to wear gloves but having to take them off to press camera buttons. But the results are mind blowing. Capturing the aurora in the arctic circle is just magical, operating a dog sled and snapping away at the same time, taking a tour of the ice hotel but not staying there. I can’t seem to see why anyone would want to stay in an ice hotel and sleep in a ski suit but it certainly was beautiful looking. Travelling through places like Cuba, Vietnam and Turkey all come with their own challenges but being well prepared and informed makes things a whole lot easier. Also being open to the different cultures and just going with the flow and keeping your wits about you. While in Nepal, Paul managed to get himself ‘blessed by a virgin’. He came across a religious celebration and got all caught up in the excitement that they tried to convert him as a follower!! He didn’t convert btw. Thanks so much Paul for giving up your time to share a little about what you do with us. You can see more of Pauls work at www.nzpanorama.com.

Â© Paul Daly

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MEMBER PROFILE

Keri-Anne Dilworth

MNZIPP

www.firstlightbirthphotography.co.nz

I started photography 8 years ago and started with weddings and portrait photography, it wasn’t until around 6 years ago when a friend asked me to photograph her birth that the spark was ignited, I was so high from the adrenalin and how raw what I had just captured was. At the time I had no idea that I would make a career out of it, I didn’t think I’d ever shoot another birth again so when the chance came to shoot another one jumped at it and it slowly progressed from there. I still shoot the odd wedding but birth is my primary focus and passion.

In regards to marketing my business I find word of mouth and my Facebook page is where I get the most exposure and interaction. Because birth photography is such a new genre I am still finding people who have never heard of it before and only know it exists after seeing a photo of mine pop up in their timeline or being told about it by a friend who has hired me. When you share such an incredible moment with someone you create a bond that flows through and they love talking about their whole experience and sharing their images which is extremely helpful in terms of marketing.

I own First Light Birth Photography and photograph the whole process of motherhood, from bump to birth to baby. Clients will often book my bump to baby package which includes a maternity, birth and newborn shoot. I have a lot of lovely repeat clients and I love watching their families grow and change. I prefer a more candid approach to all of my shoots, they are very relaxed and natural and I plan to take even more of a documentary approach in the future. This industry has been a real work in progress, it has been a battle to get it out there and to have what I do accepted at a mainstream level even within the photographic industry itself. After years of work and campaigning by myself and fellow birth photographers we are finally gaining some understanding and exposure and the demand for birth photography is steadily increasing.

I have found the following have helped me achieve success within photography:

PRO Report / Magazine of the NZIPP

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Friendship and support from fellow photographers, no one is above needing support and love and taking the time to encourage and lift each other up is really important.

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Patience, good things take time and you have to push through the frustrations and allow yourself time to learn and grow.

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Self-love, not comparing yourself to others and allowing yourself to be a work in progress means you don’t set yourself up for failure and un-happiness.

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Effort, this industry is flooded with so many amazingly talented people and you have to push yourself past the point of comfort to be ever improving.

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Good things take time and you have to push through the frustrations and allow yourself time to learn and grow. - Keri-Anne Dilworth

Over the years I feel my photographic style has changed. In the beginning I didn’t have as good a grasp on the hardship of hospital lighting and was afraid to use flash which resulted in difficult colour edits. My lighting is now much better controlled and my editing style has become a little more dramatic especially with my black and whites however I will always maintain a neutral colour edit as I feel that with something like birth timelessness is more important than current trend. I also have more confidence and experience with birth environments now to be able to make good decisions, forethought in terms of positioning and light and being able to read the room and work alongside medical staff in a respectful way which has helped me progress in my work.

With birth you have almost no control over the situation, the environment, the position in which you stand, the angle etc so you largely have to work with what you have. One of my favourite shots I was wedged into a corner almost straddling the monitoring machine with midwife, student midwife, Mum and Dad all bunched in together. I was up on my tippy toes shooting down as Dad delivered with a guiding hand from the midwife, I bounced flash off the ceiling as it was dusk and the room only had two small side windows so it was quite dark and shadowy. I chose this composition as I love the opposing corners with Mum and Dad, It flows and shows how the process of birth works. Mums has had to do the work of carrying and delivering this baby on her own and now baby is born Dad can now take on his role, I centered the baby as she’s the bond that connects them.

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The moments that I feel are most memorable for me are when the Mum’s are mustering all the energy they have to pull through even when they are completely depleted, to see their face when they realise they’ve done it and see their child for the first time, capturing this brand new life take their first breath and seeing these amazing Men and Women become parents and so seamlessly slip into this role is the biggest privilege and honour. I also love how empowering it is for everyone to let go and not worry about the natural process of birth, to have no limitations and feel no fear, to see woman trusting their bodies and trusting me with capturing them at their most vulnerable is truly liberating. The gear I predominantly use is a canon 5d mark3 and a 24-70mm 2.8 mk2 with a 600RX Speedlight. The 2470mm gives me so much flexibility in an environment where you often can’t get the optimum position or angle to shoot from.

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If I wasn’t a photographer I would choose to be a midwife or a lawyer, I have always loved babies and childbirth has always interested me ( No surprises that I have four children) and I have a keen interest. My advice for aspiring photographers would be to respect and value your time and your work (regardless of what stage you are at), Don’t give either of these things away for free. Secondly be patient and know that it takes time to gain experience and skill, photography is ever changing and you are ever growing, once you stop learning and think you know it all you will become stagnant and lose your spark. Thirdly as mentioned above, find your tribe, photography can be a lonely industry if you don’t reach out and connect with others, Join the NZIPP, join Facebook groups but also make the effort to get out in person and connect and inspire each other.

Be patient and know that it takes time to gain experience and skill, photography is ever changing and you are ever growing.. - Keri-Anne Dilworth

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WHAT’S IN MY BAG

Michael Watson

MNZIPP

www.mykl.co

As Photographer’s we all have to at some point or another consider the tools we use to create the imagery we envision. Some of us, the professed ‘Gearhead’s’ or Tech geek’s labour over this process, continually seeking out the coolest new toy or piece of kit that is simply must have. Some of us just have the typical kiwi hoarder gene, and some of us focus more on the vision than the tools used to construct them. Gear to me, is not just about some fancy toys, it’s primarily about image quality and versatility. What I have here is what I guess I consider my Standard Kit, I have a few other tools and toys that can be brought out on occasion, but primarily this is the kit that almost constantly lives and travels with me all the places I go.

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Photography can be challenging, and we all constantly strive to push ourselves, while trying to maintain our passion and inspiration in the imagery we create. While my client work has a strong Commercial focus, it’s the creative imagery or ideas that tend to push us as photographers and help to keep us inspired in what we do. Inspiration for me comes largely from literature and illustration, where ideas can be so much more than the limits of the real world. At times I still feel like I’m new to photography, having only really been a part part-time photographer since 2011, while my business focused largely on Videography work, I found I was getting more enjoyment out of the photography side. Over the last six months, I went through the process of rebranding myself, with the aim of a stronger focus to photographic work. With a new website due to launch at the end of March, I look forward to getting involved in new business.

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