Chairman of the Board
Doug Peninger dpeninger@SEPPAonline.com
President
George Singleton gsingleton@SEPPAonline.com
1st Vice-President
Kevin Jiminez kjiminez@SEPPAonline.com
2nd Vice-President
Mary Fisk-Taylor mfisktaylor@SEPPAonline.com
Secretary-Treasurer
District of Columbia
Florida
Janet Boschker jboschker@SEPPAonline.com
Salon Exhibition Chair Executive Director
Delaware
Jessica Vogel jvogel@SEPPAonline.com
Georgia
*** Jim Hill
***Anthony Maril Joe Tessmer
*** Jackson Koontz Kaye Newsome
*** Spencer Smith Jason White
Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com
S out he r n E x p o su re
Souther n Exposure magazine is an online publication of SEPPA and is published monthly. Editor V ictoria Kelly vkelly@SEPPAonline.com 919.601.4258 Ad Sales & Business Manager Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com 336.687.1943
Maryland
Mississippi/Alabama
*** Lidia Miller Steve Clark
*** Shauna Denney Gil Brady
North Carolina
*** Ellis Williamson Rose Mary Cheek
South Carolina
*** Patty Hallman Gregg Martin
Tennessee
*** Dorma Tabisz Barbara White
Virginia
*** Jim Carpenter Robert Holman
Article & Ad Submissions 5th of every month OnLine Publication 20th of each month SEPPA 3710 North Main Street High Point, NC 27265 336.687.1943 Acceptance o f a d v e r t i si n g d oe s n ot c a r r y w i th i t en dor se m e n t b y t h e p ub l i sh e r. Opi ni o ns expre sse d b y Sout h e r n Exp osure o r any o f i ts aut h or s d oe s n ot n e c e ssa r i l y refl ect t h e p osi t i on s of t h e Sou theaster n Pro fessi on a l P h ot ogr a p h e r s A ssoc ia t io n . Asso ci ati on f i n a n c i a l i n f or m a t i on avai l a b l e up on re q ue st .
West Virginia
*** Pat Dodd Brent Kepner
*** state president SEPPA representative
Delaware
Mississippi/Alabama
District of Columbia
North Carolina
www.ppsgw.org
www.ppofnc.com
Florida
South Carolina
www.fpponline.org
www.ppofsc.com
Georgia
Tennessee
www.gppa.com
www.tnppa.com
Maryland
Virginia
www.delawarephotographers.com
www.marylandppa.com
SEPPA is a regional affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America and hosts an annual District Image Judging. To learn more about PPA, click HERE.
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West Virginia www.ppwv.org
“MEMBERSHIPS� Christine Walsh-Newton, M. Photog., Cr., CPP
A few times a year, I get notices from a variety of professional organizations reminding me that it's time to renew my membership. Some I pay monthly, some quarterly and some annually. For my own memberships, it's a no-brainer; of course I will be renewing. I don't even have to think about it. I imagine it's that way for most other folks, too; once they've seen the benefits they receive from belonging to a professional organization, they realize that the value they receive is well worth the membership cost. But for some, it's not that simple. Some have a need for instant gratification and want to see an immediate return on their money. They want an equal value trade in real-time. Now, that absolutely makes 100% sense... if your organization was a store and if memberships were little boxed-up products you could take home. But... they're not. How many of you have a gym membership? A lot of you, I bet. If you don't have one, I'm betting you have a pretty good idea of how they work.
You pay your money, you get to use the gym. And the showers. Do you pay your money and receive an instant buff body? Should you expect to see your 6-pack arrive within the next week? How about that Bodybuilder of the Year title ? I didn't think so. It's not instant. Your membership provides you the opportunity to take advantage of all of the devices of torture fitness equipment you are inclined to use. You probably even have access to a personal trainer or specialized skill classes. Like spinning. Or Silat. Some of these extras might be included with your membership, available at a lower rate, or for an extra fee, but they are exclusively limited to the membership. And don't forget about the gym-sponsored events; 5Ks, sports teams, weight loss challenges. And those free classes in nutrition and proper weightlifting techniques come in pretty handy, too. And sometimes, through meeting with and working side by side with other like-minded individuals, you may even benefit in other ways unique to you. Some find running partners and others find out where the cool walking and bike trails are. Some folks go to the gym every day, work as hard as they can and come out at the end of their year of membership in a lot better physical shape than when they started. That's the most beneficial utilization of a membership. Ok, well, maybe not every day. But you
get my point, right? You just don't sign up, get your free t-shirt, attend the annual member picnic, sit by yourself and then go home in a huff because you didn't get your money's worth. It's the same way with organization memberships. It's not a purchase, it's an investment over time. A whole year, in most cases. A longterm investment, if you will. Of course, we'd like to see something fairly solid at the time of initial purchase/sign-up, and I'm betting a lot of that is already available, depending on the amount of investment. For my own state, our membership includes tickets to our fall conference and our annual spring convention. Of course, our membership price reflects this as it is higher than other organization memberships I hold. Some charge significant entry fees for their events, but a lesser membership fee up front. Other immediate returns on your investment may be in the form of vendor discounts, complimentary admissions to industry events, gift certificates to labs or other items with immediate and finite monetary value. But then there are the other benefits. The ones that sound a little bit vague and a lot unmeasurable. Opportunities. Networking. Mentoring. Co-business partnerships. Education. And the list goes on and fades into a little bit of boring-ness. No, they're not sexy, they're not trendy, they're not on the top of every member's wish list. There's a growing attitude that most of these types of
benefits have been superior-ily replaced by online resources. I happen to think that there's a lot of good old-fashioned in-person exchanges that are far superior to some of the remote options currently out there. Not all, some. Perhaps most. So remember, the next time you're considering a membership fee. Will you be like the huffy free t-shirt dude? Or will you be like the motivated member, who worked out on a regular basis, joined a few extra special activities that piqued his interest and became a fitter, healthier member and individual? Like the gym, organizations offer the opportunities to become, in effect, healthier and more fit business people and photographers. We can utilize as many of the resources that we can to improve all facets of our careers. There are skill-building classes, opportunities to share and practice our craft with others, and outlets for our competitive and social sides. There are some real benefits, some beyond measure, if we only put ourselves out there and take part in all of the opportunities we can.
Christine is a portrait photographer and owner of Gallery C in Dover, Ohio. She is a co-author of “The Daily Book of Photography” and authors “Wootness: The Big Girl and Guy’s Guide to Starting a Photography Business.” Visit her blog at www.wootness.net
Your membership provides you the opportunity to take advantage of all the aspects you are inclined to use.
“The Chips are coming...are you ready?” Victoria Kelly It’s no secret that I use Square in the studio to process credit card transactions...I pretty much equate Square to be the best thing since sliced bread and doorknobs and I want to make you aware of some changes that are coming your way regarding magnetic stripe cards and chip cards. So here’s a newsflash for you: there’s something going on inside your wallet. Banks in the US have gotten tired of spending billions of dollars to pay back customers whose magnetic stripe cards have been hacked or stolen and are in the process of replacing bazillions of cards that have the old magnetic stripe with cards that have chips embedded for higher security. What does this mean for you as a merchant? By the fall, millions of Americans will have made the switch. Will your credit card processor be able to handle the new chip cards? The magnetic stripe technology, roughly 50 years old, is still on the backs of most US cards. Interestingly enough, chip cards are already in place in most countries and
have been used in Europe for about 10 years. This entire switch is a massive undertaking…about half of all US debit and credit cards will be replaced by the end of the year. Tens of thousands of merchants need to upgrade their equipment to allow for chip transactions instead of the old “swipe and sign” ones. Be aware---as a merchant... if YOU aren’t ready…you could be on the hook to cover the cost of fraud. Here’s how the chip cards work---a unique code is assigned to each transaction you make. Even if a thief acquired the code, it can’t be used to make another purchase. Chip cards are also harder to duplicate although it’s not unheard of. Overall, the chip cards are more secure than magnetic cards, which are vulnerable because once thieves get a copy of your credit card information, it can be quickly copied onto counterfeit cards. Now…when will you get your new chip card? It’s hard to tell—Bank of America started their rollout last fall and Chase and Citi started this spring.
The new chip cards will still carry a magnetic stripe on the back in case chip readers aren’t available. You should know, though, that if a merchant has a chip reader available you should use it…your entire transaction is more secure. I received my new chip card reader from Square about two weeks ago...it’s bigger than the original reader and has two slots: one for chips and one for stripes. You also need to “charge” the reader via a USB cable before its first use and be sure your Square app is up to date on whichever gadget you’re using. I used it to process an American Express card recently...pretty simple...you just lineup the chip on the card with the edge of the reader and it’s “business as usual” from there. Now, as I’ve said before...Square isn’t for everyone...you’ll need to determine what your processing fees are to see if Square is a good fit for you and your business. Visit www.squareup.com for more information.
Got questions? Dash Victoria an email using vkelly@SEPPAonline.com and she’ll get an answer to your query.