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
*** Paula Mignagna
***Anthony Maril Joe Tessmer
*** Martin Gudz 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 919.818.0726 Ad Sales & Business Manager Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com 866.982.4856
Maryland
*** Lidia Miller Steve Clark
Mississippi/Alabama
*** Wesley Ellis Gil Brady
North Carolina
*** Bruce Williamson Janet Boschker
South Carolina
*** Patty Hallman Gregg Martin
Article & Ad Submissions 5th of every month OnLine Publication 20th of each month SEPPA 3710 North Main Street High Point, NC 27265 866.982.4856 Acceptan ce o f a d v e r t i si n g d oe s n ot c a r r y wi th i t en dor se m e n t b y t h e p ub l i sh e r. Opi n i o ns expre sse d b y Sout h e r n Exp osure o r an y 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 og r 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 la b l e up on re q ue st .
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
*** Jeannie Forehand Barbara White
*** Jim Carpenter Robert Holman
*** Pat Dodd Brentv 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.
www.ppma.net
www.vppa.org
West Virginia www.ppwv.org
You Can Have This Industry... Missy MWAC
When you love something, you defend it You protect it You throw yourself in front of it to prevent it from being harmed I love this industry And I don’t believe for a second that our best days are behind us I do believe, though, that we are going through some terrific growing pains And it’s uncomfortable And partly, we have ourselves to blame
For we have allowed those who view photographers as nothing more than dollar signs to change the industry to dirty it to make it mean less to dumb it down They have encouraged folks to enter this incredible industry with nothing more than a dream and some passion They have plastered their workshops with motivational speeches
How Can Web Videos Help SEO Campaigns? Patrick McCoy You have been thinking of strategies to increase and improve the presence of your business online, haven’t you? I can probably bet you have already considered launching a blog site, which is related to your business and posting articles on a regular basis. Or, maybe you may already have submitted related articles to many website directories among other internet marketing strategies; however, something is still missing. What could it be? The answer isn’t always clear to the average business owner or internet marketer, but at last, you have come to the conclusion or read about how videos on your website can help improve your internet marketing strategy. Web videos can sometimes drastically maximize your search engine optimization efforts as the videos themselves can earn rankings when posted to video sharing sites like Wistia, Vimeo or YouTube. Share Your Videos Among the two aforementioned video sharing sites, there are many other video hosting and sharing sites out there to post your videos for free. And, since most small businesses make low budget commercials, these free sites will allow you to create several ad campaigns without breaking the bank and increasing your web presence across the web and search engines. Web videos also allow for use of keywords to tag the file or URL in order to share and promote through your social networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter and even LinkedIn.
Missy MWAC cont’d... We made rockSTARs of the very people devaluing the industry
They can have THIS industry…WE are building something better.
And it did not go unnoticed.
Something that has meaning
Those with experience saw this and shook their heads
Something that has value Something that endures
And when they spoke up, they were labeled “haters” (Oh, I so dislike that word) Old School Keepers of the Old Guard
For our best days are still ahead and we, together, will lift up the bar of excellence that has been dragged through the mudno one person can do it alone.
They were told their ways were outdated Their methods archaic
We will support and encourage one another
However, as time passed, we saw how wrong those labels were, for the concerns were valid
We will do away with rockSTAR nonsense and, instead, admire those who make their living with their cameras and not their workshops
But unfortunately, the damage had been done; the industry had been changed and not for the better But the wonderful thing about change is that it is malleable
And we will re-build our industry… An industry that will once again allow its faithful to say with pride that they are photographers.
The pendulum swings back The tide comes in And after awhile, those peddling their wares to unsuspecting photographers in the hopes of making a quick buck are seen for who they are Certainly, not deserving of this industry. Well, that’s not true. They ARE deserving of the current industry, with all its trickery, shams, money-making schemes and workshops .
xoxo
For more of Missy’s out-of-this-world view of (p)rofessional (p)hotography, visit her website at www.missymwac.com
PHOTOBIZ PRO TIP:
14 Make sure that you have a website that is responsive, so that your visitors can access it with any device; desktop computers, tablets, or mobile phones.
First Look: ProFoto B1 Don MacGregor New experiences always are exciting. I recently enjoyed Photokina for the first time…over whelming yet very exciting. Displays were over the top. Huge and did I say HUGE. I should have said mega huge. The big companies had displays that were the size of 2-3 football fields. The latest and greatest in equipment form countries around the world…not just North America. The Asian countries also had a huge footprint with a lot of great looking lighting gear and other things. Then it was back to reality and more importantly … 2 great experiences. I just finished being part of a team for North Carolina’s fall seminar… with a twist. Each Instructor started as if it was a real job… consultation, photography, presentation and sales. People saw the varied techniques that each instructor (all with
different personalities and styles) applied as they embraced the job. The models and families were even present during the sales presentation modules so people saw the challenges, joy and excitement that all experienced. This “formula” for a state conference was bold and very rewarding for all. Each instructor was pushed to do a lot more than a “platform dance”. We all had to set the stage, create the images under tough conditions (mother nature had a hissy fit and we were scrambling between rain and such) and then lay it all out in front of our peers as well as the client. A challenge, you bet, but a rewarding one as people saw instructors under REAL conditions. The other exciting part of this month’s
message is equipment and how it will affect our image making. There are a lot of companies (international) that are all starting to offer flash systems that are portable, powerful and connected by a signal. I chose the new Profoto B1. While pricey, I felt that the design and simplicity of operation were key features. I also loved the size and lithium battery that was built right into the slim body of the B1.
ent light and then the flash to a pleasing ratio. (3:1 seems to be the default of the programming of the system). That ratio could quickly be changed with a plus and minus button as desired. Fast, easy and again simple to use. In Manual mode, it was equally easy to use. It was very easy to again make changes to the flash out put from the on camera transmitter and VERY easy to understand. Now, let’s look at some images:
I had heard that the TTL capabilities were amazing and I was VERY skeptical as I am a staunch “manual” flash person. I know my math and can quickly put things together and know my results before I push the shutter button. I had the pleasure of test driving it at the North Carolina fall seminar. Wow. Not only was the size and physical handling of the unit awesome… the TTL exposures were EXCELLENT. I will say that the unit’s ability will not meet every vision we have (as artists), however it really produced excellent results and most importantly … it allowed the photographer to make changes in power output quickly and accurately “on the fly” from the hot shoe mounted transmitter. For me, the key was simplicity. I did not have to push multiple buttons in a sequence or pull the manual out to figure everything out. It was intuitive. I used the Canon dedicated transmitter in both TTL modes and manual. In TTL, I used aperture priority and let the on board systems do the math. I was impressed with the results. The images projected a highlight and shadow side (mixing the ambi-
Larry Miller (a Tennessee photographer) is passionate about his music and guitars. His home studio presents wonderful opportunities. I discovered that he often sits outside and plays his guitar just for the joy of it. I chose a composition that had great framing elements (vertical trees) but was in a dark, heavily treed area with only dappled light coming through the trees. The ambient exposure was approx. 1/30 at F4. I set the aperture priority to F4 and let the B1 (with soft white umbrella) take over and it was darned impressive. It required very little post processing to put this together. It will be interesting to see what the other light modifiers do as it relates to the specular highlights. Shelby (daughter of a popular NC photographer) was relaxing in a dark area with NO natural illumination for her face. The B1 (with umbrella) was brought in from camera right and we metered for the “scene”, finding it to be 1/30 @5.6. Again we used aperture priority at 5.6 and results were awesome. One could argue that the ratio is a little strong for that environment
Don MacGregor cont’d... and I would have to agree. However‌ the TTL system did the work FAST and accurately and it is VERY good. The next portrait of Shelby was again a challenge. Strong backlighting against a dark background (that is the RIGHT formula for backlighting) but the area in front of her was a solid wall of large trees and NO illumination on the subject. We brought the B1 into play (aperture priority at 5.6 and umbrella on B1) with super results. The family image seated in front of the old airplane was a challenge as it started to rain. It was heavily overcast and cold. The ambient exposure was 1/30@5.6 (ISO 200). We brought the B1 into play (with umbrella) and feathered the light towards the girl in yellow. We metered to insure the light was even across everyone. In this case we switched to manual exposure (just for the fun of it) and again the B1 and communication between the camera and flash performed VERY well. All things considered with the tough conditions, the B1 was simply amazing. Lots of power, super easy to physically handle (no cables) and not once did the communication between camera and flash fail. While part of me did not want to admit that the B1 was smarter (and I am grumbling as I write this), I have to admit it performed extremely well and allowed me to concentrate all my efforts on the clients. High fives to the North Carolina team for their vision for the fall seminar and the Profoto B1.
SEPPA Live! is coming to Charlotte, May 1-5, 2015...we’ll be staying at the beautiful Sheraton Charlotte Hotel just off the interstate. Click HERE to book your hotel reservation or dial directly to: 704.372.4100 District Judging: May 2-3, 2015 Pre-Con Business Class with Ann Monteith Shooting Safari with Cye & Scott Gray PARTIES!
Audrey Wanket Chris Wunder Ann Monteith Bruce Berg Joel Grimes Jennifer Gillman & Mark Garber Parish Kohamin Meggan Harper Carl Caylor
• Business Class w/Ann Monteith • SEPPA District Image Competition May 2-3 • Shooting Safari • Weddings • Seniors • Babies
save the date!
Patrick McCoy cont’d... It’s Human Nature As humans,we are naturally curious and prefer visual stimulation over reading text. I can almost see you nodding your head up and down in agreeance. With this fact, one can assume that web videos can really get through to people and the way they influence decisions when visiting a website. We can all admit it, society is becoming more and more lazy, so in order to take advantage of this, internet marketing companies are implementing web videos into their SEO and social media marketing campaigns for several reasons: Clicking to watch a web videos is preferred over reading the page content Web videos keep visitors on the website for longer periods of time Web videos can help influence a call to action such as: Buy This Product/Fill Out A Form Web videos allow visitors to get familiar with a company/product Web videos aren’t just limited to your website as they can be shared Web videos placed on video sharing websites assist in backlink development for SEO … and many more! Videos Positively and Directly Impact Search Engine Optimization Videos can be created for just about any type of marketing strategy. Whether they are introductory videos, instructional videos, product demos, client testimonials, employee interviews, office tours, etc., video will help you drive home a message while creating brand awareness which Google loves these days, and, as mentioned above, keeping visitors on your website longer. Google Analytics registers all of this data and is considered in their ranking criteria, thus delivering additional SEO assistance. Furthermore, you don’t need a large budget to produce such videos as these days iPhones, FlipCams, GoPro cameras or even a webcam can aid in the shooting of a nice, quality video. Obtain one of the many free video editing softwares floating around on the web and watch a couple tutorials and you’re off to the web video creation races. It is only a matter of your time, creativity and resourcefulness, so you can have your video gaining more attention through the various web and social platforms. Because videos can be so influential, it would be unwise to not consider them as an avenue of marketing to seriously consider and, more importantly, every SEO company needs to understand that web videos can only help their efforts and add to the many techniques for high quality, white hat SEO practices. Add web videos into your SEO packages for a more successful campaign and improved online presence. Your business will thank you later!
I Want to Hold Your Hand... Christine Walsh-Newton, M. Photog., Cr., CPP A large part of 2014 has been filled with retrospective silence in the Wootness corner. I've been working on some pretty hefty projects and goals that have required extensive “heads down� work and I've been faced with a few situations that have tested me. Sorely. And so it came to pass this summer, that I was sitting in the middle of a nature sanctuary, my chair pulled close to a campfire, sharing one of these situations with a lady-friend, a fellow bearer of gray-hair. Another soul who'd observed the many fickle traits of life and hopefully had some woman-wisdom to share with me. I'd gone there to relax, to get-away, a forced time-out from the world that would help me reorganize my thoughts and recharge my batteries. And as I sat there and began to unburden myself, she reached out and held my hand. It was all that I needed. A touch, an acknowledgment. She was listening and offering assistance, if only a moment of comfort or a few words of reassurance. I looked at her hand, and then at her
face and knew somehow, it was gonna all work itself out. And in that moment I realized what my mission was. And is. I want to hold your hand. I've seen you. Watching. Quietly watching. And listening. I see that look in your eyes. The one of confidence, laced with fear. You want to talk to those around you, be a part of the group, critique some images, talk about scores, participate in print competition, be one of the “cool kids,” or at least not one of the awkward guys standing over in the corner nursing his free drink from the vendor bar. Your eyes are drawn to the ones making the most noise. Like indoor wind chimes, they rattle as they move; a variety of ribbons and medals clanking around their necks. Your eyes widen in admiration and then narrow in ridicule. You waver between making fun of the colorful assortment around their necks and wishing you had one, too. I've been in your shoes. It's not fun, and in fact, can be a little bit horrifying. Intimidating, even. And because I've been there, not so long ago, I get it, and if I see you're in a bind, I'll tuck you under my wing a little bit until you get your bearings. I'll clue you in on what's what, who's who and what it takes to be a wearer o' the bling. I'll look at your images, pat your arm as you worry and help you decide which ones are your strongest. I'll be patient as you change your mat color from black to brown and back to black and I'll try not to roll my eyes when you wait until an hour
before the deadline to upload your files. I'll sit beside you in the darkened judging room and grip your arm when your image turns. I'll hold my breath while you hold yours and we'll both let it out in a swift rush when the score is announced. Later, I might buy us both a drink. Or two. And if one of us cries a little bit, we won't mention it. Ever. For a long time I felt that I had no right to be a mentor. I used to think that when I stepped into a mentoring role that I had to be all things to that particular mentoree. I was very wary of becoming someone's “guru.” I didn't feel I knew enough to be in that role and certainly wasn't the high wizard of photography that I felt that role required. How quickly I learned how incredibly wrong I was. I don't have to know it all. I just have to know a little bit more than the person in need. Or know someone else who does. Some had questions that I could not answer. And some photographed subjects I have no experience with. For the ones I couldn't help, I found them someone who could. I found folks who photographed lions, tigers, bears and egrets. I found someone who could help with the proper shutter speed for waterfall images and the correct time of day for canyons. I sent folks in the direction of those who could help them learn to retouch better and those who could help them with custom printing. And sometimes I just gave them the PPA customer service email address. Throughout the 2014 competition season I worked with a small group of students; competition first-timers that had worked with me in some aspect. Through Super 1
Days and my state affiliate, they'd come into contact with me regarding image competition and we banded together into a little troupe of sorts. We worked on our images and passed them back and forth in email messages and in a Facebook group I'd set up. We'd chat on the phone or text, sometimes for hours. And sometimes we just sucked it up and met for an entire day of shooting skills refinement. We went through several small competitions together, then our state and then the Northeast District. As the competitions progressed, so did our skill sets and efforts.
and higher. I was amazed, overwhelmed and proud. So incredibly proud. It was like the roller coaster that kept going up. And in the end, there were medalists and there were non-medalists. There were some who had no loans and some who had three. There were some who played it safe with more traditional composition and others that incorporated so much more creativity and personal style into their entries than I'd ever seen, that I wonder if they weren't the real winners in the grand scheme of things.
And then it was time; IPC 2014.
As for me, I learned that the highest return in print competition was not achieving personal excellence, it was holding the hands of others while they did.
For four days we sat in our respective living rooms watching the same web-cast competition judging while staying in touch online.
So the next time you've got that awkward thing going on, or see someone struggling against wallflower status, reach out and hold their hand.
I was nervous. For myself. For my students. I remembered my first competition. The months of preparation. The hundreds of dollars. The sleepless nights. The sweaty palms.
I promise not to notice if you cover the move with a handshake.
I could only hope I'd helped them all as much as they needed. And that my help was of benefit, and not a source of further confusion. I hoped it was enough. And as the days passed, the merit and medal count of our little group rose higher
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.”