Chairman of the Board
Doug Peninger dpeninger@SEPPAonline.com
President
George Singleton gsingleton@SEPPAonline.com
1st Vice-President
Kevin Jiminez kjiminez@SEPPAonline.com
Delaware
District of Columbia
*** Paula Mignagna
***Anthony Maril Joe Tessmer
2nd Vice-President Florida Secretary-Treasurer Salon Exhibition Chair
Jessica Vogel jvogel@SEPPAonline.com
*** Sandra Pearce Kaye Newsome
Georgia
*** Sherri Noftsinger Jeff Gulle
Maryland
*** Michael Busada David Corry
Interim Executive Director Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com
So ut he r n E x posu r e
Souther n Expo sure magazine is an online publication of SEPPA and is published monthly. Editor V ictoria Kelly vkelly@SEPPAonline.com 919.480.7110 Ad Sales & Business Manager Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com 336.687.1943
Mississippi/Alabama
*** Andrew Lamb 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 Po int, NC 27265 336.687.1943 Acceptance o f adv e r t i si n g d oe s n ot c a r r y w i th i t en do rseme n t b y t h e p ub l i sh e r. O pi ni o ns expresse d b y Sout h e r n Exp osure or an y o f i ts author s d oe s n ot n e c e ssa r i l y refl ect the p osi t i on s of t h e Sou thea ster n Pro fessi o na l P h ot ogr a p h e r s A ssoc i a t i o n .
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Tennessee
*** Kristi Thomas Barbara White
Virginia
*** Kevin Hurley Robert Holman
West Virginia
*** 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
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The $5 8x10 Karen Blough, Cr. Photog. www.leweverling.com
Our prior article discussed how our industry is not the only one in a constant transformation. So what is really going on? Are we still embracing service and providing quality products? Where do we fall in the marketplace versus our competition? Are we listening to what our customers want and need? And finally, with all the industry changes, do our customers even know what we offer anymore?
Karen is the “muse” part of the creative team at Lew Everling’s studio. Karen and Lew will be teaching at East Coast School in Raleigh, NC.
One thing’s for sure: if you don’t define who you are, someone else will. Consumers will build their own definition of you and your business from the service you provide; the product quality, offering and pricing; your marketing image; and even information or marketing supplied by your competitor. Now let’s talk about how this works. My first studio was located on a busy Main Street. When I opened, the area itself was just beginning to define itself with boutique shops and retail stores. As the years passed and I grew comfortable with my business, the area became a higher-end retail community. What I had failed to assess as a studio owner was how that was affecting the perceived value of my work. People thought I was expensive, but in reality I was costing no more than others who were operating a studio out of their homes. Unfortunately for me, due to my location and perceived value, some prospects stopped inquiring about getting photos with me despite the fact that I had not changed my prices over the years! “Your competition down the street sells a disc of files for $100. What do you do?”
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Complacency is a very common mistake we make as business owners. If we are not constantly re-assessing the market around us are we really serving or communicating (marketing) with our prospective buyers effectively? I don’t think so. What kind of marketing (if any) are you doing? Is it answering the questions buyers have about what you do and who you are as a company? Effective marketing takes time, but without it we do not control our destiny as a company or personally as a business owner. Do you want to own your destiny or let others own it? Perhaps it’s time for some of us to re-define who we are and take control of our consumer’s perceptions. So back to, “What is really going on?” with business. Some photographers sell files; some don’t. Some are cheap; some aren’t. Consumers will draw conclusions based off the information they have about all photographers, and this may be the reason why your prospects continue to ask for files. This is a trend that isn’t going to go away, so what is your plan of action? Your competition down the street sells a disc of files for $100. What do you do? Although you may have considered waving a white flag or huddling in the corner to cry, it’s not time to give up yet. Maybe it’s just time to think differently (thank you, Steve Jobs). We are in the business to make money, and that hasn’t changed. It’s the characteristics of how we make money that has changed. It used to be earned by taking photos, but with the onset and evolution of digital, we have also become digital artists and graphic designers. At the center of it all, here is what our customers want:
1. Great products 2. Great service 3. Files from their session I offered the first two, but it appeared that not offering Reason #3–files from their session–was enough to make them pull away. As my clients began to bring me other photographer’s files to create products for them (ouch), I realized I had services and talents that the competition was not providing. At the same time, I was also lacking the number one thing they desired. Instead of being offended that they went to the competition for their photos, how can I learn from and capitalize on that information? Here is a novel concept: Offer the service of photography and sell the files. Gasp, choke...are you okay? Let’s proceed with this thought, so stay with me. Let’s think about other service industries. My highly-paid accountant and lawyer come to mind. My accountant would bind up my monthly balance sheets in a nice little package. She didn’t charge for the packet, it was free, but the time to put it together was not. High service fee, low product mark up. I value the service she offers, and in turn, the report is just a byproduct of that service. Here’s the rub: the report is what matters the most, not the paper it’s printed on! In contrast, my previous accountant was not nearly as skilled. Her hourly rate was much less, but being an accountant wasn’t her fulltime job; she was often late with my reports and didn’t provide a monthly report. The other option is that I could do my own taxes. I own a computer and Quickbooks,
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but that doesn’t make me an accountant. I choose to pay someone to get it done because I know they can do it better. After all, I’m a photographer by trade and numbers are not my thing! Accountants and lawyers have been making good money for years. Why not follow their business model and do it in photography? The only answer I’ve gotten from other photographers is, “because we’ve always done it this way.” That is not a good enough reason anymore. People want more and will go where they can get more, period. If you don’t offer it, they will and ARE finding it elsewhere. If we are going to follow the accounting business model then we charge for our talent which means we market that! We are photographers, image consultants, graphic designers, and more! We need to start thinking of those talents as the primary saleable items in our business. So what about our high priced 8x10s? Well it’s just a piece of paper, a means to deliver your high priced talent. If we follow a new business model of service, it’s now a $5 8x10 and your session fee is by the hour. Now--quit reaching for that white flag and get your game face on. It’s time to capitalize on our neighbor who is marketing the $100 disc of files. You are capable of more so it’s time to offer MORE! And remember: competition–no matter what the source–drives an industry to be what it is. Are you ready to ride along?
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SEPPA State of Mind
Our tour of states in the SEPPA region starts way down south in sunny Florida--so put the top down, grab the sunscreen and come along for some interesting little factoids you might not have known about the home of Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. Here are some items you should have learned in your grade school geography class: Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous (over 19 million!) and the 8th most densely populated state.
Florida, known to many as the “sunshine state”, was admitted into the United States on March 3, 1845.
The capital is Tallahassee, the largest city in Florida is Jacksonville and the largest metropolitan area is Miami. While you might also be under the impression that the Magic Kingdom has been around forever, this first of Florida’s theme parks opened to the public on October 1, 1971. And it’s one of the world’s largest nesting areas for the loggerhead sea turtle. Kaye Newsome, Executive Director for Florida Professional Photographers gave SE a tiny bit of a history lesson--the Florida Photographers Association was officially formed in 1933 with 30 or so members, each paying about $2 in dues. The name was changed in the 1950s to Florida
“Florida is home to some notable photographic artists...and no list would be complete without Kevin Newsome”.
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Professional Photographers and it’s been going strong ever since. There are several professional groups within the state of Florida called “sections” or “guilds”, each with the distinction of being called an affiliate of FPP and some are separately affiliated with PPA. FPP is also home to Florida School, one of the 21 PPA affiliate schools in the PPA system and is headed up by Marybeth Hamberger. Florida School offers a week of intense photographic education each summer which complements the education FPP members can take advantage of through the year. Now, here’s Florida by the photography numbers according to our source at PPA who shared with SE that there are 122 Master Photographers, 115 Craftsman Photographers, 5 MEIs, 2 Master Artists and 93 CPPs within the state. (wow.) Florida is also home to some notable photographic artists--Tim Kelly, Gregory Daniel, the Munoz family, Al Audleman and of course no list would be complete without Kevin Newsome. Current FPP President is Sandra Pearce, a well-known speaker and instructor who most certainly knows her way around a computer. So...have you enjoyed our trip? It’s time for SE to stow the sunglasses and start the drive for home...but keep your bag packed...we’ll be on another journey in July!
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The SEPPA website is moving to a new home... as of August we will be www.SEPPAonline.com (And we’re excited.)
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Going Green! Victoria Kelly, Cr. Photog., CPP, F.Ph www.victoriakellyphotography.com
I confess: I’ve always carried a paper calendar. It was always with me, carrying my notes, thoughts, scribbled envelopes and the like. Over the last year, though, I’ve been slowly making the adjustment to giving up my paper calendar in favor of keeping everything I need online. I’ve been using iCal, Reminders and Notes to keep up with my life--all the time wondering if there would ever be an app that would handle all of those pieces in one place. And there is. Victoria teaches a basic business class to emerging photographers in Raleigh, NC.
I came across an app called Pocket Informant Pro and decided to give it a try. It’s very robust (that’s Victoria-speak for “man, this thing is really LOADED”) and I’ll share with you up front that it will take you a couple days to get it set exactly the way you want it. It’s a little pricey at $14.99 so be sure you do your research before making your investment. It pulls in all the pieces in one place: calendar, reminders, notes, tasks--and shows them to you with as much or as little detail as you want to see on the screen. AND it syncs between my iPhone and my iPad so I’m always current with whatever tool I have in hand. There’s a nifty little Setup Assistant (you’ll want to go through this--trust me) that will guide you through
“So I’m saying “goodbye” to my paper calendar and “hello” to a more organized ME”.
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some basics to get you started fairly quickly. I did the setup as recommended and then tweaked it a bit over the first week of using the app to get it just like I want it---you know, where my calendar shows me appointments, tasks AND reminders on the same screen! It will also sync with Evernote...again, a handy feature that I was happy to see as I use Evernote frequently. I was a little worried that once I started using PI my iCal wouldn’t be updated--and since my assistant, Deb, relies on iCal for doing some of our scheduling that would be a disaster. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there’s a conduit to sync what I enter into PI so that it goes into my iCal as well. Did I mention that it pulls in your contacts? I can access my contacts without leaving PI to send an email or a message and then come right back to the contacts screen where I left off. So I’m saying “goodbye” to my paper calendar and “hello” to Pocket Informant Pro and a more organized ME.
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“ The Dury’s staff consists of actual photographers... ” Ever since I bought my first item from Dury’s almost 4 years ago, I have trusted no one else with all of my equipment needs. The Dury’s staff consists of actual photographers with a vast array of technical as well as performance knowledge and they are quick to help me find the right solutions for all of my shooting needs. A few months ago, it was time for me to upgrade cameras and the staff at Dury’s showed me the new Canon 5D Mark III. Simply put, the new Canon 5D Mark III is the best camera that I have shot with to date. I now have the capability to shoot at extremely high ISO’s with little or no noise as well as up to 6 frames per second with a very quiet shutter. Not to mention, the new autofocus system works flawlessly even in the most trying situations! This camera will make even the most discerning photographer very happy as the files that come out of the camera are simply breathtaking.
Jairaj - Kevin KJImages.com
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1-800-824-2379
701 Ewing Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203 615-255-3456 • Toll Free: 800-824-2379 www.durys.com M-F: 9:00-5:30; Saturday: 10:00-3:00
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SEPPA Spotlight
Occasionally someone will cross your path and you know immediately that your life will be all the better for the experience. This month’s SEPPA spotlight is focusing on Brian Allen from North Carolina. Let me first start by saying that when I called Brian to chat he was in a hurry...he was loading up vehicles with supplies to carry to Oklahoma to lend a hand because that’s what he does. As he puts it--”I live with God’s guidance and I felt called to make the trip.” Brian lives in Saluda, North Carolina with his family.
I haven’t known Brian that long--he’s really only been serious about his photography for the last 5 years or so--but he’s always been into the art of creating with some of his high school pieces being displayed in the Congressional building. Once you meet Brian you won’t forget him. He’s a tall guy, over 6 feet, and most of his visible skin is covered with tattoos. He’s a co-owner at High Caliber Custom Tattoo and he’s been inking bodies for about 17 years.
“Desolation”
Now that you’ve got the backstory, let me tell you why he’s special--several years ago while reading his Bible he took to heart the mission of helping the poor and disadvantaged. He discovered Compassion International and felt called to sponsor a child. And then another. And then a 3rd. And then he decid-
“if my mission touches your heart and you feel compelled to help...we are changing the world, one child at a time.”
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ed that since he was sponsoring children he would go and SEE where they lived. He wanted to SEE what they needed. He wanted to help in whatever way he could to make life a little bit easier for these children that he loves as though they were his own.
“Born into Apathy”
In October of this year Brian will be making his third trip to Africa. He’s helped build kitchens, a school, brick ovens...whatever is needed, wherever it’s needed. I asked him how he raises funds for these trips--he shared with me that each trip costs about $6,000 and that most of it comes from private donations with the occasional fund-raiser. Most of the time, though, he leaves rounding up the funding to the Lord feeling that the money and whatever supplies he needs will be provided. So far, he hasn’t been disappointed.
“Perseverance”
If you look at Brian’s photographs they will surely move you. Most are in black and white, conveying the pain of a child that most of us will never know but also capturing the beauty he sees in clouds in the sky. The motivation behind his camera is simple: he wants his images to inspire people to do something to help. That’s it. Nothing grand or glorious, no big parades or accolades. Just help a child have a little brighter tomorrow.
“His Glory Shines”
As Brian says--”if my mission touches your heart and you feel the need to help then in our small way we are changing the world, one child at a time.” Thank you, Brian, for sharing your light with me.
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