March 2017 PPGH Viewfinder

Fresh Lavender by Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr., CPP

Wow! We've gotten off to an exciting start this year.

CONTENTS PPA Member Articles PPGH Meetings/Events Regional Events Publisher Aileen Harding, M.Photog., CPP Editor Theresa Campbell Graphic Design/Layout Theresa Campbell Jeanie Galvanni

Aileen Harding, M. Photog., Cr. CPP

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MAR 2017

PPGH WORKSHOP SERIES PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Image Competition

Brad Barton gave a great program on Photoshop Compositing and Creating Epic Art. We all left inspired to create unique imagery for both our clients and ourselves.

Next, we launched our first “Hands On Learning: Location” event in Beaumont. It was a huge success! We made lots of new friends and brought first rate education to the Beaumont area. On President's Day, we hosted the annual Past President's Luncheon and outgoing President and Aileen Harding, M.Photog, CPP. current Chairman of the Board, Teri Whittaker, updated the Past Presidents on all of our 2016 successes. A big congratulations to Teri for an incredible 2016 year!!!

March roars in like a lion with three workshops. Karen Butts will present a workshop on the “Marriage of Color Harmony and Composition”, Laura Mansur Guerra will teach all about “Lighting Modifiers” and how to use them to create different looks, and Michael Martinez will educate us on “What Are You Truly Worth?” Kari Douma is flying in from Michigan for our General Meeting, an All Day Program on “Families, Life's Greatest Blessing”. She'll teach us how to work with our clients to create meaningful family portraits that they will cherish for years. From consultation, to styling, to shooting, to sales...she covers it all. Plan to leave this program prepared to create a fantastic family portraiture business!

It's deja vu all over again and we're hoping that this year, April will be the charm...

Jeffrey Shaw is scheduled as our speaker for the April meeting. You may remember that he was supposed to give our program at last year's April meeting, but the threat of serious flooding forced us to cancel. We are so excited that he is coming and can't wait to hear all about “The Secret Language of Success! How to Build a Photography Business the Right Way”. Don't miss this “must see” program if you're serious about your business and making money. Jeffrey Shaw is a nationally renowned business coach and teacher. Be sure to check out his Creative Warriors Podcasts and prepare to be inspired!

PPGH is committed to providing value to our membership. There are 20 Workshops planned for the 2017 year and we have some amazing programs lined up for our meetings. Be sure to check out the website at www.PPGH.org regularly for new listings.

I can't wait to see you there!

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS GUILD OF HOUSTON 2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

To contact your officers or director, just click on their name.

Chairman of the Board Teri Whittaker, CPP

President Aileen Harding, M. Photog., Cr., CPP

Vice-President Kevin Falcon, CPP

Secretary Nikky LaWell, Cr., CPP

Treasurer Kathy Kinser, CPP

Executive Director Belinda Higgins, M. Photog., Cr., CPP

Director - Membership Laura Mansur, CPP

Director Duane Blocker

Director Kat Mack

Director Booker Shelton, Jr.

Audit Chairman: Kim Christensen Blair Haynie, CPP, Lynda Meyer Bylaws Chairman: Tom Hathcock, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Dixie Dobbins, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Alvin Gee, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Clean Up Board Liaison: Teri Whittaker, CPP Communications/Graphic Design Chairman: Alison Carlino, CPP Jessi Marri Becker, Kelli Leaker Ethics Chairman: Dixie Dobbins, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Mindy Harmond, CPP Hallie Keller, CPP Curley Marshall Cr., CPP

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PPGH COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Belinda Higgins, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Fellowship Chairman: Kevin Falcon,CPP Image Competition Board Liaison: Teri Whittaker, CPP Chairman: Vera Brock Sherry Piché, M.Photog, CPP, Blair Haynie, CPP, Duane Blocker, Cat Dybala, M.Photog., M.Artist Librarian Chairman: Curley Marshall, Cr., CPP Booker Shelton, Jr. Membership: Chairman: Laura Mansur, CPP Sandy Buller, CPP, Karen Butts, M. Photog., Cr., CPP, Hallie Keller, CPP Mentor Program /Certification Chairman: Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr., CPP

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Nominating Chairman: Tom Hathcock, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Mitch Daniels, Cr. Photog.

Belinda Higgins, M.Photog., Cr., CPP Kevin Falcon, CPP PPGH Workshop Series Board Liaison: Teri Whittaker, CPP Chairman: Teresa Casillas Procedures and Controls Board Liaison: Teri Whittaker, CPP Social Media Board Liaison and Chairman: Kevin Falcon,CPP Telephone Board Liaison: Booker Shelton, Jr. Vera Brock, Rebeca Calzado, Juliana Cedeno, Ursula Chester, Tara Flannery, CPP, Kelli Leaker, Lynda Meyer, Danielle Moore,

Sadiqa Sevier, Booker Shelton, Jr. Web Site Board Liaison: Kevin Falcon, CPP Web Master: Duane Blocker Marvin Labohm Welcoming Board Liaison: Curley Marshall, Cr., CPP Tom Hathcock, M.Photog., Cr., CPP

WELCOME NEW MEMBER: Wayne Winsauer

Photography has been my absolute passion for the last 12 years and I find my enjoyment from both, being behind the camera, and being an artist behind the computer. I am most known for my landscapes, architecture, fashion, and stylized artistic portraits. I have been published in Metropolitan Builder Magazine and have won approximately 30 awards online.

An old Chinese noodle maker once said, "I try to be a little bit better today than I was yesterday." I have taken this concept to heart with my photography and believe there will always be more to learn. In the end, I just want to make really good noodles, well in my case, images. Thank you for your time! I look forward to working with you!

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MAR 2017 2

BEHIND THE SCENES

y Aileen Harding, M.Photog., Cr., CPP b HANDS-ON LEARNING: Location Beaumont

We had so much fun at our very first HandsOn Learning: Location Event on February 4 at the beautiful Julie Rogers Theater in Beaumont, Texas.

The day started bright and early, (in the dark, actually) for many of our volunteers who traveled an average of two hours one way to help facilitate the event. We met at 7:30 am., unloaded all the equipment, set up for registration and check-in, and began our program promptly at 9:00. We began in the auditorium with a brief slideshow and introduction about PPGH. Then the instructors were announced and everyone followed them to their respective classes. Twenty-four students registered for the all day event which included one morning and one afternoon class. The five classes available were: • Basic Studio Lighting, taught by Curley Marshall, M. Photog., CPP, Author • Off Camera Lighting, taught by Alison Carlino, CPP • Posing 101, taught by Sherry Piché, M. Photog., CPP • Headshots, taught by Laura Mansur Guerra, CPP • Drones, taught by Tom Hathcock, M. Photog., Cr., CPP and Michael Reiland Volunteers (other than our Instructors) included Duane Blocker, Theresa Campbell, Kevin Falcon, Aileen Harding, Michael Martinez, Lynda Meyer, Tom Moss, and Teri Whittaker. Yvette Griffith, of Yvette Michelle Photography in Beaumont, also helped to spread the word about our event, promoting us in her Facebook group and stopping by to say hello. Also a special

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thanks goes out to Rhonda Cameron, of Rhonda Cameron Photography, for finding last minute replacement models for us.

We were proud to partner with Infocus Camera and Imaging, from Orange, Texas, who attended our luncheon and provided door prizes as well as the opportunity to view their beautiful printed products. It is clear that they are an invaluable resource to photographers in their area by sponsoring rep visits from various camera companies, by offering on site education regarding products, and by serving as home for a very strong Camera Club.

Our attendees had a great time, and were anxious for us to return. It was fun to be able to wander around and watch the various classes. Curley was in his element, teaching the wonders of light and shadow. His students raved during lunch about how they finally “got” it, and couldn't wait to start practicing what they had learned.

Alison was a dynamo, roving from one end of the theater to the other, demonstrating how to create different lighting styles and looks utilizing your environment. Students had so much fun rolling on the ground and learning the tricks for perfect posing in Sherry’s Posing 101 class. I overheard someone say “I thought the pose was perfect and then Sherry moved their leg back just a bit and it was SO MUCH BETTER!” Laura was a ball of energy as she taught different lighting tricks and patterns to create the best headshots possible. Tom and Michael took amazing drone footage and demonstrated using the drone by taking our group photo outside the Theater.

This was an incredible experience, both for our attendees, and for ourselves. Over and over again I heard , “We love this! When are you coming back?”

I want to send a huge THANK YOU to all those who made this Event such an incredible success!!

Kevin Falcon shared a short video slideshow from the event here: https://youtu.be/q9E4XcgnoPs Aileen Harding, M. Photog., Cr., CPP 2017 President, Professional Photographers Guild of Houston 2017 PPA Platinum Medalist of the Year 2016 PPGH Best Illustrative Image by a Master 2016 TPPA Best Wildlife Image by a Master

BEHIND THE SCENES

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FROM OUR MEMBERS

y Teri Whittaker, CPP b 366 Project: Commit to yourself Have you seen some of your friends start on a daily image project at the beginning of the year and think “That would be really nice, but I could never keep up with it”? That is what I thought. In 2016, when I began participating in a 366 Project (one image a day for 366 days…since it was leap year), I hadn’t planned on it. I was driving to 2016 Imaging USA in Atlanta with my friend, Aileen Harding, and she told me she was doing a daily project and I should join in. I am guessing that since I was totally immersed in all things photography due to being at the convention, it was pretty easy for me to get started. Once I got started, I was hooked!

The biggest hook was that within a very short time, I found that I could see a difference in my work. Previous to the project, I felt that the progress of my technical abilities was crawling and that I significantly lacked in creative vision. Image competition had helped me greatly and I could see the improvement in my images since I had started competing; however, creating a daily image had me continually evaluating my backgrounds, considering my light, and using features on my camera I had not previously used. I was looking at everyday objects with fresh eyes and learning new ways to accomplish things in Photoshop and Painter.

I know that committing to a 366 Project might not be a reasonable undertaking for you in this season of your life, but I would encourage you to find a creativity project that will work for you.

Perhaps a 52 Project would work for you…where you set a day (or morning) aside each week for creativity, or if one day a week is still too much to ask, do a 12 Project and set aside one day a month to explore with your camera. If you take on a project, do whatever speaks to your heart and make it your own. On my project, if I miss a day, I make it up the next…that is what worked for me to ensure that I would continue on in the project.

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I came out of 2016 a better photographer than I was when the year started. And when 2016 ended, I wasn’t done with committing to a daily project. I felt that I still needed the daily project to continue to see more rapid growth in my work, so I have continued my daily project into 2017. I encourage you to jump into a project. You will be glad that you did!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: TERI WHITTAKER, CPP

y Aileen Harding, M.Photog., Cr., CPP b Relationship Portraiture

FEBRUARY MEETINGS

Leslie Lake Hoyt poses a family

Leslie Lake Hoyt Our February meeting was pivotal for those interested in family portraiture. Leslie demonstrated specific lighting patterns and techniques to help us create fine art relationshipstyle family portraits. She covered posing and consultation during the day portion of the program, then photographed a family of four. She showed how she would create “break outs� of the group, adding to the opportunity of selling a wall gallery. Then she actually edited, retouched and prepped images for the sales appointment during the evening portion. Leslie is a twotime GIA nominee in the Children's Portrait Category, placing third overall in 2015. She has won numerous awards and will be teaching at Kansas School this year.

Leslie Lake Hoyt and Aileen Harding

Past President's Luncheon We want to thank all the past presidents who came to our annual past presidents meeting, organized by (immediate past president) Teri Whittaker. We missed a few regular attendees. Hope to see you at a meeting soon!

Pictured: Back - Charles Falk, Mitch Daniels, Dean Grimes, Curley Marshall. Front - Janice Jones, Sunny Arrant, Teri Whittaker, Belinda Higgins

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TEXAS GUILDS When you are traveling around Texas, stop by and visit one of the local affiliate guilds. Click on the links below to find out more about each one.

Be sure to tell them you are from PPGH.

LOCAL AFFILIATES Austin · Austin Professional Photographers Association Bryan/College Station · Brazos Valley Professional Photographers Association Dallas · Dallas Professional Photographers Association Ft. Worth · Fort Worth Professional Photographers Association Lubbock · South Plains Professional Photographers Association San Antonio · Professional Photographers of San Antonio Tyler · Professional Photographers Forum of East Texas Waco · Heart of Texas Professional Photographers

NEW MEMBERS:

Did you know you can enter the PPGH Local Photographic Competition at any level of membership?

The image competition held at our monthly PPGH meetings is a great way to hone your skills and get feedback from proven and respected professionals in this industry.

These talented individuals volunteer their time to judge images and provide valuable feedback utilizing the 12 elements of a merit image. You can earn merits on a local level and progress your image to the next level of competition to earn recognition and even degrees through the

Professional Photographers of America. All district competitions lead to the annual International Photographic Competition. Visit the links below to learn more about entering competition.

To learn about the guidelines for entering image competition at PPGH meetings visit: http://www.ppgh.org/Resources/Documents/ Image%20Competition/2015%20PPGH%20 Image%20Comp%20Rules.pdf

Follow along with image judging on the Game Day App, downloadable from https://printcompetition.com/. Membership is optional but if you join PrintCompetition.com you can search thousands of archival images to see scores and hear audio from the image competitions. It is a terrific resource.

To learn about upcoming competitions throughout the region visit: http://www.ppa.com/competitions/

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FEB 2017 8

IMAGE COMPETITION

HONE YOUR SKILLS IN IMAGE COMPETITION

FEBRUARY IMAGE COMPETITION WINNERS

First Place Master Untethered At Last

by Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr., CPP

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FEBRUARY IMAGE COMPETITION WINNERS

Second Place Master Peaceful Preparation

by Karen Butts, M.Photog., Cr., CPP

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FEBRUARY IMAGE COMPETITION WINNERS

Third Place Master Midnight in Paris

by Armando Chacon, M.Photog., Cr.

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FEBRUARY IMAGE COMPETITION WINNERS

First Place Active Exposed

by Teri Whittaker, CPP

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FEBRUARY IMAGE COMPETITION WINNERS

Second Place Active From the Heart

by Vera Brock

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FEBRUARY IMAGE COMPETITION WINNERS

Third Place Active Golden Eye

by Mary Blackwell

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FEB 2017 14

PPGH WORKSHOP SERIES

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FEB 2017 16

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