Jan2014

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Cover Photo by: Belinda Higgins, M.Photog.,Cr.,CPP

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JAN . 2014

Members’ Birthdays

January General Meeting Kimberley McKee................Jan 1 Steve Tarver........................Jan 1

Meet the 2014 President and the Annual Awards Banquet Jan. 21 Image Competition begins at 6 p.m.

Dinner at 7 p.m.

Awards at 8 p.m.

Kevin Falcon........................Jan 2 Belinda Higgins, M.Photog.,Cr., CPP .............................................Jan 4 Kathleen Kinser....................Jan 6 Chrystal Zink........................Jan 7 Kim Christensen..................Jan 8 Greta Jacobs-­‐Mee,CPP.......Jan 18 Bonnie Heidrich..................Jan 19 Dru Harper, CPP..................Jan 21 Mitchell Shaw.....................Jan 23 Kelly Willis...........................Jan 25 KrysQna Salazar...................Jan 26 Mike Bowers........................Jan 28 Barry Livingston...................Jan 29 Jim Stevens........................Jan 31

Expectations: “We all have them. The

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PPGH exceeds those expectations.

PPGH gives every assignment 110% effort in maintaining the highest quality expertise available through our members.”

The Professional Photographers Guild of Houston 2014 Officers and Directors JAN . 2014

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Chairman of the Board President

Greta Jacobs Mee, CPP

Kim Christensen

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Vice President

Executive Director

Belinda Higgins, M.Photo.,

Tom Hathcock, CPP

Cr., CPP

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Secretary Aileen Harding, CPP

Membership Director

Workshop Action Team Leader

Karen Butts, CPP

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Treasurer

Director at Large

Teri Whittaker, CPP

Sharon Chandler, CPP

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Director at Large Kevin Falcon

Director at Large

Web Master

Sherry Piche´

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Email

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Do YOU Know Your Lighting Patterns

JOIN TODAY 4 PAGE !

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2014 Join a PPGH Committee or an Action Team Today Call one of the Team Leaders and Volunteer

PPGH Standing Commi/ees ByLaws Commi/ee Alvin Gee, M.Photog., CR., CPP, Chair Kelly Willis Tom Hathcock, CPP Nomina7ng Commi/ee Kelly Willis, Chair Tom Hathcock, CPP

Ethics Commi/ee Belinda Higgins, M.Photog.,Cr.,CPP Sunny Arrant, M.Photog.,Cr. Cindy Crofford, CPP Kim Smith

Audit Commi/ee Vickie Longoria, Chair Cesar Vargas, CPP Sheila Richards

Ac7on Teams Web Design Ac7on Team Kevin Falcon, Team Leader AcQon Team Members Marvin Labohm Tom Hathcock, CPP Image Compe77on Ac7on Team Robert Brayton,CPP Team Leader Francie Baltazar-­‐Stonestreet, CPP Team Member

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Vendor Liaison Ac7on Team OPEN Telephone Ac7on Team Librarian Ac7on Team Curley Marshall, CPP, AcQon Team Leader

Mentor Program Ac7on Team Greta Jacobs Mee, CPP , AcQon Team Leader

PPGH Photographer Ac7on Team Orpha Labohm, Team Leader Viewfinder Ac7on Team Leader Nicki Evans-­‐Simpson, Editor, Team Members Rhonda Floyd, CPP Tom Hathcock,CPP Karen Bu[s,CPP Vanessa Ma[hews Kim Christensen Kevin Falcon

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Procedures and Controls Ac7on Team Teri Whi[aker, CPP Team Leader Team Members Kelly Willis Melissa Dobbs

Mini-­‐Program Ac7on Team Aileen Harding, CPP, Team Leader AcQon Team Members Tom Hathcock,CPP Rhonda Floyd, CPP Brenda Logan Vanessa Ma[hews Vicki Longoria Membership Ac7on Team Karen Bu[s, CPP, AcQon Team Leader Team Members Kevin Falcon Shelia Richards Tom Hathcock, CPP Kathleen Kinser Kim Smith

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PPGH 2014 Programs

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Jan. 21th ...... Meet the President and Awards Banquet Feb. 18th.......TBA Mar. 18th......FotoFest - PPGH Display Opens Apr. 15th......Ann Monteith - Business Program Seminar “Get Down To Business” PPA Education Merit Program May, 20th...... “Open” June, 17th.....Mark McCall - All day PPA Education Merit Program July, 15th.....Suzette Allen - All day PPA Education Merit Program Aug. 19th......Corey Barker - All day PPA Education Merit Program Sept. 16th......Steve Kozak - All Day PPA Education Merit Program Oct. 21th......Maria Bernal Nov. 18th.....Karen Butts, Cindy Crofford - All day PPA Education Merit Program Dec. 7th........Christmas Luncheon and Scholarship Awards

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PPGH 2014 Workshops

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Jan. 26th ...... Curley Marshall, CPP - Seeing The Light, Basic Lighting Feb. 9th..........Fonzie Munos - Starting Your Own Business March, 9th......Kevin Falcon - Using Social Media to Your Advantage April, 13th......Mitch Daniels, Cr. - Using Your Camera’s Video Selection May, 4th..........An Evening with the Masters June, 8th..........(OPEN) July, 6th..........Carol Andrews Jensen, M. Photog., Cr. - Mall Crawl Aug. 10th........Belinda Higgins, M.Photog., CR., CPP - Posing and Photographing Families Sept. 7th..........Greta Jacobs Mee, CPP - Knowing Your Bottom Line Oct. 12th........ Kim Milburn - Seniors Nov. 9th..........Francie Baltazar Stonestreet, CPP, Wedding program Dec. 7th...........(OPEN) Be sure to register for the opportunity to get inside the heads of some of our most famous and talented members!! These workshops are designed to be an inQmate experience where all your quesQons are an-­‐ swered and you walk away with exciQng new tools in your toolbox so be sure to register early because there will be limited seaQng.

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Become certified this year.

The PPGH is here to help you accomplish your goal.

Ask an oďŹƒcer or director how you can get started on your way to becoming a

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“Seeing the Light”

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In the Digital Age

Marshall’s passion is lighQng. He emphasizes that lighQng, mixed with shadows and highlights will accentuate the face by using lighQng applicaQons that include addiQve, subtracQve and reflecQve lighQng techniques. Metering the lights using the addiQve method will give you the best lighQng raQo combinaQon. He also demonstrates High and Low Key lighQng. 3:1 raQo, 4:1 raQo, and 8:1 light-­‐ ing raQo are all factors in creaQng dramaQc lighQng. In addiQon, uQlizing loop lighQng, narrow/short and broad lighQng will shape the subject’s face.

These types of lighQng techniques add an element of dimension to your portrait.

You can master the light, but first you must learn to see the light. There are three main keys to understanding lighQng. They Curley Marshall, CPP

are light placement, the direcQon of light, and the quality of that light. When you understand how to control your lights, you will get the desired effect. Learning to see the light will take your photography to the next level. * A premier photographer in the Houston area specializing in weddings, seniors, execuQve, and fashion photography * An award winning photographer with 23 years of photo-­‐ graphic experience * Former President of the 2012 fiscal year for the Profes-­‐ sional Photographer’s Guild of Houston * Photographic (CPP) CerQfied Professional Photographer from (PPA) Professional Photographers of America * Awarded “Best Portrait of a Bride” 2011-­‐2012 by PPGH *Photography/Photoshop Instructor at San Jacinto College located in Houston, TX. *Member of Professional Photographers of America, Pro-­‐ fessional Photographers of Texas and Professional Photog-­‐ rapher’s Guild of Houston His Motto “We Have Your Image In Mind” “When you learn to see the light, you can master it.”

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Predictions for 2014. Video emerges as the new profession of photography.

By: Kirt Tuck

Stop! Move your )ingers away from the keyboard and calm down! Read the headline one more time!!! I'm not saying that hobbyists, amateurs, lovers of the print, keep-­‐ ers of the absolutely still &lame of the still frame must have anything at all to do with moving pic-­‐ tures. I am ONLY making the prediction that work-­‐ ing (paid, vocational, commercial) photogra-­‐ phers in most modern, major metropolitan mar-­‐ kets will need to embrace various forms of video in order to survive )inancially.

I'm not predicting that the still headshot will go away but I could make a pretty good argument that it will happen as the adjunct to a video interview, or vice versa. I'm not making an argu-­‐ ment that we'll stop documenting commercial processes but I can make an even better argument that we'll be doing that still documentation in parallel with video documentation and right now you have a choice as to whether someone else in your market makes you their photo "bitch" or whether you control the entire piece of the action in the near future. Video and stills aren't really different things alto-­‐ gether. For procurement they both are )iled under, "marketing."

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Lou. Still Photograph. Old School.

H-­‐blad. Film. tridges. Clients don't see a big separation just two variations of one thing called "content."

There's only one major driver pushing this. It's the relentless increase in web bandwidth.

That's where the advertising is going and if companies are pay-­‐ ing for web placement then for the most part they are aiming for the most bang for their buck. For generations increasingly raised on video games and television the most obvious bang is coming from motion/video. It's not an emotional argument it's a math meets data points argument. And it holds water. Wherever the bang is that's where the bucks are....

At this juncture clients know us (speaking collectively about

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commercial photogra-­‐ phers....) as people who are good at lighting, working with talent and composi-­‐ tion. No one has actively sold them against using photographers to also do video. Our blind spots are the need to keep the im-­‐ ages actually moving and the ability to edit in time.

Another hazy (but learnable) spot for still camera jockeys is sound design but that's secon-­‐ dary and, when you start getting jobs with decent budgets it's a hire-­‐able po-­‐ sition. So, until someone actively points out our blind spots it's time to jump in with both feet and learn to be good video producers. And editors. And sound guys. In addi-­‐ tion to being great still photogra-­‐ phers.

Why? You might have lots of loyal clients but here's what's going to happen going forward: Bob Smith is your friend and client.

Bob shoots a project with you every year. You go out for )ive days and shoot beautiful por-­‐ traits of Bob's company's people in wonderful locations. Bob's company pays you nicely! But this year Bob's boss, realizing that YouTube channels are essen-­‐ tially free and also that video )iles can be sent to clients, placed on the company website and even provided (to the culturally slow-­‐ er potential clients) on DVD for barest fractions of the cost of a printed annual report or other

! four color printed brochure. And the difference in mailing costs is even more dramatic (especially since, in most cases, the digital distribution is essentially free....).

Bob's boss insists that in addition to the still photos his real interest this year is in a video "version" in which each person will be inter-­‐ viewed and their work processes shot as "B-­‐Roll". Bob comes to you and asks you for a bid to cover both halves of the project.

He is a savvy enough client to re-­‐ alize that your new DSLR will also do nice, clean video and he wants to work with you because you represent the known com-­‐ modity instead of the scary and much less desirable "great un-­‐ known."

You are a purist and have NO in-­‐ tention of getting caught up in "This Video Fad." So you calmly explain your position of purity and career focus to Bob and sug-­‐ gest that he hire a video crew to do "that video part." Bob sighs and works his network, gets sug-­‐ gestions and hires a really nice little company that is thrilled to do the video part of the project.

Bob accepts their bid and off you go. But to save money and cut down on the amount of time valuable employees will be in front of cameras Bob and the video company decide that eve-­‐ ryone must work together so they'll be setting up the lighting they need and shooting the inter-­‐ views and you'll need to "hop in there after they )inished but be-­‐ fore they break everything down" 11 PAGE !

JAN . 2014 and get what you need for the stills."

Once on location you )ind that the light the video crew needs and the light you want to use for your branded version of still portraits is profoundly different. A meeting ensues in which you argue for your case in lighting. And you ar-­‐ gue from the point of view that your images are the platinum target of this exercise while the video is just the whipped creme on the top. Bob's boss, who is spending )ive to ten times as much money on video compared to what he is spending on your photography disagrees. Bob sug-­‐ gests that you be a team player and learn how to modify and lev-­‐ erage the light the video guys are using.

While you are clearly disgruntled you )inish the job professionally.

So does the video team. Your face to face time with the client is over until the next project comes up but the video teams is just getting started. They will work with Bob for the next few weeks getting the project edited and treating Bob like royalty. They'll develop a good working relationship be-­‐ cause they are good marketers.

And Bob's boss loves the )inal product. Yours, of course, but theirs even more.

Next project rolls around and you don't hear from Bob..... You hear from one of the guys at the video production company. The initial project went very well for them and Bob and his boss have been

)inding more and more ways to make additional video work in their business. Now they have a relationship and have settled in comfortably with the video guys.

Bob's asked them to handle pro-­‐ duction of the project you used to work on directly with Bob. Only now you'll be working as a sub contractor for the video team.

First thing to go wrong? Well.... you and Bob both understood the copyright laws and the SOP of the still business and you always owned the rights to your images and protected them so you could make more money from addi-­‐ tional uses. But the world of video has operated in quite a dif-­‐ ferent way with the clients get-­‐ ting ownership of the )inished product at the end of each pro-­‐ ject. The video company wants to use you to make the stills but they want you to sign a "work for hire" agreement. You balk. You go back to Bob for recourse only to )ind that, "Bob's hands are tied on this one. The boss decided to use the video company as the sole point of contact in these pro-­‐ jects."

You need the work so you hold your nose and sign the WFH con-­‐ tract, at a reduced rate from pre-­‐ vious years, because they told you that was all they had budg-­‐ eted for the still work this year.

You are unhappy and you grouse but you do the project. While on the project you )ind yourself as-­‐ sisted and art directed by a nice young woman who is constantly wearing an unprofessional look-­‐

! ing dinky mirror less camera around her neck. She pays keen attention to the way you work with the talent. She's there to help. Right now she's helping you. She'll even run and get you coffee or pull your batteries off the charger and bring them to you. In the future she'll put her on the job education to work helping the video production company do more projects like this. Ones that you were not "grandfathered" into.

The next year there is no call from Bob and there is no call from the video production com-­‐ pany. You )inally pick up the phone and call the producer to )ind out what happened to the project. He tells you that after the "paperwork" issues that came up last year everyone involved thought it might be easier/more cost effective/more fun/more streamlined if they just took the whole project in house. You are incensed and call Bob. Bob hems and haws and )inally says that the CEO really liked the still images he's getting from the in-­‐house photographer at the video house.

Raves about how much he likes her "eye". You make an impas-­‐ sioned technical plea based on your envious inventory of Nikon D800s and massive investment in the world's greatest glass but Bob counters by letting you know that the millions of hits they get every year on the video work has over-­‐ shadowed the effectiveness of the 5,000 copies of the $30 a piece brochure they used to send out every year. Sales are up so much

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as a result of the metrics gener-­‐ ated by the video placement eve-­‐ rywhere that, well, the print por-­‐ tion of the project is gone. The still images all just go to the web.

"From what we can see the pho-­‐ tographer from the video com-­‐ pany is using cameras that are more than good enough and she uses the video lights well." So well, in fact, that she was able to use her little mirror less camera to do some side interviews and behind the scenes video as well as portraits on the last project.

"Keep in touch. I'll call you when something right for your talents comes up."

Of course it could have been played in a different way from the start. The minute clients started thinking about video you could have been on Lynda.com learning from a sea of great tuto-­‐ rials about how to shoot video with your DLSRs. How to move the camera. How to do basic edit-­‐ ing. How to work with sound.

And, since video is free now in terms of your own production you have ample opportunity to practice your stuff and work on editing. You don't even need to master incredibly complex video editing programs all at once. All the really matters is a nice, clean edit with a good story line. You could pull that off with your free copy of Apple's iMovie.

When Bob approached you about video you could have said, "Yes! Of course! Glad to help!" And the minute Bob got off the phone you

JAN . 2014 could have hired a producer to help you bid the project, hire the crew, rent needed gear and help complete the project. If you weren't up to editing just yet you could hire an editor help you. You could have had both sides of the bid. And kept the client. And kept your business and rights models intact. And, as you spend quality time with Bob and his boss you can make them happy with your growing range of skills while at the same time reinforcing the value of your still work to them.

2014 will see the real introduc-­‐ tion of the newest Power Mac computers which will come ready for the new 4K video (both in terms of editing and display). It will see the introduction of the Black Magic 4K video camera at a price point of under $4,.000. And it will see an ever increasing de-­‐ mand for video content from eve-­‐ ryone from mom and pop busi-­‐ nesses to the biggest corpora-­‐ tions in the world. The growth numbers for video on the web are gigantic and accelerating. It con-­‐ tinues to be a viable market in part because it requires both time and skills.

In forward markets (smart, highly educated markets driven by young client companies) we see a new power base growing around smaller content compa-­‐ nies. They market scripts, mo-­‐ tion, stills and web integration both to larger ad agencies and directly to clients. They are cur-­‐ rently eating every part of the advertising market they can )ind.

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Could I suggest that joining this club by creating your own con-­‐ tent company, based around stills+video, is a lot less bloody and frustrating for you than try-­‐ ing to grow a business playing sub-­‐contractor to another group of photographer/videographers who were a bit faster on the draw?

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2014 will be the year of capitula-­‐ tion. You'll learn to offer video.

Or you'll learn to say, "Can I have a name for that order?." You may shake your head, con)ident that your little niche of still photogra-­‐ phy is immune. Believe me, it's not. It may just be a bit more in-­‐ sulated. This is the year the fric-­‐ tion of the market eats through the insulators.

To the hobbyists, collectors, and enthusiasts. Yours is a totally dif-­‐ ferent calling. You needn't change a thing. See how smart you are not to be in a business like this?

Disclaimer: It is very hard to ac-­‐ curately predict the future and so all predictions are opinions. The above is the opinion of the VSL senior research staff. It does not have to be your opinion. Your real-­‐ ity may vary. Your perceptions my be different. That doesn't make this content wrong. Don't like the prediction? Neither do I. But I'd rather have the diagnosis and the tools to manage the condition than sticking my head into a sand pile and pretending that nothing will ever change. Just do the re-­‐ search...

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Kirt Tuck I've been a professional photographer for a few decades and the writer of best selling books about photography for only a few years. Both are fun. Check my links for Amazon Links to my )ive published books. My latest book, published

by Amherst Media is "LED Lighting."

I love shooting portraits of people. That's most of my busi-­‐ ness. I've done shoots in a number of different countries and my subjects have been both CEO's of Fortune 100 com-­‐ panies as well as men and women who work with their hands. In the last four years I've added video interviews, which I think of as a longer and more involved "portrait", to my offerings.

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Volunteer

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Our PPGH organization is run by volunteers - Photographers with a full-time business, those who have a regular “day job� AND run a photography business, photography students, aspiring photographers, stay-at-home moms and dads and everything in-between. They specialize in portratis, wedding, photojournalism, sport, events, architecture, food, commercial photography landscapes and find art. They have families and they work hard. They are just like YOU. We encourage you to become an involved member - it is the best way to learn and make new friends! If you would like to join one of our Action Teams or a standing committee, email Kim Christensen at (kchristensen1@me.com). We look forward to getting to know you during this membership year and in the years to come. Please do not hesitate to call any PPGH board member or officer for assistance or information. This is one of the many reasons we are in existence!

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VENDOR AD RATES The Viewfinder is published 12 times per year.

Vendors, don't miss this great opportunity to entice new clients!

PRICES FOR MEMBERS: 12 Issues per year Ad Size 3 Months 6 Months Quarter Page $150 $125 Half Page $185 $155 Full Page $250 $225

1 Year $100 $125 $150

Perks for Members: • • •

Member ad prices include a one year PPGH Membership Members may change their ad every month A 6 foot table can be provided to show your products at the PPGH general meetings.

PRICES FOR NON-MEMBERS: 12 Issues per year Ad Size 3 Months 6 Months 1 Year Quarter Page $175 $140 $115 Half Page $210 $175 $140 Full Page $280 $255 $170 Perks for a one year commitment for Non-Members: •

Includes 3 ad changes throughout the year, if desired.

Sponsor a speaker for a PPGH monthly meeting and receive 3 months of complementary advertising!

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PLAN FOR IT NOW

IMAGING USA Don’t Miss It! January 12-14, 2014 Phoenix, AZ

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TEXAS SCHOOL

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Registration opens at 11:00 pm on January 3rd.

What is the Texas School “Experience”? It is six days of the BEST photographic education in the world. But wait! There’s MORE! Along with first-class instructors in a small class size, you get to hang out with over 1000 other professional photographers. Unwind in the evenings with legendary FUN and FREE evening events, entertainment and meals! PLUS you get access to an impressive Trade Show with over 70 vendors offering the BEST prices on equipment anywhere! You will NOT be disappointed!

OH, did I mention that the whole week is only $525 for TPPA members and $620 for non-members!

At the Texas School of Professional Photography, it is our goal to educate, inspire and invigorate you and your photography business. You will leave Texas School full of new ideas, new friends, new vision, and will anxiously await Texas School NEXT year! Come join us at the unrivaled Texas School of Professional Photography: The BEST photographic education at the best price…and SO much more!

-­‐-­‐ Don Dickson Email: don@dondickson.com 806-­‐296-­‐2276 office

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PPGH Scholarship Winners for 2013

Each year, the PPGH awards some of it’s members with a scholarship to attend classes at TPPA’s Texas School, Summer Roundup, PPA’s Imaging USA, and this year PPA print judging school. The scholarship nominating committee consisted of Chairman Tom Hathcock, CPP, Second Chair Kevin Falcon. Voting members of the committee were Alvin Gee, M.Photog., Cr., CPP, Robert Brayton, CPP., Mitch Daniels, Cr. Photog., Charles Foster, M.Photog.,Cr., CPP, Buz Francie Baltazar Stonestreet, CPP Marvins, M.Photog., Cr., Barry Morrison, Kelly Willis.

We are pleased to announce this year’s winners of the PPGH Scholarship Awards:”

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Cesar Vargas, CPP

Expectations: “We all have them.

The PPGH exceeds those expectations.

PPGH gives every assignment 110% effort in maintaining the highest quality expertise available through our members.”

Jennifer Heylmun

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Congratulations to each and every one. We are looking forward to hearing about the classes you’ve chosen.

Sandy Buller

Congratulations to PPGH

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Member Amy Asch Newspring Alumnus of the Month

Volunteer for a Action Team or a Committee NOW By-­‐Laws Librarian CommunicaQon Membership Mentor Program Mini-­‐Programs/Workshops PPGH Event Photographer Image CompeQQon Props Roundtable Luncheon Telephone Videographer Website

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Aileen Harding, CPP

NOTICE THE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS GUILD OF HOUSTON HAS A NEW HOME The UNITED WAY BUILDING 50 Waugh Dr., Houston, Tx 77007 Garage Parking WITH Security Guard Hotel Type Meeting Rooms Cross Streets: Between Feagan St., and Raymond St Neighborhoods: Washington Ave., Memorial We will be meeting here until further notice