VPPA Blue Ridge Newsletter April 2013
In This Issue From the Governor From the Lt. Governor
From the Governor Hello Blue Ridge! It was good to see everyone at our last meeting. Sue Rakes did a great program on finding the light and outdoor photography. A big thank you to David Lee Michaels for being such a gracious host!
Upcoming Events Quick Links
Blue Ridge Board
Our summer seminar will be held in Portsmouth this year on September 1416th. We will be at the Portsmouth Renaissance hotel. They were a wonderful host for our convention several years ago. Go on and mark your calendars! This is going to be a great event and I look forward to seeing all of you there! Also, don't forget that SEPPA will be in Athens, Georgia from April 13-16th!
Governor Sharon Davidson, CPP Email Sharon
Last month, I left off with the idea of picking one rabbit to chase in your business. I hope that over the past month, you have been fine-tuning the ideas you came up with after all the information you received at convention. Maybe you have even picked your rabbit and started the chase! If you have caught it, congratulations! If you are having a hard time deciding which rabbit to chase, or even having a hard time coming up with any ideas, do not get discouraged. I know it is difficult to set the time aside to do any planning in your business when you are bogged down with the day-to-day operations of it. I encourage you to take a little bit of time each week to do it, even if it is just one hour. Clear your desk, close all those open applications on your computer, cut off your phone, and start brainstorming. That is a good place to start, and the most important thing is to start! I am guilty of this too, so don't think it is just you. I have quote that I keep taped to my monitor from Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He says, "The most destroying word of all is the word tomorrow." That applies in all aspects of our lives, business and personal.
Lt. Governor, Michael Corbin
So, what can you do today? Looking forward to seeing you at our next meeting! Sharon
From the Lt. Governor
Secretary, Lisa Akers Email Lisa
Treasurer, Brian Muncy Email Brian
Quick Links VPPA PPA
My first experience with theft of my photos came early in my career, back about 1977 or 1978, when a young lady I’d photographed for her high school senior portrait told me how annoyed she was that the copy prints she’d had made at the nearby K-Mart had still had “proof” printed on them, and I realized that she believed that the proper way to get all those wallets and enlargements for mom and grandma was to have the proof prints copied. It had never dawned on her that I was in the business of selling prints, and that there was any advantage or obligation to have them made by me. In fact, somehow she’d never realized that those orange things you got back from the drug store with your pictures when you dropped off a roll of film were useful. Today they take them off your facebook page or your web site. And it is really annoying to find one used on somebody else’s commercial web site or printed in a newspaper, magazine, or advertising brochure. With proper preparation on your part, these last thefts can turn into a hefty revenue stream. Ken Marcus, the former Penthouse and Playboy photographer, tells me he knows many photographers who make more money from copyright infringements than they ever did selling photographs. Many people believe that the internet is the cause of the image theft problem we in the photography business have, but this is just another internet myth, very, very many of which are to be found all over the ‘net. Others I’m sure you’ve heard are that you do not need to register your copyrights, and that the process of registering is difficult and expensive. These lies are courtesy of the very folks who most want to steal from you. So on April 8th at 6:30 PM, I will need less than two hours to show you why and how to protect your work and your income from the thieves who are already ripping off your work. For a mere $35 and an hour or so of your time, you can register every photo you’ve taken in the last 3 months, or even longer. And no, the $35 is not for me, or the VPPA, that is the Copyright Office application fee. The meeting and the lessons are FREE. Meet me at my studio at 6359 Richmond Hwy, Lynchburg, 24504. It is easily found, right off US 460, as close as you can get to the junction with US 29. Get your colleagues together and carpool, as overflow parking is down in my field below the house. You might also consider bringing a folding chair, as I only own about a dozen of them. Please call me at 434-845-0613 to let me know you are coming -- and if you have any trouble finding the place. This is a program no one should miss. If you’ve been in business for more than a few months, your work has been stolen. If you want to have any ability to stop that theft, you need to start by registering your copyrights. And I’ll show you how to do that. Oh, the disclaimer: I am not an attorney, and I do not play one on TV. But I have studied at the feet of New York IP attorney Ed Greenberg. I have his book. I read his blog, and I’ve attended his seminars on this very subject. And I practice what he teaches.
On May 6th, Kat Kiernan of the Kiernan Gallery, who specializes in photography as fine art will be our speaker. She’ll give us her perspective on selling photography as fine art, how to get your work in art galleries, and how to interest art collectors in your work. Michael
Upcoming Events *SEPPA April 13-16, 2013, Athens 4seppa.com May 6-Blue Ridge Meeting
If you have any suggestions or if you have an article you would like to be published in the newsletter, please email Lisa Akers (lisacakers@yahoo.com).