Blue Ridge Region January 2014
Thoughts
Winter is officially here! We’re still having days in the teens backed with days in the mid-sixties, so I don’t think we’re feeling it’s full power yet. What are your plans to stimulate and warm up your business this calendar year? Head on over to the VPPA Facebook group and discuss it with all of your colleagues. www.facebook.com/ groups/100043269605
Cover Image
This months cover image comes from your Secretary. Freyja modeled for a little bokeh lesson I taught at the local high school. Yule tree in the background... EXIF: Canon 5D mkII, ISO 5000, 1/50s, f/~4.0, Focal length 50mm To have your image featured here, email to
info@michaelsinkphotography.com with details.
this issue From the Governor P.1 From the Lt.Governor P.2
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article courtesy Governor P.3 Upcoming Events P.3
From the Governor... We had a busy social schedule in December, as you probably did, too. The Blue Ridge party at 419 West got the ball rolling for us, and between parties with friends and church and family stuff, we were kept hopping through the holidays. I write this awaiting word our daughter and son-in-law have arrived home safe and sound after spending Christmas with us here in Virginia. Since they live on the left coast, we don’t get to see them nearly often enough, so every visit is special. My daughter brought me a new photographic toy and I’m itching to try it out. I did get to play with it just enough while they were here to establish that it will work as advertised; now comes the fun part, creating a set of images made with the new toy, a worthy task for the early part of the year when business is traditionally a bit slow, so we’ll have “new stuff” to show potential clients later in the year. Isn’t that one of the things everyone does during the winter, prepare new ideas and new methods to add some wow for clients we hope to have later in the year? Of course, having our annual
VPPA convention just around the corner in February affords us all a chance to add more “new and improved” to our business. This year the convention will be in Richmond, and I’d urge everyone to make plans to attend. It is one of the major benefits of membership in the VPPA, paid for with your dues, so be sure to get your money’s worth out of the opportunity. And to help you prepare for the print competition at the annual convention, we are having our print critique meeting on January 20th. You certainly should enter the print competition, and you should spend some time looking at the work your colleagues entered in competition when you go to the convention. It is the surest way there is to improve your game. You need the expert advice and assistance the Blue Ridge print critique offers to do your best in preparing for that competition. But even if you don’t have any images to enter, you certainly should attend the critique for no other reason than to listen to what the judges have to say about the images that ARE presented, as well as to see what your colleagues are up to. We have some very talented photographers, masters of their craft, as well as visionary in their art. - Michael Corbin
From the Lt. Governor...
Side Notes... This time of year is usually filled with wrapping up this year and preparing for next year. As we have just passed the darkest days (from a time standpoint) of the year, we head into some of our coldest days. The time for outdoor photohoots is mostly over for a few months, all of our weddings will (likely) be confined to indoor venues. In-studio sessions will fill our calendars (we hope!), and our offerings to visiting clients will switch from ice cold water and soda to hot chocolate, coffee, and cider. We will likely ring in the new year and start with a series of pretty specific resolutions... Historically most of these we will fail miserably at (historically at least). Perhaps we should look at this time of rebirth a little differently in our approach.
HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!! Now, if we can only stick to our resolutions... increase working out, dieting, fewer post-production hours, etc... Let’s all stick together on one resolution and that is to make this year as a BRVPPA member the BEST ever! I would love to bring fresh speakers and ideas to our monthly meetings. I would greatly appreciate suggestions you would like to see throughout 2014. I promise to try and make this a very memorable year for new members as well as for our veteran members that can probably teach us on just about any subject. As we all know, the industry is changing daily and it is important for us to stay ahead on “what is NEW”!! Please send your ideas to me @ jollyjenphotography@ gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you all soon!
We should look to make this year better than last in every way, we just need to be realistic about it and know that we can’t change everything at once! Make a list (I’m sure you already have!) and prioritize it, what’s important personally, from a business standpoint, you name it. Take each one in
Please remember our BRVPPA print critique will be held at Kevin Hurley’s studio on January 20th, 2014. Please RSVP to Kevin via email to let him know if you are coming to hurleyphoto@aol.com. Also get those potential prints
ready to go!! Please submit all images (size 1024x768) to hurleyphoto@aol.com no later than January 17th. Remember to “save the date” for our February meeting in Richmond. This is an event you will not want to miss. You can find more information about this convention at www.vppa.org. Be a SUPERHERO and proactively reserve your room today! Dates: Feb 21- Feb 25th.... I look forward to seeing you all there! Also find more information and updates/current events on the VPPA Facebook page. Now, if you have not done so
already... grab a pen and paper and write down at least 5 resolutions you have to help you improve your life in 2014.... and then DO IT!!! Happy 2014! Cheers to all.. - Jen Chaconas
order and do it consistently for two weeks, if at three weeks you’re still doing well with it, consider it a habit and implicate the next on your list. Before long you’ll have new habits and not chores! If you find that 3 hours a day at the gym won’t work, re-evaluate that goal, what are you trying to achieve anyway? Getting fit? Start with taking a 30 minute walk everyday, park at the far end of the parking lot, add another 30 minute walk (your dogs will love you!). Your goals may evolve as the year goes on! Personally I have (for the most part) eliminated these yearly resolutions in favor from an idea I stole borrowed from Jessica Claire. I have a list of 101 things that I want to do within 1001 days. These are projects, accomplishments, goals, etc. Some will not get crossed off the first year they’re on there, some will not. Some are life goals. I’ll link to a copy click here. See what you think, best of luck in 2014! See you all at convention in February! - Michael Sink, CPP
©
Do you know where your photographs are? Have you found one of them being used somewhere you did not want them to be? How did that make you feel? Did you notice the hole in your pocket where revenue should have been? I once found one of my fine-art images serving as a full-page advertisement in a newspaper. One of our colleagues whose studio is just a few miles from mine was shocked to see one of his portraits filling a frame on the cover of a frame-maker’s catalog. And who hasn’t experienced seeing one of their portraits on somebody’s Facebook page or blog, somebody who had no right to the use of that image? So what do you do when you find something like that? I’ve heard so often “send a DMCA takedown notice.” That, of course, does not help one bit in the case of the newspaper ad or the frame-maker’s catalog, both uses being ones that represent lost revenues at the least. The issue of copyright and copyright infringement are so widely misunderstood, and yet so central to what we do, that I’d like to shed just a little light on the topic. You need to know that copyright was considered so important that it is the only right that is mentioned specifically in the body of the US Constitution. The Constitution grants to you, the creator of your work, the exclusive right to the reproduction, making of derivatives, distribution, and display of your photographs. You also have the unwritten right to say “NO.” And while there are a few exceptions, the application of all of them requires the judgement of a court of law. So, for example, if you don’t want your photo being used to promote some political cause with which you disagree, or to shill for a product you don’t like, you have the right to prohibit that usage. If you decide for whatever reason that makes sense to you, that your work can only be shown east of the Mississippi, and only on tuesdays, that is your right, also. Put it in your bill of sale. You also need to know that selling a print or digital file does not grant anyone else the right to make other copies, unless you specifically grant them that right IN WRITING. The Copyright Act specifically states that written permission is required for somebody to take that 4x6 you sold them and have it copied to a 16x20 on their wall. That actually happened to someone I know. He found out about it after attending a party at his client’s home, and there it was, in all it’s slightly fuzzy, somewhat muddy glory, with part of his signature (in oversized letters) cropped off. Think about it: what would you do? And what are you doing to prevent any of these from happening to you?
Upcoming Events January 20th 2pm - Print Critique at Kevin Hurley’s studio February 21-25 - VPPA Convention - Superheroes abound!!
From the Lt. Governor...
Side Notes... This time of year is usually filled with wrapping up this year and preparing for next year. As we have just passed the darkest days (from a time standpoint) of the year, we head into some of our coldest days. The time for outdoor photohoots is mostly over for a few months, all of our weddings will (likely) be confined to indoor venues. In-studio sessions will fill our calendars (we hope!), and our offerings to visiting clients will switch from ice cold water and soda to hot chocolate, coffee, and cider. We will likely ring in the new year and start with a series of pretty specific resolutions... Historically most of these we will fail miserably at (historically at least). Perhaps we should look at this time of rebirth a little differently in our approach.
HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!! Now, if we can only stick to our resolutions... increase working out, dieting, fewer post-production hours, etc... Let’s all stick together on one resolution and that is to make this year as a BRVPPA member the BEST ever! I would love to bring fresh speakers and ideas to our monthly meetings. I would greatly appreciate suggestions you would like to see throughout 2014. I promise to try and make this a very memorable year for new members as well as for our veteran members that can probably teach us on just about any subject. As we all know, the industry is changing daily and it is important for us to stay ahead on “what is NEW”!! Please send your ideas to me @ jollyjenphotography@ gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you all soon!
We should look to make this year better than last in every way, we just need to be realistic about it and know that we can’t change everything at once! Make a list (I’m sure you already have!) and prioritize it, what’s important personally, from a business standpoint, you name it. Take each one in
Please remember our BRVPPA print critique will be held at Kevin Hurley’s studio on January 20th, 2014. Please RSVP to Kevin via email to let him know if you are coming to hurleyphoto@aol.com. Also get those potential prints
ready to go!! Please submit all images (size 1024x768) to hurleyphoto@aol.com no later than January 17th. Remember to “save the date” for our February meeting in Richmond. This is an event you will not want to miss. You can find more information about this convention at www.vppa.org. Be a SUPERHERO and proactively reserve your room today! Dates: Feb 21- Feb 25th.... I look forward to seeing you all there! Also find more information and updates/current events on the VPPA Facebook page. Now, if you have not done so
already... grab a pen and paper and write down at least 5 resolutions you have to help you improve your life in 2014.... and then DO IT!!! Happy 2014! Cheers to all.. - Jen Chaconas
order and do it consistently for two weeks, if at three weeks you’re still doing well with it, consider it a habit and implicate the next on your list. Before long you’ll have new habits and not chores! If you find that 3 hours a day at the gym won’t work, re-evaluate that goal, what are you trying to achieve anyway? Getting fit? Start with taking a 30 minute walk everyday, park at the far end of the parking lot, add another 30 minute walk (your dogs will love you!). Your goals may evolve as the year goes on! Personally I have (for the most part) eliminated these yearly resolutions in favor from an idea I stole borrowed from Jessica Claire. I have a list of 101 things that I want to do within 1001 days. These are projects, accomplishments, goals, etc. Some will not get crossed off the first year they’re on there, some will not. Some are life goals. I’ll link to a copy click here. See what you think, best of luck in 2014! See you all at convention in February! - Michael Sink, CPP
©
Do you know where your photographs are? Have you found one of them being used somewhere you did not want them to be? How did that make you feel? Did you notice the hole in your pocket where revenue should have been? I once found one of my fine-art images serving as a full-page advertisement in a newspaper. One of our colleagues whose studio is just a few miles from mine was shocked to see one of his portraits filling a frame on the cover of a frame-maker’s catalog. And who hasn’t experienced seeing one of their portraits on somebody’s Facebook page or blog, somebody who had no right to the use of that image? So what do you do when you find something like that? I’ve heard so often “send a DMCA takedown notice.” That, of course, does not help one bit in the case of the newspaper ad or the frame-maker’s catalog, both uses being ones that represent lost revenues at the least. The issue of copyright and copyright infringement are so widely misunderstood, and yet so central to what we do, that I’d like to shed just a little light on the topic. You need to know that copyright was considered so important that it is the only right that is mentioned specifically in the body of the US Constitution. The Constitution grants to you, the creator of your work, the exclusive right to the reproduction, making of derivatives, distribution, and display of your photographs. You also have the unwritten right to say “NO.” And while there are a few exceptions, the application of all of them requires the judgement of a court of law. So, for example, if you don’t want your photo being used to promote some political cause with which you disagree, or to shill for a product you don’t like, you have the right to prohibit that usage. If you decide for whatever reason that makes sense to you, that your work can only be shown east of the Mississippi, and only on tuesdays, that is your right, also. Put it in your bill of sale. You also need to know that selling a print or digital file does not grant anyone else the right to make other copies, unless you specifically grant them that right IN WRITING. The Copyright Act specifically states that written permission is required for somebody to take that 4x6 you sold them and have it copied to a 16x20 on their wall. That actually happened to someone I know. He found out about it after attending a party at his client’s home, and there it was, in all it’s slightly fuzzy, somewhat muddy glory, with part of his signature (in oversized letters) cropped off. Think about it: what would you do? And what are you doing to prevent any of these from happening to you?
Upcoming Events January 20th 2pm - Print Critique at Kevin Hurley’s studio February 21-25 - VPPA Convention - Superheroes abound!!