Working Pro 231 by Pt 78 Pty Ltd

Working Pro The

Issue 231 â&#x20AC;˘ May 2015

PR OUDLY S UPPORT I NG THE AIPP TOGETHER WE CAN BE STRONGER

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Working Pro The

Co n te n t s #231

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Contents

Cover

N i c k R a i n s M.P h o t o g . 2014 aipp PROFESSIONAL travel photographer of the year

w w w. n i c k r a i n s . c o m

The Working Pro is the official newsletter of The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). Editor Peter Eastway G.M Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP Disclaimer The information provided in The Working Pro and associated publications is made in good faith, but is general in nature. Neither the editor, the publisher or the AIPP accept responsibility for or will be under any liability for any recommendations, representations or information provided herein. The Working Pro presents information, opinions and suggestions for subscribers to evaluate in coming to their own decisions in the light of their own individual circumstances. The information should not be relied upon without readers first obtaining independent advice from their own financial and legal advisers. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Peter Eastway. Publication The newsletter is published 10 times a year – monthly with November/ December and January/February being combined. The Working Pro newsletter is published by Pt 78 Pty Ltd, ABN 75 003 152 136, PO Box 351, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097, Australia. Phone: (02) 9971 6857; Fax (02) 9971 6641. E-mail eastway@betterphotography.com Copyright © 2015

AIPP Membership Contacts Suite G.02, 171 Union Road, Surrey Hills, Victoria 3127 Phone: 03 9888 4111 E-mail: enquiries99@aipp.com.au

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Ross’s Ramblings

Ross Eason M.Photog., Hon.LM, National President

Around The States

News and views about what’s happening in the AIPP regions

Update: AIPP Reflections Project How To Help Yourself From The Sidelines

Dr Brendan Nelson

Dr Brendan Nelson is the Director of the Australian War Memorial and Patron of the AIPP Reflections Project.

AIPP + ACMP Together

Nominate For Council

The Twins ‘Milk Bank’ Project

12 Great Tips For APPA Success

Hiring Another Photographer

Vale: Tony Whincup, NZIPP

Profoto B2

Higher Profits From Value Adds

Ross Eason and Richard Weinstein discuss the merger of Australia’s two peak professional photography bodies. There’s a world of experience and opportunity just waiting for those prepared to get involved with the AIPP’s management. Bambi Gosbell explains how she and two friends pursued a personal photography project and raised money for charity at the same time. Following his bevy of recent successes, Matt Palmer shares a dozen suggestions for getting better results in the photo awards. If you need help to run your business, Peter Eastway suggests there are options other than employing staff. Australia and New Zealand reflect on one of our profession’s most influential thinkers and educators. Portable studio flash that can operate manually or fully automatically with TTL exposure control. Gary Jorgensen explains how wedding photograhers can increase their income simply by offering their clients a little something more.

Ross’s Ramblings

Ross Eason M.Photog., Hon.LM, National President

Change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

A lot has happened in our industry over the last

ten years. As a professional body, we need to

national office and our charter provides clear

ensure we look forward and plan for the future,

direction to our state, regional and territory

create a model that will generate a strong

councils. Our accreditation and certification

industry and, equally, a professional body that

initiatives also create a higher standard for a

will have the respect of consumers, government

“professional”, but they have to apply to the

and industry.

industry as a whole, not just the AIPP.

Respectful Of The Past

New Alliance

As JFK implied, we can’t afford to miss the

Further on in this issue of The Working Pro,

future. Our responsibility is to ensure we have

you will find details of our new alliance with

a plan to create a strong industry for our

ACMP. This is something that we have been

members building their careers and those who

working on for 12 months and the benefits to

follow. We certainly need to be mindful and

the AIPP and the industry are huge. Importantly,

respectful of our past, but we can’t afford to

the ACMP agreed with the wisdom of true

dwell on it.

“professionals” working to one common

standard, under one accreditation system,

At the APPA dinner last year, I said that if we

We have a strong infrastructure in our

are truly going to reflect our name, Australian

and their support and cooperation with this

Institute of Professional Photography, then we

initiative should not be underestimated.

have to represent all genres of photography

around the country. We are now in a position to

Richard Weinstein and his Board for

do just that.

championing this initiative.

My personal thanks to ACMP president

AIPP New Accredited Members New accredited members are now listed on the AIPP’s website. Log in and view them under Membership Movements http://www.aipp.com.au/members/membership-movements

Commercial Photographer Bolts from New

photographers want: to mix, discuss and

Born Presentation

share experiences or knowledge in a relaxed

I was approached by a well-known member at

environment and The Event has three fantastic

The Event in Adelaide. He was a commercial

social events to do just that.

advertising photographer and had just dashed

out of a new born session that Kristen Cook was

expense! To quote another famous American:

Not only that, it is a tax-deductible business

running.

He was both excited and motivated and

“An investment in knowledge always pays

his words still resonate with me: “I’ve been a

the best dividends”

commercial photographer for 40 years and I’ve

Benjamin Franklin

just learnt so much from a young lady who has been photographing for only three years”.

the front foot with your career and ahead of

Change is the law of life and we all need

to ensure we don’t become complacent in

Make the trip to Perth to ensure you are on

your competitors.

our work practice. Sharing knowledge and experience is essential.

The greatest benefit in attending The Event

is the diversity of the speakers on offer, and real

ross.eason@aipp.com.au

benefits like the example above may come from

0412 108 362

the most unexpected sources.

Another major benefit is the social

interaction. This is the core of what most

A r oun d t he StAt e S The end of March saw thirty-eight intrepid souls make their way to the Blue Mountains for our brand new event, The Sauce. Over three days the delegates learnt about the business and creative workflows of Dan O’Day, David Oliver and Natalie Howe and also watched them in action. They were also treated to talks by Nadine Saacks and local legend Graham McCarter. Thank you to all our speakers, delegates and sponsors, we’ve had amazing feedback from the event and so we’ll definitely bring The Sauce back in 2016! April brought more excitement as the Professional Video Producers’ arm of the AIPP hosted their first talk in NSW. Videographers and photographers came together to learn and be inspired by three speakers: Christine from Perfect Media, Santo from Paper Cranes, and Rob from SkyOne. The night was a huge success and we look forward to more events about the moving image. April closed on a high note as Inlighten Photography opened their doors and shared the secrets of more than thirteen years of success in the wedding industry. The highlight of May will clearly be the NSW State Awards and after a second pre-awards print critique 6

evening in April we are looking forward to a high calibre of entries in the state’s biggest event of the year! Please come along to watch the excitement unfold at The Muse in Ultimo and to see the winners crowned at the awards presentation dinner! For tickets and details on all of these exciting events please keep an eye on your inbox and the official AIPP NSW Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/aippnsw

NSW EvENtS May 18th-19th – 2015 AIPP NSW Epson Professional Photography Awards May 20th – 2015 AIPP NSW Awards Presentation Dinner May 25th – Sponsor Event – Momento Pro Production Tour Featuring Lara Hotz May 28th – Inspiration – An Evening With Society Photography

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For more upcoming events

A rou n d t h e StAt eS Down south in Tasmania, apart from enjoying the glorious sunshine, the council have been working hard to prepare the upcoming state awards in July. An all new category of ‘Pet & Animal’ has been announced which we hope will receive some magnificent entries. The category will cater for images of domesticated pets, farm animals and captive/zoo animals, and may be commissioned or self-commissioned. Workshops will be available following the weekend and a formal dinner will help you celebrate in style. Katinka Smith (www.katinkasmith.com.au) has been elected the state co-ordinator for the AIPP Reflections Project, and can assist anyone interested in participating. Katinka will also be our host for the upcoming print critique nights, held at her new studio at 1A Victoria Street, Hobart.

print critiQue nigHts

s Av e t H e D At e - 1 2 t H J u LY 2 0 1 5 2015 Epson State Awards & Presentation Dinner.

2015 epson stAte AwArDs

save the date tasmania 12 th July 2015 12 tH JuLY - presentAtion

22nd May & 19th June 2015 – Print Critique Night 7

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for more uPcoming events

A r oun d t he StAt e S A word from the President For the past 15 or more years Geoff Comfort and I have been on the ACT Council in various roles. Ben Kopilow wouldn’t be far behind in years dedicated to our ACT Council. It is a job I know I don’t mind doing, but every now and again it would be great to have some new faces in the council willing to spend a couple of hours a month thinking about events that we can schedule, posts on Facebook to engage members, and help liaise with National Office about the future of the AIPP. The benefits include: Representing our state, helping with the direction of our industry, getting to know what’s happening firsthand, getting to know each other well, always being on hand for advice and support, and you get 8

your AIPP fees paid, too! For me, any organisation that you put energy and enthusiasm into, you get back in bucket loads. We would truly love to have five council members. At the moment we have four. We only need one more person to raise their hand! However if there’s a few of you who would like to dedicate some time every month we would be more than happy to co-opt a few extras! You do not need to be an accredited member to be co-opted. Both Geoff and I joined Council when we were students! So please, we would love your help in 2015-16! Keep an eye out for the nomination process, due to start in the next few weeks and join us!” - Hilary

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For more upcoming events

A r oun d t he StAt e S u n d e r s ta n d i n g p r i c i n g F o r proFit Mel Neumann and Carol Lange, from These Girls Mean Business, presented their seminar Understanding Pricing for Profit to a small and varied group of photographers. The advice given wasn’t about photography but about know what it takes to do business. What does it cost you to do business, before you even open your doors? This was followed by a very robust Q&A session where the girls were joined by David Haddy, a long standing portrait photographer in Adelaide.

wanted to say how much I enjoyed and got out of the seminar yesterday. It was really refreshing to know there are valuable ways of marketing yourself without having to toot your own horn excessively or throw buckets of money around. In my opinion it was worth every cent and every second.” - Mark Zed

W e lc o m i n g o u r n e W e s t m e m B e r s Becoming a member of the AIPP can, for some, be a daunting experience. To make the transition a little smoother, the SA Council hosts two separate New Member evenings each year where we introduce our newest members to our well versed and experienced ‘old hands’. We had a great turn out for our most recent event to welcome Student, Emerging and Accredited members.

small Business – Big marketing AIPP SA hosted Tim Reid of ‘Small Business, Big Marketing’ for a one day seminar and workshop at the beautiful Botanic Gardens Restaurant. This highly successful event was funded by the AAPP. Merging with the AIPP in 2011, the AAPP was a popular association in SA for wedding and portrait photographers. The funds used to host this event had been held in the trust of Dale Smith, Simone Hanckel and André Crisci awaiting an opportunity where it could make a real difference for all photographers. Thank you! This post sums up how well the event was received... “Just

upcoming events 6th May – Print Feedback Session 17th May – A Fireside Chat with Hilary Hann 9

Click Here

foR moRe Upcoming events

A r oun d t he StAt e S U p co m i n g D at e s 12th May – Video Critique Night

2. If you could have dinner with anyone from history who would it be?

17th May – Starry Starry Night with Andrew Campbell

Bodhidharma.

Reflections pRoject

3. What single piece of technology makes your life easier?

We would like to encourage our Victorian members to get involved with the AIPP Reflections project. The Reflections Project is an Australia Wide photographic documentation of our remaining living World War II Veterans. It is supported by the RSL and Australian War Memorial. To find out more please visit http://www. aipp.com.au/about/the-aipp-reflections-project

m e m b e R s p ot l i g h t - m i c h a e l t e o 1. How did you fall in love with photography? Although my father was a keen amateur photographer, I didn’t begin to take photography seriously till later in life, after 40 years old, so I think that I am still falling in love with photography. It was my music student (and monster photographer) Mercury Megaloudis who rekindled my interest and my love for it is always growing. I would never have thought that I could find anything that I would be as passionate about as I am about music, so it has really gotten me by surprise. I mostly photograph people and I love how it can make people feel good about who they are by reflecting back to them the beauty that I see in them. 10

By far the smart phone. It has so many uses, organisation though calendars, contacts and apps like Evernote, which are all synced to my other devices, social networking, there are apps that are great for photography like Sun Seeker, Adobe Color and Adobe Ideas, it facilitates invoicing, banking, file access with services like Dropbox, it’s a small portable portfolio and of course it also has a camera built in, which I use for location scouting and taking test shots for composition and lighting. 4. Which photographer/s do you admire? I love a lot of the great fashion photographers like Richard Avedon, Herb Ritts, Patrick Demerchelier, Steven Meisel, Mert and Marcus, Sølve Sundsbø, Helmut Newton and Mario Testino. 5. What is your dream shoot? My dream shoot is being thoroughly organised with a great team, but which allows space for improvisation and spontaneity. The best shoots have a synergistic energy comprising the collective experience of all the team members that can create something greater than any individual may have been able to conceive of independently.

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For more upcoming events

A r oun d t he StAt e S With the rules now available for our upcoming state awards, these next few months will have us all looking back over our best work, and hotly debating the finer points of what makes an award image really pop. To help you in that discussion, we have a couple of Critique sessions scheduled, where you can hear comments from master photographers about what can bring your images to that next level. These events are infinitely important to both your success in the industry awards, and to your own professional development, and we on the council highly recommend you be there! (And, we may be looking for a chance to win three national titles in a row too, just saying.) A week before the first critique session, we’ll be having a candid breakfast discussion about the pitfalls and safety nets that good insurance can provide for our businesses, so that too is an event not to be missed.

The WA Council are here to help you succeed, so contact us for anything, and we’ll see you at the next event! - The WA Council

upcoming events 12th May – Breakfast Meeting: All things “Insurance” 17th May – WAEPPA Critique Session 2nd June – WAEPPA Critique Session 25th - 26th June – WA Epson State Awards 28th June – Presentation dinner 29th June - 1st July – The Nikon AIPP Event 11th August – Breakfast Meeting 16th - 18th October – Canon AIPP APPA Judging 19th October – Canon AIPP APPA Presentation Dinner 10th November – Breakfast Meeting 11

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For more upcoming events

A r oun d t he StAt e S AIPP Queensland congratulates 2015 AIPP EPSON QLD Professional Photographer of the Year Richard Muldoon APP M.Photog I. Richard won the Landscape category, Book of the Year, and the Epson Signature Worthy Award.

the winners oF 2015 Aipp QLD cAtegories were: Ryan Schembri APP M.Photog IV Hon. LM - Wedding Photographer of the Year Kris Anderson APP - Illustrative Photographer of the Year Peter Rossi APP.L GM.Photog - Portrait Photographer of the Year Alex Huang APP - Travel Photographer of the Year Kelly Brown APP M.Photog - Family Photographer of the Year William Long APP.L M.Photog V Hon. LM FBIPP FRPS Commercial Photographer of the Year Matt Palmer APP AAIPP - Documentary Photographer of the Year Liz Harlin APP AAIPP - Science, Wildlife & Wild Places Photographer of the Year Ken Drake APP M.Photog - Pet/Animal Photographer of the Year Greg Hanlon - Emerging Photographer of the Year 12

Foto Frenzy QPPA exhibition Lisa Kurtz - Student Photographer of the Year Adam Hourigan APP M.Photog - Highest Scoring Print Michael Zervos - Print Handler Award All of the actual category winning prints have also been on display at Foto Frenzy, Coorparoo. Opening night was an exciting evening with a capacity crowd and an opportunity to view amazing prints up close and discuss them with the artists.

copyright inFormAtion night A Copyright information night for the AIPP was held recently. The night was strongly supported and informed attendees of recent court rulings and current issues they should be aware of.

upcoming events 27th May – Finding Focus: Image Making With Video

A FREE SERVICE - AND IT’S SO EASY TO USE! How much would you like to earn in the next 12 months? Use Peter Eastway’s free online Photo Income Estimator to find out. Visit www.betterphotography.com Click on the link to the Photo Income Estimator page

Enter your information and see the results immediately.

Don’t spend the next 12 months fluffing around. Have a look and set yourself some goals! www.betterphotography.com 13

Update: AIPP Reflections Project H o w To H e l p Yo u r s e l f Fr o m T h e S i d e l i n e s

The AIPP Reflections Project is well underway

thanks to the many members who have put up

one million people – which is 1/25 of Australia’s

their hand to be involved and donate their time

population! This is a fantastic result for both the

and expertise.

Reflections Project and the AIPP.

One Million Views

Bamia Mast

One of the side effects of the Reflections Project

Bamia Mast is one of only three surviving

is the publicity it will generate. The mere fact

members of his battalion.

The Facebook post has now reached over

the Reflections Project

is being sponsored

in 1942. When this happened, he saw it as a call

and promoted by the

of duty. He was honoured to be a part of it and

AIPP paints professional

do the service.

photographers in a very

positive light.

dark by kerosene lamp. When he joined the

AIPP Grand Masters of

war, he saw the light electricity. War introduced

Photography Peter Rossi

them to modern society.

and Charmaine Heyer

are both involved in the

and has given me this world. He stood up and

Reflections Project and

believed what he did was right. I just want to

one of their portraits

cry.”

was posted on the AIPP’s

Promoting The Profession

Facebook page last

Members have been asking the AIPP to

month.

promote professional photography for years

The portrait is of Bamia

and, while not the purpose of the project, we’re

Bamia’s son Eddie said, “He joined the Army

“Before he joined the Army, they lived in the

“He’s my father. I’m honoured he’s my Dad

Mast who enlisted with the Torres Strait Light

getting lots of publicity right now.

Infantry Battalion in 1942.

professional photographer? Well, if you’re an

Said Peter, “We both felt honoured to

But how do people know you’re an AIPP

photograph him and to help commemorate our

APP (Accredited Professional Photographer),

unsung heroes”.

you can show the world by using the logo.

Bamia Mast. Photograph by Peter Rossi and Charmaine Heyer.

have amazing stories to share. The images you make carry reverence and power and go to the families and the national archives to take pride of place for many generations to come. The wonderful feeling of giving back to the

It’s not rocket science! But it does require

community as a professional photographer

you to take an active interest in your business

cannot be understated and is very rewarding for

and your profession. Do you have the APP logo

you and our industry.

on your website? On your emails? On your

letterhead? In your advertising? If not, now

all over Australia, promoting the project, the

would be a good time to spend 10 minutes

value of using an Accredited Professional

updating things.

Photographer and the enduring power of the

printed image.

The profession of photography is going

We have received positive media attention

through some tough times, even though public

interest in photography has never been higher.

about professional photography generally.”

If we don’t promote the benefits of professional

Project Patron - Dr Brendan Nelson

photography, who will?

The AIPP is proud to announce our Patron for

Project Update

Reflections – Honouring our WWII Veterans is

According to the project director, John de

The Honourable Dr Brendan Nelson, Director of

Rooy, the Reflections Project has 1300 veterans

The Australian War Memorial.

registered and 300 professional photographers

booked up. John is very happy with that result,

and champion our efforts beginning with an

although he says there is still room for a couple

official launch function in June and culminating

of hundred more if they wish to get involved.

in a printed volume and digital collection of the

photographed WWII veterans being presented

So, if you’ve been thinking about doing

“I think this is a really important message

Said John, “Dr Nelson has agreed to support

it, now is the time to act as photography has

to the AWM and the RSL in September/October.

started and the project will only run until the

“This is excellent news indeed!”

end of July (please visit https://aippveterans.

com).

Please spread the word about this project to WWII

Veterans and photographers. To register a veteran

“It is a very positive experience meeting

our WWII Veterans, the oldest living heroes of

or a photographer for the project please go to:

our time. They are all proud yet humble and

https://aippveterans.com

Dr Brendan Nelson

Dr Brendan Nelson is the Director of the Australian War Memorial and Patron of the AIPP Reflections Project. Dr Brendan Nelson commenced as Director of the

the Sydney seat of Bradfield.

Australian War Memorial on 17 December 2012.

Nelson was elected to

Prior to this, he was the Australian Ambassador

On 2 March1996, Dr

to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and

the Federal Parliament of

NATO (2009–12). Apart from overseeing a major

Australia. After the 2001

transformation in Australia’s relationships with the

election, he was promoted

European Union and NATO, Dr Nelson forged deep

from parliamentary secretary

links with the communities of Flanders, where almost

to the Minister for Defence

13,000 Australians lost their lives during the First

to Cabinet in the senior

World War. He regularly made the trip from Brussels to

portfolio of Minister for Education, Science and

the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial at Ieper, where the

Training, driving major reforms to universities and a

names of 6,190 Australians who died in the First World

focus on school standards and reporting.

War and have no known grave are listed.

troops were deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor

Born at Coburg, Victoria, in 1958, Dr Nelson

In 2006 he became Minister for Defence when

studied at Flinders University, South Australia,

and the Solomon Islands.

where he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine

and Surgery. He worked as a medical practitioner in

of the Liberal Party of Australia, serving as Leader of

Hobart from 1985 to 1995.

the Opposition until September 2008. The following

year he retired from federal politics before taking up

In 1993 he was elected unopposed as National

In November 2007, Dr Nelson was elected leader

President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA),

his ambassadorial appointment.

becoming the youngest person ever to hold this

position. He had previously served as National Vice

Memorial, Dr Nelson is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow

President and Tasmanian Branch President, of the AMA.

at ANU; a member of the Chief Scientist’s Advisory

Council; a member of the Board of Presidents for the

During his time as National President, he

In addition to being Director of the Australian War

campaigned on a wide range of social policy issues,

US National World War Two Museum; Patron of Lifeline

including Aboriginal health and immunisation,

ACT; Patron of Trish MS Research; Patron of the Weary

and led the campaign against tobacco advertising

Dunlop Foundation and a member of the Board of the

and sponsorship of sport. He was also a relentless

Australian Children’s Music Foundation.

advocate for private health insurance.

his interests include Australian military history, music,

In 1995 Dr Nelson retired as president of the AMA

following his preselection as the Liberal candidate for

Dr Nelson is married and has three adult children;

motorcycles, and tennis.

AIPP + ACMP Together

Ross Eason and Richard Weinstein discuss the merge r o f A u s t ra l i a ’s t w o p e a k p r o f e s s i o n a l p h o t o g ra p h y bodies. The AIPP and ACMP are to join forces, improving

the industry and services for professional

to act for the benefit of the industry and that an

photographers as a whole.

alliance under a central umbrella was the best

way forward.

discussions about the two groups merging for

some months.

discussions, figuring out how it will work.”

Behind the scenes, there have been

“We could all see that our responsibility was

“Since then, we have been in close

Explained AIPP National President, Ross

Eason, “We recognised that if we were truly

Pooling Resources

going to be an institute of professional

Richard Weinstein, the ACMP’s National

photography, then we need representation

President, added, “We agreed that whatever was

across a broader demographic of photography.

in the best interests of our members and the

profession was what we needed to do.

“Rightly or wrongly, there is a perception

that the AIPP is focused on domestic wedding

and portrait photography, and to some extent

because both organisations are already

that is reflected in our membership numbers.”

travelling in the same direction, so by pooling

resources we can free up a lot of our time

It is also reflected in the industry itself,

“In many ways, it wasn’t a difficult decision

where the number of domestic photographers

in administration, which in turn will allow

in fact far outweighs commercial and media

us to create more worthwhile events and

photographers.

opportunities for our members.”

Continued Ross, “Our aim is to do the best

Both Ross and Richard acknowledged the

for the industry, so we started talking with the

changing face of professional photography and

ACMP about closer ties.

the need for a single body.

“Even back at The Nikon AIPP Event in

Explained Richard, “There’s a whole new

Hobart, we had Grant Matthews as an ACMP

world of professional photographers out there,

presenter, but it wasn’t until last September at

from generalists who have just bought a DSLR

APPA that both Boards sat down face to face.

to social media photographers selling their

images online. I think we need to engage with these people and encourage them to sign up to our Code of Ethics and a professional way of doing business. Corporate View

AIPP + ACMP Merger Benefits

two major benefits.

The merger offers distinct advantages for all members:

• A broader range of commercial

Peter Myers, the AIPP’s Executive Office, sees “As Ross explained, with this merger the AIPP

will no longer be seen as a wedding portrait organisation. If, with the help of the ACMP, we can change that perception, then I believe we

events and content, nationally run through the AIPP Events Team;

can attract more photographers to become

• Larger pool of expertise to call upon;

members because we really are a representative

• Pooling of resources and

body.

“The second benefit is that the ACMP

photographers will become certified, which adds greater weight to the accreditation process we already have in train.

“Professional photographers will be seen in

a much stronger light if they operate within a single organisation where everyone abides by the same regulations.”

Commented Richard from the ACMP’s

perspective, “It’s true that some photographers, particularly in advertising, say that having letters after their name won’t make any difference to being hired by an agency or an art director.

“However, others acknowledge that if it

wasn’t for the work done by the ACMP and AIPP in the past on copyright and licencing, they

publications; • Common industry standards with codes of conduct and practice • Unified accreditation system; • Increased commercial entries in state and national awards; • Greater support for student and emerging members with Trampoline, SPY Awards and Find an Assistant protocols; • Stronger advocacy voice to government, industry and education.

wouldn’t have earned hundreds of thousands of

dollars over the past ten to twenty years. On

balance, I think all our members will see the

ACMP is that members outside of Sydney and

benefits of accreditation for the industry as a

Melbourne will be better served. I know we’ve

whole.”

received some criticism over the years for not

doing enough in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth,

Different people have different reasons for

Added Richard, “Another big benefit for the

belonging to an organisation, but it appears all

but with this new structure, we should be able

are in agreement that a single, strong Institute

to reach more regions around Australia.

is more productive than lots of little splinter

groups.

enter APPA and we think we can help by

“We are very keen for our members to

offering more content in the commercial and Practicalities

advertising categories.

The ACMP will become a division of the AIPP,

with a slight name change. As the word

available for purchase by AIPP members.

‘Australian’ is already in the AIPP’s name,

the ACMP division will become ‘Accredited

will bring in photographers who might already

Commercial and Media Photographers’.

know about one or both organisations and

The strategy will allow the ACMP to work

see that this is a great time to join”, concluded

in conjunction with the AIPP to deliver

Richard.

what advertising, commercial and media

photographers need.

Any AIPP member can become an ACMP

member if they meet the criteria, and ACMP members will go through the accreditation process as they renew their membership.

Within the AIPP, the current ACMP board will

run the ACMP division, along with two or three AIPP members.

It is planned that key ACMP strategies like

the Student Photographer of the Year Awards and the Trampoline group for assistants and emerging photographers, will continue to operate.

“And the Better Business Bible will now be “Finally, I’m also hoping our collaboration

“We have more strength in numbers.”

Nominate For Council

T h e r e ’s a w o r l d o f e x p e r i e n c e a n d o p p o r t u n i t y j u s t waiting for those prepared to get involved with the A I P P ’s m a n a g e m e n t . If you’ve wondered why some AIPP members

members/aipp-charters?sectionurl=members).

are so passionate about the Institute, chances

are they have been involved in running it at

acclaim fit for a king by being on council, but

some level.

we can promise you that your efforts will make

a difference.

Whether you just help out at a print judging

We can’t promise you great riches or the

or sign up for your local council, you’ll get even more out of your membership.

Nomination Process

To nominate yourself, send an email to admin@

And this is the time of year when you have

the opportunity to get involved with your local

aipp.com.au.

AIPP community and nominate yourself for a position on your local state council.

All council positions are for a one year term,

starting on July 1st and finishing on June 30th. We’re opening positions for the 2015-2016 year.

AIPP councils have always been the “engine

room” around which the AIPP exists. Without good proactive councils, the AIPP is a shadow of the organisation it needs to be. Council Charter If you have something to say, something to

contribute and something to add, becoming a

May 2015, so don’t think about this for too long!

council member is the ideal vehicle for you.

with Peter Myers, a board member or any

Before you nominate, please read the new

Nominations close at 5.00 p.m. EST on 18 If you would like to discuss your nomination

council charter to make sure what you are

current council member please, don’t hesitate

nominating for (visit http://www.aipp.com.au/

to get in touch.

The Twins ‘Milk Bank’ Project

Bambi Gosbell explains how she and two friends pursued a personal photography project and raised money for charity at the same time.

Photo: Vicki Bell

When Bambi Gosbell, Willow Smith and Susan

Gladstone in central Queensland all the way

Wall joined forces for a personal project, they

down to Sydney in New South Wales, aged from

had more than one objective in mind.

just six weeks all the way up to 83 years young.”

Rather than putting their efforts solely into

Twins were asked to spend $250 for the

the photography, they wanted to support a

photography session, a 5x7-inch print and a

worthy charity as well.

copy of the Twins - More To Love limited edition

The Milk Bank

coffee table book. Additional books could be

The Twins Project 2013 - More To Love supported

purchased for $99 and all of the proceeds of this

the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital

side of the project (after deducting the costs of

Foundation with funds being directed

publishing the book) went to the Milk Bank.

specifically to purchase a large, commercial

grade freezer for the Hospital’s Milk Bank.

Every set of twins received a book as part of the

project and we sold 140 books in total.

Explained Bambi, “I’ve had a fascination with

“The main goal was to publish the book.

twins for many years, so when I talked about

it with Willow and Susan, we decided to look

could see our work without buying a book and

around for a charity that was also involved with

so we decided to put on a couple of exhibitions,

twins and that could use some help. That’s how

one at Foto Frenzy in Brisbane and a second in

we discovered the Milk Bank at the RBWH –

Gympie at the Regional Art Gallery.

although of course the Hospital is for everyone,

not just twins.

exhibition, we split them based on their

proximity to the twins. We sold all the prints bar

“The original aim was to shoot portraits of

“However, a few people asked how they

“As we couldn’t hang all 53 prints in each

100 twins and publish them in a book. However,

two and that also raised some much needed

we only gave ourselves a year to complete the

money for the Milk Bank.”

project and with the benefit of hindsight, we

More Than A Freezer

should have allowed ourselves a little longer.”

In fact, the girls collected more than what was

required for the freezer and used the balance

Nevertheless, the girls shot 53 portraits from

Kacie & Monique: “I don’t normally ask people to lie on the grass on their backs, but for this image it seemed the right thing to do, showing the symmetry of the twins. We asked all the twins to fill in a short questionnaire and used some of the answers in the book. Kacie and Monique’s parents commented, ‘We knew they shared a special connection when the hospital staff tried to separate them into different bassinets. They cried continuously until they were put back into the same cot.’ I used Epson’s Enhanced Matte Poster Board for the exhibition prints.” Below: Kacie and Monique at the exhibition with their portrait.

learning, the project pushed me outside of my comfort zone into a completely different world.

“It was a massive learning curve and in some

ways a costly one, but if I ever go down that path again, I’ll know what to do differently.”

Some of the portrait shoots were very

creative, others more formal, but Bambi said she approached the twins in much the same way she’d approach her family portraiture clients.

“We invited the twins to bring their families

along as this gave us an opportunity to sell The Twins Project exhibition opening.

to print a 40-inch canvas collage of all the twin

some extra portraits as well. That was the only

photographs and it now hangs in the NICU Unit

way we were able to make a little income

in the hospital.

for our own businesses.” The accompanying

portraits are by Bambi.

“It was purely a personal project and none

of us made much money out of it. If anything, it cost us to do it, but it was a great journey of

Bambi Gosbell is a wedding and portrait photogra-

growth and personal development.

pher based in Gympie, who loves to travel nation-

ally. You can see her website at: www.photography-

“I find I get a really deep satisfaction out of

doing something new. Although I had exhibited

bybambi.com.au

before, I’d never produced a book, so in terms of

Opposite above: Bevan & Kevin “Bevan and Kevin are dairy farmers and typically, they could chew the leg off a chair. I seriously couldn’t get a word in sideways, so I just listened to them talk. They had just been away on an overseas trip together and every single sentence they spoke was finished off by the other twin. It was incredible how in tune they were to each other.” Opposite below: Hamish (& Oliver) This little boy’s brother passed away at six weeks of age from a heart condition. We normally sit down well before the portrait shoot and have a chat about what people want to get across in their portrait. Sunflowers had been used on the coffin at the brother’s funeral and were symbolic to his portrait.

Joshua

HOLKO AIPP Master of Photography

Joshua Holko is a nature photographer with a studio and an office in Melbourne, but while based in Australia, he spends more than half the year travelling the globe. It’s a lifestyle many photographers can only dream of.

“I guess I have a niche in polar photography, travelling to locations in Antarctica, the Arctic,

Greenland, Svalbard, Iceland and even New Zealand and Tasmania. Living in Australia, this means I spend an awful lot of time in airports and on airplanes.

“I have an agent who represents my photography and my prints are sold through three different

galleries in Australia, Tasmania and Aspen in the USA. I also license my photography directly to corporations, but not through a stock agency.”

In addition, Joshua runs workshops and expeditions for keen amateur photographers, mainly to

polar destinations.

Two photographs of Joshua Holko on the job - dressing warm seems to be an excellent idea!

Joshua

HOLKO AIPP Master of Photography

Jo sh u a

HOLKO AIPP Master of Photography

However, it is the expedition work he has

Photographer of the Year and Victorian Epson

become best known for over the last few years

Professional Photographer of the year 2014.

and he now sets-up, co-ordinates and leads as

many as a dozen expeditions a year to places

honoured in Natures Best Photography and BBC

like Antarctica and the Arctic.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year for the last

He has also been a finalist and highly

four years and was a medalist for Australia in the Insight

2015 World Photographic Cup.

Joshua’s interest in photography began at a

young age because his father was pursuing an

Equipment

interest in large format fine art photography in

“I have been a Canon shooter all my life. My

his spare time.

primary cameras are two EOS-1D X cameras, an

EOS 1DS Mk III and an EOS 5D Mk III. I prefer the

“Dad used to take me around the

countryside taking photographs. It was all film

1-Series cameras for their indestructible build

back then and while my only job was to carry

quality and their ability to keep working in the

the tripod, it was enough to get me hooked and

harshest environments.

passionate about photography.

in cold weather.

“I learned the craft of photography shooting

“They also have ridiculously good battery life

chrome in the film days. Back then it was mostly

rock climbing and some landscape.

temperatures in difficult weather, the weather

sealing is really important, along with the

“Nowadays, I am seen as a specialist niche

“As I am frequently shooting in freezing

‘polar’ photographer and while it has been a

cameras’ ability to take a lot of abuse.

lot of hard work, it really doesn’t feel like work

because I am super passionate and dedicated to

able to take a few knocks and keep working, no

polar photography.”

matter what the conditions.

Joshua also won the 2014 AIPP Australian

“I am tough on gear and I expect it to be

“I was photographing Polar bears last month

Professional Science, Nature and Environment

in the Arctic, only a few hundred miles south of

Photographer of the Year and readers may

the North Pole, in temperatures between -10C

already be familiar with his expansive polar

and -40C. I was out in the freezing weather for

landscapes.

ten hours a day for a week and those sort of

conditions will kill most cameras pretty quickly. I

Over the past 12 months or so, Joshua

has won a bevy of awards, including

got pretty bad frost nip on my nose and fingers,

Travel Photographer of the Year, Outdoor

but my cameras just kept working and that’s

Joshua Holko explains that the best nature photographs are the result of patience and perseverence, as evidenced by his many trips to the Polar regions.

Jo sh u a

HOLKO AIPP Master of Photography

why the 1-Series pro cameras are my preferred

really love my Sachtler FSB-6 Fluid head and

choice.

tripod. It’s just brilliant for working with big

telephoto lenses. No gimbal head can match

“Everyone seems so caught up with

megapixels and dynamic range these days, but

a good fluid head, in my experience. For

quite honestly, those two attributes just aren’t

landscape work, I like my Gitzo and Arca Swiss

that important to me.

ball head.

“I find the whole megapixel race to be

“I process my images in Adobe Lightroom,

nothing more than marketing madness. I

but do my printing from Photoshop with two

regularly make and sell beautiful 40x60 inch

Canon large format printers - the IPF6350 24”

prints from my 18-megapixel Canon EOS-1D X

printer and the IPF9400 60” printer. I prefer matt

and have never had a client say, ‘I wish it had

papers for printing, specifically Moab Somerset

been shot with more pixels’.

Museum Rag which is a gorgeous, supple,

velvety paper that I just adore.

“I’ve used medium format cameras and I find

them generally unsuitable for the environments

I work in.

and Legion paper, but was printing on this

“And dynamic range is not that big a deal

paper long before that arrangement began. I

for me because I am typically working in the

find gloss and semi-gloss papers just lack the

polar regions where it’s quite easy to control

feeling I am looking for in my prints, so I rarely

the dynamic range of most photographs. If I do

reach for anything other than matt.

need to tame Nature’s dynamic range, I’ll shoot

with graduated ND filters.”

camera bags (www.guragear.com) and was

using them for years before becoming an

Joshua says he really likes the Canon TSE

lenses for his landscape work -

primarily

“I am fortunate to be sponsored by Moab

Joshua is also sponsored by Gura Gear

ambassador. “They make a range of camera

the 17mm F4L TSE, 24mm F3.5L Mk II TSE and

bags that really suit my needs for travel and

90mm TSE. For his wildlife images, he uses a

working in the field.”

Canon 600mm F4L Mk II, 200-400mm F4L with

built-in 1.4x tele-converter, and a 70-200mm

Philosophy

F2.8L IS Mk II.

“My technique is all about putting in the hours

in the field. I don’t believe in trying to create the

“I also carry a 16-35mm F4L and a 24-70mm

F2.8L Mk II, but I don’t shoot with flash and

image in post-production. I need to be there

prefer natural light.

when the light is fantastic and the wildlife is on

show.

“I own half a dozen tripods. For wildlife, I

The two ends of the earth. Above is Goรฐafoss, Iceland, below is Antarctica. Joshua Holko spends six to seven months a year travelling the globe.

Jo sh u a

HOLKO AIPP Master of Photography

“The only way to do that is to spend a lot

“If I don’t consider them great images, I won’t

of time in the field. It doesn’t always pay off, of

share them, not even on social media. I just file

course, and just because you spend 20 days

them and make a note to revisit and try again.

sitting in a snow hole in freezing temperatures,

I don’t want to show the best I can do from

doesn’t guarantee that you will take a good

a given visit, I want to show the best I can do

image.

and to do that, I need to put in the time. That’s

just part of being a Nature photographer in my

“But the more time I put in, the more likely

I am to get the shot I am looking for. It takes

book.

patience and dedication when you are working

in such hostile places.

of mystery, emotion and vision, but there is a

world of difference between images that impart

“I feel there is a disingenuous side to quite a

“I want to tell a story and impart a sense

lot of landscape imagery these days.

these characteristics and images that were just

the best I could do on a given day.

“And I think this has come about because of

the sheer number of photographers out there,

“I am a staunch believer that we should only

all trying to out-do each other and be heard

ever show our best work and if I don’t feel I

over a chorus of screaming voices. I am seeing

managed to do my best work from a location, it

more and more extensive digital manipulation

doesn’t get shared.

of Nature scenes that are being presented as

“Period.”

‘captures’.

“It’s fine to do extensive digital manipulation

if that is your thing, but when it’s presented as real ‘nature’ without disclosure, then I have a problem.

Joshua Holko M. Photog. can be contacted at the

following addresses:

“Nature is breathtakingly miraculous.

We don’t need to misrepresent it in our

www.jholko.com

photographs.

http://blog.jholko.com

www.photographyexpeditions.com

“I feel there is a key difference between

what I do and what I see from many other

info@jholko.com

photographers. I might visit a location and come away with images I consider sub-optimal because the light wasn’t that great or maybe the wildlife didn’t co-operate.

See Joshua Holko at The Nikon Event in Perth this June! Book now - www.aipptheevent.com.au

35 Glaucous Gull. Polar photography by Joshua Holko.

12 Great Tips For APPA Success

Following his bevy of recent successes, Matt Palmer shares a dozen suggestions for getting better results in the photo awards.

Recently I was awarded the title of AIPP Epson

learned from others.

Queensland Documentary Photographer of

1. Get ego hurt at the print critique nights,

the Year for a second time. It’s a real honour,

not on the competition weekend.

especially seeing the category expand in entries

Putting your images out in front of some of the

this year and participating alongside some of

best photographic judges in Australia can be a

Australia’s great photographers, particularly

tough night. You’ll learn what you’ve overlooked

of note in the documentary category, Lesley

and the first time you might feel like you’ve had

Downie.

your heart torn from your chest. That’s okay!

I won the title on the back of four Muay

We’ve all been there, we’ve all had our

Thai related images, but rather than discuss the

disappointing prints and there are plenty of

merits of the images, I wanted to share a few

AIPP Grand Masters who have scored under 70

of my thoughts on the AIPP State and National

(not professional standard). For a new entrant,

awards process for the new or uninitiated.

this situation can be avoided by giving your

images some trial under fire at a critique night

When I accepted the award, one of the

points I hopefully made in my brief speech, was

first. The opportunity to chat directly to judges

that none of us make it to the podium alone.

afterwards is priceless.

Every photographer, including Queensland

2. Wax on, wax off

greats such as Kelly Brown or Richard Muldoon,

When you’re starting off, talk to the judges.

will point to people that made a difference

When I started, I utilized the incredibly cultured

in their journey and changed their way of

photographic brains of Ian Poole and Darren

thinking.

Jew at Foto Frenzy. If Living Image print your

entries (based out of Foto Frenzy), you’ll have

My award winning work is a culmination

of all the great advice I’ve received, both

the opportunity to talk to these guys too.

about photography and about the Awards

themselves. So here are a few things in no

people’s time is a great trait to develop, whether

particular order I’d like to share that I’ve mostly

it be through appreciative words or a bottle of

And remember, showing gratitude for other

(Above) The printing of this Silver winning photograph by Photo Mounts & Albums was immaculate, but now I keep staring off to the left hand side after a comment made by one of the judges! (Below) Even something as simple as shooting through foreground trees shows a photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deliberate compositional choices. This one scored Silver. [The article is based on Mattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog which you can find here: http://mattmakes.photos/things-ive-learned-entering-aipp-photographic-awards/]

something.

5. Printing is paramount

3. Understand the presentation tastes of a

I suck at printing, so I leave it to the experts.

competition

Develop an ongoing relationship with a printer,

Every competition has rules about how things

discuss your prints and photographs with

should be presented. They are all listed in black

them, and seek their advice on potential paper

and white for all to see. What isn’t written is the

choices and approaches to the print.

taste of a competition.

own opinions. You are the artist, but AIPP award

A black mat might work well in camera

This is not to say you should disregard your

clubs, whereas a white mat of some kind might

printers have been in the business a long time

work better for the AIPP. Landscape images are

and can teach you a thing or two!

often placed on a portrait orientated mat at

6. Show the judges something new

APPA.

If you are showing the judges something

You can do whatever you like within the

they’ve seen before, it will have to be one of the

rules, but unless you have a compelling reason

best examples of that subject they’ve ever seen

to do something unusual that compliments the

to get across the line, right?

photograph you are showing, simple and in line

with competition expectations is generally best.

something that makes them stop for a second,

4. Flip it upside down

your score will likely go up. Some of the best

In graphic design, we talk about a visual

photographers I know are the ones that take

hierarchy, the order in which an eye will travel

subjects we see every day and show them to us

around a design and acknowledge elements

in a completely new way.

and text. The same is true in photography. To

7. The key to your award winning photo-

conquer a photograph, we must dictate where

graph

people look and in what order.

Ian Poole’s first advice for me, after scoring

73 for a print that I loved, was that an award

But sometimes we are too close to the

If you bring them something different,

subject matter, so we can’t see things in the way

winning photograph often needs a key to

a stranger will. To break our connection with the

unlock it.

subject and better analyse where people will

look, turn your image upside down. Before you

It could be a little bent post in a beautiful

know it, you’ll be wondering why on earth your

landscape composition, as it is with one of

subject’s elbow was the brightest thing on the

Ian’s pieces. It could be a mop and bucket to

print.

elaborate on the story of a humble pianist,

What is this key? Well, that is the mystery.

as Adam Hourigan’s top scoring print in

Clean up those little technical details. Retain

Queensland 2015 showed us.

detail in the shadows and don’t blow out your

highlights unless you have a reason for it.

There are so many things this key could be,

but it’s probably one of the hardest things to

plan for or identify. But you’ll know it when you

will pick up on it, even if that’s how the scene

see an amazing image and think to yourself,

really was.

“It wouldn’t be nearly as amazing without that

tiny detail”. However, you don’t want to smack

Give them something immaculate. If your

people in the face with this key or it might

photograph is good enough to win an award,

come off as too contrived.

don’t let them take it off you over anything silly

8. The photographer must bring some-

and avoidable.

thing to the image

11. When it’s time to talk categories...

It’s not enough to find an amazing viewpoint,

One of Australia’s best young judges Adam

a natural wonder or and interesting person,

Finch told me to always go for a category. I have

and take a photo that documents it. You

seen quite a few photographers with amazing

have to bring some control to that image

portfolios miss out on being a finalist and

as a photographer by utilising deliberate

potentially winning a category because they

composition and lighting.

didn’t enter all their images in one category.

9. No one cares if the photograph was hard

to take

to compete in the ‘Creative’ category which

If you hike up a figurative Mount Everest to take

takes into account those who enter multiple

a photograph and miss the mark, it’s a missed

categories, but if you want to try and win that,

opportunity, not an award print!

then take the same advice and plan for that too.

12. Be brave

No one cares how hard it was to take the

If something doesn’t seem right, the judges

Don’t give them anything to pick on.

At a national level, you have the opportunity

photograph. The print is judged, not the process

The more you put yourself out there, the better

of taking it.

you’ll get. And sometimes you have to make the

call to go with your gut feeling on something,

Sometimes a judge will recognise your

efforts and that is a wonderful thing. The reality

even if someone is telling you the image won’t

is most top award prints took a lot of effort to

do well. Every so often you might just prove

create, even if the photographers worked their

people wrong. The first time you hear someone

butts off to make it look effortless.

like Mike Langford passionately argue on behalf

10. Don’t give judges anything to pick on

of your print, you’ll be hooked.

Hiring Another Photographer

I f y o u n e e d h e l p t o r u n y o u r b u s i n e s s , Pe t e r E a s t w a y s u g g e s t s t h e r e a r e o p t i o n s o t h e r t h a n e m p l o y i n g s t a f f.

Employing staff is a big step for a small business.

thoroughly. They can work as second shooters

With it comes responsibilities such as income

or simply as equipment and service assistants.

tax, superannuation and the need to have

Once again, they are only hired when you have

sufficient income to cover the weekly wages

a job, so it’ s not an ongoing expense.

expense.

use the photographs they take on your jobs,

Of course, there are other options,

Generally, assistants have no rights to

depending on the help you need.

certainly not without your express permission.

Subcontractors

If you have a lot of work on, you can hire

employees in some situations, in which case

another photographer to do the job for you - a

superannuation may be payable.

subcontractor. The advantage of this approach

Casual Employees

is that you only have to hire the photographer

Casuals are like assistants in that you only hire

when you have enough work. If there’s less

them when needed, but you need to withhold

work, you do it yourself.

tax from their wages and pay super. This

requires you to register as an employer with the

Subcontractor photographers are sent out

The tax office may see assistants as

to do the shoot without you, so when hiring

tax office.

them, you need to ensure they have the skills

Part-time or Fulltime Employees

and the manners to match your business’s

With part-time and fulltime employees, you

reputation. And you should be clear about who

have a regular expense, so whether you have

has what rights with the resulting photographs

a lot of income or not, you still have to pay the

- who owns the copyright, what usage the

wages. This can cause cash flow shortaqes and

client has and, importantly, if the subcontractor

add to the stress of running a business, so it’s

is able to use the images for his/her own

something most small businesses put off until

portfolio and marketing.

they are fairly well established.

Assistants

Photography assistants can help you get

the images they take when working with you,

through the job more quickly or more

certainly not to market themselves.

Employees generally have no rights to use

Vale: Tony Whincup, NZIPP

A u s t ra l i a a n d N e w Z e a l a n d r e f l e c t o n o n e o f o u r p r o f e s s i o n’s most influential thinkers and educators. 1944 – 2015

The question that underpinned this book

Tony Whincup was Professor and Head of

was, ‘What is the value of traditional dance in

School, Visual and Material Culture at Massey

contemporary society?’ His questions were

University. He was a Fellow of the New Zealand

always the driving force behind his work.

Institute of Professional Photographers (the

Institute’s highest honour).

a wonderful orator, presenter and awards

His research interests were primarily

judge, both in New Zealand and in Australia.

concerned with issues of self-definition

As Toronto based photographer and Chair of

and inter-generational continuity. His work

the WPPI, David Williams said in his letter of

emerges at the interface of the disciplines

condolences:

of photography and anthropology. He used

galleries, publications and conferences as sites

commenting on images in print competitions,

to explore and communicate his ethnographies.

with intelligence and relevant references that

To the photographic community he was

‘Tony Whincup taught me so much about

went far beyond much of what was on offer at Kiribati

the time. He took the trouble to guide you in

For the past 38 years, his photo-ethnographic

your photographic awareness and make you a

practice has been based primarily in Kiribati. His

better person for it’.

research examined the social role of traditional

dance, the mwaneaba (meeting house), canoes

Judging Influcence

and artefacts. A range of media including

Tony’s judging style changed the way we all

video, sound, drawing and still photography

look at photographic images, as well as how

as well as written text were used in both the

we comment on them. He lead by example, by

documentation and communication of this

going out and photographing weddings in his

research.

own enquiring style, bringing with it his own

anthropological background and applying it

His fourth book ‘Akekeia’ Traditional Dance

in Kiribati, won the New Zealand Montana

to the ritual of traditional weddings and the

Book Award in the illustrative category in 2002.

subsequent photography. His images resulted

in Gold awards that broke new ground and

he referred to as the ‘babble’ in photography –

taught us to see differently.

the distracting things that get in the road of the

communication of the story. He loved images

This was the way Tony taught – by doing it

himself and then taking us by the hand, walking

that told stories and would often say to his

us through the process of understanding

fellow judges after speaking for a print, ‘I would

and then applying the thought to our own

encourage you all to look and consider this

photography.

print just one more time … closely’”. And we all

did and always found something worthy of his

He was a visually literate man who loved to

ask questions of his fellow judges.

request.

He referred to photography as ‘visual

Tony was a gentle man with a soft voice and

communication’ and that to document

a subtle sense of humour. The twinkle in his eye

something visually is to ‘testify to it’. He believed

always alerted you to his love of life and the love

in the decisive moment as being a very

he had for sharing his knowledge, which he did

important part of the photographic process

constantly.

and regularly emphasised how important it is as

a photographer to be in the right place at the

knowledge will stay with us all forever.

right time and with the right framing.

Left: Tony Whincup. Right: An example of Tony’s wedding photography which at the time broke new ground in the way we work.

His presence will be long missed, but his Farewell, my friend the aesthete!

More importantly, he taught us about the

importance of the ‘Intent’ of the photograph

Mike Langford is a past president of the NZIPP, a

and to understand the purpose of what we do

Grand Master of Photography and Fellow of the

and how we do it.

NZIPP, and a Master of Photography and Fellow of

the AIPP.

He warned us not to get distracted by what

Profoto B2

Po r t a b l e s t u d i o f l a s h t h a t c a n o p e r a t e m a n u a l l y o r f u l l y a u tomatically with T TL exposure control.

With photography becoming so easy for

to provide fully automatic exposure control.

people with smartphones, how do you create

If you want it. Full manual is also available, of

photographs that are distinctly different from

course.

the available light snaps that flood social

media?

normal flash sync shutter speeds, the B2 has

an HSS (High Speed Shutter Sync) mode, so

It’s true that great photographers can find

If there’s too much ambient light around for

magic light almost anywhere, but it’s also true

you can shoot at speeds up to 1/8000 second,

that these same photographers will use flash

although there is a drop in flash output.

when they have to – or for special effect.

The B2 in its simplest configuration consists

cameras and five times as powerful as the

of a battery pack and a head.

average speedlight. Importantly, it can be used

The battery pack can be put on the shoulder

with the entire range of Profoto Light Shaping

or hip, while the head is small and light enough

Tools. All this in a head with the same size and

to be mounted onto a monopod or a bracket

weight as a speedlight.

on the camera.

want to compromise its portability by using

This will allow the photographer to keep

The B2 is fast enough to keep up with most

Of course, with such a small head, you don’t

moving, but if that is not necessary, both the

large light shapers. The Profoto Off-Camera

pack and head can be put on a light stand and

Flash Light Shaping Tools are smaller and more

the B2 can be wirelessly controlled from the

lightweight than studio light shapers. Available

camera.

are four small softboxes, a grid kit, a snoot and a

barndoor.

Of course, there are other portable flash

units around with similar features, but none that

You can purchase a single B2 and head,

give you full TTL flash control with Canon and

or you can purchase the B2 in kit form with

Nikon DSLRs.

multiple heads and an assortment of light

shapers.

The flash is fired remotely using a special

transmitter/receiver (available separately) which

For more information about the Profoto

links directly into the camera’s exposure system

B2, visit www.lapfoto.com.au

(Left) The new Profoto B2 flash system - it can be purchased with just one head, or as a kit with two heads and an extra battery. (Above left) Tim Bauer had his model whacking balloons full of water for this effect, each droplet frozen by the B2 flash unit. (Above right) David Oliver talked his daughter Clare back into wearing her wedding dress for an outdoor shoot in harsh sunlight - you wouldn't know it from the quality of the light provided by an umbrella and the Profoto B2. (Below) The B2 sitting comfortably on a DSLR using a bracket.

Higher Profits From Value Adds

Gary Jorgensen explains how wedding photograhers can increase their income simply by offering their clients a little something more. As an album manufacturer, Gary Jorgensen

products in addition to or instead of the

has a lot of experience in the wedding game.

digital files. By offering other products, you’re

His association with many of the country’s

providing a valuable service to your clients and,

best wedding photographers means he gets

despite their initial protestations that they don’t

to see and understand what’s happening and,

want to spend much money on photography,

importantly, what’s selling.

many people spend up big if the products

being offered are attractive enough.

“Over the past five years or so, there has

been a noticeable drop in sales of what might

now be called “full blown” albums, i.e. the large

work is how you package the digital files. Think

magazine style albums or the more traditional

of chocolate: you can buy Cadbury or you can

matted albums.

buy Lindt. Cadbury is in a plastic wrapper, Lindt

is in a beautifully printed cardboard case. You

“Today, more photographers are selling

images on DVD or USB.

know you’re going to spend more on the Lindt.

“You could argue all day about why this has

happened, but it has and we have to deal with

Photo Prints With Digital Files

the reality.”

So, when you present your files to your

wedding clients, rather than handing them a

Experts explain that technology has made it

very easy to become a wedding photographer,

small, unadorned DVD or USB drive, present

which is why there are so many new

them in a smart case with some prints as well.

photographers in the industry today. However,

many of these new wedding photographers

double DVD, and then USBs, but this was more

have never learnt about albums, prints or other

about packaging than selling a value added

add-ons, thinking that the only thing they have

“product”, such as an album.

to sell are their digital files.

sold DVD and USB mini albums where a

To create a more profitable business,

wedding photographers can offer their clients

One way to provide perceived value in your

“We used to offer cases that held a single or

“For a number of years now, we have

photographer can present their digital device

DVD and USB mini albums include 10 or 20 prints which are easily stuck into place. The USB or DVD slips neatly in to the back of the album.

along with a showcase of 10 or 20 of their

start at less than $125 with 15 spreads (double

favourite images (or the clients’ favourites).

pages), but you can price them for your clients

at three, four or five times this when you add in

“I try to encourage photographers to do this

as a matter of course, to at least show what a

your photographs.

well-printed and edited image can look like in an album. We also offer print boxes in various

Branding

sizes and coverings.”

Whenever you deal with your clients, branding

is an important way to make an impression.

There are two approaches to selling these

mini albums. You can simply include them

There are a lot of photographers in a crowded

with every package and hope they work as a

market, so strong branding can make a big

marketing device - the bride and groom will

difference in obtaining repeat and referral

show your work around to their friends who

business.

will be impressed enough to hire you for their

wedding. You could increase your price to

a professional look and touch of class to the end

accommodate the small cost of producing the

user.”

mini album.

sword, especially if you hand out your digital

Optionally, you can include a mini album

Explained Gary, “A branded product presents

Of course, branding can be a double-edged

on your price list as an addition, so for an extra

files to clients and they are not presented very

$100 or $500 your clients can have a product

well. However, the counter argument is that

they can show, with or without a power supply.

most people are looking at the content of the photograph, not the subtle colour casts or

Don’t Forget Albums

contrast curves we worry about, so including a

“However, I haven’t given up on selling albums”,

watermark on your digital files and a logo on all

added Gary.

your printed products makes good sense.

“Our latest album addition is the Press Book.

Running a successful wedding and portrait

The smaller 6x6” or 5x7” sizes are ideal as an add

photography studio is a lot of small decisions

on to a portrait session or as parent albums for

that add up to a profitable business.

a wedding, and we go right up to 12x12” and

10x14” sizes. It’s a great looking product that

Gary Jorgensen is the director of Jorgensen Albums,

is printed on beautiful paper and bound into a

situated in Balcatta, Perth, W.A. You can see the prod-

hard cover, complete with a gift box.”

ucts described and visit Jorgensen’s online shop at

http://www.jorgensenalbums.com/

Importantly, these products from Jorgensens

There is still a strong market for albums, if you know how to sell them. Successful photographers talk about the longevity of a printed product, compared to digital products that may not work in 20 years time when there are no DVD players or USB slots. In comparison, an album is very likely to be around for children and grandchildren to see. Gary Jorgensen also recommends photographers brand their work. Examples of Jorgensen Album products above. 49