PPA Today

Photographer of the Year Awards

Congratulations to all the recipients of the 2008 Photographer of the Year Awards. These individuals demonstrated excellence in their craft and earned tremendous achievements in PPA's 2008 International Print Competition.

ELECTRONIC IMAGER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Platinum

Jo Burkhardt, M.Artist.MEI
Sherron Sheppard, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Beverly L Toves, M.Photog.Cr.

Gold

Michael D Barton, Cr.Photog., CPP
Kaye Frey, M.Photog.M.Artist.MEI.Cr.

Silver

Robert W Cleere, M.Photog.MEI.Cr., CPP
Scott A. Dupras, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Paul D Rogers, M.Photog.Cr., CPP

Bronze

Melanie A Burton
Robert L. Kunesh, M.Photog.MEI.Cr., CPP

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Diamond

Rod Brown, M.Photog.Cr.
Don Chick, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Steve B Ervin, M.Photog.MEI.Cr.
Mark Garber, M.Photog.Cr.
Jerry Ghionis
Jennifer K. Gilman, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Sam Gray, M.Photog.Cr.
Travis Gugelman, CPP
Robert Hillier, M.Photog.Cr.
Keith Howe, M.Photog.M.Artist.Cr.
Elaine Hughes, M.Photog., CPP
Steven J. Kemp, M.Photog.M.Artist.MEI.Cr., CPP
Tomas Munoz, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Bruce D Nelson, CPP
Ron Nichols, M.Photog.Cr.,API
Michael E. Timmons, M.Photog.Cr.
Mike Williams

Imaging USA…Celebrate with PPA Charities

PPA Charities hosts a “Celebration” event Saturday evening before PPA’s Imaging USA (the national convention in January) officially begins. The celebration event will take place at Alice Coopers Town in Phoenix, just two blocks from Convention Center and features fun, fellowship, and food. The evening kicks off with a VIP Cocktail Hour from 8-9pm. VIP Cocktail Hour tickets are only $35 and include hors d'oeuvres and an open bar. The doors open to all convention attendees at 9pm, and the fun continues with the live/silent auction, the check presentation to Operation Smile, and music and dancing.

Mark your calendar now to attend the PPA Charities' Celebration on January 10, 2009, in Phoenix. Order your VIP ticket when you register for Imaging USA.

Protect Yourself: Copyright, Trademarks, and Model Releases

August 27
Hosted by: Christel Aprigliano, PPA’s Member Services Manager
Panelists: Al Hopper, PPA’s Director of Membership, Copyright & Government Affairs and Maria Matthews, PPA’s Copyright & Government Affairs Coordinator
7:00pm – 8:00pm EST
Free—PPA members only
Please login to PPA.com to get the free registration link.

Every photographer needs to ensure that each image they share with the public is protected. If it's not, you lose business! Learn about copyrights and trademarks, how to properly handle them, why model releases are necessary, and more…all with this free webinar.

Join PPA’s Copyright & Government Affairs staff as they discuss how to protect yourself, your work, and your clients using the tools and resources of PPA. And don’t forget to bring your own questions—they'll be answering yours during the Q & A session.

Earn $1,000 an Hour from School Photography Step 1: Underclass Business Basics

August 25
with Chris Wunder, Cr.Photog.
Monday, August 25, 2008
12:00pm - 1:00pm EST
Cost: $49 PPA Members/ $249 non-members
Register online (08AUGWEB2) or call 800-786-6277

It’s always good to add something lucrative to your business!

Ready to offer an additional service and bring in more revenue? Conducted on weekday mornings—when you probably have time available to handle it—underclass school photography can be a lucrative addition to your studio business. But to get a good start in this field, you must understand the metrics of the business. Join in this live Webinar for explanations and advice about the basics of the underclass photography business, including schools’ requests for rebates.

Listen and learn how you can add a new revenue stream!

Chris Wunder Bio:
Chris Wunder, Cr.Photog., is a 30-year veteran of the photography business and a recognized sales & marketing industry expert for studios, events, sports, schools and directory photography programs. He’s a popular platform speaker and a consultant to photography businesses—both small and large—all across America. Chris is also co-owner of the PortraitEFX Photography Network with over 40 locations nationwide.

Visit PPA.com for complete information.

PPA Charities Golf Tournament

Join fellow PPA photographers and exhibitors at the first annual PPA Charities Golf Tournament. We will be playing at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe on Saturday, January 10, 2009, with an 8:00am Shotgun Start. Your $150 registration fee (or $550 for a foursome) will include:

• Golf fee and car fees
• Practice balls before your event
• Official scoring by professional staff
• Sun Devil Patio Awards BBQ Awards Luncheon following golf
• Prizes, goodie bag of gifts from PPA vendors, and much more.

Download this registration form to sign up now.

Create a smile: Family Portrait Month

October is PPA Charities' Family Portrait Month

A smile is universal in meaning...and it's pretty contagious! But what about  children who cannot smile? Those who find it difficult to even speak or eat?  Now's your chance to give them a smile.

Participate in Family Portrait Month, a national fund-raising effort in  October to benefit Operation Smile, a worldwide children's medical charity  dedicated to improving the health and lives of children born with cleft lips,  cleft palates, and other facial deformities.

It's easy. Pledge to contribute a portion of each October Family Portrait  Month sale to PPA  Charities, which has chosen Operation Smile as its charitable partner. Just sign up online and make the small $25 donation, and you're on your way to making  a difference.

Studio Management Services (SMS) 3-Day Business Workshop

Want to DOUBLE or TRIPLE your sales and net income?
Register now and attend the class that can show you how.

Studio Management Services’ (SMS) client studios have experienced that kind of success. Now you can, too. Attend the last 3-day SMS workshop of the year—November 10-12 in Atlanta, Georgia—and walk away with business methods you need to pave the same path to success.

SMS mentors have helped hundreds of studios just like yours. Register now. It could be the single most important business decision you make this year.

The 3-day workshop is geared toward studios that have already acheived the $50k gross sales benchmark. All SMS workshops cover:

• Pricing for profit
• Managerial accounting
• Sales techniques
• Branding
• and much more…all from some of the best-known instructors in this business

For complete details on this SMS seminar, visit ppa.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=688.

OurPPA.com Forums: Update your profile

Add your member number to your OurPPA.com user profile by August 23

We are upgrading our forum software on OurPPA.com and working to more tightly integrate it with PPA.com. If you are a PPA member and a member of our discussion forums on OurPPA.com, you can help us out by updating your user profile. All you have to do is login to OurPPA.com, click the User CP link and then add your PPA member number into the appropriate profile field. You can find your membership number on your membership id card. Your assistance is appreciated.

Tamron Educational Purchase Rebate Program 2008

TAMRON Announces new educational purchase rebate program for students majoring in photography and other communications programs. New Program Now Allows Tamron Dealers to Deliver Lenses Purchased by Qualifying Students and Educators on Same Day of Purchase

Instructors & Students employed by or enrolled in select U.S. universities and community colleges and teaching or majoring in photography, photojournalism, visual media, fine art, design, film, video, or communications are eligible for significant rebates on Tamron products. The Educational Purchase Rebate CAN be combined with any regular Tamron rebate in effect at the time of your purchase. Click here for details.

PPA's August Webinar Schedule

We have three great webinars in August, including a FREE member-only program on Wednesday, August 27—Protect Yourself: Copyright, Trademarks, and Model Releases—with staff from PPA's Copyright and Government Affairs office. Also joining us this month are Sarah Petty and Lori Nordstrom, presenting Hidden Power of Charitable Marketing next Wednesday, August 13, and Chris Wunder with Earn $1,000 an Hour from School Photography, Step 1: Underclass Business Basics on Monday, August 25.