Flash - February 2014 Newsletter - Professional ... Color Imaging – W.C. 2014 Platinum Sponsor & Speaker Sponsor - [email protected] (Steve Kelly) Castle Distributing ...

Flash! Newsletter

FEBRUARY 18, 2014 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 7

Photoshop Mastery with Adam Hunter, M. Photog., Cr., CPP

Photoshop Mastery February 2014 I have just returned from another fantastic Iowa Winter Convention! The print competition was strong again this year. The Non-Masters were loaded with great new talent and the Masters category was a kaleidoscope of technique and concept executed at the highest level. My congratulation to all who entered for choosing to challenge yourself and putting your work out there for all to appreciate. This competition is more than an opportunity to push your creative boundaries. It’s a chance to confront, head on, the holes in your skillset. I hope you had a chance to pull a judge (or any nearby Master) into the print exhibit and have them critique your work. This is one of the best

ways to learn if you don’t have an employer, mentor, or instructor to assess your pictures regularly. Each year as I wander the print exhibition I notice the same score- destroying problem over and over again. If I had to give this problem a name it would be “image correction.” If your image was placed in the popular 77-79 scoring range, it is likely your image suffers from this common setback. Our cameras are not perfect machines. They are bad at recognizing color and auto-exposure modes are sketchy at best. Shooting manually doesn’t guarantee perfection, either. Image correction is the process of fixing these inaccuracies and making an image look like the correct place and time it was captured. I recommend making these adjustments in Adobe Lightroom/Adobe Camera RAW or any of the major RAW processing software. LR/ACR are also my preferred programs for correcting JPGs. I love Photoshop but it doesn’t have Lightroom’s wonderful Exposure slider. Image correction includes: exposure, colorcast, black detail, white detail, dynamic range, saturation, sharpness, and center of interest. You should be paying attention to all of these factors for every image but especially for competition images. If you skipped one of these, it might be the reason you missed a merit. Over the next couple articles, I will address the art of image correction by explaining some of the tools and techniques I have tested on hundreds of thousands of images. I am a Lightroom 5 user but all of these principles translate to other RAW software. When editing images, the order of the corrections matters. Here is the order for correcting your images:

1. Exposure 2. Dynamic Range

a. These adjustments are called “Blacks” and “Whites” in LR4+ 3. Black and white detail

a. These adjustments are called “Highlights” and “Shadows” in LR4+

4. Color and Saturation 5. Sharpness 6. Center of Interest

Exposure comes first because it affects everything else. Dynamic range and B&W detail come next because they affect color also. Now you are ready to correct color and saturation. Lastly you can choose to apply the finishing touches: sharpening and a strengthening the center of interest. Next month I will pick up at the top of the list with exposure.

Business First – Aletha Speakar, Cr. Photog., ABI, CBM, API

Enjoy Lee’s column next month!!

iClick Expo – from Barb Grabill

iClick Expo will be here before you know it! We had such a great response at the PP of I Winter Convention booth that we ran out of flyers the first day! Classes are starting to fill up, so don't wait to register! Our website has lots of information about all the speakers and events, just visit iclickexpo.com to choose your favorites. Be sure to check out the add-on events like; The Road Trip with Doug Benton. It is on Sunday, June 8th from 2-8 pm. You will load up with 10 other students, models and Doug, in a van, and take a road trip around Des Moines! So far the destinations are a secret, so come along for the adventure. You will learn how to do incredible images on location, with available light and off camera flash. You are encouraged to bring your equipment too! This class is almost full, so don't wait to register for this one. Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you in June!

Barb Grabill, iClick Director Dean of Faculty Education is your best investment

Personal Column – Your news to share with us - Congratulations to Jenni Denton, owner of Blissful Images in Peoria, IL, on her marriage to Ryan Williams. They were married in Las Vegas on November 12, 2013. A reception was held in their honor back home in Peoria on November 16. Our best wishes to you and your family Jenni, from all of your PPI Family.

Our sympathy goes out to the family of Gene Chisman. Gene was PPI President from 1971 – 1972. He was a Life Member of our organization. Gene was born on January 26 1927 and passed away on August 3, 2013 from lung cancer. Gene and his wife Martha, also a Life Member of the PP of IA, made their home in Ottumwa, Iowa. Our sympathy also goes out to the family of Leo Zeithamel. Leo was born on February 3, 1929 and passed away on Thursday, January 23, 2014. Leo was President of PPI from 1988 – 1989. Leo was also a Life Member of our organization. He was on the board of directors for MAIPP for many years. Leo made his home in Iowa City, Iowa.

Please let me know your news of the month. Are you having a grand opening, a child, a grandchild or are you getting married? Celebrating a big birthday or anniversary? Have you completed your certification? Let me know so we can share the news with all the PPI members. We are a family. We celebrate together and we mourn together, that's what makes Iowa PPA the best organization to belong to. Please send Personal News to: Chris Brinkopf, editor at [email protected] Chris’s Corner -

The PPI Winter Convention 2014 was another great event hosted by the PPI and its Board of Directors. We had 299 in attendance altogether, which includes 26 who attended Print Judging and to view the Print Display. Those 26 were 4H Gallery Award winners and their families. The 4H Gallery Awards are sponsored each year by the PP of IA for those in 4H who enter the photography competition in their respective counties and then their entry makes it to the Iowa State Fair. We are happy to sponsor that event and equally happy to have displayed the 20 Gallery Award prints that were won at the Iowa State Fair this past August. Congrats to all of the 4H winners. A big “Thank You” to all of our vendors for being a part of our tradeshow. You can reach them at the following email addresses: American Color Imaging – W.C. 2014 Platinum Sponsor & Speaker Sponsor - [email protected] (Steve Kelly) Castle Distributing – [email protected] (Mike Gondek) Christian Photo – [email protected] (Brian or Dick Christian) Evald Moulding – [email protected] (Sue Pavlatos) H&H Color Lab – [email protected] (Terry Tuggle and Randy Michaelis)

iClick Expo, Inc. – [email protected] (Barb Grabill and John Mohr) It Works! – [email protected] (Heidi Eiffert) JB Frame & Design – [email protected] (Jeff Batterson) KEH.com – [email protected] (Floyd Seals) McKenna Pro – Hospitality Sponsor [email protected] - (Mike Moss) Michel Company – [email protected] (Chris & Denise Pearl) Midwest Camera Repair, Inc. – [email protected] - (Mark Gerke) Rockbrook Camera – Hospitality Sponsor [email protected] – (Dave Fortina, or Allen Holtmeier or J. Michael McBride) Serendipity Backgrounds – [email protected] – (Kelly Crosby) StickyAlbums – Hospitality Sponsor [email protected] – (Nathan Grahek) Sweetlight Mfg. – [email protected] – (John Snow) WHCC – Speaker Sponsor [email protected] (Tom Stanley) Other Sponsors not represented in the Tradeshow:

Miller’s Lab Animoto Inc.

Fundy Software Kubota Image Tools

LumiQuest Triple Scoop Music

Thank you again for all of your support of our great Iowa organization!

PARTY PICS - HERE IS THE LINK TO THE PARTY PICS THAT WERE TAKEN AT THE THEME PARTY SUNDAY NIGHT OF THE PPI WINTER CONVENTION:

https://www.dropbox.com/l/IRpWp92fzKruR9iWgPoY09

GRIP AND GRINS – HERE IS THE LINK FOR THE GRIP AND GRINS FROM THE AWARDS BANQUET:

https://www.dropbox.com/l/r14vOpkluDyiBWZVyys1id

I have not had time to go through the surveys yet, but I want to thank all of you who took the time to fill one out and placed it in the survey box. We do go through them and see what and where we can improve on for future events. If you did not fill out a survey and would like to let me know how you felt about things, just drop me an email. This is YOUR organization and if we do not know how you are feeling about things or what you might want changed, we cannot make those changes. Let us hear from you. If you have any thoughts that you want to share, please never hesitate to shoot me an email. Spring ACTION Newsletter - I will begin working on this edition in the next week or so. You will get the ACTION around the first of April. Watch your inbox for your copy. Classified Ads – they really work!!! If you have a photography-related item(s) that you wish to sell or you want to buy, just send me an ad, exactly how you want it worded and I will place it. I send the classifieds out each Tuesday. Photos are great with your ad as well. I need your photo(s) in a jpg format, sized at 4”x6” and at 72 dpi. PPI Mentoring Program - We all have something we are dying to know and we all have something worth sharing! PPI has implemented a new Photography Mentoring Program. This program is available to all current PP of IA members. Get more information from Chair John Mohr at 563-355-3402 or email John at [email protected] or myself at 563-578-1126 or email me at [email protected]. The info is also on our website – www.ppiowa.com. We are still seeking mentors and students in many categories. Please ask for more details. As an organization, we will grow together and stay together. Just know, you can be a mentor and a student if you wish. Check out the forms on the website!!!

Future PPI Dates – write these future

dates down:

Fall Event 2014 – October 26 & 27

Winter Convention 2015 – March 20 – 24

Both of these events will be at the

Airport Holiday Inn in Des Moines, IA

Thinking about becoming certified? – The IA CPP Board will be offering the Certified Professional Photography test at the conclusion of the Fall Event, Tuesday, October 28. You MUST register through the PPA website before you can take the test. I will put up the link closer to the October date.

Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) By: Dan Phillips, CPP Liaison & Image Judge What is a CPP? CPP or Certified Professional Photographer is a distinguished title provided by the Professional Photographers of America and is used to show that the holder has demonstrated a set list of professional photographic skills and knowledge and that they are continually able to demonstrate that knowledge or work towards increasing their knowledge as a professional photographer. To become certified there are three parts. First you must declare your candidacy through the PPA website (www.ppa.com/cpp) and then you will sign up to take the CPP exam and upon completion of the exam you will submit a set of images for approval by the CPP Image Judges. What’s in the exam? The exam is 100 total multiple choice questions, of which you MUST correctly answer 70 questions within the two hour time period. The content of the exam consists of six major categories:

Camera, Lenses and Attachments (12%),

Composition and Design (25%),

Digital Post Production (13%),

Exposure and Meters (15%),

Image Capture, and Output (10%), and

Lighting (25%).

If for instance you take the exam and do not pass with the 70% or higher you can sign up to re-take the exam once every 30 days until the end of your 2-year candidacy period for no additional cost. What is the image submission? The image submission is a set of 15 images that you are able to submit at five sets of times during the year. Once you’ve successfully passed the exam you’ll be given the option to

start to submit your images. It is recommended however to begin working on the images ahead of time. The image submission is a learning process and the purpose behind it is for candidates to demonstrate a set of photographic skills. With your image submission you will first be required to submit 6 compulsory images. Three of these are required and they are: short lighting, broad lighting, and selective focus with minimal depth of field. The final three of the compulsory set are elective and you can choose from: high key, low key, rule of thirds, use of shape form and texture, balance (symmetrical or asymmetrical), and color harmony. I’m certified, now what? Once you’re certified the learning doesn’t stop there. Every three years you’re required to recertify and this can happen one of two ways. The first is simply to retake the exam (rarely done!) The second (my preference) is to complete 15 CEUs throughout your 3 years of being certified. You’re able to get your CEUs in a variety of ways, including attending:

Imaging USA – 8 units

Affiliate School program lasting at least 4 days – 5 units

Affiliate School program lasting at least 2 days – 3 units

Other multi-day photography education program – 4 units

Photography industry seminars or workshops lasting 6 or more hours – 1 unit

Any face-to-face professional development program lasting 4 to 6 hours – 0.5 units

Any face-to-face professional development program lasting 2 to 3 hours – 0.25 units

Why get certified? This is where the debate can begin! Some feel that certification is necessary to show that you have a professional level of skill and ability, some feel that certification is nothing more than a fluff piece. So for this I’m writing my personal reason for certification. To me I’ve always placed a high value on education and continuing my education. With the CPP program it is a way for me to show that I care enough about my professional field or work to take that extra step and learn what I need to learn to get that endorsement from our organization that I am a professional and that I carry the set of skills and knowledge necessary to be called “Certified.” I get asked all the time if becoming a CPP has brought me more clients or if my CPP has made me more money. The simple answer is that it most definitely has. Becoming certified made me strive to do better and to become more consistent with my work. It taught me some of the basic fundamentals of photography that I didn’t learn in school because my educational background is in Youth Work and Non-Profit Administration, not photography. Most of my clients, however, likely don’t know or don’t care that I’m certified, however I do have a strong list of clients that have specifically told me that when comparing photographers they

chose me over the other because of my certification. Does that mean that I’m better? Probably not, but those clients saw that certification and in one case in particular, they saw that as going the extra mile. That client was in the medical field and understood the value of continuing education and she actually thanked me for becoming certified. So for whatever reason it is that you choose to become certified just know that it may not be an easy process but it will definitely be one that will help you grow in your understanding and knowledge of photography, and you never know it could be that one deciding factor for that next big job! Have additional questions? Contact me and I’d be happy to help. Email is best: [email protected] Important links:

PPA Website on CPP Program: http://www.ppa.com/cpp CPP Test Specifications: http://www.ppa.com/files/pdfs/cpp_testspecs_1213.pdf CPP Image Submission Requirements, Definitions and Samples: http://www.ppa.com/files/pdfs/0713_imagesubmissionsamples.pdf Facebook Group for those who have declared their candidacy ONLY and are working on image submissions (great place to get help and ask questions on the image submissions) http://www.facebook.com/groups/CPPIMAGEREVIEW/

Your CPP Board of Directors are:

Co-Chairs:

Jean Poland – 641-357-3846 or [email protected] Diana Borash – 515-208-7705 or [email protected]

CPP Board Members:

Wayne Belling – 515-987-2181 or [email protected] Nancy Brechler – 712-546-4667 or [email protected] Cristy Meyer – 515-890-2505 or [email protected] Dan Phillips – 319-230-6893 or Cell: 319-830-2825 or [email protected]. Feel free to contact the board members with any questions you have about the Iowa CPP group. A reminder – if you received a degree from the PPA level, please let Chris know. This includes passing your CPP test and images. The PPI is never contacted when one of our members receives a degree or adding those CPP letters behind your name.

Meeting Dates 2014

Date Location Speaker and Topic

March 10 Photography by KJ Melanie Anderson: Sioux City “ Increasing Senior Averages and more” April 7 Photography by KJ To Be Determined Sioux City “Seniors, Families, and/or

Weddings”

May 5 Christopher’s Photography Craig Lee: LeMars “Standing out in the Senior Market” & “Off-Camera Flash” September 8 Pierson Photography Amy Zellmar: Cherokee “Promos that Really Work” November 3 Photography by KJ Shalista Anderson: Sioux City Boudoir December 8 Christopher’s Photography Planning meeting LeMars Here is the link to the NW IA groups Membership Application:

NWIPPA Membership Applica Right Click, Click next on Document Object and then click Open

Please contact me with any questions or comments or concerns. We want to hear from you. This is your organization and we want it to work for you. If you are struggling with something, we have so many other talented photographers in Iowa that will be more than glad to help you.

Until Next Time,

Chris B.