Message from the Board (Formerly President's Message)

We save and share messages that are more timeless. If a message is devoted totally to a time sesitive issue we won't be reviewing it here. That's why you won't see a message from every month...

October 2010

Successful Photographers - What do they have in common??
Sara Goodnick - CPP

Have you ever wondered if some of our best and most successful photographers have anything in common besides possibly being obsessed with image making? I started thinking about this several years ago, and made some discoveries.

Some of those photographers were fortunate (depending on the person involved) enough to have worked for another photographer, but others began their careers in photography later in life and had to find another way to improve their skills as rapidly as possible.

What is this fast track? Well, most of the photographers I interviewed and observed are very active in continuing education. Not just any education, though, but intense weeklong workshops. While they are expensive, the bang for the buck far surpasses anything I have experienced.

My first taste of a weeklong was with (the late) Monte Zucker, when he was here in Scottsdale. This gave me a solid basic foundation of some fundamentals. He was tough on all of us, beginner to advanced pro, and we were exhausted at the end of every day.

A few years later, after listening to Wendy Newman’s enthusiasm over the Texas School, and Don MacGregor, I decided I wanted to spend a week in his class. This took me up to San Juan Island, in Washington, and the Evergreen School of Professional Photography. There, I not only received massive amounts of photography instruction, I made many new friends, and had a lovely time at this gorgeous location.

The most recent was a week last June at the West Coast School in San Diego, with Arthur Rainville. There were other AZPPA members there not only with Arthur, but some were in other classes. Again, I learned so very much in that week, and came away completely inspired.

So, for a week’s investment in time and money, benefits to be had are:
• An intense educational experience, more in-depth than just about any other photography classes
• Being surrounded by fellow photographers who are concentrating on similar goals will inspire you.
• The excitement of new ideas
• New friendships and contacts
• Time spent in a lovely location (sometimes)
• New skills, and a review of old ones
• Tears, when you say goodbye, because it was all so good

How can you decide just who to invest that much money and time with? How can you remove at least some of the risk? Two ways:

• Ask some of the other AzPPA members about an instructor.
• Attend Imaging USA or WPPI and listen to the different 2-hour lectures. There you can get a feel if a given instructor would be a good fit for you. Not all of them are all that great, but many are fabulous.

I am already planning a return to the West Coast School…maybe I will see you there.

September 2010

Reflecting on AzPPA
Rochell Planty, CMP, CTA

Can you believe we only have four months left in 2010! Where has the time gone?

As I reflect on this opportunity to share a message with AzPPA Members the following key points come flooding in.

• Maximizing Your AzPPA Membership
• Education Opportunities
• Balancing your career and business
• Enjoying Life

You may have heard others comment before “you get out of it what you put into it.” That phrase is so true. If you commit to being a member and pay the dues it is so important to go beyond that to gain the return on your investment (ROI) and maximize the membership. Do you ever wonder why you are an AzPPA member? Here is how you can gain your ROI from AzPPA.

• Complimentary Monthly Education Programs
• Networking with industry professionals
• Resources through supplier members
• Connection to upcoming education programs in the valley area
• Mentor Program
• Additional educational opportunities throughout the year
• Company listing in online directory
• Print critiques

These are only a few opportunities available to gain your ROI and the list goes on! To find out more on how you can benefit from your membership visit http://www.arizonappa.com/choose_azppa.html.

As defined in the Professional Meeting Manager Guide an adult learner is a student who is pursuing education to attain a specific, practical goal. I believe as adult learners it is imperative to continue to set goals to enhance your skills and knowledge in the industry to be able to provide your clients the most creative and exceptional product you can offer. In being able to obtain those goals you set in your business and skill level it is extremely important to continue to learn. AzPPA offers numerous educational opportunities through monthly education programs, mentoring program, full day programs and educational potluck events. In addition to these programs, AzPPA is also a resource to find out about other programs which are coming to the valley that you may take part in and often receive a discount by being an AzPPA member.

Are you feeling a little overwhelmed yet by trying to figure out how to take advantage of all these great opportunities along with balancing your career, business and life in general? We often have those moments where so much is going on but it is so important to take time to step back, breathe and prioritize. Often there may be tasks that we can outsource to others to allow you to focus on one area of your business and even utilize those resources available. There are individuals out there that are accountants, designers, event planners and other professionals that we can call on to assist us in our business to allow us to focus our time and efforts on other areas and to be able to take time to attend educational programs to enhance our skills.

When the end of the day comes as the sun sets remember to enjoy life, find some balance as it is important that we don’t head down that track where it is all work and no play.

August 2010

Volunteering for AZPPA - "Are you missing out??" Tom Cheswick Cr. Photog.

As a recipient of the AzPPA Crystal Apple Award and PPA's National Award, I was asked to write an article to help motivate you to volunteer so much of your time to this organization that you try to receive these awards too!
There is small problem... I don't know any past recipients that set out with the goal of achieving these awards and every past recipient that I know doesn't even feel they were worthy of receiving these awards. Shocking, but true.
Here's why – in our minds, when we received the awards, we often felt a little guilty. We didn't think we deserved praise or recognition because we were acting in our own best interests by taking advantage of a little known secret. Being the nice guy that I am, I am going to share this secret with you.
If you are not volunteering to this organization, you are missing out on one of the biggest benefits that the AzPPA has to offer. In my mind, you are wasting a good portion of your dues by not utilizing your membership to its fullest extent.
Dale Holladay has written some great articles about Service Merits and the Artisan Award and what you need to do to receive them, but I don't think he told you why you should even waste your time to get these honors.
I still remember my first convention when I was presented with my first service merit. I was so proud that I went home and quickly framed it. I did this for the next few years too. Soon, I ran out of wall space and began putting the merits in a manila folder. Then it became too much of a hassle to stay organized by finding the folder every year that I often just left the merits on the table at the Awards Banquet. It was then that I realized the secret. Although getting the merits are cool, the real reward is doing the work to get the merits in the first place.
OK, now you are thinking that I am like Tom Sawyer and want to trick you into giving your service to some association. Maybe... :D Actually, it gets back to getting the most out of your membership and your association.
I was a PPA Councilor for 3 terms and one of the main jobs was to tell everyone the benefits of joining PPA. This was no easy task, especially when a photographer had limited funds and could only afford one association. Instead of selling them on the PPA, I would always tell them that you get more bang for your buck with the local affiliate. You get monthly programs, full day seminars, studio tours and get to talk with photographers that are facing the same challenges that you are.
Often though, I left out the biggest advantage. The AzPPA is your organization and you have a voice and the power to change it. Try that with the PPA. I was councilor for 9 years with Dan Hammel and I don't think we were able to change one thing. I'm not saying the PPA is bad, it is just so big, that as a member, you have little control in the direction the PPA takes.
Not so with the AzPPA. This is a member owned and member run association. This is your organization and you can decide on the type of speakers we have, the format of the programing, what charities we help, or anything else that is important to you. All this control just by volunteering.
Not a control freak? Me neither. I think the bigger benefit of volunteering can come with the jobs that you are doing. Want to be better at print competition? Help out at the print critiques and actually touch and see the prints being entered. Talk to the photographers that entered the prints and find out how they did it. You see, if you are just a member sitting in the audience, you have no clue as to the maker, because it is kept secret, but as a volunteer to the print committee, you know all the makers, because you registered their prints.
Same benefits goes for helping out on the speaker committee. Sure, the speakers give a great program, but do you really think they tell you everything you need to know. I used to volunteer to pick up the speakers from the airport. They often came in the morning and we would have a few hours to kill before the program. Depending on what they felt like, we would go to lunch or hang out out my studio. Do you realize the amount of valuable information they share when they are not on stage and are not trying to impress anyone?
One of the biggest benefits is working closely with other photographers in the association. You quickly learn who the successful photographers are and which ones to seek advice from. Finding someone that will help you and ones that you can actually trust your business success with is a huge benefit and one you will never get unless you take the time to volunteer and truly get to know the members in the association.
Finally, the biggest benefit, friendship. I'm talking about building the type of friendships that are rock solid. The types of friends that you would trust to watch your kids. The type of friends that you share Thanksgiving dinner with. The ones that you go on vacation with. Most of my closest friends are ones that I have met doing volunteer work for the AzPPA .
So now you know the big secret to getting the most out of your membership. Also, why every past recipient of either the National Award and the Crystal Apple Award that I know doesn't believe they actually did near enough to earn either of the two most prestigious awards our association has to offer. Because deep down, we know we received so much more from our volunteer work than we could ever give back to the association.
There are so many different jobs to volunteer for, and many, only require an hour or two of your time. I hope you take the time to volunteer and find out just how beneficial it can be for you too!