During my 19 years of being in business, 12 years of participating in Image Competition at International Photographic Competition, and past 4 as an approved IPC Juror. I’ve found a common thread amongst all of it! That thread contains PPA’s 12 Elements of a merit image on the work you produce on a daily basis.
We will spend time discussing the 12 elements and how they are a proven guideline to help you not only grow in image competition, but also in day to day work. Keeping them at the back of your mind will subliminally improve your craft and everyday work, which in turn should help you find the success you may be looking for in image competition.
I will share my philosophy in how I evaluate my own work, how I’ve curated a group of colleagues I can show my work to and get honest feedback, and how to converse using the 12 elements. Why I order critiques vs. every image competition possible. How I found my group of colleagues, and how they help. I’ll also share why you also need to be careful! I’ll cover how I use image competition to help me define my style, keep my mind thinking creatively, tell the story I want viewers of my work to understand, constantly refine the nuances of my lighting, why I keep my presentations simple, my subjects engaging, and my compositions memorable! If you are keeping track that’s seven of the elements just to describe how I think about image competition and every day!
Join me with your questions, your photographs, and most of all your willingness to have fun! If you can do that we’ll have a great conversation. My goal to leave you energized and inspired on how you too can use the 12 elements on your daily work - to help you reach your image competition goals!
How to Be Good with Minimal Equipment During my 19 years of being in business and 7 years of teaching my fellow colleagues around the country - I’ve found that there is one thing in common at the end of the day and that’s to “Be Good”. Some might want to be superior and exceptional - but you have to be good first!
Now “Being Good” doesn’t mean you need to have the best and latest camera, or the biggest most expensive brand name lights - in fact if you aren’t good they can make you look bad! “Being Good” is knowing how to make Superior Photographs with minimal equipment - you might find yourself in a situation where you need to borrow equipment, but still need to get the job done.
I’ll show you a couple of in-expensive speed lights and the trusty old umbrella are more than capable tools to help you “Be Good” - of course I’ll spend a little time on what I think is a crucial piece of equipment that you should only need to buy once - and you can buy it used!
Bring your questions and let’s have a great time “Being Good” with minimal equipment!
Pete Rezac, a portrait photographer based in Reno, Nevada, still chooses to work with medium and large format cameras and film in creating his fine art portraiture because of the tactile process it provides him in creating his work, along with the rich tones and high fidelity of the photographs that come from these tools. Seeking an authentic look to his children character portraits, Pete was inspired to create timeless portraits showing children at their best. This work has earned him numerous accolades from the photographic community.
Pete holds the Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman, and Certified Professional Photographer degrees from the Professional Photographers of America, he is an active educator teaching and mentoring other professional photographers throughout the United States. Pete also proudly serves on the Board of Directors for the Professional Photographers of America, and is an approved IPC Juror. He is a past President and Chairman of the Board for the Professional Photographers of California.
Accomplishments: Pete has earned the PPA 100 speaking merits bar and about half way to earning his second 100 speaking merit bar. Pete has earned his International Photographic Competition 50 merit bar for excellence in International Photographic Competition. Pete has earned the Imaging Excellence Award for placing 15 images into PPA’s prestigious Imaging Excellence Collection. Pete has been featured in “Professional Photographer” magazine for his Children’s Character Portraits, Charitable Marketing, and being a Certified Professional Photographer Pete has taught both pre-convention and platform demonstration programs at Imaging USA in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Pete was awarded the PPA National Award from the Professional Photographers of California in 2020.
In this workshop, Chris will bring you into the often-overlooked tiny world of insects and spiders through field macro photography. Chris will show his favorite gear, explain how he gets set for success in the field, share his baseline camera settings, and demonstrate how he uses a lightweight macro rig to capture razor-sharp, high-magnification images of live subjects—all without a tripod!
Beyond the basics, Chris will dig into focus bracketing and focus stacking. These techniques can be used to achieve greater perceived depth of field—a huge help for macro. The concept is simple: Take a series of photos with slightly varied focus and composite the in-focus areas. You will learn the fundamentals of focus bracketing and stacking, the camera controls that will bring better results, and various post-processing options available for stacking bracketed series.
Chris McGinnis is a creative director and OM SYSTEM Ambassador photographer who specializes in field macro photography of insects and spiders. He and his camera can be found exploring gardens, meadows, and the forest floor near his home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His photos showcase the intricate details and hidden beauty of arthropods which often go unnoticed.
This will be a fun day where members test what they learned the month prior in Chris McGinnis' Macro class by practicing with peers. VPP will provide macro lenses, if you plan to attend please notify us of what camera body brand you will be using.
We will also hold our Annual meeting with updates on what the board has been up to and what the plans are as we move into 2023.
Our 94th Annual Convention will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Burlington.
Fri, March 3 – Virtual Print Competition (printcompetition.com) Sat, March 4 – In-person Education and Awards Banquet Sun, March 5 – Virtual Classes
Please stay tuned as we are currently working on providing you with an amazing weekend of educational and motivational speakers.
Defining the values of your business is critical to its longevity and to your success. From this session you will walk away knowing what your core values are, how to integrate them into every aspect of your business, how to use your values to attract the right clients as well as how to set boundaries.
Lisa Condon is a business strategist, speaker, and intuitive coach. Using a combination of theory and practices from the Project Management Institute, Six Sigma, SCRUM, EQi, and Appreciative Inquiry, Lisa matches individuals and businesses with the appropriate path. She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, SCRUM Master, Certified Scrum Product Owner, and PMP. Personally, Lisa feeds her free-spirit by traveling the world with her husband, Nate and enjoys the comfort of home with her fur-babies Jack, Simon, and Dexter.
"Impactful Conceptual Images" Brooke will share how she creates dark, conceptual images from start to finish, including a breakdown of the ideation and editing processes. It's one thing to have a wild idea, and it's another entirely to translate that idea to something that resonates in the hearts and minds of others. Brooke will share not only how to create these works, but how to take them to the next level of professional presentation and audience reception. https://brookeshaden.com/gallery/
"Impactful Conceptual Images"
Brooke will share how she creates dark, conceptual images from start to finish, including a breakdown of the ideation and editing processes. It's one thing to have a wild idea, and it's another entirely to translate that idea to something that resonates in the hearts and minds of others. Brooke will share not only how to create these works, but how to take them to the next level of professional presentation and audience reception. https://brookeshaden.com/gallery/
Self Description: Intensely anxious, powerful little creative soul.Favorite Memory: Flying into the sky before she lost her wings at the age of 5.
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