Date: August 16 (Monday)

Time: 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Lightroom is creating a revolution in digital workflow. Created from the ground up with the photographer in mind, Adobe has hit a home run when it comes to processing digital files. Whether you want to manage one shot to an entire library, Lightroom will help you spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens. 

In this special Mentors Program exclusively for DPPA members, guild member and Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) Rob Hull will introduce you to Adobe Lightroom 3.  You’ll understand where Lightroom fits into the digital workflow and the Adobe product line.  

We’ll discuss importing, organizing, editing and outputting digital images using Lightroom 3.  Time permitting, you’ll see how to include lightroom in the studio shooting tethered – automatically processing every image you shoot within seconds.  

This program will be held at the SMU Plano campus and there is power at every seat in this state of the art classroom.  So bring your laptop with Lightroom and follow along.  Rob will have files to use during the class so be sure to arrive on time so you can install them before the class begins.  

About your instructor:  

Rob Hull is a DPPA guild member and a Certified Professional Photographer.  A 2008 Photographer of the Year recipient and an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) with Adobe Lightroom.  Rob has been teaching photography at SMU for over ten years.  He’s Libra, likes M&Ms and long walks on the beach at sunset.

To Register:

If you’re interested in attending, please register at the following link.  

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/767143547

Registration will be from Noon-1pm, Sunday August 1^st, then our cutting edge program will start at 1pm Sunday, August 1^st with Karyn Sarganis Fritz delivering a program designed to boost your sales, following her presentation, Alex begins his program on Fusion! Register today to attend this year’s LRSH!!

Reserve your seat today! Make sure you put your PPA number in the notes fields when you checkout so we can request your PPA merit for you!

Merchant Account

When: August 1-2, 2010

Where: Waco Hilton

COST: $129 which includes dinner Sunday night and breakfast Monday morning

Rooms at Waco Hilton are $109 which is located at 113 South University Parks Drive, Waco, Texas, United States 76701-2241
Tel: 1-254-754-8484   Fax: 1-254-752-2214.

LRSH 2010 Schedule

Sunday, August 1^st

Registration and Tradeshow opens                                                            11:30am ~ 1:00
Karyn Sarganis Fritz’s program on boosting your sales                    1:00 ~ 2:15
Break and Tradeshow                                                                                       2:15 ~ 2:30
Karyn Sarganis Fritz continues on boosting your sales                     2:30 ~ 3:30
Break and Tradeshow                                                                                       3:30~ 3:50
Alex Buono intro on Fusion                                                                          4:00 ~ 5:45
Barbeque Dinner Poolside                                                                              7:00 ~ until…

Monday, August 2^nd

Breakfast on the Patio                                                                                 7:30am ~ 8:30
Alex Buono on Pre-production                                                              8:30 ~ 10:00
Break and Tradeshow                                                                                 10:00 ~ 10:15
Alex Buono Shooting with Fusion                                                         10:15 ~ Noon
Lunch on your own                                                                                      Noon ~ 1pm
Alex Buono on Post Production                                                             1:00 ~ 2:45
Break and Tradeshow                                                                                  2:45 ~ 3:00
Alex Buono Q & A                                                                                          3:00 ~ 4:30
Time to go home….                                                                                       4:30pm

Richard Sturdevant – 498

Portraits

1st Place –Paul Ernest– 426

2nd Place –Kim Wylie – 420

Illustrative

1st Place – Richard Sturdevant – 498

2nd Place – Margot Landen – 403

Wedding (Due to a misread score, there are two first place winners in the June Wedding category)

1st Place – JD Cooper – 400

1st Place –Shannon Hawk – 396

2nd Place –David Edmonson – 394

General Album

1st Place –No Entry

2nd Place –No Entry

Wedding Album

1st Place – JB & DeEtte Sallee – 470

2nd Place –Hoang Vu – 393

Folio

1st Place – Jo Merandi – 403

2nd Place – Liddie Deshotel – 393

Photographer of the Year Rankings

Richard Sturdevant – 2,787

David Edmonson – 2,448

Hoang Vu – 2,432

Luke Edmonson –2,410

Jo Merandi – 2,405

JD Cooper – 1,998

DeEtte Sallee –1,679

JB Sallee – 1,675

Wil Bloodworth – 1,211

Sandra Lynch – 819

The hot, HOT summer is upon us but we have some COOL activities coming up!

Dallas PPA is all about networking, learning and camaraderie. There are learning experiences coming up, chances to network and lots of camaraderie and fun.

Of course our next meeting comes first with the most excellent Tamara Lackey. We are looking forward to her speaking to us about photographing children.

Other COOL activities include a mentor’s meeting on July 18th for members that want some Photoshop tips on designing cards and albums. It’s free to members and you need to RSVP. See www.dallasppa.com website for more info.

Then the DPPA summer party on July 25th is the next opportunity for some very COOL fun! This event is a great way for members and their families to come out and just plain have fun! Test your photo knowledge with the photography version of Trivial Pursuit, get a chair massage, or just eat!

Look for an Evite in your mailbox soon.

The COOLest event of all is Little Red School house August 1 and 2. Alex Buono will be teaching about Fusion and video with your DSLR. The event is filing up so buy your tickets and get your hotel reservations now!

All the summer COOL events are listed on the website at www.dallasppa.com

Margaret Bryant, M. Photog.

Most people who are involved with photography are aware that there are a myriad of photo competitions out there. They are on the Internet; they are in magazines. But the print competitions put on by the Professional Photographers of America (www.ppa.com) and their affiliates are quite different. There are no cash prizes. This is not a contest where you hear no negative words and everyone pats you on the back and tells you what great work you do. It is not a popularity contest. This is a serious competition. The judging can be harsh. Not everyone will do well. It can be frustrating. It can be confusing. Your ego might take a beating.

So why on earth would anyone participate in print competition?

Basically people do it for one simple reason: It makes you a better photographer. Being a better photographer makes your work more saleable. You can rise above the ordinary. With all of the other photographers out there, you need to stand out.

This is by no means a comprehensive guide to print competition. But it will give you a taste of what is out there.

Let’s start by untangling the list of letters that describe the various PPA affiliated organizations. Your local affiliate (guild) is the DPPA-the Dallas Professional Photographers Association. Next is the state affiliate- TPPA  the Texas Professional Photographers Association. Then is the regional affiliate- SWPPA the Southwest Professional Photographers Association. Then is the national (actually international) organization PPA the Professional Photographers of America.

They each have print competitions and they can be stepping stones up to the national competition. You can also opt to skip steps and enter just nationals if you desire. Each organization has their own rules, and while based on the PPA rules, there can be slight variations. So if you are going to participate, you need to make sure you read the rules for the particular competition you are entering.

So let’s start at the beginning and work our way up. The first start is the local guild. In our case that is the DPPA . Print competition is once a month at the general meetings. The entries can be prints, folios or albums. Be sure to read the rules before entering. The entries are judged by 5 Master Photographers and are given scores. The scores are tallied and ribbons are given each month to the high scorers in each category. The judges use the PPA’s 12 Elements of a Merit Print  as a basis for the scoring. The scoring at DPPA is not averaged out and you get a total score from all five judges. A score of 400 or above is what you are aiming for.

I won’t kid you; the competition in DPPA is very tough. It may be a local guild, but we have some world class photographers in Dallas and it can be very discouraging to see their high scores as compared to yours. Don’t let that get you down. Yes, it would be nice to win a ribbon, but in the long term you are actually competing against yourself in your quest each month to make yourself a better photographer. Most importantly, those world class photographers and the judges are more than happy to look at your work and give you constructive criticism on how you might do better. This group might be intimidating at first, but most everyone is willing to share their knowledge and experience. Take advantage of that! While you are getting your critique don’t forget to ask what you did right and why it was right. When I was starting out I found that many times what I did “right” was unintentional and I didn’t know it was “right”. So be sure to ask that so you know to repeat whatever you did right!

So enter the DPPA print competition every month. Learn from what you did right and learn what you can do better. Your work should be constantly improving. You should be gaining confidence as your work improves. When you are ready, you can enter the TPPA print competition.

The TPPA print competition is in Kerrville, TX each summer along with their summer seminar. You do not have to attend the seminar to enter the competition, but you might find the judging interesting to watch. The state judging is more like the judging at regionals and nationals. The judges sit in a row and in front of them is a gray wall with a rotating display in the center. This is where the print will be revealed by rotating the display. The title of the work will be announced, and then the display rotates around to show the print. There are two very bright lights shining on the print. The room is hushed and darkened so the focus is on the print. Each judge enters their score on a keypad. The scores are averaged and the score is announced. A score of 80 or above is desired. If there is no discussion by the judges, that’s your score and that’s it. You have no way to know why you got that score. (Judges are not allowed to speak to the photographers about their entries.) However, many times there is discussion among the judges that you can listen to. It can be revealing listening to the discussions not only about your print but of the other prints they are judging. Many people attend the print judging even though they did not enter, just so they can get some insight into what the judges are looking for.

Understand that judging is always somewhat subjective and a print that does well at DPPA may not do well at TPPA. And a print that did well at TPPA may not do well at SWPPA.

At the TPPA they give out awards for high scoring prints, folios and albums. They also give out awards sponsored by Kodak and Fuji.

The next level of competition is regional competition at SWPPA. This competition is in conjunction with the regional convention every fall. Both TPPA and SWPPA alternate who will host the regional convention each year, but the print competition is always put on by SWPPA. The convention is usually every fall in the DFW area. Again, you do not have to be present to participate. Like the state competition, the prints and albums (no folios) are presented in a darkened room to a panel of judges. The scoring process is similar to the state scoring. The judges are quite tough. Many people believe the scoring is tougher at SWPPA than it is as nationals. Awards are given out at this competition too. However, the scoring differs from the state scoring in one significant way. Any entry scoring 80 or above receives a “Seal of Approval” on it. You can submit this entry to nationals without having to be judged again. You can enter up to four prints and/or albums in this competition and the goal is to get 80 or above on all four entries. If you do this, it is said you went “four for four” which is a very high compliment indeed!  All of the print entries that scored 80 or above (and sometimes 79 and above) are hung up on a display in the convention hotel so you can see all of the winning entries. It is a good learning experience to watch the judging and view the displayed images, even if you don’t enter.

At the top of the levels of competition is the PPA national (actually international) competition every summer. At this level of competition you have some choices about what to submit as entries. If you received any “Seals of Approval” on any entries you must to submit them to nationals. As to your other entries that did not receive seals, you can:

• Enter them in nationals unchanged and hope for a better score from different judges,
• Rework them in response to the judge’s comments at regionals,
• Or submit entirely new entries for those that did not receive a seal.

 This judging is similar to the regional judging except for two things; one, the public is not invited to watch and two, there is no score only a thumbs up or thumbs down. The thumbs up mean the print scored at least an 80 to get what is called a “merit”. If you received a seal of approval on a print or album in regionals, submit it to nationals and you will automatically receive a merit for it.

All of the merited prints go through an extra round of judging to determine which prints or albums will be accepted into the “Showcase Collection” or the “Loan Collection”. The Loan Collection is the apex of print competition and is quite an honor! You get an extra merit for every entry accepted into the Loan Collection. Marathon Press also publishes books each year containing Showcase and Loan collection prints and albums.

Each year you may only enter a maximum of four prints and/or albums into the print competition. Like regionals, you get bragging rights for going “Four for Four” on merit prints. You also get a Photographer of the Year pin. Additionally, if you get one or more prints into the Loan Collection, the Photographer of the Year pin is a different color to signify the number of loan prints you also received.

There are no ribbons or trophies for nationals. Instead you are trying to accumulate merits towards the degree of Master Photographer. When you have received 13 print competition merits and 12 service merits, you will be awarded the degree of Master Photographer and have a gold medallion hung around your neck at a ceremony. It is a wonderful achievement and is a lot of work! Since you are limited to only four entries each year in the print competition, and any extra merits for the Loan Collection, you can see that it can take a while (years) to get enough merits for the degree. Take a look around you at any gathering of professional photographers and see the percentage of them that are wearing the yellow ribboned gold medallion. You can see how few are awarded and how prestigious the award is.

There is a lot more to print competition that what I have outlined, but this may give you an idea to how the process all works and some of the terminology you might hear. So back again to the original question: Why would you want to do this?

Here are some reasons to think about:

• The personal achievement of growing and improving as a photographer.
• The personal achievement of getting merits towards your Master of Photography degree.
• The thrill of competition and showing off your very best work.

Most importantly, becoming a better photographer for your clients. Rise above the ordinary work of your competitors or maybe even work of the clients themselves. Give your clients a reason to come to you by creating incredible work for them.

 I challenge you to become a better photographer by competing in print and album competition. Yes, it will be hard work. It will at times be very discouraging. But in the end, with your hard work and perseverance you will be the ultimate winner by being a better photographer. Try it and see!

Classification of entries:

a. Illustrative - Images such as scenics, photographic art, photojournalism, architectural, commercial or other images that do not fit any of the other categories.

b. Portrait - Photographs of individuals or groups (exceptions-those that meet the criteria for illustrative or wedding category)

c. Wedding - Any photographic print pertaining to brides or weddings.

d. Wedding Album - All photographs must be of the same wedding assignment. No two-volume albums are allowed. If an album entry is from a multi-maker, it will be judged as one entry but shall be counted as the album entry of each photographer with images in the album. Each participating photographer must have a minimum of 20 of his or her images represented in the album. The album entrants must have created all the images within the album. No other photographer’s images are allowed.

e. General Album - Albums may be of any subject except wedding events (bridal and engagement albums may be entered in this category). For instance, a general album may be a portrait album, commercial album, illustrative album, etc. No two-volume albums are allowed. If an album entry is from a multi-maker, it will be judged as one entry but shall be counted as the album entry of each photographer with images in the album. Each participating photographer must have a minimum of 10 of his or her images represented in the album. The album entrants must have created all the images within the album. No other photographer’s images are allowed.

f. Folio - A folio must contain 8 or more photos from the same sitting or session. Entries will be judged on style, technique, variety and quality.

Print Competition Rules:

a. Print judging will be conducted at the DPPA general meetings. The competition is scheduled to be held each month at the general DPPA meeting except the months of Little Red Schoolhouse and December.

b. Each member will be allowed to enter only one print, one album, or one folio per monthly competition.

c. Print size shall range from 8” x 10” to 24” x 30”. Prints must be mounted and not framed.

d. Names of individuals or studios may not appear on the front of any print or on the front or inside of any album or folio. (May be taped over.)

e. Prints, albums, and folios that have been previously entered in any professional competition are not eligible.

f. Entries may not be entered more than once and cannot be created under a photographic instructor’s supervision in a class or seminar.

g. A $5.00 fee will be assessed per competition unless the entrant has entered four prints/album in the most recent Southwest/Texas print competition.

h. Entrants must be current members of DPPA or new members who have been voted in by the guild.

i. Entrants must be present when submitting a print, folio, or album to participate in the monthly competition.

j. Entrants are strongly encouraged to title their entries.

k. Five Master photographers will judge the entries. If five Masters are not available, then Craftsmen or qualified persons (as deemed by the Board) will be asked to judge.
l. All entries for the competition must be registered and labeled by the print chair NOT LATER THAN 7 pm. Print judging shall begin when the judges’ clipboards and score sheets are issued by the print chairman.

m. Scoring shall be based upon the following standards:
Exceptional 100-95
Superior 94-90
Excellent 89-85
Deserving of a Merit 84-80
Above Average 79-76
Average 75-74
Acceptable 73-70

n. Ribbons will be awarded for first and second place in each of the six categories. These prints or albums must have a combined score of 380 or more (or an averaged score of 76 or higher from the 5 judges) to receive a ribbon. A traveling trophy will be awarded for the highest print or album score of the month. The winner will keep the trophy until the next meeting.

o. When the trophy is returned the following month, the winner will receive a trophy ribbon for the previous month’s high score. In the event the trophy is not returned, the winner holding the trophy will present it to the new winner within 48 hours.

p. Print scores will be accumulated throughout the year and published on the DPPA website.

q. Individual judge’s scores will be kept confidential, but entrants are free to discuss their scores with the judges. Please use good manners when discussing scores or print competition with judges or other competitors.

r. The DPPA Board of Directors will settle any disputes arising from the competition. ALL DECISIONS BY THE BOARD ARE FINAL.

Competition Award Guidelines

a. At the end of the year, the eight highest scores of each entrant will be tallied to determine the “Photographer of the Year”. The three highest scores of each entrant in each of the six categories will be tallied to determine the category winners. The trophies will be awarded at the annual holiday party.

b. The “Photographer of the Year” award is based upon the total points earned from January through November of each year. The eight highest monthly scores will be added together for the participant’s total to compete for “Photographer of the Year”. The Photographer of the Year is required to do a presentation at Little Red Schoolhouse the year following the award and will be the primary photographer at the holiday party in December or is responsible for finding a qualified replacement to those events.

c. The “Best in Category” awards are based on a participant’s 3 highest scores in a given category. The participant can enter all the categories over a given year, but must have minimum of 3 entries in a given category to be eligible for the award.

d. Albums with multi-makers will have the total monthly points given to each of the makers.

e. The “First Year of Competition Top Score” award plaque is for individuals entering print competition for the first time. This award is limited to an individual who has not at any time previously entered in the Dallas PPA print competition. The score tally starts when an individual enters for the first time and continues through November of the same calendar year. It is up to the individual to notify the print chairman upon delivery of their first entry, of their desire to compete for this award plaque. An individual may enter each month in any of the categories of portrait, wedding, illustrative, folio, wedding album or general album categories. The individual entrant must be the sole maker of an album. (No multi maker albums for this plaque.) The “First Year of Competition Top Score” plaque is based upon the points earned from January through November of each year. The three highest monthly scores will be added together for the participant’s total to compete for the award plaque.

We are midway through the year and I want to congratulate the people that are participating in the “First Year” competition within the monthly print competition. The “First Year” competition is to encourage members to start participating in our monthly print competition. We have a special plaque at year end to honor the photographer with the highest score in any category who entered for the first time this year. A few first year photographers are  up to the challenge and are entering month after month. That is fabulous! We want to encourage everyone who wants to take their photography to the next level to start competing in the monthly print competition. It truly makes you a better photographer!

If you are just starting print competition and want to see what state print judging looks like, be sure to sign up for the TPPA seminars in Kerrville  June 13-16. They feature a print competition with judging that is similar to the regional and national judging. It is a great place to see what it is like. And the event at Kerrville is an event to bring the whole family. (Yes, even your dogs.) There are seminars for the photographers and a pool and other events for the kiddos. Lots of fun for all! Sign up at www.tppa.org

I hope you see you June 8th at our monthly meeting featuring Andy Marcus!

Richard Sturdevant – 451

Portraits

1st Place –Luke Edmonson – 412

2nd Place –J.D. Cooper – 393

Illustrative

1st Place – Richard Sturdevant – 451

2nd Place – No Entry

Wedding

1st Place – David Edmonson – 423

2nd Place –DeEtte Sallee – 409

General Album

1st Place –Tammy Kelly– 403

2nd Place –Jo Merandi – 400

Wedding Album

1st Place – Hoang Vu -  415

2nd Place –Pliny Gale – 385

Folio

1st Place – No Entry

2nd Place – No Entry

Photographer of the Year Rankings

Richard Sturdevant – 2,289

David Edmonson – 2,054

Hoang Vu – 2,039

Luke Edmonson –2,020

Jo Merandi – 2,002

J.D. Cooper – 1,598

DeEtte Sallee –1,209

JB Sallee – 1,205

Sandra Lynch – 819

Will Bloodworth – 811

Join us July 13th for award winning children’s photographer Tamara Lackey!  She will tell us how to consistently capture images of children that are authentic, expressive and technically strong. It is often more challenging than it appears.  She will walk us through the specifics of how she photographs sessions, including behind-the-scenes footage of actual shoots. 

Tamara’s work has appeared in Rangefinder magazine, Professional Photographer, Vogue, O, Town and Country and many more. Her award winning photography has been described as “expressive….soulful, often unexpectedly funny, and beautiful”. Tamara is the author of the book “Inside Contemporary Children’s Photography”. Her studio is located in North Carolina. See more of her work at http://www.tamaralackeyblog.com/

 Tamara Lackey
www.tamaralackey.com
tamara@tamaralackey.com

Speaker: Tamara Lackey
Subject: Children’s Portraiture: On the Shoot
Date: July 13, 2010
Time: Social starting at 6 pm, dinner at 6:45 pm
Place: Embassy Suites at 635 & 75 

(Respond to your EVITE  to Win!  Yes for dinner, Maybe to attend, or No)