Don MacGregor
M.Photog.Cr., API
PPA Member since 1981
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

• Read his bio.
• Read his Board Spotlight interview (May 2008), featured in Professional Photographer magazine.

Bio
MacGregor Studios started in 1974, growing from humble beginnings in an apartment to a 3,500 sq. ft. building in Vancouver. Don focuses on wall portrait and wedding work, and he has visited the awards podium virtually every year since obtaining membership. Numerous Best of Class, Gallery, Epcot, Fuji and aggregate awards in almost every portrait and wedding class…he can claim them all. In addition to his awards (which also include the National Award and the Ross Sanddal International Award), Don has spoken at many platform and convention programs for national, state, and provincial conventions over the years throughout Canada and the United States.

Along with serving as a PPA Board member, he is the Past President of Professional Photographers of Canada and Professional Photographers of BC. Don is also a member of the prestigious Cameracraftsmen of America.


Board Spotlight, May 2008
By Angela Wijesinghe

Don MacGregor has always been very passionate about photography…ever since he saw a photo of himself develop from nothing but chemicals. In fact, he started working with a photographer before he could drive, which meant his grandma had to drive him to the weddings he worked (he made her park a good distance away)! Yes, it’s humorous, but it also proves Don’s desire to succeed.

But while that drive to succeed is important, Don names two other elements as vital: 1) educating the public about a professional’s skills, and 2) producing something desirable.

One of the biggest challenges is that much of the public sees photography as “easy” because they don’t know the skills, techniques, and storytelling ability it requires. To Don, that first element (educating the public) starts with photographers themselves. “I’m passionate about building professional respect. We have to instill in ourselves pride and self-respect…before we can expect it from the public. We need to come together as a cohesive team,” he adds.

Along with educating the public, though, photographers obviously have to create something desirable. However, it’s not just beautiful images that push people to buy. “Take shoes,” Don says. “If you see a pair of shoes you like—no matter how many pairs you have—you’ll find a way to buy that pair. So I look at my products like this: is the price too high, or is the purchasing desire not high enough?”

So how do you get to the point where you are developing purchasing desire, professional respect, and stretching your photographic abilities? “If you want to be inspired to be great, be around people you admire,” Don says firmly. For him, it started with his introduction (by his first employer) to the Professional Photographers of Canada. And that desire to be around the right kind of people has brought him here to PPA’s Board of Directors. Don likes to sum this up with an adage: “If you want to fly with the eagles, don’t strut with the turkeys.”