Just a few years ago, boudoir photography was seen as "incredibly cheesy with sort of with an '80s glamour shot twist," according to Kimberlee West and Marissa Boucher (also known as the Boudoir Divas). But that old image didn't stop them from creating their own wildly successful version of boudoir...and they're ready to show you how you can glam up your business, too.

"Boudoir is still a largely untapped market opportunity," say the Divas. "We hope that more and more photographers will become interested in boudoir photography, and we'd love to give them some of the tools necessary to get started right now." 

Your next chance to learn is with their PPA webinar, "Boudoir is the New Black: Glamorous, Lucrative & Ridiculously Fun" (March 22, 4pm Eastern). Attendees will get an overview of the business, including how they replaced their Saturday wedding shoots with a Friday "Pin-Up Party"™. Not only do these parties provide a wedding-style income, the Divas also get their weekends back.

Now, they credit their success to two main factors: the belief that all women are interested in such a service and their marketing program. In a sense, it comes down to knowing the market plus creating a plan.

"Whenever we tell women about our job--whether it be our accountant, waitress, a teacher, or even a pastor's wife--we hear the same thing over and over: 'I've always wanted to do something like that!'" explain the Divas. "Boudoir photography is all about making a woman feel beautiful and sexy, and that is why we started shooting boudoir."

One of their biggest hurdles, though, was that cheesy image that lingered around the notion of boudoir. To combat it, the Divas launched a "Boudoir is Back" marketing campaign. Their plan was to give boudoir a "facelift" and to create a new association to the word.

"We have definitely worked hard to remove the old image and prove that boudoir is edgy, sexy and still classy," the Divas add. "We have huge dreams for boudoir photography and for The Boudoir Divas Incorporated. And when most people tell us we're crazy, we remind ourselves that no dream is unreachable."

In fact, the Divas thank Walt Disney for a quote that has stayed with them throughout the years: "I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true."

Is implementing boudoir photography a dream of your own? Well, tune into the Boudoir Divas' PPA webinar, "Boudoir is the New Black: Glamorous, Lucrative & Ridiculously Fun" (March 22, 4pm Eastern).

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Facebook: Boudoir Divas Fan Page

Heather Smith, Cr., Photog., owner of Smith Photography and Design in Cumming, GA says she doesn't buy it when fellow photographers tell her what wins in competition doesn't sell with clients.

"I think that what we learn in competition makes our final product - what our clients buy - that much better. For example, I shoot a lot of high-key white, and I use very simple elements in my images. What that means for my prints is that they have to be technically flawless, the lighting must be spot on, the posing is critical to making the story work and the expressions from my subjects absolutely must be engaging. What client doesn't want to see that?" asks Smith.

Heather only enters client images in competition because she says, that's where the big educational payoff comes. "For me personally, competition has become a way to test myself because I'm only entering prints that I've made for clients. By entering my prints in competition, I've forced myself to make corrections before I'm sitting in front of my computer and to ultimately give my clients the best of my best. Print competition holds us to a higher standard because a client may buy something with minor flaws, but a panel of affiliated judges won't." 

Why should you enter the photographic competition? If someone has never participated, why should they start?

Heather Smith: I believe competition is a way for us to explore as artists. There can often be a big gap between what a client will purchase and what will do well in competition. Because they are not trained in the craft, clients are often unaware of the things that could have been executed differently, but when you place that same image in front of a qualified panel of judges, those 'things that could have been executed differently' become front and center.

Epson has conducted an interview with Albert Marco, President of Marco Fine Arts, about Fine Art Reproduction as part of the company's "Inside Epson" series.

Read the interview here.

"I tried bullfighting, but I wasn't very good at it," Tony Corbell, Cr.Photog., API, jokes. Luckily, he turned to photography and has stayed with it for more than 30 years, beginning in April 1979. And it started with a phone call.

Corbell was working in radio and television in a "boring" position when his brother-in-law, who had recently bought a photography studio, called and suggested that he come work for him. "For some reason, he thought I might make a pretty decent photographer," Corbell remembers.

Since then, Corbell has photographed three U.S presidents and 185 world leaders. In addition, he is one of PPA's select few Approved Photographic Instructors (API) and speaks and teaches at many photographic seminars worldwide. He's even written "Basic Studio Lighting," a book that has become popular as a basis for numerous photographic college lighting courses.

However, before any of that happened, Corbell got his start as a wedding and portrait photographer, later moving into commercial work. "As I progressed pretty quickly, I got bored easily," he says, explaining his move in specialties. "Consequently, I decided to seek out more commercial advertising work in the mid-late '80s."  

Now, Corbell believes that his best work combines commercial and portrait photography. "I think my strongest work is commercial portraiture--portraits of people on location for commercial or advertising use," he explains. "I did a series of chefs for hotel chains; I've done lots of bank executives for annual reports and so on. I love the challenge of those locations shoots when you have a limited amount of time, and I pride myself on keeping those shoots to a minimum."


Despite having photographed numerous famous people and celebrities, Corbell insists that these are not his greatest moments as a photographer.

"In all honesty, my greatest achievement was when a bride cried as she looked at the final album I had produced. That is when you know that what you do makes a difference," Corbell says. "I've got great stories from some of the celebrity shoots, but the pictures that really matter are of a four-year-old child or a family of five on the beach. That's the stuff that matters most."

Corbell attributes much of his successful career as a photographer and photographic instructor to his membership in PPA.

"PPA gave me access to my heroes and the ability to walk up to them at a show, talk to them and ask them questions. Not just to learn from them, but to absorb how they are with people and how they treat people," Corbell says, looking back. "If I wasn't a member of PPA, I don't think that would have happened. I wouldn't have been as comfortable with people."
 
Tony Corbell will be on hand to help other photographers learn as he once did during this spring's PPA Tour. He'll be the special guest speaker at the April 12th program in Irvine, Calif., and again on April 14th in Dallas, Texas. Read more about his program, "Realizing Your Creative Vision," here.

In his high-energy career, Tony Corbell has photographed three U.S. presidents, 185 World Leaders, 65 Nigerian Heads of State, about 600 brides and grooms, a couple of NASA astronauts and lots of famous and not-so-famous faces since he began in 1979. He has spoken at over 450 seminars and workshops nationally and internationally. He is the recipient of the highest honor from the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International with their Lifetime Achievement Award and has achieved the Photographic Craftsman degree from Professional Photographers of America (PPA). In 2005, Corbell received the "Photographer of the Year" Award from the International Photographic Council of the United Nations at a ceremony in New York at the U.N. and the PPA National Award from the Professional Photographers of California. Corbell was also invited to join the prestigious Camera Craftsmen of America in 2007, one of only 40 members worldwide. In 2007-08, he spoke to over 8,000 photographers in 36 cities, including London, Glasgow, Dublin, Toronto, Mexico City, Sydney and many more U.S. cities. He continued discussing lighting and image editing in 2009 in cities across the world.

ALL IMAGES © TONY CORBELL

Sadly, David Harris, M.Photog.Cr., passed away on Thursday, March 11. A long-time member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the PPA Council, David owned Harris Studio in Sacramento, Calif., with his wife Sandra. They started their business in 1963, and their love for photography and the people in and of photography only grew.

David was a very strong supporter of PPA and his affiliate associations--he truly believed in the power of connections. In addition, he was a proud recipient of his Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman degrees from PPA.

Our thoughts are with Sandra, his family and the numerous friends he made throughout his life.

If you would like to share some memories or thoughts about Dave, please add them to the comments field of this post.

onOne Software, Inc.,today announced the immediate availability of two fully-functional Photoshop plug-ins: PhotoTools 2.5 Free and the new PhotoFrame 4.5 Free.  The free plug-ins for Photoshop are based on the award winning versions of PhotoTools 2.5 Standard Edition and PhotoFrame 4.5 Standard Edition and are compatible with Photoshop CS2, CS3 and CS4.

PhotoTools 2.5 Free and PhotoFrame 4.5 Free provide photographers with select content from the Standard Editions of each product, while maintaining the full-functionality, unlike the traditional restrictions of 30 day timed trials or watermarked images. The free presets for Lightroom 2, Adobe Camera Raw and the onOne Exchange allow photographers to streamline their workflow and get the most out of the onOne products they already own. The new onOne University underscores onOne's commitment to helping customers get the most out of their software investment by providing over 100 free training videos with even more training content planned.

"We are excited to offer these free versions of PhotoTools 2.5 and PhotoFrame 4.5 as a way for new users to experience onOne's award winning products," said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. "These free products, along with the Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw Presets, onOne Exchange and onOne University are a way for onOne to give back to the photographic community and to continue to provide value to our onOne customers."

onOne Software Free Products and Resources include:  

PhotoTools 2.5 Free Edition - Based on the same feature set as PhotoTools 2.5 Standard Edition, PhotoTools 2.5 Free includes 15 of the most popular effects found in PhotoTools 2.5 Standard Edition. PhotoTools offers powerful action based effects that can improve images dramatically, making it easy to find, experiment, combine, apply and fine tune effects in an easy to use interface.  The 15 effects available in PhotoTools 2.5 Free range from reproducing classic photographic effects like Bleach Bypass and Cross Process, to reproducing film stock such as Kodachrome and Velvia, to modern effects including automatic skin smoothing.

PhotoFrame 4.5 Free Edition - Based on the same feature set as PhotoFrame 4.5 Standard Edition, PhotoFrame 4.5 Free makes it easy to add the perfect finishing touch to images, with 20 professional grade edges, backgrounds, textures and adornments.  PhotoFrame 4.5 Free offers an extremely easy way to browse, preview and add effects like frames, backgrounds and adornments to images, with the ability to stack multiple elements and control opacity, size and color.

Presets for Lightroom 2 and Adobe Camera Raw - Users get over 140 time saving Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw presets designed by Photoshop Guru Jack Davis that help quickly correct color and tone and easily add creative effects.

onOne Exchange - The onOne Exchange is a free online resource that offers regularly updated content for PhotoTools and PhotoFrame and encourages users to upload their own actions and content.  There are over 65 presets from onOne Software and customers to date.

onOne University - Features over 100 free video tutorials to help customers quickly learn and get the most out of onOne Software products. New video tutorials covering a wide range of subjects are currently in the works.

Availability
PhotoTools 2.5 Free, PhotoFrame 4.5 Free, Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw Presets are available immediately at no cost as downloads from onOne Software at http://www.ononesoftware.com/free.  The onOne Exchange is available at http://www.ononeexchange.com/ and onOne University is available at http://www.ononesoftware.com/university/.

Dear PPA Member,

We all have probably procrastinated on something at some point in our lives. But as you know, there are certain occasions when preparation is key and can make the difference between a great outcome and a disappointing one.

PPA's International Photographic Competition is one of those occasions. This event only happens once a year and is a platform for you to show off your skill as a photographer. Pulling an "all-nighter" right before the submission deadline is probably not the wisest idea. That's why we've gathered some tips in this week's Vital Signs article to help you prepare and make the most of your competition experience.

Cheers!
Christel Aprigliano
Director of Member Value & Experience

Financing income-producing equipment is a sound business decision because that equipment generates revenue. United Funding, a PPA Affinity Partner, has created a new online payment calculator to accommodate the financing of equipment under the standard $5,000. This is a great option for all photographers--especially if you are new to the industry or have an equipment budget.

PPA members can use the Special Payment Calculator to determine their potential payment options on the equipment they need for their business. And the Online Credit Application makes the whole process even easier! PPA members can log in here to take advantage of this benefit.

Ever wonder if you're doing what you were meant to do? Follow Jessica Edwards' lead, and ask yourself one question: If you didn't have to work, what would you do?

The answer to that question was how Edwards found her way back to photography. She was told over and over that she needed to get a "real job," so she decided that photography would just be a hobby. But after studying psychology for four years, she realized that her heart just wasn't in it.

"I did some soul searching and asked myself, 'If I didn't have to work, what would I do?'" explains Edwards. "The answer was that I would travel and take pictures of the places I went and people I met. That's when I realized that my heart was still in photography...and I decided to devote the rest of my life to it."

Devotion is a good way to describe professional photographers' attitude toward their craft. After all, it takes effort and continual, consistent education to keep up with the constant changes in the industry. As Edwards notes, "If you don't evolve with [photography], you'll be left behind."

Along with attending conventions and webinars hosted by Professional Photographers of America, Edwards uses photographic competitions as a method for evolving her skills. "I believe that anyone who wants to improve their work and continue to grow as a photographer should enter photographic competition," she says. "It forces you to be more critical of the photographs you enter--and their lighting, posing and post-processing details--which will carry over into your everyday work."

The 2010 Coupon Book provides PPA members with exclusive discounts and promotions from our top Corporate Members. These unique incentives are for PPA members only. Simply click on a coupon to link directly to the vendor's website.