Pilot Imaging is hosting its second Bringing the Value Back to Photography one day seminar on September 15th in Rockville, Marylyand. Titled "BVB Part II - This Time We Mean Business!", the seminar focuses on building and improving your photography business, and features 5 speakers, an advising panel and a full day of networking and education for just $125.

The line up includes PPA's Chief Financial Officer, Scott Kurkian, who will be presenting his program,"It's Your Money - Keep More of It!" For complete details and online registration, click here.

Kubota Image Tools, provider of photographer-empowering creative imaging tools, workflow-saving solutions and educational offerings for photographers of all levels, today announced availability of the "Kubota Artist Series Style Book & DVD Tutorial, Artist: Tamara Lackey" instructional guide for photographers interested in improving their portrait work through smarter use of Photoshop.  

Ideal for the consummate portrait professional looking for inspiration or for those looking to expand their business into the lucrative market of child portraits, Lackey's step-by-step guide is perfect for users of all skill levels. In addition to the hardcover, comprehensive style book featuring before and after comparisons that detail the actions used to create the finished work, Kubota Image Tools includes a DVD with a tutorial exploring the entire process from captured image to final print, and downloads for Lackey's Action formulas.

Epson is expanding its Signature Worthy™ line of professional media for photographers and fine artists by offering a wider selection of roll-based products. Due to the growing popularity of Hot Press and Cold Press papers, Epson is now offering these products in rolls of 17-inch, 24-inch, 44-inch, and 60-inch widths. The company is also expanding its offerings of Exhibition Fiber Paper to include 17-inch, 24-inch, 44-inch, and 64-inch wide rolls.

"We have collaborated with many of the industry's leading photographers and fine artists to redefine and perfect the art of paper making, and the overwhelming success of these three papers mandates that we expand our line to include rolls," said Jeff Smith, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America. "Every day, a growing number of professionals switch to these breakthrough papers because of the stunning images they can produce, and in an effort to help satisfy the demands of professionals, we are delighted to be able to provide these papers in rolls."

Start a conversation with PPA members about mentoring, and it's hard to decide who's getting the most out of this loveliest example of professional networking. Make the most of your socializing and jumpstart your relationship building with these suggestions from PPA members who have experience with mentoring and being mentored.

"I figured out pretty early on that I learn best in small groups, so mentor relationships provided the best way for me to learn how to improve my photography skills and business," says Heather Smith, Cr.Photog., CPP. "When I picked out who I wanted to learn from, I didn't just choose people because I liked their art. I also looked for business people I could respect--how do they treat others, how do they manage their businesses, how do they teach and give feedback?"

Carol Andrews Jensen, M.Photog.Cr., ABI, says she tells her PPA Studio Management Services (SMS) clients the same. "It's not just about an f-stop. You need mentors in all areas of your life. I wouldn't be where I am today without my mentors, and you need to choose the people you want most to be associated with."

Click here to read the full article.

Sometimes things are just better in layers. You want layers of security for better protection, layers of clothing for more warmth and so on. And according to Allison and Jeff Rodgers of Allison Rodgers Photography, a photography business should also have layers beyond its photography, layers in design, marketing and service.

"People always ask us how we 'do it,'" recalls Allison. "What we say sounds so simple, and it is...if you do it. You have to give the client something to buy."

Giving the client something to buy is more than just producing an image. There are more layers to photography than that. In fact, helping other photographers see how better service and design can help bring better sales is one reason she and Jeff created the He Said/She Said promotional package for photographers that won them a 2009 AN-NE Marketing Award.

Click here to read the full article.  

To celebrate the company's 60 years of optical innovation and excellence, Tamron USA has announced an unprecedented promotional program designed to reward the legions of photo enthusiasts and loyal Tamron fans residing in the USA who have helped to make Tamron a world leader in precision optics for digital imaging. For the next 60 days--from September 1st to October 30th 2010--anyone* that's signed up to receive Tamron news by e-mail will automatically be entered to win one of the 60 sensational new 60th Anniversary Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD zoom lenses or 4 other exciting prizes that will be given away each day. No purchase is necessary, and it only takes a few minutes to sign up at www.tamron-usa.com today!

(*Must be a resident of the USA to qualify.)

The Prize Lens: An Optical Milestone That's In Your Reach!
Released in conjunction with Tamron's 60th Anniversary, the Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD zoom lens is a superb new extended-range telephoto zoom that covers both full-frame (24x36mm) and APS-C digital as well as 35mm film formats. Designed to exceed established performance parameters, it delivers outstanding definition, contrast, and color fidelity over its entire range by leveraging the full array of Tamron's Advanced Imaging technologies including premium quality Low Dispersion LD and XLD Glass for superior imaging performance at all focal lengths; new USD motor (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) for quiet, fast autofocus speed and enhanced AF accuracy; and built-in stabilization (VC) system to minimize the effects of handheld camera shake

Where do you spend most of your time as a photographer? Are you capturing images for clients, or are you at a computer painstakingly editing those images? If you find yourself spending too much time post-processing, the award-winning Nik Software professional filters can help get you back behind the camera (and PPA members get a great discount).

Widely used by working pros around the world, Nik Software products solve many challenges faced by photographers every day and provide creative, practical and powerful workflow solutions that save time and money. Working tightly within tools you already use--Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® and Apple® Aperture®--Nik's powerful, easy-to-use image enhancement tools help you quickly reduce noise, correct color and light, mimic traditional filters, retouch skin, convert color images to fine art black-and-white masterpieces, sharpen images and much more.

To learn more about how your peers are using Nik Software products, join PPA member Tony Corbell, Cr.Photog., API, for a special PPA workflow webinar. You can even download free trial versions to try on your own images!

Check out all of the software solutions available from Nik Software...and see how to take advantage of your special PPA member discount by visiting the Benefits section of PPA.com.

Business Tip from Imaging USA Instructor David Ziser, M.Photog.Cr.

Three million Apple® iPads™ were sold in 80 days, with about one in five people wanting one. If you are a photographer and don't have an iPad yet, you are missing golden marketing opportunities.

For example, I use my iPad to show my portfolio and wedding album layouts to prospective clients when we meet...even during weddings. It's a great way to sizzle your prospect and turn him or her into a buying customer. But don't stop there.

Here are some more ideas photographers can use to make use of an iPad:

• Load up your iPad with all your portfolios--wedding, family, children, senior, etc.
• If your prospects see something they like, e-mail it to them right on the spot. (Now, you've captured their contact information, allowing you to follow up and not have to wait for them to call you.)
• Add digital images of your favorite products to the iPad to preview for your current clients.
• Upload your job proposals and price lists, making the iPad another easy and fast tool to help in booking the client.

The iPad is the single most important device to come along for photographers since the camera. It's a fast-paced world out there these days, and the new iPad gives you the marketing "rocket fuel" to keep pace.

(Learn more from David Ziser at his Imaging USA class: "Captured by the Light: Composing & Lighting for Dramatic Portraits.")

Adobe today announced the Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 updates are available for immediate download on Adobe.com. The updates, originally posted as release candidates on Adobe Labs, extend raw file support to 16 new popular camera models including the Canon EOS 60D and Sony Alpha NEX-5, and improve on several of the lens correction profiles provided in the Lightroom 3.0 release. These latest updates also add over 120 new lens profiles to help photographers automatically correct for undesirable distortion and aberration effects. A full list of the newly added raw camera support and the new and improved lens profiles can be found on the Lightroom Journal: http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal.

If you have 32 years of experience in something, you probably have a lot of time-tested techniques to share. That's the case with Certified Professional Photographer Rick Dawson of Virginia, who is sharing some of his techniques in an upcoming Super Monday class on October 25, 2010.

Dawson has been a professional photographer for over 32 years, starting back in college when he was earning his commercial art degree. As a student, he was required to take a beginner's black-and-white photography class that involved capturing images, learning to process the film,  and printing and mounting the photos. After college, Dawson became a press photographer for the Martinsville Bulletin, an experience that improved his confidence and taught him to compose images in ways that better tell the story.

Since starting his own photography business in 1978, Dawson's specialty has evolved to nature and environmental portraits. "Being out in the open air has allowed me to learn to control the sunlight with off-camera flashes and reflectors," he says about his photography's development. "Telling a story with less equipment just expands the artistic beauty I first experienced in my college photography classes."