Peter Read Miller, a sports photographer with over 40 years of experience and staff photographer for Sports Illustrated for three decades, will be hosting a sports photography workshop in Atlanta, October 15-21, 2012.

During his time as a sports photographer, Miller has had his images featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated 100 times, among many other editorial and advertising credits. He has covered 8 Olympic Games, 37 Super Bowls, 14 NBA Finals, The World Series and many other sporting events and has shot portraits of countless famous athletes.

At the workshop, participants will gain hands on experience photographing baseball, women's volleyball, tennis, equestrian and youth and high school football. The workshop concludes with photographing the Georgia Tech/Boston College football game on October 20th!

In addition to action photography, the workshop covers portrait lighting with strobes, in the studio and on location; arena lighting and the set-up; and use of remote cameras. Student work is reviewed and critiqued every morning and each student receives a one on one portfolio review with Miller or one of the other instructors.

The workshop costs $1,495.00 and includes all instruction, a one-on-one portfolio review with Miller and all model and location fees. The class size is limited to 20 participants.

Visit peterreadmiller.com for more information and to register.   

Did you know PPA Headquarters is hosting a Super Monday class a few days before the main date? PPA's chief executive officer, chief financial officer and Studio Management Services Manager are teaming up to deliver "Making Sense of Branding & Finances" on October 8. It's never been done before, and it's going to be one heck of a ride! (We'd say you'll be learning from some of the best, but we are a tad biased.)

Learn more about Super Monday and register for the class of your choice here.

PPA has some great online classes coming up in September and October, with topics including maternity photography and boudoir portraits.

Plus, the  previously canceled "Photographing and Interacting with Children of All Ages" class taught by Marianne Drenthe has now been re-scheduled for October 2.

You can find the complete upcoming online class schedule below. Remember that these classes are only $39 for PPA members or can be attended as part of the online learning pass.

Don't miss your chance to learn from these photographers, register today!

September 11, 2012
Maternity Portraits: Simple, Transitional Shooting & Selling
With Ana Brandt
$39 for PPA Members

September 18, 2012
Setting Yourself Up for Success in Maternity Sales
With Pete Wright, M.Photog.Cr.
$39 for PPA Members

September 25, 2012
Secrets to a High-End Boudoir Portrait Experience
With Jennifer Rozenbaum
$39 for PPA Members

October 2, 2012
Photographing & Interacting with Children of All Ages
With Marianne Drenthe
$39 for PPA Members

Who doesn't want to look their best in a photograph? It's a nearly universal desire--I challenge you to find someone who doesn't! It stands to reason, then, that if you can help your subjects look better than ever in their portraits, you'll likely wind up with better sales and much happier clients. And retouching skin is a very, very important step in that direction.

"No matter what else you might do to someone during the retouching process, the skin is what will make it believable or false," says Jane Conner-Ziser, Cr.Photog., API, one of the world's top retouching artists. That's why she's preparing a PPA webinar to share these skills: "Tips for Retouching Skin in Photoshop" (Aug. 28, 2:00pm Eastern).

Though it's not hard to retouch skin, it requires a variety of retouching tools for different purposes. After all, no two faces are alike. "We used to joke about wanting some kind of solution we could dip our negatives into that would know where to retouch and where not to," Jane laughs. "Today, we have auto-retouching software or brush-on retouching actions that STILL don't know what to remove, what to soften or shorten, and what to leave alone."

For example, Jane says that you need to be able to analyze the expression of each subject and bring out their best during the retouching process. "Some angles of light or character affect the way we see people. Is a person smiling in their eyes, but projecting anxiety in the face?" She'll show you how to handle this during the webinar, too.

In other words, it's up to you, my friend. Sure, there are great tools to use (and Jane will show you some), but you need control over the lighting, expression and visual appearance of your work from start to finish. Nothing replaces a master's touch!

So mark your calendar and register now for help getting those skin-tastic retouching results.

When you photograph children, you get the cute-as-a-button subjects. But you could also get the whining, crying, camera fear, people fear...and it's up to YOU to work around it if possible. So, how do you deal with a super-shy two-year-old who won't let go of mom's hands? How do you get real grins from a toddler vs. an eight-year-old?

Marianne Drenthe knows. And she's going to bare her knowledge via a PPA webinar: "Photographing & Interacting with Children of All Ages" (August 21, 2:00pm Eastern).

"There's a reason kids do what they do. So instead of just getting frustrated, find other ways to interact with them," she advises. "If Susie won't leave her mom, don't force it. Maybe you can treat the parents as props."

Pre-consultations with the parents are a big part of it, and she asks her parent clients to not treat the photo session as a "big deal." Rather, she asks them to talk about the session like it's a play date. Some pictures will be taken, but it's all about the fun. And remember: What's "fun" for one age, may be boring for another.

"This is probably the only PPA webinar where you'll hear the difference between bubbles and farts!" laughs Marianne. "Bubbles can make a one-year-old laugh, but an eight-year-old...not so much. Sometimes that's when I bring out the 'I think your dad just tooted' jokes!"

The point? Different ages require different interactions. As a former registered nurse and mom herself, Marianne knows the stages of child development AND she knows how to apply them to her clients and photo sessions.

The result? Awesome images and a stellar reputation. Learn how she does it on August 21!

The child portrait market may be a powerful thing--full of emotion and cute-as-a-button subjects--but as with all things, you have to know how to do it right. How do you handle the nervous mother of a newborn coming in for their first photo session? How do you get a shy three-year-old to open up in front of your camera?

PPA's recent and upcoming online classes may be able to help. After all, we did snag some of the top child and newborn portrait artists (and PPA members) to share their secrets!

• Learn how Keri Meyers prepares for and carries out her newborn sessions: "Setting Yourself Up for Success with Newborn Portraits" (live session August 7 at 2:00pm Eastern; archive available after)
• Learn about the stages of children's growth...and how Marianne Drenthe uses that knowledge to improve her sessions: "Photographing & Interacting with Children of All Ages" (coming up August 21 at 2:00pm Eastern)

It's probably safe to say that most of us have heard of Pinterest by now. With over a million "pins" per week, it's a pretty successful social media platform! But do you know how to use it legally? PPA has a free member webinar on that topic on July 31, so tune in and gather up safety tips for Pinterest.

Do you plan for the season...any season? Lori Nordstrom, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, ABI, does with great results, and she's going to share her strategies for cashing in on the holiday seasons (and planning for the year) via tomorrow's PPA webinar: "Cash In This Christmas" (July 24, 2:00pm Eastern).

Plan on learning both top-level ideas and specific how-to's as she shares details about her Thanksgiving promotion (called "I'm Thankful") and other holiday promos. She'll also discuss how to create different seasonal products and promotions that bring in both high-end clients AND the clients you usually wouldn't reach.

The goal is extra income without sacrificing your precious family time. So tune in and learn how to make the holidays merry for you as well as your clients!

Have you found an especially effective photographic technique? Know a great marketing or business strategy? Are you a whiz at photo manipulation? Share what you've learned and be a Super Monday Instructor.

PPA's Super Monday Photo Workshops are peer-led, live and local photography classes. And being an instructor can net you more than just goodwill! When you teach a Super Monday class, you build networks, rack up speaking experience, and you can earn up to four speaking merits toward a PPA degree!

How? Each class you teach (at least 6.5 hours long) is worth two merits...but did you know you can teach up to two classes? You simply teach the classes within the week before or after the official October 15 Super Monday date. (You'll need to submit two separate instructor applications, too.)

Now's your chance to earn those speaking merits more quickly. Get involved with Super Monday!

Sports photography is just as competitive a field as all the rest. So if you want to make your images excel--in creativity and sales--come listen to what award-winning photographer Richard Sturdevant has to say on June 28 at 2:00pm Eastern.

"I have a passion for high school sports. I was an athlete (long ago!) and my son currently plays sports, so I decided to apply my art skills to sports photography, too," explains Richard. "The response was huge!"

Chief among what differentiates his work are his sport composites. "These have become top-sellers at the studio," Richard says. "Everyone wants to be amazed, and composites can deliver that kind of impact. The public is getting used to seeing great sports action images, but composites still stand out. They tell a story of that moment in such an artistic way."

Richard will take you through the creative process of creating such sport composites and how to sell them for a profit. As he says, "Amaze the client, and your studio will be rewarded."

Join him for his PPA webinar, "Sport Composites That Sell" and get ready to amaze YOUR clients!

See a gallery of Richard's sport composite images.