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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.

Photographer Personality Match Makes Perfect
When Paula Boatright and Brian Lipka decided to host their wedding hundreds of miles south of their Northern Virginia home, the thought occurred that planning a remote wedding might have its challenges. "We knew the logistics would be harder to control," says Paula, and this daughter of a retired professional photographer knew that one of the most important things she wanted to address first was finding the perfect photographer for their big day.

Paula's story is one of the bridal testimonials found on the new consumer-focused "See the Difference" web page promoting the value of professional photography. After you're finished reading her story, please let us know if you have brides who would like to provide testimonials, or if you've re-photographed a bride who initially had a bad experience because she didn't hire a pro the first time. We'd like to feature those brides' stories, too! The campaign, which is designed to direct brides to the PPA member-exclusive Find-A-Photographer database, features photography, videos and articles to help brides educate themselves on the value of working with a professional photographer. Learn more about this campaign here.

How hot are you?
Go up against the best photographers on the planet. Join in the fun rivalry with PPA's new online photo contest: the Summer Shootout--exclusively for PPA members. Submit your images from July 1st - September 30th, and you could win cash prizes! Get all the contest details (and enter) at www.PPA.com/shootout.

We'll be giving away thousands of dollars in cash prizes, and it is only $10 to enter your first image--and only $5 dollars for each additional image. As an added bonus, you can also request a critique of your image to see how it would stack up in PPA's International Photographic Competition.

Come on...show us what you got!

PPA members asked for it, and we're doing it! PPA is launching a consumer-focused campaign called "See the Difference," targeted to wedding couples, seniors and families to reinforce the value of professional photography. Online advertising and social media will drive prospects to specialized landing pages. The wedding-focused landing page can be viewed at www.ppa.com/weddingphotographer. (Landing pages featuring senior photography and family/children portraiture will follow over the summer.)

These special landing pages will highlight articles, image galleries, videos, tutorials and search capabilities linked to our exclusive PPA Find-a-Photographer database. We are also researching the use of vertical websites and targeted e-mail marketing. Of course, we'll be pushing the campaign through PPA social media channels, and we hope that PPA members will help us get the word out through blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.

What can you do? (Or don't do?)
Do Update Your Find-A-Photographer Profile
As we're directing consumers to Find-a-Photographer, make sure your profile is up to date with your logo, headshot and your most stunning sample images! (Please note: Aspiring PPA members are not listed in the Find-a-Photographer database.)

Here's an idea of the traffic we're hoping to drive to Find-a-Photographer: During our test campaign in June (10 days long), we generated 1,615 clicks and 2,499,474 impressions! Over 200 of those visitors conducted searches on the Find-a-Photographer database and about 20% were reading the articles about selecting a professional.

Don't Click It!
You may see our ads on Google, Facebook and other online sites. Please don't click on the ads (we know it's tempting, but...), as we will incur costs for those clicks and it will make our tracking data inaccurate. (Ad copy is based on high-performing keywords.)

On Tuesday we passed along information about a legal ruling last week in New York, the case Muench Photography Inc. v. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (09-CV-2669).

We know the decision handed down in this case is of great concern to you. Rest assured that our attorneys are actively monitoring the case, and we'll keep you informed of any updates as the appeals process unfolds. We have also been in touch with Corbis and gathered details about the steps they plan on taking. Below is an update on this case and its effect on bulk copyright registration.

We want to feature some of your best wedding customers on our website and in an upcoming edition of PPA Today in Professional Photographer Magazine. We'd like to speak with several people who have recently worked with a PPA member and have great stories to tell, as well as advice for other brides-to-be on what to look for when choosing a photographer. Do you have clients who'd be willing to participate? Let us know by using this form.

Image © Pete Wright, "High Society" from the 2009 PPA Loan Collection

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.

Louis Tonsmeire
Cr.Photog., API
PPA Member since 1988
Location: Cartersville, Ga.

What's the connection between education and relationships (relationships between you and other photographers, that is)? Louis Tonsmeire, PPA's new president, would tell you that the connection is association.

Tonsmeire knows--from experience--that education and relationships are key in a photographers' survival. "Whether it's one-on-one education with a mentor or learning through an Affiliate School program, we have to stay in touch with what is going on. We don't want our work to become stale or our business practices outdated," he says.

One of the best ways to grab that needed education is through membership in a photographic association like Professional Photographers of America (PPA) or its affiliate associations. Tonsmeire's long-standing association memberships have put him in the right places to learn about these educational opportunities. It's just more accessible (and many come with discounts!).

Associations are also a hotbed for possible mentors, Tonsmeire's preferred method of education. "Friends in the industry are necessary," he comments. "All of us run into stumbling blocks, and who better to help us out than a photographer who has been there before?"

Often, finding your first mentor can be difficult. Have you ever felt that you'd love to talk to and learn from a certain well-known photographer...but that he or she was too much of a "rockstar" to have time for you? Have you been too nervous to even ask? Just remember that everything starts with a connection. All relationships--with mentors, friends and clients--are built out from that initial connection. And here's where associations come into play again.

An association membership just makes it easier to approach someone you'd like to learn from in this mentoring fashion. As part of an association, you may already have a connection with your ideal mentor. After all, you already have several areas of common ground if you are fellow members. Plus, you can generally count on those who've joined an association to be open to such networking.

In fact, this networking / mentoring relationship is important for both student and mentor. Most instructors say they learn from their classes all the time. There are always new ideas and new thoughts to be shared...you just have to connect to hear them.

"We have all the connections of PPA on our side," adds Tonsmeire. "And the most important things we can take back to our own businesses are these relationships and the education that stems from them."

Are you part of this association connection?

On the eve of the White House "Bipartisan Meeting on Health Reform," Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and the Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare tell congressional leadership what small business owners want to see in any health care reform bill.

In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-8th-CA) on February 24, 2010, PPA asks Congress to consider the inclusion of small business-friendly provisions in a manner that won't increase the cost of doing business. Read more about PPA's suggestions here.

If you want to communicate the importance of having access to affordable, quality health care, we encourage you to visit PPA's Contact Congress page to participate in a "Health Care Call-in," organized by the Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare. We have provided a sample phone script that you can use (and customize) to contact your senators and representatives today.

Something exciting is coming your way soon...something that could change the "face" of online dating and help YOU create more relationships, too.

As PPA members, you'll have an exclusive chance to join Accuphoto, starting January 10, 2010. Created by Brenda Kirkland, a PPA member herself, Accuphoto is a unique service that provides certified professional images to members of the online dating community at a fixed price.

How Accuphoto Can Help You
First of all, this is a FREE marketing tool for photographers--that's helpful right there!