But whether you are green to the industry or a seasoned pro, never forget that your business skills are equally as important as your artistic skills. After all, your images can speak for themselves, but are your profits following suit?

Thing is, the business landscape of pro photography is tricky. And as artists, photographers often have a hard time grasping what the numbers mean. That's why PPA has championed business education for photographers, becoming the authority in the industry with our Studio Management Services (SMS). For 10 years, SMS has helped hundreds of studios like yours gain control of their businesses and become more profitable with industry-leading resources (like the Benchmark Survey), education, mentors and other business tools.

Want the best path to success—one that's custom-designed for your unique business? Want to be make smarter business decisions for long-term success? With SMS resources you have access to as a member, you can find the help you need practically every step of the way. Read the complete article here.

Business Basics Workshops

• Build a healthier studio from the ground up with this two-day, nuts-and-bolts class (from understanding financial management to the basics of attracting customers and getting them to buy).
• Be empowered to make smarter business decisions for long-term success.

Business Breakthroughs Workshops

• Take your studio to the "elusive" next level with this intensive three-day class.
• Walk away with actionable business and marketing goals AND a custom financial plan.
• Get personalized help with a one-on-one consultation.

• Northcentral District Competition
  Registration closes February 16!
• Western District Competition
  Registration closes February 23!
• Northeast District Competition
  Registration open this Thursday and continues
  through March 8.
• Southeast District Competition
  (including the Asia Pacific District)
  Registration is open March 1 - 22.

Come on down--oh, we mean come on up!--and learn the answer to the age-old question: Should you go up or down in your pricing? Should you throw in the kitchen sink? At 2:00pm ET today, Alisha and Brook Todd will delve into the mysterious world of pricing weddings, engagements and marketing yourself effectively. Learn more here.

Holly's great-grandfather, William Ball arrived in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1912 by way of working on the railroad. An artist at heart, he founded The Ball Studio, which has continued to this day to be owned and operated by his family. One of his sons, Robert, fell in love with photography as well, and turned his attention to strengthening the studio's business foundation. (Robert even became a PPA President.) The family business next came to Robert's daughter Mickey and her husband Keith Peterson, who embraced color (and even put in a color lab). And for the past 30 years, Holly has been involved, expanding into a 4,000 sq. ft. studio with five employees.

In that time, The Ball Studio has seen its share of challenges. They've survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, the recession of the '70s, two studio fires and more! So how have they stayed successful for so long?

"We're always adapting and changing...except for one thing, the motto laid down by our great-grandfather: "Reputation is a responsibility as well as a reward," says Holly. "We never centered our studio brand around an individual, but on the concepts of quality, craftsmanship and reputation. And to fine-tune those concepts, we've been members of PPA since the beginning."

Congratulations Holly and the entire Ball Studio family!

1. World's first full-size, high-speed standard zoom with built-in VC (Vibration Compensation). Even when shooting in low-light conditions with a slow shutter speed to render sharpness, Tamron's acclaimed VC allows for stable handheld camera work, to more fully enjoy the benefits of this high-speed zoom lens.
2. Uses specialized high-grade glass in the three LD elements, three Glass Molded Aspherical Lenses, one Hybrid Aspherical Lens and two XR (Extra Refractive Index) glasses, delivering top-of-the-class quality images suited to this high-grade lens. Using a rounded diaphragm, the lens achieves gorgeous blur effects.
3. Features USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) to power a speedy AF drive together with a continuous manual mechanism.
4. This high-speed standard zoom lens has a wide-end focal length of 24mm that expands the photographic area.
5. The lens adopts the new technology including the latest optical design, VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization and USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), all in a lighter and more compact package.
6. Moisture-resistant construction helps prevent water from penetrating the lens.

Everyone has experienced that sinking feeling. You know the feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when you were 7 years old and just broke one of Mom's or Dad's prized possessions?  That's when you look around and try to blame the dog, the cat, the wind...even the kid down the street.

Chances are, you're probably no longer at risk of having to explain yourself to Mom and Dad when accidents happen. On the other hand, as a photographer (and a small-business owner), you could find yourself sitting in front of a client with this very same feeling. You are the end of the line when it comes to decision making for your photography business, so it's going to be quite difficult to convince a client to blame someone/something else, even if the matter was out of your hands. And the client probably won't be satisfied with just sentencing you to one week without TV.

In situations like this, your wallet and, more importantly, your reputation are on the line.

This is where PPA's Indemnification Trust program can step in to help. When clients start to point their fingers at you, use yours to pick up the phone and request the assistance of an attorney experienced at talking photographers through a variety of client complaints. Read more here. 

• The Celebration of Smiles Marketing Guide that takes you step-by-step through how to market, prepare for and execute your promotion. (You'll also get predesigned promotional elements and materials for marketing to your clients and prospects.)
• Your studio name and website link on the Celebration of Smiles consumer website.
• Weekly "timeline" emails, so you'll stay on track with marketing and operating your promotion.

• Both pieces of legislation (SOPA in the Senate and PIPA in the House) targeted off-shore pirating of works produced in the U.S.
• We do not feel that the measures were perfect--no legislation is. But the greater good demands that measures be taken to protect the rights of creators like you.
• It is true that those mega-corporations opposed to the bill could possibly have been inconvenienced by the legislation. It is their job to make money, and their actions merely represented those purposes.
• It is not true that the public would have been deprived of works to which it has rights, but rather, only those works that are copyrighted and being sold illegally by rogue off-shore websites.

Read the full article here.