Become a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP)
Initially, I became a PPA member to pursue my certification. Why I continue, is so much more. PPA is always there to have my back when something goes wrong, but above all, I have met so many awesome people through the many avenues PPA has to offer. ...Read More
Initially, I became a PPA member to pursue my certification. Why I continue, is so much more. PPA is always there to have my back when something goes wrong, but above all, I have met so many awesome people through the many avenues PPA has to offer...I am passionate about the certification program and am a certification liaison for Michigan (a position I have held for several years now). I also teach a mini-certification prep class for Super One Day, and am also working on another class (the details to be forthcoming soon). As I teach these classes, I am pursuing my craftsman degree thru PPA as well.
Hide Angela Lawson • PPA Member Since 2004What is a Certified Professional Photographer?
Every industry has its benchmark. The Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) designation is ours. No matter your specialty, the CPP is a fundamental step in mastering your craft. Whether you’re just getting started or have years of experience under your belt, you’ll come out of the certification experience with the knowledge you need to succeed as a photographer in this competitive business.
Why should you get certified?
Since 1977 our CPP program has empowered photographers to be knowledgeable, successful, and technically-equipped. We’ve heard countless stories of how the CPP has given members a leg up on the competition by inspiring confidence, justifying pricing, and conveying competence. How will it impact you?
Certification Process FAQs
- Declaring your Candidacy is the first step on your certification journey and the candidacy application fee is $200.
- There is a $25 fee to access the online exams inside the Certified Professional Photographer Curriculum. There are now six modules with exams instead of one 100-question exam.
- Once you pass the exams, then you become eligible to submit the three images for the Technical Image Evaluation during any evaluation period.They take place 10 times a year. The image kit used to create your images costs approximately $35 and is ordered from Blick U. There is no cost to submit images to the Technical Image Evaluation.
- If your candidacy expires before you successfully complete your evaluation, you can apply for a candidacy extension at a cost of $100. The candidate must have already passed the Certification exam to qualify for a candidacy extension. To learn more about a candidacy extension, please email us at [email protected].
All Certified Professional Photographers and CPP Candidates are required to be PPA members to obtain and to maintain their CPP credential. For more information about PPA Membership click here!
- Declare your candidacy To do this, simply fill out the candidacy form. In this step, you will also need to pay the application $200 fee. Please note that your candidacy will not be officially declared until your payment is processed. Once confirmed, your candidacy will be valid for two years. Sign up using this form!
- Prepare for the exam PPA has launched a Certified Professional Photographer Curriculum on March 1, 2025 to help you prepare for the exam and any challenges you may face as a professional photographer. Visit the curriculum at Curriculums | Professional Photographers of America under the Credentialing section. The curriculum is broken down into six different modules that house educational videos, visual presentations, the Photography Certification Guide, and quizzes.
- Take the exams There is an exam at the end of each of the 6 modules instead of one 100-question exam! When you feel confident enough to tackle an exam, click on the exam that correlates with the module and follow the prompts to set up. You will need to pass each of the six exams to be able to move onto the Technical Image Evaluation.
*Candidates who declared their candidacy before February 1, 2025, are not required to pass the sixth module exam, Introduction to Business. - The Technical Image Evaluation follows the exam Each Image Evaluation will demonstrate three images. Please visit the Technical Image Evaluation Overview page and download the Technical Image Evaluation Handbook for all the details.
You can submit your images as many times as needed within your TWO (2) year candidacy period. Should you not pass the technical image evaluation within your candidacy period you can reapply for candidacy, with the reduced cost of $100 and an additional year to do so. - Celebrate! Once you get your certification, give yourself a break and celebrate!
Once you've achieved the CPP designation, you will need to recertify every three years. CPPs eligible for recertification will receive two email notices on the year they are due to recertify, an email six (6) months and one (1) month prior to expiration.
To recertify, 15 Continuing Education Units (CEUs)* are required or re-examination, along with a payment of $100. The $100 recertification fee is waived if any of the following requirements are met:
- CPP has attended Imaging USA for the past three consecutive years
The CEU system involved in the CPP recertification process is there to encourage CPPs to continue their journey in photography education and professional development. By participating in continuing education, CPPs help to raise the bar of our industry.
To learn how to how to earn credits or if you're not sure how many CEUs you have under your belt, please visit the recertification page.
*Please note CEUs are only used for purposes of the Certification program and have no correlation to the PPA merit. For additional information on this please email [email protected].
The Certification Committee follows the standards for certification established by the Institute of Credentialing Excellence. ICE sets the guidelines for creating the written test for certification, ensuring the questions are relevant to professional photography today. The Institute of Credentialing Excellence also provides support and information for maintaining the certification process to the certification Committee.
The CPP designation is international and there are CPPs all over the world!
International CPP Candidates may declare their candidacy and take the exams online via the CPP Curriculum.
All Technical Image Evaluation materials are submitted online. Your Technical Image Evaluation kit will need to be ordered online from BlickU. Please refer to the Technical Image Evaluation Overview for more information. Please allow between 5-10 business days for kit delivery (pending location). For additional assistance for international candidates please email [email protected].
You will receive your CPP certificate in the mail approximately 3-4 weeks after the date that you received your passing email notification.
If your candidacy has expired and you have not successfully completed the exam requirement, you will be required to restart the process by re-declaring your candidacy. Please contact [email protected] for assistance.
If you have successfully completed the exam requirement, but not the Technical Image Evaluation requirement, please contact [email protected] for next steps.
Certification Exam FAQs
PPA has launched a new and improved CPP Curriculum that is broken down into six modules (sections) to help candidates learn at their own pace. Each module contains educational videos by different instructors, visual presentations, quizzes, the Photography Certification Guide, and the exam that corresponds with that module.
*Tip: You will need to use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as your browser to take each of the exams.
It is $200 to declare your candidacy and you will have two years to pass the exams and pass the Technical Image Evaluation. You will also have the option to pay for 10 exam attempts when you declare your candidacy. The cost for the exams is $25.
*Any candidate that declared their candidacy before February 1, 2025, does not have to pass the Introduction to Business Exam.*
The modules are located under the “Education” tab at the top of the page when you log into your PPA account.
Click on “Credentials” and then click on “CPP Curriculum” and you will see all six of the modules there under the Credentialing section.
You may start in any module and skip around, or you can just start with the first module.
Module 1: Cameras, Lenses, and Attachments
Module 2: Lighting and Flash Photography
Module 3: Design and Composition
Module 4: Exposures and Metering
Module 5: Digital Post-production
Module 6: Introduction to Business (New)
First, sign in to your PPA member account.
Navigate to the “Education” tab and click on it.
Then, click on “Curriculums”
Go to the Certified Professional Photographer Curriculum and navigate to each of the Modules (there are 6). At the bottom of the module content, you will see the Certification Exam that corresponds with that module.
Click on the exam and you will be prompted to pay for the first 10 attempts for $25. If you use the 10 attempts across all 6 of the exams and need more, you will again be prompted to pay another $25 for 10 more attempts.
You will then go through a few system checks, a Google Chrome browser extension, a room scan, and an ID scan before you begin.
The exam can only be taken on a Google Chrome browser, and you will be required to add an extension to take the exam. The process should only take a few minutes, and you will be able to take that section of the exam as soon as the process is complete.
Those who declared their candidacy before February 1, 2025 do not have to pass the Introduction to Business exam.
*You must be a declared and active CPP Candidate or a CPP up for recertification within 90 days of your expiration date to take the CPP Exams.*
The certification exams are comprised of 8-25 multiple-choice questions each. The material is pulled from the CPP test specifications, and all exam questions are referenced in the available Photography Certification Guide or the Benchmark Business guide.
You will have to score a 70% or higher to pass each of the exams.
If you do not pass a module exam, you will only have to retake that specific exam.
The exams are on-demand which means you do not have to schedule with a proctor. When you click on the “Exam 1, 2, 3…etc” you will see the set-up section open on the page. Just follow the prompts to begin the exam.
CPP Exams are not associated by specialty (Portrait, Sports, or Commercial), but you will need to have a good understanding of the fundamentals of photography to pass the exam.
No need to register. Just click on an exam at the bottom of a Certified Professional Photographer Module when you feel comfortable enough to take the exam.
You will be prompted to pay $25 for the first 10 exam attempts the first time you decide to take an exam.
You will receive your results in your myPPA account under “myAchievements” > “Certifications”
For exams taken online, you will receive your results in your myPPA account approximately 1-3 business days after your exam date. All exams must be reviewed before scores are released.
- You will see your score as a percentage and see a "Pass" or "Fail".
- If you have passed the required exams, you will automatically become eligible to submit your images to The Technical Image Evaluation when it opens up every month.
No, you do not have to complete the module(s) before taking the exam for each module. The progress bar is just there to help you track your personal progress.
You will have 10 attempts over the six exams.
You may take the exam as many times as you need during your two-year candidacy period. After that initial two-year period, you will need to start the process again, but there are no limits as to how many times you might be allowed to do this again.
It is $25 for 10 attempts. If you use the 10 attempts, you will need to purchase another 10 attempts for $25.
CPP exam accommodations
The CPP examination program provides reasonable and appropriate accommodations for individuals with documented disabilities within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADA).
Under ADA, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits an individual's ability to perform one or more major life activities, as compared with most people in the general population. PPA will make reasonable efforts to accommodate eligible candidates, who provide documented evidence of their disability or need for special arrangements that do not present an undue burden to the proctor and do not fundamentally alter the measurement of the knowledge the assessment is intended to test.
If you require special testing arrangements, you must inform PPA of your needs via email at least four weeks prior to the scheduled test date. Please email [email protected] for special accommodation requests.
We recommend allocating about 30 minutes to an hour from your schedule for each of the CPP Exams to allow time for set-up and test taking.
- Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browser
- Your government issued identification (driver’s license, ID, Passport). The name on your ID must match the name in your PPA account.
- A webcam
- A quiet location clear of any reference material
- Strong Internet connectivity. We recommend a hard-wired Internet connection if possible.
- Your PPA log in
- One blank piece of scratch paper
- Pocket-style or computer application calculator
You must use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
The exam at IUSA is a proctored in-person exam and you will answer all of the questions that are separated by category all at the same time. The exam at IUSA is also no charge for those who are attending, but you must be a declared candidate to be eligible.