The Finger Lakes Section of PPSNYS, Inc. will hold it's monthly meeting on
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
at **ABIGAIL'S**
1978 Routes 5&20 in Waterloo, NY. 315-539-9300.
www.abigailsrestaurant.com
Business meeting will start at 5:00PM
Dinner starts at 5:30 PM
Program starts at 7:00 PM
As always, there is no charge for members to attend this meeting and dinner of your choice will be selected from the delicious menu at Abigail's. The room is ours to use, but please plan to share dinner with your fellow photographers as appreciation to the restaurant.
This month's program will be given by Dana and Tim Shaffer from "The Classic Image Photography" in Fort Plain, NY. www.theclassicimage.com
The Art and Business of Wedding Photography
Tim and Dana Shaffer share their tips and techniques on wedding photography. We will cover the business from marketing to the clients you want to producing an end product that makes you stand out from the crowd.
Wedding photography has become intensely competitive. To be successful you need to attract the right customers and be able to set yourself apart from all the other photographers and studios.
We will talk about how professional organizations and good vendor relationships can positively affect your business. We will also go over our day of the wedding routine, post wedding workflow, image editing and album design.
Click here for more
Message from the Editor
Passing the Torch
This years conference was great. Not only was the speaker line up awesome and the location great, but I got to share it with members from my studio who joined me this year. I felt like I was passing the torch to the next generation, showing them the value of attending the conference for education and fellowship. Not only did they join me, they out merited me 3-0. I feel we should all make it a point to bring someone new to the conference each year and bring some young blood (or young at heart) in to our organization.
As people embrace new media outlets such as Facebook, as acceptable forms of socialization, it takes more and more of a push to get people off the couch and to your local meeting or the conference.
There is so much information available online that convincing newer photographers of the benefits of our organization will become increasingly diificult.
Speaking of the next generation, my sister Caren was married this past weekend, and with myself, my sister Ellen and my brother Rich in the wedding party, Caren was pretty much set with photographers. There were however, times when none of us were able to shoot.
That's when my 11-year-old daughter stepped up to the plate and began shooting with my S5. She did a great job, not only taking sharp photos but recognizing and capturing emotional action and reaction photos. Once again the seed has been planted to pass the torch to yet another generation of photographers.
- Steve
Steve Chesler
Chesler Photography
Team Chesler at 2009 PPSNYS Conference
Membership News
"If everyone took the time to personally invite one member..."
Its the obligation of everyone in the organization to work on membership!
-Herb Jones, Membership Chairperson
Finger Lakes crew at 2009 PPSNYS Conference
Message from the 1st Vice President, FLPPSNY
PPSNYS Conference Notes
Why do we go to convention?
Why does anyone go to convention?
I suppose the answers are as varied as we all are, but here are my top ten reasons, not in any particular order..
First, good friends. Thank you Vince, Honey, Ameka, Kevin, shoot - EVERYBODY from Finger Lakes - Ellen, Steve, - I was very pleased at the turnout from our section.
Second, new friends. I got acquainted with a number of photographers from all over the state, some new, some starting out, but all hungry for knowledge, friendship and inspiration.
Third, the "Awe" factor. I heard (and was overheard saying) that the judges were really tough this year in Print Comp. True. But every blue REALLY DESERVED their blue. We have some truly awesome talent….. and a well earned congratulations to Ellen Chesler for her two blues!
4'th, "Ah HAH!" moments, like when Kevin Kubota explained why some tilted images work and some do not. Vince and I had that same Ah HAH moment together. Seems simple now….
5'th, The Trade Show, and all of the new cool stuff to buy and use. The latest and greatest of everything was there for all to see.
6'th, the raffle. Ok, I won a Think Tank belt. It's really cool, and was worth the money I spent on the ticket and then some.
7'th, The parties. Convention is supposed to be fun, and this year's Gypsy Theme party was the best I've seen in some time. There were far too many photos taken there. Come ON, people, have fun. Leave the camera behind once in a while….
8'th, The stuff to buy from the speakers. There was no way I'd spend the thousands Kevin Kubota wanted for some of his goodies, but I DID get his Lightroom package, and it has already saved me MANY hours. And David Jay's ShowIt Slide Show Creator is absolutely awesome. Yep, Steve Chesler has been singing its praises for a while, and I was just too cheap….
9'th, Pride. I was proud to be a part of such a friendly, courteous, professional, trustworthy and ethical group. I was proud of my section and of the State Society's new President Craig Hutchings. We sometimes lose sight of exactly what an awesome organization we are part of. I am grateful to be a part of it.
10'th, and the most important of all, Inspiration. It's only been a week and a half, and I can truly say that Kevin Kubota and David Jay have changed my life. Ok, they didn't do it, they said some things that caused me to make changes in how I do business, and THAT has changed my life. My work has improved, I actually have a regular stream of clients, and there is a real hope for continued improvement in my business and professional life. Without "Convention", the inspiration would not have happened, and I would still be banging my head against the proverbial brick wall, which now lays in a heap at my feet.
2009 will be "The Year of the Relationship."
Build it, work it, be open to new opportunities.
Have an awesome month!
Monroe
Monroe Payne
1st Vice-President, FLPPSNY
Minutes of the March 2009 Meeting:
Minutes of the March 18, 2009 Finger Lakes Meeting
Guest: Steve Roth from Batavia (guest of Herb Jones). Dana Nordlund (speaker).
Meeting called to order by Honey
Motion: by Lois Miller moved that Vince be re appointed Chairman, second by Marney, approved.
January Secretary's Report approved.
TEP: Kevin reported in Bonnie's absence that approximately 35 to 40 attended, and 50 Meals were paid for.
He said that with a couple of outstanding bills yet to be paid "it looks like our costs were covered".
Vince asked that members bring ideas for next year's TEP to the table to be discussed at April meeting.
Convention: 2010 was discussed. Craig said he wouldn't be pressured into signing with the Desmond Hotel until
after this year's convention. He mentioned other possible venues such as the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester.
Craig is also considering condensing next year's trade show to one or two days.
For the Good of the Order:
Russ Graham celebrated another birthday March 22nd -- he says he's still 65.
Paul Freeman had a picture published in Life Magazine.
Denise Weldon opened a box of PPSNYS Finger Lakes memorabilia including photographs, workshop diplomas, etc. sent to her by Marty Murphy, son of Long time Finger Lakes members Ed and Flora Murphy.
Meeting adjourned at 6:00
Respectfully submitted,
Neil Sjoblom, Secretary.
Photography by Sjoblom
30 Linden St.
Geneva, NY 14456
(315)789-1082
website: www.neilsjoblom.com
April 2009 Program:
The Classic Image Studio
Tim Shaffer M. Photog. PPA Cert.
And Dana Shaffer
Tim and Dana Shaffer have run a successful storefront photography studio in Fort Plain NY since 1989. Tim's career began as a high school student when he took the money he would have spent on his prom and bought a camera instead. He attended the Germain School of Photography in Manhattan and completed their program with many honors and awards. He then went on to work as a photographer for newspapers in New Jersey and New York before moving to upstate New York to live. After working as a cameraman and photographer for trade papers in the area and photographing weddings on weekends he and Dana decided to open a studio in the town where their children would be going to school. They opened The Classic Image Photography Studio in 1991 as a full service studio offering portraits, wedding photography and commercial photography.
Tim and Dana have been photographing weddings together for 10 years. Their unique blend of romantic, classic and photojournalistic photography gives today's couple the wedding coverage they desire, while still allowing them to enjoy their family and guests. Their approach of letting the wedding happen, with as little direction as possible lets them photograph the event in it's natural course and record the emotions and interactions of the participants to each other and not as a reaction to the camera or photographer.
Dana and Tim have won numerous blue ribbons, Court of Honor awards and Judges Choice ribbons for their images and wedding albums at PPSNYS print judging. They have also merited many images at PPA International judging. Their images have been chosen for the PPA loan collection, Showcase books and a Fuji Masterpiece Award. In 2007 Tim and Dana were awarded a Court of Honor for their dual maker wedding album, "At Last".
Tim is a PPA certified photographer. He received the Master Photographer degree, along with Photographer of the Year-Bronze level in Austin TX in 2006.
In 2005 Tim and Dana decided to give back to the community that helped them succeed in their wedding and photography business by sharing their photography and marketing skills and techniques with other photographers through PPA seminars and programs. Their Wedding and High School Senior Photography seminars given as 2 or 3 hour evening programs have been well received at photographic groups all over NYS. They also held a day long PPA sponsored "Super Monday" program for photographers interested in the art and business of photographing high school seniors.
TIP OF THE MONTH:
From My Studio Mentor
April E-Studio Success Tip:
8 Things You Can Do Right Now to be Productive
Last month I shared with you my thoughts on diversifying your business. Since then the national discretionary spending numbers are out for the first quarter. Sorry, they don’t look so good. Home furnishings are off by 66%, Mercedes and BMW sales are down 35%. I bring these stats up because photography, mainly the higher-end products like wall portraits and albums, fall in-line with these categories of products. So, is it time to roll up in a ball, crawl to the corner, and suck your thumb? Absolutely not! As I’ve mentioned before, we are working as hard as ever to get the phone to ring with qualified clients who have discretionary income to spend! It is tough, but there are still people looking to invest their precious dollars with you! There is a silver lining in all this—you now have the time to do all the things (marketing) that you complain about not having enough time to do now! Here’s a list of things we’ve made time for and implemented during the first quarter:
- Re-Brand and Create a New HS Senior Website- We started working with our designer last year on a new senior logo and started with our web designer in February. The site should be up and running just in time for our summer marketing!
- Use the Rod Evans Facebook Marketing Model- We really started to hit the social media scene hard this year for our senior marketing. We now have up and running several Facebook pages and groups dedicated to our new senior brand. Rod Evans was kind enough to give us an interview regarding social media and marketing a few days ago. His interview was fantastic! He will be featured in May’s Monthly Mentor Issue! Might be a good time to join and learn from the Facebook Master himself!
- Use Other Social Media Sites- We also set up a Twitter page for our seniors. We’re finding that the more you try to reach out the younger generation, the better! Simply trying to direct them to your website is not enough; you have to go after them directly on their turf. That means social networking sites, texting, and Twitter.
- Beef Up Your Database- All of the lists we’ve collected from Chamber of Commerces and my 35th high school reunion and some new lists we purchased are going straight into our database! Take the time you have to get some new blood in your marketing. Mainly try to get email addresses—it is the cheapest form of effective marketing you can do right now!
- Adding Your Clients’ Birthdays and Anniversaries- We are now adding birthdays and anniversaries to our database as well. This gives us a chance to send a personal marketing piece to clients every year! Maybe we send them a Hudson’s Gift card or just a congratulations—the more touch points the better!
- Go to More Networking Events- One excuse I always hear from photographers is that they don’t have time to be active in their community. Well, if business is slow, you have no excuse or choice in my book. Go to Chamber luncheons, after-hours networking events, and donate your services to a charity! Do everything you can to get yourself out there! We are picking up more speaking gigs at service clubs and attending more Chamber functions. In fact, I am doing a speaking program on Friday! I am currently in the process of finishing our Speaking Suite Starter Package, an all-new product that will include everything you need to start speaking in your community right now! If you are a Monthly Mentor Member, you will be getting the DVD as a bonus gift from us in a couple of weeks! Man, what a value!
- Appreciate Every Client- When things slow down, it makes you truly appreciate your clients even more! We have always been good on thank-you’s and following up, but now we need to step it up even more. If you have always wanted to implement a thank-you card program into your studio’s workflow, now is the chance. Get these systems up and running now so when you get busy, they are already in working order. This is also a great way to build and maintain relationships. See below in the email for more ideas.
- Cleaning, Purging, and Organizing- Take the time to get things organized at your studio. You’ll find it will help you gather your thoughts better and become more productive. Set specific goals for you and your staff as well. We posted a great blog on this subject on April 5th. Check it out at The Daily Mentor Minute Blog!
In closing, take the opportunities you have right now to do the things you never had time for. Start those marketing projects, organize your business, and re-group for the months ahead. Every challenge in business gives us an opportunity and a silver lining. If you look carefully, you will be able to find many ways to weather today’s business climate. I hope some of what we are doing will give you inspiration and ideas.
Hang in there and take care, everyone!
Bruce Hudson
About Bruce Hudson
News and Notes:
This is a new section of the newsletter for anyone who wants to share something of interest. It could be a birthday, a milestone, something new you're doing that you want to share, the sky is the limit. Send your News and Notes items to Steve@Cheslerphoto.com.
PPSNYS PHOTO WORKSHOP 2009
PPSNYS PHOTO WORKSHOP 2009
July 19-24, 2009
Hobart/William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York
Teachers will be:
- Fay Sirkis - "Impressions of Art" A Photo Painting Workshop
- John Woodward -- All I Know, Mastering the Light
- Ken Sklute - Wedding Program
- Craig Hutchings - Photography 101
- Suzette Allen - Doing a Photoshop Class
- Gary Meek -- Photography - A Comprehensive Study
PPSNYS has a Scholarship Program that gives each section that buys one $100 scholarship a free $100 Scholarship. Each section is free to buy as many more $100 scholarships as they desire. This is an incentive to help with the cost of the school for members of PPSNYS.
WORKSHOP TESTIMONIALS: 2008
- Very pleased. Beautiful Facility, no politics, super educational opportunity.
- This is the best year of six. Value far exceeds minimal cost.
- Wonderful experience.
- Wonderful!! Relations formed are life long. Cannot thank you enough.
TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT IN THE COURSE OF YOUR CHOICE, SEND YOUR DEPOSIT
($100 or $200 for Fay Sirkis and Suzette Allen) to:
Linda Hutchings/Registrar,
Box 403,
Elmira, NY 14902
Early registration means that $100 is deducted from your tuition. Every member of PPSNYS, PPA or another state's photographic organization (PPA affiliated) is entitled to another $100 deducted from tuition. Your tuition includes the instructor of your choice, air-conditioned classrooms, a CD master set of images from your class (except for digital classes), dorm facilities, breakfast, lunch and dinner, wine and cheese party, Thursday night awards ceremony (with dinner), degree merits for PPA members, class photograph, all school photograph, diploma for your wall, workshop shirt and central parking facility. Deposits are non-refundable.
PPSNY Forum:
The new PPSNY Forum is off to a running start. Don't to forget to sign up at www.ppsnysforum.com. This is one of your new member benefits, so take advantage of it and share ideas and inspiration with friends and colleagues across the state.
FINGER LAKES FORUM:
If you haven't signed up for the Finger Lakes Forum, now it the time. By signing up with an e-mail, automatic reminders of upcoming events will be sent to you. There is also a calendar listing all events. Sign on and see what's happening. There are listings for jobs and equipment also. If you have something you would like to sell please feel free to post it there. Several members have uploaded photos for you to look at. There are also a few photos from Conference.
Thank you Steve Chesler for getting this started. I hope it will become a place where our members will get together to share information.
CONTACT INFO:
Finger Lakes Officers
| Name |
Title |
Phone |
Email |
| Vincent Aiosa |
Section Chair |
(607) 564-3560 |
valleyviewphoto@juno.com |
| Monroe Payne |
1st Vice President |
(607) 351-8076 |
monroe@paynefamilyphotographers.com |
| Steve Schwarz |
2nd Vice President |
(607) 962-1333 |
steve@schwarzprofoto.com |
| Sjoblom , Neil |
Secretary |
(315) 789-1082 |
nsjoblom@aol.com |
| Saunders, Bonnie |
Treasurer |
(585) 243-3601 |
alphaandomega@att.net |
Delegates to PPSNYS:
- Honey DeLapa
- Roger Smith
- Monroe Payne
PPSNYS Business Service:
Karen K. Dyer
PPSNYS Business Manager
121 State Street
Albany, NY 12207
Phone: 518-434-9500
Toll Free: 877-907-7769 (877-90PPSNY)
Fax: 518-436-4751
E-mail: headquarters@ppsnys.com
PPA (404) 522-8600
The Finger Lakes Section is a section of the Professional Photographers' Society of New York State, Inc. (PPSNYS) which is an affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA).
The PPSNYS is a not for profit association formed in 1905 solely to instruct its members and the general public in photography; and to create, foster, promote and encourage the exchange of information among its members and the public.
The PPA is a worldwide association that exists to assist its members in achieving their professional, artistic and fraternal goals; promote public awareness of the profession; and to advance the making of images in all of its disciplines as an art, a science and a visual recorder of history.
PPSNYS (518) 434-8830
PPA (404) 522-8600
E-letter contact info:
Honey DeLapa
thelakehouse@mac.com
(585) 392-3886
Steve Chesler
steve@cheslerphoto.com
(585) 393-9242
