A Professional Organization for Photographers

In the recent months since my graduation from film school I have started to network in order to meet new clientele for photography and find others to learn from and help me to build my portfolio. In this time I have also come to find, that there are a lot of people who call themselves “photographers” or even “professional photographers,” most of whom started because they own a DSLR. Many of these people know nothing about the business or little more than the basics of photography. So I wanted to look for ways to separate myself from the casual DSLR owners outside of the obvious quality in photographs. While reading a book by Norman Phillips on the legal aspects of the industry he mentioned a professional resource that helps to separate higher-level photographers from casual hobbyists.

The Professional Photographers of America is an organization that does just this.

          Among their several useful offerings is the knowledge they provide to others on copyright and the rights of the photographer, as well as helping us to educate clients or even helping photographers directly if they run into copyright disputes such as large companies using images out of agreement. 

One of the truly amazing aspects of the PPA is the wide array of educational benefits they offer. As I learned more about the organization I found that they offer online classes, host business oriented workshops on how to make your studio more profitable, and even unique peer to peer classes that are centered around a Monday in October that is referred to as Super Monday. This is where members in local areas can gather to learn from their peers through techniques as well as business related topics, all while networking with people who have the same interests.

          I particularly like that in whatever they provide they truly understand who their customers are. Although I am trying to separate myself from the casual hobbyists who call themselves pros, I am also NOT a big studio with tons of disposable time or income. The PPA caters to people like me. If they list an upcoming workshop that might be too in depth, or aimed more at large studios, they also make sure to have an option for the new and emerging studios. This will definitely help to make aspiring industry professionals like myself more successful long term. 

Overall I have been extremely impressed with all of the information they provide, and with it being all in one location it is exceptionally convenient. I cant wait to delve deeper into the rest of the organization outside of just the educational and networking opportunities.