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Working ProThe

Issue 235 • September 2015

PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE AIPP

Working ProThe

C o n t e n t s# 2 3 5 - S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5

The Working Pro is the official newsletter of The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP).

Editor Peter Eastway

G.M Photog., FNZIPP, Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP

Disclaimer The information provided in The Working Pro and associat-

ed publications is made in good faith, but is general in nature. Neither

the editor, the publisher or the AIPP accept responsibility for or will be

under any liability for any recommendations, representations or infor-

mation provided herein. The Working Pro presents information, opin-

ions and suggestions for subscribers to evaluate in coming to their

own decisions in the light of their own individual circumstances. The

information should not be relied upon without readers first obtaining

independent advice from their own financial and legal advisers.

Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Peter Eastway.

Publication The newsletter is published 10 times a year – monthly

with November/ December and January/February being combined.

The Working Pro newsletter is published by Pt 78 Pty Ltd,

ABN 75 003 152 136, PO Box 351, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097, Australia.

Phone: (02) 9971 6857; Fax (02) 9971 6641.

E-mail eastway@betterphotography.com

Copyright © 2015

AIPP Membership Contacts

Suite G.02, 171 Union Road,

Surrey Hills, Victoria 3127

Phone: 03 9888 4111

E-mail: enquiries99@aipp.com.au

Cover

K a r e n T u c K w e l l aPPGOLD AWARD - FAMILY CATEGORY

2014 CANON AIPP AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

w w w. k a z t u c k w e l l p h o t o g r a p h y. c o m . a u

4 Ross’s Ramblings Ross Eason APP.L M.Photog., Hon.LM, National President

6 Plagiarism - Don’t Enter It!Closely copying the work of other photographers and artists is illegal and unethical, so when you enter photography awards or post on social me-dia, think carefully about what you show.

8 Update: AIPP Reflections ProjectOlivia Ross says teach the kids about our history and make a family day out of it too.

1 0 Bruce Williams - AIPP BoardThere are now two Bruce Williams in the photography profession and one of them has just joined the AIPP as a co-opted Board Member.

2 0 Judge Training Around AustraliaMartin Graham-Dunne has just completed a circuit of the capital cities helping our judges improve their communication skillls.

2 2 What is a Video Producer? Rochelle Morris updates members about the exciting future for video producers within the AIPP.

2 6 Copyright: Expert AdviceIf you have a query or an issue about copyright, free advice from an ex-pert is only a web page away at the Australian Copyright Council.

3 0 Posting Comments: What’s Appropriate?Is it ever good form to visit someone’s social media pages or website and criticise them in public? What’s the best way to deal with problems on-line?

3 2 AIPP Member Portfolio: Linda BeksFrom photographing young children with snakes to whale watching with other AIPP members, Linda Beks appears to have her life well under con-trol.

4 4 Should I Enter Canon APPA This Year?Think about your expectations before you enter the awards and make the most out of them!

4 8 Understanding Website Bounce RatesPeter Myers explains that a high bounce rate might not be a good thing and that testing different pages could produce huge improvements to your business.

5 4 Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USMIt’s so wide at one end, but it’s also incredibly sharp in the middle. Canon pushes the limits with its upmarket ultra wide-angle zoom.

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Ross’s Ramblings R o s s E a s o n A P P. L M . P h o t o g . , H o n . L M , N a t i o n a l P r e s i d e n t

Knowledge Is Power

How Do You Compare ?

We will soon launch within our membership

and the professional photographers of Australia

one of the most comprehensive benchmarking

surveys of the photographic industry.

Consumer laws in Australia do not allow

most industries to set or dictate prices, but we

can gather and distribute pricing information

and allow our members to determine where

they sit within the pricing range. Our hope with

this survey is to create the results that will allow

every member to compare like for like.

Regional, city, domestic and commercial

sectors will be broken down so, as an example,

a city based studio photographer can compare

not only how they sit with their contemporaries

in the same city, but also how they compare

with other cities. Home studios will be able to

do the same. Regional photographers will be

able to compare results with other regional

photographers.

Any survey is only as good as the sample it

gathers and the accuracy of the answers, and

because of this, we are encouraging as many

photographers as possible to participate.

Please take the time to complete the survey

when it is available, but tuck the ego away and

be realistic with your answers.

Teaching Old (And Not So Old)

Puppies New Tricks

Over the last two weeks, we have been running

training sessions for awards judges, specifically

targeting assessment and feedback. As Peter

mentions later in this issue, the training was

aimed at respectful and constructive comment,

and having attended one of the sessions, I am

confident the judging experience both for

judges and entrants will be different at this

year’s Canon APPAs, as well as the Epson state

awards next year and beyond.

We ran an exit survey of judges who

attended the training, some of the most

respected names in our pool of judges, with an

outstanding 86% satisfaction rate.

To ensure ongoing opportunities to educate

judges, we also ran a ‘train the trainer’ session

with a strategic cross section of Australian

judges who will work with aspiring and new

judges to pass on those skills.

Who Me?

Yes, I am talking to you!

Our Reflections program has reached new

heights. The national media exposure of the

Institute and the contribution our members

are making by demonstrating the importance

of the professional photographer has been

outstanding. We have over 5000 veterans

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registered, with more signing up each day as

the AIPP name and initiative spreads around the

country.

What we need are more members to

help those who have already registered to be

Reflections photographers. Overwhelmingly,

every participating photographer has gained

more than they have given. Their stories and

interactions with the veterans have been

inspirational and career highlights. It’s your turn

to help - and yes, I really am talking to you!

To Quote Will Shipton from Pro Counter News

Letter: “When you think of it, most news about

photographers usually concerns a celebrity

raising their fists toward a paparazzo - and

the lawsuit that follows! So it’s great to see

headlines that better reflect the kind of people

professional photographers are.

    We salute the AIPP and the contributing

photographers on this initiative.”

As AIPP members, we should all be very

proud of this initiative. The positive light it

reflects on our profession will serve us well for a

long time into the future.

The AIPP brand is being noticed and spread

across the community, the industry and to our

elected parliamentarians. When we advocate

to government to protect our industry, having

friends on the inside is a huge advantage.

ross.eason@aipp.com.au

0438 722 992

Reflections Making A Big ImpactExcerpt from a letter from Ros Strongman, vice president of an RSL

sub branch:

This past week has been ‘emotionally huge’ for me. I have

attended two funerals for WW2 Vets. It made me realise just

how important the AIPP Project is and I wanted to share this

with you all.

How many WW2 Vets are we losing each week that we

DON’T get to hear about? It has brought it home to me that

within five years, within this country, it will be unlikely that

there are any WW2 Vets left to honour. I don’t believe that our

country has woken up to this.

I imagine that all of the photographers from the AIPP are

pretty exhausted at this time. This whole exercise is much

bigger than any of us had imagined. But what you are doing

individually is vital and so very much appreciated by the

Veterans and their families.

This project is something that each and every one of you

will be able to look back on with pride. Whether you have taken

one photo or one hundred is irrelevant. You have contributed

to our history and you should all be proud of yourselves for the

dedication you have shown for the Reflections project.

YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE to these Vets and their

families’ lives! On behalf of these Vets and their families, I

wanted to say thank you.

Kind regards,

Ros Strongman

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Plagiarism - Don’t Enter It!C l o s e l y c o p y i n g t h e w o r k o f o t h e r p h o t o g r a p h e r s a n d a r t i s t s i s i l l e g a l a n d u n e t h i c a l , s o w h e n y o u e n t e r p h o t o g r a p h y a w a r d s o r p o s t o n s o c i a l m e d i a , t h i n k c a r e f u l l y a b o u t w h a t y o u s h o w .

There is nothing more embarrassing than

having one of your photographs win an award

or get thousands of likes on Facebook, only for

the public to find out later that you have copied

someone else.

Some people believe that if they take a

photograph with their camera, they own

the copyright in the photograph and can

do whatever they like. This is only partly true

because it ignores the issue of plagiarism and

breach of copyright.

An idea is not subject to copyright, but the

way an idea is executed most certainly is. For

example, the idea of photographing a tree on a

hill is not subject to copyright, but a particular

tree on a particular hill from a particular angle

may well be subject to copyright.

However, we can ignore the legal

technicalities and contain this discussion to one

of professional ethics.

If you see the work of another photographer

or artist, you should not copy it. Period.

When learning new skills, you may

privately copy the work of experts to learn the

techniques, but these copies should never be

entered into photography competitions or

posted on social media as your own work.

Why not? The reason is simple: it is not your

idea. You don’t own the photograph, so don’t

steal it! You wouldn’t want someone stealing

your photos, surely?

Every year at APPA and the state print

awards, a number of entries look very similar to

successful entries from the previous year.

There is no problem with this if you are

just ‘influenced’ by earlier work. If you see a

photograph of a tree on a hill and you are

inspired to find a better tree on a better hill, go

right ahead! However, to copy how another

photographer has already photographed a tree

on a hill is unethical.

When judges score images highly, it’s

often because they have not seen the image

before and wish to reward the photographer

for originality. It is very disappointing to later

discover they have been duped by someone

who has simplied copied someone else.

This is not always a black and white subject,

so if in doubt, don’t. A reputation for plagiarism

is very hard to lose.

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Aerial photograph over Useless Loop, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Photograph by Peter Eastway.

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Update: AIPP Reflections ProjectO l i v i a R o s s s a y s t e a c h t h e k i d s a b o u t o u r h i s t o r y a n d m a k e a f a m i l y d a y o u t o f i t t o o .

Most photographers don’t need to drive for four

hours to photograph their veterans, but this is

the type of commitment our AIPP members are

prepared for.

When you read Olivia Ross’s story, it’s

important to realise that most portrait sittings

will take just 15 minutes to half an hour, even

less if you photograph a number of veterans

at the same time. However, Olivia made one

veteran service woman very happy.

“When I first heard about the Reflections

Project”, Oliva explained, “I was an emerging

member, but the project was part of the reason

I put my portfolio in to become an Accredited

Professional Photographer.”

Olivia also lives in St George, a small

town some six hours inland from Brisbane in

Queensland’s south west. She shoots mainly

family portraits and is also a school teacher in

the community of around 2,500 people.

“I knew there was one veteran in town, so

I didn’t think I would have lots of people to

photograph. However, there are also quite a few

small towns that are reasonably accessible for

me, but long distances for photographers who

might live in Brisbane.”

So when the notification came through to

photograph a veteran in Charleville, a further

four to five hours drive inland, Olivia didn’t

flinch. Instead, she bundled up her kids and her

husband and turned it into an event.

“We made it into a family holiday and

included some touristy things, like seeing the

bilbies at night.

“The Charleville veteran, Jessie Jelley, had

been in the airforce and after her return, spent

a lot of her life helping to have servicemen and

women recognised for post-traumatic stress

disorders, including her own husband who had

been a prisoner of war.

“I photographed Jessie in the nursing

home at Charleville. The largest space they

had available was in the reception area, so the

shoot became a big event for the whole nursing

home.

“And while the kids loved the bilbies, it also

gave us an opportunity to talk about our history

and showed how rewarding it can be to just sit

and listen to the stories of our elders.”

Please spread the word about this project to WWII

veterans and photographers. To register a veteran

or as a photographer for the project please go to:

https://aippveterans.com

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Veteran Jessie Jelley photographed by Olivia Ross. ”This photo is different to the stricter regimental portrait that I sent for the project.

The photograph has Jessie holding a photograph of her husband.”

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Bruce Williams - AIPP BoardT h e r e a r e n o w t w o B r u c e W i l l i a m s i n t h e p h o t o g r a p h y p r o f e s s i o n a n d o n e o f t h e m h a s j u s t j o i n e d t h e A I P P a s a c o - o p t e d B o a r d M e m b e r .

As you read this, Bruce Williams is somewhere

in the south of France, enjoying retirement.

Except Bruce is unlikely to ever retire, at least

not completely.

And certainly not while he’s a co-opted

member of the AIPP National Board.

Bruce is a Chartered Accountant who holds

a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Business

Administration.

He has over 30 years’ experience advising

clients across Australia regarding the operation

of their businesses.

Bruce knows what makes a successful

business and why many businesses fail. He also

has a particular interest in using your business

to build personal wealth in a tax effective

manner and has been invited to share his

business knowledge at many conferences in

Australia and overseas.

And no, this is not Epson’s Bruce Williams,

just in case you were wondering. However,

the two Bruces did meet at the Nikon Event in

Hobart a couple of years back when the hotel

mixed up their rooms!

“I did a session on finances and running a

business for photographers”, explained Bruce.

“It was also videotaped for people to look at

later on the AIPP website and Ross [Eason] told

me that a member had rung him up and said

that watching my presentation on its own was

worth his annual membership.

“I think this gave Ross the idea that I might

be helpful on the Board, so after talking it over

with the other board members, I was invited to

become a co-opted board member.

“I said I’d be more than happy to help them

make financial decisions if they gave me some

guidance with my photography. I enjoyed my

time speaking in Hobart and photography is a

real passion for me.

“I’ve been travelling and photographing a lot

lately. I’m not top professional level, but some of

my shots aren’t too bad.

“Recently, I met an artist on a trip to the

Arctic and then we both did the Canning Stock

Route in Western Australia.

“We decided to put on an exhibition of

paintings and photographs called ‘Contrasts’,

contrasting the Arctic with the Australian

outback.”

The proceeds from the exhibition were

donated to Breast Cancer Research.

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Photographs by Bruce Williams from the Arctic (above) and the Canning Stock Route (below).

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A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | V I C TO R I A

T H E B A L L A R AT I N T E R N AT I O N A L F OTO B I E N N A L E

An enthusiastic group of AIPP Victoria members headed to The Ballarat International Foto Biennale on Monday 24 August. The bus, ably driven by our president Nick Ghionis, took us to some amazing and inspiring exhibitions. We are grateful for the time given by Jeff Moorfoot, founder, director, and legend of the Biennale. Jeff spoke to our group about how he chose the artists represented in the core exhibition. It was also wonderful to see the work of some of our very own AIPP members on display!

Now a note from Vic Council Member, David Simmonds; who put together a brilliant timetable for the day and got us to so many fascinating exhibits:

This year the AIPP Vic invested $3800; supporting the BIFB and fully sponsoring the workshop program. To the Biennale, like so many artistic festivals, it means a

LOT. It says we care! We can’t measure that for the team at heart, but believe me it makes a difference! Every year the Biennale struggles on; while promises from government, councils, industry often come to little.

We praise the vision, enterprise, and the sheer bloody-mindedness (perhaps madness) that keeps the Biennale going. Like the photograph on the wall we admire but do not buy; this year you made a difference! You bought!! Well done to you all!

Our members came up to see for themselves how wonderful this festival is, and now we encourage other AIPP members to do the same!

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

10 September - APPA Print Critique27 October - Video Critique Night, Glow Studios

F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Click Here

© DAVID SIMMONDS | THE BALLARAT INTERNATIONAL FOTO BIENNALE

© EMMA MCEVOY © SHANE MONOPOLI

© DAVID SIMMONDS | THE BALLARAT INTERNATIONAL FOTO BIENNALE

Council Structure: Most councils have five members, but this can be varied by mutual consent.

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F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Click Here

S A P PA

SA had a fantastic award season this year with entry levels being maintained at steady numbers and, as always, culminating in our ever popular Awards Dinner.

Congratulations to all of our category winners and to our overall SA PPY, Gee Greenslade. Our interstate judges, Rocco Ancora, Alan Moyle and Tania Niwa very kindly hosted a special information session to share their wealth of knowledge to a captivated audience. We thank them for giving their valuable time to come and judge for us.

S A P PA E X H I B I T I O N

Following the awards every year, SA Council arranges for an exhibition where we can showcase the best of our AIPP community to the general public. This year, the exhibition is being hosted at the Adelaide Convention Centre. We saw record attendance for the opening which coincided with the launch of the very popular SALA (South Australian Living Artists) Festival. A fantastic exhibition with at least one print from every entrant on display.

O P E N F O R U M F O R F U T U R E P L A N N I N G

SA Council opened up its ‘doors’ to enable members to express their thoughts as to what they would like to see during the coming year. Suggestions came flooding in for workshop ideas, speakers they would like to see and information sessions to further enrich their knowledge of their business skills and of the photographic industry. SA Council members will now be holding a ‘round-table’ session for a full on planning day to take all suggestions into consideration and promulgate a concise calendar of events.

R E F L E C T I O N S I N S A

The SA Reflections team, lead by council member Louise Bagger APP, has forged ahead and worked tirelessly to capture wonderful memories of our WWII veterans. To date, SA has amassed over 980 registrations with only around 90 of those still to be photographed. An absolutely outstanding effort by all involved.

© GEE GREENSLADE

A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | S O U T H AU S T R A L I A

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F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Click Here

This month the ACT Council organised a film night so members could watch the extraordinary life of Vivian Mayer and we also had our first Print Critique Night, a great event with lots of constructive feedback for members. The Print Critique Night was held at Kylee Sharple’s studio, and we thank her for her time and space!  Doug Hall had a great idea to hold monthly breakfasts, so to help as many members get to these social breaks there will be one northside and southside.

CO U N C I L M E M B E R F O C U S - L I B F E R R E I R ALib Creative - Graphic Design & Photography Specialising in Family Photography and Commercial Photography for small businesses.

How long have you been a photographer?

Became professionally accredited in 2013, only started as a photographer in 2010.

What or who inspired you to become a photographer?

My 2nd child was born prematurely and I was unable to get any decent photos of her in the NICU. This pushed me to buy my first DSLR camera in 2008. Once I learnt how to use the camera properly, I fell completely in love with photography. It came very naturally to me and was helped along by my background in graphic design. I have been compelled ever since to continue to develop my skills and knowledge of photography and the photographic industry.

In history who would you classify as your photographic hero?

Having a background in graphic design, I am inspired by photographic artists like Annie Leibovitz, and more recently Alexia Sinclair.

When you’re not doing photography, what do you do?

Mum duties: I have 2 young daughters so my life currently revolves around them.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S15 Sept – 8am @ San Churro Woden

And then repeated every first and third Tuesday of the month. We encourage members to just pop along and have a chat and share your week in photography…. 

A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | A C T

© LIB FERREIRA

© LIB FERREIRA

© LIB FERREIRA

© LIB FERREIRA

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F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T SClick Here

“What a great night we all had at our Evening With Kylie Lyons of Handprint Photography at Narellan. Thank you Kylie for being so generous with your information on how to run a successful wedding, portrait and commercial studio. For those of you who were unable to attend the night, these evenings are a fantastic way to see how others run successful photography businesses. We often receive some amazing tips on how to improve and market our business! Thank you Kylie” - Charles Foulsham

“Many thanks to the AIPP National Board, in particular Rocco Ancora and Kylie Lyons, for the judge’s training day at Kayell Australia. The AIPP brought Martin (of Martin Grahame-Dunn Photographic Business Consultant & Trainer) out from the UK to share his globally sourced expertise and passion for judging, to enhance the skills of our judges and to improve the critiques given at state and national awards“ - David Glazebrook

August also hosted a fantastic evening by our commercial chapter on Creating A Winning Portfolio as well as the first of our two pre-APPA print critique nights at Kayell, which were a great success. The second critique night was held at L&P on 1 September and by all accounts was also a great success.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S16 Sep – Social – Off The Grid Goes South @ Como Hotel

24 Sep – Core Skills – Momento Pro Production Tour Featuring Katie Kolenberg, Jeremy Byrnes, and Karl and Bec Welsch

A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | N E W S O U T H WA L E S

© RICHARD WINDEYER © JULIE DELISSER

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© JOHN WOODHOUSE © JOHN WOODHOUSE

F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

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Things are slowly getting back to normal in WA after such a busy time with WAEPPA and The Event! Our August breakfast meeting had a great turnout to hear from our 2015 WA Professional Photographer of the Year, John Woodhouse. A very entertaining presenter, John shared with us the story of how he came to be a photographer, as well as an insight into his current work. Victory in the Pacific Day was commemorated at Kings Park and our Reflections photographers were there to capture photographs of WW2 Veterans in attendance. If you would like to get involved in this amazing project, our state coordinators Rebekah Wilson and Kate McHardy would love to hear from you! One of the lovely moments of the day from Stuart Holden:

“I looked over at this bloke and thought, bloody hell, he’s familiar. Then I realised we were part of the same mob out in the sticks. I thought he didn’t make it!” “What’s that?” “I said I thought you didn’t make it mate!” “Ah! We were out in that awful mud up to here, remember that? 6th Commando (this part was hard to hear) we were back then!“Yeah that mud! Bloody hell. Almost in the ... it was haha” “So how long has it been since you’ve seen each other?”“What?”“He wants to know how many years its been!” 

“Ah, about 70 years or so?” “Yep! That’s about right.”* These guys met at the morning tea held at Frasers in Kings Park last Saturday. Both of them had thought the other hadn’t made it home after the war. It was an amazing moment to see two old mates reunited after 70 years. Needless to say, they did a lot of catching up afterwards.

By the time you read this, we’d have had our APPA Critique Afternoon, where our local Master Photographers tested out some new skills from last week’s Judges Workshop. With such strong results from state awards, fingers crossed we can bring the President’s Cup back to WA with us this year!

This month we are also heading down to our regional members in the south west of the state for a social catch up. Keep an eye out for some upcoming events listed below.

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

13 September – SW Regional Catchup27 October – Post APPA Sundowner 10 November – Breakfast Meeting9 December – President’s Christmas Party

A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | W E S T E R N AU S T R A L I A

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!

F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

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As the weather starts to heat up, so too does the Queensland Council activity! August has been action packed and September is due to sizzle.

Queensland had the amazing Martin Grahame-Dunn judge training during August, promptly followed by the first APPA Print Critique night, where judges got to put their new skills to the test. Fifty people rolled up, prints in hand, ready to absorb the action. August 19 was also World Photo Day, so the evening was a double celebration.

The end of August saw Ryan Schembri On the Lounge, wowing each and every participant. Such a pity Ryan does not have a larger lounge as plenty of people missed out. Got to be so quick to register for these events. Keep your eyes peeled each month for The Working Pro, and the Events on Facebook. To request a speaker for On the Lounge, please email aippqld@aipp.com.au

Queensland is still pumping out the Veteran Portraits at a rate of knots. Our very own co-ordinator Megan Rizzo got

her own portrait with these incredible men.

“Thank you to Mark Buckley for taking my portrait today whilst we were at The Bupa Retirement home in Merrimac.” What was initially one portrait for one WWII Veteran, turned out to be a great few hours of fun as the word spread to the other veterans in the home. These are my new friends (pictured above) from the left, Victor, Doug and Ken. Ken being the cheekiest one who would smack the nurses on the bum as they walked past and salute them when he was told to behave.

UPCOMING EVENTS 8 Sep – Social Event – Gold Coast Coffee Meet-up9 Sep – Core Skills – APVP Video Critique Evening10 Sep – Inspiration – On the Lounge – Justin Ealand15 Sep – Core Skills – APPA Print Critique Evening24 Sep – Inspiration – On the Lounge – TBA13 Oct – Social Event – Brisbane Coffee Meet-up

A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | Q U E E N S L A N D

!!APPA PRINT CRITIQUE #1 THE BUPA RETIREMENT HOME IN MERRIMACMARTIN GRAHAME-DUNN JUDGE’S TRAINING

© SANDRA LEA

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR THE NQ CHAPTER

CATHERINE & RICHARD MULDOON WORKSHOP – PHOTOGRAPHY AS A VOCATION

Two Dates:

Monday 28 September | Airlie Beach

Wednesday 30 September | Townsville

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J U D G E S W O R K S H O PI recently had the opportunity to sit with Martin Graham-Dunn, as well as a handful of my local AIPP colleagues, for a day of exploring the award process, with an emphasis on the philosophy, ethics and morality of judging the work of others. I found the information and presentation engaging and at times challenging.

On a personal level it prompted me to consider my own shortfalls in this paradigm and inspired a resolve to address my own weaknesses and bias. Martin’s breadth of knowledge and experience was evident throughout the day and I took away a great deal of inspiration, generally, and with regard to the awards process. By Dan Cripps http://www.dancripps.com/

R E F L E C T I O N S P R O J E C TTasmania’s contribution to the Reflections Project continues and we have currently photographed 59 WWII vets, 30 in the south and 29 in the north. We still have 36 vets on the books to get through, with new vets still registering as the word spreads.

There is plenty of opportunity left for new photographers to get involved. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact the state project co-ordinator Katinka Smith http://www.katinkasmith.com.au/

A R O U N D T H E S TAT E S | TA S M A N I A

F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Click Here© ALL IMAGES BY DAN CRIPPS

Council Structure: There was an equal vote for 5th position, so a sixth position was created by mutual consent.

THE 39TH CANON AIPP AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

24TH SEPTEMBER – ONLINE ENTRIES WILL CLOSE AT 5.00PM EST2ND OCTOBER – PRINT CASES MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5.00PM EST

16TH – 18TH OCTOBER – JUDGING OF AWARDS AT THE DIGITAL SHOW18TH OCTOBER – WRAP UP PARTY AFTER JUDGING

19TH OCTOBER – CANON APPA AND AIPP GALA DINNER

IMPORTANT DATES

© 2014 AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR JAMES SIMMONS

WWW.AIPPAPPA.COM

CALL FOR ENTRIES

19

THE 39TH CANON AIPP AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

24TH SEPTEMBER – ONLINE ENTRIES WILL CLOSE AT 5.00PM EST2ND OCTOBER – PRINT CASES MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5.00PM EST

16TH – 18TH OCTOBER – JUDGING OF AWARDS AT THE DIGITAL SHOW18TH OCTOBER – WRAP UP PARTY AFTER JUDGING

19TH OCTOBER – CANON APPA AND AIPP GALA DINNER

IMPORTANT DATES

© 2014 AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR JAMES SIMMONS

WWW.AIPPAPPA.COM

CALL FOR ENTRIES

20

Judge Training Around AustraliaM a r t i n G r a h a m - D u n n e h a s j u s t c o m p l e t e d a c i r c u i t o f t h e c a p i t a l c i t i e s h e l p i n g o u r j u d g e s i m p r o v e t h e i r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s .

I have attended both of Martin’s presentations.

The first was a judge training session which he

delivered all around the country to around 100

judges and prospective judges.

The second was in Melbourne where he

trained the more experienced judges who will

continue Martin’s good work, training new

judges in the states.

It was refreshing to have an independent

arbiter look at how we run our awards

and make recommendations based on his

international experience. In fact, Martin was

the first to comment that our system leads the

world and that many other countries look to us

for direction.

Careful Delivery

However, this isn’t to say things couldn’t be

done better.

In the past few years, the judging system has

become much more public, with live streaming

and many more photographers entering. And

while the quality of the judging has always

been both expert and controversial, it was the

delivery of their feedback for the entrants and

audience that needed a little work.

My takeaway from Martin’s seminars are that

judges require two attributes.

First, judges need to have a strong

background in all forms of art and photography.

It’s not enough to be an award winner in,

say, landscape, and think you are capable of

judging. To be a useful judge, you need a good

understanding of more than just the narrow

field you have been successful in.

The second attribute is being able to clearly

express yourself in a positive way. There are a

lot of photographers who have great opinions

about photography, but if they are unable to

express these opinions, then they will never

make a good judge in this system. Judges must

also be good orators.

But not just orators, positive orators. Entrants

are putting their work into the awards systems

and hoping to get good, honest feedback.

Martin confirmed this doesn’t mean sugar-

coating the truth, rather being polite and

sincere about how the photographer could

improve the work that has been presented.

The AIPP has some clear goals over the next

few years to elevate our judges to continue

being among the best in the world.

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Martin Graham-Dunne presenting at Kayell Australia’s meeting room in Artarmon, Sydney. Martin spoke all around Australia during August.

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What is a Video Producer? R o c h e l l e M o r r i s u p d a t e s m e m b e r s a b o u t t h e e x c i t i n g f u t u r e f o r v i d e o p r o d u c e r s w i t h i n t h e A I P P.

As defined by the Producers Guild of America: “A Producer initiates, coordinates, supervises and controls, either on his own authority, or subject to the authority of an employer, all aspects of the motion-picture and/or television production process, including creative, financial, technological and administrative. A Producer is involved throughout all phases of production from inception to completion, including coordination, supervision and control of all other talents and crafts, subject to the provisions of their collective bargaining agreements and personal service contracts.”

Hi. I’m Rochelle Morris, Director of Preface

Films and I have recently been appointed as an

AIPP Board Advisor for video. I am also a brand

ambassador for the Accredited Professional

Video Producers (APVP) and a Co-opt Victorian

Council Member. In essence I am much like the

‘voice’ of our membership base.

Accreditation

The journey of bringing the profession of

video into the AIPP has been a long but short

one. I say ‘long’ as I remember my first phone

conversation with Peter Myers in 2011, and

‘short’ in that we began major inroads only two

years ago.

Since then, our profession has slowly been

emerging and gaining momentum within the

association.

To tick off what the PVP members have

done, I should first start with accreditation.

This is a crucial system that was needed to be

developed.

Whilst we didn’t realise the importance at

the time, it’s especially significant now that we

are moving ever closer to certification by ACCC.

The system developed is a credit to all those

PVP members involved in discussing and testing

the system which is, in my opinion, a reputable

accreditation process.

Our second step was to start offering

events with specific video content. This year

we have seen Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane

offer inspiring and educational sessions. Dean

(hubby) and I kicked off 2014 by running

Plugged in With Preface Films in February which

was hosted by Kayell.

Each state then held its own event with

members from the PVP/APVP as speakers.

Response from every team member was that

each event was a huge buzz and an exciting

kick starter to future events that are being

planned. Keep your eyes out for more events to

come!

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The Accredited Professional Video Producers have been active over the past year - look out for future events soon!

Look out for our future APVP events

Brisbane Video Critique - 9 September

Melbourne Social Night

“Let’s Get Together” - 16 September

Melbourne Video Critique - 27 October

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Awards

The next goal is to develop our critique sessions

as preparatory work towards awards. Melbourne

conducted their first one in May which by all

accounts was flawed, but still a great success.

Whilst we are aware that AIPP photography

members are very accustomed to critiques and

that they are part of the community culture,

these events are not part of the video culture.

In fact, I would say that it’s quite foreign and

inherent with lots of negative assumptions.

Our goal in running these sessions is to

achieve the learning that our photography

colleagues enjoy - an opportunity to receive

constructive feedback with the vision to

improve.

As written by Jason Hodge, who is leading

the critiques, “Although critique is commonly

understood as fault finding and negative

judgment, it is the intention of the APVP to

create growth and improvement in a safe,

positive and constructive environment. We

encourage an affirming response for video

producers attending the event and critiques.”

From these events, we are aiming to host the

very first AIPP Video Awards in late 2016.

Community Spirit

Where the future lies for the PVP/APVP

members is in the fostering of the community

spirit that is strong within the AIPP. At each

event that I’ve attended, I could see this spirit is

something that we need more of.

At the Nikon Event this year, Dean and I were

privileged to present alongside some of the

best in the photography industry. Our video

presenters also included Patrick Moreau from

Stillmotion and Cameron Frost who presented

on The One Man Crew. I look forward to seeing

more presenters in 2016 and in the coming

years.

The synergies between photo and video

has been a long discussion and is the reason

that the journey commenced. The APVP as part

of the AIPP and the ACMP, will be much like a

vehicle that will allow all members to embrace

and harness the opportunities to continue our

development, belong to a vibrant community

and become champions of the profession of

photography and video production.

This is what I see as our future and am

excited by the prospects.

We Need Your Help!

One of the biggest issues we face is that the

AIPP community doesn’t know who ‘WE’ are.

Whilst we are still building our awareness in the

outside world, my strongest feeling is that the

people inside the community that WE belong

to, need to be aware of OUR existence, what our

goals are and how we fit in.

We also need you to speak to video industry

professionals who would be the right fit for the

association. Please help and be a voice for us!

25Photograph by John Coxon, Gold Award, Portrait Category, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year Awards

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Copyright: Expert AdviceI f y o u h a v e a q u e r y o r a n i s s u e a b o u t c o p y r i g h t , f r e e a d v i c e f r o m a n e x p e r t i s o n l y a w e b p a g e a w a y a t t h e A u s t r a l i a n C o p y r i g h t C o u n c i l .

The Working Pro had a chat with Fiona Phillips,

the Australian Copyright Council’s Executive

Director, and Nathan Webster, Legal Officer and

the author of the most recent edition of the

ACC’s publication on photography.

They seemed like an ideal couple to ask

what photographers should know about

copyright and how they should deal with it.

Ripping Off The Internet

Began Fiona, “Two things have happened

with the advent of digital photography: the

ease with which things can be copied and

the devaluation of the skills of a professional

photographer.

“You see this happening everywhere. Instead

of employing a professional, people are now

just taking their own photos and applying a

filter to make the photo look a whole lot better.

So the challenge for professionals is how to get

their photography into the market without it

being copied, and maintaining a commercial

value for what they do.”

Fiona added that of the free legal advice

provided by the ACC, around 10 per cent

is to photographers. This is a considerable

proportion when you consider that copyright

applies to everything from computer software

to literature.

“We advise photographers on a range

of issues, particularly with the culture of

everything appearing to be free on the internet.

People are just ripping off photographer’s

images and thinking it is okay.”

Protecting Yourself

Fiona suggests that photographers protect

themselves as much as possible by always

including a copyright notice and embedding

their rights management conditions into the

image’s metadata. It is also a good idea to

watermark your images when possible, as often

the metadata is stripped out.

And when you post images, only provide

low resolution files so they are of limited use

- although with website design increasingly

requiring larger images, this may not always be

possible.

“The other really important thing to do is to

read the terms and conditions of the platforms

you are using - such as Flickr, Facebook and

Instagram. They generally require a very broad

Image supplied by Handprint Photography

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Photograph by Steve Wise, Finalist, Creative Category, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards

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licence which, among other things, may allow

them to license your images to other people for

advertising purposes.”

This would seem to be another good reason

for including a watermark on your photograph

because, under moral rights, taking out

watermarks can be a criminal offence.

“It’s difficult to police this stuff once the

photographs are out there, plus there’s an

inequality of bargaining power. It is rare for a

photographer to take on a large organisation in

court because of the costs involved.”

However, as Fiona encouraged, just because

large companies throw their weight around,

doesn’t make it right and by making their

members aware of these issues, organisations

like the AIPP can make a stand. “If there’s

enough of a groundswell of opinion, things may

well change.”

Giving Away Copyright

A lot of photographers when shooting for

clients either don’t have a contract or are

unaware of what is in the contract they are

agreeing to.

Without a contract, photographers working

domestically (e.g. weddings, family portraits)

do not own the copyright, their clients do.

However, when working commercially,

photographers own the copyright, but in both

situations, the ownership of copyright can be

transferred by an agreement.

Fiona observed that often photographers

are just keen to get the money and don’t look at

the terms and conditions, in which case there’s

a very good chance that their client will own

the copyright.

Owning the copyright makes life easy for the

client, but it can make life extremely difficult for

the photographer.

Continued Fiona, “Photographers might

not care if they don’t own the copyright, but

if they don’t, they may not be able to use the

photographs on their own website or in their

portfolio, unless their client [the copyright

owner] gives them permission.

“I see photographers being burnt all the

time. It’s one thing to make a conscious

decision not to retain copyright, but quite

another to be naive about it.

“I don’t have a problem with photographers

selling their copyright if that’s how they

make a living and they don’t care how their

photographs are re-used. It’s an individual

decision.

“The only caution I would make is that you

don’t always know what you want to do with

those photos down the track. For instance,

Nathan is a lawyer and a photographer part

time.

“Today, he mightn’t care too much about

how his photographs are used, but if in five

years he decides to pursue a career as a

professional photographer, the rights he gives

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away now may have an impact in the future.”

Enforcing Rights

So is it a good idea to retain copyright? And if

so, how does that impact your clients?

“Best practice is to ensure you retain the

ability to use your own images, at least for

self-promotional purposes.” So, maybe your

client owns the copyright, but they give you a

licence to use the photographs for promotional

purposes.

“Or perhaps you own the copyright and

license your clients to use the photographs,

with or without restrictions as you see fit.

Nathan explained that the ACC gets a lot of

queries from photographers who are uncertain

about their rights and how to enforce them.

“Coming to us is a pretty good start to find

if there’s anything that can be done and, if so,

how to take action.

“We also get a lot of queries about

agreements and what they say about

ownership of the photography. And moral

rights comes up a lot where photographers

haven’t been attributed for their work, or if their

work has been modified or cropped.

“For instance, the rainbow filter people

are putting on their avatar photographs to

show solidarity with same-sex marriages could

potentially be a moral rights issue.

“Photographers have the right to control

how their work is used and to require

remuneration for that use. If you discover

someone is using your work without

permission, you have the right to request that

they stop and/or to require payment for those

uses.”

Video Producers

Copyright for video producers is protected

under a different part of the Copyright Act and

the ACC has a publication Copyright and Film

which is highly recommended. The basic rights

are similar, but the owner of the copyright is the

person who makes the arrangement - usually

the person commissioning the production.

“In the context of big productions, it is

appropriate for the person paying for the film

to own it, but there are also separate rights for

performers and directors.

“The thing to bear in mind is that the

Copyright Act sets down some standard

provisions, but these provisions are always

open to an agreement to the contrary.”

For instance, a wedding video producer may

not own the copyright in the production, but

they could include in the agreement a term

that allows them to use the video for their own

promotional purposes.

For more information, visit the Australian Copyright

Council Website, www.copyright.org.au

Legal advice is not provided by phone or email,

rather use the special online tool on the website.

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Posting Comments: What’s Appropriate?I s i t e v e r g o o d f o r m t o v i s i t s o m e o n e ’ s s o c i a l m e d i a p a g e s o r w e b s i t e a n d c r i t i c i s e t h e m i n p u b l i c ? W h a t ’ s t h e b e s t w a y t o d e a l w i t h p r o b l e m s o n l i n e ?

I mentioned earlier that someone posted

criticism of my photography in the public

comments section of my website.

The person used a false name, so maybe it

was just a friend giving me a hard time, but it

raises the question of what is appropriate and

what outcome do you want?

If you went to a photography gallery and

didn’t like the photographs on the wall, would

you stand up in front of the guests and tell the

photographer the exhibition was awful?

I guess a few arrogant souls might, but

most people would keep their thoughts to

themselves and wouldn’t bother to return to

the gallery for a second look.

So, when you visit someone’s website or

social media page, a place where they have

displayed their best work which is no doubt

close to their heart, is it ever appropriate to

post derogatory comments on their website,

especially if you’re using a fake name?

Of course it’s not.

Behaviour on the internet should be no

different to behaviour in person.

Fortunately, the person who owns the

website can remove objectionable comments,

and of course, further comments can be made

unless you have a way to block that person.

There are some small-minded people in

the world who gain enjoyment from making

trouble and little essays like this one won’t

change their behaviour.

However, it might help if the rest of us

banded together and supported each other

when we see someone being a bully online.

Of course, sitting and reading this in a

relaxed mood is quite different to reacting to

something online that really upsets you.

Perhaps someone has posted a photograph

that is a direct copy of your own image - aren’t

you in the right to be rude and pointed in your

criticism.

No.

Take a deep breath and think about it.

Some people do things out of ignorance and

a personal message pointing out the error of

their ways is a much more mature approach.

And some people may have genuinely created

a similar image to yours without knowing it, too!

It’s always good to start a conversation

first - if you have to be rude (which is never

advisable), you can always save it for later!

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Photograph by Kylie Foley, Silver Award, Portrait Category, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year Awards

32

LindaBEKS

A I P P M a s t e r o f P h o t o g r a p h y

Tucked away in Port Stephens, north of Newcastle in New South Wales, Linda Beks’ studio enjoys

panoramic water views to the north - she seems to have life worked out pretty well!

“As a portrait photographer, I shoot mainly families including their loved ones, children, babies

and pets. Newborn and pet photo sessions normally take place in the studio, but for families we

prefer to pick one of the many beaches available to us here in the Bay. Zenith Beach is a popular one

as it has a huge variety of beach, forest and rocks, all in one place and there is hardly anyone around.”

Linda’s wedding work is mainly local in Port Stephens and the neighbouring Hunter Valley

vineyards.

“I am from the Netherlands. I studied Health Care Management and Policy at the University of

Maastricht and for my research thesis at the end of my study, I studied in Brisbane at the Queensland

University of Technology for eight months. That was my first visit Down Under and I loved it.”

She returned to Holland and worked for several years in medical management. Her last job was

(Opposite) This image scored Gold in the Awards in 2012. “It was the first time I worked with snakes in the studio and I wanted to create a kind of Adam and Eve scene with twins. The twins were only

13 years old at the time and were handling the snakes extremely well. (Following double page) “This image won the highest scoring print in the Epson AIPP NSW Pro-

fessional Photography Awards in 2013. It was one of the images taken for the book Best Friends. I think this was the most hectic shoot I have ever done. I had a screaming toddler that was not keen on having his photo taken, they also brought in their dogs and these two kittens. This was the last

lucky shot of the session.” Linda also won the title of Epson AIPP NSW Professional Photographer of the Year. .

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34

35

LindaBEKS

A I P P M a s t e r o f P h o t o g r a p h y

36

as a manager of a trauma centre, which is

quite different to photography, but Linda says

photography has always been a big part of her

life.

“My stepdad introduced me to photography

and I learnt my first darkroom skills a long time

ago. I really enjoyed the peacefulness and

darkness of the darkroom, as well as the magic

of watching photographs appear on the paper.

However, digital photography has opened a

whole new world for me, especially once I fine-

tuned my Photoshop skills so that now I can

imagine the end result, even before the image is

taken.”

Photographic Studies

Linda says she has always been interested

in creativity in some way for as long as she

can remember, whether sewing, painting

or changing the decorations and colours of

the walls in her home. She enrolled in a part

time photography course in Holland, while

continuing her management career, but then

she and her husband made a big move.

“Ten years ago, while I was pregnant with my

first child, my husband had the opportunity to

work in Australia for one year as a GP, so we left

everything behind and moved over.

“One year passed and we decided to stay a

bit longer, and longer... and apparently time flies

when you are having fun as we have now been

here 10 years.”

Linda’s first few years in Australia were pretty

busy raising three little children, but while

pregnant with her youngest son, she continued

her photographic education by enrolling in a

two year TAFE Certificate IV course in photo

imaging.

“I can remember trying to hide my belly

during the interview, but I was accepted

and the course started just after he was

born. From that moment, I fully focused

on my photography career and started ME

Photography. I have never looked back.”

Linda says she may never have moved into

photography had she and her husband not

come to Australia, but moving to the other side

of the world seemed to give her the impetus

she needed to change her career as well.

“Photography was really my passion and

during my TAFE course, I became a student

member of the AIPP and attended several

(Opposite page) I love people with red hair and this girl has the most amazing hair. She is only 14 years old, but so confident in front of the camera. I have used her over the last few

months to experiment with a few different lighting set ups.(Following double page) “This portrait was taken for the book Best Friends where we fea-tured some wet dogs shaking. It is taken in my studio with lights behind the dog, high-

lighting all the water droplets flying around. You need to be very quick with dogs and wa-ter as they shake before you know it!”

LindaBEKS

A I P P M a s t e r o f P h o t o g r a p h y

37

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LindaBEKS

A I P P M a s t e r o f P h o t o g r a p h y

40

workshops.

“My first entry to the Canon APPAs was as a

student member. Unfortunately my prints were

lost, but they were so kind to judge them digi-

tally and I can clearly remember my excitement

when I won my first Silver Award in 2010. From

then on, I realised that photography is a never

ending learning experience with endless possi-

bilities.”

Fund Raiser

After adding a puppy into her own family, Linda

realised how important pets are and started to

incorporate them into her portraiture shoots.

“I did a lot of pet photography as well as

family photos including pets, so I organised a

fundraiser for the Hunter Animal Rescue (HAR)

group. I took photos of pets and their ‘best

friends’, and featured them in an animal art book

with friendship sayings to raise funds for HAR.

This resulted in many crazy and hectic shoots

where at one point I could have a baby, two

siblings, a cat, their chicken and a dog in one

image!”

Linda’s first Best Friends book was released

in 2012 and each year since, she dedicates a

couple of months (in winter when it’s quiet for

weddings and outdoor portraits) to shoot pets

and their best friends.

It hasn’t hurt her progression as a

photographer either, because for the last

three years, she’s placed in the top three of the

NSW AIPP Epson Portrait Photographer of the

Year category. Photos from these books have

featured highly in her awards, including her

win as the overall NSW AIPP Epson Professional

Photographer of the Year in 2013.

When it comes to subject matter, Linda

says she’s not adverse to something a little

controversial or with a message.

“A lot of people know me for images with

pets, but I probably only spend 20 per cent of

the time doing these photos. I love shooting

weddings and newborns too. For me, it is the

combination of different subjects that keeps me

fresh and charged for the next shoot.

“Sometimes I wonder if I should focus on

just one genre because it takes so much more

time to market to several different areas, but for

the moment, I enjoy it all too much to let go of

anything.

“Besides, it works quite well because I can

pick up one area in a quiet time of the year and

focus on the rest at other times.”

Linda works with a Nikon D4s and Nikon D700,

while her Olympus OMD EM5 is used mainly for

travel and personal use.

Equipment

“My Nikon kit includes 24-70mm, 70-200m

zooms and 50mm, 35mm and 105mm primes.

I also use SB900 flashes with Pocket Wizards for

off camera control.

“For studio lighting, I use Profoto D1’s with a

LindaBEKS

A I P P M a s t e r o f P h o t o g r a p h y

41I wanted to create a controversial portrait, showcasing my daughter’s Dutch background. The portrait was taken against a grey back-drop and all the other elements stripped in using Photoshop. She had fun pretending to smoke and has still no idea what a joint is!

Photo by Linda Beks.

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large Octobox and a few other soft boxes, strip

boxes, grids and a beauty dish. I also have a

Profoto Acute B2 for location lighting, but often

for outdoor sessions I use my Nikon flashes

with a soft box on a ‘paint pole’ as it is quick to

work with and is easily paired with the Pocket

Wizards.”

Linda says for weddings she is a big fan of

the Hold Fast Money Maker camera strap as

it frees her hands and can hold two to three

camera bodies. She edits on a Mac and uses

mainly Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw for

editing.

“About a year ago, I bought the Epson Stylus

Pro 3880 to make smaller prints in the studio. I

love it and I use Canson fine art paper.

“However a lot of my customers like metallic

acrylics and for my larger fine art prints, I

outsource to Zone Printing.

“I think it’s the best photo lab in NSW and

Mark from Zone Printing is fantastic. He also

helps a lot of photographers prepare and print

for Canon APPA and the Epson State Awards.

I have learned so much from him and other

photographers preparing prints for the Canon

APPAs.

AIPP Involvement

“I use Proselect for my viewing sessions in the

studio and I do enjoy the selling part of the

business, watching how the sessions evolve and

helping people to choose the best type of wall

art for their home.”

“Recently I joined the Newcastle AIPP

chapter and it is great to be more involved

within the AIPP and work together with other

photographers, organising workshops and

other events. A few weeks ago, I organised a

whale watching tour in Port Stephens and we

had a boat full of photographers out capturing

whales. Unfortunately, I had injured my arm

and could only hold an iPhone, but it was great

to combine a fun activity and networking with

other local photographers.

Linda Beks is a wedding and portrait photographer

in Port Stephens, NSW. She is an Accredited Profes-

sional Photographer, a Master of Photography and

won the NSW AIPP Epson Professional Photogra-

pher of the Year in 2013. You can see her website at:

www.mephotography.com.au.

LindaBEKS

A I P P M a s t e r o f P h o t o g r a p h y

(Opposite page) This is one of my first snake shots. I admire my models, how they stay calm and give me the look I am after, even if there is a snake crawling over them. I nor-

mally work with ‘ordinary’ girls, not professional models, and I love to see the transforma-tion from their normal natural look to a completely different demeanour.

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Should I Enter Canon APPA This Year?T h i n k a b o u t y o u r e x p e c t a t i o n s b e f o r e y o u e n t e r t h e a w a r d s a n d m a k e t h e m o s t o u t o f t h e m !

Assuming you are seeded, there are a lot of

reasons for entering the Canon AIPP Australian

Professional Photography Awards (APPA).

This year for the first time, not everyone

can automatically enter APPA. You need to be

eligible (seeded), which generally speaking

means you already have some points towards

your Associateship or Master of Photography, or

you have had some success at the Epson AIPP

State Professional Photography Awards.

Even if you’re not eligible for APPA this

year, these observations are just as relevant for

entering the Epson PPA and the new online

awards which are expected to begin next year.

Perhaps the first question to answer is, what

do you want to get out of the awards process?

Set Your Expectations

AIPP Grand Masters of Photography send

their four prints to APPA with the expectation

of earning four Gold Awards. Of course, this

never happens (well, maybe twice that I can

remember in the history of the Awards), so what

is a reasonable expectation to have?

For photographers just beginning their

journey, my aim would be for all your entries

(three or four, depending on your eligibility) to

score 75 or higher.

A score of 70 to 79 indicates the print is of

professional standard. It’s something you should

be proud to sell to your clients.

Remember that this is a professional

photography awards process, judged by

experienced professional photographers who

have ‘seen it all before’. A photograph of little

Johnny with a broad smile might be a winner

for his parents, and this will be recognised

by the judges if you have the exposure,

composition, posing and presentation looking

good. However it might not be a Silver.

If you score in the upper half of the

Professional Standard range (say, 75 to 79), then

you should feel rewarded for your efforts. This is

a great outcome.

Silver Awards

Once you’ve been involved with the judging

process for a while, you realise that everyone is

aiming for a Silver Award. This represents ‘Award

Quality’ which is a step above Professional

Standard. It means your print has very high

production standards and a little ‘twist’ or ‘spark’

that makes it out-of-the-ordinary.

In theory, a client should be over the moon

45

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46

to receive such a print, but sometimes they

don’t appreciate the extra creativity we put into

our work. This is one of the reasons we have

photographers judging our work, not clients.

Photographers won’t be so easily swayed by

non-photographic aspects of the image (such

as cutesy subject matter).

So, there is a small disconnect between

Award and Professional standards. A Silver

Award has an extra element of creativity and

the awards system encourages this. If we push

ourselves creatively, our overall standard of daily

work should also improve.

So, at the outset, it is important to

understand what the awards system is designed

to do. It acknowledges professional standard,

but it rewards creativity.

The Gold Award

So, how do you earn a Gold award. A very small

percentage of entries reach this exalted height

and very often they are contentious.

Judges are impressed by new ideas. If you

show something that is really unusual, and it

ticks all the boxes for exemplary technique and

presentation, you are in with a chance. But what

is new and unusual for one judge can be old hat

and cliche for another.

Judges are only human and no judge has

seen every photograph or image ever created.

For this reason, it is unethical to directly copy

the work of other artists and photographers,

and then enter the idea as your own. This is not

the right way to win a Gold.

I don’t know how you earn a Gold award.

I don’t think anyone does because if there

were a secret, someone would have worked it

out by now.

However, if you enter photographs that are

competent, but not pushing the boundaries

in some way, you’re unlikely to earn a Gold

because the judges expect a high degree of

originality.

Dealing With Failure

Every entrant in the professional photography

awards has experienced disappointment. This is

a good thing. And depending on how you deal

with it, it can be character building.

If you want lots of love and likes, post your

photos on Facebook for your friends to admire.

The judges at APPA are experienced

professionals and they will give you their honest

opinion. They are not out to insult you or hurt

your feelings. Indeed, they have no idea who

you are when they give your print a score.

What you receive is an objective assessment.

It is not the only assessment and on another

day or in another competition, you may get

a completely different result. The same thing

happens when working as a professional

photographer - some clients will like our work,

some won’t. It’s how we deal with rejection that

makes us better professionals.

47

Photograph by Chris Knoblauch, M.Photog, Silver Award, Landscape Category, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards

48

Understanding Website Bounce RatesP e t e r M y e r s e x p l a i n s t h a t a h i g h b o u n c e r a t e m i g h t n o t b e a g o o d t h i n g a n d t h a t t e s t i n g d i f f e r e n t p a g e s c o u l d p r o d u c e h u g e i m p r o v e m e n t s t o y o u r b u s i n e s s .

Designing a great looking website and one that

is effective can be two completely different

things. As photographers and video producers,

we are naturally drawn to website designs that

display our images in a stylish and perhaps

theatrical manner. The photographs and video

clips are shown up big and there are lots and

lots of them to see. That’s a good website, isn’t

it?

Perhaps not. And if not, how do you know?

Bounce Rates

As professional photographers and video

producers, just as important as having people

view our photography is having those same

people purchase our images or our services.

There’s not much point having the most

amazing website if no one visits or, just as

importantly, no one buys. We are, after all,

professional photographers.

So how do we know if our website is

effective? That’s not really rocket science

because, if your business is going well, chances

are your website is quite effective. But could it

be even more effective? Could you double your

sales simply by redesigning your website?

One of the ways to assess how effective

your website is, is to look at how people visiting

your website interact with it. So, if you knew

that 9 out of 10 visitors only spent 10 seconds

on your website, you’d have to assume they

were not interested in what they found. For

instance, if you are a wedding photographer or

video producer and the main photograph on

your home page is of a penguin on an iceberg,

chances are most brides-to-be will think they

have come to the wrong site and quickly press

the back button.

We can’t assume that everyone who visits

our website will spend as much time as is

necessary to drill down into the detail. Look

at your own behavior when you’re looking

for something on the internet - if you visit

a website that is badly designed or seems

irrelevant to your search, you quickly go

somewhere else.

People who visit your website and then

leave are said to ‘bounce’. They may not have

stuck around long enough to engage with you

and so you have effectively failed at attracting

their attention. (There are exceptions to this

analysis, such as returning visitors to a blog

49

A penguin on a wedding photographer’s website might not lead to a good bounce rate. Photograph by Peter Eastway.

50

in which case the bounce rate may be high,

simply because after reading your blog, they

move onto something else. However, they have

read your blog and this would be considered a

success!)

In the context of a professional trying

to engage with a new customer, a high

bounce rate is very likely to indicate a lack of

engagement and things need to change.

Not The Back Button

Explained AIPP Executive Officer Peter Myers,

“When someone visits your website, they have

two options. They can look at your photographs,

read your content and then click on a link or

navigation icon on your site. We call this a

‘directed outcome’ because the design of your

web page encourages this behavior. This is a

success.

“The other option is that the person hits

the back button and leaves your website.

Generally, this is a failure. The person has visited

your website, but been so uninterested in the

content they found that they immediately left.

They bounced.”

Peter says a good bounce rate is 30 per cent

or lower. In other words, only three or fewer of

every ten visitors press the ‘back’ button. The

rest stick around to see what you have to say.

“The bounce rate is one of the main statistics

that Google Analytics will give you for every

page. And some experts say it’s almost the

single most important statistics used for search

engine optimization. There are a couple of

others, but if you have a low bounce rate, this

indicates you have a good page and search

engines will send more people to you.

“The other key statistic is time spent on a

page. The two go hand in glove. Generally if

a person only spends a few seconds on your

page and then they leave your website, that

is considered a bounce, but if they spend

several minutes on your website, then they are

interacting with you and this is a good thing.”

How Do I know My Bounce Rate?

The easiest way to look at your bounce rate

and the time spent on your pages is to install

Google Analytics on your website.

To install, search for Google Analytics on

Google, sign up (it’s free for the Standard

version) and obtain the web code for your

website.

http://www.google.com.au/analytics/

Next, you have to install this code on your

website. While it’s not difficult to do, you

may need to ask your web expert for help,

while applications like WordPress and Joomla

will have plugins to help you do the job

automatically. You just copy and paste the code

into the plugin and it does the rest.

After a few days, Google Analytics will start

reporting useful information about your bounce

rate, time spent on the page and lots of other

51Photograph by Roger Tan Pin Hwa, Gold Award, Wedding Category,

2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards

52

interesting demographics. However, for most

professional photographers, Peter suggests

starting with the bounce rate. What do you do if

your bounce rate is higher than 30 per cent (the

higher the bounce rate, the more people are

not staying on your website)?

“A high bounce rate is clearly telling you

that most people are not interested in what

you’re showing them. This leads us back to the

previous article where we talked about creating

special landing pages for people with different

interests.

“For instance, if you’re a wedding

photographer, people want to see lots of

information about weddings, not portraits,

babies, workshops or landscapes. Just show

them what they are searching for and they are

more likely to stick around.”

Drilling Down

You can take Google Analytics as far as you

want to, drilling down to exactly how many

people are clicking on each link on your

website.

“This is what you want to know - how

successful are you in directing people’s

behavior? You can follow the pathway through

to the ultimate delivery page - or whatever it is

that you consider success.”

For some photographers and video

producers, it will be booking a wedding, for

others it might be requesting an information

pack via email. By watching your bounce rate

and testing different approaches to your web

design and messaging, you can greatly improve

the number of people who purchase from you

and this should translate into higher profits.

So, if your bounce rate is really high, Peter

makes the following suggestion: “Change your

website! Make a couple of changes, wait a week

and then check your bounce rate again.

“If the rate has improved, you’re heading in

the right direction. What else can you change?

By testing different approaches, you will soon

work out what is most effective for you.”

And researching what other businesses do

to engage with their customers is really easy -

just visit their pages and analyse what they are

doing (assuming they have a low bounce rate,

of course!)

Once you get your head around bounce

rates and the time spent on each page, you’ll

also understand the need for different landing

pages depending on who you are trying to

engage with. “It all boils down to simple testing

and measuring.”

Peter also suggests your web pages are

topical. “For instance, we’re approaching

springtime in Australia, so we may want to

post some photos or videos about springtime

weddings. This approach requires you to

change your pages every few weeks, but if you

think your website is your dominant marketing

tool, then this is certainly worth doing.

53

Photograph by Eugene Tan, Silver Award, Sport Category, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year Awards

54

Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USMI t ’ s s o w i d e a t o n e e n d , b u t i t ’ s a l s o i n c r e d i b l y s h a r p i n t h e m i d d l e . C a n o n p u s h e s t h e l i m i t s w i t h i t s u p m a r k e t u l t r a w i d e - a n g l e z o o m

This is a seriously fun piece of glass! And the

wide-angle on this ultra wide-angle zoom is

ridiculously wide. And no doubt Canon users

will also enjoy pointing out that it is ‘that much’

wider than Nikon’s seriously excellent 12-24mm

zoom (although to be fair it is also an f2.8 lens).

The challenge with ultra wide-

angles on DSLR cameras is the

retro-focus design. Some

Canon experts claim that at

24mm, this is one of Canon’s

best lenses ever, while at

11mm it’s incredibly wide, but

the image is rather ‘stretched’ in

the corners. But so is the image

in all rectalinear wide-angles to

some extent. However, don’t let this

put you off this amazing zoom lens -

the image quality overall is sensational and you

won’t be disappointed, even with Canon’s new

high-resolution EOS 5DS/SR cameras.

The mechanical structure of the 11-24mm

provides high durability and toughness in order

to withstand harsh environmental conditions

and rough handling. A dust-proof and drip-

proof structure is applied to the mount, the

switch panel, zoom ring and focusing ring.

The electromagnetic diaphragm (EMD)

uses a 9-blade circular aperture diaphragm,

transforming point light sources in the

background into more circular and, many

would argue, more beautiful background

blurred shapes.

The minimum focusing distance is 0.28

m (with a maximum magnification of 0.16X),

enabling you to get in very close to your

subject and still include the surroundings.

The lens uses an Ultra Sonic Motor for silent

autofocusing, while flare is minimised and

colour optimised using ASC Coating on the

lens elements. According to Canon, ASC is a

technology that forms a film that includes air

spheres over the vapor-deposition coatings.

By lining the inside of the coating with low

refractive index air, this forms an ultra-low

refractive index layer. ASC has excellent anti-

reflective effects, particularly with respect to

incident light that enters almost vertically.

However, this isn’t an inexpensive lens at

around $3900.

For more information, visit www.canon.

com.au.

55The 11-24mm can produce an exaggerated sense of perspective which, if harnessed carefully, can produce images with lots of impact.

56

Photographs by Rebekah Wilson for the AIPP Reflections Project.

Your InstItute needs

You!You are not too late to join the AIPP’s Reflections Project. In fact, this

is the perfect time to join. We have over 3,000 veterans to photo-

graph and we really need your help. It won’t take you long, but the

experience will live with you for a lifetime.

Please help.Register today by visiting https://aippveterans.com/photographers/

See the video at: https://vimeo.com/132887934