As Sinatra Sang, "I Did it My Way"; A Farewell to My Mother.

From time to time I take a minute to post not only about business, but also about what's going on in my life. Since this past weekend has been an emotional one for me, I'd like to use this space to say farewell to a woman who was not only instrumental in my career as a photographer, but also my entire life.

This past Friday, my mother - Gloria - ended an 8-year struggle with cancer at the age of 89. Surrounded by her family, she peacefully moved from this Earth into the next phase of her journey. She defied the odds by outliving numerous doctors' predictions and assessments, but in the end, her body simply wasn't strong enough to continue.

Mom was someone who enjoyed being creative. Her talents included photography, painting, and drawing; her canvases ranged from large painted pieces stretched over frames, sketches on envelopes and scraps of paper on the kitchen table, to elaborately decorating the birthday cakes of her 7 grandchildren.While she never pushed me to get into photography, when I became interested back in high school she was there to help me dig her darkroom equipment out of storage at my grandmother's house and set it up in our basement. She often provided gentle (and sometimes pointed) critiques of my work; while we all want to hear praise and positive commentary, she was straightforward with me when I needed to hear those words as well. At a point when so many people sugar-coat their words to protect another's feelings, mom was honest without being harsh. She made me realize that I need to be serious about my work and the techniques I employed. Even as a hobbyist, she took pride in the pieces she created and wanted them to be finished properly. Today, it's something I keep in mind with every portrait session.


She loved her family and took great pride in sharing their accomplishments with others. Her grandchildren were a constant source of highlights for her to discuss, from their sports and activities to their education and career paths. She rarely missed a moment to point to a large portrait on the wall near where she spent her day and "introduce" visitors to each one of them.

Her Italian heritage was also one of hospitality; she always wanted people to feel welcome when they came to visit. She loved everything sweet, from candies to desserts. It would be a rare occasion if you left and hadn't been offered some treats during your stay with her.

And she was a bit stubborn as well. Like so many of us, she knew how she liked certain things to be done or handled. She wasn't about to let a disease beat her, much less acknowledge that it was even present in her body. This past summer she attended my wedding, even though it had been a particularly difficult week for her. Offered the opportunity to stay home, she refused; she wasn't going to miss this event.

Mom, thanks for everything you did for me (and some of the things you wouldn't do); all of that helped me become the person I am today. You've left quite a legacy in this world. You will always be missed, but never be forgotten.

- David Grupa

Family Portraits with Sam and Patricia Gardner - THIS WEEKEND!

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from 2 amazing photographers this weekend! 

No need to be a member of the SDPPA, just call 763.390.6272 to register.

You Earned Your CPP Credential, Now Market It!

It looks as if the latest round of Certified Professional Photographer applicants have been notified that they have been awarded the Credential. 

Ok, now you're officially a CPP. Congrats.

Guess what. Your clients aren't going to care one bit - UNLESS you let them know why they should care.

Certification is the most marketable credential you will ever carry, so now is the perfect time to do something with it.

1 - Send out a press release to the business section of your local newspaper. There should be one in your CPP welcome packet; if not, call CPP headquarters and request one.

2 - Post it on your blog or website. Once you receive the Certified logos, start using them on all of your marketing. Print, email signature, website, even on your business portrait on FB and Linked-in; all are great places to market your CPP credential.

3 - Include it in your bio. Rewrite it to include a short paragraph stating that you're one of a very select few Certified Professional Photographers.

4 - Head over to the CertifiedPhotographer.com website. Do a search on photographers in your state who are Certified and count them. Use the line "YOUR NAME is one of less than X number of Certified Professional Photographers in YOUR STATE."

You earned it.

Now use it to your advantage.

- David Grupa, CPP

Honoring 9/11

Eleven years ago today, just about 9:00 am, I was getting ready to take my youngest to school when I got a phone call.

"Turn on the TV."

The next 20 minutes were like nothing I'd ever witnessed as I watched, holding my 10 year old son and not wanting to take him to school. I wondered what my 12 year son - already at school - was thinking, or if he even knew.

Even though we still enjoy the freedoms that some people only dream about, eleven years ago today our lives were permanently changed.

Please take a minute today and pause to honor those who lost their lives, those who fought to rescue them, and those who continue to be on guard so that our country will always continue to be "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave."

- David Grupa

Make Sure the Work on Your Website is Your Own!

Seriously, people . . . what is the industry coming to?

All of us want a pretty website filled with awesome images, because we know that will ultimately attract clients. So what happens when you're just getting started and you don't have that much to show, or you feel that the work you do have doesn't measure up to the others out there?

Most of us get off our butts, learn how to create better images, spend some time practicing and then put the results on our Facebook pages and websites. It's the only way, right?

Over the past few weeks, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets have been buzzing with stories of so-called professional photographers who have populated their websites with stunning images. Unfortunately, these images were lifted from the sites of other photographers and were NOT the creations of the individual who owned the site on which they were being displayed.

Check out the case of this individual, documented fully on the Tumblr site "Photo Stealers":

http://stopstealingphotos.tumblr.com/post/29831962568/24-7-protography-benjamin-ramalho-photography

As if that wasn't lame enough, the individual in question chose to defend their actions with multiple stories and "reasons" why the stolen images appeared on the website as a representation of the faux-tographer's own work. (Note: all of this individuals websites / FB Pages are now inactive.)

I wish I could say this is an isolated incident, but it's not. Australian Portrait Photographer of the Year Sue Bryce has had her work displayed numerous times on other wannabee-photographers' sites, claiming it as their own.

Part of becoming and being a professional is the process of learning to create and then actually producing quality images.

1. Using photographs that were not created by you without the permission of the photographer is STEALING. 
2. Using images which are not yours to represent work you have done is misleading the client and is called FRAUD.
    

Really? Is this how you want to begin a relationship with a client?

Now, I do realize that the bulk of the individuals in this profession are honest, caring, upstanding people and would never even consider doing something like this. They work hard to learn the techniques necessary to produce quality images and build their businesses honestly.

There are no shortcuts. Building a business on false pretenses is just the beginning of a free-fall down an extremely slippery slope.

If you are going to call yourself a professional, then make sure everything you do reflects true professionalism.

- David

Stop Worrying About What Others "In Your Area" are Doing!

We were having a discussion in a Facebook group and I thought I'd share this part of it for readers here.

It seems any time we talk about pricing, someone will say "well, that will never fly in my area" or "in my area, people would never pay those prices", or "in my area, everyone just wants a CD."

"In my area . . . " <sigh>

In my area, there are over 650 registered photographers (with the MN Dept of Revenue).

In my area, there are probably an equal number of students, MWACs and wannabees who own DLSRs, print business cards, have a FB business page and a website and call themselves professional. However, they pay no taxes and do it all "under the table."

In my area, these "professionals" charge anywhere from $100 / up and give a disk . . . and while it frustrates me that I have to constantly explain myself to clients, the bottom line is basic:

"I'm sorry, Ma'am . . . I am in business to make a living. This is how I feed my family, pay my bills, put my kids through college. I'm happy to sell you images on a disk; the first one is $500. The next two are $250 each. You may choose 10 for $1500. (That makes them just $150 each.)"

I'm in business to create awesome images and sell you finished photographs. It is not my mission to be cheap so that I can save someone a buck or two while they print my work at Costco.

I still need to pay my bills and cover my expenses, not to mention put something away for the future.

After spending 28 years with a business partner who almost ran us out of business because he wanted to charge based on what everyone else "in our area" charged, I knew I needed a change. Eight years ago I finally broke free of that and - scared to death - went into my own thing knowing I was going to sink or swim and the only thing standing between the two was me.


I believe that the "area" people are talking about is the space between their ears.

I've stopped caring about what others "in my area" charge. I've started looking after me. I deserve it.

You do too.

- David

Try an LED video light to give your images some extra "wow"!

Recently, I was at a workshop where the presenter was demonstrating the use of a low-powered LED video light for use in situations where you don't want to light with electronic flash. It was intriguing to see the results of the light when used as a main, a fill, through a modifier such as a shoot-thru umbrella, or simply with a diffuser. I was curious enough to want to try one for myself.

Of course, he was selling one for $200. His was lower power, smaller and the battery was $50 extra. Rather than do my usual impulse buy, I copied the specs and did some research.

What I found was pretty amazing. There are a number of these types of lights available in places like eBay and Amazon. Taking a minute to compare made me realize I wanted one that took a higher-capacity battery than what 6 AAs provided. I also wanted something dimmable to give the unit some versatility. Most are lightweight and have a hot shoe attachment as well as a standard tripod or light stand thread.


Best of all, I found them for - get this - under $50 each, including the battery and charger.

(And . . I'm sharing the link so people don't pay $200 for one.) ;-)

CLICK HERE to find this great deal on Amazon, or look in the "Recommended by David" box.

Have fun!

- David