GPPA is proud to offer an exciting 2-day summit featuring 6 speakers from Georgia! We know you’ll love learning from some of our homegrown talent and networking with photographers from around the state.

This year’s Exposed|Georgia Showcase will take place at Photoplex Studios in Alpharetta on August 19 and 20, 2023. To kick off the weekend, we’ve tied in our annual image competition and Club 79 which will take place on August 18!

Here are a few of the highlights from our speakers:

The AI Frontier: Embracing Technological Advancements in Creativity with Jason Hurd

With the rapid increase in technology, artificial intelligence tools are having a significant impact on creative career fields. In this session, we will look at the current state of AI and its impact on productivity and creative professions. We will dive into a deeper understanding of what AI is, learn how to supercharge your productivity, as well as, discuss its implications regarding intellectual property. Jason Hurd currently serves as an Artificial Intelligence instructor and robotics coach at Seckinger High School in Buford, GA where he is developing the first Artificial Intelligence pathway in the state of Georgia. 

Getting Started in Fine Art Portraits with Leon Johnson

Leon Johnson is a portrait and fine art photographer who is coming to share with how he leads his clients from his fine art inspirations to the final product.  He will discuss the tools and styling he uses to create his artworks and the techniques he has found successful in marketing his work to potential clients around the US.  An extremely prolific photographer, Leon will discuss how he allows his passions and love of art to drive his development as a photographer and an artist. Leon will discuss how he has maneuvered past challenges such as being active-duty military and operating out of a small home studio. He will discuss how he builds trust and rapport with clients and their role in creating natural expressions, poses, and gestures in his work in addition to providing an amazing client experience and creating a product that they love. His words will paint the pictures in your heart and soul and help you interpret them with your camera. Leon Johnson is an award-winning portrait and fine art photographer based in Augusta, Georgia. 

Bust Out of Budget Weddings and Make More Money with Meredith Ryncarz

Feeling stuck in your wedding pricing process? Not even sure what to price or if you are presenting I the right way? In this class we’ll dive into the secret pricing tiers of weddings, how to market within them, and how to present that in a custom quote that will increase your overall bookings. Meredith Ryncarz is a former college art professor turned destination wedding photographer.

Blinded By The Light with Eddie Tapp

The one ingredient we all work with is light. Learning to “see” light is often onerous or unimaginable. And there certainly are reasons why. I’ll break down light in ways you may have never thought of along with samples and demonstration. Learning to feel the light takes on a new revealing once light becomes second nature to you. Fundamentals will get you there. Technical will get you there. Having a visual concept will get you there. Yet seeing light the way of a photographer is unique in its behavior. Perhaps the most powerful ingredient we have is light. You can never stop learning to love light.

Successful Santa Sessions with Linda Carroll

The session will cover how to get started in creating a memorable Santa session for your business. This is based on over six years of building a successful Santa session from scratch. Topics will cover how to get started, location, background design, staff, where to find Santa, and what I have learned over the years to create a memorable Santa session that has repeat clients.

Elegant Editorial Portrait Set Ups with Tracy Page

Working with her model Jordan Chan, Tracy with share how she sets up and shoots editorial portraits followed by a discussion of how she makes the process happen.

Register TODAY!

We are excited to announce new membership rates that went into effect on July 1, 2023!

The GPPA Board of Directors is working to make our association relevant and up-to-date with the times. In doing so, we feel it is imperative that our membership rates and levels reflect this, and also keep our association sustainable so we can continue to serve our members successfully.

There are three levels of membership, all due annually. We will no longer offer a monthly payment option.

Novice/Aspiring ($99) – this level is for those who are just starting their business, is an enthusiast, or doesn’t receive payment for their photographic services.

Artist/Professional ($149) – this level is for anyone who is paid for their photographic work, whether it’s full time or you make a little money on the side.

Studio ($325/year) – this level is for professional photography studios; membership includes up to 4 named employees in the studio membership rate.

We are excited to carry on our mission to educate and develop Georgia-based professional photographers through: practical education, networking, and the advancement of our members in the art and business of photography.

GPPA remains loyal to its goals and members, by continuing to provide top notch speakers, valuable continuing education in this ever-evolving field as well as fostering professional business partnerships & lifelong friendships. 

Members receive reduced entry fees for photographic competition that is less than 2 weeks away! The deadline for entry is Friday, July 14, and members pay $15/entry (non-members pay $20/entry).

We look forward to sharing all GPPA has to offer our members!

If you're headed to Nashville for ImagingUSA, meet up with fellow Georgia photographers at the convention! Not a member? No problem. We'd love you to come and meet your fellow state photographers. The more the merrier!

Here's what to do: 

Download the Imaging USA App
Set up your profile
Send a friend request to Lisa Hill via the app

Lisa will let you know where and when our group is meeting during the convention. See you there! 

On Sunday October 2nd, we held our annual Awards Banquet at the Braselton Event Center, in Braselton GA. We had a wonderful turn out with about 50 of our members, spouses and guests. The dinner was Italian style catered by Rachetti's in Flowery Branch. The evening started with a silent auction, raffle and cocktail hour where we were all able to  socialize. The fundraisers brought in a little over $1400. 

After dinner we presented our Photo Competition, Service and Special awards. Congratulations go out to all of our winners! A huge shout out to Brad Budd for his accomplishment of Photographer of the Year.  To view all the winning images see the Awards Banquet Page 

After the awards we introduced your 2023 Board of Directors (pictured above). Next year will plan on making some big changes in the association and will be needing great volunteers to help with our committees and to grow the association. If you have time to help please reach out to us at gppaadmin@comcast.net  Volunteering is a great way to get more involved, meet more members, earn GPPA degrees as well as assist in creating all the wonderful events we put on. If you have ideas for classes, speakers or field trips in 2023 please contact us!

And lastly, thank you for your continued support of GPPA!

Photoworks 2022 is Georgia’s PPA affiliated school that features a 3-day intensive learning experience with a master instructor in a small class environment. This year, we have two talented instructors who are experts in their field. Photoworks will be held September 16-18 at the Hilton Garden Inn North Alpharetta and PhotoPlex Studios.

Suzette Allen is teaching A Trio of Talents to Leverage in Photoshop: Image Magic, Graphic Design, and Video Basics. This class is an intermediate-level course, so a working knowledge of Photoshop is helpful. Photoshop is the ultimate creative tool, but the learning curve can be daunting without a patient and creative guide…so, take this opportunity to spend a few days with Suzette Allen, a well-known Photoshop instructor for over 20 years!  There are a variety of tools to help you succeed and they all live in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Chris Wooley’s class is Eclectic Creativity: Headshots, Pin-Ups, and Composites. Get ready for an action-packed weekend! In this class, you’ll be diving deep into the art and business of headshots, including shooting techniques, marketing, and workflow. Next, you’ll be able to explore the classic genre of vintage Pin-Up photography – boudoir’s classy cousin – including lighting, posing, and post-production. Finally, you’ll take a deep dive into Photoshop Composites where you’ll learn to create compelling composites for both clients and competition.

You don’t want to miss this incredible opportunity so sign up today! Link to registration: Photoworks 2022

What exactly is Club 79? It’s both a place and a state of mind.

As a place, it’s a room shared with fellow photographers who’ve entered a photographic competition through a PPA affiliate or state association. In pre-Covid days, all competitions were held in-person with judges in the same location. Most of the images were actually prints. In the past 5 years, digital has become more common and Covid restricted in-person gatherings.

On Friday, July 15, while the judging is taking place virtually for GPPA photographic competition, we’ll have a room set up at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbus so that entrants can watch the streaming of competition together - celebrating achievements and encouraging one another as scores pop up. If you can't join us, you can still participate with us via the Exposed online platform - simply register for Exposed and you'll have access to all the speakers and Club 79!

There is no need to suppress your feelings of joy, excitement, or even frustration. If you are frustrated, what better environment to express yourself than with your fellow artists. If you do well, what better place to be as your friends congratulate you on your success.

Club 79 as a state of mind. With the scoring system, a photographer can earn a merit if their image scores an 80 or above. A score of 79 can be frustrating as the image was so close to achieving merit status, but didn’t quite make it. However, by listening to the judge’s comments and ordering a critique of your image, you can improve your image so that you can enter it again at a future competition. Learning and growing as a photographer and artist is one of the most important reasons to compete.

Registration is open until July 11 at 11:59 p.m.!

You’ve created an incredible image. You’ve looked at it through the lens of the 12 Elements of a Merit Image. You’re happy with the end result and you’re almost ready to enter competition. Now you have to give your image a title.

While the title isn’t one of the 12 elements, it IS the first experience the judges have with your image and can make a difference in the final score.

During competition, the judges will sit in front of a calibrated monitor. The Judging Panel Chairperson will read the title and then the image appears on their computer screen. Did your title increase the impact of your image and the story you’re telling?

What makes a strong title?

Here are a few Do's and Don’ts:

Don’t use too many words. Don’t be too cliché (unless used for irony). Don’t use words that are difficult to read (this includes foreign languages) – you don’t want the Chairperson to mispronounce the title!

Do look at song titles and lyrics, poems, phrases, simple words, something that truly tells the story of your image. Unexpected, fun, whimsical, somber - what do you want to create in the judge’s minds before they see your image? Do make sure you’ve spelled the title correctly! When this image is shared post-competition, whatever you type in as the entry title will stay with the image forever.

These are not hard and fast rules, but your title IS important and can make an image go the extra distance!

2021 Merit Image: Feathered S Curve | Lisa Hill

Printcompetition.com is a website platform that has become the standard for most state association and PPA Community Network photographic competitions. While existing successfully for many years, the pandemic has made this platform a real game-changer so that competitions could continue during the past two years when in-person judging wasn’t always available.

In order to enter GPPA photographic competition, each photographer must first set up an account with printcompetition.com. You can select either a Standard or Premium subscription. Click HERE to set up your account.

Standard is $12/year and allows you to enter most of the competitions via the platform. Premium is $16/quarter ($64/year) and offers so much more! It’s worth every penny as it allows you to not only enter, you receive an e-mail and text as soon as your image is judged to learn the score, you have access to the image archive (over 95,000 images!), you can listen to audio clips of the judges discussions, and there’s even a “pre-game” app so you can check out the competition!

You also have an opportunity to watch competition live via the printcompetition.com website and “game day” app!

So, register at printcompetition.com and prepare your entries! GPPA photographic competition entry is now open with a deadline of July 14 to enter. Judging takes place on July 16.

What are you waiting for?

2022 Merit Image: Morning Mews | Lori Kolbenschlag

At the state level, all images will be judged and given a numerical score. Images can receive scores up to 100 points, dependent on how well the image meets the 12 Elements of a Merit Image. Images that receive a score of an 80 or above will be awarded a GPPA merit (see previous blog to learn about merits). All 80 and above scored images from each category will be reviewed and a First Place designation and two Distinguished Award designations will be given in each competition category. Only members of GPPA who have been active for a minimum of one year are eligible for the awards. However, the competition is open to ALL! A great way to earn scores and get feedback on images you want to take to the next level.

Scores and meaning:

100 – 95: Exceptional

94 – 90: Superior

89 – 85: Excellent

84 – 80: Deserving of a Merit

79 – 75: Above Average

74 – 70: Average

69 – 65: Below Exhibition Standards

Why you should order a critique and how it will help you:

One of the best ways to improve your work is to have your images critiqued by an official IPC juror. New this year – GPPA is offering critiques for $10/image! You’ll sign up for the critiques at the time you register your images for competition. The critique will allow you one-on-one time with one of the GPPA judges via an online platform.

The critique will help you improve your image so you can be more successful as you enter future competitions!

You can find all the rules HERE.

You also have an opportunity to watch competition live via the printcompetition.com website. More info on printcompetition.com in the next blog.

2022 Merit Image: Broken | Sally Kolar

You’ve heard about photographic competition, but what is it and why should you enter?

It can be confusing if you’ve never entered before. You may have heard about state competitions, Districts, IPC, merits, seals, and Imaging Excellence Awards.

When we talk about photographic competition through GPPA or PPA, we’re referring to an opportunity for each photographer to push their skills to a higher level. While the term competition is used, it’s not traditional competition. You’re not competing against other photographers, you’re competing against yourself to grow professionally.

In today’s blog you’ll learn more about photographic competition through Georgia Professional Photographers Association.

What is a merit?

A merit is basically a unit of measure. It helps us keep track of your successes and contributions to GPPA. Earning a merit can be very exciting, and one way to earn merits is through photographic competition.

A competition merit is earned when an image scores 80 or higher. The scores are based on the judge’s interpretation of your image and how it exhibits the Twelve Elements of a Merit Image (each of the twelve elements will be discussed in future blogs).

Why should I enter photographic competition?

Personal Growth: Learn how competing brings out your best and gives you an impartial opinion from judges who have been extensively trained in the twelve elements.

Rewards and Recognition: Have you ever seen a photographer walking around with a ribbon and medallion around their neck? Some ribbons are covered in pins and bars! Each ribbon, pin, and bar represents merits, degrees, and awards earned by the photographer.

You can earn these, too! GPPA offers the Fellowship Degree which is earned through photographic competition and education.

Personal Portfolio Builder: Competition encourages you to branch out into areas that you might not otherwise try. You may be a portrait photographer by day, but your competition self can be anything you want it to be – a wildlife, macro, commercial, wedding, or abstract photographer to name a few.

Are you ready to give a try?

Watch for more blogs that will talk about the twelve elements and how to enter.

To see past merited images for inspiration, click here.

2021 Merit Image: Mr. Prrr-rm & Proper | Tracey Luttgens