Seattle Professional Photographers Association

FROM THE TOP, December 2009
Holiday Wishes & Candy Cane Treats...

Holiday Greetings from the top. No, this is not coming from the North Pole and this is not Santa wanting to know your address. I know you have all been good. Without question the man from the north should want to shower you all with gifts for your goodness.

For most of us, this has certainly been a year of changes like seldom experienced before. Some of these have been for the very good and then some for the (no need to go there). I think we have grown in our knowledge base with the great learning opportunities from the speakers that have come and we have clearly learned from them all. From world class speakers like Ken Whitmire, to diamonds in the rough that have shared their desire to help up become better photographers and most of all better people. As a group, we continue to share resources along with the skills and sometimes we just learn those skills at different rates. When the need comes, having someone to call that can help whatever the time and place, certainly is better than any aspirin made. Our strength is in the members of our group and because of you, you make the type of group others want to be pattern their group after. Our group continues to excel with high standards and the passion to want to do it better and do it right the first time. When it comes to professional photography, that is who we are and what we do!

I look forward to all of you continuing your journey with the SPPA in the year ahead. With value received far exceeding dollar invested, making the SPPA it something that all of us should commit to as our number one New Year's Resolution.

Thank you for letting me lead this past year. Now, let's continue to join forces and focus on even higher goals in 2010!

Captain Ozzie - President

FROM THE TOP, October 2009, Captain Oz
So the carpenter said…
Screw the economy – Full speed ahead
   In an economic climate where the once very rich are getting bailed out with government funds and the poor still are managing to survive, it is the middle of the road that tends to flounder trying to find its way.
   So how do you move toward the end of the golden rainbow where the pot of glowing golden coins await your arrival to be retrieved? How do start the longest journey? How do you take the shortest walk? The answer is the same for all of the above. You put your head in the desired direction of travel, and then take it one positive step at a time.
   Don’t let the goblins of negativity scare you into a casket that both you and your skeleton will eventually have to emerge from to find your path to success again.   Use your gift of creativity to carve your way to success. Take the “boo” that may exist and don’t make it a “boo-boo”. Instead, turn the boo into a “boo-yes”.
   From the deepest shadows in the darkest dungeon, to the piercing sunlight of the brightest day, look a little deeper and finds the cracks of opportunity the lay untouched. It is not the act of practicing that brings us to success. Certainly one does not advance by practicing the wrong thing again and again, but rather the act of perfect practice that leads to the shining pot of gold.
   Uncover hidden ground, and the success may be more frightening that you ever imagined. Let the carpenter in all of us come forth and… SCREW THE ECONOMY = FULL SPEED AHEAD!

April Edition – News From The Top – Captain Oz…
“APRIL: A TAXING TIME – MAKING CENTS IN THE DAYS AHEAD”

April is taxing time for all of us. And for many of us, the months of January, February & March have been as well. In every tunnel of darkness you can always find light rays of hope. With this in mind, it was certainly great to hear recently of members who were celebrating in that light. So what separates the light from the dark, the success story from not so much success? In a word “Numbers”!

So how do you find the clients that truly appreciate the art form of photography and don’t mind paying for it?

Over the years many marketing studies have been done and the numbers that keeps showing up is that one in ten contacts will be the discovery of a potential client for you. Another words, what you get is one good prospect to ten contacts. Think of it this way – every time you contact 10 people you will get a $100. In the beginning when you contact the first person and they are not interested, just say to yourself “self - thank you for the $10”. When you contact each additional person that may say no – continue to say, “thank you for the $10”. Be positive knowing that somewhere in those 10 will be your sale of $100.

From this day forward when you think of the IRS think of it to mean “I Remain Successful”.

In a perfect world we would all contact 100 people a day – ideally discovering 10 potential new clients. Obviously, with the time demands on many of us this is just not possible. A great easy way to keep track of how many contacts you make every day is to start with a stack of 100 pennies and see how many cents you move from one stack to another. Continue to remain positive – it really does add to your face value!

March Edition – News From The Top – Captain Oz…
“MARCHING INTO DAYLIGHT – REFILLING THE IDEA TANK”

Looking out the window this morning I awoke to the sight of a fresh blanket of snow covering the ground. I always did like the snow as it has a way of making everything new again, at least for awhile. As the daylight increased and temperatures began to warm, the freshly blanketed ground slowly began to reappear. Hmmm… So now the question becomes, why am I sharing this with you?

In today’s photographic market place it is up to us (both individually and as a group) to break through the current blanket of economic conditions and uncover new fertile ground of opportunity. As photographers we are all blessed with the ability to see things from a unique prospective. Lately, the significance of using this talent to add directly to the bottom line has taken on new meaning.

Need a idea refill , a double shot of espresso ideas to recharge the idea tank? Some of us do!

Beginning the 3rd Monday of the month (starting in April) there will be a place to go to do just that. Why the 3rd Monday? In most cases this date falls halfway between our regular monthly meetings and many of us use Mondays as either a day off or a time to work new ideas. Announcing:

“THE CAPTAIN OZ COFFEE CLUB”

The “C.O.C.C.” will be an informal gathering, come as you are members who want to get new ideas and perhaps reinvent old ones with other SPPA members at north and south locations. This will be a time for great food, ideas and good company. To start things off, the first meeting will be on April 20th at the Bittersweet restaurant in Kent at 9AM (more details to come).

A final thought…

“I can’t change the wind, but I can change my SALES”

February Edition - News From The Top - Captain Oz.
"RISING ABOVE THE PHOTOGRAPHIC QUAGMIRE OF MEDIOCRITY"

Clearly we now live in a photographic world where it seems that everyone
from sister Daisy Sue to Uncle Harry now consider themselves competent
enough with their new "professional grade" camera, to photograph once in a
lifetime events. It is up to us (the true professional) to educate those
most affected, why this is a REALLY A BAD IDEA.

Having "P" on your camera does not automatically make you a professional
photographer. It does not automatically transport years of training about
lighting and composition into the new camera owners brain. It does not beam
experience on how to deal with complex lighting situations and certainly
does not provide a backup camera when the one being used fails at the worst
possible time.   As true professionals we need to make this message heard.
As with any journey, taking the first step toward this goal may be the most
difficult.

It is the goal of SPPA to provide "Excellence through education". The
opportunity and need to work together to this common goal has never been
greater.   In the months ahead I now challenge you - 'THE MEMBERSHIP" - how
we can communicate and educate to our life stream of clients and prospective
clients with this mission critical message.

A final thought.
Would you trust your surgery to someone who just bought a new scalpel and
had no training on how to use it?   I look forward to your input!

January 2009
Greetings!
Welcome to a unique set of challenges for the year 2009. If there ever was a more challenging time for business success in recent memory, one does not come to mind. If there ever was a more important time to be part of the SPPA clearly this is the year. If just two heads are better than one, then we as a group are certainly exponentially better. This is year that using all of the resources available to you as a member of the SPPA could very well be your lifeline to success.