By Marianne Drenthe

In Part I of this series I touched upon my rationale for taking the steps towards becoming a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP). In the comments section was a statement that hit home:

“After all these years, getting a certification only because there is much more competition doesn't really make you all that different than the competition, does it? I think certification has a valuable meaning, but doesn't necessarily mean those without it aren't worthy professional photographers either. Despite that sticker in your window, you still have to prove yourself to your clients and really, only to yourself.”

The reasons for getting certified extend far beyond being above the competition. While you really do have only yourself and your client to answer to, getting certified is simply a goal that you have to set for yourself. While I may think my work is solid, and I have a great base of repeat (as well as new) clients, I still have goals: certification is just one of them.

The added benefit of getting certified is that I will be able to market that added benefit to potential clients. With the influx of new, often technically lacking photographers coming in, becoming certified is having a stamp of approval from a professional commission. Really it’s not much different than other professions. There are board-certified heart surgeons, board-certified pediatric oncologists—though of course I’m not professing that photography is akin to performing brain surgery. Because we’re involved in an industry that doesn’t have licensing or schooling requirements, we do not have that built-in stature that schooling and licensure give.

The question boils down to: As a photographer, how do you show your clients verification of your own excellence? There are many ways, and getting CPP certified is just one of them. Good work is another. Both together? Double whammy.

A selection of Marianne Drenthe’s image submissions for CPP certification. ©Marianne Drenthe 

By TJ McDowell

Chances are good that as a photographer, you’ve got a blog that you use to promote your studio, but if you’re not tapping into the power of Search Engine Optimization to bring in more blog readers, you’re missing out on the opportunity to show your work to a lot of potential clients. If your main website is an SEO-killing Flash website, having blog content show up in search results means that you’ll still get your studio name in front of searchers who are looking for photographers. Even if your main website shows up in search results without help from your blog, you can still use your blog to target hundreds of additional search terms that you wouldn’t be able to effectively target on your main site.

Keywords In Post Title And Page Name

Knowing which keywords to target can seem like a guessing game at times, and in some ways it is. If you follow one guideline though, you’ll start to see good results over time. What you want to do is to choose a keyword phrase that includes location-specific words. The location you choose for your keywords could be as general as a city, or it could be as specific as the name of a park. It’s completely up to you. Some keywords get more traffic than others, and you can use the Keyword Tool in Google AdWords to get a general feel for how much traffic a term gets. With some of the smaller locations, like a church or reception venue, the terms won’t get enough traffic to even register with Google. You’d be surprised how quickly the low-volume searches can add up, though, so don’t think of low-volume search terms as irrelevant. Once you have your keywords picked out, include them in your post title. I have my Wordpress blog set up to generate my page name from my post title, so I don't have to worry about changing my page name manually. If your blogging platform doesn't use the right page name automatically, you'll have to set your page name yourself to include your keywords.

Post Frequently

If you’re going to be targeting search terms with lower volume, you’ll need to post more frequently to bring in the kind of traffic that brings regular bookings. Posting frequently with easy-to-rank keywords is a great way to get in front of searchers even in a crowded market. If they’re even considering SEO, most of your competitors will be going after the high competition keywords because that’s where they think all the traffic is. They’re skipping out on the low-hanging fruit because they may not even realize people are including very specific locations in their searches. The more you post on specific locations, the more you bring in traffic that no one else had even thought about targeting.

Interlink Posts

Aside from increasing the number of posts a user visits and the average time spent on your site, interlinking posts can also do wonders for improving the ranking of your blog posts in Google. Adding a link from one post to another can be a little tricky at first—at least if you’re doing it correctly. After a while, it becomes almost second nature though, so stick with it. The key when linking to a post is to fit the link in naturally with the rest of your content. As you get better, you’ll be able to include the link in the middle of a sentence, so the fact that there’s a link in the sentence won’t make the sentence seem awkward. The other trick is to have your keywords included in the link text. So for example, if you’re writing a post on how to prepare for a session, and you’re linking to a previous post on clothing choice, your link text may be “how to choose outfits.”

By Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP

On the recommendation of a friend, I recently ordered a copy of the newly released book, “Marketing for Solos,” by Jeanna Pool. After reading the book cover to cover in a single weekend, I thought to myself: “this book could be really helpful to photographers!” As small business owners, we often find ourselves overwhelmed with various facets of running our business (usually a one-person show). In her book, Jeanna Pool cuts through the philosophical jibber jabber of marketing, and offers real world advice and practical suggestions for the solo business owner.

The tenets of marketing aren’t new to me. I came away from college with a degree in both Studio Art and Business Management, so I know the theories of marketing. I know what we all, as small business owners, should be doing to market our businesses. But I also know that, too often, we get caught up in the day-to-day operations of running our studios and forget to devote time to our marketing tactics.

That’s where Pool’s book comes in. More than just a book to read once and add to your library, “Marketing for Solos” is designed to help you work through some of the important cornerstones of your marketing plan. Pool walks you through how to determine or find your niche market, why you need to focus your marketing efforts on prospects with specific traits, and how to develop effective marketing pieces that will yield results. Additionally, the book focuses on strategically diversifying your marketing efforts so that you don’t end up with all your eggs in one basket.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Pool about how this book could be particularly useful for photographers. Pool said, “It's one of the only books of its kind that teaches the solo photographer how to market their business successfully. It can be really hard to market your business when you can't be in two places at once … [‘Marketing For Solos’] makes marketing manageable.” I also asked Pool what one most useful tidbit of information photographers might take away from her book. She said, “The biggest thing photographers need to do is pick a focused niche. It separates the successful photographers from those who are just ‘getting by.’”

I really took to heart one of Pool’s comments from the book: “Most small businesses struggle, fumble, and ultimately fail for one simple reason—lack of clients. And a lack of clients is a result of one thing—a lack of marketing” (p. 20). There are many artistically competent photographers whose businesses are walking a fine line between failure and survival simply because they don’t know how to market. Waiting for clients to fall into your lap is not an effective way to stay in business. You may be the one “doing it all” at your studio, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice when it comes to marketing. “Marketing for Solos” will help you to market yourself, and your business, in a way that is sustainable for the one-person small business.

“Marketing For Solos” is available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Solos-Ultimate-How-Successfully/dp/0976996278) for $19.95. For more information about the book, visit Jeanna Pool’s website: marketingforsolos.com.

Betsy Finn, Cr.Photog., CPP, has a portrait studio in Dexter, Michigan (BPhotoArt.com); she shares tips and ideas for photographers at LearnWithBetsy.com.

By Marianne Drenthe

Part I

You probably already know what the current state of affairs in professional photography is today. The pioneers of the most recent “natural light” revolution are coming to realize that we’ve made it look too easy, too effortless, too fun. If I look, it takes me less than a quick two minute Google search to discover one, 10 or 20 new local pro photographers I didn’t know existed just a few months ago.

That slew of new pros is a mixed bag filled with the good, bad and ugly. On their websites there’s a range of lackluster to good photos mixed with content “borrowed” from other photographers, all presented using relatively easy-to-build and cheap-to-obtain template sites. The result is that in any local area, the bulk of photographers look interchangeable with price being the differentiating factor. A relatively low cost of entry to the profession coupled with the delusion that it’s easy to be a professional photographer has resulted in an industry-wide “it’s easy” sort of mentality. Established pros know that business of photography is in fact, not easy. Balancing the effort behind being an artist, technician, business owner and marketing strategist to make a profit and stay afloat is a tightrope walk without a net.

So what is it that sets me apart from everyone else? Is it my client testimonials? Is it my look? Is it (insert any number of things here)? I know that I am more than the sum of my location, my style, my website, my ideas for posing and clothing choices. I know it’s none of those things; what sets me apart, in many ways, are a number of things that are not quantifiable. Logo, location, shooting style—all are fairly easy for others to imitate and not the key to elevating me and my business.

So how can you take it up a notch, to take your experience, education and knowledge and translate it into something tangible? How do I take those things that make me better and more qualified than the rest and turn them into something that a potential client can understand? The answer is much easier than I thought it would be.

By Kirk R. Darling

I’ve been conducting sales sessions in my clients’ homes for four years using a tabletop digital projector. There are significant advantages to in-home sales sessions, but the disadvantage is that my “sales room” is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: I never know what I’m going to get.

That demands great flexibility, which until recently for me has meant being prepared to show images on my laptop, on my clients’ own home theater screens, or with my projector. Using the projector usually meant projecting on the client’s wall with the projector on a tripod-mounted platform, but I also kept a collapsible 50-inch tabletop screen handy. It took more set-up time than I liked, but compared to showing paper proofs, the time and trouble had been worth it.

That was the past. Now I have a new tool that has eliminated the set-up, reduced my gear load, and improved sales. I replaced my tabletop projector with a pocket-sized pico projector a few months ago, and the reception from my clients has been enthusiastic—and profitable.

My new projector is the Optoma PK201 Pico Pocket Projector ($270-$300 street price), a battery-powered projector more compact than an exposure meter. 

Image ©Kirk Darling

I like using this pocket projector, but I’ll tell you the bad news first. The Optoma PK201 is rather dim (20 lumens output from its 20,000-hour LED light source), it has harsh contrast (2000:1), and its color accuracy can be slightly off. In addition, the fixed focal length lens has a “throw ratio” of 1:2.2, which means that I sometimes have to stand farther than I’d like from the wall.

By Chontelle Brown, CPP

Whenever I hear about a business or customer service error, my first thought is, “they should have had a checklist” or “someone didn’t use their checklist.” Checklists are reminders that reduce the risk of error for routine tasks.

For years the airline industry has used checklists and, not coincidentally, now has the lowest fatality rate in decades. Most recently, operating rooms have implemented similar ideas with checklists and timeouts. While we are not in a profession that risks the life or limb of our clients, we do stake our reputation on our performance and run the risk of failing in our business.

When we become complacent, we create a situation open to latent errors—errors that may not become apparent until later. The more we deviate from norm, the more comfortable we become with this deviance, or the new normal. Before long, you may not immediately back up your images from a session because you skipped this step previously without consequence. As we all know, this is a recipe for disaster.

By creating and using checklists, you ensure each step of your workflow is completed, thus preventing errors or having to redo work because it was done incorrectly the first time. Checklists have helped streamline processes in my studio. I have a checklist for my entire workflow as well as a checklist for each session type. This ensures that I am always prepared when my client arrives, no more last minute searching for a diaper cover or fumbling to find that I forgot paper towels and wipes during a newborn session.

By Diane Berkenfeld

The word couture is usually associated with fashion, but not anymore. Harvest Pro, the California-based wide-format printer that’s been producing museum quality Giclée prints for more than two decades has turned their sights to the photo industry. Harvest Couture will offer photographers the ability to offer truly unique photographic art pieces to their clients, by printing photographs on acrylic and metal.

Three substrates will be offered: acrylic with hand laid silver leaf, acrylic with white ink printing, and metal with white backgrounds. Out of these three different materials, come four possible ways to print. They currently offer four sizes: 20x30, 24x36, 30x40, and 40x60 inches. Custom printing is possible up to 4x8 feet, and the smallest the company will print is 16x24 inches.

According to Jenny Coulston, Pro Photo Curator for Harvest Couture, these sizes are better for photography. “We do believe if you’re going to do it, do it at least as a 20x30. At that size the images feel like an art piece,” she says. The biggest issue for the company is showing off the end result to prospective customers, because the printing processes create a one-of-a-kind photograph. When you view these prints, slightly altering your viewing angle can change the way the image looks.

Coulston says photographers can have multiple-piece editions created or one-offs.

By Bob Zimmerlich, CPP

A few days after picking up the new iPad with 3G service at a local Apple store here in Phoenix, I was on my way to New York unexpectedly for a funeral of a close family friend. Since I was packing light, I thought this would be a good test to see if the iPad could replace my heavier MacBook Pro on a short trip since I wasn't planning on any photography related work.

Just after I arrived at JFK my sister asked if I could do a headshot of her for her new startup business. My judgment must have been thrown off by the red-eye flight, because I said, “Sure, absolutely,” without a second thought. Problem was, I didn't have any of my gear, not even a camera. That's OK she said, she had a Canon Elph point-and-shoot. Now I'm thinking, oh, golly, gee whiz, sis—that will be swell (thinking in 1950s terms being the more civil alternative to cussing).

Since I wanted to use natural light, I downloaded an app called PhotoCalc onto the iPad to see when sunset on Long Island would be, then checked the local radar with the WeatherBug app's visible satellite radar loop. Seeing that clouds would be rolling in from the west by 5 p.m., and knowing the limitations of her camera, I knew we would want to finish the shoot inside with window light before then. With some proper positioning, a sheet of white foam board as a reflector and a rigged tripod, the shoot went well considering the situation.

Now for a little post processing, but without my trusty MacBook Pro what could I do? I thought, let's put this iPad to a real test.

By Dawn Tacker

It's relatively easy to show the world that you care about the environment. Demonstrate your green-ness in your business as well to connect with the educated, savvy group of families that make wonderful, caring portrait clients. Together you and your clients can help bring positive change.

Understanding the Eco-Aware Family

Many families who are concerned about the environment view all their purchasing decisions through a green lens. The power of supply demand is a beautiful thing - as more like-minded consumers ask for and purchase greener options, more options are available to them. The photographic industry is in its infancy when it comes to offering greener products. Ride the wave of change by understanding your eco-friendly options in photography, educating your clients about their greener options, and letting your environmentalism shine through all that you do.

Educate consumers

• Have a well-articulated environmental policy on your website that indicates all the things you do to run a greener business. Going through Greener Photography's certification process will provide a roadmap for writing your statement.
• Help your clients understand the environmental impact of traditional photographic products. For example, explain why RC prints are not eco-friendly.
• Ensure all aspects of your business reflect your environmentalism. For example, use recycled paper/natural paper options for printing promotional materials. Start with Greener Photography's list of offset printers offering such products.

By Carli Morgan & Alina Prax

Being eco-friendly is more than an expression for certified Greener Photographers: it’s about choosing practices that have less negative impact, and more positive impact. Leveraging your greener photography business attracts like-minded consumers and builds ties within the environmentally conscious community. Here are some ways you can expand your green business network.

Networking

Act Locally! Identify other eco-friendly vendors in your area. A simple internet search can turn up local companies that have green business practices and products. Establishing working partnerships with local companies and organizations can help you reach many more eco-minded consumers than you can reach on your own.

Identify potential businesses with whom you can partner to reach eco-minded clients

o Attend a local Green Drinks
o Search on Etsy for local artisans
o Find out where your eco-minded clients are spending their time and money. For example:

• Are they are doing a beach clean-up with Surfrider Foundation?
• Volunteering for their local private school with the environmental focus?
• Are they members of the Sierra Club?

After identifying the companies and/or organizations with whom you want to partner, foster community by offering your services. For example:

• Photograph their Board of Directors
• Photograph their events
• Provide images for their website
• Photograph and provide prints and albums for green wedding venues, florists, and bakeries

Join Sarah Petty and 27 other industry leading photographers for The Joy to the World FREE Marketing Websummit on December 28, 2009 . We'll each share our best money-making ideas for your business in the new year. From promotional ideas, to earning a larger investment from each wedding client, workflow improvements and more, you'll learn so much in these 14 FREE hours to substantially grow your business in 2010. At the same time, we'll be helping fund smiles for children in need of cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries through PPA Charities.

Over 10,000 professional photographers registered for our Master Photographers Free Marketing Telesummit in September. Now they're doing it again to help you get off to a strong start in the New Year … and it's BIGGER and BETTER! This time, you can learn from David Jay, Sam Puc, Julia Woods, Jerry Ghionis, Scott Crosby, Will Crockett and more! The Joy to the World Websummit promises to provide you with serious money making ideas for your business. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection to join us December 28 (and the latest version of Adobe Flash —It's free, too). The Websummit will be available for 24 hours beginning at 12:01 CST on December 28. Listen to only those speakers you like best or watch all 28. You can start, stop and pause each speakers' presentation to learn at your leisure within the 24 hour window. Simply REGISTER NOW for FREE!

If you're not available on December 28, 2009 or want to get a head start on 2010 planning for your business, you can purchase the Adobe Flash files of all 14 hours for $89 and receive access to the speaker presentations IMMEDIATELY. A pre-websummit special price of $59 is available until December 27. Just register before December 28, 2009, and you'll receive this special offer!

By Jessica Riehl

The heart of any environmental conservation program are tenets that make up the recycling symbol: reduce, reuse, and recycle. But why limit ourselves to just three R's? These are Greener Photography's favorite five R's to help you run a greener photography business.

Reduce:

• Reduce the amount of paper you use on a regular basis by printing front and back; consider implementing a paperless office.
• Reduce the number of shipments you receive from your lab by consolidating orders into as few shipments as possible.
• Reduce your energy consumption by turning off equipment when not in use, replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs, and use natural forms of heating and cooling.

Refuse:

• Refuse that plastic bag when you purchase items where a bag is not necessary, or bring your own bags.
• Refuse bottled water. Invest in a water cooler, filtration system, and/or a water bottle.
• Refuse, or rather refer, jobs that require air travel.
• Refuse shipping upgrades to 2-Day Air. Ground shipping is significantly less polluting.
• Refuse to patronize businesses that do not have an environmental statement.

By Jessica Riehl

We use batteries in everything from our cameras to our computer mouse. While eliminating batteries from our camera bag is not an option, we can reduce the environmental impact of our battery consumption with a few simple tips.

• Properly store your batteries. Proper storage of your batteries will increase their life. Energizer.com has an excellent list of do’s and don’ts for battery care. For example, when carrying batteries in your pocket, do not allow them to rub against metal objects. This can short-circuit your battery, which can lead to leakage. For the same reason you do not want to mix different types of batteries in a storage container. Use battery cases, such as this one found on Greenbatteries.com, to keep loose batteries organized in your camera case.

• Recycle your batteries. Rechargeable batteries contain heavy metals, which if not properly disposed of can become an environmental hazard. To find a recycling center near you, visit Earth911.org. Earth911.org also has an excellent Rechargeable Batteries 101 help section.

• Buy the right battery. Greenbatteries.com states that “for most high drain electronic devices, like digital cameras, rechargeable batteries will continue to work much longer than alkaline batteries. In fact, in devices like digital cameras, NiMH batteries will run on a single charge for 3-4 times as long as they would on an alkaline battery.” Rechargeable batteries come in different capacities such as 2700 mAh or 1700mAh, so be sure to purchase the highest capacity available. Additionally, all batteries are not created equal. For a review and rating of the current batteries on the market, check Consumerreports.org.

• Be smart about your battery consumption.T urn off your equipment when not in use to eliminate unnecessary battery drainage. Use a battery charger that is specifically designed for the type of battery you are using. For example, you should use a smart fast charger for a battery described as quick charge. Charge batteries only for as long as necessary rather than overnight. Greenbatteries.com states that over charging a battery will reduce the life of the battery.

By Jessica Riehl

Most of us underestimate the impact of shipping our products and supplies. Did you know that components of photographic products are often shipped multiple times before they are assembled? Did you know that air shipping is the most carbon-intensive form of shipping? From Yvon Chouinard’s book “Let My People go Surfing,” here are a few statistics on generic energy costs to ship per ton:

Rail or boat: 400 BTUs per ton mile
Truck: 3,300 BTUs per ton mile
Air Cargo: 21,760 BTUs per ton mile
Air Cargo uses 6.5 times more fuel than shipping by ground.

We should not only ask questions about where things come from, but how they are shipped as well. As Elisabeth Rosenthal reported for The New York Times, “Under longstanding trade agreements, fuel for international freight carried by sea and air is not taxed” (Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Putting Pollution on Grocery Bills," The New York Times). In other words, no one is paying the environmental cost of shipping.

What can you do to reduce the impact of shipping?

• Build the extra time into your workflow to use ground shipping and inform your clients of the ecological benefits.

• Recycle your print boxes and sheets of cardboard used to protect your photographs. Cardboard sheets can be donated to art classes. Most local shipping stores will take your old packing peanuts and reuse them.

• Consolidate your orders. By ordering once a week or every two weeks you will reduce the number of boxes you receive and the number of trips a shipping carrier will make to your door.

Resources for Greener Promotional Materials

By Thea Dodds and Dawn Tacker

The purpose of all promotional materials is to sell your services and products, and to build your brand. But the methods of marketing have changed drastically with the rising sophistication of electronic media. Are printed materials going the way of the dinosaur? Greening your promotional kit is an opportunity to make your business sell better with less waste and lower costs. Here are some ideas to green your marketing efforts.

Shades of Green

Your promotional strategy should comprise a variety of marketing materials aimed at your target audience. It is rare that one promotional piece alone will be enough of a call to action to turn a window shopper into a client. You have to hit your target market from different angles through different types of media. This article will focus on electronic and printed promotional materials, and we’ll have future Greener Photography articles on other types of promotional materials. Each of the marketing methods here is an opportunity to choose greener marketing materials and brand yourself as an earth-friendly photographer.

By Erica Velasco of Vision Photographs

The first article in the Tips for Greener Photography series offered tips to make your photography office greener. This month the focus will be on incorporating green practices into your business. There are simple things you can do right now to change your business practices and workflow, make your business greener, and offer greener products.

Here are some ideas to inspire you to make your business more eco-friendly.

Greener business practices and workflow

• Go paperless by leveraging the power of the Internet and uploading client information and forms to the Web. Your client can book her wedding, sign her contract, and pay invoices online.
• Utilize online Web galleries to proof your sessions and albums. In-person projection proofing is also a great way to reduce the need to provide your clients with paper proofs.
• If you provide your clients with digital images, use portable or reusable hard drives to deliver the images instead of a CD or DVD. It is always more desirable to provide a client with a reusable versus a disposable option.
• Choose online banking, have your bills sent via e-mail and pay them online.
• Print all of your paperwork double-sided, then recycle your waste paper.
• Use recycled paper for necessary printing, including marketing collateral, business cards and sample products. Many printing companies offer printing with soy- or wax-based inks and recycled paper; check out the list at Greener Photography (greenerphotography.org/links.html).
• It is better to reuse than to recycle. Reuse cardboard boxes to ship client orders. Donate extra cardboard boxes to local preschools, art classes, or shipping stores. Reuse shredded documents as packing material.
• Recycle ink cartridges, CDs and DVDs. For more information on recycling CDs and DVDs check out cdrecyclingcenter.org.
• Try to eliminate sensitive paperwork that requires shredding.
• Use short-run printing when it is appropriate. For example, print a small quantity of brochures, then order another small quantity when your inventory is low.

By Sarah Petty, Cr.Photog., CPP

It’s so exhilarating for a small business owner to imagine building his very own building, a space with smooth new walls, plumbing that works, windows that are easy to clean, a place for which each monthly payment brings him closer to outright ownership, a place he could sell 20 years down the road. My husband, Joe, owns a small architectural firm, and we have long dreamed of building something together.

We’ve just begun a venture in creating a custom-designed, functional new building to house both our businesses. The two businesses can share a lot of spaces, and even personnel. We’d both love to have a dedicated receptionist to answer the phone and greet clients, but neither of us needs a full-time employee. We plan to share one full-time employee who can help us both stay organized and be a gatekeeper of sorts, while helping us make a professional and consistent first impression with our clients.

We’ve been working for years for the finances to make our dream a reality. The PPA Studio Benchmark Survey showed us that to be profitable, no more than 10 percent of our gross sales should go toward overhead (assuming you manage the other costs of business). So, for example, if your business grosses $200,000 per year, it’s safe to pay out about $1,700 per month ($20,000 per year) for rent, utilities, and other overhead expenses. 

It’s my philosophy that your business should grow only as fast as you can justify financially. You don’t need to take out huge loans to build a building—in fact, I believe the opposite. The Benchmark Survey also shows that home-based studios are generally more profitable than retail studios, a correlation of less overhead expenses. If you understand your financial statements and grow your business as supported by those figures, you’ll have a successful business and sleep soundly at night. Those figures will tell whether or not that success can support building a new studio.

Rendering:Joe Petty; Photo: Andria Crawford-Whitehead

What happens to image licenses when those images are posted to a third-party site?

Facebook found itself in hot water in early February after stating it would continue to hold a usage license on artistic works posted to its pages after the owner of those works deleted them from the site or closed his account. A public outcry elicited a quick about-face from the company. The following day, Facebook issued a statement clearly articulating that its license to use posted images expires when users delete them from the site or close their account.

In a letter sent to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, PPA stressed the importance of adhering to U.S. copyright laws and explained that copyright protection is integral to the livelihood of professional photographers.

The majority of Facebook’s 175 million users post photographs to their pages and many pro photographers incorporate Facebook in their marketing plan.

As content-sharers on Facebook, users have given the site a license to distribute and display their work. When any user (including a professional artist) posts an image to the site, he hasn't given away rights to that image, but allowed Facebook to show and share it. Facebook does not assume ownership of the work posted.

With the volume of online content sharing, PPA understands any website owner’s desire for protection when handling copyrighted creations. That’s why Facebook asks photographers to grant usage licenses for the images posted on its site.

Whenever someone views your images on your Web pages or a communal site, or when an image you created is queued up in a search, it qualifies as a reproduction of your work. Facebook is bound to ensure that you, as a site user, agree to the display and distributionof your images within its online community.

Content-sharing website owners will also use their terms of service statement to help content creators manage their copyrights. Facebook, for example, requires users to affirm that they’ve obtained permission to use any information or creative works they post to the site. Further, Facebook provides information on its adherence to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the procedures copyright owners can easily follow to get infringed works quickly removed from the site.

—Maria Matthews, PPA copyright andgovernment affairs manager

By Thea Dodds of GreenerPhotography.org

This is the first in a series of tips on how to make your photography business greener. We'll start with taking a look at your physical space—office, studio and client meeting space. What does a greener photography studio or meeting space look like? Here are a few ways that you can make your space greener … and save money, too. Look for more Tips for Greener Photography each month!

Location, Location, Location
   • Be convenient. Have your space easily accessible by public transportation, close to other convenient locations.
   • Look for a studio with good natural light to minimize use of electric lighting.
   • Consider the sun exposure of your space and the needs of your climate.
   • Make it multi-functional! Coffee shops, cooperative artist spaces, and home offices are an easy way to share the impact of your studio/meeting space.

What's on the Inside? Paint, Stain, Flooring, Plastering.
   • Use milk- or clay-based paints for walls and ceilings.
   • Look for zero- or low-VOC paint and other materials.
   • Use natural flooring made from local materials and/or reclaimed materials
   • Avoid synthetic carpet.

Furnish It Green
   • Buy used furniture.
   • Buy furnishings locally.
   • Look for certifications, such as Forest Steward Certification (FSC) and organic furniture/components.
   • Look for uncertified, but still important claims, such as Made in the USA, Non-toxic, Sustainable.

In the February issue of Professional Photographer, in Lindsay Adler's article "Facebook: Network With Seniors," we inadvertently suggested readers create both individual and business profiles, which is a violation of Facebook terms of use. We regret the error.

Instead, a photographer can set up a business account or set up a personal profile and then create a Facebook Page for their business identity. Only the official representative of an artist, business, or brand may create a Facebook Page, though that person can choose to allow others to help administrate it. You may transform a business account into a personal account, but once you have created a personal account, you cannot revert back to a business account or create a business account.

The Facebook Help Center has a section that completely explains Pages and business accounts. 

This is the article republished with corrected text and clarifying information from Facebook's Help Center.

Facebook: network with seniors

Learning to take advantage of the No. 1 Web site among seniors can be a huge sales advantage.

By Lindsay Adler

Quoted text is information that comes directly from Facebook’s Help Center.

What’s the one place nearly every high school senior goes daily? Online, to Facebook.com. This center of mass communication has more than 36 million members. It’s the No. 1 social network for the modern high school student. Facebook users post profiles of themselves containing such information as their age, e-mail address and interests. They post photos and videos of themselves for e-friends the world over to view.

Video products, image repair, press books and unique output and display options

By Sara Frances, M.Photog.Cr.

How can you break even in this economy and even be profitable? Now’s the time to apply technology to the task. You already have an advantage with your devotion to high-quality posing and lighting and attentive customer service. Your allies? New pro camera technology, unbelievable software, sleek lay-flat press books and many other innovative digital products that consumers haven’t seen before and don’t have access to. Pick products and equipment that boost your capabilities into the must-have category. Be bold, and make this downturn your opportunity to re-tool your studio and master cutting-edge skills.

Video
The idea that photography and videography will overlap and eventually merge changes the role of photographers as imagers. We’re looking at the possibility of capturing images for stills, video, prints, publication, signage, Web publication and electronic media. The future lies in cameras that take both still images and video, such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The Canon 5D has been an event and portrait industry workhorse, and with the new 5D Mark II, we’ll be able to provide an outstanding array of new services thanks to the video capture. Think news reporting, public relations, forensics, medical, surveillance, product demos. Think of markets far broader than you’re accustomed to. Think of exciting 30-second shorts for YouTube and Facebook, not to mention commercial Web sites.

Wedding and event photographers are already getting into cooperative ventures with videographers to provide seamless, one-stop coverage. Be very choosey about who you pair your name with; look for a professional video company with skills that match your own. The shaky-cam stigma of amateur video will do your reputation no good.

Proficiency in the latest Apple Final Cut Pro video editing software with its added motion and color modules will catapult your video into Hollywood status, but it does takes time to learn. We’re finding significant interest in video, and very affordable DVD instruction and presentation by all sorts of small businesses. The trend is very much toward motion picture PR rather than stills, and not just because companies have opted to choose one or the other for economic reasons.