Should i join ppa

Payments or contributions to Professional Photographers of America, Inc. Payments may be deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense if you are in a photography related business. Please consult your own tax advisor.

Submission of this application indicates your agreement to follow and abide by the policies and procedures and the Code of Ethics of the Professional Photographers of America. Membership commences upon receipt of payment and is for one year. Dues subject to change. By submitting a monthly credit card option application, I understand that PPA will charge my credit card monthly. The monthly charge will appear on my credit card statements as Professional Photographers of America and the statement will act as a receipt.

For me, having the peace of mind that my equipment is protected from damage, theft and other unforeseen events both in my studio and on-location is worth the total cost of the membership.

PPA also partners with insurance companies that give you substantially discounted rates on Drone Insurance and liability insurance policies which are a must for any photographer who wants to earn money with their cameras. Next on my list is the educational resources that PPA provides. We all know that there are tons of sources of photography education available on the internet.

Some of it excellent — from accomplished photographers — some of it not so good from somebody who might mean well but lacks the real experience. Combing through all of this material to find the good stuff is time consuming and it can often lead you down a path with bad information. With PPA, you know you are getting your information from a good source — curated by photographers with experience. They offer a huge library of online classes and over 1, hours of videos, webinars and photography workshops as well as live in-person learning events.

PPA also hosts their annual conference and trade show called ImagingUSA which is the largest photography conference and trade show that is put on by photographers for photographers.

That means all of the keynote talks, classes, marketing and sales programs, tradeshow, vendor discounts, competitions, and so much more.

Heck they even throw some epic parties at ImagingUSA. No sexism intended. I looked over the application and decided, I would not beg another photographer to vouch for me so that I could join a club I had to pay to belong to. I guess the echo of Groucho Marx saying he would never belong to a club that would have him as a member rang in my head, in some sarcastic, annoying way. But seriously, I never understood, nor did I appreciate, nor did I feel compelled to tolerate that concept of having to beg, okay It just never rang reasonable to me.

I have come to actually resent the fact that I would have to BEG, yeah, that's right Just can't do it! It's always been to me, like I have always had business licenses to provide, stacks of them over the years, examples of my works published in dozens of mags and rags, though that should not be required, since many photographers shooting portraits, weddings never deal with publishing and seldom have tear sheets to provide, but if I remember, NPS requires recent tear sheets as well.

Had all the proof required that I was a working professional, but Just was not going to ASK, yeah Every resource is of value and they are often great resources. Will they make you a successful photographer? But the more you learn, regardless of the source, the more you know, the more you grow, so yes, membership has it's privileges as the saying goes.

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The Fundamentals of Fashion Photography. This is where they have vendors set up everywhere. The great thing about this is you get to see a lot of companies and products you might not have heard of while getting a chance to ask questions. They also will have educators at different spots teaching at the trade show. This is another great opportunity to learn and allows for more direct conversations with the educator than with the formal classes.

I know this doesn't really have to do with education, but they also have some amazing parties at night. Another great source for education is the monthly magazine. One of my favorite things is seeing the product reviews each month and the images with the lighting diagrams.

Besides all of the normal education provided by the PPA, they also give you a ton of resources to make things easier and faster. I hate creating forms and documents. PPA provides 15 different contract templates, so you can find one for about any situations. Please remember to run it by your lawyer first before using them because each state is different. They have webinars focusing on copyright, documents about copyright, and a tool that will give you advice after a few questions.

Unfortunately, people are hiring amateur photographers over professionals. Part of the reason is cost, but I think that a lot of the problem is education. There are some great resources you can print out or put on your website. There are side by side comparisons so you can see an image from a professional and a similar one from an amateur.

You can also use quizzes and tips and FAQs to get that information out there. Once a consumer is educated, they are more likely to understand the difference and go with the professional. Every professional organization that I know of has some form of awards or degrees to recognize success or achievement.

This is how you know who the best of the best is and what to expect from people. Think about it. Who would you trust more with your health, someone straight out of high school or someone with a doctorate in medicine? Photography is the same way. With PPA, you can earn certifications or degrees. With the certifications, they have two options: photographer and drone photographer.

Each degree focuses on a different goal, but to earn any of them, you have to accumulate 25 merits. PPA has different competitions at the district, state, and even international level. Depending on how much you normally spend, just by using these discounts, you could probably pay for your PPA membership. I know PPA might not be for everyone, but it does have so much to offer. Really, any one of these 5 reasons would be enough to join PPA, but when you put them all together, it is a crazy deal.

If it helps you sell one extra canvas or get one extra shoot, it is completely paid for, and I bet it will do more than that for you!