Brazos Valley Professional Photographers Association

October 14th

“Timeless Portraits of Childhood”
by
Gabriel I. Alonso
M. Photog. Cr. F-TPPA
Join Fort Worth’s Portraitist Gabriel I. Alonso for a time of learning and fellowship as he shares his experience in creating classic, timeless portraits of children.

Covered will be lighting and posing principles as well as children psychology, which plays a major role in the creation of outstanding images.

We’ll discuss the process from the initial phone call, to the final delivery of the finished products. Marketing techniques will be discussed as well.
For more information, please visit http://www.gabrielportraiture.com

Offering a vast breadth of experience and photographic skill, Gabriel Alonso is one of today’s premier portrait artists. His talent and expertise combined with his immense insight, exceptional artistic composition and heightened sensitivity to the client’s desires allow him to capture the essence and timeless expression of beautiful moments in images his clients will cherish for generations.

Gabriel’s Credentials & Experience

• Holds the Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman degrees presented by the Professional Photographers of America
• Serves as a Qualified International Print Juror with the Professional Photographers of America
• Lectures at National, Regional, State and Local conventions as well as for the Mexican Professional Photographers Association
• Manager and Portrait Artist at both Gittings Texas and Gittings West Studios
• Regional manager and Portrait Artist for McWhirter Portrait Studios at Neiman Marcus in Houston
• Portrait Artist for Wyndham-Leigh Portraiture in Washington, D.C., Fort Worth and Dallas, TX

His exceptional work has been selected for the Masters Loan Collection of the Professional Photographers of America and has been exhibited at the Eastman Kodak display of Disney’s Epcot Center. But more importantly, his images grace the walls of satisfied clients throughout the world.

The next BVPPA meeting will occur on September 2nd from, the 2nd Annual Fish Fry! Last year this event was a great success. Our host, Doug Box, gave us a tour of his amazing studio, and educated us on his off-camera lighting method. We shared food and drink, while getting to know each other a little better. It was truly a great educational and networking opportunity. This year promises more of the same.

This year’s event will be held at Avalon, and our hosts, Darrin and Rebecca Hill, will give us a tour of their beautiful special event facility. Food will be served at 6:00pm, and Darrin will begin his program on outdoor lighting at 7:00pm.

Again, this event will be held on September 2nd from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at Avalon, Darrin and Rebecca Hill’s special event facility. You are welcome to bring your family, as this is a social event, and encouraged to invite a fellow photographer that is not yet familiar with the BVPPA. We will provide plenty of fish, coleslaw, potato salad, fries, hushpuppies, drinks and the extras. If you’d like to bring a special side or desert, you are welcome to, but not required. Darrin can provide tables but no chairs, so please bring your own chair. Remember, there will be no alcohol served or consumed for this event, as our Bylaws state for all meetings held with speaker present.

Please note, we will need an RSVP by August 31st in order to know how much food to provide. Please email danielaweaver@verizon.net with info on how many are planning to come and if you would like to bring any food. This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn a new skill or two and get to know each other better. We hope to see you there!

Directions to Avalon

From College Station, heading south on Hwy 6, take the FM-159 to Millican exit, and make a right. Travel on FM-159 about a half mile and you’ll see Avalon on your right. From the road you’ll notice a yellow house with a large deck and pergola, a white gazebo, and landscaping.

Address

20988 Farm-to-Market 159
Navasota, TX 77868

Please RSVP by August 31st, and don’t hesitate to email me or call 979-571-2778 with any questions.

July 1st

Cliff Ranson
Relationship Marketing
Let Other Businesses Do It For You

Cliff Ranson Cr. Photog.
McAllen, TX

I will show you how I have worked with other businesses in my community to sell for me.  The use of displays and promotions are very effective means of driving business through our door.  Most of these businesses have called on me, not me calling on them.  You will see images of the displays and the materials they use to send to their clients.  I will also discuss some shooting, marketing, and selling.  I will show the programs we use that enable our customers to spread our portfolio out for us (with just the click of a button).

Our business survives on the photography of: weddings, families, children/maternity, and high school seniors.  We have set studio policies, that we adhere to, so that we are in charge of our business.  Our clients/customers know what to expect when they do business with us, and it is presented in a way that is beneficial to them.  We know that selling with emotion increases sales, and that showing proofs or previews, or letting that kind of item out of the studio, decreases sales.  I have been in business for 20 years, and have been a member of PPA, and TPPA, since 1994.

This month we will honor our regular meeting night, the first Tuesday of the month, June 3rd. Also as usual, we will meet at 6:30pm for social time and Print Competition, with the meeting beginning at 7:00pm. Our speaker, Tammy Graham, will show us how to catch and keep those clients that we especially want. As you may know, she will be presenting at Kerrville, so we are very lucky to have her. Below is more information.

Tammy Graham
How to Catch a Client

Have you been trying to land those great clients but feel like you are fishing with the wrong bait? Well, come see how Tammy lures in those big ones with simple but effective marketing techniques. Not only will she show you how to hook them, she will also show you how to keep them. She specializes in using low cost techniques to land a client in any aspect of their portrait life cycle and keep them for life. You’ll be amazed at how easy and inexpensive it is to reel them in.

Tammy Graham is a living breathing photography machine. For years she successfully operated her business out of the back of her car. She took the plunge and started a small office in her target market area, which in just a few years has grown into a 6,000 square foot full service studio that grosses six figures. Locations Photography specializes in weddings and seniors but has many happy children and family clients too. Tammy is an award-winning photographer from Fort Worth, TX and is a proud member of TPPA, past president of the Metroplex PPA, and is PPA Certified.

We will meet at Studio One, Darrin Hill’s studio, on Tuesday, the 3rd. There have been a few questions about this location. This is the location that hosted our meetings previously. It is right across from the College Station Post Office, if that helps.

The address is:
2041 Harvey Mitchell Parkway S.
College Station, Texas 77840

Also, it’s BYOC Night… Bring Your Own Chair!

November 4th
Mark McCall

Dwayne Lee, Arlington

Our monthly meeting will be on April 1st at 6:30 and is not to be missed! Dwayne Lee, from Arlington, will be presenting us his ideas on how to make more money! More information about Dwayne and his program can be found below. Remembering back to out very first informational meeting about the guild, we realize that Dwayne was there as the acting TPPA President, encouraging us and giving advice on how to get the ball rolling as an Association. We are so honored and excited to have him join us once again! As usual, the meeting location will be the Bluefish Photography Studio, at 4058 Hwy 6 South (Suite 200) in College Station, behind Oakwood Homes on the bypass. Just turn right after you pass the Aggieland Fitness Dome, and make an immediate left into the parking lot. Don’t forget your Competition Prints!

“The ABC’s (Absolutely Brilliant Concepts) of Becoming More Profitable”

Want to make and KEEP more money in your business? This fast paced, results-oriented program, “The ABC’s (Absolutely Brilliant Concepts) of Becoming More Profitable”, will equip those in attendance with the necessary skills and techniques that will make them one of the most profitable portrait/wedding studios in their area.

hese are not theories, but actual proven strategies that you will be able to take home and immediately put into practice in your business.
You will learn what it takes to 1) create a market desire for your studio, and 2) help you make significantly more money in doing so.

Here’s just a sample of what will be covered:

• How to attract the ‘right’ clients, and how to get paid very handsomely for your time and talents,
• Proven marketing and sales strategies that will keep your phones ringing and your cash register singing,
• Maximizing sales and profits from every client,

This program is a ‘must-see’ program for anyone looking to improve his or her bottom line and profits. Loaded with innovative ideas, “The ABC’s (Absolutely Brilliant Concepts) of Becoming More Profitable” program is designed for all levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). With the many ideas and strategies learned in this program, you will gain an understanding as to how to make your business enjoyable again.

About the Speaker:
Dwayne Lee, M.Photog., Cr., API, from Arlington, Texas, created Southern Flair Photography over 30 years ago as a single-man operation. Since then, he as built the business into one of the premier wedding and portrait photography studios in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Southern Flair is a family-owned studio. Approximately 50% of Southern Flair’s business comes from weddings. They also feature a mix of portraiture which includes family, children, and high school seniors. Dwayne also provides photography for several corporate clients throughout the nation.

A popular educator, Dwayne has presented wedding and business programs to local, State, and Regional guilds throughout the South and Southwest. His popular weeklong wedding courses have been given at the New York Photo Workshops and the Texas School of Professional Photography.

Having received the Photographic Craftsman Degree from PPA in 1986, Dwayne also earned the Master of Photography Degree in 1995. In 2003, he also received accreditation from PPA as an Approved Photographic Instructor (API).

Dwayne is Past President of the Texas Professional Photographers Association (TPPA). He is a member of the Professional Photographers of America and also serves as a PPA Councilor. He is also a member of the International Christian Photographers (ICP), Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), and is also a member and Past President of the Metroplex Professional Photographers in Ft. Worth. Dwayne also currently serves as the immediate Past President of the Association of Wedding Professionals in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Andrew Sterling, Austin

Our monthly meeting will be on March 4th at 6:30! Fine art photographer, L. Andrew Sterling, from Austin will be presenting at Bluefish Photography Studio, at 4058 Hwy 6 South (Suite 200) in College Station, (behind Oakwood Homes on the bypass. Just turn right after you pass the Aggieland Fitness Dome, and make an immediate left into the parking lot.) Don’t forget your Competition Prints!

L. Andrew Sterling
on “Shouldn’t it be about Art First”

All photographers, whether they realize it or not, have copied artists where art began; from the master painters of classics, and of renaissance & impressionist eras. By placing art first and creating your very own style, all the other components will fall into place at the right time.

Dan Hammel, Arizona

May 21st
note the special day!

Album Design and Layout

Greetings! It certainly has been a busy time for us all, between the Bridal show, various seminars, and the upcoming SWPPA/TPPA convention. As you can see your Board Members have also been busy with several items of interest: new rules for the Print Competition and membership, several great speakers are booked for the coming months, and we will finally have bylaws completed in the next few months. Also, we are excited to announce that Lori Luza is working on our website!

We will next meet on Tuesday, February 5th at Micheal Bobinski’s studio:

Bluefish Photography
4058 Hwy 6 South, Suite 200
behind Oakwood Homes on the bypass
6:30pm – social
6:45pm – print competition
7:00pm – meeting

We welcome our speaker, Charles Parish of San Antonio, who’s program is on the business of photography.

Sincerely,
Daniela Weaver
Brazos Valley Professional Photographers

June 3rd

Tammy Graham, Ft. Worth

Getting and Keeping the Clients You Want