Maria Bernal Photography is located in Austin, Texas

Cost of program is Free to members and $25 to non-members. BWC is Maria’s lab of choice and will have a few door prizes for those in attendance. Don’t forget to drop in your business card to see what you can win!

In June, 2002, Leslie Ann Kitten was asked to do a wedding for $100. Thus was the birth of savant Photography. Since that time, she has grown her business and managed to double her profits each year. Savant Photography began in a spare bedroom of her home and has grown into a small studio with expansion in the immediate future.

Leslie graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in Interior Design and Architecture and a Master’s in Agricultural Communications, specializing in photography. In 2004, she won Outstanding Master’s Thesis, meaning it was voted the best thesis in the nation. She regards this as her highest accomplishment.

Since starting her business, she has received many awards for her photography and philanthropy. Among these are the Nancy Coggins Award, 2007, TPPA President’s Theme, 2008, ACT Photography First and Second Place, SPPPA Fellowship as well as numerous other awards and publications.

In addition, Savant Photography was most recently named Best of the West for the South Plains, 2010. Kitten became a Certified Professional Photographer in March, 2010.

Believing in the value of a strong community, Leslie dedicates countless hours to help others. She photographs children who have struggled to be adopted. She also photographs for countless local non-profit organizations and donated her skills to 1 or 2 couples in need of wedding photography each year.

Kitten’s local photography guild, South Plains Professional Photographers Association has had the honor of Leslie contributing to their growth as Secretary, Vice President, President, and currently as the Chairman of the Board. Leslie also participates and is a member of Professional Women’s Resource Group, Association of Women in Communications, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce and serves as a member of the board for many other organizations.

Also check out our facebook page to get a copy of our NEW logo!  Please download the logo from the site and use it to replace any logos that you may have on your site for the BVPPA.

Our Facebook Page

Melanie Hall, CPP, is a 2007 graduate of Sam Houston State University with a bachelors of science in photography with a minor in business management and has owned Melonhead Photo in Conroe since 2004. She purchased a Virtual Background System in 2009 to add background variety in studio and on location.

During her program she will discuss the importance of background variety while showing how Virtual Background System actually works with a live demo (including set up) and how she implements it with high school seniors, school portraits, sports portraits and more. Melanie uses her Virtual Background System for school portraits, children photographs, family portraits, business and realtor head shots, musician promos, wedding formals, and boudoir sessions.

Beside being a portrait and wedding photographer, she began her photojournalist career in early 2005 when she became the photographer for a weekly newspaper, Montgomery County News. Then a year later she progressed to the county’s only daily newspaper as photographer at The Courier for three years covering sports, features, breaking news and advertising spots all while also running her studio part time.

She currently photographs around a dozen wedding annually in addition to roughly 75 high school senior portraits a year, not to mention other portrait sessions and contract photography. She also has been teaching a basic photography course through the City of Conroe Parks and Recreation Department for the past few years.

Melanie has membership in Texas Professional Photography Association and Professional Photographers of America. She received her professional photographer certification at age 23.

Liddie Deshotel, owner of Portraits by Liddie

Liddie Deshotel’s professional photography career spans over 20 years.  Having been fortunate to study with some of the best in the industry, Liddie is now a highly sought after expert. Since opening her studio over 6 years ago, she has quickly earned her Certification from the Professional Photographers of America and is will soon achieve her Masters Degree. The Dallas Professional Photographers Guild has presented Liddie with multiple awards, validating her work.  Liddie has created a reputation for a staunch attention to detail, the quality of her work, and her acute focus on customer service.

Portraits by Liddie is known for its very unique and extremely successful style of Senior photography. Liddie’s training program, Seniors…from Beginning to End covers all aspects of High School Senior portraiture, beginning with tips for marketing to seniors and how to get those elusive mailing lists. In this session, Liddie teaches the key elements to a successful marketing piece. Participants discover what works and what doesn’t work in getting potential customers to take action to book a session. She discusses the benefits of a consultation, either on the phone or in person, and how that increases sales.  The program also covers learning how to involve the parents and making the senior feel at ease during the session. Finally, attendees of the course are exposed to some of Liddie’s own professional “tricks of the trade” while making the sale.  Improve your selling ability by attending this session.

Sponsored by White House Custom Colour

Guests:$25 fee
New members can pay their dues at the meeting

Update: Due to Margaret Bryant’s meeting in Dallas, our meeting will be held on Wednesday night, February 10th, 2010.

How to Speak “Dog”: Incorporating Dogs into Your Family and Senior Portraits

Today dogs are as much a part of a family as the children. However, there is more to photographing dogs than just having a squeaky toy. This talk will teach you about dog behavior, dog handling and how to get the best expression from the dog. You’ll also learn how to prepare the dog for the session, what to expect during the session and how to handle some of the problems you might encounter. Sixty three percent of households have at least one dog in the family. Why not learn how to better include them in your family and senior portraiture?

About Margaret Bryant, M.Photog., CPP…

Margaret Bryant is an award winning Master Photographer with a passion for dogs. Her photography reveals the personality of the dogs and the special relationship they have with their humans. Her style is simple, original and authentic. She is knowledgeable about dog breeds, dog behavior and dog training and knows how to make dogs comfortable. Margaret shares her life with Molly, a border collie/sheltie mix and Sophie, a whippet.

Print Competition

We would love for you to participate in the print competition. We now have two categories: 16×20 mounted and 8×10 mounted. Judging will be handled by our speaker and constructive comments can be made by the members after the program. Remember, you must give your print a title and keep in mind the 12 elements of a Merit Print. If you have lost your copy, check out 12 Elements of a Merit Print

Attention All Members:

We have been asked to help judge 4-H prints for the Photographic Category of the Brazos County 4-H Contest.

If you can help us out we need to be at the College Station Conference Center at 5:45pm on Wednesday night before Margaret Bryant’s program to help judge the prints. This is a great opportunity to volunteer.

Please RSVP to
Cindy Kovar at
mckovar@txcyber.com
if you can help us out.

How to Profit from Framing…
Understanding the art of framing is the key to making it pay off for your business.
Bradley will cover all the basic elements of frame selection, display, pricing, and sales. He will also give a detailed tutorial on the assembly of frames.
You will leave with a greater knowledge of picture framing, and a better sense of how to incorporate framing into your studio offering.

About Bradley Riner…
Having begun his professional career in the photographic industry over 25 years ago,Bradley has seen the evolution/revolution of the portrait and event photography business. He has an extensive background in retailing, packaging, marketing and direct sales. Drawing on the best practices from all of these disciplines, and
applying them to each studio’s individual needs, helps him take every customer’s packaging, pricing and product positioning to a new level. Bradley is a sales representative for Excel Picture Frames and Albums and for BWC Photo Imaging.
Areas Serviced: CO, NM, AR, OK, TX

This month will mark the official start of our print competition! Please remember, you can bring up to 2 prints, sized 16×20 and mounted. If you intend to enter a print, please deliver it (or have it delivered) by 6:45, so the judges can review them. Your prints will be judged on the “12 Elements of a Print” by 2 qualified judges.

Due to the addition of the Print Competition, our meeting format will slightly change. We will still gather at 6:30pm, but then will our brief business meeting at 6:45, with Print Competition starting at 7:00. Finally, the Program will begin at 7:10. Same place, of course, the College Station Conference Center, at 1300 George Bush Drive.

If you know someone that you think would benefit from our meetings, please invite them! First timers do not have to pay to attend, what a great way to try our group out! Our speakers certainly have great information, and spreading the wealth will elevate the standards of our photographic community.

You may know that we meet every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6:30, at the College Station Conference Center at 1300 George Bush Drive. We begin to gather at 6:30 for a little social time, have a brief discussion about Guild news at 6:50, and finally, the program begins at 7:00. Please do not forget… the Guild Print Competition begins this month! If you wish, bring a mounted 16×20 to enter.

We hope to see you Tuesday, September 8th at 6:30!

Seminar Info:
One of the best things you can do for your studio is have a strong baby program. After all, baby clients turn into toddler and family clients! Come learn how to not only get clients in the door, but also how to dazzle them with extra touches that will encourage them to spread the word to their friends. Melinda and Cristie discuss how to set up marketing pieces and create a brand for your studio, in addition to sharing some tips and hints about a great referral program and sales.

About Silver Image…
Melinda & Cristie Reddehase are sisters with a shared passion for photography. Simply put… “We do this job because we love it! There is nothing more rewarding than capturing a special moment in someone’s life. We create images that are held onto, loved and cherished.”

Both Melinda & Cristie have obtained bachelors of art degrees in photography from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. Melinda started the studio in 2001 shortly after college graduation and was, for a time, the youngest studio owner in Texas. Cristie joined her a year later when her degree was complete. They quickly outgrew their 1,000 square foot commercial space and expanded to a custom built studio and three acres just over two years ago. They photograph all types of portraits but love high school seniors and babies the most!

http://texasschool.org/2009/wrangler09.pdf