As I sit here and renew my membership to the P.P.A. ( Professional Photographers of America) I couldn’t help but realize that I belong to an organization of people dedicated to keeping an artform alive and helping it survive drastic changes in the digital era. We are fighting to keep our chosen artistic medium from becoming obsolete and to help it remain relevant to the general public. As the technology changes it often time effects the entire process of creating images not to mention what can be done to an image after it’s created. It’s up to the professional photographers of the world to not only test the limits of what can be done but to teach the next generation of photographers what we’ve learned along the way. That’s a huge responsibility that I for one am thrilled to be a part of.
I’ve already begun passing down everything I’ve learned up to this point but photography is one of those endeavors that is constantly changing. I doubt any photographers out there would ever claim to know it all but even if they did some new technique would crop up and it would be time to go back to school. I love that there’s always something new to learn and I always jump at the chance to try something new. I feel it’s that level of commitment to the craft of photography that separates the portrait artists from the part time amateur photogs who snaps 500 pics and burns an unedited disk for 50 bucks. Allow me to really drive home that point by taking you on an imaginary field trip. Grab your imaginary permission slip and make sure you have your pretend bus buddy ’cause here we go.
Let’s pretend you need a heart surgeon. I hope you never need one but for the sake of argument let’s pretend you do. Let’s also say for whatever reason (socialized medicine perhaps) that you have to choose from only two surgeons. Surgeon #1 graduated top in his class back in 1975. Because he/she was the best in his/her field the super doc decided to never again pick a book or further his/her education in anyway. because After all they are the best in the world. Surgeon #2 graduated somewhere in the uper middle of his/her class but spent the next 30+ years staying atop the best procedures and tools of their trade. Keep in mind that even though bell bottoms and corduroys have made a comeback it’s now 2012 and you are faced with picking a heart surgeon that you feel is the best candidate to crack open your chest. The decision is truly a no-brainer and really illustrates the importance of making a commitment continuous education in almost every field including photography.
I made this commitment several years ago and I actually allow for training expensises in my studios yearly budget. This year I’m happy to announce that Clare and I will actually be attending A week of intensive training at Imaging U.S.A in New Orleans. A special thanks to Amber and Mike for handling the logistics that made this trip possible. For those of you not familiar with Imaging USA just imagine a place like Disneyland but instead of mechanical puppets singing and dancing you have the worlds greatest photographers sharing their secrets….perhaps while dancing I’m not sure. My wife and I have also chosen to completely geek out buy signing up for extra lighting and business classes prior to the official start of the event. The gaol of 5 days worth of intensive training is to bring what we’ve learned back to the Willamette valley and provide our clients with the best quality photos in the most up to date styles. Clare is also focusing on business classes so she can provide you with the best customer experience possible.
Of course it won’t all be business. In between breaks in classes Clare and I will be set loose on the “Big Easy.” We plan on hitting some of the towns biggest hot-spots as well as searching for places that are off the beaten path. All the while I’ll be posting pics and video to the blog as time allows. I can’t wait to share this experience with you and I really can’t wait to start putting our education to work when we get home.
We will see you soon,
Daniel Troutman
For more information about the Professional Photographers of America click here: http://www.ppa.com/
For more information about ImagingUSA click here: http://imagingusa.org/
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