Photographer
KFM Designs
Posts: 685
Augusta, Missouri, US
How many here would do it!
Photographer
Jay Leavitt
Posts: 6745
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
KFM Designs wrote:
How many here would do it! Chicken Pot Pie? Love that stuff.
Photographer
PDF IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY
Posts: 4606
Jacksonville, Florida, US
-JAY- wrote:
Chicken Pot Pie? Love that stuff. I'm in 
Photographer
Sans Cloth
Posts: 166
Salt Lake City, Utah, US
Communist Party of the Philippines?
Photographer
Jay Leavitt
Posts: 6745
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
I think he means Castrate Photographers' Penises
Fuck. That.
Photographer
Kev Lawson
Posts: 11294
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
oops, I think I time warped into SF2
Photographer
Ralph Easy
Posts: 6426
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Do you love riddles? ![https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/Gorshinriddler.JPG/220px-Gorshinriddler.JPG]() .
Photographer
KFM Designs
Posts: 685
Augusta, Missouri, US
WOW! OK
How about Certified Professional Photographer!
Photographer
Jay Leavitt
Posts: 6745
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Photographer
Good Egg Productions
Posts: 16713
Orlando, Florida, US
KFM Designs wrote:
WOW! OK
How about Certified Professional Photographer! It's only important to people trying to fool people into thinking they're legit.
Honestly.... how does a certification affect my ability to take a photo?
Photographer
Jay Leavitt
Posts: 6745
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Good Egg Productions wrote:
It's only important to people trying to fool people into thinking they're legit.
Honestly.... how does a certification affect my ability to take a photo? I'm going to coach my 6 year old nephew into getting his certification. The LOLs alone will be worth the $200.
Photographer
Ralph Easy
Posts: 6426
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
KFM Designs wrote:
How many here would do it! If photography is your main career, yes do it.
If photography is not your main career, you got a better job that brings in the dough, maybe not. Concentrate on your main job first.
.
Photographer
Voy
Posts: 1594
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Good Egg Productions wrote:
It's only important to people trying to fool people into thinking they're legit.
Honestly.... how does a certification affect my ability to take a photo? It may not affect your ability to take a photo but it may keep you from getting hired at some companies as staff photographer even if you have a killer portfolio.
I applied for a staff photographer position at a local newspaper and did not get the job. They hired someone with a degree. They actually told me during the interview to come back once I get a degree in something. A Certificate is probably less than a B.A. and a Masters but it is something.
Photographer
KFM Designs
Posts: 685
Augusta, Missouri, US
-JAY- wrote:
I'm going to coach my 6 year old nephew into getting his certification. The LOLs alone will be worth the $200. If you nephew passes that test at 6 or even 13 I would give my my camera.
Photographer
KMP
Posts: 4834
Houston, Texas, US
KFM Designs wrote:
How many here would do it! I pronounce myself KING of all Certified Professional Photographers..
For a mere non-refundable fee of, $68.99 I will review your portfolio and let you know if you're in....
EDIT......Damn. not ONE taker 
Photographer
KMP
Posts: 4834
Houston, Texas, US
Good Egg Productions wrote:
It's only important to people trying to fool people into thinking they're legit.
Honestly.... how does a certification affect my ability to take a photo? Kinda like being a member of BBB?
Commercially it means squat..
Photographer
GER Photography
Posts: 8463
Imperial, California, US
KFM Designs wrote:
WOW! OK
How about Certified Professional Photographer! Do they have a secret handshake and badges??!!:-)))))
Photographer
AJ_In_Atlanta
Posts: 13053
Atlanta, Georgia, US
me voy wrote:
It may not affect your ability to take a photo but it may keep you from getting hired at some companies as staff photographer even if you have a killer portfolio.
I applied for a staff photographer position at a local newspaper and did not get the job. They hired someone with a degree. They actually told me during the interview to come back once I get a degree in something. A Certificate is probably less than a B.A. and a Masters but it is something. Or it's worth nothing as we have seen in other professions. Nope if a companies wants a BA they are not going to settle for a anything else. We are not talking about creative merit or skill, we are talking about a checkbox on an HR form or even worse a computerized system that will never even forward your resume.
Waste of time and money, unless as other have suggested you are looking to add something to a retail/consumer business. Then again I suspect someone would attract more consumers trying to pass off paparazi celeb shots as portraits lol
Photographer
PDF IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY
Posts: 4606
Jacksonville, Florida, US
George Ruge wrote:
Do they have a secret handshake and badges??!!:-))))) SSSSHHH, we can't tell you that
Photographer
1KWS
Posts: 20
Carterville, Illinois, US
I would like to do it. I have been reading through Photography 10th edition by London. Doing some of the online questions from the previous editions. Once I think I am good to go on the previous editions I will pay to do the 10th edition questions. I figure if I am going to pay the money to declaire my canidacy I want to be ready for to test. The reason I do want to become certified is mainly to be able to use it in ads. I know that it more than likely won't change my photography, but with so many people with cameras, it may be one thing that that may make a potential client pick me over someone else and justify them paying my higher prices.
Photographer
PDF IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY
Posts: 4606
Jacksonville, Florida, US
I applied for a staff photographer position at a local newspaper and did not get the job. They hired someone with a degree. They actually told me during the interview to come back once I get a degree in something. A Certificate is probably less than a B.A. and a Masters but it is something.
^^^previous post^^^
^^^^ but they told you get a degree !, not a "pay for and be recognized certificate" big difference.
Photographer
KFM Designs
Posts: 685
Augusta, Missouri, US
George Ruge wrote:
Do they have a secret handshake and badges??!!:-))))) Nope knowledge and a lot of help!
Pretty amazed here by the responses!
Photographer
KFM Designs
Posts: 685
Augusta, Missouri, US
PDF IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:
I applied for a staff photographer position at a local newspaper and did not get the job. They hired someone with a degree. They actually told me during the interview to come back once I get a degree in something. A Certificate is probably less than a B.A. and a Masters but it is something.
^^^previous post^^^
^^^^ but they told you get a degree !, not a "pay for and be recognized certificate" big difference. The process you go through for the certification for me anyway is a great refresher course.
In phoenix the gentleman that is teaching it charges 10.00 for materials and you have three classes.
I thought it was pretty cool.
Photographer
Good Egg Productions
Posts: 16713
Orlando, Florida, US
me voy wrote:
It may not affect your ability to take a photo but it may keep you from getting hired at some companies as staff photographer even if you have a killer portfolio.
I applied for a staff photographer position at a local newspaper and did not get the job. They hired someone with a degree. They actually told me during the interview to come back once I get a degree in something. A Certificate is probably less than a B.A. and a Masters but it is something. The bolded part of your statement is the important part. Something. Anything. Having a degree says more about your ability to accomplish things than what your fancy parchment says.
Model
MelissaAnn
Posts: 3971
Seattle, Washington, US
It's probably a great photography refresher for those who need it, but the title itself means nothing.
If I were going to hire an artist to do a painting of me, I wouldn't hire them based on their education, or title. I would hire them based on the actual quality of their work, which could easily be seen. Same goes for hiring a photographer. Photography is an art in itself, and formal education doesn't necessarily make for a better photographer/artist.
There are so many talented self-taught photographers who do much better work than a lot of those who have gone to "photography school." Good photographers get hired based on the actual quality of their work, not their title...so the CPP title says nothing about the actual skill of the photographer......which means it's probably not really worth getting (from a business standpoint).
Photographer
Aaron Lewis Photography
Posts: 5217
Catskill, New York, US
Good Egg Productions wrote:
It's only important to people trying to fool people into thinking they're legit.
Honestly.... how does a certification affect my ability to take a photo? I know it's silly but you'd be surprised at how many people make a huge deal out of certificates. Not only in this industry but others as well.
As an example, we have a local photographer who's been around for years, has awards for just about everything but all I hear about is I'm going to xyz photographer because he's got certifications.
May sound silly but I bet in would increase the bottom line.
Photographer
SayCheeZ!
Posts: 20619
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Aaron Lewis Photography wrote:
I know it's silly but you'd be surprised at how many people make a huge deal out of certificates.... Does anyone remember that photographer from Wisconsin that would make a big deal out of the 'award' for photography that he 'won'?
EVERYONE that ever applied for the photography contest (and people that the company recruited) all were 'award winners', and if you wanted to get a trophy to commemorate 'your accomplishment' all you had to do was send $79.95.
He was told this and he still didn't care. He was adament that his work was great because he won the award.
More about this scam can be found on one of these links
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22pict … =firefox-a
---------------------------------------------
A similar type of scam is IFPO. http://www.aipress.com/
They'll certify you as a photographer and sell you worthless 'official' press passes and id cards.
Considering IFPO has to do with photography, which is a major portion of graphic arts... I wonder why their web page looks so cheesy and amateur? Did they hire an IFPO certified web designer to make it for 'em?
---------------------------------------------------
I've had certificates from recognized Photography institutions (ie: PMA) and even when applying for a job with companies that were PMA members, they didn't give 2 $hits about the certification that I received (and believe me, this one wasn't easy to get nor was it given out to everyone).
Many people that are PPA members say the same thing about their awards and certificates.
So if the general public or employer doesn't give a rats ass about certification from a respected organization, why would they give a damn if you purchased a certificate from some fake sheepskin printing mill?
Photographer
SayCheeZ!
Posts: 20619
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
The same company that I mentioned above (where everyone wins a trophy) also runs the following scam as well: http://blog.photoshelter.com/2011/02/4- … ographers/ 3) The Fake (or Bad) Photo Contest
How it works:
A photographer enters a photo contest that sounds like it comes from a very legitimate organization. There is usually a cash prize for first place, and even some money for second place. The biggest benefit, though, is that all the winners get published in a book that is sold in book stores all over the world! A photographer just starting out could use this type of exposure, so they send in their images and hope for the best.
Soon after, they receive a notice that they won 2nd or 3rd place, and their photo(s) will be featured in the book! Excellent! The notice also says that they would like to include the photographer’s biography in the book — for an additional fee of about $40. And, of course, they will want to order a copy of the book – which could cost as much as $100.
The photographer orders the book and waits. And waits. Eventually the book arrives, and this is when the photographer realizes that he/she did indeed win a 2nd or 3rd place — along with 100 or so other people. Basically, everyone who enters is a “winner.”
This type of activity is not illegal – it’s actually a clever (and sneaky) way to sell books. You are not required to buy the book, but they prey on a photographer’s vanity and pride to sell books to a captive audience.
What about those cash prizes they talk about? They may actually be making a real payment to the only person to win a first place in the book, but instead of cash, second place winners may end up receiving a commemorative coin in the mail that they claim is worth the amount of money originally stated previously.
Another variation of this focuses on parents, who can pay a $20 fee and enter a photo of their baby into a contest where winners will be published in a book of “America’s Most Beautiful Babies.” All entrants are “winners” and almost all of the entrants end up buying the book. One such contest boasts 2.8 million baby photos entered since they started in 2006. That means they’ve pulled in $56 million dollars in entry fees alone!
Still another variation happens when the company finds one of your photos online, and alerts you via email that your image has been selected to be included in a high-quality book. If you respond, they’ll ask for a high-resolution version of the image so it can be reproduced properly. Then they make a sales pitch, where you can buy this book.
When the book comes, and you look closely, you may see that the page has been glued in place – and the only version of this book with your photo is the one you purchased.
Again, what these companies are doing here is not illegal – but in my opinion, it’s very sketchy and deceptive. For this reason, I have decided not to mention the names of these organizations.
Photographer
My name is Frank
Posts: 554
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
-JAY- wrote:
I'm going to coach my 6 year old nephew into getting his certification. The LOLs alone will be worth the $200. This +1
Photographer
FullMetalPhotographer
Posts: 2797
Fresno, California, US
KFM Designs wrote:
WOW! OK
How about Certified Professional Photographer! I went the college route, which is pretty much standard in my photo profession (photojournalism & commercial art). I at least came out with a degree, which can be used in the real world. But what is the value of Certified Professional Photographer other than some sort of a personal mark of achievement? I am assuming we are talking about about PPA. If we are talking the PPA maybe 1 out of 10 photographers have heard of it. But no one in the real world has heard of PPA. In central California PPA has all but joined the dinosaur in extinction.
So what is the use of CCP. I could see it maybe if it was state requirement for a weddings but other wise how do you regulate art.
Photographer
Harold Rose
Posts: 2925
Calhoun, Georgia, US
KFM Designs wrote:
How many here would do it! What are you talking about.. ?????
Photographer
4point0
Posts: 687
Los Angeles, California, US
me voy wrote:
I applied for a staff photographer position at a local newspaper and did not get the job. They hired someone with a degree. They actually told me during the interview to come back once I get a degree in something. A Certificate is probably less than a B.A. and a Masters but it is something. Curious: Had you worked for a newspaper prior to that?
Photographer
Downtown Pro Photo
Posts: 1606
Crystal Lake, Illinois, US
I got my cpp a few years ago. Did it make me a better photographer? No. Did I magically get a better understanding of everything photo related? No.
But am I now able to point out to potential clients that I have passed a testing program of my skills and hold a certificate that less than 4% of photographers have done? Yes.
In today's world people don't know good work if it hit them in the face. If you know nothing about construction, can you tell if something is well made just by looking at it? That shiny car that looks nice can be a total piece of shit in actuality. But if we look at a Consumer Report study telling us if it's good or not then we know whether or not to buy it.
By having a cpp (or MPhotog, MA, Cr or any other title) after you name and being able to market it you show them that you've got proof of quality. It doesn't matter if the guy down the street is better but without the awards, the perception from your client is that you're better. And in the end what matters is your ability to feed yourself.
It is strictly a marketing tool, same as any other. When you go into a restaurant and see your waiter is the employee of the month, you feel better knowing you have the best serving you. When my clients see my certificates and awards hanging on the wall, they feel better knowing that others who know all about the job I do have given me praise.
Since I got my cpp and started PPA print competition there has been a good change in business. I now charge 3x what I used to, don't get any complaints or negotiations for pricing and clients second guessing design work or retouching has completely disappeared. And I am getting more bookings. Why? Because their perception changes from "He's just a photo guy" to "Well, with all those shiny things on the wall, he knows more than I do. So I trust him more than myself on this."
Photographer
SayCheeZ!
Posts: 20619
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Downtown Pro Photo wrote:
I got my cpp a few years ago. Did it make me a better photographer? No. Did I magically get a better understanding of everything photo related? No.
But am I now able to point out to potential clients that I have passed a testing program of my skills and hold a certificate that less than 4% of photographers have done? Yes...
.... "He's just a photo guy" to "Well, with all those shiny things on the wall, he knows more than I do. So I trust him more than myself on this." Couldn't you just make up some sort of certificates and buy some trophies to get the same effect? You'll save some money by cutting out the middleman.
Photographer
SayCheeZ!
Posts: 20619
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
I used to work in a regular job with someone that was a very accomplished technical photographer. When I told him I did photography as a sideline he thought I was full of crap. He never bothered to check out any of my work or anything. He just gave me his opinion based on the little he knew about me.
In 1997 I left that company and went back into TV post production. At the same time I picked up a side gig as an aerial photographer, going up in helicopters and airplanes several days per week.
When he heard that, all of the sudden I became 'legitimate'... a real photographer.
Why? Because in his opinion, if someone is paying $500/hr for the helicopter you're riding in, you've gotta be good!
To me the reality is that aerial photography is pretty much the easiest type of work to do. There's no lighting to deal with. No moody models. No need to even focus (your lens focus will be set to infiinity the whole time). It really is as close to being 'point and shoot' as you can get!
Now that same guy recommends me to anyone he knows that needs portraits or aerial work.
Photographer
M Pandolfo Photography
Posts: 12117
Tampa, Florida, US
Downtown Pro Photo wrote:
By having a cpp (or MPhotog, MA, Cr or any other title) after you name and being able to market it you show them that you've got proof of quality. I think you're confusing proficiency with quality. Having a certificate doesn't document that you will produce quality work, it only documents that you've passed a certain level of proficiency in that area.
As far as the perception to a lay person I'd probably agree that a title may be impressive to the general public who doesn't know better. And if that's your target market, it may boost business.
I can also say for a fact that those in the industry who do know better (Creative/Art/Photo Directors) don't view a Certificate in that same way. Some view it as unnecessary and others even view it in a more negative light.
On a similar note, I used to be involved in radio. Whenever someone would apply for an on-air position and listed on their resume that they had a Certificate from one of those broadcasting schools, that resume was automatically tossed.
Photographer
Hero Foto
Posts: 989
Phoenix, Arizona, US
SayCheeZ! wrote:
Couldn't you just make up some sort of certificates and buy some trophies to get the same effect? You'll save some money by cutting out the middleman. exactly what I was thinking ... worked in the awards industry for a few years, and basically it all boils down to trinkets and trash ... but it WORKS ... boggles the mind ...
Photographer
SayCheeZ!
Posts: 20619
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Michael Pandolfo wrote:
I can also say for a fact that those in the industry who do know better (Creative/Art/Photo Directors) don't view a Certificate in that same way. Some view it as unnecessary and others even view it in a more negative light. I think anyone that's truly in the business would immediately think twice about hiring someone that's holding an IFPO or CPP certificate, or even stating that they're a 'reporter' or 'photojournalist' for "Examiner.com".
All of those entities are simply set up so that any and all 'wannabees' can pretend that they're official in some capacity or another.
|
