What a line up!

Professional Photographers of Canada and Opportunity

Once upon a time ago, I was a member of the PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada).  I was a member for a year and frankly didn’t get much out of the program – but whose fault was that?  I was a member a few years back when I had three infants in my life as well as a little guy that was still trying to find his footing in his family and world.  While I wanted so badly for my membership to make me into an amazing photographer, it didn’t and I let it go.

It was official! The name tag said it all!

This spring, I was contacted by the Professional Photographers of Canada in Saskatchewan to see if Suzanne Taylor Photography would come to the Fall 2017 Conference to present on how I create my Family Fine Art images.  I was thrilled and surprised that I was asked to attend – after all, who is Suzanne Taylor Photography?  Yes, I am a good and competent photographer.  Yes, I have won several international photo competitions and Yes, I am a printed photographer.  Those qualities are possessed by thousands of photographers around the country however and it was quite surprising to me that I was the first choice.

Reasons Suzanne Taylor Photography Rejoined the Professional Photographers of Canada

After a bit of clarifying, I accepted the invitation to participate in the Professional Photographers of Canada Fall 2017 Saskatchewan Conference to speak about the Fusion of Fine Art Family Photography.  A few months later, I had the opportunity to make that presentation to a number of AMAZING peers who were all part of the PPOC and it got me thinking…maybe I should rejoin this organization because of a few reasons I came to appreciate on this trip.

The first was the quality of the people.  I have NEVER attended any event – ever in my life where I was greeted so warmly, eagerly or honestly.  From being picked up at the airport to the discussions I shared during downtimes at the event, everyone I came into contact with was amazing.  One of the few things I have many of are photography ‘friends’ – real friends to discuss things with – bounce ideas off of and have for those moments when you feel like throwing in the towel.  I am not kidding – photography is a tough business to be in and there I felt supported, happy and inspired – and I was one of the presenters!

The second was the competition.  If you follow Red Deer photographer Suzanne Taylor Photography, you know that I love a good photographic competition and the Professional Photographers of Canada has some very high standards when it comes to their competitions.  I love to compete against my peers, but competing against myself is ultimately one of the highest forms of competition I have and the drive to continue to push my art and my skills further and higher than I ever thought of when I first started photography as a career in 2007.

The third was the connections.  In that short 48 hours, I met amazing photographers that were open, happy and interested in helping and sharing to create the best environment possible for one to run a business.  I was also extremely interested in the openness the members shared in discussing the shooting, editing and casting techniques as well as the openness to lift each other up and talk about industry aspects that are normally taboo.

The irony that at a photography conference, this was taken with a cell phone.