It’s Official! We’re PPOC Accredited Photographers
I am beyond thrilled to announce that I am officially a PPOC accredited photographer!
This weekend we were officially accredited in COUPLES PORTRAITS.
With only 17 other photographers across Canada, 3 of them being in BC, and NO OTHER photographer in the lower mainland accredited in this category we are deeply humbled at our acceptance.
It has been a bit of a scary road gaining accreditation! Not only is there an overwhelming amount of paperwork, minutes and articles to read through just by joining the PPOC as an observer member, but after reading that a lot of photographers do not achieve accreditation with their first submission I was also a bit intimidated. After all, by submitting images you are essentially taking the work you pour your heart and soul into and putting it out there to be judged. While I do that every time I make a blog post or give images to a client, this is slightly different because it’s not being judged by people who have an emotional connection to my images, it’s judged by a panel of photographers who are judging my work based on lighting, posing, composition, exposure, contrast, clothing and post processing. Of course this panel of judges are exceptionally more nit picky than my own clients, so I was nervous that my photographs would be ripped to shreds once I submitted them! When I received the results back I was extremely relieved, not only because I had succeeded in my goal, but also because there was some good and helpful feedback in the notes, which I haven’t received since my days as a photography student and there is always room to grow!
I also feel like, for the first time, my art has been validated. Of course I’m biased about my own work, and I receive praises from loved ones, and our clients love our images – but they too are biased by the fact that the images are of a beautiful moment in their lives that they are connected to. Having a panel of judges who don’t know me or my work, or who are not even necessarily portrait photographers (they could be landscape, fine art, sports, advertising, press, fashion etc) approve my work feels really good. Like I’m not just crazy for having a particular vision about how I want to shoot something!
So what does it mean to be accredited?
Professional Photographers must have an Accreditation in at least one specific genre of photography to advertise themselves as a member of the PPOC association. Awarding of the accreditation declares that the photographer has expertise in a specific area for they have submitted a collection of work for examination by the association’s panel of judges. This accreditation system has been around for years and pre-dates digital photography.
Accreditation demonstrates that the photographer is capable of delivering image excellence and sets them apart as being industry leaders in a chosen category. You can be assured that photographers who have earned accreditations have successfully completed and maintained the highest requirements from a panel of Certified judges across Canada.
Here’s an excerpt from the official press release:
“The Professional Photographers of Canada is pleased to announce that Kendra Coupland, has just earned an accreditation in Couples Portrait, at our Accreditation judging in Edmonton, AB.
Accreditation is the first elevation above the general membership level, and is achieved by submitting samples of the applicant’s photography to a PPOC Board of Review for Accreditation. Accreditation demonstrates that the photographer is capable of delivering above average quality photography in a chosen category. In assessing Accreditation Submissions, the judges will consider the following criteria: Impact, Creativity, Style, Composition, Presentation, Color Balance, Centre of Interest, Lighting, Subject Matter, Image file quality, Technique and Story Telling.”
And lastly here are the images that were judged:
