Panel Discussion – FOCUS [Fellowship Of Communicators Uniting Socially]

I hosted yesterday’s FOCUS [Fellowship Of Communicators Uniting Socially] meeting in Roswell, Georgia.

We had a panel discussion of these industry leaders; you can listen to them in the video above. They are discussing the state of the industry and tips they recommend for today’s professional communicator.

Dr. Houston Davis serves as the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer of the University System of Georgia. USG comprises Georgia’s 30 public universities and colleges, including four research universities, the Institute of Oceanography, State Archives, the Public Library System, and statewide Information Technology Services. USG enrolls approximately 314,000 students and employs about 41,000 faculty and staff. 

Before May 2012, Davis served as the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and the state’s liaison on the national Complete College America initiative. Before 2007, he served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Tennessee Board of Regents, on faculty and academic leadership for Austin Peay State University, in fiscal and academic affairs for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and as a regional counselor for the University of Memphis. In addition to his past professional duties, he served as director for the National Educational Needs Index project, a Lumina-funded initiative measuring educational, economic, and population pressures in the 50 states that influence policy and planning at local, regional, and national levels. 

He is involved in research projects and writing on higher education governance, economic development, and accountability issues. He also serves on several national advisory groups on higher education policy, degree completion, academic preparation, and responsibility. He received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University with other degrees from the University of Memphis and Tennessee State University. 

In addition to his professional duties, Houston Davis has served as director for the National Educational Needs Index project from 2004-2011, an initiative measuring educational, economic, and population pressures in the 50 states that influence policy and planning at local, regional, and national levels. 

Dr. Davis is involved in research projects and writing on higher education access, governance, economic development, and accountability issues in higher education and serves on several national advisory groups on higher education policy, degree completion, academic preparation, and responsibility. A native of Clarksville, Tennessee, Davis received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, Nashville.


Faith Peppers is the director of public affairs and chief communications officer for the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She is known across North America for work in agricultural issues management and crisis communication. She manages strategic communications, issues management, brand, and executive reputation management, crisis communication, and legislative relations for the college, agricultural experiment stations, and Cooperative Extension. 

She holds an associate’s degree in journalism from Middle Georgia College and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and communication from Georgia State University. Before joining the University of Georgia in 1993, she spent more than ten years as an Atlanta newspaper reporter, public information officer, and marketing specialist. She has won numerous regional, national, and international awards for writing, editing, media relations, marketing, and communication training. She is an often-requested speaker on media relations, crisis communication, and other public affairs topics across North America. 

She has published research and professional development papers on defining agriculture to urban audiences, effective media relations in urban markets, strategic issues management, and working and managing in a telecommuter workplace. 

Her current work focuses on what promises to be the most significant social justice issue of the next decade – food security worldwide.


Michael A. Schwarz is an independent editorial and corporate photographer/videographer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Over a 30-year career, Michael has completed over 6,000 assignments for publications and corporations around the globe. His editorial client list has included USA Today, Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, National Geographic Traveler, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Sports Illustrated. His corporate client list has included The Home Depot, UPS, The Coca-Cola Company, Harvard University, Brown University, GE, Synchrony Financial, and Porsche. 

Michael has a background as a photojournalist and is a 3-time Pulitzer Prize nominee. He has received numerous awards from the Pictures of the Year competition and was a winner of the Dag Hammarskjold Award for Human Rights Advocacy Journalism. Many years ago, LIFE Magazine featured Michael as one of the best young photographers in America in a special issue of their magazine. In 1998, Michael collaborated with author Ellen Spears on the book “The Newtown Story: One Community’s Fight for Environmental Justice.” Michael is a native of Baltimore and a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Michael has served on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar and the Atlanta Chapter of ASMP. He maintains membership in the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), and the Atlanta Press Club. In a recent reader’s poll sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Michael’s collaboration with writer Steve Sternberg, “When AIDS Comes Home,” was voted the favorite Atlanta story of the last 50 years. 

In addition to his photographic work, Michael does digital photography consulting and training. His corporate clients have included: Nikon and Best Buy. He is a featured trainer with Blue Pixel Inc. and has been a lead instructor of Nikon School since 2001 and a workshop leader for the Mentor Series.


Greg Thompson is senior director of corporate communications for Chick-fil-A, Inc., one of America’s largest privately held restaurant chains with 2,000 restaurants and annual sales of almost $7 billion. 

Before joining Chick-fil-A, Greg spent 25 years in worldwide management and executive positions with IBM in Atlanta, Tucson, and Tokyo. In his career at IBM and Chick-fil-A, Greg has edited several magazines and websites, produced numerous events, product rollouts, videos, and multi-media packages, and has hired countless photographers, videographers, writers, and producers – including several Pulitzer Prize winners. He has also worked as a writer, producer, photographer, and consultant for several well-known organizations. 

Greg joined IBM after a career as a photographer and journalist for three newspapers and The Associated Press. 

He graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he studied history, political science, and sociology while working as a reporter and photographer for the then Gannett-owned Nashville Banner. 

Greg also is involved as a volunteer and consultant with several faith-based NGOs around the world. He serves on the boards of HOI, which focuses on Honduras and Nicaragua, and SCORE International, which focuses on the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, and Cuba. Greg accompanied a SCORE medical relief team into Haiti shortly after the 2010 earthquake and worked with CRASH Japan and Samaritan’s Purse in Tohoku, Japan, after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In addition, he has volunteered in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, and Cambodia.

Greg and his wife, Mary Belle, have been married 32 years and live in Marietta, Georgia.


12 week photography workshop for those who believe photography to be a calling

Dennis Fahringer has been leading a photography program in Kona, Hawaii for more than 25 years. I first heard of the program back in the 1980’s from my friend and mentor Don Rutledge.

Don was leaving on a trip to do work in Hawaii and at the time Don worked for the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptist. I joked with Don and asked what Hawaii had to do with international missions since it was a state.

This is when Don told me he was just teaching at the Youth With A Mission’s University of the Nations campus in Kona, Hawaii.

Dennis Fahringer teaching in SOP 1 [Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ4.8, 1/250]

Some of the past guest speakers that Dennis brings in for every class have included Gary S Chapman, Louis Deluca, Joanna Pinneo, Don Rutledge, Patrick Murphy-Racey, Gary Russ, Anacleto Rapping, Ron Londen and many, many more.

Most of the students are just starting out. The ages range in the class from 17 to 69 for the class I am presently teaching. Most of the classes I have taught the majority are from 18 to 30.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/6.4, 1/25

Dennis has collected a large selection of books and videos for the students.

Dennis shares with his students many of his notes he has collected through the years on photography using Evernote app.  Dennis has shared some 3,700+ notes with the class that he has in Evernote: just short of 30,000(!) Just this alone is worth the price of admission.

If you are really wanting an intense photography program for twelve weeks then this is it. Before you can take this class you must do a DTS.  This is a 12 weeks lecture phase, plus 10-12 weeks outreach phase, thus 6 months total.  This is a Discipleship Training School where for part of your time will be a cross cultural experience. Many of these DTS groups go all over the world.

In my present class we have nine different nations represented. Those perspectives are great when learning photography.

Here is the YWAM Kona webpage for you to learn more about the program here.

Many who take the class go into business as photographers, other may use this in missions and even some just keep it as a hobby.

Photography Workshop is the best way to learn photography.

 
Fuji X-E2, XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/2.8, 1/60

I am enjoying teaching here in Hawaii. So you don’t feel sorry for me soaking up all the beaches and warm weather; we are inside much of the day in class. Here the students are working on their assignment for a 1:3 lighting ratio.

If you want to see their assignment, it is in an earlier blog post.

You will need to return next week when I hope to post some of their photos.

Fuji X-E2, XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/2.8, 1/140

No matter how much I told the students, it wasn’t until they started shooting did they come to see if they understood the concepts.

The cool thing is I don’t jump in and help them. Instead, I let the students work in small groups and teach each other. So you see, they are synthesizing the information when they teach something they just learned.

If you listen to someone, you probably only get about 5% of the content. If you read about it, then 10%, but when you start practicing, you are now in the Kinesthetic level of learning, and the average recall of the content after 24 hours is 50% or better.

Based on research, you will retain what you learned when you have hands-on learning and get to practice. As a result, you will keep 75% of the content.

Those students who helped their classmates understand a concept they had just grasped will recall 90% of that concept the following day.

Give me a call. I do personal one-on-one workshops, or you can have me come and lead your camera club in a hands-on workshop.

Tips for contacting professional photographers for help

Ways to connect

You can contact photographers in many ways. But first, it is essential to know some basic etiquette for connecting.

Introduce yourself

Tell the person you are and why you want to connect. “hi, my name is—after reading about you, I noticed we have a few things in common” or “Hi, my name is—I have been following your blog and liked your post on …”

Give the person a reason they should want to connect with you!

Could you tell them about you? When you reach out to someone, and that person clicks on your LinkedIn profile, it needs to help them.

If you are on LinkedIn, I highly recommend a professional headshot. A headshot goes a long way to show you are a natural person rather than a blank avatar. The blank avatar makes you look like a creeper.

It would be great if your profile were updated and helpful to those you reach out to connect. Could you make it easy for people to see why they should respond positively to you?

The point of the about me section is to show yourself as an authentic person and an excellent way for people to want to connect with you. We are not interested in a sales pitch. Things about your hobbies and interests go a long way to help people want to join. For example, if you were an Eagle Scout, this helps others with this background connect on a different level with you.

The About section is about you and a great way to introduce yourself to others. Fill this out as best you can; otherwise, people will ignore many requests.

@ Email

If you choose to email a photographer, follow a similar protocol. Could you keep the letter short and to the point? 

I think there are three simple questions you need to answer in the Email in some way:

  • First, who are you?
  • Second, why are you contacting me?
  • Third, what do you want me to do?

Please connect the dots for the recipient. Please don’t make them figure out what you are saying.

Be willing to pay 

There are many places to go for someone to critique your work. There are camera clubs, workshops, and seminars where photographers will give you some of their time.

The expectation of a private consultation where you get career advice is something you should be willing to pay. On the other hand, free advice is often worth what you pay for.

Spending half an hour each week having free coffee with Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, or Jeffery Gitomer would be great. You know this might happen to a couple of people, and they are likely already good friends with them.

Good mentors are hard to come by, and getting good advice to save you time and money in your career is worth every penny.

Unless the person you contact is on staff with a regular salary, they make their living through photography—shooting or consulting.

Good mentors have connections that can change your life forever. For example, a few years ago, I had a young college student about to graduate from school ask me for an internship. We talked for a while, and the next day, she sent me a thank-you note for taking the time to speak with her. She also thanked me for some particular points from our conversation.

I was impressed with her character. Unfortunately, I could not pay her then, and I let her know I would give her time to ask any questions each week. So she went with me everywhere for about two months.

My client Chick-fil-A was as impressed with her as I was and offered her a job as a writer. 

She paid me for my time by helping me and landed an incredible job due to her investment. 

Here is Stanley and Knolan Benfield in Kona, Hawaii, for a lighting workshop.

Workshops 

Early in my career, I attended numerous seminars with NPPA and ASMP. I spent about $5,000 weekly in two significant workshops to study with two of the industry’s icons.

I attended the Maine Workshop and studied with Steve McCurry from National Geographic. The cost of flying, hotel, food, and the workshop was just under $5,000. I learned a great deal that week, not just from Steve but also from others in the class with me.

A few years later, I took another class with Jeff Smith at the Maine Workshops, studying location lighting. Again, I learned so much from Jeff and their classmates.

I offer personal workshops for people interested in this profession. I charge $125 an hour with a two-hour minimum for whatever they want to learn from me. For example, I have taught people how to organize their images one-on-one, done personal workshops on using hot shoe flash off-camera for portraits, and taught people business practices and marketing.

If you know another professional photographer you want to learn from, approach them. If they don’t offer workshops, propose what they can do for you.    

If you are not willing to invest in your career, why should anyone want to? 

Grandfather Mountain Camera Clinic

 
Jay Maisel, Bernie Boston, Hugh Morton, and George Tames. Four famous photographers in my book. I took this at the Southern Short Course in the 1980s.

In 1984 I graduated from East Carolina University and then went to work as a staff photographer for the Hickory Daily Record. That year I would also go up to Grandfather Mountain for the Camera Clinic hosted by the mountain’s owner Hugh Morton.

Hugh Morton was a photographer who enjoyed hosting this event each year for photographers.

This August 17 – 18, 2013, I am one of the guest speakers at the Camera Clinic. You can register for the event starting on July 15th.

Here is a link to the event: http://www.grandfather.com/events/grandfather-mountain-camera-clinic/

I will be talking about the business side of photography.

Camera Clinic Ticket Prices

Working Press/PPA Member Participant (includes admission to the park, admission to all programs, plus Saturday evening meal)NC
Camera Clinic Participant (includes admission to the park, admission to all programs, plus Saturday evening meal)$50
2-day adult guest ticket (includes Sat.-Sun. admission to the park for ages 13+)$30
2-day child guest ticket (includes Sat.-Sun. admission to the park for ages 4 thru 12 – under 4 are free)$14
Guest Saturday night meal$10
Bill Fortney emcees a photo event in the 1980s.

Grandfather Mountain is where I first met Bill Fortney. Never know who else you might meet at events like this if you don’t attend. If you can come, I hope to see you there.