1

Working ProThe

Issue 215 • September 2013

© George Fragopolous

© Ross Eason

© Mercury Megaloudis

© Michael Langford

© Mark Broadbent

© Caroline Bowen

© Julie Ewing

© Robyn Hills

© Joshua Halko

© Tim Griffith

50 years as the membership organisation of choice for professional photographers.

The world we live in has changed drastically during the last 50

years. Photography has changed radically in the last 50 years

and the AIPP has adapted to keep up with these changes.

Throughout the last 50 years, the AIPP has always

represented the best interests of its members and the

professional photography community.

Why not make 2013 the year you join the AIPP?

Together we can be stronger...

As an added incentive, to help us celebrate 50 years, if you

join the AIPP in 2013 either as an Accredited Professional

Photographer, or an Emerging member, we will give you a $50

voucher which you can use to reduce the cost of attending

any AIPP event, seminar, workshop or awards entry fee.

www.aipp.com.au

5C E L E B R A T I N G 5 0 Y E A R S

Aus

tra l

i an

I ns t i t u t e o f P r o f essio

nal Photography

In 2013 the AIPP celebrates 50 years

© George Fragopolous

© Ross Eason

© Mercury Megaloudis

© Michael Langford

© Mark Broadbent

© Caroline Bowen

© Julie Ewing

© Robyn Hills

© Joshua Halko

© Tim Griffith

50 years as the membership organisation of choice for professional photographers.

The world we live in has changed drastically during the last 50

years. Photography has changed radically in the last 50 years

and the AIPP has adapted to keep up with these changes.

Throughout the last 50 years, the AIPP has always

represented the best interests of its members and the

professional photography community.

Why not make 2013 the year you join the AIPP?

Together we can be stronger...

As an added incentive, to help us celebrate 50 years, if you

join the AIPP in 2013 either as an Accredited Professional

Photographer, or an Emerging member, we will give you a $50

voucher which you can use to reduce the cost of attending

any AIPP event, seminar, workshop or awards entry fee.

www.aipp.com.au

5C E L E B R A T I N G 5 0 Y E A R S

Aus

tra l

i an

I ns t i t u t e o f P r o f essio

nal Photography

In 2013 the AIPP celebrates 50 years

Working ProThe

C o n t e n t s# 2 1 5 - S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 3

4 President’s Message Kylie Lyons discusses working with children and asks the members how far they want to take the Accreditation process for membership?

8 Business FirstDo you know how much it costs to open your studio doors each week? Peter Eastway introduces our online business article for the month.

1 0 Salespeople 1st, Photographers 2ndBlake Discher explains why we need to change our attitude to profes-sional photography if we are to survive.

1 2 Are You Visible?Isn’t everyone on the internet? Blake Discher explains why professional photography is a numbers game and how to improve your odds.

1 4 Business NetworkingBlake Discher explains the importance of elevator speeches and a memo-rable business card. How many should you hand out each month?

1 6 Show Your PersonalityMatt Ebenezer says everyone has a bio page on their website, but what does it really say about you and how can it sell you better?

1 8 Editor’s Selection - APPA WinnersA selection of entries that caught the editor’s eye from the 2012 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photography Awards.

2 2 Photo CritiqueWhy did these photos earn Silver Awards? What else could be done? Read Peter Eastway’s observations and suggestions.

2 4 Do You Need To Register For GST?GST registration is compulsory for some businesses, but do you do it quarterly or monthly, cash or accruals?

2 6 Ice LightJerry Ghionis’s new lighting toy will have you working like the heros of Star Wars - and a light quality like no other!

2 8 Can One Judge Swing The Panel?Judging at APPA can be very emotional, but here are the reasons why one judge alone can’t tank your print.

3 0 What Is Copyright Fair Use?What is Fair Use or Fair Dealing and why should photographers care if people use their photos without their permission?

3 2 Changes To Copyright?AIPP submission to the Australian Law Reform Commision. Response to copyright and the digital economy discussion paper.

The Working Pro is the official newsletter of The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP).

Editor Peter Eastway G.M Photog., Hon. FAIPP, Hon. FNZIPP, FAIPP

Disclaimer The information provided in The Working Pro and associat-

ed publications is made in good faith, but is general in nature. Neither

the editor, the publisher or the AIPP accept responsibility for or will be

under any liability for any recommendations, representations or infor-

mation provided herein. The Working Pro presents information, opin-

ions and suggestions for subscribers to evaluate in coming to their

own decisions in the light of their own individual circumstances. The

information should not be relied upon without readers first obtaining

independent advice from their own financial and legal advisers.

Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Peter Eastway.

Publication The newsletter is published 10 times a year – monthly

with November/ December and January/February being combined.

The Working Pro newsletter is published by Pt 78 Pty Ltd,

ABN 75 003 152 136, PO Box 351, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097, Australia.

Phone: (02) 9971 6857; Fax (02) 9971 6641.

E-mail eastway@betterphotography.com

AIPP Membership Contacts

Suite 5, 205a Middleborough Road, Box Hill

South, Victoria 3128

Phone: 03 9856 0700; Fax: 03 9899 6577

E-mail: enquiries99@aipp.com.au

C o v e r : G o l d A wA r d • 92

Sue Bryce M. Photog.2012 CANON AIPP AUSTrALIAN

PrOFESSIONAL PHOTOGrAPHy AWArDS

4

Working With ChildrenK y l i e L y o n s M . P h o t o g I . H o n . L M , N a t i o n a l P r e s i d e n t

My family and I recently hosted a Japanese ex-

change student through my daughter’s school.

While the visit only lasted two weeks, we enjoyed

it immensely and so when we were asked by the

school if we would consider hosting another stu-

dent for a whole term, we actually jumped at the

opportunity. So after the October school holidays

we will have a Chinese student live with us for 10

weeks - with the possibility that the stay could last

up to three years while she does her HSC here in

Australia.

Working With Children

The reason I tell you this story is that to be able to

host a student for such a length of time, I had to

go through a “working with children” check. This

check used to be done manually at your local po-

lice station, but now it has become an online reg-

istration, therefore keeping a database and keep-

ing potential employers up to date with the status

of your ability to work with children.

In NSW the website link is www.kids.nsw.gov.

au and I’m sure every other state government

website has a similar link.

It made me think, too, that as domestic and

commercial photographers photographing chil-

dren on a regular basis, this is something we as

AIPP members should be doing. While not a re-

quirement of AIPP membership, it does add a level

of safety for your clients knowing that you have

gone through the proper checks to be able to

work with their kids.

Accreditation Requirement?

I had an Adelaide based member tell me he felt

disappointed when he applied for full Accredited

Membership recently that he was not asked to

produce a Working with Children Check certificate

which he had applied for anyway, given he was

operating a portrait business.

As part of the business checklist for AIPP

membership this document is not required - but I

ask you all …should it be?

We are currently planning on ramping up our

Accreditation process, not only for new mem-

bers, but all existing members in line with the new

strategy that the Board will shortly implement.

you can see the communication document

about our Strategy change here: http://www.aip-

pblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/NEW-

AIPP-STrATEGy.pdf

Point of Difference

One of our strategic goals is to ensure we can pro-

vide a “point of difference” for our membership, so

AIPP Accredited members are able to positively

You will gain exceptional knowledge in Photoshop and Lightroom, colour management, fine art printing, and be inspired to create masterpieces for yourself and your clients. The workshop comprises lectures, demonstrations and presentations each morning, backed up with hands-on work after lunch and in the evening. Some people also choose to capture the first or last light of each day, while others edit and print late into the night, or continue their dinner time conversations down at the beach. This year Les and Tony are supported by four experienced tutors to ensure that the knowledge and skills are immediately translated into real-world practice. Specialist topics, as requested, are covered in additional seminars and tutorials.

© P. Sargaison

Orpheus Island Photography Workshop 20137th to 13th October

Presented by Les Walkling & Tony Hewitt

This is the ninth year Les has presented this workshop and he rates it as his best.

This is a full six day all-inclusive unique experience designed for photographers of all levels. The venue is the James Cook University Orpheus Island Research Station, a world class teaching facility, and the tropical islands provide for amazing photographic opportunities.

Tony is a ‘Grand Master of Photography’ of the prestigious Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). He is an Honorary Fellow of the AIPP and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography. Tony’s career highlights feature over 100 state, national and international photography awards. He was Western Australian Professional Photographer of the Year 2004 and also in 1994. He has judged at various state, national and international awards for the last 15 years, and is invited on a regular basis to speak both in Australia and overseas on subjects as diverse as creative photography and connecting with people. Tony is also a Master Practitioner of NLP.

Dr Les Walkling is one of the greatest educators the professional photographic industry has known. Les has a vast background in professional and university education and fine art photography with his work featured in major public galleries such as the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. Les is the former Director of Media Arts in the School of Art at RMIT University. He is also a Fellow of the AIPP, and his clients include most of our National and State galleries, museums and libraries.

www.leswalkling.com

www.tonyhewitt.com

Register for this workshop now at: https://www.online247.com.au/orpheus/

© L. Hewitt

© D

. Spo

war

t

© D

. Spo

war

tt

6

differentiate themselves from their competitors

who are non-members.

The current requirement for any photographer

to become a member of the AIPP is to submit a

portfolio of 20 images to be assessed by an online

assessment panel. The assessors are not looking

for “award winning” images, but merely images

which demonstrate “Professional Standard” . (We

recognise that this can be heavily subjective.)

Professional Standard

Each applicant must achieve a “pass rate” of 15 out

of 20 images. Each portfolio is assessed by three

assessors and must receive an overall acceptance

from 2 out of 3 assessors.

Once you have become a member, currently

there is no requirement to continue to prove the

standard of your work. So I ask again… Should

there be?

This does not relate to CPD and collecting

points, but rather an ongoing assessment of work

to ensure that the quality of all our members’ work

is of a standard the AIPP can stand behind.

Peer Review or Awards?

One of the proposals currently being debated by

the stakeholders group is that all members should

be required to continue to have their work as-

sessed by peer review, perhaps by entering their

Epson State Awards or Canon APPA once in a

three year period and gaining a score of 75 (pro-

fessional standard) or above for four prints.

Optionally, if you are not a photographer who

enters the award system, you submit images for a

peer review process once every three years.

The stakeholders committee has come up

with pros and cons to this proposal, but at its

heart, the purpose of this re-assessment is to vis-

ibly demonstrate to members, potential members,

and most importantly the photographic buying

consumers, that the AIPP is serious about continu-

ally upholding its “accredited” standards.

Respect Each Other

What we are trying to say to all of our members is,

“We respect you as a professional and as a mem-

ber. The triennial review is not meant to demean

your status as a member or infer that your work is

not of a professional standard, but we ask that ev-

ery member undertake the review to give credibil-

ity to our profession”.

I am proud to support the Institute and help

develop the brand and integrity of Accredited Pro-

fessional Photographer. I would like to hear your

views though.

Feel free to email me with your thoughts.

Together we can build strength in our AIPP

brand and give ourselves a point of difference in

this ever changing market place.

Until next time!

kylie.lyons@aipp.com.au

0411 552 488

Tim Griffith | 2012 Architectural Photographer Of The Year

Ryan Schembri | 2012 Wedding Photographer Of The Year

Charmaine Heyer | 2012 Illustrative Photographer Of The Year

Jonelle Beveridge | 2012 Family Photographer Of The Year

Kelly Brown | 2012 Creative Photographer Of The Year

Accredited Professional PhotographerTrained, Educated and Skilled as a Professional Photographer...

Make 2013 the year YOU Join the AIPP!

www.aipp.com.au

It has recently been suggested that of all the photographs ever taken in the world...

10% were taken in the year 2012!

So how do you stand out

from this crowd?

• Tell them you are a professional

• Show them you are a professional

• Demonstrate to them what a professional can do

8

Business FirstP e t e r E a s t w a y , G M . P h o t o g , H o n . F A I P P, F A I P P

Over the next few pages, you’ll read some snip-

pets I copied down from Blake Discher’s excel-

lent presentations in Hobart this year at the

Nikon AIPP Event.

Blake is a well-presented American pho-

tographer who focuses on portraiture for com-

mercial clients. He is personable and thought-

ful, meaning he can interact with anyone he

chooses to, and this in itself is a marvellous skill

to hone and refine.

Relationships

Most of our work comes from relationships with

our clients. Sure, some people see your photog-

raphy first and make contact second, but unless

you can handle a relationship, the quality of your

photography is rarely enough to keep the client.

It surprises me when working for new clients

how often they say it was a pleasure doing busi-

ness with me. Isn’t it a pleasure doing business

with all photographers?

Apparently not! Some clients are quite can-

did saying that their experience with other pho-

tographers hasn’t been smooth and, very often,

they felt the photographer was more interested

in taking photographs that satisfied their crea-

tivity, rather than producing images that met

the brief for the client. Either that, or the pho-

tographer seemed to have no interest in help-

ing the client meet their objectives, claiming

near enough is good enough.

At the heart of what we do is a commercial

arrangement. When we have a commission, we

should put our clients’ interests first.

Opening The Doors

Which leads me back to Blake and his approach

to photography. Correction: his approach to

professional photography.

He points out that while we love photogra-

phy, we need to be business people and sales

people as well. In fact, this is probably more im-

portant than the photography.

One of the issues Blake referred to in passing

was the cost of us opening our doors as profes-

sional photographers. Here’s a question for you:

How many sales must you make each

week to stay in business?

By knowing what your breakeven point is,

you will greatly improve your ability to run your

business.

To help you, I have written a short article

explaining how to work this out. Log into the

members’ section of the AIPP website and go to

the publications section, The Working Pro - Ex-

tended Material.

9

Villa Maria, near Gresford, Hunter Valley. Photo by Peter Eastway.

How Much Do I Need To Earn Each Week To Stay In Business?

Read More AIPP Member Only ContentTo read AIPP member and specific business related advice, visit the AIPP

website and sign in. Once you’re signed in, follow the menu Member Services, My Publications, The Working Pro - Extended Material.

10

• •

11

Salespeople 1st, Photographers 2ndB l a k e D i s c h e r

“We are salespeople first, photographers sec-

ond”, announced Blake Discher at the Nikon

AIPP Event in Hobart recently.

“I used to think I wouldn’t need to worry

about sales when I became a photographer be-

cause people would just find me, but we need

to understand that we are artists second. There

is only one business model and it is sales.”

“The low hanging fruit has disappeared from

the market”, he explained. “The days of setting

up head shots with backgrounds are gone be-

cause now that cameras are so good, anyone

can produce great images.

“As a corporate photographer, I think about

shooting weddings from time to time because

wedding photographers seem to have work, yet

I know of wedding photographers who think

about making a little extra money doing com-

mercial work! The bottom line is that no matter

what part of our industry we’re in, there is work

out there if you are willing to hustle.

“The question we need to answer is, what

makes us different? Tom Kennedy said that his-

torically the business of photography was de-

fined by scarcity, but now it is defined by abun-

dance. So why should someone hire you?

“Mass amateurisation is our enemy”, com-

mented Blake, referring to Clay Shirky’s book,

Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing

Without Organizations. “Blogging, video and

photo sharing websites allow anyone to publish

an article or a photograph.

“Think how the market has changed. Magazines

used to pay you $400 a day, but today they can buy

stock photos for just a few dollars. However, if the

people selling the stock photos knew the maga-

zines would pay more, they would have charged it!

“Our biggest secret as professionals is in how

we price. No one likes to talk about it, but if the

established photographers helped out the new-

comers with their prices, we wouldn’t be in the

race to the bottom we are today. People need

to know the value of good photography.

“It’s a great time to be a photographer, but it’s

a lousy time to be a professional. But enough of

the doom and gloom. Our number one competi-

tor is the status quo. you can’t stand still. I think you

have to reinvent yourself every 18 months. If you

don’t like change, you’ll like irrelevance even less.”

Blake Discher specialises in photographing people

for editorial, advertising and corporate. He is also an

international presenter and works closely with the

ASMP in the USA. He writes a regular blog on nego-

tiating, sales and web marketing which you can reg-

ister for at www.groozi.com.

12

• •

How Much Do I Need To Earn Each Week To Stay In Business?

Read More AIPP Member Only ContentTo read AIPP member and specific business related advice, visit the AIPP

website and sign in. Once you’re signed in, follow the menu Member Services, My Publications, The Working Pro - Extended Material.

13

Are you Visible?B l a k e D i s c h e r

“Are you visible”, asked Blake Discher at the AIPP

Nikon Event in Hobart.

“Don’t confuse lack of effort on your behalf

with lack of business.”

Being visible involves many different issues,

from shooting new personal work and sharing it

on your website, to mixing and interacting with

people on a regular basis.

“It’s simple maths. Of every 20 people you

contact, maybe five will be interested and just

one will buy. So it’s a numbers game.”

A salesman once told Blake that he earned

$3000 commission for every sale, but he only

sold to around one person in 20. “He didn’t look

at the 19 people who didn’t buy as failures, rath-

er he saw them as being worth $150 each.

Every time he received a ‘no’, he just picked

up the phone and tried again, confident that

eventually he would get a ‘yes’.

“When you feel like quitting, don’t mope and

don’t hang out with the old guys in the corner

who are always complaining about how hard

business is. We’re never getting back to their old

days, so forget about their party and figure out

what you can do now.

“For instance, ask existing clients how they

found you, why they chose you, and if you’re

lacking compared to other photographers.”

Blake also asked his audience how many

hours a day they were really working. “you need

to be working 8 hours a day and this requires

self-discipline.

“For instance, is your website looking good?

Do you have email blasts going our regularly?

When did you last update your portfolio? Does

your website have a responsive design, or are

you still using Flash or frames? I hope not!

“you can get up one hour earlier every day.

The house will be quiet and it’s a great time

to read blogs. Don’t open your email client –

emails are time suckers. I don’t open emails until

9.30 or 10.00, and if you get up one hour earlier,

that’s an extra 6 weeks a year you have gained.”

“Success breeds success. The people who

aren’t very successful are top secret about ev-

erything they do, but people who are successful

seem to share their success. Network like crazy,

hang with the winners and they will help you

with your business.”

Blake Discher specialises in photographing people

for editorial, advertising and corporate. He is also an

international presenter and works closely with the

ASMP in the USA. He writes a regular blog on nego-

tiating, sales and web marketing which you can reg-

ister for at www.groozi.com.

14

• •

15

Networking For BusinessB l a k e D i s c h e r

Networking is what has kept Blake Discher in

business for the last few years. “It’s not who you

know, it’s who knows you”

Explained Blake at the Nikon AIPP Event in

Hobart earlier this year, “When networking at a

meeting or a function, you need to have a 30

second ‘elevator’ speech which includes your

name, what you do, why you are great and how

you can help the person you’re talking to.

“The thing most of us have trouble with is

why we are great. It’s not in our nature to brag,

but we do need to tell people why we’re good.

“My reason is that I help companies gain

profitability and inevitably people ask how I do

that. This then gives me the opportunity to have

a conversation with them and talk about their

business and how I could help.”

Blake also says you need a ‘wow’ business

card.

“Forget about the inkjet printer card and

home made paper cutter. Hire a designer and

get some decent business cards. I use a plastic

credit card which doubles as an ice-scraper for

the car windshield [it gets cold in Detroit].

“If you don’t have a wild business card, what

happens to it when the people you meet get

home and empty out their pockets? They prob-

ably put it in a little tray on their dresser and

then a few weeks later, it drops into a drawer

and finally it gets thrown out a year later.

“My best promo card was a 3D design. Peo-

ple wouldn’t throw it away because it was so

different.”

And then it’s a matter of networking – every-

where and anywhere.

“you should be giving out 500 business

cards each six months and 75 per cent of your

time at meetings and functions should be talk-

ing to strangers.

“What do you say to strangers? ‘Hi, I’m Blake

Discher, I’m a commercial photographer in De-

troit, what do you do?’. It’s easy from there.”

And if you can do public speaking, this is a

great way to get your name out there. “Many of

your existing clients will belong to groups that

need speakers. And if you do speak, I find that

around 1 in 10 people will follow you up. Toast-

masters is an awesome organisation to get in-

volved with.”

Blake Discher specialises in photographing people

for editorial, advertising and corporate. He is also an

international presenter and works closely with the

ASMP in the USA. He writes a regular blog on nego-

tiating, sales and web marketing which you can reg-

ister for at www.groozi.com.

16Matt and Katie believe the bride and groom shouldn’t be the only focus of the wedding coverage. Family and friends are equally important.

17

Show your PersonalityM a t t E b e n e z e r

Do you need to master your telephone tech-

nique to be successful in business? Not neces-

sarily! Matt and Katie Ebenezer don’t list their

telephone numbers on their website, relying on

their blog and emails to communicate – at least

in the initial stages.

“With Katie’s depression, she doesn’t cope

very well with telephone calls and to be honest,

I don’t like the interruptions much either, so this

is why we removed them from our website.”

When someone rings up and asks for the

price, the traditional tactics are to divert the

conversation away from price until you can

build up a rapport. Once the prospect gets to

know you better and has seen your photogra-

phy, then it’s appropriate to talk about price.

The trick is to build the rapport first.

Matt and Katie’s blog (websites are so old

school these days) is designed to build this rap-

port by showing visitors what they are like as

people in a natural and entertaining way.

“Most ‘About Me’ pages have a static portrait

and a paragraph of text about the photogra-

pher, sometimes written in the third person. Un-

fortunately, this doesn’t always say much about

you, but it should.

“People aren’t just buying photos, they are

sharing their wedding day with you and this is

every couple’s number one concern: what will

the photographer be like?

“When you land on our About Matt and Ka-

tie page, there is a collage of photos for each of

us so you can see in an instant that we’re smil-

ing and lots of fun. Then, after they’ve seen the

photos, they can read the paragraphs of text

if they want to.” However, prospects can really

get to know Matt and Katie by watching a se-

ries of short videos, everything from their bungy

jumping experience to a wedding spoof featur-

ing Matt in a wedding dress…

“Some people might think we’re just being

fluffy and silly, but there’s a lot of thought behind

what we’re showing. It’s all designed to show our

prospective clients that we’re easy going and

good value to have on their wedding day.

“So, instead of talking to them on the phone

and inviting them for an interview, they get to

meet us on the web. It draws the right people

in and turns off the wrong ones.” And by then

it’s a lot easier to talk about price.

Matt and Katie Ebenezer have operated multiple

successful wedding, portrait and video businesses

over the past seven years. They offer popular busi-

ness workshops so visit their blog for more details –

www.mattandkatieblog.com.au.

18

There are so many great images at Canon APPA and the Epson State Awards that not every Award gets the attention it deserves. To redress this in a very small way, the editor will present a small selection each issue for your enjoyment.

E D I T O r ’ S S E L E C T I O N

• •

19

E D I T O r ’ S S E L E C T I O N

• •

20

• •

E D I T O r ’ S S E L E C T I O N

21

• •

E D I T O r ’ S S E L E C T I O N

22

Image as reproduced is

too dark and muddy.

Sunsets always struggle to win awards.Framing awkward in this

corner - why is just this small

triangle here?

P H O T O C r I T I Q U E

58SCORE

Why don’t some prints make it to Silver or Gold? While you can never predict the judges’ reaction with certainty, sometimes there are aspects or features in a photograph that let it down. Past APPA Chairman and Grand Master of Photography Peter Eastway has, with the photographer’s permission, reproduced this image because it didn’t receive a Silver or Gold Award. His observations are designed to help others assess images from a judging perspective, with the view to improving not only their Award entries, but their professional photography in general.

Entering a print like this is unlikely to impress the judges. To begin with, it is ‘just a sunset’ photograph and judges are gener-

ally unimpressed with sunsets and sunrises, unless there is something special in the foreground. If the mountain is special,

the exposure in the print is dark and muddy. In fact, the entire presentation is muddy and post-production should be used

to improve it. This is such an easy thing to do. Thirdly, the composition includes the triangle of a foreground hill in the bot-

tom left corner - why? The image would gain some strength if it were cropped or cloned out.

23

Lightening the mountains

more than the sky may give a

better balance overall.Suggestion: Crop the image to re-

move bottom left corner issue. Increase exposure,

add a little contrast. An

‘Auto’ adjustment will

work.

Due to the common subject nature, this image is unlikely to win a Silver Award. However, it can be improved by cropping

and some post-production, as suggested in the edit above. Our clients often ask us to produce images like this, so we should

aim to produce them professionally. They may never be Award photos, but they should still be of professional standard in

terms of focus, exposure and framing.

Would You Like Your Photo Critiqued? Are you brave enough to have your award entry critiqued in front of the world? I’m looking for volunteeers! In return for having your entry (state or national) critiqued here (there is no money involved), I wish to be given your permission to use the photo and the critique on my web-sites, on Flickr, YouTube and Facebook etc), and possibly in ebooks on photo competitions. You will remain the copyright owner, but you give me permission to use your image, anonymously, and hopefully you’ll receive some useful advice in return. If you’re willing to partici-pate, here’s what I’d like you to do.1. Create a JPEG of the award entry you would like critiqued, sized to 2000 pixels on the longest edge, setting 8 compression. 1a. Optionally, create a second JPEG of the entry before you have done any editing. Don’t send me the raw file, but a JPEG that hasn’t had much processing.2. Put ‘TWP PHOTO CRITIQUE’ in the header of the email, and attach the JPEG(s).

3. Write this in the email (cut and paste or type the equivalent):“Hi Peter. Enclosed please find my photo (along with an unedited version) for your critiquing and feedback. It scored ?? (enter score). I understand that my photo may not be selected for use. However, if it is selected for use, I agree that in return for you providing the critique and feedback on my photo, I give you permission to use the photo, anonymously, on your website and associated websites such as Flickr, Youtube and Facebook, and in future ebooks. My intention is that this licence will last indefinitely, but I retain the right to ask you to remove the photograph in special circumstances in the future, within a reasonable time (say one month). This just covers me for un-forseen situations.”4. Add your name to the bottom of the email and send it to me at - eastway@betterphotography.com.

Please, just one image at a time and there’s no rush to do this straight away - I only need a few photos to begin with, so I will repeat this offer in the future! And don’t send me your best images because they will probably be too good to critique!

24

Do you Need To register For GST?T h e r e i s m o r e t o j u s t h a v i n g a n A B N ?

If you are in business, you are advised to have

an ABN. Although it might not be legally re-

quired, in practical terms, every business needs

an ABN.

In addition, your business may also need to

be registered for GST.

When Must You Register For GST?

If your business has annual sales of $75,000 or

more, you must register for GST.

you must also register for GST if your project-

ed sales for the next 12 months are greater than

$75,000.

The $75,000 is measured without GST - if

you’re not registered for GST, you can’t add it

onto your invoices anyway. And you don’t in-

clude non-GST income when you measure your

annual sales - you don’t add in interest or divi-

dends, for instance.

Under $75,000 Registration

you can also register for GST if your sales are less

than $75,000 a year. Should you?

There are two main arguments. Some peo-

ple advise not to register for GST so you don’t

have the quarterly or monthly requirement to

fill in and lodge a BAS return. Less paperwork.

Others advise you to register for GST so you

can claim back the GST paid on business ac-

quisitions. It’s not that one approach is right or

wrong, it depends on your circumstances.

Quarterly or Monthly

When you register for GST and you are a small

business (under $2 million turnover), you can

generally choose whether to lodge your BAS re-

turns quarterly or monthly. Most small business-

es opt for quarterly lodgement as this means

less paperwork.

Cash or Accruals

you can pay your GST based on cash sales or ac-

crual sales.

Cash sales means you only pay GST when

you actually receive payment for your invoices.

Accruals means you pay GST based on the date

you write an invoice, even though your custom-

er hasn’t yet paid you.

The same applies to claiming back GST cred-

its. Under the cash basis, you must have paid for

the expense to claim the GST, whereas under

the accrual basis, it is sufficient to have received

an invoice from your supplier.

Most small businesses choose the Cash basis

to pay GST as this lets them match their cash-

flow with their tax payments.

This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.

25

W h e r e a r e m y f r e e c o p i e s o f

B e t t e r P h o t o g r a p h y M a g a z i n e ?

T h e y a r e h e r e . . .

w w w . a i p p . c o m . a u

S i g n i n t o t h e m e m b e r ’ s s e c t i o n . . .

G o t o m e m b e r s e r v i c e s . . .

G o t o m y p u b l i c a t i o n s . . .

G o t o B e t t e r P h o t o g r a p h y . . .

D o w n l o a d a n d e n j o y !

M i c h a e l K e n n a • J o h s e l N a m k u n g • S t e p h e n D u p o n t

• S t a g e Y o u r O w n E x h i b i t i o n • C o m p o s i t i o n E s s e n t i a l s

• M a k i n g A m a z i n g P h o t o b o o k s

26

27

Ice LightJ e r r y G h i o n i s ’ s N e w T o y

Shooting portraits indoors or in low light is very

easy these days because we can set the cam-

era's ISO up high and there appears to be plenty

of light to work with.

However, to really give your photos a lit-

tle extra zing, many photographers (especially

when shooting weddings) throw in an accent

light of their own. For some it is flash, for others

a portable LED panel. Jerry Ghionis now has an-

other option, his Ice Light.

Ice Light Moves

The Ice Light looks a bit like a Star Wars light

sword, although a bit shorter.

It provides a long light which is important

for portraiture because it throws light on your

subject from a range of different angles, pro-

ducing a softer, more pleasing light quality than

a flash or small LED panel.

The light source is an LED array behind a dif-

fused front face, so you don't need additional

light modifying tools, and the colour tempera-

ture is daylight, so you won't have any unex-

pected colour shifts when looking at your files.

Colour Changes

However, if you want to match an existing light

source (for instance, you might be shooting un-

der tungsten lighting), you can wrap a colour

gel around the Ice Light to change the colour

temperature.

Or you might like to change the colour of

the light intentionally so your subject contrasts

with the background. Two clips are included to

easily attach the gels to the Ice Light.

Easy Mounting

Both ends of the Ice Light have 1/4-inch thread

mounting points so you can attach the lights to

light stands, or they are very easy to hold with

the handle.

The Ice Light comes complete with a built-

in rechargeable battery, a multi-voltage charger

and a carry case that will easily slip over your

shoulder.

A full charge will keep the light going for

around 60 minutes and the LEDs themselves are

good for 50,000 hours!

And as you can see from the photograph

opposite, using two Ice Lights provides even

more lighting possibilities.

Manufacturered by Westcott, you can pur-

chase the Ice Light in Australia from Kayell

(www.kayellaustralia.com.au) for $595 each.

28

• •

29

Can One Judge Swing The Panel?W h y T h e A I P P ’ s J u d g i n g S y s t e m I s I n c r e d i b l y F a i r

Watching the judging at the Canon APPA or Ep-

son State Print awards can be a very rewarding

and educational experience, especially when

the print being judged belongs to someone

else!

However, when it’s your own print, most of

us are a little more sensitive to the comments

and actions of the five judges. We may see one

judge giving a low score or talking down a print

and believe that this judge is the cause of our

failure. Of course, it also works the other way

and a single judge may seem to be the reason

for our success. Is it really possible for one judge

to swing the panel?

Challenges and Discussion

The only way a single judge can swing a panel

is through discussion with the other judges

when a print score is challenged.

It often happens that a print will score in the

high 80s, with one judge scoring it Gold in the

90s. Very often this judge is able to explain to

the other judges why the print is so good and

the score may go up to Gold. This is a good re-

sult.

However, you can also listen to judges ex-

plaining their reasons why a print should not go

up to Gold – or to Silver etc. They may point out

deficiences in the print that the other judges

were not aware of and so the score either drops

or doesn’t ascend as desired.

In this way, a single judge can sway the

panel, but only if the other judges agree to be

swayed. A single judge cannot control the score

by giving high or low marks and there are sev-

eral reasons why.

Averaging

Each judge has one score which is averaged, so

if a judge scores 10 points lower than the other

judges, this only makes a difference of 2 points

to the final score. Of course, these two points

can be the difference between 79 and 81, but

there are other checks in the system.

Majority Score

If a print does score 79, but three or four of the

judges scored it 80 or higher, the print is elevat-

ed into Silver. The same applies for each Award

level, so if you think one judge is holding you

back, he or she can only do it with the help of at

least two other judges.

So, in summary, a single judge cannot ma-

nipulate the score. If the score does change, it’s

because the other judges have been swayed by

the argument, not one judge’s poor score.

30

• •

31

What Is Copyright “Fair Use”A n d W i l l P h o t o g r a p h e r s L o s e O u t ?

There is a lot of discussion about ‘fair use’. Fair

use allows someone to use somebody else’s

photograph without permission.

More technically, let’s say you own the copy-

right in a photograph which you have posted

on your blog. Everyone can see it, but can any-

one take it and use it on their own blog, use it in

another publication or use it for advertising?

Strictly speaking, if you own the copyright,

you control how it is used. So, again strictly

speaking, if someone wants to use the photo-

graph you have posted on your blog, they must

ask your permission first.

As we know, this doesn’t always happen and

very often, people cite a ‘fair use’ exemption.

What Is Fair Use?

‘Fair use’ is an American defence to using

copyright material without permission, but

Australia doesn’t have a general ‘fair use’ exemp-

tion. Instead we have ‘fair dealing’ which is a

situation where copyright permission is not

required for specific purposes. According to the

Australian Copyright Council, fair dealing can

include research or study, criticism or review;

parody or satire; and reporting news.

research or study fair dealing allows stu-

dents to use material without permission, but

there are limits as to how much material can be

reproduced.

More common is the fair dealing exemption

for criticism or review, but many people try to

extend this beyond what the law really allows.

The criticism or review must be genuine and

not be primarily for other uses, meaning a mag-

azine can’t just use your photographs and claim

it is reviewing them, if the underlying purpose is

to illustrate another article or fill up space.

A further fair dealing is parody or satire, but

this is a complex area according to the Austra-

lian Copyright Council.

Internet Issues

With photographs being posted on social media

and websites, access has never been easier. Fur-

thermore, many people simply take photographs

from the internet and use them for their own pur-

poses, or re-post them, sometimes as their own.

Copyright may have been breached in many

of these cases and, because so many people do

it, the government is looking to change the law

so these actions aren’t illegal.

This is an erosion of our rights as photog-

raphers and we should resist this change. We

need to retain control of our copyright, even if

we don’t actively pursue all infringements.

©

This is general information only. We do not know your specific financial or legal situation and we are not providing you with advice. As such, this article should not be relied upon as legal, financial or accounting advice. Please use this article as a conversation starter with your own adviser.

32

Changes To Copyright?A I P P S U B M I S S I O N T O T H E A U S T R A L I A N L A W R E F O R M C O M M I S I O N rESPONSE TO COPyrIGHT AND THE DIGITAL ECONOMy DISCUSSION PAPEr

The AIPP, with a history of nearly 50 years in

the photographic industry, is Australia’s leading

membership body for the professional photo-

graphic community, with over 3000 Members

around Australia. We actively support profes-

sional image-makers at all stages of their ca-

reers. We are also in regular communication

with the broader community of photographers

(both amateur and professional) who are not

members, and we have strong affiliations with

similar professional organisations in Asia, the US

and Europe.

As a principally volunteer-run organisation,

our resources are limited in terms of getting

expert advice on constitutional, legal and leg-

islative issues, so we have relied heavily on the

Australian Copyright Council in particular to

represent our interests on complex and detailed

issues relating to copyright. As a result, we are

not going to analyse in close detail all of the

legal positions presented by the ALrC itself in

the Discussion Paper, and we are not going to

present a close analysis of submissions made by

other people and other organisations.

We have, however, read the Copyright Coun-

cil’s submission to the ALrC in draft form, and

strongly support it. We have also read in draft

form the submissions from Copyright Agency

and from Viscopy, and also strongly support

those submissions (including in relation to their

rejections of the ArLC’s proposal that statutory

licences be repealed).

We do nonetheless want to make separate

comment on several of the proposals put for-

ward by the ALrC, and give the ALrC our in-

sights as to how its proposals are likely to oper-

ate in practice.

In summary:

• in its Principles, the ALRC pays lip-service to

the importance of creators, but then proceeds

to make recommendations that would place

commercial photographers at a severe disad-

vantage in the digital economy (including by

removing their ability to reach binding contrac-

tual agreements with clients);

• the ALRC’s proposals for “fair use” or for ex-

panded “fair dealing” would lead to unaccept-

able and ongoing uncertainty when it comes to

how the law applies;

• if implemented, the ALRC’s proposals will

damage our members and their businesses,

both in the digital and the non-digital econo-

33

mies; and

• the ALRC’s proposals are a sure-fire recipe to

disempower commercial photographers, who

already often have little bargaining power when

it comes to their copyright or moral rights.

1. Introductory comments

The ALrC’s proposals come at a time when the

photographic industry is undergoing a period

of enormous change and challenge, and when

the majority of practitioners struggle to main-

tain a livelihood.

The ALrC’s proposals also come only 10 to

15 years after two momentous sets of changes

to copyright law that strengthened the ability

of professional photographers to benefit from

their work: the changes to section 35(5) in 1998

that removed the inequitable provision where-

by the default position was that businesses

commissioning photography owned the copy-

right in the resulting images; and the changes

in 2000 which increased the moral rights pro-

tections for works, including those created by

our members.

AIPP was at the forefront of the campaigns

for each of those changes, and is appalled that

the benefits of those hard-won changes may

be so easily lost through implementation of the

ALrC’s proposals.

We are professionals who create imagery for

a living. Most AIPP members are small-time, sin-

gle operators who are passionate about creat-

ing imagery. We are not large corporate entities

with deep pockets that can investigate the in-

tricacies of the Copyright Act, or perform exten-

sive analyses as to when our rights may or may

not have been infringed. Further, as small busi-

nesses, our ability to rely on lawyers for advice is

extremely limited.

When photographers get involved in in-

fringement problems, they invariably have very

few resources to pursue these matters in a fair

way and will often simply give up, as the ineq-

uity in bargaining power in most commercial

negotiations is way too far in favour of the cor-

porate or government bodies for which we cre-

ate work.

As creators, we rely heavily on clear, unam-

biguous and supportive legislation. Copyright

ownership gives us an incentive to work: we’re

not just technicians that own a camera – we

add considerable value to society by document-

ing the world around us in a professional and

visually sophisticated way. As a society, Australia

needs independent and innovative photogra-

phers to document the world.

Copyright law can enable this to happen,

but just as easily – if the ALrC’s current pro-

posals ever become law – copyright can work

against this. From our perspective, this ALrC

report is just not helping at all. If ever adopted,

the ALrC’s current proposals will add even more

layers of difficulty and uncertainty to our daily

work.

34

It feels like the ALrC has simply fallen for the

loudest, most academically fashionable, and

most seemingly-simple solutions in the room –

but these are coming from big internet compa-

nies, bureaucrats in some government depart-

ments who seem to have lost touch with the

day-to-day problems even their own colleagues

face, and a loose alignment of academics who

clearly have no idea how copyright works in the

real economy (and particularly in small busi-

nesses).

The small-time, individual artistic creator

– who is one of the principal reasons why the

Copyright Act exists in the first place – is just

being pushed out further and further, left even

more alone to fend for him or herself. The com-

mercial realities of people making a living from

copyright seem completely distant from this

ALrC document, which particularly in its pro-

posals for a loose “fair use” mechanism and the

removal of the statutory licences appears to

be reaching for a nice tidy piece of legislation

that then just leaves everything to be worked

out through litigation and commercial negotia-

tion – the very mechanisms that 99% of small-

time creators of copyright are completely un-

equipped to deal with.

The average professional photographer in

Australia needs to be able to control the sale

and license of their work, including so that they

can receive fair compensation for its use. Strong,

unambiguous copyright law in support of the

creator is the best way to make this work.

In particular, the AIPP does not want its

members to have to face a copyright law that,

in practice, will lead to almost every infringe-

ment claim being met by a defence of “fair use”

(including where an image is claimed to be an

“orphan work” or where some changes to the

image or re-contextualisation leads to a claim

that the image has been “transformed”). The

ALrC’s proposals would escalate costs, create

uncertainty and further put the balance of ne-

gotiating power into the hands of corporates

(in particular, big media and big internet cor-

porates) and into the hands of bureaucrats at

Commonwealth, State and local government

levels who want to use our members’ images.

The CEO of yahoo! (Marissa Mayer), recently

said, “... today, with cameras as pervasive as they

are, there is no such thing really as professional

photographers...”. The comment was quickly

retracted, but the question clearly reflects the

mind-set of many large “digital economy” corpo-

rates.

However, the AIPP strongly argues that, if

our members weren’t able to create interesting,

unique and valuable visual content, we’re not

sure what those media organisations would be

publishing. We need strong arm’s-length sup-

port from government, and the best way to do

this is through strong legislation that favours

copyright creators, and that doesn’t operate to

make amateurs of all of us.

35

2. The proposals for fair use and for

expanded fair dealing

The AIPP opposes the ALrC’s proposals for a

new “fair use” exception or (in the alternative)

for any expansion or change to fair dealing (Pro-

posal 4-1 to Proposal 4-4, and Proposal 7-1 to

Proposal 7-4).

In particular, the AIPP rejects:

• that the categories of use or dealing should

be open-ended; and/or

• that any list of purposes should include “quo-

tation”, “private and domestic”, “educational use”

or “public administration”.

The AIPP is also extremely concerned that

uses of so-called “orphan works” may be “fair use”

(see further our separate comments below).

Similarly, the AIPP is extremely concerned

about the ALrC’s proposals for how “fair” is to be

judged under its proposals for either a new “fair

use regime” or as part of any amended “fair deal-

ing” scheme. In particular:

• any test of fairness must include a test of

commercial availability (and the legislation

should squarely state that if something is com-

mercially available – including under a licence

– then it is immediately disqualified from being

“fair” to use); and

• the ALRC must reject any formulation of “fair”

that would allow courts to develop a body of

case law where “transformative” by itself can car-

ry so much weight – as it appears to in the US

(there are even arguments from academics in

the States that merely putting something into

an electronic reserve is sufficiently “transforma-

tive” to make it a “fair” use).

In this context, the AIPP notes that there

seems to be a great deal of chatter from a num-

ber of the academics submitting to ALrC to the

effect that “fair use falls into patterns” or that “fair

use is predictable”.

Again, these views are from the mountain-

top, and we cannot see how these academic

contributions will assist our members partici-

pate in the digital economy.

As one adviser to a photographers group in

the United States wrote only last year:

“Even if used for a commercial purpose, if the

new work is “transformative,” in that it substantially

changes the original photograph into something

else it may qualify under the fair use exception to

copyright infringement. The best practice when us-

ing an image belonging to someone else is to get

permission from the copyright owner before using

it. If that is unfeasible you should avoid its use un-

less you are extremely confident that it would con-

stitute fair use. Even so it may lead to very costly liti-

gation. When in doubt consult an attorney.”

This is the reality at the coalface: not the aca-

demic viewpoint in papers such as those from

academics. On the ground, it is no easier to see

any pattern in fair use decisions than it is to see

any pattern in tea-leaves: they both leave a lot

to the imagination. Our members have to make

real decisions on a case-by-case basis and not

36

on any post-facto analysis of “policy clusters” of

decisions about what is and what is not fair use.

For example, we invite the ALrC to com-

pare the two cases involving photos and Jeff

Koons: even under US law, the AIPP can’t see

how individuals could approach either of these

situations and predict with any certainty what a

court would decide.

Similarly, in the recent case between richard

Prince and Patrick Cariou, even the judges dis-

agreed – as shown by the differences between

the first instance and the appeal decision. Even

on the appeal, the judges referred 5 of the 30

images in issue back to the District Court for de-

cision – with comments that included that “it

is unclear whether [various stated] alterations

amount to a sufficient transformation of the

original work of art …”).

So much for certainty and predictability.

In any case, we see no reason of principle

why copyright law should give more rights to

post-modernists and people making collages

than to creators such as our members who use

their talent and time to create something from

scratch.

To this extent, if the upshot of “fair use” is that

people like richard Prince can use our members’

work without payment and without permission,

then the AIPP submits that that signals a broken

system that:

• fails to protect the material that people such

as our members create; and

• fails to enable photographers to leverage

the control necessary to enable them to partici-

pate fully in the economy – let alone the digital

economy.

Instead, our members’ images become just

so much raw material to be used by others, who

can then profit from our members’ skill and in-

vestment.

As the Copyright Council has noted in its

submission, any argument that photographers

will be able to rely on their moral rights in situa-

tions such as these is extremely difficult to sus-

tain – the existence of fair use as a copyright de-

fence may just be yet another situation in which

it is “reasonable” not to respect the integrity of

our members’ material.

Clearly, as a matter of practice, as non-law-

yers we won’t be able to predict fair use; as

small businesses we won’t be able to afford

litigation to define fair use; and as creators we

won’t be financially able to challenge claims of

fair use, even if we believe them to be wrong.

How, then, will moving to a fair use system

improve our members’ ability to participate in

the digital economy?

3. The proposals for orphan works

The AIPP opposes the ALrC’s Proposal 12-1 to

Proposal 12-3.

Our members’ works are particularly prone

to becoming orphans and to being opportunis-

tically used by people without permission – in-

37

cluding where (either deliberate or unintended)

metadata is stripped out of their images.

Copyright should protect the images of am-

ateurs and professional alike, where those im-

ages find their way without permission into the

public domain.

In this context, enabling people to raise a

defence of “orphan work” under “fair use”, and

enabling them to raise a claim that their search

was “reasonably diligent” is just another means

by which our members will be disenfranchised

in the digital economy. This problem will be ex-

acerbated by the very loose list of things the

ALrC is recommending that a court “may” have

regard to as to what is a “reasonably diligent”

search.

If works by one of Australia’s best known

authors – and the head of the Australian Soci-

ety of Authors – can become orphaned (as the

defendants claimed in one of the Google book

scanning cases), what chance do our members

stand?

Also, we note that Australia does not have

statutory damages, and so giving people an

easy “out” via orphan works provisions (includ-

ing by providing limitations on damages)

means that the risks people take in using some-

thing they claim is “orphaned” – and the rewards

of fighting hard to retain our rights if there is

a dispute – are just so much lower in Australia

than in the US. Again, our members would be

disadvantaged.

Copyright law should prompt people to get

permissions, just as it should prompt people

to seek licensing solutions as the best way of

spreading the benefits of the digital economy

to everyone supplying any material on which

that economy is based.

The AIPP therefore particularly supports the

Australian Copyright Council’s comments on

the ALrC’s orphan works proposals, noting in

particular that the ALrC’s recommendations:

• attempt to use fair use as a solution to prob-

lems that are far more complex than fair use can

or should be used to address;

• would impose an extremely low and ill-de-

fined threshold of what constitutes a “diligent

search”;

• fail to recommend a fee-paying scheme, as is

being pursued in the UK;

• don’t do anything to address the fundamen-

tal issue of trying to prevent works from becom-

ing orphaned in the first place (particularly as a

result of metadata being stripped out of imag-

es); and

• don’t do anything to assist in restoring or-

phaned works to their owners.

4. The proposals for abolition of statutory

licence

The AIPP opposes the ALrC’s Proposal 6-1 to re-

peal the statutory licensing schemes.

The ALrC seems to have the overly optimis-

tic – even naïve – view that voluntary licensing

38

will just step into the place of the statutory li-

cences.

AIPP members have long experience of ne-

gotiating in the real world, and know that user

organisations – including governments and

educational sectors – will just use the change in

law to argue “fair use” and/or “orphan works” and

then only offer minimal (if any) payments.

We came across one statement from some

US organisations on this, where organisations

representing libraries and educational bodies

very simply state:

“Several months have passed since the federal

district court in Atlanta ruled in Cambridge Uni-

versity Press v Becker that copying book excerpts

for electronic reserves at Georgia State University

(GSU) is within fair use.”

This may or may not be the law in the States

– and may or may not become the law in Aus-

tralia – but the AIPP knows full well that this is

what its members will be told if they (or, for ex-

ample, Copyright Agency) complain that peo-

ple are infringing their rights.

The current statutory licences enable “equi-

table remuneration”, and the AIPP’s view is that

the current statutory licensing schemes is ef-

ficient and fair – particularly as they are subject

to both parliamentary and Copyright Tribunal

oversight

5. The proposal to permit contractual

over-ride

The AIPP strongly opposes the ALrC’s Proposal

17-1.

For AIPP members, licensing is their life-

blood, and the ability of AIPP members to par-

ticipate fully and appropriately in the digital

economy requires an unambiguous ability to

reach agreements about how material will be

used. And those agreements need to be bind-

ing.

The ALrC appears completely oblivious to

how important contract is to photographers,

who licence according to usage.

The AIPP cannot see any basis on which the

ALrC could justify someone commissioning a

photographer to take photos for specified pur-

poses – and contractually agreeing only to use

the resulting images for those purposes – and

then allowing that person or that organisation

to use the image for completely different pur-

poses. On the ALrC’s proposal, the ability to

over-ride contractual conditions would be avail-

able even where the further use is a commercial

use usually licensed by the photographer.

The AIPP also notes that, while the ALrC has

been very keen to embrace the concept of fair

use from US copyright law, the ALrC has avoid-

ed US law that accepts the primacy of contract

law over copyright: US law does not allow peo-

ple to ignore their contractual obligations mere-

ly because a copyright defence might be avail-

able to them.

Yours faithfully

Peter Myers, Aipp Executive Officer

39

Internationally awarded travel photographers Ignacio Palacios and Pep Roig are leading an amazing photographic journey to Patagonia in South America

next year and AIPP Grand Master of Photography Peter Eastway will join the tour as a guest presenter and instructor.

Patagonia Itinerary

Santiago de Chile, Pta. Arenas, Torres del Paine National Park (Pehoe Lake, Nordenskjöld lake, Salto Grande waterfall, Laguna Larga, Grey lake and Grey

Glacier), Pto. Natales, El Calafate (Perito Moreno Glacier), Viedma Lake, El Chaltén (Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy, Maestri camp, Poincenot camp), El Calafate.

The trip includes accommodation, all meals, English and Spanish speaking guides, local travel (minibus), transfers and visas. On the Patagonia tour, Peter,

Ignacio and Pep will provide instruction and assistance with your photography as required. There are only 15 seats available on the tour.

Price: AU$7995*(*) Twin share price. The tour price does not include flights.Note: Some level of fitness is required to reach some campsites in Torres del Paine and Cerro Torre. Porters will be available at an additional fee. The tour finishes in El Calafate (Argentina) from where there are flights to Buenos Aires connecting back to Santiago de Chile or directly to Australia. Dates and itinerary are subject to change.

For further information, contact Ignacio by email: info@iptravelphotography.com.au or visit www.iptravelphotography.com.au.

PATAGONIA 2014WITH IGNACIO PALACIOS, PEP ROIG & PETER EASTWAY

Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno Glacier, Cerro Torre & Fitz Roy 8 – 21 March 2014 / 14 days

An eBook by Peter Eastway

G.M. Photog., Hon. FAIPP, Hon FNZIPP, FAIPP

For more information and a read of the free sample, please visit:

www.betterphotography.com

I have judged

many photography

competitions and

there are lots of little

things that entrants

forget to do. If only I could let them

know before entering the competi-

tion, they would do so much better!

Well, as a judge I’m not allowed

to ring up and help entrants, but I can

write a book that distills what I have

learnt over the last twenty years that

will give you a great head start.

Of course, no one can give you an

iron-clad guarantee that you will read

my book and then win the next photo

competition you enter – and I explain

why in the book. However, what I can

guarantee you is that if you read my

book, you will improve the quality of

your photography.

You see, whether you’re aiming to

win a photography competition or just

take a better photograph, the advice is

very similar. And I know that the tech-

niques and approaches I’ve developed

over the years will help you capture

and produce better photographs.

My book is called How To Win Photo Competitions.

It begins with a little about me.

After all, it’s easy enough to write a

book about winning photography

competitions, but it’s better if you have

a little bit of experience. Fortunately

for me, I’ve been lucky enough to win

quite a few competitions, plus I have

a lot of experience as a judge. I can

talk to you about both sides of the

competition.

Add in the fact I’ve been a maga-

zine editor for 30 years and I hope I’m

able to communicate my message

pretty well. So, in just a couple of

pages (I don’t want to bore you), I

explain why I know what I’m talking

about (even though my Dad told me

not to boast).

We then look at competitions

and how they work, how you should

approach them, and how to use the

results to assess your own photog-

raphy. It’s important to set the scene

before we get into creating photos

that win competitions.

The next two sections are the

nitty gritty. We begin by talking about

taking a great photograph in the fi rst

place. Competition winners begin

with the camera and so we talk about

camera technique, colour, composi-

tion, framing and so on - little tricks

and hints that will make a world of

diff erence to your photographs.

From here we step into post-

production – using the computer

to improve the images our camera

has captured. Most readers will have

dabbled with Photoshop, Elements

or Lightroom and this is all you need

to enhance your images so they are

in the running for a competition win.

These days, no matter how good your

camera is, you simply must do a little

post-production to fi nesse your entry.

I fi nish the book with some use-

ful background information about

how competitions work (generally

speaking), and then I analyse some of

the images that have won awards for

me, pointing out the aspects that the

judges responded to in a positive way.

The book has lots of photographs

and illustrations to explain exactly

what I’m talking about.

And it is an eBook. It is easy to

read on a computer, laptop or iPad,

and you need Adobe Reader (Acrobat)

to view the book. There is no paper

version of this book, although you can

print out the Acrobat Reader fi le if you

wish.

I have created a sample eBook for

you to look at on the Better Photogra-

phy website, so please visit and have

a read. If you like what you see, I hope

you’ll purchase a copy.

And for your next photo competi-

tion - good luck!

– Peter Eastway

How To Win Photo Competitions

How To Win

NEW PRICE FOR 2013only $29.95www.betterphotography.com

WinPhotoCompAdvert-2013.indd 1 21/01/2013 9:24:27 PM