january 2007 - Professional Photographer Magazine
january 2007 - Professional Photographer Magazine
january 2007 - Professional Photographer Magazine
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Today<br />
Association News for Members of <strong>Professional</strong> <strong>Photographer</strong>s of America<br />
For several months, Bert<br />
Behnke and George<br />
Wakefield have been<br />
annoying me, even<br />
though both are good<br />
friends. They wanted me<br />
to do a sequel to the<br />
project that we all<br />
worked on almost ten<br />
years ago, and they were<br />
relentless. Back then, I<br />
came up with the idea<br />
that Bert (as the PPA<br />
president at that time)<br />
should have his portrait<br />
made by several photographers as he traveled around the<br />
country. I thought it would be interesting to have the same subject<br />
photographed by multiple photographers. What better way to<br />
combat the line that there is a “PPA style”?<br />
A few months ago, Bert asked me, “What is the fastest growing<br />
part of PPA?” I answered, “Female photographers.” Bert then<br />
suggested I have several women make my portrait for the project.<br />
It was an offer I finally did not refuse.<br />
Since then, I have been photographed all over the U.S. and even<br />
in China. The portraits have been made in as many styles as there<br />
are photographers. Ten years ago, Bert mentioned that this<br />
project was one of the best experiences he has ever had. I now<br />
understand its value.<br />
To start with, I am not an easy person to make a portrait of. The<br />
term “subject failure” certainly comes to mind. But each artist<br />
wanted to make a portrait that was true to my personality and a<br />
good reflection of her own style and unique vision.<br />
www.ppa.com<br />
1.07<br />
MICHAEL TAYLOR 2006-<strong>2007</strong> PPA PRESIDENT<br />
M. PHOTOG.CR., API, F-ASP<br />
TThhee PPoorrttrraaiitt SSeeqquueell<br />
Here are some of the valuable lessons I learned:<br />
President’s<br />
Message<br />
1 . Make a portrait that contains truth. Your subject’s<br />
personality should shine through in an honest and<br />
sincere way.<br />
2 . Be confident in making a portrait. As a subject, there is no<br />
better feeling than when the photographer is excited, positive,<br />
and feeling great about the images.<br />
3 . Involve the subject in the sitting. I am now making every<br />
attempt to involve subjects by asking their opinions about<br />
colors, locations, and the like.<br />
4 . Have fun! Make the sitting fun and enjoyable. Make the<br />
experience just that…a wonderful experience.<br />
I would encourage you all to get together with a group of friends<br />
and start your own portrait projects on each other. You will likely<br />
learn some inspiring lessons! The results of this project will be<br />
displayed at the print exhibition at Imaging USA in San Antonio.<br />
In addition, Marathon Press is publishing a book featuring the<br />
work of these PPA members. The proceeds from this book will<br />
benefit PPA Charities.<br />
Thank you to Bert Behnke and George Wakefield for their persistence in getting<br />
this project done. Thank you to White House Custom Color for their support<br />
of this project.<br />
A special thank you to Helen Yancy, Beverly Walden, Jill Saunders, Amy Lamb,<br />
Monica Sigmon, Ann Monteith, Kaye Eskridge, Vicki Taufer, Lori Nordstrom, Julia<br />
Woods and Sandy Puc for making my portrait.<br />
p1
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