Over the next couple of weeks, we will be simplifying the website and blog, combining them into one seamless unit. We will also be moving to sending online newsletters to everyone as well! Our first online newsletter went out earlier this week. If you are a PPETN member and didn’t receive it in your inbox, please let Chris Hoopes or Lynn Seaton know. We will make sure you are added to the mailing list.

We will also be handing out membership directories to members this evening. please make sure your information is correct in the directory. Please let us know if there are any updates or changes that need to be made.

If you aren’t a member of PPETN and would like to receive our newsletter, you are more than welcome to subscribe!

     Please join us on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at the Mandarin House restaraunt for our monthly meeting. Our speaker this month is Rose Mary Cheek, F. Ph with

     Rose Mary is a photographic artist blending traditional photography with fine art portraiture. She has taught photography on the College level, and mentors local college and high school students. she desires to stay in the forefront of what’s new in professional photography.After four professional photographers signed up for her basic and advanced photography classes at the community college, she wondered, “What in the world can I teach them?”  That’s when she realized there was a need to prepare today’s photographers to be able to stay current with Adobe Photoshop’s advancements and teach them quick tips and tricks to give them time savings techniques. Rose Mary will be discussing

Photoshop Tips and Techniques

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday evening!

PPETN Regional PPA Meeting
Mandarin House Restaraunt
314 Merchants Drive
Knoxville, TN 37912
6:00PM – 9:00PM

     After taking August off for the Tennessee PPA state convention, we will be holding our monthly 8×10 competition at this week’s meeting. Please remember the following:

• Fee: $3 per submitted image.
• Prints must be 8×10 in size.
• Please bring a CD of your images for posting on our blog.
• Winning entries will go towards our annual “Photographer of the Year” award.

All proceeds go towards the Michael Laughlin Scholarship. All eligible PPETN members have the opportunity to be awarded a $500 scholarship to a sanctioned photography class.

     The due date for Michael Laughlin scholarship applications is close! If you haven’t filled out and turned in your scholarship application, be sure to pick up an application at this week’s regional meeting! Eligible PPETN members may apply for the scholarship. The scholarship award winner will be announced at this years Christmas party.

Please join us on Thursday, July 17th at the Mandarin House Restaraunt on Merchants Drive @ 6:00pm.  

We have an amazing photographer / teacher / businessman / salesman lined up for our July program. I can’t tell you how excited we are to have Travis coming to share with us. He has consistent sales that most of us only dream about. This program will go beyond “taking pretty pictures” and show us how to make MONEY! Travis Gugelman

www.gugelmanphotography.com

Travis’s studio, Gugelman Photography, has been open for business since November of 2003. When he opened his doors he had one computer, a meduim format camera, virtually no clientele and very little eductaion. Over four short years Travis has gone from being a new studio owner to owning a thriving high-end portrait and wedding studio. Now, four years later there are 6 employees, many computers, and they do now all their own printing out of their own lab.Travis credits much of his success to hard work and education (even though he never had a “formal” degree in photography). He has received his Certification with the PPA and is working towards his Masters. Last year (his first year entering competition at PPA) all four of his images hung at Nationals and he won a Bronze Level Photographer of the Year award. Travis has an amazing talent for creating gorgeous images of even the most challenging clients. He has traveled all over the United States photographing weddings including Washington DC, California multiple times, Portland Orgeon, and even Hawaii. And this year Travis photographed his first international wedding in Cabo Mexico.Travis has incredilble passion for business, photography and making money.

Travis believes there is so much more to running a photgraphy business than just taking beautiful images. Having a business plan, setting goals, understanding marketing, and sales, along with knowing what your cost are, are all vital to running any business, especially a Portrait studio today.

Travis has used these tools to build an amazing business. He loves to learn and share what he has learned with others.

Travis will cover : “Sales, marketing, procedures, DO you have a PLAN?”

Travis will cover in depth the importance of having a plan for each of these areas, as well as share how he gets sales in excess of $20,000.

He will share with you the training he gives his sales staff to produce these numbers.

Thanks again and I hope to see all of you at the TPPA State Convention in August!