SWPP

Last Monday I spent the day in Birmingham at Focus, a large trade show for Professional Photographers, I watched a few seminars, bought some nice electronic gadgets and moaned that Canon had pulled out of the show at the last minute when they had agreed to give me a great deal on a new camera.

Another thing I had decided to do was to join 1 of the 4 main Trade Bodies who represent Professional Photographers, now in the past I have been a vocal critic of these bodies, to progress up the ranks your work is judged by other photographers who make a decision on how good it is. Quite frankly, I don't really care what other Photographers think of my work, I’d gladly swap an accreditation from a trade body for a letter of thanks from a real client – the people that actually pay my salary.

So why, you ask am I eating humble pie and joining up (I settled on SWPP by the way)? Well, over the last few years our industry has become saturated with “weekend warriors” or Uncle Bobs, amateur photographers that one day wake up and decide they are a photographer, with little or no formal training they call themselves Wedding Photographers, charge a price that in the real world (ie, decent equipment, proper training, insurance) simply is not commercially viable. In the vast majority of cases their work is way below par which reduces the overall standards of work when in fact we should all be pushing to increase the standards of work.

Whilst joining SWPP or any other trade body will never stop this happening, there is a strong voice in America which calls for mandatory qualifications for Photographers and I support that position fully. Whether that qualification is a formal educational qualification like mine or a certain level of accreditation from a trade body does not really matter. What it does is stop people setting up as Wedding Photographers on a whim, here today, gone tomorrow (with your deposit and dreams of a happy day) in their back pocket. I am 99% certain that this will never happen but a large trade body representing the Photography Community has a better chance of making that happen than I do alone.

So, I have joined up, I will work my way towards licentiate as quickly as I can and do what small part I can to protect Professional Photographers and Clients from Weekend Warriors.