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The third year of SPAA Traveling Seminars kicks off its 2008 spring itinerary on May 13, in Columbus, Ohio. Though the course outline for the day-long seminar remains for the most part unchanged, the 2008 version approaches each topic beginning at a slightly elevated plane.
The event features three sports photography experts. Their presentation reflects the professional experience and skills of those who have attended either of the previous two seminars.
'We view the seminar this year as going from Sports Photography 101 to Sports Photography 202,' says John Pittman, CEO, Sport Stars Inc., Northampton, Pa. In the business for more than 30 years, Pittman is credited with introducing baseball cards to the Pennsylvania youth market in 1977.
Jeff Gump, owner of Gump's Sports Photography, Jacksonville, Fla., teams with Pittman for the second year, as an expert instructor. A 20-year veteran of the business, Gump is well-known in the industry for not only having photographed 800,000 athletes, but also for having developed a picture day experience that's exciting for the participants, efficient for his company, and keeps his retention rate very high.
Joining Gump and Pittman for the spring and summer stops is Randy Brister, owner of RSBphoto, Laguna Niguel, Calif., who has a 10-year history as an industry speaker, including three national tours.
Most people who attended the seminar last year were already in the industry, including lab owners who are interested in making a vertical restructuring of their business models. Brian Fowler, Quality 1 Hour Foto, Mankato, Minn., sent two employees to the seminar, but for slightly different reasons.
'We've been doing sports photography for 5 years now,' Fowler explains, 'so attending the seminar was mostly to see how others approach certain kinds of photographs. The seminar also offers a great opportunity for networking.'
'We like to say school photography is just like sports photography, only different,' says Pittman. 'Last year, we took the attitude people attending the seminar had absolutely no idea what to do. They didn't know what cameras, lenses, or flash units to buy, or how to find quality backgrounds.'
To some degree that was the case. So the challenge this year is to make the seminar more advanced, while also presenting enough of the basics to make it worthwhile for novices to attend. The manuals, handbooks, contracts, and other documents available at the seminars go a long way to achieving this goal.
'Just one of the manuals is worth the price of the seminar,' Pittman says. 'Many people know they need a code of ethics document and an employee handbook, for example, but don't know where to begin. The same goes for league contracts and other legal documents.'
Also, all manuals and other printed materials aren't just for studying. Seminar attendees are welcome to remove either Pittman's or Gump's name and put in their own. It's plug and play. Also, given their 50 years of combined experience, Gump and Pittman have spent many years behind the camera, and now devote most of their time to running their businesses.
Last year was the first time the two experts worked together, and they discovered they meshed well as a team. Each considers this very important, especially given the amount of time spent traveling and away from the office.
'We usually arrive the afternoon before the seminar to make certain that all our equipment is in place and there are no logistical problems,' Pittman explains.
To attract people who are too busy during the work week to attend, a Saturday event will be held in select cities, as a first-time experiment.
There are many questions attendees want to ask at the end of the presentation, and the instructors always stay until each questioner receives an answer.
'There is nothing better than talking to others about what we do in our businesses,' Gump says, 'and we always are asked if we are endangering our own bottom lines by teaching others how to be successful. That's the million dollar question.'
The question of the instructors creating new competition for themselves can pop up among attendees. 'I took two of my people with me to the seminar in Dallas last year,' says Dori Arnold, Photography by Dori G., Claremore, Okla.
'We knew another studio in town was doing lots of sports photography and thought it might be a good way to expand our market. The seminar was very good and gave us a great amount of the information we were seeking.'
One bit of information surprised her. 'We didn't know our competitor had already attended a seminar and had been growing its business by using the same techniques we had just learned,'
Robert Kaufman, All American Sports Photography, Sugar Hill, Ga., says the seminars help confirm his ideas and methods are indeed where he wants to be, while also taking advantage of new approaches to help him keep growing. 'The SPAA Sports Photography Tour seminars help me confirm I'm headed in the right direction.'
Though the schedule always features cities that are far from the experts' own territories, Grump and Pittman rely on good faith among competitors not to go head-to-head bidding for jobs in leagues where either of us has already landed the contract.
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This alludes to another reason why the seminar is satisfying to teach. 'I think creating new sports photographers--who are not only technically advanced, but are also ethically sound--can only help benefit the reputation of the industry as a whole,' Gump says.
Coming to a city near you Plan now to attend the 2008 SPAA Sports Photography Tour. Online registration is available at www.pmai.org/spaa. The SPAA Sports Photography Tour seminars are held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or until all questions are answered. The cost for each seminar is $149 for members and $249 for non-members. Lunch is included. Date Location May 13 Columbus, Ohio May 15 Jackson, Mich. May 17 Chicago, III. July 29 Memphis, Tenn. July 31 San Antonio, Texas Aug. 2 Los Angeles, Calif. Sept. 13 Montreal, Quebec, Canada Oct. 7 Orlando, Fla. Oct. 9 Atlanta, Ga. Oct. 11 Newark, N.J.
