Stephanie Snyder Photography Blog » Product Packaging

SC Certified Professional Photographer

Stephanie — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:34:21 +0000

I am always a girl on a mission. The mission often varies, depending on the day, season, focus, weather, etc, but I always have a mission and goal for some part of my life. Many times, I have multiple missions going on at one time.

My newest goal is to gain the nationally-recognized title of Certified Professional Photographer. This certification is judged by masters of photography who have been practicing it their entire lives, and is provided by the Photographer’s Association of America (PPA). There are thousands of photographers out there, and it seems that many people think that just by picking up a camera and pressing a button, they’re a professional photographer.

The digital era has made it much easier for inexperienced part-time and fly-by-night photographers to throw their hat into the ring, undercutting professionals with rock bottom prices. Certification is an easy way to help consumers understand and appreciate your level of experience and talent.

I spend hours every day researching photography – technical aspects, techniques, artistic styles, marketing, products, gear, etc. I know by looking at my photography over the years, that I have grown and continue to grow as a photographer because of my passion and dedication to the art. I have loved photography my entire life – this isn’t a hobby I picked up and realized I enjoyed. But how do my potential clients know this at a glance?

By becoming certified as a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP), I am showing my potential clients that I have met high standards and can provide quality work, both artistically and technically. This is SO important!

As the leading certifying agency for imaging professionals, the Professional Photographic Certification program is recognized throughout the industry.Those who have earned the Professional Photographic Certification have passed a comprehensive written exam measuring their technical expertise, and have successfully submitted their work to a panel of judges for review and approval.

To quote directly from their website, “ Certification is granted by the Professional Photographic Certification Commission, an objective third party who validates your expertise, and that speaks volumes to potential clients about your skill. When potential clients become aware that Certified Photographers must re-certify every five years, they understand that education, training, and the latest industry techniques and skills are important to you – and your images.”

As of today, there are only 18 Certified Professional Photographers in South Carolina! Amazing! If you do a Google Search, or worse, a Facebook search, you will find hundreds, probably even thousands, of “professional” photographers throughout the state of South Carolina, but none of them have gone through the trials, judging, tests, and certification process to receive the credentials to become a Certified Professional Photographer.

I plan to be number 19! I am always committed to providing the highest level of quality in all forms to my clients, and I feel this is a natural part of the process. I want my clients to feel confident and proud that they have hired me as their photographer. Not only will they get gorgeous images to share with their family forever, but they also will have someone dedicated to both artistic and technical excellence in all of their images!

Wish me luck!

What about you? Would you feel more comfortable if your photographer for your special event and lifetime of memories were certified, or are you fine with the latest Facebook find? Comment below! (and I can’t give you guys a blog posting without an image, so here’s a picture I love from one of my trips to downtown Charleston… random but pretty.)

If you like this article, I encourage you to share it via Twitter or Facebook! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts through your comments below.
South Carolina Wedding Photographer, Portrait Photographer and Boudoir Photographer
For more creative and interesting photography, please visit http://www.stephaniesnyderphotography.com!

Wedding Invitations & Programs

Stephanie — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:01:41 +0000

I’ve been wanting to post these for so long, and now that I’m married, it’s time to show these off! For those of you that don’t know, my other passion directly related to my photography is art and graphic design. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design with a dual degree in Web Design as well. I absolutely LOVE to design cards, posters, logos, books, etc.

I custom-design albums for all of my clients, design wedding invitations, birth announcements, graduation announcements, marketing materials for businesses, etc! You can view more of my custom-designed materials here.

I had SO much fun designing my wedding invitations and wedding programs for my wedding. I loved that everyone received a unique souvenir for this special day.

Front:

Back:

I printed them through Miller’s Lab, one of the professional printing labs I use – they do a great job and provide me with overnight shipping! I used premium pearl press card stock, so they had a gorgeous sheen to them. They looked fantastic!

Here is a photo my father took of the programs next to my personalized napkins.

Stay tuned for pictures of the guest book featuring my engagement pictures from Sara Parker!

DVD Packaging

Stephanie — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:08:14 +0000

When you purchase your wedding images from me, I take great care to make sure you don’t just have a DVD thrown into a plastic case at the end of it all. Packaging matters. This is an heirloom piece that is the first part of your history together. It is all custom-designed by me, and printed by a professional lab!

Albums!

Stephanie — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:26:52 +0000

If there’s one thing I love as much as photography, it’s graphic design. I hold a dual BFA in Graphic Design and Web Design, and I am so lucky that my passion for photography is always incorporating my love for and skills in graphic design! I LOVE designing albums, cards, layouts, posters, postcards, invitations, etc. I just finished some Save the Dates for a client, and I’m getting ready to design the invitations and RSVP cards for her wedding. I designed every aspect of my own wedding invitations, and it’s so much fun to send them out to my friends and family and know they are personalized just for me! When you get married, and if you are able to, I recommend definitely considering personalized, custom wedding invitations. They are a souvenir for every guest before they even arrive!

For my sister’s birthday, I gave her a makeover and a fashion photo shoot! I just recently got these images published into a custom-designed album from Kiss Wedding Books, and I LOVE how it turned out!

There is NOTHING like having your photos professionally printed and bound into an album.

There is no comparison between the computer screen and high-quality photographic paper.

I designed this album to be 12×12 inches, and it looks fantastic. If you truly want to do your photographs justice, get them printed in an album! I offer my albums only from the top, finest printers, and I custom-design all the work myself to ensure the highest quality available. There is no better way to display your images, and it will be something you’ll carry around with you and treasure forever.

Scott Bourne wrote this quote about wedding albums on his blog today:

“What could have more value than the wedding album – the first family heirloom of a brand new family? Think about it.”

It’s so true! This is the record of the joining of your lives together… I definitely want it to be beautiful! After all, I’ve spent thousands making sure that my wedding is gorgeous and memorable. I want to preserve the memories just as carefully as I planned the details.

Here are some photos of the album I made from the photographs of my sister’s photo shoot. Enjoy!

What could have more value than the wedding album – the first family heirloom of a brand new family? Think about it.