PPOC: Maintaining the Highest Standards in Professional Imaging
Presenter: Jill Shantz
Article written by Ruth Ball
On October 11, 2017 Jill Shantz presented a session on the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC), “. . . a diversified group of creative artists dedicated to developing and maintaining the highest standards in professional imaging.”

Jill was gracious in allowing us to share her work as part of her presentation and by allowing us to share her PPOC publications containing the competition winners for each of four different years. 
 
Kudos to Jill for her exceptional photographs in the publications; something for each one of us to aim for.
PPOC - Alberta (Calgary) will be hosting a regional meeting from October 28 through October 30. This is an opportunity for members to sit in on a PPOC Board of Review and listen as the judges go through each of the 10 images submitted by a photographer.

​I encourage IACC members to go to the
PPOC website​ and become familiar with what they offer. They have just instituted a $25 pay-by-the-month plan for new Observer members.
The PPOC welcomes photographers of all genres, either as an Accredited member or as an Observer.
 
The PPOC has both national and regional levels. There are seven regional groups, some of which are further divided into smaller groups, such as Alberta, which has three sub-groups.
 
The PPOC has two membership categories, Accredited member and Observer member. All members are subject to the PPOC Code of Ethics, consisting of nine articles aimed at maintaining a professional, sharing, respectful and cooperative relationship between members and those they serve.
 
To become an Accredited member a photographer must go through a process of choosing a category from an extensive list of subjects, producing 10 images on that subject, submitting them for review to a PPOC Board of Review and having had all 10 images accepted. The images are judged on the following criteria: “impact, creativity, style, composition, presentation, colour balance, centre of interest, lighting, subject matter, quality, technique and story telling.” Although there is an extensive list of subjects, a photographer need only have one successful submission to maintain Accreditation. All categories are open to photographers if they wish to become accredited in more than one field. Jill demonstrated the process with 10 images she had recently submitted in the Feline category. She suggests that it is a good idea to present a variety of poses such as full, side and head with backgrounds both in and outdoors. 

An Observer is a person who has an interest in photography and chooses not to go through the Accreditation process but still wishes to take advantage of the chance to “meet new friends and mentors and take advantage of a wealth of experience and knowledge."
 
Competitions are held at both the national and regional levels. Both levels of competition are open to Accredited members but not to Observers, who can only participate at the regional level.