I’m a member of the PPA and one of the programs they push is the Certified Professional Photographer program. Skeptical of its value as a business and marketing tool, I decided yesterday to pose the question to my followers on Twitter and Google+.
First, I Storified the results from Twitter:
And here’s a screenshot from Google+:
Seems to me that (at least amongst my communities), nobody knows what a Certified Professional Photographer is… and even worse, many of those that don’t know are skeptical or have negative sentiment.
I realize that any sort of certification needs some ramp-up time, but this has been around for a while, and if potential clients don’t have any idea what it means it seems that it would be a stretch as a professional benefit.
I think whether or not I value the certification depends entirely on who issues it. There’s a Professional Certified Marketer program offered by the American Marketing Association – I respect that. Most project manager certification courses are pretty standardized and respected, too. But my boss has a “Certified Corporate Executive” certificate in his office that a relative bought in a store and gave as a gag gift.
If the credentials are backed up by actual standards and a reputable organization, they definitely add some weight to a portfolio. Assuming they’re legit, they would tell me things like “this photographer actually takes his own photos rather than stealing them from Flickr” and “this photographer knows what equipment to use and will take a handful of good shots of your event rather than snapping thousands quickly and praying that some are good enough to charge you for later.”
I do value portfolios. But I also value professionals who are willing to jump through hoops to be backed up by an objective 3rd party.
I’ve often thought that second to forming your own bogus religion, creating a certification is just about one of the best rackets there is.
The next step is obviously to make a religion *out of* certification. Dibs on content rites and the recipe for awesome juice.
Disclaimer: I’m a non-photographer. That said, for me a photographer is one of those rare trades where your portfolio truly is your resume. I can see that someone has a PhD in photography but it doesn’t mean anything unless I like their photos. Granted, my eye may not be trained like other photographers’, but the fact remains that if I’m not a fan of the photographers style and actual work, chances are I’m going to look elsewhere.
From a CPP (Certified Professional Photographer) this is kind of biased isn’t it? Yes, I had to take an exam. A 2 hour exam that showed I could do more than turn on a camera and set it to A. I also had to submit 20 technically correct and artistic images (portraits in my case). It’s an all pass or all fail. No, “well this one is ok, but this one sucks.” If they all suck, they all fail. Which is more than just sticking someone in the sun and snapping away hoping for something worth submitting.
But, I’m guessing you know this. For me, it’s was a goal. It doesn’t make me more money, but it does set me apart from my next door neighbor. For my higher end clients, it means my work doesn’t look like crap. My lower end clients could really care less and that is fine.
With so many weekend warrior hobbyist out there selling 8×10′s for $5, something has to set the true business oriented photographers apart.
I think that being a CPP is important because it demonstrates that a photographer has the technical skills to produce professional results. It may not have any bearing on your creative skills or your level of talent but at least it sets a baseline.
If you believe that becoming a CPP is just a matter of paying some money and buying a certificate you are a certified pessimist. The process is not easy. I know that if a photographer is certified, they take pride in being technically proficient and want to do the best for their clients.