Laurie Brown, Accredited Professional Photographer

This was an exciting week for me, as I have earned an accreditation in Pictorial/Scenic photography from the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC).  In case you are wondering what that means, here is a direct quote from the PPOC website:

"An Accredited member of PPOC is a specialist in his or her chosen field of photography.  

The Accreditation process recognizes photographers who have reached a nationally accepted standard of proficiency and knowledge in photographic arts. An Accreditation is achieved by submitting ten images in a chosen category to a PPOC Board of Review. This peer-reviewed program challenges candidates to demonstrate their capability of delivering exceptional quality photography in a chosen category. In assessing Accreditation Submissions, the judges consider the following criteria: Impact, Creativity, Style, Composition, Presentation, Color Balance, Centre of Interest, Lighting, Subject Matter, Quality, Technique, and Story Telling. Once a member has earned an Accreditation and upgraded to PPOC Accredited Member they can use the title 'Accredited Professional Photographer'."

Let me tell you, this is not an easy process, and earning such an accreditation is all the more valuable because of the level of excellence that is demanded.   The Pictorial/Scenic category asks for images that meet the following criteria:

Ten (10) images of ten (10) different scenes on ten (10) different occasions that illustrate the natural and man-made geographical features relating to our environment. Landscapes, seascapes, mountains, aerials, city skylines are acceptable. Flowers are not accepted in this category. All images must be a “cut above” in their impact and visual interest.  (See more at the PPOC website).

All 10 images must be given a grade of at least "Accepted" to earn the accreditation in the chosen category.  Getting that grade of "Accepted" is a real achievement.  Saying something is "acceptable" is usually equated with saying that it is "okay" or "meh", but not in this case.  Each and every image that is deemed acceptable means that it is already a "cut above" the average photograph.

The judges give the submission of 10 images an Overall Quality grade of one of the following:

"Unacceptable"; "Acceptable"; "Good"; "Very Good"; or, "Excellent"

I was pleasantly surprised to have my submission graded with an overall quality of "Very Good", and the judges even gave some of my individual images scores of "Very Good", and in one case "Excellent"!  Selecting and perfecting the images for this submission was incredibly time-consuming and difficult, but in the end so worthwhile!  Now that I am an Accredited Professional Photographer, I am allowed to enter the National Image Salon and compete with the best of the best in Canadian photography.  Here is my Accreditation Submission for Pictorial/Scenic:

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