Today's Guest: Gil Brady of the Professional Photographers of Mississippi and Alabama
Today's Host: John Bentley
September 2007
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Gil Brady Transcript Page
Gil Brady Expert PageANNOUNCER: Welcome to the VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: Today's program is sponsored by morephotos.com the online photo sales solution to professional photographers worldwide.
JOHN: Today we are in the Studio with Gil Brady. He is the secretary-treasurer and vice president elect of the Professional Photographers of Mississippi and Alabama out of Huntsville, Alabama. Gil welcome to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight.
GIL: Thanks. I'm glad to be here.
JOHN: Now tell our listening audience a little bit about your photo organization.
GIL: Ok. The Professional Photographers of Mississippi and Alabama is a professional photographer organization, and we're an affiliate of both the Southeastern Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of America. We are certified for both those as affiliates, and we service about 230 - 240 photographers in our two state area. Our organization is one of the oldest in the nation. We've been around for about 60 years. We just had a recent seminar at the University of Mississippi, and old MS campus in Oxford, Mississippi, where we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first seminar that occurred there. So a lot of history in our organization.
JOHN: What goes on in the seminars?
GIL: Our seminars we bring in speakers, other photographers for the most part that are from other parts of the country that tend to be on the speaking circuits that have something very hot going on at their studios so they're learning experiences our members are able to come, sit in on anywhere from a 3 hour program to a two day program and get some hands on experience with these photographers on new ways to possibly market their products, new ways to photograph visuals whether it be children, high school seniors, or families. It's an educational process and then we do have, of course, some opportunities to socialize at the same time.
JOHN: It's certainly a benefit to the professional photographer to be involved in an organization like this. What other benefits would be involved in your organization?
GIL: Well the learning experience is number 1. Number 2 is that you're there and you get to know the other photographers and we've had some opportunities coming up just within the last year of where members have had situations such as one that had a fire at their studio, a couple that had some illnesses, emergency surgeries, and such, where it allowed for other members that were close to them to come in and help out at their studios or to supply them with equipment in order to get through the situation until they could get insurance to take care of everything, and get them back on their feet. So that's one big thing; just the personal relationship when you can call on your neighbor in the next town or next state and get help from them, or if you have a technical question that maybe you've run into if you're a newer photographer you can call one of the old timers and get information from them when you're stuck in a situation and don't know what to do.
JOHN: Now do you guys have a mailing list on the internet, or perhaps a newsletter that goes out to inform members of things that are coming up?
GIL: We do have a newsletter that goes out usually quarterly that keeps our membership up to date with things that are going on. We do also have a website that's www.ptma.net and that will have our membership list on it, and it will also cover about coming events. What's in the near future of what we'll be doing. It'll list the dates for all activities that the association has coming up. Like right now they're...I don't have them in mind just right off, but we already have 3 events next year. Our main convention which will be in Mobile, Alabama; a spring seminar that will be in Tupelo, Mississippi; and a fall seminar that will be in the mountain areas of Gunnersville, Alabama; so and the dates are there for all three of those events already.
JOHN: We are in the studio with Gil Brady. He is the secretary/treasurer and vice president elect of the Professional Photographers of Mississippi and Alabama, and you are listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. We're going to step aside for these important messages; do stay tuned.
ANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight is sponsored by morephotos.com, the online photo sales solution to professional photographers worldwide.
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ANNOUNCER: We now return you to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: We are back in the studio with Gil Brady. He is the vice president elect and secretary/treasurer of the Professional Photographers of Mississippi and Alabama. And you're listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. Now Gil, let's talk a little bit about your tenure as President? Is this something you've been doing a while or is this just something that's a temporary thing? Tell me about that.
GIL: Well, our association if you're elected to the board, you come on as a state representative first. Spend three years as Alabama board member and then step on up, and this year, I've been involved as secretary/treasurer, next year as vice president, and then if all goes well, president the next year. So in 2009 would be my presidential year. It's a learning experience for the board members and the three years as a state board member gives you some time to learn about the inside workings as well as getting to know the members a little bit better. I guess the only way to really do it if you got tossed into it without the preparation that would definitely lead to some problems, but we usually have a great group of people to work with, strong board that both equally for Mississippi and Alabama so there's representation for both states, and it's just worked out very well through the years, and we've continued to operate in that manner. We are incorporated and have been so for several years. So we're a good strong professional organization with a lot of activities going on.
JOHN: Now I would imagine that a lot of professional photographers are, you know, it's certainly a artist type industry, and an opportunity to display your art work, if you will, is something that a lot of them probably relish in joining an organization like this. Do you guys have any kind of avenue for that? Maybe a photo competitions or anything like that that these photographers can display their work?
GIL: We do. Our print competition is a major portion of member benefit that they are able to enter into. In the spring we usually have a kind of like a preparation competition time where people are able to bring their print, enter them, and have them critiqued by a number of men and women that are certified to judge these prints and they're given some tips and I guess instruction on what they can do to make them better and so forth. Because we are an affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America, this helps them prepare in order to, if they want to, enter print competition on the National level as well at our big convention which we usually hold in the summer time. Then everyone can come back with these images, enter them; they are judged by a panel of certified judges at that time, and awards are given and of course when the awards are won it's an opportunity to go back to your home town, put it in the newspaper, have the radio announce that you won that competition which is really great. It's a stepping stone in our organization to learn more about how to do portrait work and wedding work, because when you're critiqued, it's definitely a learning experience when the judges tell you that you didn't do the lighting just right or the composition was not correct, so print competition does stand out in our organization and it's a big strong area for us.
JOHN: Let's talk a little bit about you, Gil. What is your history as a photographer?
GIL: I started out as a hobbyist out of college and after a few years, ended up getting a little bit more serious about it. I've been in the photography business for around 25 years now. We've always had a mom and pop portrait studio where we do children's, families, high school seniors; we do a few weddings, really from birth on is kind of our portrait classification there. We do work with all ages. We've been always more of a low volume; where four to five sessions a day is about the limit of our studio as opposed to lining up in a line somewhere and doing 25 or 30 a day. Our particular goal at our studio has always been the quality of our work and a style of our own that if people see one of our portraits hanging in a home, they know it's one of ours. And so my wife has worked here for several years. I have two daughters that have worked here while they were in college and things like that. So it has been definitely a family-run business and continues to be so at this time.
JOHN: What is the name of your studio, Gil?
GIL: It's not very complicated...it's just Gil Brady Photography. It's just always been associated with my name and we have a logo and everything that ties along with that so our hope is that in our area here that people know us and can recognize our work, recognize our logo, and brings more business in our studio.
JOHN: And do you have a website for your studio?
GIL: We do.
JOHN: What is that?
GIL: It's www.gilbrady.com.
JOHN: Excellent.
GIL: And we have several examples of some of our work on there, as well as, for anyone who has any questions, they can click on the information button and send an email directly to us.
JOHN: Now if I'm a professional photographer, and I'm interested in joining the PP of Mississippi and Alabama? How do I apply for membership?
GIL: We do have an application process. You can go to the PPMA website and get direction from there or...
JOHN: What's that website again?
GIL: That website is www.ppma.net or we also have a PPMA telephone number that's (256) 724-2673 and that telephone number will put you directly in contact with one of our board members who will be able to put the application in your hand and further discuss what is required for membership and it will also...we have a letter that explains to the newer photographers more about what our association...the history of it...a lot of the things that we offer the photographer that's going to help them out building their business and so forth. So either by website or by phone, and we can put the information in their hands to join the group. It is a professional organization, so we do have some requirements. Such as they have to have a business license and such to enter and join the group.
JOHN: Well, I want to thank you for joining us today, Gil, on VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight.
GIL: I've enjoyed it. It's been nice to talk to you guys.
JOHN: We have been in the studio with Gil Brady. He is the secretary/treasurer and vice president elect of the Professional Photographers of Mississippi and Alabama, and you've been listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. Thanks for tuning in today. Have a great afternoon.
ANNOUNCER: You have been listening to the VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight; only on www.vtalkradio.com. Radio for the 21st Century.
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