• Welcome to the ProP’s Blog!

    ProPs is all about conversations. So is this blog.

    The ProPs Blog will discuss the art and the business of photography, from big picture insights to the nitty-gritty details.
    Come back often to see what’s happening with the site, learn about the industry, and help us shine the occasional spotlight on featured members.
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One door closes another door opens…


As they say in Texas, Howdy Yall!

LaVelda and I are so excited to be continuing on with the great traditions that Cher and the members of ProPhotogs have started!
I have been a member for almost three years and have seen so many changes in the industry and in the forum in that time. We have had the opportunity to meet many of you at the ProPs convention, at PPA Imaging, WPPI and other seminars and we look forward to meeting even more of you. We are looking forward to keeping ALL the great things at ProPs and adding even more benefits for its members. We are not going to change what is there, we are only going to add new services for you. We look to you, the members, to give us suggestions on things you would like to see brought to the forum.

Cher has done a wonderful job of pioneering a place for photographers to learn and share their passion for photography. In a time that blogs and forums were in their infancy, she had the foresight to give this passion a place to bloom.

We want you to feel free to contact us with any ideas you have that will aid you in your quest to further your education. Either by Private Message or via my personal email, dougbox@aol.com, I want you to feel comfortable to give LaVelda or I your views or insights.

We have the Forum and the Blog, both great places to share and learn and I want to bring an educational leg to the mix. With streaming video lessons, monthly photo classes, assignments and critiques, I want to give a “Hands On” feeling to online learning.

We look forward to helping each and everyone of you to increase your knowledge, grow your business and take your photography to your next level.
Please let us know if us can help you in any way, our door is always open. And if you are ever in Central Texas, stop by and sit a spell!
I hope to see all of you at PPA Imaging in San Antonia in January of 2011.

Sincerely,

Doug and LaVelda Box

Learn Photography with Doug Box in Texas

Every year Doug and I host two to four seminars at our ranch!  We have a lovely place and a 3000 square foot studio to host our seminars. Our studio consists of a classroom, kitchen, living room, camera room with two bays for hands-on learning! We also have some beautiful spots for outdoor  photography.  It’s a great place to learn portrait lighting and posing. Doug also spends quite a bit of time on teaching business so you can learn to market your photography studio, learn sales techniques, learn to price your portraits, and much more. As of right now, we have two upcoming seminars. We have only ten spots available , and the first seminar already has 6 attendees.

August 27-29, 2010-Begins Friday at 10:00AM and ends Sunday at 5:00PM

October 22-24,2010-Begins Friday at 10:00AM and ends Sunday at 5:00PM

We are possibly looking at some dates in November.

Location:

2504 County Road 235, Caldwell, Texas 77836

Cost:

$595.00 Includes the cost of the seminar, food, and workbook

Lodging:

We have a bed and breakfast four miles from us that many of our ladies who attend love to stay in! I will help with these arrangements.

King bedroom with private bath-$75 a night

Queen and Double bed bedroom with bath-$70 a night

Twin bed bedroom with half bath-$60 a night

(Find a roommate and split the price!!!)

We also have some hotels in nearby Caldwell and College Station.

If you are flying into College Station, I am available to pick you up at the airport!

Give us a call at 979-272-0900 or go to Texas Photographic Workshops.com!

Have Your Images Critiqued by Doug Box

One of the complaints I have heard about getting a critique from your peers is there is too much fluff, not enough honest critiquing! People want an honest assessment of their work. It will help you grow. Sometimes your peers are not sure how to critique or honestly don’t know what could be improved an image.

So I decided to put up a place where members of the forum can receive honest critiques. I will personally critique your images. And so you wont be intimidated, I have broke the critiques into four categories: Newbies, Seasoned Pros, For your CPP, For Competition Prints. Wow, where else can you get someone with 35 years experience, who is a qualified PPA Juror, who has judged at PPA National Judging  five times, at WPPI judging  five times, at over 50 state and regional judgings and countless other judging opportunities including at local county fares. Every where I judge, people want honest, qualified, compassionate critique. People want to know what you think AND how you can improve your image. That is what I will provide.

But here is the great part, I have a new “Video Critique” feature. Instead of having to read the critique, you can listen and see! I can point to the print (with the cursor) and talk about specific area and verbally talk about the image. Here is an example of the new video critique,
http://www.screencast.com/t/YWU3ZDRjZDc

We would love to have you as a Premium Member so you can join in the fun and learning.

Sincerely

Doug Box

Doug’s Chats

Welcome to ProPhotogs, a place for all photographers. LaVelda and I are excited to be the new owners of ProPhotogs. If you are a photographer that wants to learn about lighting, learn about business, learn about posing, learn to sell more photography, learn about photography equipment or anything photographic, you have come to the right spot.

I have been teaching photographers for………let’s just say a long time. I love it. I love seeing the light bulbs go off in someone’s head.

I encourage you to join the forum. I am in the process of adding a lot of new educational features. We will have a place for me to critique your work, a whole section of learning videos that will include subjects a studio lighting , outdoor photography, natural light photography, posing, corrective posing, off-camera flash and much more.

So join now, for less than 28¢ a day, you can have access to over one million posts of photographic information. See you there!

End of an era….

For everything there is a season and it has become my time to change, much as the seasons do. First and foremost, ProPs has been a huge part of my life for the past 6 years. I birthed it, nurtured it and brought it to what it has become today. I believe I have taken it as far as I can. I believe that it has so much more potential, so with that said,

After much soul searching, I decided that I would hand the reins over to someone who could take proPhotogs to the next level and beyond. When I made this decision, I went to someone in the industry I trusted. He has always lead me in the right direction and I knew he would give me great insight on my decision.

I went to him for advice, never dreaming that he would be the one to take the reins. But as I have always said, everything happens for a reason.

It is with great excitement that I am announcing that Doug & LaVelda Box are the new owners of proPhotogs as of today. I have always seen Doug with a passion for photography, a passion for teaching. He is unique and genuine. Doug has over 35 years experience in the industry, is on the PPA board, Past President of Texas PPA and currently Executive Director of TPPA. Doug is one of only 4 people in the world with over 1000 PPA merits. He is also a member of the Prestigious CameraCraftsman of America.

He has taught in 47 states in the US, plus Canada, Mexico, Scotland, Wales, England, China, Ireland and on 5 cruise ships. He is also a qualified PPA juror. I feel with his passion and expertise he will be there for you all, to learn, grow and succeed, taking your passion to your next level.

As for me, I’ll be around. I hope to keep the great friends that I’ve made here and through proPhotogs. You all know how to contact me, cher@chersalo.com, 251-545-9241.
I wish you all great success in the paths you choose and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love and support you have given proPhotogs through the years.

Much Love,
Cher

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