On April 26th I had the pleasure of being a judge for a Virginia high school skills competition. This year’s state level competition was organized by SkillsUSA and held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. High school students competed in areas ranging from brick laying to automotive repair to… photography. For the photography competition, there were four judges including myself and photographer Greg Adams.

My task was to judge studio portrait lighting. So, students had to position, meter, and adjust two flashes for a studio lighting setup. They took ten photos and choose what they felt was their strongest image… and explained why. After the competition, Greg and I answered a few questions and showed the students some lighting basics. Your’s truly “modeled” a little, to help show different types of lighting.

Photos by Greg Adams

The last week of February, I participated in the Virginia Professional Photographer’s Association’s (VPPA) annual convention. For the past few years, the event has been held at the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel. Congratulations to all the members who entered the annual print competition. Although I didn’t enter into this year’s competition, I have a few images that will definitely be entered next near. The tough part is choosing only a few prints to enter… whew! Out of hundreds of prints submitted by photographers all over the state, the photo below is just a sample of the images that scored well. Some of the competition categories included Wedding Candid, Portrait of a Child, Architecture, etc.

In addition to the print competition, there were programs held daily by industry-leading photographers such as Vicki Taufer and Hanson Fong. They shared lots of information about everything from studio lighting techniques to their day-to-day studio operations. On Sunday afternoon, there was a trade show full of photography industry vendors. I felt like a kid in a candy store! :o) Anyway, I had a great time throughout the week, and learned a lot in the process.

VPPA competition print gallery, on display in the hallway for all to see