PPA Certification exam.

[drews578]

Is anyone aware of a study guide for the PPA certification exam?

[snibbetsj]

PPA recommends this book for the certification exam.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0131896091/ppaphotocentr-20/104-4198046-3713559

[staciecd]

You may want to check this thread out:

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138072&highlight=ppa+cert

[drews578]

That is an interesting thread Stacie. I only stumbled upon it since it was sent with a PPA email.

Snibbetsj, thanks for the suggestion. Not quite was I was looking for. I have taken many credentialing exams (medically related) and they all have review books with about 600 to 1000 sample questions with answers and explanations. That was more along the lines I was thinking.

Thank you both :)

[snibbetsj]

I haven't heard of any sample tests but there must be some around, somewhere, good luck!

[Mark_48]

PPA recommends this book for the certification exam.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0131896091/ppaphotocentr-20/104-4198046-3713559
Just got the older 7th edition in the mail yesterday. I purchased it on ebay for $15 +S/H. The The 7th edition lacks some information on digital that edition 8 includes. It is a very comprehensive guide on the technical aspects of photography and evidently is used in alot of college photography courses.

The site below is companion guide to the book. Click on the books image and it will get you to a page where you can take interactive quizzes and other resources.

http://prenhall.com/london/

[Atomic79]

Just got the older 7th edition in the mail yesterday. I purchased it on ebay for $15 +S/H. The The 7th edition lacks some information on digital that edition 8 includes. It is a very comprehensive guide on the technical aspects of photography and evidently is used in alot of college photography courses.

The site below is companion guide to the book. Click on the books image and it will get you to a page where you can take interactive quizzes and other resources.

http://prenhall.com/london/


Thank you for that link. Very cool. Some topics much harder than others.

[David John]

$323 for a membership card that says you belong to an organization...I'll pass.
That doesn't include the $100 cost of the CPP (although you save $400 if you belong to PPA).

All this to "prove" you're a "professional photographer"? Guess what, if you get paid to shoot photographs, you're a "professional photographer" If I was looking for a commercial photog, I'd be more impressed by his diploma from Pratt Institute, or his resume...NOT that he paid $500 to take an exam!!

Perhaps the PPA cert may impress or instill confidence in a microscopic fraction of potential clients...but I promise you that a bride-to-be wont give a rat's ass about the PPA., she's going to base her decision on your work. We all know how photographers truly impress their customers...VISUALLY.

They're not getting MY money...no sir.

[kevinsyn]

Perhaps the PPA cert may impress or instill confidence in a microscopic fraction of potential clients...but I promise you that a bride-to-be wont give a rat's ass about the PPA., she's going to base her decision on your work. We all know how photographers truly impress their customers...VISUALLY.
.

Exactly what I was thinking :)

[vwpilot]

David, thank you for saying that. I have had more than my fair share of conversations with people that put FAR too much weight in these organizations. I know a lot of very successful photographers that dont have these certs. I also know of a lot of very famous photographers that do not have letters after their names.

We're photographers. We make photographs.

The bottom line is do people like those photographs and they are going to judge us on our photos and not how many letters we have after our names.

[coreypolis]

$323 for a membership card that says you belong to an organization...I'll pass.
That doesn't include the $100 cost of the CPP (although you save $400 if you belong to PPA).

All this to "prove" you're a "professional photographer"? Guess what, if you get paid to shoot photographs, you're a "professional photographer" If I was looking for a commercial photog, I'd be more impressed by his diploma from Pratt Institute, or his resume...NOT that he paid $500 to take an exam!!

Perhaps the PPA cert may impress or instill confidence in a microscopic fraction of potential clients...but I promise you that a bride-to-be wont give a rat's ass about the PPA., she's going to base her decision on your work. We all know how photographers truly impress their customers...VISUALLY.

They're not getting MY money...no sir.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v721/viperx27/bowdown.gif


its a joke, though not as bad as the WPJA

[digitalwhims]

Probably too late, but THE BEST reference is Photography by London, Stone and Upton available from Amazon for approx 110.00, and worth every penny. Get the latest edition (9th) only. I used it satisfactorily in my testing.

[ssim]

$323 for a membership card that says you belong to an organization...I'll pass.
That doesn't include the $100 cost of the CPP (although you save $400 if you belong to PPA).

All this to "prove" you're a "professional photographer"? Guess what, if you get paid to shoot photographs, you're a "professional photographer" If I was looking for a commercial photog, I'd be more impressed by his diploma from Pratt Institute, or his resume...NOT that he paid $500 to take an exam!!

Perhaps the PPA cert may impress or instill confidence in a microscopic fraction of potential clients...but I promise you that a bride-to-be wont give a rat's ass about the PPA., she's going to base her decision on your work. We all know how photographers truly impress their customers...VISUALLY.

They're not getting MY money...no sir.

I knew sooner or later someone would take this thread to "what a waste this is" rather than answering the op's question.

This question was beat to death a while ago. It is the OP's personal choice to join or not. I personally do see value in it having worked several years part time at a studio and you would be surprised the number of people that do ask.

If you have a bride looking the cheapest thing she can find in a weekend warrior then I agree, but there are people out there that do care and if a photographer wants to go through the hoops to become certified in this respect more power to him/her.

To each their own.

[daclozer]

"Guess what, if you get paid to shoot photographs, you're a "professional photographer"

If you think that getting paid makes you a professional, you need your head checked. I see a lot of people that have best buy cameras calling themselves pros, charging cheap prices and their photos are crap. There is a lot more than getting paid to be a pro.

[tim]

"Guess what, if you get paid to shoot photographs, you're a "professional photographer"

If you think that getting paid makes you a professional, you need your head checked. I see a lot of people that have best buy cameras calling themselves pros, charging cheap prices and their photos are crap. There is a lot more than getting paid to be a pro.

Not sure who you're trying to argue with, this thread was last posted to in 2007.