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Join PPOC
Membership in PPOC is open to all who have an interest in professional photography. PPOC consists of a national organization and a series of regional organizations across Canada. When you become a member of PPOC you are also becoming a member of the association in your region.
PPOC membership is rich in benefits. The most important are the opportunities for education, professional recognition and fellowship. Membership also gives access to group health, liability and property insurance policies, as well as company service and merchandise discounts.
PPOC offers the degrees Craftsman of Photographic Arts and Master of Photographic Arts to mark the achievement and recognize the abilities of an individual professional photographer.
The Accreditation Program recognizes a photographer’s ability to excel in a specific area of photography. This allows the public to instantly identify the expert who they may wish to hire for their needs. This establishes credibility with both clients and peers, and assists members in making referrals to other members, with the assurance of their abilities in a particular area of photography.
All photographers join as an Observer Member which allows access to most of the benefits of membership.
To access the degree program, national print competition, to be listed on the PPOC website and use the association logo, a member must complete an accreditation in a specific specialty, thus becoming an Accredited Member.
Every year both a National Convention and Regional Conventions are held. These events provide excellent educational opportunities, as well as the ability to meet with other members of the industry. They also provide the opportunity to take in trade shows, introducing you to the latest the industry has to offer and capitalize on promotional offers.
Many local educational workshops, meetings and social programs are held within BC every year. Check out the Members Area of this website for the Upcoming Events to find Events on the Go.
The PPOC website www.ppoc.ca is a source from which the members and agencies are able to find and make referrals to photographers in a particular geographic area, or who specialize in a certain field. Members of the public are utilizing the site heavily to find photographers for portraits and events. Many of our members are able to cite their National website listing as being specifically responsible for multiple bookings each year. Accredited Members have an individual listing and can manage their own images on the PPOC site with a link directly to their own business website.
PPOC offers its members a bi-monthly magazine, keeping them up to date on current trends as well as providing educational information.
PPOC and PPOC-BC offers annual print competitions, providing members with the opportunity to challenge themselves and be recognized by their peers and the public for outstanding image-making. PPOC also publishes a book from this national image salon. This book is available for purchase and is a great source of inspiration and promotion. The book contains a traveling collection of images from print competitions that are displayed on a rotational basis from coast to coast.
PPOC provides a voice for advancements in copyright legislation for photographers concerns in Ottawa.
There is also a help line, providing members with easy reference to other photographers who may be able to answer questions or provide technical assistance.
There are scholarship programs available as well.
The full list of benefits is extensive.
Financial benefits, which include discounts on business forms, discounted VISA and MasterCard merchant rates (which are significant enough to actually pay for the cost of your membership, depending upon the volume of transactions you are doing). There are reduced real estate and mortgage fees available to members, as well as an insurance program which offers coverage geared specifically to photographers, and which is unmatched by any other insurer. Our members are also invited to purchase health and dental insurance for themselves and their employees offered to us at a group rate.
In the British Columbia Region there are four Branches. The Branches can be contacted through the individual Branch Chairs. Look under the Executive tab to find the Branch Chairs for contact information.
