Earlier this year, the Australian Commercial and Media Photographers organisation (ACMP) appointed a new CEO, Brian Katzen (pictured below).

Over six months have passed since then, so Pro Counter contacted Brian to find out a little more about what he and the ACMP have been up to, and what the future holds for the organisation. Instead of cherry picking quotes, we’ve laid the entire thing out in Q&A style format.

Prior to your role at the ACMP, how have you been involved in the photographic industry?
My professional background is in Chartered Accountancy, consulting and business education, and with extensive background in the not-for-profit sector. My involvement with the photographic industry is peripheral through clients who are professional photographers. Having said that I have been a serious enthusiast all my life and my photographs have been published in magazines in several countries, and also a travel book I co-authored.

The ACMP Board intentionally appointed me as an outsider to the photographic profession in general and the ACMP in particular, so that I’d be able to view everything without any historical or cultural encumbrances.

I bring to the ACMP a fresh approach, my years of experience in business management and invigorating small organisations and NFP’s (not-for-profit organisations).

You’ve been CEO for roughly six months, what has been keeping you busy during that time?
As CEO of a small organisation the role naturally covers a broad spectrum of activities. It is officially part-time (two days a week) but I’m attending to ACMP matters constantly.

At the grass roots level there is a massive amount of administration – I receive 100-200 emails per day. Then there’s the planning and managing of our workshops, competitions and trade shows, and daily assisting members with issues they are facing. I now also write columns for two photographic magazines on behalf of the ACMP.

I’ve also been working on automating and integrating our many processes and procedures to provide a more efficient back office. These systems were all state-of-the-art when originally implemented but are now due for a revamp.

So far I have upgraded the financial accounting and the event booking systems, integrating them with our credit card merchant facility and banking. This has provided our members with a far cleaner and simpler process for renewing memberships and booking for our events. This is an ongoing project.

On a management level I have done strategic planning with the ACMP Board to map out the big picture of where we want to ACMP to be in the future.

What plans does the ACMP have for the future? What are your key objectives?
At the ACMP we are optimistic about our future, as we feel we provide photographers with meaningful reasons to be members and to be associated with us.

Our key objective is to grow the ACMP through being our members’ partner in photographic excellence. We are concentrating on continually improving the quality of the services we provide our members and providing them with ongoing reasons for being part of our organisation.

This policy has already started producing results with a promising upturn in our membership enrolments at all levels. We also have other initiatives in the pipeline that we will be announcing at appropriate times.

How have membership numbers stacked up lately compared to previous years? Is the ACMP in good financial shape?
All membership-based organisations in Australia are victims of the generational trend against any form of membership, with few exceptions in the long list of churches, synagogues, trade unions, sports and social clubs, that are mere skeletons of their former selves, if still in existence at all. People want all the benefits without any commitment.

The ACMP is by design a niche organisation so we’ll always be small. We are the association for full-time professional photographers who specialise in commercial and media, and students and Trampoline members who have identified this as their professional direction.

Our membership is showing modest growth. There is always some attrition as members retire, downscale their businesses or move away from commercial and media photography. Fortunately, we have new members joining each month who more than compensate, and we are optimistic about this trend continuing.

Financially, we ended our 2014 financial year in better shape that last year, and we are in the fortunate position where our overheads are minimal.

What can the ACMP offer professional photographers considering a membership?
Our tag line is ‘The ACMP is your partner in professional excellence’. Most photographers work alone, which can be very daunting. Belonging to a professional organisation like the ACMP provides comfort and support via a broad range of benefits that bolster your chances of success.

Professional affiliation and accreditation provide our clients with a level of assurance that you have attained a high level of photographic excellence and also subscribe to a set of professional ethics and values.

Our ‘Find a Photographer’ and ‘Find an Assistant’ pages on our website and iPhone app are an excellent source of leads to which only members benefit.

The ACMP Better Business Bible contains a wealth of information on must-know topics like quoting, negotiating, copyright, model and property releases, and more. Membership also includes a subscription to Capture Magazine with Pro-News, discounts from trade affiliates for photographic services and insurance.

Partnering with the ACMP is far more likely to position the professional photographer on the road to success than working in isolation.

We have regular workshops on new innovations like drone photography, and are about to launch a new series covering business skills for photographers. The purpose of the new series is to provide our members of all categories with a set of higher-level business skills to complement their photographic talent. After all, there’s no point in being a talented, prize-winning photographer if no-one hires you!

From feedback we have received, our members feel that such an injection of business skills, customised to their needs, will provide them with a much needed direction and impetus to succeed in the photographic market place.

The ACMP UAV/Drone night, which is recorded, edited and uploaded for ACMP members. Source: ACMP/Facebook

From your own observations, what areas of the professional photographic industry currently require development?
As a profession, photography is unique in that everyone with a camera who can take half decent photographs can legally market themselves as professional photographers.
Most other professions and trades require completion of a TAFE, college or university course, an apprenticeship or cadetship period of 2-3 years, and membership of an association that governs their standards of practice. This is often backed by legislation that prohibits those not qualified in that way from calling themselves professionals in that field.

The absence of this regime provides a low  entry threshold and a consequent over-supply of poorer quality photographers, a lose-lose situation for both consumers and photographers.

Take copyright, for example. As long as there are non-professional photographers in it for a quick buck and who are prepared to sell all rights to their work in perpetuity and at discounted rates, it dilutes and contaminates the lawful rights of the true professionals.
Membership of organisations like the ACMP who stand up for their members, help protect the integrity and longevity of the profession of photography as a whole.

Click here to visit the ACMP homepage.

(Pro Counter is a supporter of the ACMP via its Trade Affiliate program.)