The Lifestyle Photographers Association® (LSPA) exists to accredit and promote the expertise of professional photographers who deploy still-photography portraits of the family, pets, and business owners.
WHY lifestyle photographers JOIN
The Lifestyle Photographers Association seeks to increase business opportunities for its members and to generate greater demand among potential clients seeking a creative approach to on-location portrait photography.
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR LSPA MEMBERSHIP
The standards applicants must meet for membership in the LSPA are the same standards all members will uphold while they remain members.
A LSPA member exhibits exceptional originality, creativity and judgement in family portraiture; it is only through the integrity of his or her work and client relations by which the association may maintain its and its other member photographers’ reputations. An application to join and rationale for renewal should observe the following guidelines:
Web Site/Online Portfolio
Out of respect for our clients’ needs, we give high priority to the online, digital representations of our work.
Members must maintain an up-to-date and professional web presence that continues to meet LSPA standards. A member’s internet portfolio represents the photographer’s talent and professionalism and therefore reflects on the LSPA as a whole.
We are Experts in Lifestyle Photography
As LSPA members, our digital image content, curation and picture editing meet the standards for professional lifestyle photographers. For example, the online portfolios of LSPA members (and of applicants to membership) must feature a minimum of 25 sample images of their lifestyle photography work. (Note that this is a requirement of more than 25 lifestyle-related images, not for images from more than 25 different lifestyle clients.)
Image Quality
As a professional, a LSPA member presents only good image quality on a portfolio web site. Image files should be properly saved for the web for easy viewing.
Technical and Creative Skills
An online portfolio web site for a professional lifestyle photographer should avoid the pitfalls of photography editing, including but not limited to:
- Indoor images with amateur on-camera lighting and direct flash shadows.
- Redundant images or sequence shots with minimal change in content.
- Images where subjects are poorly cropped.
- Overuse of an F8 stop with a 50mm lens throughout a portfolio. (The good use of a variety of lenses can help exhibit the expertise of a photographer who seeks to become a LSPA member.)
ETHICAL BUSINESS CONDUCT AND PRACTICES
Creativity in our craft, integrity in our work, honesty in our dealings, and professionalism in our behavior are the conspicuous hallmarks of Lifestyle Photographers Association membership.
Honesty and Integrity
Members must make factual and knowledgeable statements in the course of representing their work, our trade, the association and other photographers. Examples of communications that would constitute dishonest or misleading communications could include:
- False representation of photo credits.
- Copyright infringement.
- “Borrowing” web design elements and text without permission, i.e., violating copyright. (This does not include elements used in a web site template that has been installed with permission by a public license or a purchased license.)
Obligations and Communications
This association of lifestyle photographers accepts and insists upon only responsible business ethics and complete professional integrity among its members. We agree that we do not and will not:
- Fail to uphold contract obligations with clients.
- Ignore communication from clients.
- Fail to respond to specific communications from LSPA personnel concerning issues important to the integrity and reputation of the association. (This excludes communications that may be sent by the LSPA administration as regular or announcement communications to all members.)
- Communicate publicly through words (written or spoken) in a negative manner against other members or the association as a whole.
- Establish a web-based lifestyle photography business that directly competes with the LSPA; persons or entities “directly compete” with the LSPA if they are engaged in the promotion of lifestyle photographers (excluding a studio of collocated photographers).
The Lifestyle Photographers Association reserves the right to refuse, revoke or terminate membership at any time if it deems a member contravenes the terms set forth by the LSPA membership requirements, standards, codes and/or guidelines.
COST OF LSPA MEMBERSHIP
The cost of the Lifestyle Photographers Association membership is $45 USD per year, or $25 USD for 6 months. A monthly plan is available by request.
Wedding Photojournalist Association Members: Free to qualified and current WPJA.com members.
Making Membership Payments
LSPA membership fees can be paid using the following:
- PayPal
- MasterCard
- Visa
- Discover
- American Express
Accepted members will be contacted with more information on their preferred payment method.