Special Event Accreditation

I have been taking photographs of special events for the last eight years, but only really focusing on deliberately improving craft for the last four years. That long process led me to seek accreditation with the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) as a Special Events Photographer. After a year of working hard to assemble and improve a portfolio of my ten best images in the category, I submitted twice and earned accreditation from Board of Examiners of the Professional Photographers of Canada.

Accreditation really means that, based on the submitted images, the judges assess that you are able to make “above average” images in the category. The judges look for “vision, impact, composition, and technical merit.”

The definition of the category follows:

“61 Special Event: Ten (10) images of ten (10) different special events on ten (10) separate occasions. Special events include, but are not limited to, tradeshows, banquets, award ceremonies, annual general meetings, public announcements, unveilings, exhibitions, political campaigns, state funerals, etc. Subjects may include people, products, processes, activities, etc. with a good demonstration of storytelling ability. Photographic quality must be above average.”

— Professional Photographers of Canada