PRESS RELEASE DETROIT Photographer Earns Craftsman DegreeShawn Lee of SHAWN LEE STUDIOS recognized for helping to advance the photography industry DETROIT, MI—Shawn Lee of SHAWN LEE STUDIOS in Southfield, MI has earned the Photographic Craftsman degree from Professional Photographers of America (PPA). The degree was presented to Lee by PPA president Stephen Thetford, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, at the association’s annual convention, Imaging USA, held January 20-22, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. This degree is not merely a piece of paper. It means that Lee has met the standards of excellence set by PPA. He has been awarded the Photographic Craftsman degree in recognition of his service to the photographic profession as an orator, author and mentor. In 2019, he was one of only 73 recipients. Lee’s degree—and all the expertise it requires—illustrates his accomplishments and talent as one of a select few. Lee is the diversity lead for the Professional Photographers of America(PPA) and is the CEO/President of PPA's newest national affiliate called the Multicultural Association of Professional Photographers(MAPP). He is the founder of the ROCK THAT Photography Conference & Tradeshow which hosts 500 photographers from around the country for 3 days of high level instruction in metro Detroit with a concentration on providing excellence ...

Report on MAPP and Rock That Photography Conference & TradeShow progress and talking about the ANNUAL DIVERSITY MEETING at Imaging USA 2019 Conference on #MartinLutherKingJr Day! 1-21-19 1pm-3pm. RSVP for Annual Diversity Meeting by MAPP at Imaging USA 2019 - MLK's 'Dream' was to see all nationalities and races of people work together for equal footing not just as strangers, but also as family...people who actually care about each other. The work the Multicultural Association of Professional Photographers is doing is Working! Since we started almost a year ago, we've had 2 photographers go full time as Professional photogs from other stable professions, 3 amongst our ranks receive their (CPP) and Craftsman of Photography Degree, 1 started shooting for an NFL Team and a slew of Photographers whose skillsets have greatly increased and are becoming more comfortable photographing and charging money for their craft. All while crafting a community of people who look out for and invest in each other. My heart is over joyed and overwhelmed. Thank you to all who have supported the vision of providing a covering and place of professionalism for multiple nationalities in the industry of Photography!I WANT TO THANK...Professional Photographers of America, Stephen Scott Thetford, Jenn Lewis, Audrey Woulard, Terry ...

http://youtu.be/Hy7Vppky9Cw Check out vid! This is what our kids will experience!GIVE HERE! http://tilt.tc/jrzmhttp://youtu.be/Hy7Vppky9Cw Check out vid! This is what our kids will experience!It's as simple as this... Our youth need to be engaged and impacted. I thought how cool would it be to take the very things I love and am passionate about (Photography and my City: Detroit) and combine them in a way that is cool, educational and inspiring and then introduce it to kids who need the opportunity dream and be successful.So that's exactly what I want to do! I'm going to take at least 200 kids on a Photographic Bus Tour of the jewels of the city of Detroit where we will have a professional tour guide give us the facts. I'll have a contingent of professional photographers, community leaders, educators and role models on board to give not only photography instruction but also mentoring and presence in a very fun environment. We'll teach kids the art of photography and things like composition, camera function and how to get proper exposure, set white balance, etc. This will also give some kids the opportunity go beyond their normal neighborhood borders and experience a great side of the city they never hear about.    I calculated about $2,000 per bus load of about 50 kids for a 6 hour guided tour of the city (I WOULD LIKE TO DO AT LEAST ...

 The image above is of a High Schooler I photographed a few years back. He had a great passion for basketball and I thought this would be the perfect image to use in my slides for #WPPI2015 to convey attitude needed for business. I had the honor of speaking this year at WPPI 2015 in Las Vegas. The conference boasts 15K attendees, 125 instructors and 8 days of intense learning annually. For those that don't know, that's (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International). I thought I could lend a unique perspective on not only surviving but thriving in the photography business in Detroit while we were as a city going through bankruptcy. I have been in the full time photography business now for about 8-9 years and it has been rough at times...actually it has been rough alot of times.The one foundational trait that has carried me through it all has been my "ATTITUDE". I came up at a time when everyone was looking for a discount or break on everything, when it's tight people want the max while spending the least. When I came out of school I set my pricing at a certain level and people would always say, "Shawn, I can go to Olan Mills for that price!" or "What makes you better than K-Mart?" or "Sears?". I quickly grew angry of being compared to standard big box stores photography offerings. The thing that kept me going is my refusal to be thrown in a box with everybody else. I ...