CHARTING A NEW COURSE: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF IMAGE RIGHTS

 Midwest Chapter Holiday Party - Dec. 9, 2011 was a party to be remembered!

Midwest ASPP members and their guests shared a great evening of camaraderie and holiday cheer. A wonderful spread of food and wine had something to please everyone. The hand crafted artisan chocolates made a memorable impression on this attendee. The band performed a great selection of tunes that had everyone on their feet dancing. An abundant number of gorgeous picture books were given out as door prizes so that many attendees left with a souvenir of the evening. It can be safely said that a great time was had by all. This was a party to be remembered.

Photos © REP3

Thursday, October 27, 2011
At the law offices of
Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.
100 Washington Street South Suite 2200
Minneapolis MN 55401

We are pleased to headline this event with a presentation by the ASPP 2011 Picture Professional of the Year Barbara Smetzer and husband, award-winning photographer Don Smetzer. The Smetzers are coming from Chicago to share their stories and wisdom gained from a century of combined experience in commercial and stock photography. Join us for an evening of exploration of the past the future of the photo business.

5:30: Doors open for networking. Enjoy delicious food and beverages while you mingle with your colleagues in the creative services industries. ALL picture professionals and students are invited!

6:30: What It Takes. by Troy Braun. Minneapolis based Photo Agent and Teacher, will present a slide show highlighting his photographer’s best and most innovative work. Troy will point to current trends in the commercial photography business and what he looks for as an agent.

7:00: Copyright Update, What’s New? by Chris Sandberg. ASPP member and Lawyer with Lockridge, Grindal Nauen will give us an update on what current and pressing copyright issues are affecting our industry.

7:30: A Walk Down Memory Lane with the Smetzers. Don and Barbara Smetzer will offer some historical perspective by sharing their wisdom gained from rich and varied photo careers. Barbara was Editorial Director at CLICK/Chicago, Tony Stone Images and Getty Images for many years. Don has a diverse and successful photography career including 25 years as a movie stills photographer. He was recently coined by ASMP Chicago as a “Living Legend of Photography”.

8:30: Q & A and wrap-up.

We hope you will come out for this exciting opportunity to connect with other Picture Editors, Researchers, Buyers and Photographers for this exciting evening. Space is limited so please register by contacting Julie Caruso This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ASPP members get in free, non-members $10.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Harrington College of Design
200 West Madison St. 1st & 4th Floors
Chicago, IL 60606-3433
Get map

Event Schedule:

Thank you to our fantastic sponsors! 

Thursday, October 28, 2010

at the law offices of

Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.

100 Washington Street South

Suite 2200

Minneapolis MN 55401

Event Schedule:

5.00 pm Doors open for networking!

Enjoy delicious food and beverages while you mingle with your colleagues in the creative services industries. Bring a friend, and meet new business prospects! Whether you’re on the picture-user side of the industry in advertising or publishing, or work as a photographer or video producer, ALL picture professionals are invited!

5.30 – 6.30 Optional Portfolio Reviews for Photographers

Bring in your book for a multi-disciplinary review by a panel of industry professionals. This is a great chance to receive honest feedback and direction from multiple picture-buyer perspectives for one low fee of $10. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER FOR PORTFOLIO REVIEWS by RSVPing to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

6.30 pm "New Adventures in Rights & Licensing for Stills and Footage,” presented by Melissa Rhodes

Both sellers and users of visual media are increasingly swimming in uncharted waters. New media require new types of licenses while new technology and formats call for never-before-heard-of rights requirements. And, just to make things even more interesting, the rules, guidelines and appropriate fees for all of this is constantly changing. Melissa Rhodes, Director of Business Development – West for one of the world’s largest image licensing agencies (Photolibrary), will bring some much-needed clarity to the licensing chaos as she addresses these and other related issues.

7.15 pm “The Good, The Bad and the Sometimes Ugly: an Update on Copyright Law & How It Affects Picture Pros,” presented by Christopher K. Sandberg

Without copyright the creative services and photography industries couldn’t exist. But copyright law and interpretation is in constant flux due to legislative changes, new court decisions and the pervasiveness of myths about what’s protected by copyright and what isn’t. In this highly informative presentation attorney Chris Sandberg will review the key copyright issues in the photo world today (including, of course, Internet-related subjects), discuss the current state of work-for-hire relationships, and explain recent court decisions that directly affect buyers and sellers of imagery. Q&A will follow Chris’ presentation.

8.30 pm Adjourn meeting and gather at Keegan’s Irish Pub (16 University Ave NE) for additional socializing/networking. All ASPP meeting attendees get special happy hour prices on beer & wine!

Event Cost:

Free for ASPP members

$10 advance e-mail RSVP reservation by non-members; $15 for non-members at the door

(special 1-year membership rate and NO event entry fee if you join ASPP!)

Entry fee includes networking session (5 – 6:30 pm) food and beverages!

Space is limited at this event, so REGISTER ONLINE or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On Sept. 24th ASPP Midwest held an all day education and networking program for picture professionals. There was plenty of fun and valuable information for all who attended.

Photos © REP3

When: Friday, September 24th, 2010

8.30am Continental Breakfast

9am to 11am Session 1 – "Rights Management & Copyright" by Nancy Wolff, esq.
Copyright expert and Partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard- NYC

11am Coffee Break & snacks

11:30am Session 2 – "360 Content: Multi-Media Licensing" a panel presentation
Presenters: Cengage Learning; Bridgeman Art Library; Universal Images Group

1.00pm Buffet Networking Lunch - Door Prizes

2.00pm Picture Professional of the Year Award - 2010 Nominee Barbara Smetzer presented by Cathy Sachs, ASPP National Director

2:30pm Session 3 - “Digital Media Solutions – What the future holds” presented by Kevin Silverman, V.P. of Digital Distribution and Programming at Questar / New Dimension Media

3:30pm Refreshment break

4pm Session 4 - “New Frontiers in Footage” presented by Marc Rochman, Content Sales Director, Thought Equity Motion

5pm ASPP Networking Happy Hour and Reception at The Rivers Restaurant located at The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 30 S. Wacker Drive by the Chicago River

Cost: $30 for an ASPP/ASMP/PACA members. $40 for non-members
Includes Breakfast, Coffee Break, and Lunch!

Location: Harrington College 1st & 4th Floors
200 West Madison, Chicago, IL 60606

You are invited to an informative evening sponsored by The American Society of Picture Professionals & Getty Images, Wednesday, July 14th in Chicago

5:30-6:00PM Refreshments and Networking

6:00-6:45 PM "Photographers Choice" presentation by sports photographer Jonathan Daniel

7:00-9:00PM "Cross-Platform Image Rights and Licensing: 2010 and Beyond"

A presentation and panel discussion on the changing world of licensing, rights, rights clearances, licensing models (including subscription and microstock) and the implications of those changes to the stock-buying audience.

Presenters / panelists will be:

Linda McCauley, Senior Director, Corporate Counsel, Getty Images

Miles Hunter, Principal User Experience Researcher, Getty Images

Shoshana Bass, Director of Pricing and Business Intelligence, Getty Images

Kris Strom, Photo Editor, ABA Journal, American Bar Association

Mandy Groszko, Rights Specialist, Cengage Learning

When: Wednesday, July 14 beginning at 5:30 pm

Where: Getty Images, 122 S. Michigan Ave. 9th Floor, Chicago, IL. (across from the Art Institute of Chicago)

Why: Stay on top of industry changes and trends. Meet and greet fellow picture professionals.

Admission: is FREE for ASPP members and $10 for non-members.

Refreshments will be provided.

RSVP: register online or email George Sinclair at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ASPP Midwest meeting in Columbus OH on June 3rd will discuss the use of photography in the multimedia world. Please join our panelists as they discuss what they are doing with multimedia, where they think they are going, and how still imagery is involved.

Date: Thursday, June 3, 2010

Time: 5:30 PM for a half hour of snacks, beverages and networking followed by our panel presentation at 6 PM

Where: The McGraw-Hill Company, 8787 Orion Place (just off of Polaris Parkway), Columbus OH 43240

RSVP: Please email Mandy Groszko at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are able to attend.

Admission: ASPP Members free
Non-Members $10 ($5 for McGraw-Hill employees)