International Press Association

[mcphotography]

anyone have any input/comments/ect. on this organization: http://internationalpress.com/index.php - anyone a member and if so, is it worth it?

[dfwlens]

I cant speak as to benefits other than the Press ID card. Here in DFW it will not get you "press" access to police incidents. Dallas PD, Fort Worth PD, ect make their own press ID's for that kind of access.

[Bruce M. Morris]

The way that they can benefit a new photographer is by providing a source for letters of credential that a new photographer might not be able to get from the Star-Telegram or Morning News..
Scenario works like this. You as a member of International Press (also known as International Freelance Photographer Organization-IFPO) decide that you want to shoot photos of a performance at Nokia. You contact the press office and tell them that you are from IP and give them your membership number and the address or phone # that you have for them to contact. IF they are interested in allowing you to shoot the event, they contact IP who identifies you as a Freelance Photographer contracted by them.
The problem with that program is that they spend a LOT of time selling you the forms and the style guides and the accessories and you dont get a huge amount of support in the way that TPF provides support to new Photographers.
Basically it is a way to get your foot in the door with some of the PR people that control the passes. From what I have seen on this forum, you would do just as well to throw out an event and see if anyone has contacts from here that can help you get the pass.

[mcphotography]

thanks for the input - i don't know if IPA and IFPO are the same group but it looks like the same type of setup - i had a friend ask about them and i figured i'd put it to the forum for info...thanks again

[lenrapp]

I see this is a very old post, but since things stay up on the internet forever wanted to take the time to correct a post that wanted to know if IPA is the same or similar to IFPO.

The answer is no. Without talking about the other company which for years sold their bogus press cards, model manager cards and all sorts of other ID that have no merit at all. IPA is an organization that for 20 years has been building credibility and exposure for ethical members of the independent media. Our members must meet our criteria to continue their membership or it will not be renewed. Membership is renewed each year unlike press card mills that SELL cards with long renewal or no renewal dates. Press cards from IPA will not allow access to security sensitive areas and are recognized globally ad you will see in an article we published dealing with copy cat organizations.

Without doing a sales pitch on this forum, let me point you to our web site at: ::: Welcome To The Only Official International Press Association™ Website ::: and to our Member Support blog at: http:internationalpress.com/blog where you will see we encourage and force our members to publish their works on our web site, talk about the importance of covering events and following through by publishing their reviews and photos on our site and the lack of importance today of a Press Card if one does not have valid published works to back up the card.

Dont be confused simply visit their web site at: IFPO International Freelance Photographers Organization

and then ours and you can see the difference immediately. IPA publishes a web magazine with articles, reviews, photos many contributed by our members. Any other organization that claims to be legitimate and offers to SELL you press id and doesn't publish their members works are not.

Read our extensive article on Bogus and Fake Press cards for more information.

::: Welcome To The Only Official International Press Association™ Website :::

If you do a google search of our organization you will not find any negative comments. I found this one doing one of our normal checks, hence this answer to your questions.

We welcome members of the texas photo forum to visit our site and join us.

Sincerely,

Len Rapoport

President

[Kodachromedude70]

Avoid these outfits like the plague, they have no merit and you are throwing good money after bad. I am a pro shooter and know that 'press badges' (even supplied by a paper or wire service) will not get you anywhere. It's the credentials that an event organizer or local government bodies (getting access to press areas) grant that get you access to sensitive areas.

Marty

[lenrapp]

I was subscribed to this very old thread and see a post from Kodachromedude70 who doesn't seem to be well informed. If he was he might have visited the International Press Association web site and possibly seen our Member Support Blog located at: ::: Official Site Of The International Press Association :::.

This blog offers members and even visitors to our site many educational and informative articles about the value in Learning By Doing. Unfortunately many photographers never have a chance to do this since they haven't had the opportunity to go to trade shows, events, concerts, sporting events and never have an chance to network with others in the photo industry or in the media.

Visit our blog and find out why for 20 years our program works and why we have testimonials from members and companies we work with in the industry. Companies like Tamron, Manfrotto, Alien Skin Software and many others that we review for our sites. You can see both of our testimonial pages at our blog.

This past year IPA launched a new online publication called IMPress and as the name implies it is a magazine meant to impress its readers. We have selected our best photographers and journalists and invited them to become part of our IMPress staff. Please, you be the judge and see if membership at IPA makes sense. Our magazine is located at: IMPress

Finally, if you take the time to go to our three sites, you will understand that IPA stresses the importance in doing the work. Should a member gain access to an event, show, travel destination for a travel review, etc. they must complete that assignment. If they have promised to review the show or event, they they are urged to write and publish the review. If it is a photo op, then they should do the same and credit those that granted them the access.

Here is an article I wrote that I believe offers you an insight into IPA. IPA Provides the Framework for Members | International Press Assoc. Blog

The Importance of a Strong Member Profile
Some people simply don’t understand the value of membership at IPA and believe that showing a press card means instant access to events, shows, sports and much more, but the truth is the pass is not what gives them the access it is the media outlet itself, the reputation of that outlet and the quality of their published works.

If you are truly interested in doing the work, networking with others including potential clients we meet at many of the events we cover and becoming part of our IMPress team, then by all means join us. If you believe a Press Card is all you need to flash and the world is going to invite you in, then please read our many articles that will show you why a press card has no merit in its own right and how you can end up in trouble using bogus cards sold on the internet.

Right on the home page of our site and on the right column, we have articles and links to pages of fake cards and emails from law enforcement authorities globally to ask us for our help. We are the only legitimate organization that I know of that offers the program we do and the only organization that is sponsored and supported by some of the leading companies in our industry.

In our Blog visit the Photo Contest entries and sponsor pages from our huge 2010 Contest, where we gave over $8,000 in prizes to the winners.

Gain Exposure & Credibility & Win A Prize Too! | International Press Assoc. Blog

Smart people will do their research before posting on a forum like this one. The topic was International Press Association, not all the other fake operations selling press cards, let us stay on topic.

Len Rapoport

President
International Press Association

Join over 10,000 of our fans and friends on Facebook too. Check us out on LinkedIn as well and see who our connections are. I dare you to do the same with some of the others that simply sell cards.

[Kodachromedude70]

Originally Posted by lenrapp

I was subscribed to this very old thread and see a post from Kodachromedude70 who doesn't seem to be well informed. If he was he might have visited the International Press Association web site and possibly seen our Member Support Blog located at: ::: Official Site Of The International Press Association :::.

This blog offers members and even visitors to our site many educational and informative articles about the value in Learning By Doing. Unfortunately many photographers never have a chance to do this since they haven't had the opportunity to go to trade shows, events, concerts, sporting events and never have an chance to network with others in the photo industry or in the media.

Visit our blog and find out why for 20 years our program works and why we have testimonials from members and companies we work with in the industry. Companies like Tamron, Manfrotto, Alien Skin Software and many others that we review for our sites. You can see both of our testimonial pages at our blog.

This past year IPA launched a new online publication called IMPress and as the name implies it is a magazine meant to impress its readers. We have selected our best photographers and journalists and invited them to become part of our IMPress staff. Please, you be the judge and see if membership at IPA makes sense. Our magazine is located at: IMPress

Finally, if you take the time to go to our three sites, you will understand that IPA stresses the importance in doing the work. Should a member gain access to an event, show, travel destination for a travel review, etc. they must complete that assignment. If they have promised to review the show or event, they they are urged to write and publish the review. If it is a photo op, then they should do the same and credit those that granted them the access.

Here is an article I wrote that I believe offers you an insight into IPA. IPA Provides the Framework for Members | International Press Assoc. Blog

The Importance of a Strong Member Profile
Some people simply don’t understand the value of membership at IPA and believe that showing a press card means instant access to events, shows, sports and much more, but the truth is the pass is not what gives them the access it is the media outlet itself, the reputation of that outlet and the quality of their published works.

If you are truly interested in doing the work, networking with others including potential clients we meet at many of the events we cover and becoming part of our IMPress team, then by all means join us. If you believe a Press Card is all you need to flash and the world is going to invite you in, then please read our many articles that will show you why a press card has no merit in its own right and how you can end up in trouble using bogus cards sold on the internet.

Right on the home page of our site and on the right column, we have articles and links to pages of fake cards and emails from law enforcement authorities globally to ask us for our help. We are the only legitimate organization that I know of that offers the program we do and the only organization that is sponsored and supported by some of the leading companies in our industry.

In our Blog visit the Photo Contest entries and sponsor pages from our huge 2010 Contest, where we gave over $8,000 in prizes to the winners.

Gain Exposure & Credibility & Win A Prize Too! | International Press Assoc. Blog

Smart people will do their research before posting on a forum like this one. The topic was International Press Association, not all the other fake operations selling press cards, let us stay on topic.

Len Rapoport

President
International Press Association

Join over 10,000 of our fans and friends on Facebook too. Check us out on LinkedIn as well and see who our connections are. I dare you to do the same with some of the others that simply sell cards.

Actually I was referencing the IFPO, not your outfit. That said, I should have been clearer with regards to which group that I was commenting on.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Marty

[lenrapp]

Thanks for clarifying this. We have been fighting these press card mills for years and it has been an uphill fight. Hence the transparency on everything we do.

I hope others will see our postings and stay away from these mills which as you have seen on our site can only lead to trouble or worse prison.

Len

[Kodachromedude70]

No problem Len, and I fully support your efforts in this battle.

Keep up the good fight,

Marty

[arich]

I love IPAs