Local photographer receives national accreditation
A local photographer has received his second accreditation from the Professional Photographers of Canada, a federal organization which seeks to acknowledge excellence in various forms of photography.
Adam Moser, owner of Delmar Photography, received his accreditation for
Portraiture this month, having received his first accreditation — for Studio Portraiture — in October 2021.
“It’s a credential,” Moser told the News when describing the meaning behind accreditation. “It’s just kind of a reassurance of who this person is, what they’re able to do and what they’ve accomplished.”
Moser, one of three Medicine Hat photographers to receive accreditation from the PPOC, became interested in photography in 2013.
“I guess I was always interested in art, in general. Then, one time, I was in Vancouver for work ... I had the weekend off so I was walking around Stanley Park using my phone to take pictures and that’s where it started,” he said.
When he showed his wife the photos he took, she encouraged him to continue. He then set up his photography business in 2017, after spending much of his professional career in medical sales.
Moser applied for his first accreditation with the belief it would help build trust with clients, however after going through the application process, he felt it a valuable learning experience which would help him grow as a photographer.
“The reason I went for the second accreditation and (why) I’m going to keep doing it is because you learn so much ... It’s a learning tool,” Moser said. “You submit your best work. You put what you deem your best stuff forward and the judges rip your photos apart. It’s kind of a gut punch ... but you learn so much.”
Not only did Moser benefit from PPOC judges’ feedback, through the accreditation process, he also joined a community of local accredited photographers, who swap ideas and processes.
“It wasn’t just you sign up and then you don’t know anyone. There’s different branches. There’s an Alberta branch, but then there’s even a southern Alberta branch,” said Moser. “We get together once a month and you learn what they do, what they’re up to, how they do it, so it really is just a community of like-minded people learning from each other.”
Moser plans to apply for more accreditation, beginning with the fashion category.
“I look back even a year ago, the stuff I was doing and how much I’ve learned in a year, it’s crazy to see how much there is to learn,” he said. “Even more so, it’s exciting to think what our photographs are going to look like this year and next.”
Moser thanks the many Hatters who have allowed him to capture their special moments in film, as well as his family which has supported him as he’s followed his passion for photography.