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During FotoWeek DC's annual PhotoFest a few months ago, a group of concerned photography professionals brought together a series of presenters to talk briefly about what's next in the industry.

I was among the presenters, and the presentations are now online on YouTube.

Here's the Highlights video (RSS readers see the video here):

We here at Photo Business News have been hard at work on a number of projects, both personal and professional, including a few weeks of much needed R&R during August, so we went on temporary hiatus.

Not to fear, we're still here, and are moving forward with lots of things this month!

Usually, I wait to post a bunch of speed links, but this one's worth standing on it's own!

• Stop Accepting $200 Assignments! - This article is spot on and worth the read!

When does "saluting" women in an ad become an endorsement? When the anti-war groups used an image of Gen. Petraeus in their ad (here) being critical, was that fair to do without his permission?

How about an and that is positive, saying "Fur-Free and Fabulous!" and directing people to the PETA website to "Read all about it"?

It doesn't come across, per se, as an endorsement, however, it seems to come very close to crossing a line - but did it cross the line?

The common refrain from photographers with a few years' experience lugging cameras with neck straps is how much their neck hurts.

Sure, soft/plush/wide straps help, but the weight is still there, tugging at your neck.

Friend and colleague, Northern Virginia Photographer Mark Finkenstaedt, turned me on to these two cool solutions - the Cotton Carrier, and the Spider Pro carrier.

The videos are pretty self-explanatory, and worth a watch:

What goes into a "simple" cover of two iPhones for MacWorld? Watch it here from start to finish:

with client budgets tight these days what can you do to convince them that you are worth it? Lowering your prices is an Ill-advised plan because those clients will expect the lower rates when things get better.

Instead promote the VALUE you will bring to the assignment .

By emphasizing value with phrases like " our approach to this assignment will bring real value to your customers' perception of your widget..." or "the value we will bring to this assignment will result in images that will make your prospective client more aware of the benefits of your service..."

Below is a nice piece on Pete and the work he is doing documenting history in the making.

There have been a variety of comments on the subject of Assistant Deputy Photo Editor Mitchell Seidel (LinkedIn: Profile), as reported in Editor & Publisher (