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The recent merging of two professional associations will now allow forensic photographers to hone their skills and expand their education further, according to a spokesperson for the group.
The Evidence Photographers International Council (EPIC), an association for evidence and forensic photography, recently joined forces with the Alliance of Visual Artists (AVA), the world’s largest umbrella group of professional photography associations. Now the already influential AVA has an even more unified front and greater impact on issues concerning photographers’ livelihoods.
“What we offer is a larger presence, which gives a bigger voice to smaller groups,” said EPIC marketing specialist Angie Wijesinghe.
EPIC’s mission is similar to the other photography associations under AVA—but in a different industry: the forensic photography of civil evidence and law enforcement. EPIC focuses on the advancement of forensic photography, while serving professionals in medical photography, crime scene photography, forensic evidence, civil evidence, insurance analysis and video documentation, among others.
“EPIC’s Board of Management agreed 100 percent to merge with AVA,” says Robert Jennings, EPIC’s president and executive director. “The field of digital imaging is an exploding market, and this partnership will increase the benefits and educational opportunities for law enforcement and civilian evidence photographers.”
Although EPIC serves a specialized group, its members share similar needs for benefits and protection with the entire photographic community. Their decision to team up with the larger AVA aligns diverse areas of photography and focuses on what can help the industry in general.
“This is a significant step because, in the past, the photography industry has suffered most from a lack of unity,” said AVA CEO David Trust. “Now that photographers are banding together, we have much greater influence on issues such as copyright, health insurance, and other legal concerns that are being dealt with on Capital Hill.”
The group will also work with government groups on things such as life insurance and equipment leasing costs.
“We deal with issues a lot of people don’t think about,” Wijesinghe said.
AVA is currently developing some new and revamped resources for EPIC. The annual conference, EPIC School, will now be co-located with Imaging USA – held this year in January - an event drawing almost 8,000 attendees.
“We’ve begun working on revamping the certification program,” Wijesinghe said. “We’re working with people in the certification committee and with EPIC to see how we can make evidence photography have more meaning. Anyone who goes through that process and the testing really can count on it becoming almost a (college) degree.”
The group will offer a day of photography basics to anyone interested at this year’s EPIC School.
“The EPIC School has been in place for a long time and has a good reputation,” Wijesinghe said. “It will allow people to expand their own repertoire. It’s expanding the education of evidence photography and photography in general.”
EPIC, founded in 1968 as a non-profit educational and scientific organization with the primary purpose of advancing forensic photography and videography in civil evidence and law enforcement, has roughly 300 members. AVA, which has been around for more than 127 years, has close to 20,000 members, according to Wijesinghe.
The AVA is also made up of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the Society of Sport and Event Photographers (SEP), Commercial Photographers International (CPI), and the Student Photographic Society (SPS).
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