About a year ago, a friend of mine contacted me and asked whether I’m interested in a certification program for Indonesian professional photographers by APFI (Asosiasi Profesi Fotografi Indonesia). To be honest, I’m a bit skeptical at first, but after thinking that I might need this kind of formal acknowledgment in the near future due to MEA, I told him “yes, I’m in”.
The first step was attending a pre-test session held in Madiun city. This session was to determine if someone is eligible for the real competency test. It was a bit tricky and not as easy as a I thought, yet luckily, I passed, hehehe…a month later, about 100 photographers from around the country gathered at Garden Palace Hotel Surabaya to attend the competency test, held by LESKOFI (Lembaga Sertifikasi Kompetensi Fotografi Indonesia), a subsidiary of APFI that is responsible for the certification process.
The test was divided into two parts, a written/theoretical test and practical/field test. Personally, the written test was not a big trouble for me, but the practical test was indeed challenging. I have to perform several specific tasks to achieve certain results within limited amount of time. A true skill, knowledge, experience and mental challenge, hahaha…I’m relieved that I could finish all the task requested without any serious issue.
Several month later, there was a formal announcement regarding test results, and thank God my name was there among others who had passed the test. And finally, about a week ago (after waiting in vain for another several months) the certificate had arrived safely in my hand.
Another professional objective has been achieved. Thank you APFI for the opportunity. I really hope this certificate will be useful for my professional photography carreer in the future :)