Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Members are in control of their own account. You may change your payment information or cancel your membership, among other things.
To do anything with your account, you must first log in.
All of us sometimes see charges on our credit card that we cannot remember, or don’t ‘seem right’.
PLEASE phone (or email) the office (831 625-5181) and we will be happy to make any corrections necessary, or explain the charge. We can do refunds as needed.
Please do NOT file a dispute with your bank as a first step. Not only is that much more difficult and time-consuming for you, but it also costs us a penalty fee on top of any refund. We pay that fee regardless if the dispute is valid or not. As a small non-profit, we cannot afford that.
Again: we’re happy to work with you, and probably a lot more friendly than your bank! :-)
Are you seeing little blue square with a question mark instead of an image? It’s most likely because you are using an older version of Safari or another browser that is out of date.
Over the years our site has accumulated tens of thousands of photographs and other images. In order to provide the best viewing experience (high quality images and quick loading times) we need to use the latest image compression. Almost 99% of visitors are using a browser created in the past three years, and so have no trouble with the images.
If you are unable to see the images, please update your browser and/or operating system.
If you continue with your current browser, you will see this effect not only on our site, but many others as well.
To enable or disable automatic renewal with your card:
- visit your account dashboard
- click on “subscriptions”
- click on “view” at the right edge of your chosen subscription
In the following page, scroll down to “Auto renew” and toggle it to your choice. When you click the toggle, look just below it, at “Payment”. It will now say “Manual Renewal”. If it does not say “Manual Renewal” click the toggle again.
When “Payment” says “Manual Renewal”, your automatic renewal has been cancelled.
(The image below is not “live” – it is just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
Yes, your use of a credit card is safe.
We do not store credit card numbers. This is in conformance with international regulations, and for your safety.
If not, then how do automatic renewals work?
You credit card number is held by the card processor, who obviously has to know it. When an automatic renewal comes around, our system sends a special token to the card processor, who implements the transaction.
In short, your card is safe with us because we don’t have it in the first place!
If you are using a recent version of Safari web browser, you’ll notice that videos will not play. This is true not just on our site, but on all sites that embed videos. Here’s the fix:
The problem with videos is a “feature” of Safari. The recent versions have autoplay turned off.
To fix it, visit the site where the video will not play.
Under the Safari menu in the upper left of your screen, select “Settings for this website…”
Click the dropdown next to “Auto-play” and choose: Allow All Auto-Play.
Automated Emails : am I really expired?
The Center for Photographic Art uses an automated process to notify our members of their account status.
The “executive summary” is this: if you recently renewed, and still got an “expired” email, the automated system may have queued up that email some time ago, and your recent renewal failed to remove it from the queue. This often happens if you switched from a manual to automatic renewal: the old “manual” subscription was still in the queue. We apologize, and you can ignore that email.
If you care to contact us, we will examine the pending emails and make sure any faulty ones addressed to you are removed, so that it won’t happen again.
If you originally joined as a sustaining member and paid with a credit card, you should not have received an “expired” email. Please contact the office or the webmaster, and we will take care of this error. If you paid by check, then you must renew manually.
Automatically renewing sustaining members will get a reminder notice a week before the card is charged, and a thank you notice once this year’s renewal is complete. You do not need to do anything, nor to contact us: the process is automatic.
Memberships paid for by check, or manually entered into our system are not sustaining, and have an expiration date, a year after the date you joined.
These members will get an advance notice, and another one on the day your membership actually expires.The system also sends our subsequent reminders if you do not renew, the last one of which comes 5 weeks after expiration. Please wait until your membership has actually expired before renewing, and then follow the renewal instructions on the website, found in the FAQs.
Please do not join again! Following these renewal instructions is important because if you just join again, you will end up with two memberships, one current and one expired… and the expired one will keep annoying you with reminders.
Thank you for your continuing support of The Center for Photographic Art !
THANK YOU for being a member of the Center for Photographic Art !
NOTE: Sustaining members do NOT need to renew manually, and can ignore this page. (Sustaining members will receive a courtesy reminder a week before your renewal payment is automatically deducted from your account. You do not need to do anything else noted on this page.)
However, if you are on a year-to-year annual membership and received an email that your membership has expired, or is about to expire, this page is for you.
Your annual membership subscription works the same way your magazine subscriptions do: when your subscription runs out, you want to renew that subscription, not buy a new subscription. Why? Because if you buy a new subscription, you will have two subscriptions: one old, expired and another new one. The new one will work just fine, of course, but the old, expired subscription will keep sending you renewal reminders. That’s going to be confusing. and is why you are always asked “Is this a renewal?” when you renew your magazines.
That’s also why it’s important that when you renew your existing membership at the CPA, you do it correctly: so that our automated system will not send you “expired” messages.
How to renew:
- Log into your account. (If needed, click on the “Dashboard” link. If you are currently logged in, the blue button below will take you to your subscriptions.)
- Click on “My Subscriptions” on the left-hand side. (If you have more than one subscription, click on “View” next to the one you want to renew. If you see “You have no active subscriptions”, see below.*)
- In the subscription display, the fifth item is “Actions” where you can click on “Renew Now” (or “Resubscribe”) which will take you to the checkout page.
If your membership has expired or been cancelled, then you have two options. You can follow the instructions above, and “Resubscribe”, or you can click on “Membership” instead of “My Subscriptions”, and then click on “renew.” This second option will allow you to choose a different level of membership by taking you to the membership choice page, instead of directly to checkout.
- If you see “You have no active subscriptions” just choose “My Membership” instead of “Subscriptions”. Then click on the “Renew” link. In this case, you’ll be taken to the membership choice page, instead of directly to checkout. Choose your current membership level or a new level if you like. When you reach the Checkout page, you’ll see that all your information (name, address and so on) is filled in from your membership record. Simply complete the transaction.
(The image below is not “live” – it is just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
Generally speaking, discounts are applied automatically if you are logged in. In fact, you must be logged in to see and get member discounts. Automatic discounts appear on the page, showing both the non-member price (with a line through it) and your member’s discounted price. Other than logging in, there is nothing special you need to do. The discount will be applied during checkout.
Sometimes, the discount is in the form of a coupon or code. In that case, you’ll find that listed as a separate entry in the “Members-only” menu (the one you used to get here.) Note: you must be logged in to access that as well.
Sustaining memberships are just like your membership with Public Television or NPR: they automatically renew each year. No more accidentally lapsed memberships; no more logging in to renew*; no more missed reminders. As a friendly memory jog, you will receive an email a month before the automatic renewal, but these are just courtesy notifications, and do not require you to do anything. (On the other hand, if you disagree with the sustaining arrangement, then just simply wait for the reminder email, and log in to your account and cancel it at that time.) If you wish to renew, all you have to do is nothing; simply ignore the reminder email, and your renewal will be processed automatically.
For your security, we do not keep your credit card number on file, and that’s why for all the previous years, you had to remember to renew manually. And since we didn’t keep it, we cannot set up an automatic renewal until you provide it again, in the first order you place on our new online system. (That tells the card processor that you have a sustaining membership.)
So, if you have not renewed using our website, then when your membership comes around the next time (and only the next time) we will send out the usual reminder email, and ask you to log in and renew. From then on, everything will be automatic.
(You may disable auto-renewal. See the FAQ for more information.)
Yes, indeed. You can change your account, upgrade or downgrade, and you will be credited with the amount you have already paid.
(NOTE: Some long time members [Thank you!] may not be able to change their memberships online, as described below. If you fit into that category, and do not see the “upgrade or downgrade” link, please call (831 625-5181 ) or email the office (cpa-info@photography.org), and we will make the change for you.)
It is important that you follow each of these steps exactly, or you will not be credited with the pro-rated amount you have already paid.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Log into your account using “My Account” from the “Members” menu
2. Click on “Subscriptions”.
3. Next to your subscription listing, at the right hand edge, click on “View”
4. Scroll down to “Subscription Totals”
5. Click “Upgrade or downgrade” next to your subscription name.
That takes you to the regular signup page, however, when you select your new membership level, and click on “Continue”, the payment due will be adjusted to reflect a deduction of the amount you have already paid. The amount you are pay now will appear as a “sign up fee” and will also appear in the “total” column. That will be followed by the full amount you will be charged next year, when renewal time comes around.
(The image below is not “live” – it is just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
So, what are the details of upgrading my account?
Pretty much like you’d expect. Let’s say you’ve got a Senior membership, at $40 yer year, and three months have gone by since you purchased it. That would mean that we owe you for the remaining nine months, or $30 total.
That $30 will be credited toward your new membership level.
Suppose you decided to upgrade to a Member Photographer level, which is $150 per year. Your new Member Photographer membership will begin now, and run for one year, until this date next year. But we owe you $30, so your card will only be charged $120. (Next year, when your membership expires, your card will be charged the full $150, of course.)
Here’s a caveat however: the will all happen automatically only if you signed up for your current (Senior) membership directly on our new site. Since the site memberships came on line June 20, 2017, if you were a member before that, the site cannot know about your credit card, and so we cannot apply an automatic prorated credit.
In that case, you will end up being charged the full $150, and we will have to manually refund the appropriate amount. The good thing is that if you sign up through our system now, then everything is updated and automated: no more hoops to jump thru!
If it is the case that you’re upgrading your membership and you still have some time left on your previous one, go ahead and make the full purchase, and then call the office, or email us, and we will credit your card. Once you’re “in the system” you can upgrade and downgrade without any such issues.
If you want to add or replace a card, first log into your account, and choose “My Account” from the “MEMBERS” menu. Then visit the account “dashboard”.
To add a new payment method, choose “Payment Methods” from the menu in the left-hand column, and click on “Add payment method.” Fill in the requested information. To use that new card for your active subscriptions, check the box next to “Update the Payment Method used for all of my active subscriptions.”
If you want to use the new card as the default payment method, check mark the box on the “Payment methods” page.
Then to renew or cancel, select “Subscriptions” from the column on the left. (If you have more than one subscription, choose the one you want to renew, and click on “View>”
In the resulting screen, you’ll see the subscription information, and about 4 lines down “Actions” you can take on the account. Here, you can Cancel, Change Payment or Renew your membership.
To renew, check to make sure the Payment is set to your chosen card. If not, click on “Change Payment” in the Actions block.
Next, click on “Renew Now” and you’ll be taken to the checkout page. Just click on place order.
Notice that you can upgrade your membership from this page, too.
NOTE: If your membership has already expired, then when you click on “Renew Now” (which may also say “Re-subscribe”) you’ll be taken to the membership page. Select the membership level you’d like, and follow the on-screen instructions.
(The image below is not “live” – it is just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
Why isn’t my email address recognized?
The most likely reason is that the address you entered is not the one we have on file for you. If necessary, please email us, and we’ll look it up for you.
Generally speaking, most web browsers will remember your password for you. Also, there is “BitWarden”, which is a free service online at https://bitwarden.com, which will securely remember all your passwords for you. Another solution is 1Password, although that is a paid solution.
With any of these, you do not need to remember your password: the product will fill in your password for you.
After you have logged in, and unless you explicitly log out, your web-browser will likely remember that you are logged in, and you need do nothing more than simply visit the site, and your browser will remember the state. (This is a function of your own browser settings on your computer or phone, and is nothing over which we have any control.)
It is safe to simply stay logged in. There is no need to explicitly log out. That way, the next time you visit, you’ll already be logged in.
If you have lost or cannot remember your password, you can reset it. Go ahead and try to log into “My Account” and on the log-in screen, look for “Password Reset”. Click on that button, and enter your email address. It MUST be the same email address you used when you signed up.
You will be emailed a special link that will allow you to put in a new password. Please record your new password somewhere.
If you know your current password, and want to change it, just log into “My Account” and click on “Account details” and fill in your previous and your new password.
If you have lost or cannot remember your password, go ahead and try to log into “My Account” and on the log-in screen, look for “Password Reset” Click on that button, and enter your email address. It MUST be the same email address you used when you signed up.*
You will be emailed a special link that will allow you to put in a new password. Please record your new password somewhere.
After you have clicked on the “Save” button, to save your new password, you will see the screen below.
BE SURE you click on “Go to Center for Photographic Art” and NOT the “login” link.
The system will hint that 12 characters is best, but anything that rises above “Weak” to “Medium” or higher will do, regardless of the number of characters. It is possible to have a medium strength password of 8 characters or less.
Because web-browsers can remember your password for you, or you can use a password manager, there is no need to memorize your password, and you can make it as strong as you like. We recommend password managers not just for the CPA, but for your own safety, because they allow you to easily have different passwords for each account (like your bank, credit card company, CPA and so on) and they will automatically insert them for you. No need to remember anything! Two excellent choices for Mac or PC are 1Password or LastPass.
Finally, “Can’t I have my old password back?” Nope – it would not be much of a secret password if we had it, would it? We do not know your password and we cannot get it. You’ll have come up with a new one. This is for your security.
*(If you cannot remember your email address, you’ll have to contact the office for help.)
You can look at the blue button in the upper right, at the end of the menu. If it says “LOG IN”, then you are not yet logged in, and you need to click it to log in.If it says “LOG OUT”, then you are logged in, and you may click it to log out.
Also, you can move your cursor over the “Members” menu, and look at the first item. If you are already logged in, the first item will say “Logged in – Click to log out”.
If you are not logged in, the first item will say “Click to log in” and it will take you to the login page.
There is a blue RESET PASSWORD on the login page, in case you cannot remember your password. It will send you an email, with instructions to reset your password.
(These images are not “live” – they are just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
All member information is under the “Members” menu item.
To access your account, choose “My Account” from the home menu. If you are not logged in, you will be asked for your name (or email) and password associated with your account. (See the first FAQ, above.)
From your account dashboard you can view your recent orders, manage your shipping and billing addresses, change your email address, and edit your password and account details. (Click on “Account Details”.)
(The image below is not “live” – it is just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
You can log in or out from the blue button at the upper right of the main menu. You can also hover over the “MEMBERS” menu to see your current login status.
To log in, either choose “Click to log in!” from the MEMBERS menu, or click the big blue “LOGIN” button at the top right of the screen.
If you see “Hello again! – Please Log In.”
2) enter your email address and password *
3) click the “Log In” button beneath (just above “Remember me”).
4) this will take you back to the home page, and you will now be logged into the site.
*(If you have forgotten your password, click the “PASSWORD RESET” button, and provide your email address. An email will be sent to you, which includes a link to reset your password.)
Once you are logged in, you may see your account settings by clicking on “My Account” in the “MEMBERS” menu. From your account dashboard you can view your recent orders, manage your shipping and billing addresses, and edit your password and account details, renew and update your credit card.
You can always find the answers to common membership questions by clicking on “Membership Questions (FAQ) in the “MEMBERS” menu.
Note that you MUST be logged in to get your member discounts and to see members-only pages.
(The image below is not “live” – it is just a screenshot to show you what to look for. Clicking on it won’t do anything.)
