If you take a moment to think about it, Mario Masitti is right. Lighting, posing, editing, sales, and marketing are all topics that are critical for portrait photographers.

Over the last five years, Mario has taught photographers the in's and out's of portrait photography – both the craft and the business.

Five Courses In One

After making multiple individual courses available, Mario recently bundled them all up for you, the portrait photographer.

The Modern Portraits Master Course by Mario Masitti is a bit of a monopoly. You get Mario's take on Lighting, Posing, Marketing, Editing and Sales.

Go ahead and click the links above to explore each of the options. You'll notice that they are each marked at $94.99. But you can score the entire course – all five “modules” – for only $394.99 (and if you are quick, you can get 25% off that price when you use the code: NEWYEAR25.

Variety & Depth

I haven't seen anyone offer so much under one banner course. And, if there are such an options out in the interwebs, I suspect it costs twice or thrice as much.

Poking into some of the course material, I can tell you that the master course has a ton of visual examples; photographs from actual photo shoots with clients and links to videos, where Mario talks you through situations that you will encounter. Each module has its PDF ebook to go with it, so you never feel left out in the cold.

The Modern Lighting course, for example, includes a 56-pae PDF ebook, a 25-minute supplmental lighting video and two special bonuses.

Mario's Crazy Guarantee

This straight from Mario's website: “Every Sessions With Mario product is backed by a 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you don’t absolutely love the course, it’s on me!”

Feel more comfortable now buying Mario's The Modern Portraits Master Course

Mario's promise:

This Master Course was designed for portrait photographers looking to take their portraits AND their business to the next level – to shoot better images, edit faster, market smarter, and sell bigger. With no-frill videos, beautiful PDFs, and awesome challenges, the Master Course equips you with what you need to grow into a 6-figure portrait photography business and rock your next seasons in 2017!

Interviewing Mario

It was a pleasure to connect with Mario, especially to discuss this new venture called The Modern Portraits Master Course. Check out our chat below:

Did you know that at one time Orlando, Florida family photographer Isabel Azalia designed lasers? Now, she reads her client's minds.

Totally true!

More than what or how she does this, the question should be why she does it.

Isabel spent the last six years formulating client quizzes that she sends out in efforts to get to know them and ultimately serve them better. The better the experience, the thought process goes, the greater the chance they will buy more and refer future clients.

As a scientist, she needed something more precise and so she developed her personality tests and questionnaire that dives deep into a client's psyche so she can capture that family as they truly are and make the whole photography experience stress-free.

Interviw With Isabel

Intrigued by her client quizzes, I asked to speak with her to find out more. Here is our conversation about how she uses client quizzes in her family portrait photography business:

So tell me, how well do you know your clients? Be honest with yourself. When the phone rings you book a session, but more often than not, you have no clue who they are, what their likes and dislikes are, how they see themselves or what they ultimately want in photography artwork for their home.

Wouldn't you want to change that? You will get to serve your clients at a high level. In the process you'll create a sustainable business that is known in your community.

Client Quizzes

For more details about Isabel's client quizzes.

Customizing Your Quizzes

Isabel is making her client quizzes available to you so that you can customize them with your own logo and then share them with your clients before your next portrait session. Talk about a huge WIN.

What would knowing more about your clients do for your business? Will you use client quizzes to serve your clients?

More Than A Fujifilm Fan Boy

As a lifelong Nikon photographer, a few weeks ago, I sat down to talk with Damien Lovegrove about creating portraits using the Fujifilm X system.

You see, I'm in transit right now; from primarily using my Nikon D750 DSLR to using a mirrorless camera system. My choice without any doubt is the Fujifilm X system. After owning their X100T for a couple of years, I now feel ready to get the Fujifilm XT-2 … BUT … which lenses should I buy? Or, will my off-camera flashes sync with the new system?

Lots of questions were swimming in my head and I couldn't think of a better resource to tap to answer those questions than Damien Lovegrove. So, that's how my brief interview with him came to be.

Introducing Damien Lovegrove

Sure, Damien's a photographer. But he is so much more. He is a teacher (be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel) and an author (his new books are truly remarkable). And he is also a Fuji X Ambassador.

If you look at his photography, you'll notice his phenomenally disciplined sense of lighting and creating a delicate mood. If you listen to my conversation with him, you'll hear of the origins of his approach. It's all quite intriguing. So, give it a listen!

The Interview

The Portraits Book

If you are a portrait photographer and a Fujifilm mirrorless camera system user at that, then Damien's new book, Portraits, is a must-have. I was astounded by the depth and breadth of Damien's explanations. He is a tireless teacher, stopping and explaining details when most other photographers gloss over that minutiae.

“Everything I know about portrait photography is in this book. I hope it helps you to achieve a lifetime of enjoyment from your photography,” says Damien.

Here's what you can expect from Damien's Portraits book:

• 356 richly illustrated pages

• 384 high res photographs with all the exposure and lighting details used to create them

• Over 50,000 words of creative vision that took me over two years to write

• Everything you need to know in one place

• An expert design with a layout that delivers the best reader experience for you

• Two resolutions of output (high or standard definition) to suit your broadband speed and device capacity. (Choose after making your purchase)

• A print edition may become available in 2017. If you purchase the e-book, the amount you pay will be credited against the printed version

The Fujifilm X System Guide

The Fujifilm X System Guide book is one that I will treasure. As I say in the interview above, I am in the process of moving to a Fujifilm X System and this guide book is perfect in the way it highlights the distinctive features of both cameras and lenses that one would consider buying.

Here's what you can expect in this book:

• 92 richly illustrated pages

• Details of the cameras and lenses that are currently available

• Explanations about the camera settings that Damien uses

• The benefits of individual cameras and lenses

• Recommendations for ideal lens sets

• High res photographs with all the exposure and lighting details used to create them

• Two resolutions of output (high or standard definition) to suit your broadband speed and device capacity. (Choose after making your purchase)

Learn More About Damien's Books

You get 20% off of Damien's books when you use the code – tiffin – This is available only for a limited time, so do not wait. If you haven't bought Christmas presents for yourself or for your favorite photographer, this bundle is perfect!

Want to learn more about Damien's books on creating portraits using the Fujifilm X system? Check out these other blog posts that sing their praises too:

Fujilove, Piet van Den Eynde and Matt Brandon

Stay In Touch With Damien Lovegrove

Catch up with Damien on his blog or on his dedicated portrait website.

The secret of making consistently good photographs is to stay inspired and be passionate about photography. Inspiration fuels the learning of new techniques, and passion generates the motivation needed to continually practice. – Damien Lovegroe

A Sample Of Damien's Stunning Portfolio

Support This Site

If you are shopping for camera bodies or lenses, consider buying them through the affiliate links sprinkled on blog posts like this one. Thank you for supporting Tiffinbox!

For your benefit here are the links to the cameras mentioned above:

Fujifilm XT-2
Fujifilm X100T
Nikon D750

For a limited time you can buy Rico Pfirstinger's book, The Fujifilm X-T2: 120 X-Pert Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Camera for 40% off! Use code: RNXT2

Jenika McDavitt of Psychology for Photographers fame just announced a new resource today called Irresistible You.

Have you bought Irresistible Words or Irresistible Website from her?

Buy them as a bundle here.

If you have bought one or the other, or both, then you know how useful her tips are, right? If you haven't, please do click the links above to find out more.

Why should you buy Irresistible You?

Look, just like you, I struggle to write about myself online. The dreaded blinking cursor is a recurring nightmare. I bet some of you feel the same way.

So this course will teach you how to write about yourself in business! You get to naturally communicate your personality and connect with clients without feeling like you're boring or bragging.

Do you need help coming up with work for your website, blog or even social media posts – that sound like YOU wrote them instead of a machine?

You get that and more with Irresistible You.

The Interview With Jenika

To find out even more about this new course, I sat down to chat with Jenika a few days back. Check our our short discussion:

Finding It Hard To Stand Out?

In a crowded marketplace of amateur and professional photographers, how are you standing out? What are you doing to establish yourself as a brand? How are you showing up on the world's stage?

Here's my advice for you if you are just starting out. Before you even begin considering a website for your photography business, figure out what your client communication needs to be and how it needs to sound. I highly recommend Jenika's Irresistible Words program, but what would make your approach stronger is if you worked on Irresistible You first.

Course Contents

What do you receive when you buy Irresistible You?

You will receive a PDF and class material that's divided into four weeks. Jenika will also be sending out email reminders to keep you motivate, plus bonus interviews with the likes of Christine Tremoulet, Brooke Snow, Nick McArthur, and other experts.

Class Contents:

– What clients actually want to hear about you
– Five psychological influences that make personal sharing a smart business strategy
– Talk about yourself without feeling self-absorbed or boastful
– How to pick stories to share that draw people in
– The “it girl” secrets to dominating online (that even an introvert can steal)
– How to sound like yourself when you write
– The never-ending blog content generator – a strategy for always having something new to say
– How to write an About page that you love
 
Specific pain points that this class debunks and solves:

“I don't know how to show clients who I am.”?
“I don't know what people want to hear!”?
“My life is just not that interesting.”?
“I am an introvert / private person and I don't want to share that much.”?
“Whenever I go to write about myself, it comes out sounding dumb.”?
“I don't know how to sound like me.”
?”How do I avoid sounding unprofessional?”?
“I sound like every other photographer!”

Irresistible You is being offered at a special introductory offer (only $119) through November 10th. After that date the price jumps to its regular price of $219.

So, what are you going to do now? Get lost in a sea of sameness or stand out and be counted? The choice is yours. If you don't know how to go about it, that's where Irresistible You comes into play. Check out Jenika's site.

I know and trust you will make the right decision.

The Confession

Bear with me …

Confessing my screw-ups in public does NOT come easy at all. Yet, I have to do it.

I have two of them to offer you. Two quick lessons that will save you from a similar fate and will likely make you more money down the road.

Last week, I got myself into trouble. Real trouble. Business trouble, and not the criminal kind.

A vendor (let's leave his specialty out of the conversation for now) contacted me a few months ago about a date and an event he wanted photographed. He and I had had a gentleman's agreement. All was well and then he went on an extended vacation without exactly telling me when he would be back.

I held the date for him and then emailed him twice, attempting to confirm the timeline for the shoot. All I heard back were … crickets.

Then a frantic email arrived last week from him: “Seshu, why aren't you on the schedule?”

I was flabbergasted.

I had held the date as long as I could but I had another client call in during the time the vendor was away.

Business is business, right? So I booked the portrait session but made sure it was at the tail end of the same day (just in case I had to photograph the event anyway).

I told myself that I will be done photographing the vendor's event and then be able to make it to my own client's portrait session.

But that didn't sit well with the vendor. His expectations were different and because we hadn't discussed the details or put them down on paper, it was all very ambiguous to both of us.

And he got mad. Then I got mad. Well …

Don't Give Miscommunication A Chance

Ambiguity kills relationships. So, last Thursday after going back and forth on email about the snafu, miscommunication or what he perceived as me trying to “double book” (which I never do), we broke our ties.

Forever.

Ugh!

Yeah, I should have picked up the phone and just called the guy right? That's another lesson for another day.

It wasn't the the loss of revenue that has troubled me the most since the incident. What aches my soul is now his perception of me has changed … forever.

Good news travels fast and bad news, faster.

Where I Failed

In a world of amateurs, I failed to be the professional. I didn't produce a contract that spelled everything out for the vendor so that he knows what to expect – arrival times, departure times, the number of photographs (enhanced or not), delivery time for the final photographs and the delivery method etc.

Being a professional, I have learned, is about having agreements that everyone, well, agrees to. Having it in writing makes it legally binding, in the end helping everyone involved. Having a contract brings clarity and business peace for all.

Contracts are intended to set the bar of expectations and inform the clients of the photography relationship process. – Rachel Brenke

Rachel Brenke's Contracts

If you haven't heard of Rachel Brenke, she is a photographer AND a lawyer who publishes one of the most helpful websites called The LawTog.

To celebrate her birthday, this week alone, ALL of her contracts are on sale right now. If you don't have a contract specific to your situation, I would urge you to seek her's out.

It is awfully tempting to “Google” photography contracts and just swipe one from the Internet.

My advice: Do not do it.

Foremost is the reason that those other contracts aren't guaranteed to have been written by a lawyer (much less seen by one for accuracy and veracity). Secondly, you have no guarantees that the lawyer has truly your best interests in mind.

This is where Rachel shines – not only has she gone through law school, she is a photographer who for years perfected her contracts.

So, you are probably wondering, if I knew about Rachel's contracts why I didn't use hers, right?

That was screw-up number two. And it totally stinks.

The Sale Ends Soon

Don't wait too long to snag Rachel's photography contracts. Whether you are a wedding photographer or a portrait photographer, there is something in there for everyone.

The sale ends on October 7th. Use the code: mybirthday20

Yes, I make a small commission when you buy using my link, but that's not why I am mentioning Rachel's contracts. She has helped hundreds of photographers and I believe she will be able to help you out too.

Would you want clarity and peace of mind versus confusion, chaos and lost opportunities? The choice is clear. Get the right photography contracts here.