The Book Hunt

Go to your local bookstore or hit Amazon up and do a quick search for “photographing men.”

Seriously, go right now and do it. I'll wait. Cue the Jeopardy theme song.

Oh, back so soon? I am not surprised.

Until recently, you would have been able to only locate one book.

Seriously?

Unbelievable, right? A world full of guys and it would seem no one has had the vision to focus on that very obviously under-served niche.

Well, Jeff Rojas a portrait and fashion photographer based in New York City decided to do something about that. In a couple of weeks, he will be launching a new book titled, Photographing Men: Posing, Lighting, and Shooting Techniques for Portrait and Fashion Photography.

Solving The Problem

Photographing Men

Now go take a look at Rojas' work, or cast your eyes below on a few samples:

The CreativeLive Courses

I don't know about you, but while I love books and my library is full of them, there is a certain thrill of learning in-person or if that doesn't work with your schedule, going online. It was Jeff Rojas' CreativeLive course, “Men's Portrait Photography,” that inspired me to contact him. Soon I also bought his shorter course, “How To Photograph Men.”

You see, I was working full time at an all-boys prep school in Connecticut and one of the most difficult things you will encounter as a photographer is to posing teenagers. First off, they may give off the vibe that they aren't into it but if you know what you are doing and you can put them at ease, they come alive and are eager to work with you. Jeff Rojas' courses came in handy because I was able to make these young guys look and feel good when they saw the final results. So, I owe it to Jeff Rojas and his courses for elevating my skills.

The Giveaway

If you have scrolled all the way down here, you deserve to be rewarded. But let's make this a game shall we? I have a code for Jeff's Men's Portrait Photography course on CreativeLive to give away to one lucky person who pre-orders his book between tonight and March 3rd. I will announce a winner on my Twitter account, so be sure to follow me there.

Pre-order the book using this link, then email me at seshu (at) tiffinbox (dot) org with your receipt. The subject line of the email should be “Photographing Men by Jeff Rojas – Giveaway”. In your email to me, please include your Twitter ID, so that I can mention it if you win! But the CreativeLive checkout code you see blurred out above will only be emailed to ONE winner. Capiche?

I am the final arbiter of this game. If you do win it's because you followed the simple rules and you are a good sport. Bonus if you leave a comment below telling me why the course would complement the book you just bought.

Remember, this is for any pre-orders of Jeff's book, only from tonight through March 4th, though. If you click on any of the links in this post mentioning the book, you will be directed to Amazon where you can easily order the book and have it delivered it you after it launches on March 15th.

Sound good? Good luck! And, here's to making a difference in men's lives by creating stunning portraits of them too!

Who Is Paul Jarvis & Why You Should Care?

Paul Jarvis is the epitome of a creative entrepreneur. He is a skilled web designer and more recently a teacher and mentor to many through his online course, Creative Class. His podcast, The Freelancer is both funny and informative.

One of the important factors for Paul's rapid success is his consistent publication of a newsletter. He calls it The Sunday Dispatches, and true to its name it arrives in my inbox every Sunday. It's a newsletter that I read from top to bottom, every single time.

On occasion Paul's advice in The Sunday Dispatches is about how to work with clients, while some other editions of the newsletter addresses the need for better structure or workflow. The recommendations aren't pulled out of thin air and are from his own experiences running a thriving business. What's amazing is how easily I have been able to incorporate these short lessons into my own family photography business.

Making A Mark In Your Industry

So, why do you think Paul leans heavily on his newsletter? What purpose does it serve? What could you learn from his example? My takeaway is this – it helps Paul frequently engage with his audience and clients and build authority in his specialty, over time.

And you can do it too.

Let me assure you that you aren't going to need thousands of people on an email list to begin. Look back at your year, find the clients you served in the last year and send them a quick note individually telling them about your new mode of communication – your newsletter. Then stick to a schedule and send them a note every week, with advice about your genre of photography and how they would benefit from it, any updates to your own business and lastly any special offers you have coming up.

A Sample Lesson

But there's a lot more you can do and should do to make sure your clients are receiving your email newsletters. Paul Jarvis has put this short video together for you to learn how to do that:

This lesson is a part of his new course for independent business owners like you and me called Chimp Essentials. Paul uses MailChimp, an email newsletter distribution platform that lots of people are using for its design options and reliability. While what he teaches you in Chimp Essentials is geared towards using the MailChimp service, there are elements of it that can be applied to just about any other platform that you have already signed up for.

I switched from another company to MailChimp because I had less than 2000 subscribers at that time and that meant, I didn't have to pay them a monthly fee. Now, if you have more than that number and you want to access more tools within the platform, I would urge you to upgrade as I will be in March.

One of the things that is preparing me to make this leap is Paul's course, Chimp Essentials. About a month ago, when Paul put out a call (yes, in his newsletter of course) for beta-testers for this new program, I jumped and raised my hand so high that I am sure he could see me all the way from Canada where he lives.

Chimp Essentials uses videos and code snippets to walk you through advanced (and seemingly complicated) MailChimp features that can help you engage and grow your audience.

Speaking With Paul Jarvis

My quick response included a request to speak with him about Chimp Essentials, so that you can hear directly from him about it. So here is that short interview:

What's in Chimp Essentials?

There are six modules and they run the gamut!

1. Setting Up MailChimp (the right way)
2. Onboarding New Subscribers
3. Groups & Segments
4. Automation Sequences
5. Campaigns & Conditionals
6. Running Tests & Reports

A Free Webinar & Discount Code

Since you've read this far, I have to tell you that if you are still “kicking the tires”, Paul is offering a free webinar today at 2 pm EST. Sign up for it here and do it now.

You could jump in today and enroll in Chimp Essentials and get $60 off the regular price. Simply used the code LAUNCH2016 when you check out!

Or, use the code TIFFINBOX and receive $40 off until the end of March (when Paul takes the course off the shelf!) Yes, Paul will bring the course back in the future (with updates and other goodies) BUT, why wait when your business growth depends on what you need to do NOW?

In the comments below, let me know if you signed up for Chimp Essentials. It's a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best in the business. I am a paying member of the course as well, so you know I wouldn't ask you to do anything that hasn't been fully seshufied (yes, I totally came up with that and may just need to use it again in the future).

Oh, ain't he cute? It's a Leap Year and I say you should leap like a chimpanzee and sign up for this course!

Lacking A Manual

In late 2014, right before Christmas, I gave myself a well-earned Christmas gift – a Fujifilm X100T. I remember excitedly opening the small box the camera came in and then frantically looking for instructions on how to set it up and how to operate it.

Honestly, I was frustrated. After shooting with a Nikon D700 for almost five years, I was expecting this new Fujifilm X100T to be easier to use. In some respects, it was. But I was reading other photographers on online forums discuss how one could program the Function button in a variety of ways or that it was possible to completely silence the camera.

I was lost. Like all new tools, I experienced a learning curve. Thank God for Eric Francis and Patrick Downs of the Fujinistas forum on Facebook. At every turn they patiently explained the nuances of the new camera (which by the way includes a fixed 23mm f/2 lens). But I knew I couldn't keep pestering them (well, I still do), so I went on a quest to find a resource that explained the intricacies of using the Fujifilm X100T.

The included manual was quite useless and it made me wonder why Fujifilm would almost intentionally leave photographers in the cold with all that this camera was supposed to be able to do. I was imagining myself photographing people in the middle of a bright day, using an off-camera flash or the built in ND filters. But every time I poked around the camera, clicking on buttons and menus, I just got more lost.

Another Resource

So, Google to the rescue. I stumbled upon a forthcoming book by German photographer, Peter Fauland called Mastering The Fujifilm X100T & X100S. It's published by Rocky Nook and you can also order the book from Amazon.

I tracked Peter Fauland down in Berlin, to chat with him about his new book and to ask him a few pressing questions about my current challenges using the phenomenal Fujifilm X100T camera.

My Experience With The X100T

As I said, I've been photographing with the Fujifilm X100T since November 2014. I could have given up and sent the camera back to B&H Photo Video, but I chose to stick with it and simply use the camera as often as possible. If you see me walking around town, you probably have seen me stop and photograph whatever it is that I am experiencing in front of me. The Fujifilm X100T is the perfect “about-town” camera, but it also performs well in professional settings as well. Due to its quiet shutter option, I can photograph in situations where my Nikon D700 would otherwise raise eye brows. About a month back, I bought a used Nissin i40 flash from Neil van Niekerk and have started using it on the Fujifilm X100T.

Yes, the photograph above was shot using my Fujifilm X100T. Could I have used my Nikon D700 and a Sigma 35 f/1.4. Yes! But … the X100T allowed me to work quickly and without causing the kid to take notice. It was also on silent mode. Even the shopkeeper didn't realize I had made about 10 images. For more Fujifilm X100T photographs, visit my website – Seshu Photography – in about 10 days or less, I will have a new section celebrating my success in creating documentary family portraits and other images.

Other Books To Consider

Fujifilm X100S: From Snapshots to Great Shots, by Kevin Mullins
A Short Course In The Classic Art of FujiFilm X100T Photography, by Dennis P. Curtin

It will be easy for you to see why Sharona Jacobs is truly unique among visual artists. You see, she is trained as both a photographer and psychologist.

As a former scientist and academic, she is best positioned to address the topic of mental health among freelancers. It shouldn't come as a surprise that when one's mental health suffers, so does the capacity to be creative and truly in love with what one is doing.

Lucky for us, Sharona is teaching at Inspire Photo Retreats this year. Her class description says it all:

“This class will provide individualized tools for every photographer who has had moments of feeling overwhelmed ? and who hasn’t? Topics will include: types of stress (some help us, some hurt us), self?talk, traits that perpetuate anxiety, and tools such as relaxation, visualization, and coping mechanisms. By the end of the class, each person will have their own individualized systemic approach to reducing stress based on their own particular stressors.”

Photographers face a delicate balancing act every day as we navigate our roles as artists, small business owners, caretakers and family members. Stress is inevitable, but unhappiness is not.

As a photographer who has been affected by stress, I was curious to know more from Sharona about how one went about tracking mental health among freelancers and what coping tools she could offer for stressed out photographers.

Here's our short interview:

Though Sharona isn't teaching a photography class at Inspire, I insisted that she send me some examples of her work. As a portrait photographer, I was intrigued by her approach and her niche as “Boston's Literary Photographer.” So, take a look below:

Inspire Photo Retreats runs from tomorrow, February 8 through February 10th in Newport, Rhode Island.

Based in Rochester, New York, Terri Fiske passionately believes she can help women find their fierce through a boudoir photography session.

She says: “Women are so busy being wives, mothers, teachers, business owners that they forget to celebrate that they are beautiful, powerful and sexy.”

While this won't be her first time at Inspire Photo Retreats, Teri is attending the conference this time as a speaker. Her topic, Finding Your Fierce.

A few days back, I sat down with Teri to find out what she means by “finding your fierce” in boudoir photography and why women are drawn to her services:

Teri is set to present her approach at Inspire Photo Retreats, starting tomorrow in Newport, Rhode Island.

Be sure to catch Teri Fiske at Inspire Photo Retreats this year, if you are interested in boudoir photography too.

Register now for Inspire Photo Retreats!