Brooke Shaden is a fine art photographer based in Arizona. Her photographs are dream-like, ethereal and definitely complex in tone. I'll be the first to admit that each work of art has the capacity to draw you in and hold you hostage.

From her own website: “Brooke works to create new worlds within her photographic frame. By using painterly techniques as well as the square format, traditional photographic properties are replaced by otherworldly elements. Brooke's photography questions the definition of what it means to be alive.”

Brooke and I got a chance to speak recently, in advance of her presentation right here in Connecticut. She will be speaking about her work, at the behest of CTPPA. Find out more about that event here.

We spoke about her work, of course, but also her background. You'll find out how and why her degrees in film and English have helped her create artwork that is filled with intent and meaning. And, you'll hear about how she is a philanthropist, donating her time to a wonderful causes all over the world, including one in Calcutta, India. In fact, if you would like to donate camera gear or money, she is appealing to your generosity here.

A small sample of Brooke's incredible work. For more go here!

Want to keep up with Brooke, then bookmark her blog, Promoting Passion now.

UPDATE: Brooke Shaden is coming back to Connecticut! She will be here on November 21st and 22nd to lead a workshop called Storytelling & Compositing Intensive at the New Britain Museum of American Art. For more information about this opportunity to learn from Brooke, contact Heather Whitehouse at 860-229-0257, ext. 203 or whitehouseh@nbmaa.org.

I love meeting and getting to know kindred spirits in the photography business. When I photographed South Asian and multicultural weddings, I looked to a few people to inspire me. Knowing that I wasn't alone as a wedding photographer in a very specific niche was a God-send. I include Petronella among those who kept my spirits alive.

So, who is Petronella?

Petronella Lugemwa, is a multicultural wedding photographer based in New York. She has a wonderful and diverse background that includes a degree in chemical engineering and a MBA as well.

We talked about her beginnings in Uganda and her upbringing in Alabama before she clearly redefined an identity for herself as a multicultural wedding photographer. She says that she “specializes in helping multicultural and interracial couples celebrate their love in a modern way.”

Find out how Petronella, a usually introverted woman chose to photograph and celebrate diverse cultures. She talks about being asked to photograph her first wedding in Mexico and quickly immersing herself in other people's lives. Lean in and listen to Petronella's energy and enthusiasm for multicultural weddings. Do you hear it too?

Learn how a two-day conference called Making Things Happen turned things around for this young, vivacious documentary wedding photographer. We also talk about how she worked through the exercises in the Sexy Business Workshop that helped her overcome her fears – such as how she thought people perceived her name.

And, here are more incredible images from other multicultural weddings Petronella Lugemwa has documented for couples around the world:

Scott Robert Lim is quite the talker. But he walks the walk too. He is an internationally recognized photographer who has spent over 15 years photographing weddings. He is also a mentor to many photographers around the world.

Lim's CreativeLive courses are always very popular because he never holds back on teaching. In fact, he told me that these days he sees himself more of a teacher than anything else. So, it didn't come as a surprise that he was teaching through a free webinar again. This time the topic is something close to Lim's heart – tips to booking a $10k wedding.

We spoke recently in advance of the free ShootDotEdit webinar about the state of the industry and what wedding photographers need to have in place before seeking high-end clients.

“>Register today to learn more of Scott Robert Lim's secrets to booking your first $10k wedding!

Have these vignettes with industry leaders been helpful to you? If so, please share the link to this post of the video and subscribe to TiffinboxTV.

Matthew Jordan Smith's repertoire as a commercial and fashion photographer is well known around the world. Yet, he chose to work on a personal project that took him to all 50 states.

The project involved visiting with 100 families across the USA. He photographed children outdoors, holding up signs with their ambitions and ideas to lead their country. It's a project that took him 3 years to complete. After pouring his own resources into the project to start photographing children in America, Smith ran a successful Kickstarter campaign. He now has published a book that is every bit inspiring as his own journey through these united states.

I managed to corner Matthew to a quick Skype interview. Give it a listen. You can buy the book here.

You'll find below a slideshow with about 15 of Matthew's images from the book, Future American President.

Are you pursuing a personal project like Matthew Jordan Smith? Do you want to be featured here on Tiffinbox? Contact me right away!

Melissa Jill, a Phoenix, Arizona based wedding photographer knows all about being busy. But she also knows what it means to be efficient. Melissa Jill Photography – that's her and her small group of associate photographers – photographs a little over 40 weddings a year. Multiply that number by an average of 2000 digital images to process and you know that's a staggering amount of time in front of the computer.

Melissa, however, outsources her initial edits to ShootDotEdit and leans on her own wedding album design company, Align, to deliver the final layouts. We sat down to talk about what is involved in making album design efficient and ultimately, profitable.

Melissa is so good at what she does and her systems and processes down that she was invited to be a part of ShootDotEdit‘s new webinar series called Recharge. If wedding album design is a major pain in the you know where for you, sign up now for this free webinar today. You can always get the recording if you can't make it to the live event tomorrow 10 am to 11 am PST.

Learn industry tested profitable wedding album design tips and sales techniques from Melissa Jill that will ultimately help your clients get what they really desire. This is a free webinar that is not to be missed. As I said in the video above, if only I had known about Melissa even just a few years ago, it would have saved hours of frustration and dread.

This webinar, like the others on the ShootDotEdit website, is a winner and will be time well spent.