Long title, I know.

But you've gotta check out this interview I did with Dani Diamond about his project called, um, The Project.

When I first saw it on Fstoppers, I was hooked. Here is a photographer who goes around photographing his peers in the photography business for free. I am sure you are as curious to know why as I was, right? Well, watch the video below.

Here is how it went down: I found out that Dani lives in Waterbury, Connecticut. That's just about 30 minutes from where I live, so I didn't waste any time in setting up a time to meet up with him. He invited me to his home as the Barnes & Noble bookstore we originally intended to use lacked a quiet spot where we could both sit and chat.

Anyway, in this interview, I ask Dani about The Project; why he started it, what motivates him and what he plans on doing with all these amazing headshot portraits. His responses will bring a smile to your face. I promise you. So, watch the video now.

Dani does an amazing job. I mean just take a look at these images below. He uses one camera (a Nikon D800) and one lens (a Nikon 85mm f/1.4). He places his subjects in amazing light and then waits till he thinks they have revealed a little bit of their personality to him. He says this has helped him fine tune his skills photographing couples. I can only imagine how lucky his clients feel when they encounter Dani who is so eager to master his craft.

What personal project are you working on? Share it with us below and if it catches my fancy, I'll reach out to you to interview you just as I interviewed Dani Diamond about his mission to create amazing headshot portraits of his fellow photographers.

My friends at Photoshelter have packed a one-two punch by launching two guides about growing your portrait photography business.

Part 1 of the series will interest portrait photographers who photograph families, kids and high school seniors.

This one has tips from seasoned portrait photographers to target an audience, determine pricing packages, master people skills, and influence word-of-mouth referrals. Plus the guide has tips to:

– Build a portrait photography business from the ground up and grow a presence online.
– Capture a subject’s personality, read body language and be an expert storyteller.
– Demonstrate a unique style when shooting kids and seniors.

Learn more about this guide here.

Part 2 of the series is geared specifically to editorial and commercial portrait photographers.

Portrait photographers will get pointers to:

– Prepare for a shoot, including the top questions to ask before you arrive.
– Build connections with clients with great customer service.
– Impress photo editors with an exceptional online portfolio.
– Get smart about pricing and negotiating contracts and licenses.

The guide also contains interviews with some great portrait photographers, including Brian Smith and Jim Jordan, to get their tips on shooting killer photography, plus the secrets to great portrait lighting.

Learn more about this guide here.

After you download both guides, would you please come back here and let us know what you thought of them? What did you particularly take away from them and how will you deploy those tips into your portrait photography business. Inquiring minds want to know! Comment below.

Houston based photographer Christine Tremoulet described a new project she has co-founded, called Vivid & Brave, for creative women.

If you are a creative woman, running a business that requires you to write blog posts from the heart and evoke your core vision for your ideal clients, you are going to want to check out Vivid & Brave.

Christine and I sat down last week to talk about Vivid & Brave and what it means for creative women.

Vivid & Brave is a labour of love collaboration between Christine & Stephanie. After meeting at a professional photographer's conference in 2011 and working together over the past two years as mentors, we learned we are committed to the same mission – to help women rediscover the parts of themselves that far too often get lost in the journey of life. We want to help you find your voice again, and share it with the world.

From Christine's last message to me, I know there are only 4 spots left in this inaugural class she is offering with Stephanie O.

Find out more about Vivid & Brave and apply to be a part of this new experience. Your business and your clients will thank you for it!

As a creative person in business, I am sure you strike that fine balance between craft and commerce. Most of us toil on the craft but forget that what we love doing can and also should earn us a living wage.

I've been listening to a few industry leaders who not only talk-the-talk but also walk-the-walk. Their solution is this: approach your genre of photography with a system in place.

You see, when you have a process to follow each and every time you photograph someone, you actually gain a creative edge, not lose it. Stay with me for a moment.

Here is what happens at least for me. I've noticed that the more I follow a script or a series of steps consistently, I am able to gain on time which in turn allows me to “play” and be creative even more. It's a win-win scenario that finally dawned on me.

Now, I've found one big stumbling block for photographers is the use of off-camera flashes. When photographers state that they are “natural light” photographers in their website biographies, I have to wonder if they are simply declaring that they: a) do not own a flash or b) do not feel they can learn flash photography because they feel it is too complicated.

For those photographers who wish to specialize in high school senior portraits, it is now even more important to know and use off-camera flash. Why? Very simply your clients are expecting their images to pop and there is really no other way to not only enhance their experience working with you, but also see that the final images are so very different than what their friends in school have received from your competition.

There are lots of resources now to learn flash photography. But there is finally a useful guide book that will walk you through a system to use studio strobes or off-camera flashes, especially if you are photographing high school seniors.

Jen Basford, Edmond, Oklahoma based high school senior portrait photographer is an industry leader in her niche. Not only does she have a busy studio, she also founded Seniors Ignite, a conference for senior portrait photographers. Next year's venue is at the very swanky The Westin Lake, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jen is no stranger to Tiffinbox either. You can read her posts “3 Marketing Ideas For Senior Portrait Photographers” or “Are Senior Portraits Your Target Market?”

It is Jen's system that you will learn about in the Fashion Lighting Guide For Senior Portraits. If you ever felt like tapping a pro to ask them “how” they light or pose their high school senior clients, this is the guide book to get. It's available between Monday, September 16th and Sunday, September 22nd. Check the timer below. If you see all zeroes below, the deal is gone and Jen tells me she isn't bringing it back anytime soon (if at all). This isn't some pushy sales ploy trying to get you to buy it. If you feel that you need it after reading this mini-review, I trust that you will jump in and buy it before the buzzer goes off and disappears. So, are we cool?

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In the 71-page Fashion Lighting Guide For Senior Portraits, Jen offers us a peek into over 20 of her go-to lighting setups. She walks you through indoor and outdoor shoots. The guide is peppered with examples of her work, so just as soon as you see a lighting setup, you see a series of examples that show you how Jen was able to accomplish this.

Each lighting scenior includes the detailed setup, a few comments from me on the setup, and several posing ideas using the actual lighting.

The bonus? All of this is also available for your iPhone or iPad, so you could take the guide with you on shoots and refer to it as you photograph your high school senior clients.

Now, Jen's clients are almost all high school senior girls. So in the event Jen publishes an update to this guide, I have just one request: let's see some examples of how she would light and pose high school senior boys as well.

This deal is pretty sweet, but I am going to make it even sweeter for you.

Not only will you get yourself an excellent go-to guidebook, but if you buy it using my affiliate link (that supports this blog), I'll create a private Facebook group where you can upload images you've learned to create from the guide, for individual critiques by me.

You want in? So, here is what you need to do:

1) Buy the guide today for $149
2) LIKE the Tiffinbox Facebook Page
3) Forward me your receipt (showing your name)

I'll add you to the exclusive group. Please note that I need at least 10 people to sign up before the timer goes away. And, the learning can go on! How does that sound to you? Sound off below!

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Buy the Fashion Lighting Guide For Senior Portraits Now!

Paul Jarvis is the web designer behind Danielle LaPorte, Justine Musk and Alexandra Franzen‘s web sites. If you visit each of those fine establishments, your jaw will drop. At least mine does. Paul is also a writer. You can check out his books here.

Paul publishes a newsletter which I rather religiously open every single time and read it because I personally like his restrained or minimalist style. His approach is often matter-of-fact, based on his experiences as a designer and might I say, a thinker. Just about everything he produces feels mindful and almost precise.

In one of his recent newsletters he offered to make some time to speak with blog publishers about his new ebook called “Everything I Know.” Unlike his other book projects that were self-published and were offered only as electronic downloads, “Everything I Know,” is going to be produced as a hard-cover book if his Kickstarter campaign meets its goal of raising $20,000. That he is well beyond the half-way point right now tells you a little something about this project. People want to see “Everything I Know,” in print.

My goal for this book is to illustrate the potential you've got inside you, right now, to do something unique and innovative.

Before he and I sat down to chat, I insisted that he send me a review copy (on the promise of course that I would still support his project). He promptly sent me a 20-page teaser, which I read in about 10 minutes flat. The large font, simple sentences and short (and funny) anecdotes corralled my attention and had me nodding as I quickly turned the pages.

“Your work is a reflection of you, so why no make it something you love?”

Though I have only read a part of “Everything I Know,” I get the sense that it is less a “how-to” type book and more of a “write your own manifesto” type book. If you are spinning your wheels not knowing what to pursue, I would urge you to take a closer look at this book. It may just help define who you are and why you want to do what you do.

For now, let's listen to this conversation I had with Paul about his new ebook project:

“We need more people who make things. Useful and meaningful things that change the world.”