Who Is Nigel Merrick

Nigel Merrick of Prime Focus Lab is a business coach and mentor to many photographers. He is also a prolific author, penning some of the most useful business guides in the photography industry.

Check out his books:

Interviewing Nigel

I recently recommended some of the best books you should read in the coming new year.

In this short video interview, Nigel and I talk about his new book, From Zero To Booked.

In it, he helps you identify your ideal clients, create compelling marketing that makes an impact on them, and shows you how to turn them into paying customers. It's a terrific read and I encourage you to read it.

This book by Nigel Merrick is particularly applicable if you are a wedding or portrait photographer who is either getting started in the business or who has been at it for some time but has started to feel a little burned out. Nigel offers clear-cut solutions to market to the clients who are right for you and who will see you as a good fit for them as well.

Want to get a taste of Nigel Merrick's writing before you invest in his books? I highly recommend you read this article on his site: The Phone Call That Almost Killed My Photography Business.

Are you ready to go From Zero To Booked in your business? Comment below! Or, ask Nigel questions that I am sure he will be able to answer given his wide breadth of knowledge and experience working with photographers just like you.

One the best ways to elevate your visual sensibilities as a photographer is by perusing through photography books: monographs, photo essays or photo stories. It's heartening to see so many photographers producing and publishing books of their own. Here is my list of books that you should consider looking through or even better, owning out right, in the new year.

Traditional Photography Books

Before You Grow Up, by Ernesto Bazan was reviewed in the New York Times by James Estrin and he said this about Bazan's book: “Ultimately, “Before You Grow Up” is about the importance of family and the fragility of life — what a man leaves behind for his children, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren he might never meet”. Bazan's gift to his kids is ultimately a gift to us. Step up and receive it!

Feast For The Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography. Ever since I attended Meera Seetharaman's food styling and photography class, I am hooked on food photography. Perhaps you are too!

Stop Here, This is the Place is a wonderful collaboration between a writer and a photographer.

The Distance Between Us, by Christopher Capozziello isn't an easy book to go through but I love the compassion this photographer displays for his brother. MediaStorm, produced a documentary based on the book that is well worth watching as well.

Cig Harvey's latest, “You An Orchestra You A Bomb” will be a part of my collection for sure. Her conceptual photography makes me take pause and think.

Love alternative processes? Then “Borne Back,” by Victoria Will is a must! Her tintype portraits are gorgeous, dark and delicious all that same time.

When David duChemin writes or talks or teaches, I pay attention. His book, “The Soul of the Camera: The Photographer's Place in Picture-Making” must be in every photographer's bookshelf. Period.

I love the way William Albert Allard sees the world and the way he sees America is extra special. Consider “Portraits of America“. I have no idea why this books is selling only for $8.21. Someone missed a zero after the eight.

How do other family photographers approach this genre of family photography? “Family Photography Now” will show you how.

Valerie Jardin is a prolific street photographer. Thankfully her book, “Street Photography: Creative Vision Behind the Lens” is a wonderful primer on that genre of photography. Weren't we all street photographers at one time? Learn more about her and her other books here.

I haven't seen this one yet, but as a fan of Scott Kelby's, I am sure, his latest, “The Flash Book: How to fall hopelessly in love with your flash, and finally start taking the type of images you bought it for in the first place” will help you grapple with your speedlites and studio strobes.

If you have ever watched Lindsay Adler teach posing, you'll want to definitely buy her book, “The Photographer's Guide to Posing: Techniques to Flatter Everyone“. I have the Kindle version of this book and I keep flipping through it all the time. So much to learn and use right away!

I interviewed Chris Knight in advance of his book, “The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow” and it is one of the most popular chat on my YouTube channel.

Roberto Valenzuela's books on posing and lighting in the past few years have been very popular among photographers. If you are starting out, diving into his books will get you going in the right direction. This year he published, “Wedding Storyteller, Volume 1: Elevating the Approach to Photographing Wedding Stories” and in 2018 you can expect “Wedding Storyteller, Volume 2: Wedding Case Studies, Workflow, and Editing“. A no-brainer purchase for wedding photographers!

E-Books

Tamara Lackey's From Start To Finish: The Portrait Shoot Playbook, How To Prepare For, Shoot, And Deliver A Photography Session is a digital book (for now) but let that not stop you from diving into it. Tamara packs this book with information that is both deep and wide for portrait photographers. If you are starting out, this book is a must. Read it cover to cover.

My friend Nigel Merrick helps photographers who are struggling to market their businesses. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his latest book, From Zero To Booked. I highly recommend you give it a read, especially before the new year.

Ok, so these photography books should get you going in 2018. But you don't have to wait to buy those photography books in the new year. Buy them now, before December 31st, to claim them as valid business expenses. Plus, Christmas is right around the corner, so if you see a photography book you already have or would like to gift someone, you've got this guide now.

Comment below on the photography books you ended up buying. Some of the links above are connected to my Amazon affiliate account and I make a small commission when you buy the books through this post. Thanks for supporting Tiffinbox in 2017. I look forward to continuing to serve your photographic interests in 2018 and beyond.

Happy New Year to you all!

Every year I do this, a good number of you step up and use the affiliate links on this post to buy the products you have either heard about or have saved up to invest in for your business. As always, every purchase you make helps pay for this website's hosting, redesign and general maintenance. I am thankful for your support!

Please continue to to visit this post through the end of the day on Cyber Monday, November 27th. I'll add new offers and edit those that have ended or no longer available.

ShootProof offers gorgeous galleries, contracts & invoices, integrated print labs, cloud archiving, mobile apps, and MORE – all with no commission fees! #FocusOnWhatMattersMost and let ShootProof do the rest. New customers save 40% on yearly plans and existing users get 40% off plan upgrades. Plus, receive a FREE studio success bundle packed with templates, how-to-guides, and more. Offer ends 11.27.17

Jenika McDavitt's Psychology For Photographers Resources

Today through Cyber Monday:

Irresistible Website

Award-winning class for a reason! Turn your website into a 24/7 salesperson that speaks to the exact needs and desires of the exact person you most want to draw.

Irresistible Words

Makes what you're already doing faster and more effective. Learn to write blog posts in 20 minutes or less (that people actually read and share), know exactly what you're going to say when you sit down, and create sales copy that actually does the job so you can do more of what you love.

Irresistible You

Why does that person get attention online, while you seem to wait around for people to notice? It's not “personality,” it's a method. Learn all the secrets to presenting yourself online + the secrets popular posters use to get attention (even if you're an introvert).

The ONLY time of year the entire Psychology for Photographers shop is on sale!

Save $50 off any single course.
Save $109 total when buying two courses together.
Save a total of $170 by buying all three together.

No code needed, sale price waiting in your cart! Offer cannot be combined with any other offer or past purchases.

FStoppers Video Workshops

To receive $30 off use code “BF30” for the following:

Fstoppers Intro to Lightroom: The Ultimate Crash Course – Now only $99.99
Photography 101: How to Use Your Digital Camera and Edit Photos in Photoshop – Now only $69
Making Real Money: The Business of Commercial Photography – Now only $269.99

To receive $50 off these individual tutorials, use code “BF50” for the following:

Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi – Now only $249.99
Photographing the World 2: Cityscape, Astrophotography, and Advanced Post-Processing – Now only $249.99
Dylan Patrick's The Cinematic Headshot – Now only $149.99
Joey Wright: Swimwear Photography – Lighting, Posing, and Retouching – Now only $249.99
Peter Hurley: Perfecting the Headshot – Now only $249.99
Mike Kelley's Where Art Meets Architecture 2 – Now only $249.99
Mike Kelley's Where Art Meets Architecture 3 – Now only $249.99

To receive $50 off these combo packs, use code “BF50” for the following:

Peter Hurley: The Art Behind the Headshot and Perfecting the Headshot – Now only $349
Peter Hurley: Illuminating the Face and Perfecting the Headshot – Now only $449
Peter Hurley Tri Pack: The Art Behind the Headshot, Illuminating the Face, and Perfecting the Headshot – Now only $549
Mike Kelley: WAMA 1 and WAMA 2 – Now only $449
Mike Kelley: WAMA 1 and WAMA 3 – Now only $449
Mike Kelley: WAMA 2 and WAMA 3 – Now only $449
Mike Kelley: WAMA 1, WAMA 2, and WAMA 3 – Now only $649
Elia Locardi: Photographing the World 1 and Photographing the World 2 – Now only $449

Photography Concentrate

Two of the best teachers I know are Rob and Lauren Lim of Photography Concentrate. Their ebooks have ushered me along the path of a working photographer for years now. I highly recommend their ebooks which are now all on sale through Cyber Monday.

Use the code: PCBLKP17 to shave off 50% of all their resources on their site.

Pixellu Smart Albums & Smart Slides

SmartAlbums is a must-have album builder that’s intuitive, quick, and simple. Check it out at www.pixellu.com and buy before November 27 to save $100 on your purchase!

SmartSlides is the world’s simplest slideshow maker, allowing photographers to build gorgeous slideshows in just a few minutes. Save big by signing up at www.pixellu.com before November 27 – the Pro annual plan is just $1 per month for the first 6 months!

The dates of the Pixellu sale are as follows: Nov 20th through November 27.

Melanie Anderson's The Focus Tour

One of the best things about a community that meets often (like CTPPA or Inspire Photo Retreats) is just that: there is a sense of community, connection and even camaraderie among photographers.

But sometimes, that is not possible. Family obligations, work obligations or distance can be factors. So, it's no surprise that Melanie Anderson was one of the first photographers in the industry to see the need for creating such a community online.

She calls her site “Focus 365” – https://www.tiffinbox.org/find-your-focus-365 – and for a limited time, you can get access to it PLUS nearly 120+ individual courses taught by some of the best working photographers on the planet. The catch is two-fold: there are only 100 seats available and this deal disappears when those seats are all gone!

Visit the site – https://www.tiffinbox.org/find-your-focus-365 – yes, it is an affiliate link – and click on BLACK FRIDAY PROMO to get all the details!

PhotoBizXposed Premium Podcast & FB ADs Workshop

One of the best (I would say definitely in the top 10) podcasts is Andrew Hellmich's PhotoBizXposed. For a very limited time for Black Friday, he is offering a 50% off his premium subscription. His immensely popular FB Ads course is also on sale. Check it out!

Buyer Personality Quizzes by Isabel Azalia

Back in this post about buyer personality quizzes, I interviewed Isabel Azalia about her buyer personality quizzes. These are definitely unique products for photographers.

Depending on the genre of photography services they are seeking from you, all kinds of questions you can ask them will give you a better understanding of who they are, what their personalities are best suited for and ultimately how best to serve them.

In addition to those quizzes, Isabel now has a series of quizzes that will help you and your client decide how best to dress for the photo session. These are all on sale through Cyber Monday (that's tomorrow). Use the code is blackfriday2017 that gives 60% off of everything.

Fundy Designer Goes On Sale!

Fundy Designer is a comprehensive platform for designing albums, sharing designs and even creating slideshows. It's wicked fast, too! For Cyber Monday, take $100 off your purchase. You'll make that $100 up in about 2 minutes, I promise you.

Zack Arias's Dedpxl Sale

Everything on Zack Arias' Dedpxl.com site is 50% off. No codes necessary. Those of you who are starting out using your flashes or strobes … this is the workshop that helped me get over my fear of using flashes. I would totally recommend that One Light 1.0 and One Light 2.0 workshops in a heartbeat. No one … NO ONE … comes close to explaining the use of flash as eloquently and usefully as Zack. Please consider all the other opportunities to learn from Zack through this site as well.

Why Do You Need A Tribe?

Having followers on social media is one thing, having a loyal audience is quite an another. When you build a tribe of followers and they turn their loyalty into supporting your creative endeavors, both they and you win.

This is the central premise of Pete Mosley‘s forthcoming guide book about fostering a loyal audience for your creative business.

Who Is Pete Mosley?

Pete Mosley, is a writer, speaker, and coach based in the East Midlands, in the United Kingdom.

His first book – ‘Make Your Creativity Pay‘, was published in July 2011. The second – ‘The Art of Shouting Quietly – a guide to self-promotion for introverts and other quiet souls', was published April 2015 and is now available as a paperback, on Kindle and as an audiobook.

He is on a mission to help creative entrepreneurs find the point where the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell others come together. To that end, he is working on his third book that will delve into the idea of creating a loyal following for our work; a tribe that will support our creative endeavors.

Speaking With Pete Mosley

After reading The Art of Shouting Quietly, I had to interview Peter and after a few months of back-and-forth emails, he finally committed to a short interview. Give this a listen please:

Topics In The Interview

What's Next For You?

I highly recommend Pete Mosley's books: Make Your Creativity Pay and The Art of Shouting Quietly. I would suggest you read those first. Then, if the content there resonates with you, consider supporting Pete through this special Patreon page. I am eagerly waiting for the third book to drop because the topic is timely and the content is actionable. Pete promises to show you the many ways to grow a loyal audience for your business.

Who Is Zack Arias?

Zack Arias is a portrait photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia. A little over ten years ago, he began offering off-camera lighting workshops around the US that he called OneLight Workshops. Hundreds of photographers now know not to fear off-camera flashes, but embrace them because of Zack. I am one of them.

I was at Zack's Boston and New York workshops and let me tell you that he does not hold back on anything. He approaches his teaching with just as much humility and grace as he does his photography projects and commissions. The truth is he doesn't have to teach, but he wants to.

He is incredibly generous with his time during the workshops, and I remember him starting early and ending late at night. Every time, Zack patiently answered questions and demonstrated solutions to participants, even if it was for the third or fourth time.

At some point, Zack invited people to send him questions and a collection of his responses became the basis of his book, Photography Q&A: Real Questions. Real Answers.

Zack At Silk Inspire

I was thrilled to hear that Zack will be presenting his OneLight workshop at Silk Inspire, in Goa, India.

You may have watched Zack on CreativeLive, or seen his videos in Marrakech or Mumbai.

While gear is important for Zack, I remember the super simple setup he introduced me to during his OneLight workshop. Still he is always ready to be challenged, like this “cheap camera challenge” or the shootouts at Gulf Photo Plus.

If you have registered for this incredible photography festival, you already know what to expect (but there are some surprises for you too). We are just days away from opening day!

Interviewing Zack Arias

I sat down with Zack to find out what his plans were for Silk Inspire, and so here is that quick interview with him:

A Sample Portfolio

Zack's work is diverse and in between commissioned work, he self-assigns personal projects to stretch his creative muscles. Can you tell which ones are for his clients and which ones are for him?

Register Now For Silk Inspire 2017

You are going to meet and learn from world-class photographers like Zack Arias, at Silk Inspire. There is no better opportunity than right now to register for the event that runs from October 6th through October 10th, in Goa, India.

If you have made it all the way down here to this post, that's awesome.

But let me sweeten things for you. I have a few cool giveaways for those who register for Silk Inspire today. Once you do, email me your receipt (with today's date showing) and you will be qualified for a few cool things I am bringing with me. What are they?

Well, let's just say you could win one of six Black Rapid camera straps, one of three ShootProof annual accounts or one brand new LowePro camera backpack (valued at $350). Email your receipt to me here – seshu at tiffinbox dot org. First ones to email me win. That's the only way to keep this fair and you must be present at the event, to receive the prize in person. Good luck!

Speakers At Silk Inspire

Please watch the interviews with other Silk Inspire speakers: Arjun Kartha, Jen Huang and Brian Callaway. Plus, there are other incredible panelists!!