My name is Joe, and I’m a professional photographer in New York City. My primary focus (I find it impossible to go one paragraph without running into a photography pun) is on event work and portraiture. Since falling into this occupation in 2013 and up through 2023, I edited my event work in the same manner that 98% of the rest of the professional event community does – with Adobe Lightroom. Lightroom in and of itself is a fantastic program and principally shines as a workflow workhorse – allowing you to get through huge volumes of images in a professionally respectable time (and let’s face it, its cataloging system is amazing).

My Process Prior to Capture

Prior to using Capture One for my event photography (you’re welcome to view my NYC event photographer portfolio here), my process for loading and editing was fairly standard and straight forward. I would:

1. Load the images
2. Cull the images
3. Adjust exposure as needed
4. Add a global contrast boost by around +20
5. Export to JPG

That’s it. That’s pretty much all I did – and every time. Sure, every now and again I might need to pull up some shadows or pull down some highlights in danger of clipping, but other than that, there was a rather large creative vacuum in my work.

Granted, the vast majority of said work was for corporate events and nightlife (two areas of photography in and of themselves that don’t require the most creative amounts of editing in the world), and so my editing process over the years was largely mechanical and clients never complained.

Where it all Began

My first forays into using Capture for my event work began with a bridal shower over by Wall Street – it was being hosted in the bride’s apartment building. Not really having an idea on what to expect, in I walked that afternoon on one of the most inordinately nice “afternoon tea” setups I’ve ever been to (not that I regularly walk in on afternoon tea setups, but you get the idea).

The room itself had this old Edwardian/Victorian feel, with a center long table decorated meticulously for the occasion and a couple lace curtain windows softly lighting everything.

Everyone in attendance (all women, as its a bridal shower) was dressed thematically for the day (the theme being something akin to Downton Abbey).

I didn’t think too much about all of it until afterwards, when while going through the album I felt the need to do…more. I’d photographed a hundred+ setups and showers over the years just like this, but for some reason felt the need this time to either express myself a little more creatively or simply just put a little more oomph into their edit. I suspect much of this came from familiarizing myself with Capture One over the preceding couple years as I pursued a career in fashion photography and became ever more familiar with what it could do, but either way, I felt the need to do a little more than just load, cull, exposure-adjust, contrast boost, and export.

And so I began an edit over the afternoon that, when the dust settled, I was pretty freaking proud of. I’d warmed things here, I’d exaggerated things there. I added massive amounts of grain pretty much everywhere. And the end result was a really amazing bridal album that made me look at what not just Capture One was capable but what I was capable of in an entirely new light.

Quality over Quantity

Backing up a bit, it was opening up a studio in Brooklyn and beginning to dabble in the world that is fashion that I came to more frequently use Capture One. As Capture One is the de facto application for commercial portraiture, I spent my days fluctuating between using Capture One for my headshots and fashion portraits and Lightroom for my event photography (which constitutes everything else).

And then the above bridal shower happened and everything changed for me.

The main difference between Capture One and Lightroom (at least in my eyes) is that Lightroom is primarily a cataloging and workflow system – built for large volumes of images that a professional needs to get through in an efficient manner. Capture One, on the other hand, is built for the development of one singular image at a time.

I do a ton of fashion testing, for instance, and multiple times per week. An average test shoot with a modeling agency here in NYC is around two hours. Out of those two hours, I’ll take anywhere from 200-300 images. Out of those 200-300 images, I’ll send out anywhere from 10-30 end retouches (and that’s fairly above the standard. The standard is between 5-10).

And with this said, the interface that Capture One uses is much more similar to the sort of interface found on applications like Adobe Photoshop (I actually call Capture One photoshop for RAW files all the time) – it has an absolutely massive array of singular tools; each one serving the purpose of developing one image.

Lightroom’s interface, on the other hand, is rather underwhelming in comparison. While Capture one places a veritable bevy of tools in front of you that are easily accessible, Lightroom’s are a bit scattered across the panel and just visually not anywhere near as neatly organized.

With this said, working in Capture One encourages you to spend more time on the development of one image (even if it’s just a couple minutes, whereas Lightroom for me has always been about editing in bulk.

Masking

Masking in Capture One is as second nature as breathing – I can’t recall a single capture session I’ve had of late that hasn’t involved me masking some area of the image for correction (bringing up shadows, for instance). I’ve an Intuous Pro, by Wacom, and using this with Captures Brush tool feels just so —- second nature.

Masking in Lightroom never felt quite as intuitive or responsive – and I’d usually only ever use it as either an afterthought or when some glaring part of the image required me to do so.

And, let’s face it – masking is definitely an editing pillar, to the point where I’ve no idea how I’d be able to function (whether it be in photoshop, capture, or whatever) without it.

Your Client Will Appreciate It – Summing Up

One of my larger assignments for the year was shooting for Docusign. They were hosting a two day conference at The Glasshouse NYC and it was for both a new brand reveal, as well as the usual set of conference promotionals and (occasionally) theatrics. I was chatting with my onsite coordinator the day of, and I made the off-hand remark that 250 super strong images are infinitely better than 3000 mediocre ones.

His eyes widened as if I was the first photographer that’d come along in years that ‘got it’ and he emphatically and enthusiastically agreed.

When shooting events (or anything for that matter), often times we fall into the trap that more is better. More images. More assets. More variations. More more more.

And that’s not the case at all.

Eight powerful images are priceless in comparison to 100, or 1000 bland ones.

And Capture One forces you to think this way – in that you’re developing a smaller set of infinitely more valuable assets for your client. Sure, some events maybe involve culling and exporting thousands of images – whereby spending five minutes on one photo isn’t really practical. But, even if you spend maybe thirty to sixty seconds more time on that one photo, or just think about it singularly, rather than just a small part of a whole, it might be that one photo that makes your client lose his or her veritable mind.

It’s not easy to read a business book that is 250 pages long within a couple of weeks, much less read it twice.

But that’s what I did with Maurice Jager’s book, “Personal Branding For Photographers.”

While there are webinars and courses for photographers to learn all about “personal branding”, Jager’s book is the first and most comprehensive book I’ve read on the topic.

According to Jager, “Branding is the process of giving people the opportunity to create a perception of who you are and what you offer; the creation of a brand experience.”

TL;DR – If being seen by your audience means anything at all for you, you can skip the review below and just buy the book and read it. It is required reading, which you will reference again and again as you change your personal branding strategy.

Reading “Personal Branding For Photographers”

The book is hefty, not just because of its length but also because of the content. Jager begins by walking the reader through the importance of taking stock in one’s own story and background. If you buy the electronic version of the book and print it, I am going to guess you will have copious notes on the margins of this section because Jager nudges all kinds of interesting questions I had never considered before.

This first section of the book really got me thinking about how I present myself to the world and why I have held back so much. I can shore it up to being shy or introverted, but to Jager’s point, I just need to get over that and do the work.

The questions Jager suggests come at a rapid-fire and if there is one thing I do wish for is a set of worksheets that could have accompanied the book that one could download. As I said, I would and could easily fill the pages I had printed but having something fresh to use would be helpful.

Once you have answered those questions, you can then embark on your “visual strategy”, which allows you to share “authentic and powerful content which reflects your personality, work, and process.” This process of repeatedly showing up online or in-person has a way of communicating to those interested in your work that you are an expert in the field.

Getting To The Heart Of Telling Your Story

Jager offers an in-depth framework for visual storytelling, making the six chapters the bulk of the book.

Here are the six chapters:

1. Who are you?
2. What’s your background?
3. How do people see you?
4. What do you want to achieve?
5. What are the details?
6. What do you sell?

These overarching questions are subsequently broken down with even more questions for us to consider. The amount of content you are going to generate from this exercise alone is massive and is going to take you some time, but Jager confirms that it will be all worthwhile in the end.

The responses to these important questions lead us to create our story and Jager provides a social media matrix where we can use the content we have created in a very methodical, yet creative manner.

Interviews That Bring It All Together

In addition to the many examples in the book, Jager deftly segues into lengthy but informative interviews with a variety of successful photographers. You’ll read perspectives from Andrew Sommeling, Clay Cook, Dani Diamond, Glyn Dewis, Emily Teague, Pratik Naik, Humberto Tan, Tony Taafe, John DeMato, and Peter Hurley. My advice: don’t skip these parts of the book. There is gold in there too.

Part of owning your own domain is to have an active blog. Given how lousy I have been on my commercial websites with blogging, I found this section particularly useful. My advice is to print Jager’s eight guidelines for publishing a blog and having it within arm’s reach when you are looking to publish a blog post. In fact, I used it to create this post!

There is a lot to read and do in “Personal Branding For Photographers.” It’s not a passive book. It’s only in your action that you will see results from this book. For folks like me who often get overwhelmed with ideas and not knowing which action to take first, second, or third, Jager’s book gives me structure and a sense of satisfaction when portions of it are done and I can move on to the next task. In some respect, it’s a workshop in a book form.

Seeing Proof!

After I read the book all the way through the first time, I wanted to see if some of the strategies mentioned in the book would work for me. I had almost never posted a selfie online, though I am warming up to the idea of having my photographs being seen online. So, on two recent photoshoots, I had someone photograph me working. I posted both to Instagram and was floored by the number of people liking the post.

Here are the Instagram links for you to check out!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNkpYkBsC6Q/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN787FAMCbo/

There is a lot more to “Personal Branding For Photographers” and I wish I could mention it all, but I hope I have whet your appetite a bit for it so that you can buy and read it. In addition to the book, Maurice Jager runs an active Facebook group, an annual conference, and a podcast.

Like anything he does, Jager’s heart and soul are in every venture, so, again if being seen and eventually hired to work with your audience is important for you, I highly recommend you read “Personal Branding For Photographers,” and also sign for the conference (coming July 2021) and subscribe to the podcast. I was honored to be on Episode #19.

Lastly, I love this quote in the book because ultimately this is what personal branding is all about:

When people already trust you, prospective clients have no reason not to trust you, too.

Why Should You Buy ‘Personal Branding For Photographers' Now?

So, why do you need to read Maurice Jager's book now? Two big reasons: As a photographer, you are looking for a way to stand out authentically within your community and what you will have is a playbook that walks you through the exact steps to present your brand in your own way. Do the work prescribed in the book, and success will find you. This is $30 investment is a no-brainer in my opinion.

Still on the fence? Watch this video to learn more from the author –

You know that sinking feeling: you've eagerly started to tinker with your website, but there is always one. more. thing. that needs to be added or edited or perfected.

Fellow reader, I am right there with you, because as a DIY'er, I've spun my wheels when it comes to making updates to my website content. I've sat on it so long that I know in my heart I've lost clients because my website simply does not address a problem nor does it offer a solution.

All that ends this winter when I dive into Ling Messer and Michelle Blais' new course, Master Your Website Content. [affiliate]

I was so intrigued by their system and approach to teaching that I invited them to a quick chat on my podcast, Tiffincast (Spotify, iTunes).

Ling Messer is a full time wedding, portrait, and commercial photographer in Connecticut, and has been in business since 2013 since she left her long career in the dairy farming industry in Oregon. She now runs a six-figure wedding photography business, Trailing Twine Photography, with her team photographers, who travel all over New England photographing outdoorsy soulmates getting married on farm and barn venues.

Michelle Blais has worked as an in-house corporate graphic artist, on staff at advertising agencies and since 2000, has been operating her own small graphic and website design business. Michelle works with entrepreneurs and small business owners to create branding, marketing and websites with a clear message, engaging imagery and a professional design that easily connects with their customers and grows their business.

After you have listened to the podcast in its entirety click this link to receive some free goodies from Ling & Michelle.

Here are are few screenshots of the Master Your Website Content course:

Also learn about Shoot For Web Design, the new company Ling and Michelle have formed. sign up for Master Your Website Content today.

A special offer – If you use my affiliate link above, Ling and Michelle have the following special offer for you –

Anyone who enrolls in the online course, Master Your Website Content, and learns about us through Tiffinbox, a free 1/2 hour coaching call for students, that they can use at any point in the course, valid through the entire year of 2021.

On December 17, 2020, you can register for a free webinar with Ling and Michelle. Learn the 3 mistakes to avoid a website meltdown!

Tony Taafe's TNT Method

As photographers it can be really easy to put the business and sales side of our work on the back burner and focus heavily on our creative craft. In my quest to better my business, I stumbled across Tony Taafe’s “TNT Method” tutorial. This tutorial is a blueprint for not only bettering your client interactions but it is also helpful in other parts of your business. The tutorial caters to headshot photographers but it can definitely be related to other photography genres (or in fact any business venture!).

In the first year of his photography business, Scottsdale Arizona based headshot photographer Tony Taafe made $60,000. By his third year in business he was making $250,000. Tony is now looking to help other portrait photographers achieve these numbers through his TNT Method which helps to show them how to get there. 

Tony’s strategy is obviously working for him, and working well. He came from a background in car sales in the UK and had worked for companies such as Audi and Bentley. Over those years Tony won several awards and obviously learned a lot about customer service. As he started his photography career these experiences were clearly beneficial to him as he positioned his product as a luxury one.

TNT Method Facebook Group

The tutorial is divided up into digestible bite sized videos to make running through it a breeze. In addition to the over 2 hour tutorial, you also get access to Tony’s private “TNT Method Facebook” group. The participants in this group discuss all things “sales” in their portrait photography businesses. This group is a fantastic way to keep in touch with other photographers who may have similar questions as you.

I have found that it is a very safe environment to learn alongside like-minded individuals. Inside this group you will hear both success and failure stories from other photographers. This can be a huge help and motivation for how you operate your shoots moving forward. 

Part of the tutorial also includes commentary from world-renowned headshot photographer Peter Hurley. Peter, who has had no issues creating a successful and lucrative portrait photography business, talks about how the TNT Method changed his sessions for the better, and has made him even more money. Seeing two very successful headshot photographers, Tony and Peter interact and talk business in this one tutorial is truly remarkable and a great pleasure to watch. Having someone like Peter endorse this strategy, made this an easy purchase for me to make. 

I went through the tutorial and compiled an overview of some of the main chapters. You can decide whether you think it will help you in taking your business to the next level. I know from personal experience, after applying the tactics he outlines in the tutorial, my individual session sales have grown and my clients are more informed of the session process (more on this later). 

Removing Obstacles To Buy:

I am a sucker for comparing the business of photography to the way other businesses are run. I knew I was going to enjoy this section when Tony started out by touching on how easy it is to buy products on Amazon. “Have you ever used Amazon Prime?” Tony says. “What you do is you swipe at the bottom, and a package arrives two days later. It’s easy.” This intro really changed the way I think about selling my photography products.

There is no reason why our products can’t be as easy to buy as the ones that are on Amazon. This is where removing any obstacles to buying our products comes into play! Tony spends the remainder of this video listing ways photographers get in the way of themselves when selling their service. I think there are definitely some things on this list that I hadn’t thought of as hindering my ability to sell before, so it was certainly eye opening. 

Decisive vs. Indecisive Buyers

This section covers the different types of clients you will run into during your sessions. Tony talks about both decisive buyers and indecisive buyers and how to handle each. I had never thought about the different characteristics my clients showed throughout my shoots before. He began to list things that decisive and indecisive buyers will say and how you can know who falls into each category.

When the decisive buyer comes in “they will probably have less outfits and they are going to have a purpose for every single outfit.” Whereas the “indecisive buyer will come in with more outfits than they can carry.” This plays into other behaviors as well. Choosing photos, backgrounds etc.

Knowing if I am shooting with a decisive or indecisive buyer is definitely something I will continue to use to my advantage during my sessions. I feel as though I know so much more about the psychology of my clients purchasing decisions and how to communicate with them as individuals. 

The Process:

Something that Tony focuses heavily on during the tutorial is the client experience. He mentions simple ways and tips you can use in an effort to improve upon what clients experience. Things like offering your client beverages when they arrive, allowing unlimited time per shoot, and also clearly explaining the shoot process throughout all of your communications with them.

All of these examples add up to show your clients that you really care about them, their experience and they feel that you are taking care of them. 

Putting This To Use:

Throughout the beginning stages of this course I felt as though I really wanted to see the tactics Tony talks about in action. All of what he was saying sounded great but I didn’t know how it could be used in the real world. Luckily towards the end of the tutorial Tony and Peter team up to do a “mock shoot”. They show everything, from when Tony (client) first walks into Peter’s (photographer) studio, to the final image selection process. This quickly became my favorite section of the entire tutorial.

Periodically there are also cutaways to Tony discussing what Peter is doing right and (more importantly) wrong throughout the shoot and sales process.  I found this section to be so helpful as it showed me direct application for a shoot. 

After watching this tutorial series I am better equipped than ever to not only increase my individual shoot sales but also provide my clients with an overall better experience. Since having taken so much of what Tony talks about and applying it to my photography business, I have without a doubt increased my average session sale.

I have also been hearing many positive responses from my recent clients. They love it! Some reviews clients have left online show that they like how clear the shooting process is laid out on my website and how clear and easy I make it for them in person.

Where You Can Buy Access To The TNT Method:

I believe this tutorial can truly be a game changer for you and can also help improve upon any current sales strategies you may be using. 

The TNT Method with Tony Taafe can be purchased directly on the Headshot Crew website. Please note, you will need to have or sign up for  a free or paid account on the Headshot Crew in order to purchase the tutorial which can be had for $249.

Are you currently using any specific sales strategies for your business? Have you implemented any of the tactics talked about in this article? Let me know in the comments as I would love to talk about what is and is not working for you! 

Sephi Bergerson, originally from Israel, is known for documenting life, especially weddings and portraits. Now a freelance photographer and author based in Goa, India, he has embarked on a special photo project during the lockdown due to the pandemic.

As soon as I heard about Sephi's new project, “Documenting The World In Lockdown,” I was intrigued to know more.

The Interview

We sat down for a quick chat a few weeks ago:

This is the third time Sephi Bergerson has appeared on Tiffinbox. Here are the first two times: 1 & 2

Documenting Life In Lockdown

A few examples of Sephi's work using his iPhone and the Facetime application:

Other Mentions Of Sephi's Work

Indian Express | Travel & Leisure | Rangefinder

Newsbreak | Hindustan Times | The Hindu

Do You Have A Personal Project?

Are you working on a personal photo project during the pandemic? Would you like to share it with us through this website and the podcast? If you are interested in contacting me, please email me directly at – seshu at tiffinbox dot org. Good luck to you!

Who Is Lisa Nichols?

Lisa Nichols is a Manchester, Connecticut based food photographer who travels throughout the state on assignment for various publications.

In addition to shooting for publications, she runs two businesses: food photography at Bread & Beast Photographer and wedding photography at RootsPhotographyCT.com.

During the current COVID19 pandemic, she has been working on two personal photo projects:

Take-Out Only which focuses on how the pandemic is affecting the food service industry and Thank You Notes, documenting the displays of gratitude to first-responders and the people who made them.

Interview

Lisa sat down to chat about her project, Take Out Only, a couple of weeks back. Please give this podcast a listen.

Take Out Only, The Project

Here are a few photographs from Lisa Nichols' project, Take Out Only:

Where Can You Find Lisa Nichols?

Find Lisa Nichols on Instagram:

Personal Work | Bread & Beast | Roots Photography

Enjoying The Podcasts?

With Lisa Nichols' podcast, I'm at number 15 now. I'm definitely getting better at both asking questions and putting the shows together. If you are enjoying the podcast would you do me a favor and drop me a 5-star rating and a short review of what you learned from one of the shows.

While I say Lisa Nichols is the first food photographer on Tiffinbox that wasn't 100% true! One more food photographer for you check out – Simi Jois!

Who is Aakaash Bali?

Aakaash Bali is a cinematic narrative fine art photographer, based in Long Island, New York.

After pursuing a pre-med tract in college, he opted to go into political science and law, before fully embracing photography.

“I essentially gave up a law degree to chase my passion,” he said in a text message after the interview.

Speaking With Aaakaash Bali

What Does Cinematic Narrative Look Like?

The Shadow District

Initially, The Shadow District, “was born out of a need for peace, quiet, and time for myself,” says Bali.

After the interview I admited to the following:

In all your work (yours, Crewdson's, Woodman's and Hamilton's), there is a sort of sadness that lingers in each frame.

To that Bali responded with the following:

The sadness creates that heavy “substance” that I believe is something human nature craves. For the same reason we enjoy watching drama films, or tragic films. It isn't so much that we crave the sadness, but we crave the substance, the “weight”.

Please be sure to check out and buy Aakaash's amazing photographs!

Learn more about The Cinema Experience.

Follow Aakaash Bali on Instagram. You'll also find Shadow District on Instagram.

Photographers Mentioned

Gregory Crewdson

Nicky Hamilton

Kate Woodman

Movies Mentioned

The Grand Budapest Hotel [Aff]

The Shape of Water [Aff]

Gear Mentioned

Fujifilm GFX 100 [Aff]

Sony A7rIII [Aff]

Godox AD600 [Aff]

If you enjoyed this podcast, would you please give it a 5-star rating and write a short review on iTunes? I would greatly appreciate that. Thank you!

Learning To Photograph Kids

Photographing kids can be challenging. Be that they are your own, or your client's. You are going to pat yourself on the back when things go right and definitely question your ability (been there, done that) when things start to go south and quickly.

Thankfully, I can lean on some amazing photographers who have made it their life mission to only photograph kids. This is their specialty. So, truly, kudos to them for showing us all that there is a way to go about photographing children.

Who is Tamara Lackey?

One such amazing photographer is Tamara Lackey. One quick look at her website and you know she knows kids. She knows how to read them, interact with them and to photograph them.

And, she knows how to teach you to photograph them in a manner that is authentic to their personalities, too.

Sometime ago, I interviewed Tamara about her organization, Beautiful Together.

One of the organization's missions is the following:

“We work to identify and complete specific and measurable projects that tangibly improve the lives of orphaned children in the United States and Africa.”

You've likely seen her present at conferences or, these days, online. She is a Nikon Ambassador and she has written several books on photographing kids and families –

Books About Photographing Kids

Art of Children's Portrait Photography, Capturing Life Through (Better) Photography, and Envisioning Family: A photographer's guide to making meaningful portraits of the modern family.

Just a few weeks ago, Tamara launched a new book, “The Posing Playbook for Photographing Kids,” published by Rocky Nook.

The Rocky Nook Interview

Mercedes Murray of Rocky Nook interviewed Tamara recently about the book. Give that presentation a listen here:

Buy The Book!

For a limited time use this code: PP4PK40 – to get 40% off the price of Tamara Lackey's new book.

Want to buy it on Amazon instead? Please remember to leave a 5-star review for my friend, Tamara Lackey!

Dr. Paul Hetzel wasn't always a landscape & nature photographer. He retired from a medical oncology practice in Springfield, MA, and found his second calling.

He and I talked about the power of printing one's own photography and how he has found a wonderful group of fellow photographers in the Photo Arts Xchange, an event hosted by Connecticut photographer, Steve Sherman.

Another important point that Dr. Hetzel makes in our chat is the importance of looking in one's own backyard for “travel” photography. In other words, you don't have to travel too far to make great photographs.

What challenges Dr. Hetzel the most as a photographer? What can make or break an image? Listen to the podcast below to find out!

Interview With Nature & Landscape Photograher

Photographers & Events Mentioned

Here are the links to some of the photographers and events mentioned in the podcast:

Sample Of Paul Hetzel's Portfolio

Speaking of landscape photography, years ago, I hosted a guest blog post by Brett Stoddart about being an Urban Landscape photographer. Check that out.

Paul Hetzel's Camera Gear

Nikon D850 [Affiliate Link]

Sony RX10 III [Affiliate Link]