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Interview With Documentary Photographer, Mahesh Shantaram

October 24, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

We've all heard stories of hardcore career photojournalists now-a-days shooting weddings to keep their heads above water. But Mahesh Shantaram, an already established Indian wedding photographer based in Bangalore, did exactly the opposite. Known best for bringing his quirky sense of humour to how weddings are portrayed in India, Mahesh recently made a transition into political photography on the back of the recent Indian general elections. His work as a documentary photographer has been seen around the world lately, thanks in part to the New York Times Magazine. In fact, I caught up with him just as he's preparing to show his work in Paris, Addis Ababa, and Dhaka over the next three months.

Mahesh Shantaram, Documentary Wedding Photographer In India1) Mahesh, tell us a little bit about your start in photography. Why photography? What drew you to this medium?

Back in 2005, I was enslaved in a cubicle four blocks away from the White House. It was the lowest point in my life. I was desperately looking for a lifeline to creative rejuvenation. That's when providence struck me. At an art exhibition in Providence, RI, I chanced upon a particular work that was almost prophetic with its message. It happened to be Annu Matthew's, An Indian from India. For it, that was the moment of realization of how photography could be more than mere documentation of events, it's qualities as a medium of expression, and how identity can be both a reason and a subject of one's photographic practice. Within two months, I had quit my job and was in Paris to pursue a full-time diploma in photography.

2) You spent several years making a name for yourself as a wedding photographer. Not an easy feat in India where cultural demands can pigeonhole a man easily. Why weddings? And what about weddings commanded your attention?

We're talking 2006 now. When my wife and I were getting settled into our new home in Bangalore, we stumbled upon our wedding album. It came a jarring shock to my recently shaped perspectives on what sentiments photography should evoke. Traditional wedding photographers were generally seen as insensitive louts serving patriarchal needs at a wedding. They were totally out of touch with the expectations of the modern Indian couple. Ivy League educated, well-traveled, living abroad but Indian at heart–and now coming home to the prospect of having their dream weddings covered by the traditional guy. I became the solution to this problem just as I was looking for something to do in photojournalism and documentary.

3) Let's talk about your current foray into editorial work. I know you have shot for the NY Times Magazine and recently traversed the country during the national elections. Again, I am curious about your motivation. What did you sense about the elections that made you pursue politicians and their rallies all across the land?

The New York Times Magazine stumbled upon my work on my gallery's website. I've shot three assignments with them since then. It's such a motivational kick to work with a legendary photo department who actively seek out and hand opportunities to new talent.

The elections work was a purely personal project that sprung from a very deep place, but it started out as an editorial assignment for the Financial Times. Their correspondent was working on a story about corporate honchos making a bid for a seat in Parliament. That's how I get to shoot the Nandan Nilekani campaign–the 2014 elections' wealthiest candidate. There was this one picture (which the FT was bold enough to use as their cover) that gave me the confidence that I was on to something and that I should shoot the rest of the elections on my own terms.

4) Your series of images called, “The Last Days of Manmohan” appear both humorous and whimsical. Is your approach to photography intentionally so? Are you attempting to draw humor out of what is or could be a difficult situation for millions of people? Are you giving us permission to laugh at ourselves?

I find a lot of my inspiration in standup comedy. Jerry Seinfeld, Russel Peters, and Louis CK are my heroes. I love how these guys take an everyday situation and illuminate with their perspective so that it then becomes a critique of society. And hey, it's funny as hell and we're laughing away, forgetting that we're actually laughing at ourselves. I think this quality of standup comedy to combine humour and critique is worth emulating in documentary photography.

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

5) You and your wife have actively collected photography books – I am totally envious of your collection by the way – which 3 books would you simply not part with and why?

They would be books with personal stories. I absolutely love Will They Sing Like Raindrops or Leave Me Thirsty by Max Pinckers. Max and his girlfriend Victoria (whom I equally credit for the work) came home one evening and left the dummy on my table. I sat through the night pouring over the book and by morning, I was its greatest fan. It's a book about a topic that's close to my heart – about love and the freedom to love and how grave is the threat to both.

Then there's Paul Gaffney's We Make the Path by Walking. I bumped into Paul at the Belfast Photo Festival in 2011. Later when he published his book, I was happy to recall our wonderful conversations and wanted to keep it as a memory. Not everybody gets minimalist photo books right. Paul did.

Lastly, I'll fight to keep anything by Alec Soth. I love Niagara, and Broken Manual is special because I acquired one from a collector as a present for Vidya on our hundredth anniversary or something.

6) You are also known to open your house to strangers who are interested in peering through your collection. How did you spring upon that idea and how has that been received by the public? Was that a way to get your name known? If so, bloody clever!

The implied threat of opening our house to strangers never occurred to us until a journalist used that as her opening line in a story about us. That certainly got my mother worried. Our idea was to simply share our growing library with those who cared enough and to spread the love for photobooks in Bangalore. I'm reminded of that Irving Stone quote: “There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books.” The Open House Photobook Library also serves great coffee, by the way. Some people come for the books and go away with renewed appreciation for traditional south Indian filter coffee.

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

7) Now that the elections are over and you have a body of work that sings, are you going to remain an editorial photographer or are you heading back to photograph weddings in India and abroad again?

So much of what passes as political photography in India comes from the news media. It merely corroborates that an event X happened at location Y with leader Z in attendance, exactly as the caption reads. During these recent general elections, there was a surge in independent work, but sadly, most of it was the “hey look who I got to hang out with!” kind and lacked voice or acumen.

The politics of India is a large and complex system that has many layers to peel and penetrate. Politicians seem like mythical gods but they are human beings with weaknesses. I don't want to limit my work to being just about Elections 2014. By revisiting the electoral process through many more elections to come, I'm hoping to gain and share valuable insight into the nuts and bolts of Indian democracy, probe the relationship between politicians and the people, and construct a pan-Indian picture of our political landscape.

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

8) Let's talk about your ascendency in the photo world, at least in the Indian subcontinent (I know you are known around the world now too). How has that been received? Do you see yourself as being a part of the “new guard”?

I don't know if I'm part of any “new guard” as much as I'm against the “old guard”. I'm not afraid to take a stand against old ways of holding up bastions of privilege and new ways of suppressing personal freedom, creativity, and independent thinking. I guess this general attitude has defined my public identity and influences what I produce as a photographer.

9) There are more photographers in India now than ever before. How do you plan on staying relevant? What are your plans to stand out among that crowd?

My formula to stay relevant is to keep abreast of what's happening in the world around me and be sensitive to what provokes me to respond. That response will be through my photography because it is all I know to do.

10) Now that you have a great amount of experience, how are you looking to pass that on to the next wave of eager photographers?

In the same way that so many truly great photographers passed on their experience to me – by constantly putting quality work out there.

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

11) Going back to your series, “The Last Days of Manmohan” (which refers to the last waning days of a beleaguered Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh), do you believe you have created a document, a work of art or something in-between? How useful do you believe these images will be in the future?

When I set out on a backpacking trip across the country to bear witness to those historical elections, my intention was to document the politics of our times in all its rawness. Only time will tell whether this series will be valued as historical documents. But there is a method to how any work is launched into orbit. I will be shooting more to expand the scope of the work, take it to new audiences (via exhibitions and contests, for example), and edit and re-edit until my eyes pop out. That's how work is strengthened over time. A serious photographer's responsibility to his or her work has barely begun once the shooting is done.

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

12) There is one frame that I love (image above) – the one of Nandan Nilekeni – where he looks so unsure of himself. In US terms, that would be the time when Nixon was wiping away his sweat during the first televised Presidential debate against JFK. It has that sort of weight to it. Tell us a little about how you came to make that image? Were you reading his body language the whole time? Did you expect that moment when a politician is felicitated with a shawl and just happened to capture him?

Seshu, I'm sure you know this ritual in south Indian Brahmin weddings called the “kaashi yatra” in which the bridegroom is packed off and sent to Kashi to lead the life of an ascetic. It's a mock ritual, of course, but the guy is never really prepared for the absurdity of it. The fun of photographing a kaashi yatra is not to merely prove that it happened, but to be able to preserve the groom's awkwardness for posterity.

I could smell a kaashi yatra moment when the very corporate Mr. Nilekani was about to receive an Indian style felicitation.

13) What motivates you to make images? Why is it important for you to create them? Who are they for – you or the general public?

I absolutely love photography's unique and mysterious expressive qualities, the kind that Stephen Shore describes as “visual thinking that does not require any words”. I love how photography gives me free pass to interesting places and situations where my presence would otherwise be hard to justify. I love the image collecting experience of a long-term project that gives me ample time poke at complex questions in life. It is at once a luxury, privilege, and sacred duty to be a photographer. I love it. I'm happy to serve others through my photography, as long as I'm the one with the first-hand experience.

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

The Last Days of Manmohan - Mahesh Shantaram

Filed Under: Documentary, Home Middle Left, Interviews, Photography Tagged With: documentaries, Documentary Photographer, documentary photography, documentary wedding photographer, wedding photographer

Jeff Jochum On “Specialism” – Why It Should Matter To Photographers

October 20, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Jeff Jochum is a strategic business coach based in Denver, Colorado. But that's just where he lives. He has clients just about anywhere you can throw a dart. His clients are a good mix of photographers like you and me, and small business owners who are aching to stand apart in a crowded marketplace. Indeed, I am one of his students.

One of the things I have learned from Jeff is about “specialism.” Notice I didn't say he taught me to be a specialist. There is a difference and you can find out what that difference is in this short conversation I had with Jeff just a few days ago.

If you live in Connecticut or nearby, it will be well worth your time to come and meet Jeff Jochum. He will be hosted by the CTPPA on October 22nd, where he will present “Take A Giant Step Into Specialism.”

For more details, please check out this page. The event runs from 5 pm to 10 pm. Knowing how passionate Jeff is about helping photographers, I expect this to be one of the best CTPPA presentations of the year. Come to take notes and challenge Jeff's theories. He actually welcomes it!

UPDATE: Yesterday's presentation by Jeff Jochum was a huge success. Thank you all for coming. Do you you have questions about his video coaching program, that he only indirectly referred to when he spoke about “specialism.” Ask them here. I might be able to nudge Jeff to answer them for you.

Filed Under: Home Middle Right, Interviews, Photography Tagged With: business coach, Business Owners, Jeff Jochum, small business

Dani Klein-Williams, Inspire Interviews: Episode 4

September 24, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Dani Fine Photography is a Northampton, Massachusetts studio that caters to both wedding and portrait clients. Dani Klein-Williams, principal photographer, will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats in February.

Like the other interviews in this series (check out 1 – Doug Levy, 2 – Jane Ammon and 3 – The Scobey's), we scheduled a quick Skype chat about her presentation at Inspire – “Let's Get Down to Business… Why Sales are Sexy”

Here are a few examples of Dani's work:

Dani Klein-Williams: Weddings & Portraits

Dani Klein-Williams: Weddings & Portraits

Dani Klein-Williams: Weddings & Portraits

Dani Klein-Williams: Weddings & Portraits

Dani Klein-Williams: Weddings & Portraits

Dani Klein-Williams: Weddings & Portraits

Find out more about Dani Klein-Williams here.

For more information about the Inspire Photo Retreats conference please visit the site. I urge you to register early and secure your hotel room.

Inspire Photo Retreats - February 9-11, 2015, Portland, Maine

If you are still on the fence, please take a look at all the speakers who will be coming to Portland. I believe speakers like Dani and others have one mission: to inspire you to do your best work in the new year. Everybody needs that kind of motivation. If you agree, I expect to see you at Inspire Photo Retreats in 2015!

Filed Under: Interviews, Photography Tagged With: boudoir, Boudoir Photographer, Business, Dani Fine Photography, Dani Klein, Dani Klein-williams, Fine Photography, Inspire, Inspire Interviews, Photography, sales, Wedding, Wedding Portraits

The Scobey’s, Inspire Interviews: Episode 3

September 17, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

I have a confession. When I was told about The Scobey's, I have to admit I didn't know about their awards, their images or that they had at one time lived very close to me in Connecticut. Now, as Atlanta-based wedding photographers, they are winning hearts and minds for their soft, immersive approach to capturing meaningful moments in a couple's life.

Now, as busy photographers, I have to also admit that it was very difficult to pin them down for an interview. I was eager to speak with them as I found out that they were speaking at Inspire Photo Retreats in February, 2015.

So here we were talking to each other like old pals and I had not even met them before! That's just how they made me immediately feel about them. I trust their presentation is going to be one I will not miss at Inspire Photo Retreats.

Here are some of The Scobey's award-winning images:

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

Atlanta, Wedding Photographers - The Scobey's

For more information about the conference please visit the site. If last year was any indication, registrations will fill up and the conference will be sold out. So, I urge you to register early.

Inspire Photo Retreats - February 9-11, 2015, Portland, Maine

If you are still on the fence, please take a look at all the speakers who will be coming to Portland. I believe speakers like Jane and others have one mission: to inspire you to do your best work in the near year. Everybody needs that kind of motivation year-in-and-year-out. If you agree, I expect to see you at Inspire Photo Retreats in 2015!

Filed Under: Conferences, Interviews, Photography Tagged With: Award Winning Wedding Photographers, Inspire Photo Retreats, Inspiring Photos, photographer, Photographers

How A 6 ft. 5 in. Photographer Blends In At Weddings

September 7, 2014 by Andrew Hind

I am 6'5” tall, weigh around 16 stones and have size 12 feet. When I want to use it I have a voice like a fog horn, I'm naturally fairly clumsy and I have been told that I have a certain “presence” – in a good way I think! I therefore take it as a huge compliment when my wedding clients remark that they hardly noticed me taking photographs at their wedding, that I was discreet and, as one wrote to me “I don't understand how someone so tall can be so unobtrusive!”

My natural photographic inclination is as a photojournalist so blending into the crowd is of paramount importance. I don't want to influence events unfolding in front of me and the less my clients and wedding guests notice that I am there the more natural and telling my photographs can be. I want to observe and record, my presence has to be one of neutrality.

Andrew Hind: Lightworks Photography

Andrew Hind: Lightworks Photography

Consider How You Look And Sound!

It's important that, like any animal trying not to draw attention to itself, that you are camouflaged. I'm not suggesting that you go to a wedding in full army gear but rather that you blend in with the surroundings! Wear what everyone else will be wearing in a slightly low key way. Here in the UK most men would wear a suit, shirt and tie to a wedding. I therefore wear a shirt and tie (no jacket as I get too hot) and suit style trousers, but I always tend to wear rather subdued colours. I have some hideously garishly coloured ties for example but they are simply going to draw attention to me so I just wear plain dark colours. Blend in and then tone it down!

Shoes are also really important. Not so much how they look but how they sound, they really need to be completely silent so that you can walk quietly around a church during the ceremony for example without drawing attention to yourself with clicking heels and endless squeaking!

On the subject of noise, it's also imperative that you switch your phone to silent for the whole day. There's no point in trying to be a ninja photojournalist with a constantly blaring phone in your pocket!

Go Anti Flash Gear

There's nothing screams “photographer” more than a huge DSLR with a massive gleaming white 70-200mm lens stuck on the front. At the very least using a smaller body and smaller, possibly prime lenses, is considerably less intrusive. The new generation of mirrorless cameras are also considerably less intimidating and quieter as well.

Even if you are still using a DSLR switch off the focus beeps, put it into silent or quiet mode and consider black taping over the logos so that it looks much more low key. Even the straps you use carry a subconscious message, large hand or belt straps are much more conspicuous than the basic neck straps that are generally provided. They may be a little less comfortable but they are far less conspicuous.

However, the most obvious thing to avoid is using flash. Nothing makes the photographer more obvious than a firing flash and using natural light wherever possible is an absolute must. There are very few situations where a modern DSLR, used with a reasonably high ISO setting and a fast prime lens, can't cope.

Andrew Hind: Lightworks Photography

Andrew Hind: Lightworks Photography

Andrew Hind: Lightworks Photography

Super Stealth Body Language

The photographer's physical demeanour is of paramount importance and probably most important of all is that you look happy, alert and relaxed. I am aware that when I am concentrating I often frown and this sends completely the wrong message to people around me – I consciously try to keep a more pleasant expression on my face and this does have a noticeable effect on how people perceive you. Having a silent frowning photographer taking your picture is much more stressful than being photographed by a happy, confident looking one who displays open body language and this will often show in the pictures.

However, despite needing to look happy and confident in your work it can be a good idea to actually try to avoid eye contact and looking intently at people for too long. Remember, as a photojournalist, you are trying your utmost not to influence the scene before you so drawing attention to yourself by smiling and making eye contact with your subject can be detrimental to the authenticity of the final image. That's not to say you can't be friendly and often a subject will realise they have been photographed after the moment has passed as you take the camera from your eye and at this point it can be nice to smile and possibly say a thank you.

Avoiding actually looking at your subject is hard but can be an effective way of ensuring that they do not react to you. Try approaching them whilst looking intently at something beyond them or to the side of them so that it seems as though your interest lies elsewhere whilst all the time keeping a watch for the decisive moment through the corner of your eye. Using wide angle lenses can be extremely helpful in such situations as they allow you to have a subject in the frame whilst it looks as though you are not pointing the camera directly at them.

Another way to make your presence less felt is to keep circulating around the wedding party. Try to be “everywhere but nowhere” at the same time. Not only does this have less impact on people it also increases the chances of you being in the right place at the right time to photograph important developments and action. You should be constantly looking for images and positioning is vitally important – often it can be possible to be observing two or three possible scenarios from a distance without influencing any of them before decisively moving closer to one of them at the vital moment to photograph.

The “floating about” technique isn't always appropriate however and sometimes it can be just a case of seeing the potential in a scene and waiting for something to unfold and happen. Again, during this waiting game, it's important that your presence doesn't influence the scene and often waiting crouched down, standing casually, leaning on a wall or even sitting can make you much less noticeable. Other times, I will stand waiting to take the picture looking through the viewfinder of the camera and not moving – this is pretty obvious to anyone the other side of the lens but, after a certain amount of time, assuming that you haven't moved, you just become part of the surroundings and life carries on fairly much as normal around you.

Andrew Hind: Lightworks Photography

andrew-hind-wedding-photographer-07

Down Time

All of this incognito photography can become quite taxing after a while and it is vitally important that you have regular breaks and down time. Obviously there are times during a wedding day when you need to constantly on the go but, at a typical reception for example, it isn't necessary to be constantly photographing and having regular breaks will help keep you alert and also will mean that there are times when, from the guests point of view, you are completely absent. A break can be as brief as just heading back to my camera bag in the corner, having a quick drink and checking the timing schedule or can be a slightly more prolonged. On longer breaks I am careful to leave the main part of the wedding and to get away from the guests – this helps me to clear my brain a little and again means that I am intruding on the wedding as little as possible as well. I am always happy to chat to people if they approach me but I don't see it as part of my role as a documentary photographer to socialise with guests, at least not until I have finished work for the day, the camera is back in the bag and I am having a well deserved drink before heading home.

Whilst maintaining some of the tactics above it is also really important to balance this with your emotional involvement and empathy for the people you are working with. You are an outsider who has been given the privilege of recording a very personal, emotional and often private event and, as such, it is the photographer's duty to be as respectful and unobtrusive as possible. With the correct balance of unobtrusive behaviour and emotional empathy it becomes possible for the photographer to record the day with authenticity and integrity and produce images that will resonate for the people in them in a genuine and meaningful way. This is a hard balance to achieve but, when combined with technical mastery is the key to producing the very best photojournalistic photography.

Filed Under: Home Middle Left, Photography, Weddings Tagged With: camera, Documentary Photographer, Lightworks Photography, Photography, Wedding, Wedding Days, Wedding Party, wedding photographer

Jane Ammon, Inspire Interviews: Episode 2

September 3, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

I hope all of you have checked out the first episode, where I interviewed New England photographers, Doug Levy. Starting this month and running through October, I'll be posting short interviews I've conducted in partnership with Inspire Photo Retreats. The interviews will be of each of the presenters and some sponsors, to get a better idea of who they are and why they feel attending Inspire Photo Retreats is important to them.

Ok, so for this episode, I spoke with Jane Ammon, a child photographer who serves clients in central New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania. She will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats, from February 9-11th, 2015, in Portland, Maine.

When we spoke, I asked Jane about one aspect of her future presentation; why it was important for her to submit a proposal and finally what drew her to Inspire Photo Retreats.

Here are some of Jane Ammon's wonderful portraits of children:

Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer
Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer
Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer

Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer
Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer
Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer

Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer
Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer
Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer

Jane Ammon, Child & Family Photographer

For more information about the conference please visit the site. If last year was any indication, registrations will fill up and the conference will be sold out. So, I urge you to register early.

Inspire Photo Retreats - February 9-11, 2015, Portland, Maine

If you are still on the fence, please take a look at all the speakers who will be coming to Portland. I believe speakers like Jane and others have one mission: to inspire you to do your best work in the near year. Everybody needs that kind of motivation year-in-and-year-out. If you agree, I expect to see you at Inspire Photo Retreats in 2015!

Filed Under: Conferences, Home Middle Left, Interviews, Photography Tagged With: Child Photographer, Family Photographer, Inspire Photo Retreats, Jane Ammon, presentation, speaking

What Does Sephi Bergerson’s 6 Year Quest Look Like?

September 2, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

I am reading an advance copy of Chris Guillebeau‘s new book, The Happiness of Pursuit. In the first few pages of the book, Chris describes a quest as thus:

– Has a clear goal and a specific end point.
– Presents a clear challenge.
– Requires sacrifice of some kind.
– Often driven by a calling or a sense of mission.
– Often requires a series of small steps and incremental progress toward the goal.

My friend and fellow documentary photographer Sephi Bergerson began his quest six years ago to document a wide variety of Indian weddings. When you look at his work, you'll agree that his images are heartfelt and stunning. After years of pursuing these Indian weddings in India, Sephi is now ready to publish a book. But he is clear that he wants to publish and distribute it in a non-traditional way. Today, he launched “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India“, a crowd-funding campaign to raise $42,000. At this writing, he has already raised $615!

A few days back Sephi and I sat down to talk about his journey and why he decided it was the right time to launch this campaign for “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India“:

(I am again sorry that the poor connection didn't allow us to record this as a true video.)

Here, however is a video that Sephi just uploaded to his campaign page:

Behind The Indian Veil Book from Sephi Bergerson on Vimeo.

Having seen Sephi's previous book – Street Food Of India – I can tell you that “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India” will also be a book that you will easily explore and lose yourself.

Here are a few of the many images you can expect to see in the custom-designed book:

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

Sephi Bergerson - Behind The Veil: Weddings In India

So, what does Sephi's six year quest look like? To find out, step up and support the “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India” campaign today!

Filed Under: Documentary Wedding Photography, Most Popular Posts, Photography Tagged With: India, indian wedding, Look Like, Sephi Bergerson, South Asian Wedding, Veil, Wedding

Donal Doherty Will Teach You To Fully Engage With Your Business

September 1, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

He is a wedding photographer and educator based in Derry, Northern Ireland who has just launched a series of video courses for photographers called ENGAGE.

Donal Doherty has a vision. And that vision is to help as many photographers as he can with all that he knows about running a successful photography business.

Talk to the man and he is terribly humble about it. He shuffles through a slew of recent awards quickly, not making a very big deal about them. His focus is on what he can do, based on all that he learned in the PR world, to help photographers who struggle to run just “ok” businesses to running great ones. While he does offer mentoring sessions and he speaks often at industry events and writes a popular column for a UK based photography magazine, his busy wedding photography schedule keeps him from going all-in. That is, until he decided to invest a good deal of his own time to create ENGAGE.

If you are starting a photography business, branding one or need help with social media marketing, I recommend you check out Donal's newest offering.

Donal also launched an ebook called, “Engage: Social Media Marketing for Photographers.” Go to the website and sign up to receive your first chapter for free.

Still intrigued? I was. So, I sat down with Donal to chat about this new launch and why photographers like you should pay attention.

Donal Doherty's Engage

Check out some of his award-winning work here:

Wedding Photography by Donal Doherty

Wedding Photography by Donal Doherty

Wedding Photography by Donal Doherty

Wedding Photography by Donal Doherty

For about $150 a year … yes, a year … you receive nearly 30 videos that are between 10 and 15 minutes in length that explain the many facets of growing a business with a plan, branding it properly and then marketing it via social media.

Every two weeks, starting today through February 2nd, Donal will release each of The Business Plan Course videos to you. The Branding Course and The Social Media Course will follow.

Donal's intent isn't to just load you up with a whole bunch of content. There is enough of that already in the market. The reason each of the videos is released gradually is to give you a chance to watch the video and then implement what he has taught you to see results. I think this is what makes Engage so different. The emphasis is as much on the process as the results, which you will need to adjust because everyone's approach to business is different.

How will you fully engage with your photography business this year?

Filed Under: Business, Home Middle Right, Interviews, Photography Tagged With: Branding Course, Business Plan, Donal Doherty, Photography Businesses, social media, succcessful photography business, Video Course, videos, wedding photographer, Wedding Photography

Fashion Photographer, Craig LaMere Is Coming To Connecticut!

August 26, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

When I heard fashion photographer Craig LaMere was going to speak and present a workshop in Connecticut, I raced back to Facebook and pinged him again to see if this time we could get together to chat about what he does so well – portrait photography. He graciously spent a little over 30 minutes answering all my questions. Check out that chat right below:

If you live near Connecticut (looking at you photographers in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and even New Jersey), mark September 22 on your calendar as THE day Craig LaMere will be hosted by the CTPPA (Connecticut Professional Photographers Association).

Craig will entertain and educate you for the whole day with a mix of fashion driven portraiture, lighting patterns and he will also show you the post processing workflow that makes his life easy.

For more details go here. Yes, you can register for it and you don't have to be a CTPPA member (though prices may be higher if you aren't). Those of us who are CTPPA members receive day-long presentation as a part of our membership. The workshop for you folks (and there are only 14 spots left now) is $100 if you are a CTPPA member.

Learn more about Craig LaMere here. Find Craig LaMere on Facebook here. Below are a few recent images from him. Want to see more? Check out his website.

Craig LaMere - http://www.craiglamere.com/

Craig LaMere - http://www.craiglamere.com/

Craig LaMere - http://www.craiglamere.com/

Craig LaMere - http://www.craiglamere.com/

Craig LaMere - http://www.craiglamere.com/

Craig LaMere - http://www.craiglamere.com/

Go ahead and let loose the confetti. This is going to be an incredible presentation and workshop and I am looking forward to it! Will you join me in welcoming Craig LaMere to Connecticut on September 22nd? Sound off below!

Filed Under: Home Middle Right, Photography, Workshops Tagged With: Craig Lamere, Fashion Photographer, Lighting Patterns

Announcing The 4th Annual Tiffinbox Award

August 23, 2014 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

For the last three years, I've announced and honored three truly amazing photographers who are also remarkable teachers. The previous Tiffinbox Award winners are: David duChemin, Spencer Lum and Jamie Swanson.

This is a real Tiffinbox - from India.This year is no different. I've followed and learned from Jenika McDavitt's wonderful blog, Psychology for Photographers, as have thousands of you. Her blog posts are one reason I chose her to win this year's Annual Tiffinbox Award. If you don't know about her blog, I urge you to go check it out now. Yes, right now.

Ok, now that you are back … I have to tell you the other reasons Jenika rocks it hard in this tough business.

Jenika McDavitt

She has distinguished herself by creating two amazing resources for photographers – Irresistible Words (for those of us who dread writing copy for our websites or blogs) and From Portfolio to Profit Engine: How to Build an Absolutely Irresistible Photography Website (Jenika walks you through the very best way to set up your website to make it useful and attractive for your clients). Jenika has bundled them both so you can buy them together.

When I conveyed my desire to honor her, Jenika immediately offered to give all of you something special in return. I truly love her generosity. So, starting at 12 pm today through 11.59 am on Monday, August 25th, you can save $30 by using the following code: TBOX30. Just click the affiliate links in this post please.

The one other resource that made me money right away was Jenika's “How Clients Make Decisions about Money” – I highly recommend this free resource because it gives you the ability to put her advice into action very quickly to see whether or not the changes make a difference. Trust me when I tell you, that when I presented my clients with a new pricing guide based on Jenika's recommendation, my numbers went up! She not only shows you how, but tells you why her advice works.

Here are some of my favorite blog posts by Jenika on her website, Psychology for Photographers:

How To Get Anyone To Keep Reading

7 Non-Money Reasons To Price Your Photography Profitably

The 7-Minute Website Writing Makeover

How To Get People To Hire YOU, Even If You Charge More

And, there are so many more articles on her site that one day I told Jenika that I could spend a few weeks just reading her blog. As I said, Jenika's teaching is useful, timely and wholly result-oriented.

Jenika McDavitt Writing

I guarantee you will get something out of her website that makes absolute sense to you and your photography business. Go ahead and bookmark Psychology for Photographers today!

Filed Under: Awards, Home Middle Right, Photography Tagged With: Amazing Photographers, Blog Posts, Jamie Swanson, Jenika McDavitt, photography websites, Result Oriented, spencer lum

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About Seshu

Seshu creates relaxed portraits of families and high school seniors in Avon, Connecticut. He also leads a successful headshot photography studio in Connecticut, helping professionals from a variety of disciplines project the very best versions of themselves. He created Tiffinbox as a way of inspiring photographers, to create better images and successful businesses. [Read More]

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