Anne Ruthmann is a wedding & lifestyle photographer in Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography in 2004 as an independent small business. She is a regular contributor to PhotoLovecat.com and loves helping others find creative and smarter solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

You went to WPPI, you saw lots of awesome speakers and products, but now what?! Here are some step-by-step tips for implementing what you gained at WPPI (or other photography conferences). Start with paper, sticky notes, or an electronic document that makes it easy to move ideas around on a page.

1. Create Top 5 Action List

List the top 5 actions you want to take in your photography and/or business this year. It's critical to build this list from your memory and capture your top 5 action items without influence from any other factors. The 5 most important things for you will already be on the top of your mind and looking at materials will only remind you of less important things you might want to do.

2. Create Awesome Ideas List

List everything else you learned or thought was a great idea. List as much as you can- fill pages upon pages if you need to- the key is to get all of those awesome ideas buzzing in your head out on to a page so you can physically organize them outside of your brain. This is where you can pour through your notes and brochures if you'd like in order to recapture ideas you forgot about. Reflecting on everything you experienced and putting it into a tangible medium is a critical step in learning and moving beyond ideas floating in your mind.

3. Map Ideas onto Actions

For each of your Top 5 Actions – find Awesome Ideas that support those actions, and list the supporting ideas under each action. For example, if one of your Actions is: “Start Selling Albums”, look for ideas related to albums: brochures from album companies you like, sales ideas you heard in a seminar, designers you might be able to work with, album software that could help you, etc. Do this for each of your Top 5 Actions.

4. Eliminate The Waste

Even though you probably picked up a TON of awesome ideas at WPPI, you really need to let go of things that you can't take action on in the next couple of months. Get rid of any brochures that don't relate to your top 5 action items. You still have your written list where all of the awesome ideas are stored and you can return to them at any time, but there's no need to keep clutter around that isn't going to be immediately useful. There's always next year or the year afterward, and by that time, there may be even better ideas out there that will blow away any ideas you captured this year.

5. Schedule Time to Take Action

Block out time in your calendar to implement your action items. Maybe you create one day a week to focus on them, maybe you set aside an hour each day. Whatever you do- put it in your calendar with an alert or reminder so that you aren't filling that time with less important things, like social media, when you could be creating action that directly benefits you and your clients.

6. Prioritize Actions for Importance

Decide which action is most important to begin moving on immediately, versus what can wait a few weeks. This will help you focus and invest your time wisely toward completing actions that are most critical to your photography business. Put your prioritized Top 5 Action List in a place where you will see it every day, so that even as you get in the thick of your business, you have a regular reminder of what you need to do in order to move to the next level.

7. Connect With Helpful People

Once you start taking action on your items, you'll inevitably want some help figuring things out or getting feedback on what works and doesn't work. If you don't already have a network of people near you that you can bounce ideas off of, search Facebook for Groups titled “[Major City or State] Photographers” – there's a good chance someone has already created a group on Facebook where you can connect with other photographers near you. Make sure you have your website displayed in your profile in case moderation is required to join the group.

If you liked this post by Anne, you should read the wildly popular one she wrote for Tiffinbox called “6 Reasons Why Photographers Suck At Business.”

Yep, sound off below! Anne and I want to hear from you in the comments section below.

Today's guest post is by Bryan Caporicci, a professional photographer based in Canada. Bryan has quickly become an educator on various topics and has been a keynote speaker at numerous workshops and seminars. He co-wrote a book for photographers with fellow photographer Robert Nowell called “Pricing for Profit.” He is also a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.

If you are new to photography, it may surprise you to know that the time you spend running a photography business will be taken up mostly by business and less by photography. If you have been running a photography business for a while, I think that you’ll agree to this fact.

The vast majority of us get into photography because we are creative and visual. Those that are able to make their business flourish however, realize early on that they need to have a strong understanding of business in order to make their career successful.

Photographers are unique in the sense that we almost start our business backwards. The majority of successful businesses are founded by people who studied business first and then decided what they were going to sell second. For example, how many accountants do you know who decided one day “I’m good with numbers” and started their own accounting firm? Most accountants will go through extensive training and internships before they even considering starting their own company. With photography though, most don’t have formal business training, marketing experience, or a financial background. We just know that we love photography and want to do it full-time.

There are an unlimited number of resources on the topics of photography and business (this blog included), however in doing some research, I’ve been unable to find a definitive guide that clearly outlines a step-by-step process to pricing photography services and products. In addition, I’ve never found a resource that actually spelled out how to plan and organize your photography business volume.

In an attempt to help photographers take their business to the next level and start making a living from photography, Robert Nowell and I wrote a book called “Pricing for Profit” that was modeled after our popular seminar series with the same title.

While nothing will replace the value of formal education, extensive research, continuing education courses, business workshops, and so on, our book is designed to be a means of taking the mystery out of pricing your photography for a profitable bottom line.

For the next 4 weeks, join me as I share some insight into the concepts behind our book here on Tiffinbox and help you uncover the most efficient way to price your photography work to make a viable living.

Stick around – it’s going to be a wild ride!

More about Bryan Caporicci: Since his start in the industry eight years ago, Bryan has rocketed to the top of the photography industry in his market area. Bryan was one of the youngest photographers in Canada to receive his Craftsman of Photographic Arts and in 2012, he was named one of the top 25 most inspiration wedding photographers by Wedding Bells Magazine. Bryan's photographic philosophy is simple – he believes in photographing people being themselves. He believes in genuine, pure and simple imagery and he feels that photography is best enjoyed only once it's printed.

Growing up I always had a book on my nightstand. On summer vacations when the only distraction was a meal or two, I'd read about five books a week. Books were a huge part of my life until I was forced to read so much in school that it left little time for reading on my own terms.

Recently, my passion for reading was reignited. I was determined to “unlearn” some of the things I learned. I wanted to, in a sense, find evidence of a truth that was just a mere glimmer of a spark inside my soul. I wanted to believe that I'd be able to turn a blind eye to 60-hour work weeks, mere minutes each day with my kids and the incessant, nagging, haunting repeat of negative voices in my brain.

For anyone who has worked a large percentage of their life at a job that was unrewarding, unfulfilling and seemingly a means to a weekend of menial tasks required before the workweek starts again, you know what I mean.

Okay let's shake off that negativity. Cause I've got some truly awesome business and life books for photographers that rocked my world. They'll rock yours, too.

I'm putting these in the order that I actually read them. I don't have favorites or a list of top fives. These are all equally fab in my, ha, book.

Book 1: Different

If you've listened to any of my webinars or followed me for any length of time, you know that I scream about this book from the hilltops. Different by Youngme Moon is the quintessential marketing book that is critical for anyone who has an interest in marketing or who markets their own business. This video she made gives you a great quick peek at what her book is about.

I also had the chance to see her speak about a year ago. I loved her so much, it was all I could do to keep myself from plowing onto the stage like it was a hardcore rock show and stage dive into a sea of business peeps.

That would've been weird. Glad I didn't.

My big takeaway from Different: I should have saved that $50,000 I spent on grad school and spent the couple of bucks to read this instead. Seriously. It talks about the critically important parts of marketing and leaves all the, shall we say, BS behind.

Book 2: The Art Of Earning

The Art of Earning by Tara Gentile was the therapy I needed at just the right time (for like ridiculously cheaper than I ever thought I'd buy therapy for). In this e-book, she attacks the often lame perception that people have about their worth, the value of their services and how they should price themselves. Truthfully, I still struggle with little conversations in my head about pricing and worth. Reflecting on what I learned in this book helps me get over those thoughts every single time.

That's what I mean about this book offering a bit of therapy.

I had the chance to see Tara speak in Philly about 7 months ago, as well. It was great to get to chat with her one-on-one afterward about why she wrote The Art of Earning. In her words, she was finding herself hearing “valuation” dilemmas and head trash from so many of her clients, that she figured she should write about it and help people get over it already!

My big takeaway from The Art Of Earning: we are all the biggest offenders of limiting our own abilities to earn more money. We need to get over it and get ready to take on the world, instead.

Book 3: Crush It!

Albeit a bit dated (meaning one small part in this book speaks about Twitter as a “new social platform”), this book had some awesome content about hustle and being true to your own self. I tend to read a lot of female authors, but found Gary to have a tender side and a true willingness to want to teach from the heart through stories about his own experiences.

In Crush It! he talks about working in his family's wine store in New York and using video and YouTube to do something completely different than anyone else in their industry had done up until that time.

Now an author of multiple books, he travels the country speaking about it. What I really liked about Gary is how unapologetic he is about himself. He talked about how others thought his video set should be more polished and professional, and how he refused to censor his profanity-laden mouth as his audience grew by the thousands.

My big takeaway from Crush It!: don't underestimate the power of hustling and being true to yourself (and no one else). With elbow grease and creativity, everyone is capable of achieving anything.

Book 4: The Fire Starter Sessions

This is a deep kick-in-the-guts-and-pants-at-the-same-time read. In The Fire Starter Sessions, Danielle LaPorte describes how she used to work one-on-one with people “stuck” in their professional lives. What she noticed is that everyone had a small fire burning inside of them that, at one point or another, was suppressed and repressed. No matter how small the fire was, it never went away. When life created a series of events, people started noticing that fire again and wanted to inflame it, but didn't quite feel like they had permission to.

In this book, Danielle gives us all permission (even though we don't need it from anybody, truthfully).

What she does so beautifully, however, is step-by-step she goes through the same program she used to work her clients through. It offers a lot of introspection, guidance and makes the thoughts that once seemed real and absolute, disappear into the vast fog of sillyness.

My big takeaway from The Fire Starter Sessions: all of us let other people's opinions mess us up at one point or another. This book helped make that inner voice louder and stronger than any other voice out there.

Book 5: May Cause Miracles

I'm still in the middle of this book. It's the most “woo woo” of the entire bunch. What I mean by that is it's very deep, very spiritual and might be a bit too much so for some (even me).

If you tend to look at meditative thinking as something that will make no difference, you might not make it far enough in this book to see a difference. However, I'm personally looking past that myself, because I see the value in the state that the author is trying to get the reader to by the end.

In May Cause Miracles, Gabrielle Bernstein takes us on a journey that most people otherwise wouldn't take. It's a journey familiar to extreme yogis and meditative gurus… but for you and I? Not so much.

It is proven that within 40 days of repeating an activity or way of thinking, it creates a shift inside of us that has greater chance of permanency. So in her book, Gabrielle sets up 40 days of very short morning, mid-day and evening exercises that briefly change your thinking. One day at a time.

My big takeaway (so far) from May Cause Miracles: I do see some perspectives shifting already, and I'm only into the 20th day of the 40 days. As I mentioned, it's a bit “woo woo” and sometimes, truthfully, I feel silly. But, I'm trusting in this book to shift my outlook on some views, because, honestly, without these 40 days of exercises and meditations, I'm not sure how else they'd shift.

If you're like me, you've got too many books you'd like to read and not enough time. If you love Amazon, then I highly recommend you do what I do. Create an Amazon Wish List and pick away at them one at a time.

What I Did With Everything I Learned

I took a lot of the learnings from the books above and got inspired to write a brief book for photographers, too. It isn't a how-to book, but rather an inspirational slant on what you need in order to be a successful photographer today.

I recently launched it, and it's called: The Art Of A Photo Business: What Every Photographer Wished They Learned Before Starting Their Photography Business.

Download it here in all electronic formats.

What books have you read that inspired you to think differently? I'm always looking for new ones to add to my Wish List, so submit your favs below!

I have to admit, the word “stupid” in our house, with two young ones, is a “bad” word. Anytime the kids have a spat between each other, that word “stupid,” pops up and of course they get admonished.

So, I was a little nervous showing Richie Norton's book off to my sons, who now knowing how to read, were blushing at the title of the “Advance Reader's Edition” that I had just received from publisher.

I hadn't read 10 pages of this new book, when my friend Josh Solar who is friends with the Norton's, offered to introduce me to Richie Norton. Richie is now based in Arizona, where he is finishing his MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

I couldn't pass up the chance to discuss with Richie, his book and other topics relating to setting personal goals, the life of an artist, what get's in the way of our making decisions and well, things I think you will find interesting.

So, here we are talking over a somewhat spotty Skype connection (so please bear with us if the audio or video cuts out a bit):

After I stopped recording, I couldn't help but continue discussing some of these topics with Richie. At one point, Richie suggested that I tell you about a chapter deep in his book about “Authenticity.” In it, he said, he interviewed photographers Michael Colon and Jonathan Canlas. I have another 100 pages to go before I get to that chapter but if the front of the book is any indication, I'll get there quite quickly.

Richie's writing style is elegant and simple. No jargon being tossed at me and most definitely no psychobabble. I told Richie that it was as if a friend was reading the book to me. It's also peppered with examples to inspire and remind one that there have been a slew of people in the past and present who have been told that their idea has been “stupid” but have excelled at it. Is it a feel-good book? Perhaps. But I also think it is a practical book, without it being overly pedantic. Richie is clear on this from the get go – you may have ideas, but if you don't jump in and put in the work, those will remain only as ideas. Perhaps when I finish the book, I'll come back here and review it more thoroughly.

Richie Norton's book, The Power of Starting Something Stupid, comes out today – March 5, 2013.

Order your copy from Amazon or other more local bookstores of your choice.

If you read it, please come back here and tell us about it. Your comments and questions are always welcome. By the way, I am up to Chapter 3 now.

Jovial blog titles aside, I am learning very quickly that if I don't know my numbers, as a business it's as if you are standing in quicksand. What lit a fire under my, ahem, feet was this awesome talk that Zack Arias gave on Photoshelter. If you have a chance go listen to it. First stop, he says is getting a bookkeeper (I just did today, so yay me). But he also urges photographers to know their numbers – what your services and products need to be priced at to be a sustainable and hopefully profitable business.

We are in this to make money. Let's not be afraid or ashamed of that. In fact, my ability to be in business means I am able to serve more people. So, one feeds the other. Want more of that rationale? Read Tara Gentile's incredible e-book, The Art of Earning [affiliate]. Yes, you should read it. It blew my mind.

Ok, back to numbers. Your numbers. How do you arrive at them. Do you copy the local competition? No! Wrong move. Why? Well, because her/his numbers are more than likely a good fit for him/her. Your business has to have unique numbers, customized to your situation.

As a new photographer, I had no clue how to go about deriving those numbers. It wasn't till recently when I started crafting my new business, Amata Pictures, that I have conscientiously put pen to paper and come up with what I must make and what I would love to make in the business.

While there are things like the NPPA's “cost of doing business calculator,” I needed more hand holding. So, I turned to Design Aglow's The Essential Pricing Guide for Portrait Photographers.

“Design Aglow has created another exceptional educational tool that will cover the groundwork of basic business finance and budgets, provide you with Best Practices thinking to set up budgets for cost recovery, calculating your time and paycheck and pricing to support your brand strategy.”

This is elegantly designed. No surprises there as just about anything that Design Aglow offers is meticulously designed. I am sure you are curious to know what's inside. The 70-page PDF is split into eight parts.

Part 1 – So, What Are The Real Numbers?

If things like “Gross Profit” or “Cost of Goods (COGs)” have stifled you in the past, this section of the guide will put you right at ease. You need to know this to set those prices that are unique to your studio.

Part 2 – How To Create An Effective Budget

Do you know your monthly, quarterly or annual expenses? I did not. This section works in tandem with the Studio Budget Worksheet that is provided to you.

Part 3 – Calculations For Time & Paying Yourself

Photographers often forget to pay themselves. A portion of what you make must be set aside as income for yourself. But how do you calculate what your time is worth? The folks at Design Aglow will help you. This important section will help you figure out whether you need to work more or work less to arrive at a number that satisfies you. Do be careful though how you draw money out because that is based on how you are structured as a business (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp etc.) Definitely talk with your CPA before making any final decisions.

Part 4 – Pricing For Your Brand

This part of the guide truly surprised me with new information. I had never heard of “pricing for your brand” before. While the first three sections talked raw numbers such as expense allocation, cost of goods sold and how to evaluate your time, this section describes how to define the value of your work, skill and output. Your target market and product offerings also are involved in arriving at your “pricing for your brand.” It's an interesting, perhaps somewhat subjective mix of factors that, as I said, I had never considered before.

Part 5 – Smart Pricing For Your Studio

This part of the guide helps you come up with how to design a package/collection, what session types you may want to offer, whether you will require a minimum purchase or mandatory purchase of a collection etc.

Part 6 – Your Game Plan

So, if you have worked through the first five sections, how are you going to implement these pricing changes? What will your clients say when they see them? How will you message your value to your clients? You'll learn all of that in this very telling section of the guide book.

Part 7 – Advice On Using The Worksheets & Price Lists (yes, these are included too)

Ok, full confession here. I hate working with numbers. But, as I have tried to urge you, getting your numbers down early in the game is going to help have a sustainable business or at least one where you know is headed in one direction or another. The worksheets included int his product offering should not be avoided. If you work through them, you'll find yourself looking back at these through the year to see if you are on track or you need to adjust something in your workflow. So, I urge you to check these out.

Part 8 – Industry Contributors

Hear form photographers like Audrey Woulard, Amber Scruggs, Angela Weedon, Meg Bitton, Lena Hyde & Allison Rodgers.

While these are all incredibly talented photographers, as a guy I had to wonder why there were no male representatives. Hmmm … Perhaps when Design Aglow updates this product they may reconsider including a few studios? Just a thought!

Between now and February 14th (yeah, Valentine's Day), show you really love your business and save $30 off of The Essential Pricing Guide For Portrait Photographers. Regular price will be $125. Buy it today for only $95.

Set aside for a second the obvious, which is the price is right. But why else would you want to get this new guide? The $95 investment is a small one to make for what will be your biggest gains this year. Can you imagine how this investment could make you $95,000 or $195,000? Well, that's how my brain works when I evaluate products. They simply MUST provide a tangible ROI and I believe this one does it for portrait photographers.

Ok, n'uff said … if you buy it, please come back here and tell me what you thought about it (but please go through the whole guide book … yes, worksheets as well). Deal? Here's wishing you the very best year for you and your business.

Full disclosure: I was sent this product to review but I do not receive any commissions for promoting it.