Mary & Justin Marantz are wedding photographers based in New Haven, Connecticut with clients who span the globe. They are also active educators and mentors to many photographers.

Skip Cohen loves to refer to their gorgeous website and work, so I am going to send you there to take a quick peek. When you come back, do me a favor and comment below, a word or two that best describes their website. I am curious to know what you came up with.

To say the Marantz are busy would be an understatement. I am not quite sure how they are able to do it all – photographing weddings, running a successful business, blogging on three separate websites, teach sold-out workshops and travel to some of the most amazing destinations.

The short answer to my own question: they've worked for it.

Curious to know where they blog? Here you go:

Well Groomed Groom
The Black Tie Bride
Justin & Mary Blog

Thanks to ShootDotEdit, Justin and Mary Marantz will present a FREE webinar on May 27th on how photographers like you can create stand-out images in the toughest of situations just like them. Register for the webinar here.

Given that they are sort of neighbors (we live about an hour away from each other, so “neighbors” may be a bit of stretch), I invited them to chat about their business, how and why they love shooting in tough situations and what kinds of solutions they bring with them when they are photographing weddings across the country.

Curious to know more about their business marketing guide and lighting guide? Visit their shop now.

I asked nicely and Mary & Justin gladly offered to give away their new Lighting Guide to one Tiffinbox fan. Will that be you? Do you want to win it? Go here for the Lighting Guide giveaway.

If you don't want to wait that long, and want to buy it, do so before the price bumps back up to $179! Right now you can download it for $129. [Not an affiliate link]

It has been about a week since I got back from Inspire Photo Retreats. The experience of being there, with 250 other photographers, is still reverberating through my brain. It was a relaxed and yet very informative conference. I highly recommend you go next year. Other than the fact that you and I will get to finally meet, you'll truly be inspired. I guarantee it. If you are following me on Facebook, you likely saw a few images from the event in Portland, Maine.

Getting to Inspire was a bit of an adventure. My friend, and fellow photographer, David Apuzzo, set out at about 10 am on Sunday. We had heard about a looming snowstorm that was going to pile in a foot or more of snow in Connecticut, Massachusetts and yes, all the way up to our destination, Portland, Maine.

Given that my wife had to go to work the next day, I insisted that she take the four-wheel drive, Subaru Forrester. I chose to take the Toyota Sienna, a minivan (with terrible tires, mind you), to Maine. The four hour trek was mostly uneventful until we hit Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We managed to evade swaths of snow. Dave excitedly pointed to the space in between packed clouds on his phone's weather app that we were threading through. It was exciting to race Mother Nature.

But when we got to Portsmouth, we got hit with snow coming at us sideways. The wipers on my cars which were functioning just fine started to give me some trouble. As the snow came down, I kept using the wipers and the wiper liquid to clear the front of the car. My visibility was diminishing and it became somewhat uncomfortable to drive. I noticed that while the passenger side of the windshield was getting cleared up quickly, the driver's side was not. Dave and I both assumed that we had run out of windshield wiper fluid. My wife had foreseen this issue and insisted that we carry a bottle of wiper fluid with us. And boy did that come in handy. The temperature in New Hampshire was down to 7 degrees Fahrenheit and my fingers were quickly going numb, but Dave helped me pour some of that wiper fluid in. In fact, Dave stepped up and bought two big jugs of it at the gas station.

But that didn't help one bit. The nozzle on the driver's side was either frozen or clogged up. What were we to do? We had at least another hour of driving ahead of us. Then it was Dave's brilliant idea that got us through. He suggested that I simply drive behind some of the other cars and big rig trucks. His rationale was the snow and spray flying off of the cars ahead of us would land on my windshield and all I would have to do would be to use my worn wiper blades.

Guess, what? It worked! Like. A. Charm. I probably owe Dave a beer or two just for that. (Do collect, Dave!)

Now, imagine you at the helm of your photography business. You can go at it alone or you can have a trusted advisor, like Dave was for me on the perilous trip. Which will get you there safer and faster? For my photography business in Connecticut, I lean on a few people to coach me.

I've already mentioned Jeff Jochum. If you aren't clear about what it is that you are meant to do, he will help you get there. It's not an easy process but his video coaching is top class in my opinion.

Steve Saporito is the other business coach, I listen to. He is based in Australia, but let that not stop you from listening to our recent conversation about what he does for photographers, why he believes his approach is the most natural and how his teaching can benefit you.

Steve and his business partner, Kelly Vanyai moderate a lively Facebook group (open to only those who have signed up for their courses) where if anyone has a question, all you need to do is to ask and either they or an eager bunch of peers will jump in to help you. I've found it very helpful so far and I am already seeing results. What I personally love about Steve and Kelly's approach is that there is nothing “salesy” about how they want us to work with our own clients. Just as much as Steve and Kelly are our trusted advisors, we in turn become our client's trusted advisors and help them make the very best image selections for their life.

On February 20th, 21st and 22nd, Steve and Kelly will be hosting an intimate workshop in New Haven, Connecticut, for a few select studios. Yes, I am going. Did you have to ask? Find out more about this unique opportunity in Connecticut to learn from them face-to-face here. They will also be at WPPI offering a similar workshop there.

Clearly I am not the only one reaching out and working with business coaches. Maggie and Jason Henriques just wrote a post. Go read it! Also, Jasen Arias also posted about working with Jeff Jochum and Steve Saporito here.

Of course, there are other business coaches and mentors helping photographers, but from my exhaustive search and perspective Jeff and Steve make up the one-two-punch that I needed to restructure my business. If you have any questions about them, feel free to post them below or ask me directly.

Amy Deputy is one of the top wedding photographers in the nation. She is based in Maryland and in addition to being a photographer, she spends her time mentoring other students of photography at Foundation Workshops and the forthcoming Inspire Photo Retreats.

Amy will be in Portland, Maine for this year's Inspire Photo Retreats, from February 9th through 11th. She and David Murray will be critiquing portfolios and dispensing positive, constructive feedback to photographers who wish to grow in their craft.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Amy a few weeks back about her return to Inspire Photo Retreats. I wondered what draws her back each year to this intimate photography conference. Here is our chat:

Lauren Rutten describes herself as the following:

Explorer. Artist. Photographer. Educator. Writer. Swashbuckling World Traveler.

Her career in photography began in 1986 and she has followed a very interesting path that includes not only the visual medium but also the written one. Lauren’s art and writing reflects her deep appreciation of everyday life and seeks to connect, empower and inspire others through her art. In 2013, Lauren took time away from her photography business and fulfilled a life-long dream of traveling solo around the world. In May of 2014, Lauren became a facilitator of the Amherst Writer's and Artists Workshops.

So, this is who is coming to speak at Inspire Photo Retreats in February, 2015, friends! I had an opportunity to chat with Lauren about her work and of course about her presentation at Inspire Photo Retreats:

There are still a few spots open for Inspire Photo Retreats. Register here today. You'll come in contact with people like Lauren who bring a gamut of skills and experiences to enrich your life.