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Untouchable: Children Of God, A Documentary About The Sex Slave Industry In Nepal & India

September 5, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Krista Guenin, a wedding photographer based in Boston is on a mission to end the sex slave industry in Nepal and India.

I recently chatted with her about Untouchable: Children of God, a documentary project she is looking to complete by the end of December of this year.

Thousands of Nepali minors are forced to sleep with more than fifty men per day; they are locked into rooms or cages where they are beaten, starved, drugged, burned and raped by their captors and countless men who use and abuse them.

What will strike you the most about Krista is her commitment and conviction to help these girls out. To her, and this struck me most profoundly, it simply makes sense to use her skills as a photographer – what she refers to as a “gift from God” – to better people's lives.

It's not an easy commitment to make. She could have just as comfortably decided to simply photograph weddings in New England and been quite content. But she chose to step out of her comfort zone a number of times, to connect with these girls from India and Nepal and to tell their stories so that we may see them as human beings.

Untouchable: Children Of GodWhat will end the sex slave industry in Nepal and India? Conventional wisdom points to first changing a mindset among men. And this documentary, Untouchable: Children of God, aims to do just that.

Whether you are a woman or a man, I urge you to support this project. Krista and her colleagues are about half way there right now. Help them reach their goal to raise $50,000 so that they can finish this film and screen it in Nepal, India and more than likely distribute it worldwide.

To learn more about this project, please visit Untouchable: Children of God. If you have questions for Krista, please step up and ask them below. She has promised to come back and respond to you.

We all have a responsibility to do something. Every day that we delay another girl dies. The situation is urgent, and this film spotlights ordinary people compelled to take extraordinary risks for the cause of freedom.

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin
Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Untouchable: Children Of God by Krista Guenin

Also, are you pursuing a personal photography project like Krista? Please feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below or email me directly.

Filed Under: Documentary, Home Middle Right, PhotoBlog Tagged With: Documentary, Documentary Project, India, India And Nepal, Krista Guenin, mission, nepal, Sex Slave, sex slavery, The Sex Slave, Untouchable: Children of God, Untouchables

3rd Annual Tiffinbox Award Goes To … Jamie Swanson!

August 26, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

By now, you've seen the newly designed Tiffinbox website. You've probably also noticed the tag line – “Inspiring Photographers”. It's no accident that I chose that as the focus of this site. Every post, every interview, indeed every review of a product or a service you read hear is qualified by that mantra – “Does this inspire other photographers?” If it does, then, well, it gets published.

This is a real Tiffinbox - from India.The other (perhaps I'm being clever) way to read “Inspiring Photographers” is that the site will be about highlighting those photographers who inspire me/us. I announced in 2011 the first annual Tiffinbox award. It went to the intrepid, humanitarian photographer, David DuChemin. In 2012, I chose Brooklyn based photographer, Spencer Lum for his imagery and erudite blog posts on Ground-Glass.

This year, I ask you all to stand up and applaud the work of Jamie Swanson, a wedding photographer based in Wisconsin. I would be remiss if I just mentioned her as a wedding photographer. You see, Jamie is a tour-de-force in the photography blogging world. You may already know that she publishes The Modern Tog, helping thousands (I am not kidding) of photographers get a grip on pricing their work, managing their clients and finances, producing questionnaires for clients and even coaching photographers to do in-person sales.

Jamie Swanson | 3rd Annual Tiffinbox Award

One of my favorites is her Email Templates For Photographers because it has helped me streamline my business.

Her near-daily email newsletter is written from the heart and from her personal experiences as a mother of four beautiful children. What I love about Jamie's blog posts is that they always seem timely and immediately useful. Her writing is honest, free of fluff and she comes across as being incredibly humble. In a sea of photographers and bloggers, she stands out because she is willing to help. Indeed, so many of the changes you see here on this site are wholly due to her gentle guidance. She is a natural teacher who has your best interests in mind. She, inspires me and I suspect she will inspire you as well.

Just take a look at some of my favorite posts by Jamie:

How to Get Higher Sales & More Clients Using Gift Registries
Should You Look at Other Photographers’ Prices When Setting Your Own Pricing?
Is Your Appearance Hurting Your Photography Business?
How to Find Balance in Your Photography Business
How to Raise Your Photography Prices Significantly Without Losing All Your Clients

5 Common Mistakes That Lose You BusinessThere are a whole lot of other such posts on her site The Modern Tog. Go check them out and sign up to receive little gems of wisdom from her in your inbox. You and your business will be better for it. Still on the fence and want to get a better sense of how she writes? Download this free e-book, “5 Common Mistakes That Lose You Business.”

Full disclosure: Because I derive so much value from Jamie's products, I have signed up as an affiliate partner where I make a small commission that helps support this website. When you buy using any of the links above, I get to bring you more great inspiring information for free.

Filed Under: Awards, Blogging, Home Middle Left, Photography Tagged With: 3rd Annual, Jamie Swanson, The Modern Tog, Tiffinbox Award

3 Sizzlin’ Summer Specials From My Favorite Photographer Friends

July 25, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Some of my favorite photographer friends are having some time-limited special offerings that I felt I needed to share with you.

6-Week Photography Marketing BootcampWe all want to market our photography in a way that provides value to our clients and to us. That's called running a business. Some are assertive about it, while some others are passive. I believe you reap what you sow, but I also know frequency and consistency is key. One of the best products I've seen that teaches marketing for photographers is Jamie Swanson's e-book, 6-Week Photography Marketing Bootcamp. But this book is going away on Friday (yes, tomorrow). She is retiring it and rolling the information in the ebook into a new, more expensive course that should make its appearance in the Fall. But why wait until then? Get it now for only $49.

Laura Novak's Wedding Inquiry CourseEver wanted to see how a photographer consistently books wedding clients? Laura Novak's Wedding Inquiry Course just launched. Laura is not only a savvy business woman but she is a versatile photographer whom I respect a great deal. Now through July 31st, get 25% off her new course (use: “JULYINTRO”) that takes you literally by the hand to show you how she books wedding clients. She had a video crew record her interactions with a real wedding couple. No actors were involved!

Super Photo Editing Skills By Photography ConcentrateLastly, my friends Rob & Lauren Lim of The Photography Concentrate have relaunched their terrific tutorial, Super Photo Editing Skills, with new videos that address the new features in Lightroom 5. This is the one course I keep recommending to all my friends because it is so comprehensive, but not overwhelming. Plus you get a ton of bonuses like a style guide and presets that you can deploy right away. Super Photo Editing Skills is usually $79, but starting today through August 2nd, it will be $55. Ever wanted to learn how to edit your images in Lightroom? This is your ticket! Get it punched.

Full disclosure: I carefully pick the very best products and services for you. All are affiliate links that help support this site. So do the right thing!

Filed Under: Photography, Sales Tagged With: Education, Jamie Swanson, Laura Novak, lauren lim, Learning, Photography, photography concentrate, rob lim, skills, Specials, summer, Teaching, The Modern Tog, Tutorials

Why Using A Database Like “Light Blue” Is Good For Your Photography Business

July 23, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Are your receipts in shoeboxes? If you had to find your client's address in a pinch, can you do so? If you were curious about what kinds of images they last ordered, would you have a way of quickly accessing that information?

No? I didn't either. I was floating on that thing called “hope” … where I hoped I could find their address. I hoped I had all my receipts and costs of goods sold tucked away in a place where I could find them. And I definitely hoped I could go back to their client folder on my computer to figure out which images they ordered and in what sizes, the last time I served them.

Look, feeling a sense of “hope” is one thing. Running a business on “hope”? Sheer lunacy. Yet, I bet most of us run on that feeling of “hope.” For my photography business, something had to change and change quickly. If I wanted to send a quick email to my clients announcing a new product or a special portrait session, I was sunk. I had no way of doing it automatically and quickly.

Well, not anymore. Thanks in large part to Steve Saporito, a business consultant based in Australia, I was reintroduced to Light Blue Software, a robust, elegant and efficient database manager.

The first time I encountered Hamish Symington and his partner was at the Photo Plus Expo where they had a booth. I remember the program they were selling was all based around FileMakerPro. I regretfully didn't see the value in it back then. I know I would've been far better off if I had been able to track my transactions and create reports.

The company and the program has changed in recent years, moving away from FileMakerPro at its core. “Every line of code is new,” Hamish reassured me. In the last few years, the company pretty much dominates the UK market, making Light Blue Software the go-to database manager for photography studios.

If you are in the US, you are probably wondering (like I did) if currency, accounting and taxes could all be US-based. The answer is a resounding: YES! I've been using Light Blue Software now for about 6 weeks and it truly has paid for itself already.

What's more, while I am on the go, I can retrieve all of my data via my iPhone. Light Blue Software has an iPhone/iPad application which syncs to their cloud service. While synching to the cloud is an additional monthly cost, it is a huge time saver. Check out the iPhone/iPad app here.

I sat down to speak with Hamish Symington, Light Blue Software‘s founder, to ask him in general why using a database is good for our photography businesses and specifically what makes Light Blue Software so special. Check out our our brief conversation here:

Download their 30-day trial, which gives you full access to the program. And if you ever get stuck, Hamish and company are always quick to respond. In a pinch, due to the time difference, you may want to watch their extensive video tutorials.

Looking for a simple, elegant and intuitive database manager to get more organized? Give Light Blue Software a try.

Filed Under: Business, Photography Tagged With: A Business, Database Manager, Databases, Hamish Symington, Light Blue, Light Blue Software, Photography Business

A Rare & Epic Summer Sale From Alicia Caine

July 22, 2013 by Seshu | Editor & Publisher

Over the last couple of years, I've mentioned Alicia Caine's Served Up Fresh website a number of times. For business savvy portraits photographers visiting her site is kind of like going to Mecca. I am not talking about just her product offers. Read her blog!

While equating it to a religious experience may be taking it a bit too far, let me tell you that I believe her guides: Happy Place Business Plan, Easy as Pie Pricing, Piece of Cake Marketing and the retired LuxUndercover are all resources portrait photographers interested in succeeding should buy, read and re-read.

Piece Of Cake Marketing by Alicia CaineLook, while I am now be an affiliate of her's, I bought every one of those products and devoured them when they first came out. In fact, thanks to these foundational guide books, I now think of myself more as a portrait photographer than ever before. Part of what she does well in each of these workbooks is she gives you a chance to think about your business in a very different way. When light bulbs pop on constantly, it's easy to see the kind of value that's delivered within the pages of these guide books. The worksheets have nudged me along a very different path than I was going on before.

Alicia is offering a rare (and I do mean rare because of how high the discount is) and epic summer sale of her products, now through Wednesday, July 24th.

You can purchase Happy Place Business Plan for $74.50, Easy as Pie Pricing for $174.50, Piece of Cake Marketing for $174.50 and the MegaPack (Easy as Pie + Happy Place) is for $197.50.

These are are all 50% off! Plus, the first 25 100 people to use the coupon code “EPICSALE” gets you Alicia's bonus download of her retired ebook LuxUndercover (valued at $149). If you ever wanted to get your branding and customer service right for high end clients, this book is priceless.

The sale doesn't last forever and given that Alicia is hinting at a new site and new products in the Fall, these may just not be offered in the future. The sale ends July 24th.

As I've said above, I am an affiliate and make a small commission on each sale (helps support this website).

Filed Under: Books, Photography, Photography Business Tagged With: Alicia Caine, Business, Business Plan, clients, E-books, guides, Marketing, portrait photographers, resource, sale, Served Up Fresh

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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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