Ned Jackson, a Boston-based wedding photographer repeatedly participates in the annual Inspire Photo Retreats event. This year, the photography conference will be held in Portland, Maine, from February 9th through the 11th.

I spoke with Ned about his repeat presence at the conference and also about his presentation this year. Learn again, from someone who keeps coming back, why Inspire Photo Retreats is a great regional conference. Here are the other Inspire Photo Retreats speakers.

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:

Jessica Del Vecchio, a portrait and wedding photographer based in Washington, D.C. is going to be leading a workshop at Inspire Photo Retreats. Her early interest in alternative photographic processes led her to learn how to create salt prints. Her workshop at the conference will enable photographers to explore photography using this fascinating approach to printing images.

Here is a small selection of images from Jessica's portfolio, some showing how the final salt prints will look after one has processed them.

Hands-on workshops like these distinguish Inspire Photo Retreats, where everyone is encouraged to roll up their sleeves and play and do something completely out of the ordinary. Jessica's workshop will be on Monday, a time when I have already signed up for another workshop, but I hope to learn more about salt prints from her when we meet in Portland, Maine.

Inspire Photo Retreats is unique gathering of photographers that takes place every year. This year, it will be at The Westin, in Portland, Maine, from February 9th through the 11th. I hope you have registered for this sold-out conference!

Sarah Lehberger, is a family portrait photographer based in Fairfield County, in Connecticut. Sarah will be speaking at Inspire Photo Retreats, from February 9th through the 11th of this year. In addition to being a photographer, Sarah is also a creative business mentor to many business women.

Like others in this series of Inspire Interviews, Sarah Lehberger and I carved out a little time to connect and chat about her experiences at Inspire Photo Retreats in the past and what she will be addressing in her presentation at the conference.

Check out Sarah‘s work here:

Carla Ten Eyck is a wedding photographer based in Hartford, Connecticut. She is also one of the founding members of Inspire Photo Retreats, an annual gathering of photographers. This year it will take place in Portland, Maine, from February 9th through the 11th.

Carla took a year long sabbatical from organizing the gathering in Maine, but she is back as a speaker. We had a chance to sit down and chat about her experiences at Inspire Photo Retreats in the past and what she is going to be presenting this time around.

In addition to being a wedding photographer, Carla is also well-known for her teaching and her photography at other industry events, such as Engage Summits. The following images are a few examples of her work from a recent Engage Summits event:

Paul Friedman, founder and owner of LensProToGo, is a sponsor at Inspire Photo Retreats. He is as excited as I am to return to Inspire Photo Retreats, this time being held in Portland, Maine, from February 9th through the 11th.

Paul's company may be located in my backyard, but that's not why I lean on them for my equipment rental. They ship across the country and are favored by the likes of Scott Kelby when he needs gear shipped to him. Check out my brief interview with him and find out why LensProToGo is my first choice for photographic gear rental.

Check out the speakers scheduled to speak. Here is the final schedule. Learn more about Inspire.

The conference takes place at The Westin, and the organizers have a ton of amazing things in store for you (if you haven't registered already, the event is sold out!) See you there!

Oh, do you see the graphic below? LensProToGo is offering 15% off their gear rental in February, if you use the code: FEB15. Orders must be placed and received/delivered between February 2nd and February 27th, 2015. Get to it people!

It’s time to move away from your humble beginnings and start to position yourself as the expert you are. You have the knowledge, the dedication and the vision to be bigger than just a local photographer who takes nice photos.

What exactly is an expert? Experts answer complicated questions with ease. Experts produce inspiring work. Experts are known by name in their industries. Interested? Here are three ways that you can become known as a photography expert.

Option 1: Teach A Photography Class

You’re probably thinking, “Ugh, teach?” But, yes! You can inspire students and share your knowledge. Take your enthusiasm for photography and spread it to a class of eager and excited students. You teach, they learn and you become the expert. They will ask you questions about what camera is the best on the market and how to use the settings on a DSLR…what is a DSLR?! Questions you most likely already answer, since you are a respected professional photographer.

Don’t reject the idea of teaching due to your objection of writing a curriculum. Teaching a photography class isn’t as big and scary as it may seem. Magazine Mama sells ready-made, pre-written teaching plans for photography classes.

Start with the basics – regardless of students’ age. No one is coming to your class as an expert (that’s your roll)! A common question that beginning photographers who purchase a DSLR camera will have is about manual mode. How do you do shoot on manual and what are the benefits? Photography curricula on Magazine Mama start with these exact topics. Photography basics like understanding exposure, shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

The key to teaching kids is to start even smaller. Save technical features like aperture, shutter speed and ISO for later on in the course or at an advanced class. Kids are visual. They want to learn something that they can show someone, like the crayon drawing hanging on the fridge. A good place to start is to show them different shooting modes. It’s simple. This exercise shows kids what each mode is by using a picture:

• head = portrait mode
• mountain = landscape mode
• flower = macro mode
• person running = action mode
• a star in the background = nighttime mode

They choose the mode based on one of the subjects from above. After they get the hang of it, you can add in more modes like M, AV, TV and P.

Starting with the basics will never let you down. Build a solid foundation first and then add more complex topics later. Tailor your curriculum to the intended audience. Kids, adults and moms all have custom teaching plans at Magazine Mama. The hard work is done for you. Add your logo and press print. Curricula come in editable .psd formats. Instructions are included.

Option 2: Custom Magazine With Client Articles

Content in a custom magazine shows your clients your expertise. They accomplish two of the three things experts do: inspire and educate. Lead with inspiration for others. Fill the magazine template with your best work. The work that even you admitted was amazing. These are the photos that will inspire others to take action and distinguish you as an expert.

Marry your artsy self with a client focused business model. Go ahead and let your artistic voice shine in your studio welcome guide alongside your professional client-focused business persona. As we discussed earlier, to be known for something is to share expert knowledge. Show potential clients that you have the experience, eye and knowledge to do the job well and that they don’t need anyone else.

Clients read blogs and pin hundreds of photos to Pinterest before they make final decisions. Whoever they get this information from – they will see as the expert. Give them all of this information in a sleek, creative and informative welcome guide and be THE expert.

Sharing knowledge helps you help them help you. Magazine Mama has customizable magazine templates with pre-written articles. Topics like “what to wear”, “professional headshots and your business”, and “tips to rock your senior session” are included. These topics help you:

* Answer frequently asked questions
* Educate clients with answers to questions they didn’t know to ask
* Inspire clients to help you take epic photos

Option 3: Go Get Published

Don’t hide your work in a dark, cobwebby corner of your website. It should be front and center. If you want to be known in the photography field amongst the other billion photographers – you need to get your name out there.

The best (and easiest) way to get out there – is to get published. Magazines receive a lot of submissions every day from ambitious and talented photographers like you! And because of that – they are picky. Which means not everyone can bask in the warm glow of a magazine spread. What better way to obtain expert status than by having your images published in a highly respected and widely read industry publication? But, expert status isn’t the only reason to pitch your latest photo-shoot to an editor, it will also help you drive traffic to your website and blog and will give you a boost in sales.

Use code tiffinbox10 and get 10% off your order at Magazine Mama [aff]

Is your photography business fully protected? No, I am not talking about buying liability insurance (which I hope you also have). I am referring to things like having rock-solid contracts with your clients, being the right business entity and copyrighting your images.

While we spend a great deal of time and money on learning creative techniques, we rarely get our legal homework done. To understand some of the quagmires photographers have found themselves in, all you have to do is to switch on the evening news. Whether it is a disgruntled client or a duplicitous photographer, the media serves up stories often enough to make me worry.

And when you are worried, you aren't really creating your best work. At least, I know if I am distracted by any loose ends, I am not focused on the work at hand. Perhaps you are the same way. So, as a working photographer, getting my legal ducks in a row is a top priority. I want to be able to arrive at my client's home and know that both of us are protected by a set of standards and an agreement that will hold up in a court of law.

But going to a lawyer and having a variety of these documents all created could cost a pretty penny. That's when I stumbled across Small Business Bodyguard, about a year or so ago. Rachel Rodgers who founded Small Business Bodyguard also happens to be an attorney.

According to the Small Business Bodyguard site, it is:

For anyone starting a business.
Selling something online.
Selling something offline.
Running a website.
Pitching services.
Writing eBooks.
Launching products.
Hiring web designers / copywriters / VAs / interns / contractors.
Collaborating with others.
And selling anything to anybody.

If you need such a comprehensive collection of templates, ones that will walk you through a variety of scenario, then Small Business Bodyguard is for you. But at $595, it is a little expensive (compared to the thousands you could spend face-to-face with a lawyer, though, it is still a bargain).

To cater to the specific needs of the photography industry, Rachel just launched Legal Nunchucks: For Photographers [aff].

At $197, it is definitely affordable. But now through Friday, you can actually buy it for $97. Here's what you get:

50+ pages of digestible, fun content so you can learn about the legal precautions you need to take to make your business thrive PLUS the action and how-to to actually do it.

Client Service Agreement for Photographers Template

Model Release Template

Legal Checklist for Photographers

To find out more about Legal Nunchucks: For Photographers, check out my conversation with Rachel Rodgers about how and why having legal contracts is actually a good thing for both you and your clients:

Like all legal documents, if you use Small Business Bodyguard, Legal Nunchucks: For Photographers or anything else you download from the Internet, I implore you to still have it all looked over by a local (in-state) attorney. The resources mentioned above are, in in my opinion, a great way to get a head start into lining up those pesky ducks!