Do you ever wonder what your value proposition is to your potential client? In other words, what do you bring to the table that your “rightest” client will eat up and then thank you for it by paying you what you are really worth?

It's a simple question. But it's not so easy to answer or explain. Thankfully, Angela Pointon of Steel Toe Images has a new book out called “Worth More: A Simple Way To Create The Photography Brand, Pricing and Packages That Command The Money You Deserve.” [affiliate]

Long title, I know.

I just got done reading an advance review copy and I have to tell you the worksheets and exercises she puts you through are the very first steps any photographer must take to create a sustaining and successful business. It's critical that you define who your clients need to be and then work through your pricing and packaging that meets your target client's expectations. There is really no better way to synchronize your values with those of your clients.

From Worth More: “So we’re going to figure out your ONE awesome thing by conducting another written exercise. And honestly, there’s a chance you’re not doing anything awesome right now.”

When things are in sync, you get to make a living at something you love to do. No one can or should deny you that, especially you. So, here is what I am urging you to do. Watch this video below. Based on what you hear from Angela, figure out if you ant to be a thriving photographer or a struggling photographer. If it is the former, buy Angela's book. It's on sale from today through June 23 for $79. It goes up to $99 after that date.

Angela also sent me this infographic that allows you to compare the two different photographers in the world: thriving or struggling –

Now, let me be very clear about one thing. As I read through the e-book, Angela wants you to complete exercise after exercise so that the answers guide you to some startling and positive conclusions. If you are the type that buys info products and just sits on them, don't buy this book. That would be a sheer waste of money. However, if you are open to trying new things and actually doing what Angela prescribes, I'll guarantee that you will see incredible results.

So, why should you buy Angela Pointon's e-book? Very simply, reading it and doing the exercises will be transformative (with a little elbow grease) for your bottom line. Imagine not having to struggle to find the “rightest” clients. Imagine having time to spend with your loved ones. Imagine being able to create a nest egg that keeps growing. All because you spent a few hours gaining some much needed clarity on whom you want to serve and why.

For me saving $20 is still something. I'm going to bet it is for you too. So, get the book before the price jumps on June 24th.

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.

Look, I get it. Timing is everything. But what trumps that is planning and doing.

In 2001, I saw the editorial market fade. I started photographing weddings as only a real photojournalist would, which is to say I had no freakin' clue how much to charge clients, what to offer them, how to follow up with vendors and lastly how to grow my business. I got into this spin cycle that involved creating some amazing images but not sharing them with my clients in a timely manner and then signing on new clients and on and on. The excuses simply piled up and I found myself not really enjoying the process any more. All that to say a little bit of planning and strategizing back then would have helped me a great deal.

Now, I bet a lot of you are looking at the new year as a new point in life, perhaps your square one (which in itself is kind of refreshing if you think about it), to start your photography business. I know I am with my new venture, Amata Pictures.

So, I am starting with a business plan. While Todd & Jaime Reichman have helped me define my WHY, I'm working with Eric O'Connor of Agile Photog to come up with systems and processes. Having mentors like them goes a long way.

But if you are starting out or been a photographer for a couple of years, you need a road map or else you will do what I did initially and get totally lost. Just make sure the plan is flexible and scalable. That's important too, in my opinion. Don't believe for one second that a plan is etched in stone and that once you write it out, you have to stick to it. Quite contrary, you should be able to try things, test them out and spit them out if they don't work for you. There are ways of doing that without wasting time or your other resource, time. At the end of the day, your business plan should speak to you and whom you plan on serving, what Todd Reichman defines as your “rightest” clients.

I am an unabashed fan of the folks at PhotoShelter. They actively publish guides that help to elevate the photography industry. I was honored to attend their Luminance conference last year. For 2013, PhotoShelter has just published a new guide called The 2013 Photo Business Plan. It costs nothing and you do not have to sign up for their services. All they do require is your email information so that they can send you the guide.

Lots of good information in there including tips to:

– Market your photo business with Facebook
– Attract readers to your blog
– Improve SEO traffic
– Get more work from old clients
– Create a lasting photo brand
– Manage your finances and get smart with taxes

So, go here to get your 2013 Photo Business Plan workbook. It could just be your road map to success.

Back in October 2010, I posted a review of Tamara Lackey's DVD “Inside Contemporary Children's Photography.”

Almost two years later, I have in front of me a book and DVD called “Capturing Life Through Better Photography.” While it too was published in 2010, I think it is appropriate that I am mentioning it now.

In the last two weeks, I have been approached by well-meaning parents who are frustrated by the challenges they face when photographing their children. And it was Tamara's book, “Capturing Life Through Better Photography,” that I recommend to them.

The book is concise. At less than 100-pages, it is a quick read. In fact, there are so many incredible examples that illustrates Tamara's points, that there is less reading and more seeing. As a budding photographer, I subscribe to this method of learning. We all need to do more seeing.

Tamara's other promise on the book is – “Simple tips & tricks to turn everyday snapshots into little works of art.” The basics, are for sure covered. Exposure, composition, timing, direction of light etc. But on page 43, she urges us to look at body language.

I know of no other book that makes this very important point. Body language, be it of a child or an adult says so much about their personality or their current circumstance. So, if you like nuggets like that, this book is for you.

The book is peppered with “Fun Facts” that draw the reader back in. Be they historical quotes or short scientific explanations (the one about why a balloon makes that popping sound was something new to me), Tamara's crisp and lucid writing will leave you reaching out for your camera to try and replicate what you see in her book.

The 90-minute DVD that is a part of this set is a MUST watch. Why? Well, if you somehow miss Tamara's high-energy and passion for teaching photography in the book, you'll definitely feel it watching the DVD. The 90 minutes zip by quickly. It's exquisitely produced. Tamara worked with Rex Ballard, the Director of Photography for ABC's Emmy award-winning Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, to create this DVD.

From my perspective I feel the DVD complements the book but not the other way around. So, think of the DVD as a real bonus.

If you buy the entire set through Amazon, you'll get what is called a “Quick Reference Guide.” I did not receive this so I don't know what is in it. But given the two other products that I have had the pleasure of reading, viewing and using, I bet the reference guide is just as good too.

Now, I do have to say that the book and DVD is directed towards those who have just bought or are thinking about buying a digital camera – a DSLR like the new Nikon D600 [affiliate].

Here is the link to the Deluxe kit where you get the book, the DVD and the quick reference guide for $59.99. There is so much information packed into each of these that I think parents or amateur photographers who want to start making images on a more solid footing will be remiss if they don't buy it. [I make absolutely nothing for promoting this set.]

Want to have access to more of Tamara Lackey's photography wisdom? Join us on October 3 when she will be our guest during our Swift Kick webinar. Sign up for that webinar alone or register for all of them in the series for only $25.