Joy Vertz is a photographer and teacher based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Having run a couple of successful portrait studios in that city and as a frequent speaker at trade conferences like WPPI, Joy has insights on creating profitable businesses. She is actively involved in teaching photographers through her business and pricing courses. She is a steady and welcome presence online where she has a reputation for generously sharing what she knows.

She will be sharing her expertise in running a successful portrait photography business at CTPPA's monthly meeting on April 25th (yes, today!).

Register here to attend it on April 25th. She will be revealing “10 Ways Photographers Can Make More Money in 2016.”

A few weeks back we got to chat about pricing, business, challenges portrait studios are facing, how we can do better in 2016 and ultimately how she defines a “successful portrait studio.” It is quick but fascinating chat with one of the most erudite women I know in this business. So, don't skip it. Watch the interview now!

While you are at it, learn more about Joy's business course – Photography Business Recharge and download “The Ultimate Photography Objects Cheat Sheet” for free. Lastly, you can sign up for her 4-part video series on pricing here.

Will I see you at tonight's CTPPA presentation? Wouldn't you like to make more money in 2016? I can't wait to hear what Joy has to say and impart to all of us. And, if it is ok with Joy, after tonight's event, I will update this post with her 10 tips.

So, bookmark this post, share it with your photographer friends now.

It's a busy time of the year for Scott Wyden Kivowitz who is always ready to talk about a new WordPress service for photographers.

What is Imagely?

As the Blogging Wrangler and Community Liaison for Imagely, Scott will tell you they have some very ambitious plans to offer WordPress hosting, themes and plugins – all under one roof.

Why WordPress? Well, did you know that nearly 25% of the websites in the world run on the WordPress platform? That's a staggering number of websites and a great many photographers lean on a self-hosted WordPress themed website or blog for their business.

But not everyone has the time or the technical skills to work on the platform. Tiffinbox, for instance, was custom designed by someone who knows her way through the theme and its back end. Now, not everyone can have a custom designed site or needs to have it specifically designed for them. That can come later when the dollars start flowing in from sales, right?

Until then, though, you are going to need a WordPress service for photographers. And that's where Imagely comes in.

The Interview

WordPress Service For Photographers

If you act quickly, you can get in on a special offer Imagely provided photographers who signed up for WPPI.

Learn more about Imagely through their top-rated podcast too.

Can you see yourself having more time to make images, serve your clients better or chill out with your family rather than tinker with your WordPress website?

So, what will you do? Will you jump in and sign up for this WordPress service for photographers now?

The Backend Of Imagely

The Book Hunt

Go to your local bookstore or hit Amazon up and do a quick search for “photographing men.”

Seriously, go right now and do it. I'll wait. Cue the Jeopardy theme song.

Oh, back so soon? I am not surprised.

Until recently, you would have been able to only locate one book.

Seriously?

Unbelievable, right? A world full of guys and it would seem no one has had the vision to focus on that very obviously under-served niche.

Well, Jeff Rojas a portrait and fashion photographer based in New York City decided to do something about that. In a couple of weeks, he will be launching a new book titled, Photographing Men: Posing, Lighting, and Shooting Techniques for Portrait and Fashion Photography.

Solving The Problem

Photographing Men

Now go take a look at Rojas' work, or cast your eyes below on a few samples:

The CreativeLive Courses

I don't know about you, but while I love books and my library is full of them, there is a certain thrill of learning in-person or if that doesn't work with your schedule, going online. It was Jeff Rojas' CreativeLive course, “Men's Portrait Photography,” that inspired me to contact him. Soon I also bought his shorter course, “How To Photograph Men.”

You see, I was working full time at an all-boys prep school in Connecticut and one of the most difficult things you will encounter as a photographer is to posing teenagers. First off, they may give off the vibe that they aren't into it but if you know what you are doing and you can put them at ease, they come alive and are eager to work with you. Jeff Rojas' courses came in handy because I was able to make these young guys look and feel good when they saw the final results. So, I owe it to Jeff Rojas and his courses for elevating my skills.

The Giveaway

If you have scrolled all the way down here, you deserve to be rewarded. But let's make this a game shall we? I have a code for Jeff's Men's Portrait Photography course on CreativeLive to give away to one lucky person who pre-orders his book between tonight and March 3rd. I will announce a winner on my Twitter account, so be sure to follow me there.

Pre-order the book using this link, then email me at seshu (at) tiffinbox (dot) org with your receipt. The subject line of the email should be “Photographing Men by Jeff Rojas – Giveaway”. In your email to me, please include your Twitter ID, so that I can mention it if you win! But the CreativeLive checkout code you see blurred out above will only be emailed to ONE winner. Capiche?

I am the final arbiter of this game. If you do win it's because you followed the simple rules and you are a good sport. Bonus if you leave a comment below telling me why the course would complement the book you just bought.

Remember, this is for any pre-orders of Jeff's book, only from tonight through March 4th, though. If you click on any of the links in this post mentioning the book, you will be directed to Amazon where you can easily order the book and have it delivered it you after it launches on March 15th.

Sound good? Good luck! And, here's to making a difference in men's lives by creating stunning portraits of them too!

It will be easy for you to see why Sharona Jacobs is truly unique among visual artists. You see, she is trained as both a photographer and psychologist.

As a former scientist and academic, she is best positioned to address the topic of mental health among freelancers. It shouldn't come as a surprise that when one's mental health suffers, so does the capacity to be creative and truly in love with what one is doing.

Lucky for us, Sharona is teaching at Inspire Photo Retreats this year. Her class description says it all:

“This class will provide individualized tools for every photographer who has had moments of feeling overwhelmed ? and who hasn’t? Topics will include: types of stress (some help us, some hurt us), self?talk, traits that perpetuate anxiety, and tools such as relaxation, visualization, and coping mechanisms. By the end of the class, each person will have their own individualized systemic approach to reducing stress based on their own particular stressors.”

Photographers face a delicate balancing act every day as we navigate our roles as artists, small business owners, caretakers and family members. Stress is inevitable, but unhappiness is not.

As a photographer who has been affected by stress, I was curious to know more from Sharona about how one went about tracking mental health among freelancers and what coping tools she could offer for stressed out photographers.

Here's our short interview:

Though Sharona isn't teaching a photography class at Inspire, I insisted that she send me some examples of her work. As a portrait photographer, I was intrigued by her approach and her niche as “Boston's Literary Photographer.” So, take a look below:

Inspire Photo Retreats runs from tomorrow, February 8 through February 10th in Newport, Rhode Island.

Beginnings Of A Headshot Portraits Business

I am indebted to four people when it comes to jump starting my business, Connecticut Headshots.

In the past, I have written about Zack Arias, Dylan Patrick and Peter Hurley. But the guy who really instilled a love for business portraits in me, was Eric Laurits.

Talking About Headshots

I sat riveted to my seat the first time Eric presented at Inspire Photo Retreats, some two or three years ago. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity and pleasure to speak with him in advance of his presentation at this year's Inspire conference in Newport, Rhode Island.

Portfolio Of Portraits

Eric's topic at Inspire Photo Retreats is “Headshot A Lot.” Take a look at a sample of his work below. You'll quickly see that he is a master of his art. Like he influenced me, he has helped scores of other photographers to embark on careers in headshot portrait photography as well.

Learn Headshots At Inspire

Catch Eric this year at Inspire Photo Retreats. Whether his presentation skills are due to his acting experience or one that comes deep within him, you are in for a treat. Will headshot portraits be a part of your repertoire?

Register for Inspire Photo Retreats now.