Want to know what Jamie here did in 2020 while we were all stuffing our faces and trying not to touch anything? She started her own wedding dress design company. I mean, C’MON! I was like, “Ok, wow, well…I made sure my Amazon box sat by itself for an hour before I opened it, which was REALLY HARD!” haha!

Amazing productivity, inspiration and creativity aside, I was so excited to work with Jamie! So often my brand photography clients are online entrepreneurs, meaning the bulk of their business is done online - course creators, coaches, and marketers for example - so it can be a really fun way to mix things up when I have a client that creates physical products.

Jamie had a room rented in a co-working space that was actually in the back of a large church. It was old and had been painted white and was filled with natural light, so even though her space was small, it was still beautiful to photograph. We also got to use the church, which was SO COOL and worked so well as a backdrop for a wedding dress designer - I mean, that’s where so many weddings take place! It was super cool to be able to bring in the moodiness of the dark old church and combine it with the brightness and light of her space and her dresses. Really helps tell a full story!

We also had access to common spaces, which was perfect for those “I’m designing, talking to clients and in my creative zone” shots. As I do in all my brand photography sessions, we made sure to get great headshots, mid-length shots, full body shots, shots of her working, the space itself, and fun details. A great variety for your final brand photography gallery is so important!

One of Jamie’s biggest concerns was the same that most women come to me with - she didn’t really like photos of herself that much, especially after some of 2020 comfort eating if you get my drift. BUT, I was super proud of her because, while she felt those things, she was still willing to show up for her business and put her face out there. Her dream was more important than her fear and I’ve got to applaud that!

So, here’s the question: when you look at her photos, do you see anything awkward or uncomfortable? Nope. I only see a gorgeous woman. If you’ve put yourself in the “I don’t like photos of myself” or “I’m not photogenic” category, know that you aren’t alone. And also know that it’s highly likely that others are only going to see a beautiful woman, especially if you work with the right photographer who can not only help you find angles that feel good, but who will speak goodness and beauty over you as well!

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Need some help putting more YOU into your personal brand? Check out this post!

You’re ready to finally face the lens and get yourself an awesome set of images that you can use for all the things in your business and then you wonder, “Who can actually take all the photos I need? Who understands what I need? Who can I trust with my insecurities in front of a camera?”

Do NOT just go for the first photographer you come across. When it comes to getting brand photos that you not only adore, but are also ridiculously useful, it’s really important to make sure that your brand photographer totally gets your brand AND that you get along with him/her.

Here are three stellar tips to help you choose the perfect brand photographer for you.

1 - Only use a brand photographer.

This is KEY. Seriously. Your wedding photographer, family photographer or newborn photographer may be award-winning, but that doesn’t mean she understands all the photos that you need to launch your course, for example. It’s so important to realize that being able to take good photos is NOT ENOUGH. You need someone who has been working with brands for a while and who can hear about your brand/business and discern what you do and don’t need, and come to the table with lots of visual ideas.

2 - Look at their portfolios with a discerning eye.

It’s easy for a photographer to put “brand photographer” on their website and still not be as useful as you need them to be. When it comes to creating a bank of images for you - especially if you’re going to be using them for something as visual and in need of regular updating as Instagram - the last thing you want is 30 images of you standing in the center of the frame smiling. You need VARIETY! It’s the spice of life, right? Oh, and also of your website and your Instagram feed and anything else you plan on putting more than 2 photos on.

So, be on the lookout for variety in their portfolio. Look to see that the subject isn’t always in the center. Look for creative angles. Look for creative use of of objects, color and texture. Make sure that there is a variety of EMOTION in their portfolio. It shouldn’t all just be standing and smiling - you want to be able to tell ALL the pieces of your brand story as well as speak to your client’s pain points. Think of the things you want to talk about in your business and look at a photographer’s photos while asking yourself, “Does it look like she could photograph everything I need?”

3 - Get on a discovery call.

Hopefully, you’ve found a few personal brand photographers that look like they can give you what you need! Whoop! But now it’s time to hop on a discovery call with each of them. None of this, “I don’t feel like talking on the phone” stuff. The two of you will be spending several hours together creating images that you’re hoping to use for months (or longer). The last thing you want is to get together and realize that she is NOT your cup of tea. Your photos will look forced, stiff, uninviting - and you’ll probably hate using them, and that’s just a waste of money and time.

So, take advantage of that discovery call, share your vision, your hopes and your worries and make sure that you vibe with your photographer. You want to be as comfortable as possible in front of the camera and have tons of fun, so take the time to find a brand photographer who’s your kind of people!

And that’s it! Looking for more brand photos and tips? Come follow me on Instagram!

Local to Nashville or coming for a visit and ready for a brand shoot?! Contact me to set up a discovery call!

In her British accent she exclaims, “Hello, dah-ling!”

Working with Karen Sinclair Drake on her brand photoshoot was an absolute delight. She’s passionate, all about philanthropy, hilarious and totally gorgeous to photograph - plus her home (where we did her shoot) is off-the-charts magazine worthy, so that was a magnificent bonus!

Karen is the brains behind Flowering Pharmacy where she uses her decades of knowledge and experience in the skincare industry and combines it with her knowledge and passion for flowers and all things of-the-earth and creates custom fragrances for small businesses and personalities! How cool is that?!

It was awesome to work with someone in the green science space since I haven’t done any brand photography for anyone in that industry before this. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I loved working with a female entrepreneur over the age of 50. Being around her, her energy, hearing the story of her career - it was all really awesome. I felt that I was both in the presence of a peer AND a mentor. (Oh, and it was so fun to be given some of her all natural & luxury skincare line! I loved it so much that I’ve ordered it on my own several times now! haha! I love when I get to be a client of my client’s!).

Karen, in particular, is a special client to me because we started to work together just as we were having to put our dog down. He was almost 18 and it was time. I had told Karen because I didn’t know exactly what day it would be and she and I were trying to schedule a planning call. She was beyond gracious. She had put her cat down a few months before and sent me a voice memo with the most beautiful words of compassion and wisdom. She was so open and flexible with scheduling. She really treated the situation the way that we should 100% treat women in business - that we can still be total badasses at what we do AND we’re human and go through sucky things sometimes. She held space for both - I was her brand photographer AND a human. THIS is how we overcome hustle culture and move into our feminine flow of self-care and true self-awareness - to allow other women in business to do the same.

We’re in the process of booking another shoot and I can’t wait!

Want to know the thing that sets you apart from the hundreds or thousands of others offering the same thing you are? Guess what? It’s YOU. Yes, your unique journey, perspective, experiences, triumphs and trials! Your personality, your enneagram, your astrological sign, however you want to think of it! Whether you are a health coach, life coach, business coach, artist, real estate agent, course creator, social media guru or marketing manager extraordinaire, you’re likely not in an industry all by your lonesome. So it’s really all about YOUR way of approaching things, the way you treat your clients and customers, and then those quirky things that make you YOU.

When you’re out there sharing your one-of-a-kind story as it relates to your business, you set yourself to be an authority and you definitely want people to think you know what you’re doing!

So, then HOW do you build a personal brand?!

Let’s get into the 3 Steps to Add More YOU Into Your Personal Brand!

STEP 1: Create an “About Me” document

Don’t worry about what makes sense for your business or the things you don’t want to bring up, just write down the following:

Write down the fun stuff about you:

• Simple pleasures

• Guilty pleasures

• Favorite vacation spots

• Fun facts

• Makes you laugh

• Lights you up

Write down the deeper stuff:

• Overall journey

• Smaller pieces of the journey

• Values

• What do you stand for

• What is most important to you in the whole world

What you love & hate as it relates to your 5 senses:

• Taste (ex: love chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven / hate raw coconut)

• Smell

• Hear

• Feel

• See

What are your super powers?!

• Personal

• In your business

STEP 2: Create commonalities and endearment

• Go back to your “about me” document and circle the things you would like to have in common with your audience

• As you look at your list, create a set of VALUES from it. For example, personally, I had my implants taken out in early 2021. Now, it would be ridiculous to want to have that exact thing in common with my audience. BUT, that act was from self-love and self-care, and those are definitely VALUES that I want to have in common with my audience. So, you can begin to identify values that you would like to have in common with your ideal clients.

• Ask yourself, “What do I want my audience to know about me?” What makes you likable, cool, fun, approachable, relatable, endearing, smart, etc. How do you want your audience to think of you and what pieces of your story convey that?

STEP 3: APPLY IT TO YOUR BRAND

• In captions and photos - ex: do you work from home? with kids? That’s personal, consider sharing it!

• Brand color palette - is everything more joyful? Or do you need some depth to your colors? They should make sense with who you are and what you want to get across!

• Brand elements - are you more whimsical or preppy or formal or casual? Bring that in!

WANT TO DIVE IN A LITTLE DEEPER? WATCH THE VIDEO TRAINING HERE! (You’ll have to request to join the Facebook group first.)

Now that you have this wonderful list for your personal brand and you’ve narrowed down what you want parts of it you want to show up in your brand, you can use this information for things like your about page, writing bios, social media posts and captions, emails for your newsletter and more. You can weave it into your products and services, your branding and really stand out!! Go get ‘em!!

Working with Madison was an absolute joy. She is so centered and calm, but also joyful and always looking to become the best version of herself. She is truly the embodiment of grace and growth.

I love working with full-hearted and creative women entrepreneurs, for I am one and I thrive when I feel my client and I are not only on the same page, but that we could talk for hours. Helping these kinds of women to show up as the face of their brand inside their business is truly an honor and, honestly, is just so damn fun!

Like many of my clients, Madison rented a beautiful home rental for her personal brand photo shoot. This option makes a lot of sense if your home and/or work space is dark or doesn’t align with the message you want to convey. The bright home with mainly light decor, woods and plants, combined with some pops of color really went along well with Madison’s brand of down-to-earth, positive, hopeful, and welcoming.

For her wardrobe, we stuck to light yellow, neutrals, denim, and some maroon.

The “struggle” - and I put that in quotes because very brand shoot has a struggle, but it’s not REALLY a struggle for me, it’s usually something that the client comes in with that we need to break through a little bit.

For Madison, she wanted to bring in some of her playful side, but she’s naturally shy in front of the camera. In this case, it’s all about making sure you have a connection with your branding photographer and being able to trust her. Personally, I’m all about being a goofball on my shoots and that really tends to put people at ease and help them open up so that we can really capture who they are!

Her website is beautiful - so centered and peaceful - and you can also see how she used her brand photos on it! I LOVE seeing how my clients use their photos on their website!

Scroll down to see some screenshots from her website!

SCREENSHOTS OF MADISON’S WEBSITE & HOW SHE’S USING HER BRAND PHOTOS:

Working with this wizard of words was an absolute blast. She’s a copywriter and her whole business framework is around theatre and theatre themes (note: you totally don’t have to have anything to do with theatre to work with this brilliant woman) .

For this personal brand photoshoot we rented an AirBNB in Nashville. We were able to utilize the room itself, the lobby area as well as the outside entertainment area, which was great!

I’m always a fan of confetti, especially when using those photos to welcome people in, whether it’s for a course, a program or just a 1:1 client. This particular use of confetti was hilarious. We just kept throwing it and making a confetti mess in this AirBNB, but it was okay because I brought my shop vac! haha!

Usually by the end of a brand shoot we’re having a blast, which was absolutely the case when Alex was sitting on the floor and pouring champagne into an Alice in Wonderland tea pot. Because why not?!

Working on branding and brand photos for creative female entrepreneurs is definitely a source of joy for me, and this shoot was no exception!

Jamie Trull and I met shortly before the cusp of her gigantic business blow-up. She was talking to an out-of-state friend who told her that she should attend the Blissdom Conference. So, Jamie looks it up, sees me listed as a speaker, recognizes me from our neighborhood Facebook page, and BOOM! The rest is history.

Well, almost.

When I first met with Jamie, she was doing 1-on-1 small business finance coaching for women owned business, so I asked her to send me her pricing info. OMG, you guys. The PDF that she sent me was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen. We’d literally just met hours prior, and I sent her a message saying, “You can’t charge these prices looking like this.” HA! And I redesigned her PDF.

From there, I officially took on her visual branding - colors, fonts, patterns (ever see Jamie wearing animal prints? Yeah.) and her brand photography.

When we got around to her personal brand photoshoot, I knew she was going to be creating at least one course, and that it was going to be about finances in business. I’m not the kind of photographer that just takes photos of you with a mug and laptop and moves on. NOPE, I take a look your brand story, your promotions, your products/services and think: HOW CAN WE SAY ALL THIS IN PHOTOS? This means we shot for each module in her course, we shot images that would work for FB ads, her sales page, her website, her Facebook group and more. We shot to tell the story of her motivation, we shot the “mompreneur” storyline - all of it. And LET ME TELL YOU, Jamie is a MASTER of utilizing each and every image to TELL & SELL!

Check out how she uses her images:

ON HER WEBSITE

ON HER INSTAGRAM

ON A SALES PAGE

And, if you’re not already in her group that hit 30,000 members as of the time of this writing, then you might want to check it out! It’s a FREE Facebook group called Financial Literacy for Women Business Owners and it is a rockin’ hoppin’ place full of information, help, celebration and resources!

Check out what Jamie has to say about working with me!

Kristina and I have been friends for a few years now. She is one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met in my life. She is HONESTLY just as beautiful inside as she is outside. And her art is equally as beautiful.

I had wanted an art piece from her for a while, so I was like, “HI. Do you want to trade?!” I got a gorgeous and giant painting that hangs in our entry way and she got all these gorgeous photos of her beautiful self, family and art!

She’s the third painter I’ve worked with, and it’s just so fun. I get so inspired by other artists and it becomes to use the look and feeling an artist’s paintings to help me in creating a concept and look for their brand photos. Kristina’s home matches her artist vibes so well (clean and cool) that it was easy to shoot in her home and have it mesh with her work photos.

When I work with a brand client with kids, we always have a conversation about how the kids fit into the brand. Some clients don’t want their kids in at all and it’s not necessary to do to connect with their ideal client. Some only want a little and for other clients the family almost IS the brand.

For Kristina, family is hugely important for her and her kids are her life. She loves encouraging them creatively, so it made sense to include them in part of our brand photoshoot. She got out some watercolors for the kids and they enjoyed painting while we captured some creative time with kids!

As with any brand shoot, we make sure to capture a mix of headshots, behind-the-scenes, “working” shots, details, some more thoughtful shots that let the individual talk about deeper thoughts and feelings, family time and fun!

If you want to check out more about Kristina and her beautiful art, she’s over on IG and she keeps her stories updated when she has sales! You can also contact her about commission work. She’s amazing!

Mary is a writer, she’s had two books published to date and she teaches others to go from idea to book in no time! What I loved about her right away is that her focus was to help people discover their creativity by loosening the constraints of the “rules.”

We had a lot of fun figuring out her brand photography session! We only used her home for the shoot (no other locations, but look at all the variety!) and it was perfect. It’s common to use someone’s home as part of their shoot, especially if they also work from home. People love to see your workspace!

This was the FIRST photoshoot I’d done since COVID-19 quarantine, so I wore a mask the whole time, which was INTERESTING for sure! It kept causing my eyepiece on my camera to fog up, and I didn’t have much peripheral vision below me, so I ran into some things a few times! But we still had a really amazing brand session!

Since she does work from home and is also a mom, we brought her son in at the end of the shoot. She is often teaching other work-from-home moms so it’s important to show that she GETS IT!

One of the things I always make sure of is that wardrobe choices & elements in each photo point to each other. So, she’s got the yellow striped shirt, which also goes with the lemons, and the vase from the lemonade matches the pillows that are outdoors when she’s journaling! These are the kinds of things that will keep her brand photos looking consistent no matter where she uses them!

SHE HAS USED HER PHOTOS BRILLIANTLY ON HER WEBSITE! Check it out to see what’s possible with the RIGHT brand photography!

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Working on creating your own brand?
Let me help you!!

Hey, I’m Liza. I’m a personal brand photographer and I’m here to give you the TOP SECRETS to creating beautiful, cohesive photos for your Instagram feed! Why would I do that?! Because I’m all for making things look prettier - I’m obsessed with all things visual - and because I believe in YOU even though I don’t even know you! If you want to use Instagram, I’m guessing it’s for GOOD and I want to help you STAND OUT because you are full of amazingness. I just know it. 💖

You want a cohesive look for all your photos, right?! YES! I know you do! You’re drooling over all those gorgeous Instagram feeds - the white & black aesthetics, the light and airy aesthetics & those moody & retro ones - AH! They have you like, “OMG, how do I DO THAT?”

So, you run off figure out what filters from A ColorStory everyone is using or you download Lightroom and get lost trying to figure out how the heck to purchase and install presets - and then, when you’re like, “Ok! I got my filters, my presets, I’m ready to rock!” and you apply them…and they don’t look quite right on every photo.

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Once you learn about the BIG FOUR to consistency here in this post, you’ll be ready to find out if you’re accidentally REPELLING your ideal client on Instagram! This guide gives you instant insight on how to find out & what to do about it - and will give you clarity on what things to focus on in YOUR Big Four!

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What’s up with that?! You were hoping that the FILTER would be the answer! But it’s not. Yes, it helps, for SURE, but ONLY if you have these things in place FIRST.

You need to have a consistent look to your photos BEFORE applying a filter or preset.

How do you do that?

You need to be consistent with AT LEAST THREE of the following BIG FOUR:

1. LIGHTING

2. LOCATIONS

3. COLOR

4. SUBJECT

If you can be consistent with each of these, you can end up with photos that produce feeds like these:

(We’ll break each one down in a minute!)

Let’s look at a feed that violates each category of consistency. And, you guys, all of these are PROFESSIONAL photos. So, even professional photos not put together thoughtfully will be a mess:

LIGHTING

If you’re posting photos with all kinds of light - bright daylight, sunset, indoors with lamps, diffused window light - you’re creating a lighting mess. Also, if you’re posting photos taken at all different times of day - early morning light, midday light, golden hour and blue hour (just after sunset) - you’re creating the same mess.

Let’s analyze the lighting in the feed here. In order from left to right, top to bottom, these are the types of light we’re looking at:

1. Direct sunlight

2. Diffused sunlight (but direct in the background)

3. Diffused, rainy day

4. Backlight

5. Direct, sunset

6. Dappled (mix of direct & diffused

7. Direct, sunset

8. Backlight, sunset

9. Indoor, lamps, early evening

10. Diffused, midday

11. Artificial light, night

12. Diffused, inside, morning

13. Direct, golden hour

14. Direct, midday

15. Direct, afternoon

When we choose to post so many different types of lighting on our Instagram feeds, it doesn’t matter how great the photos are, it starts to look a little messy.

It really helps if you can stick to 1-3 types of light at the same time of day. That will help your consistency IMMENSELY. Make sure the lighting you use conveys the message that you want - bright day is more fun, cloudy days and diffused light inside can be calmer for instance.

LOCATIONS

Want to know the biggest secret for consistency? As a brand photographer, I shoot all my clients in the same several locations and then they just use those photos OVER AND OVER. So, it might be: kitchen, home office, a green field and living room. If you travel and that’s part of your feed, you’ll notice that travel Instagrams also stick to the same TYPES of locations. So, beaches, boats and sand. Or buildings from around the world.

If we look at the same not-so-pretty Instagram feed above, we see that there are 15 different locations!! They range from backyards to a train track to a bee farm, boat in the Bahamas, living rooms and more! What kind of consistency can we find there?! Not so much!

color

Knowing your brand/feed colors and sticking to them is a HUGE piece of consistency.

Colors can show up in all kinds of places: backgrounds, patterns, clothing, props

You might have brand colors that are yellow, orange and blue, but only want them to show up in wardrobe choices, for instance.

It’s important to stick to a color palette that is pleasing to the eye (meaning, they all go well together) and that represents your brand style.

Once you know your colors, make sure you stick to those. Each photo doesn’t need every color, but the colors should show up together around your grid.

subjects

It’s important to keep the same or similar subject in your Instagram feed. If you take photos of kids and then adults and then cats and then mugs and then pillows - it’s going to get a little crazy! But if you can keep the same or similar FACES in each of your photos, you’re on a great path. There are lots of influencers and other personal brands that will travel around and thus won’t always have access to the same locations each time, but the fact that they still use the same kind of lighting, color palette and THEY show up as the subject of the MAJORITY of their photos, then consistency isn’t a problem!

Let’s look at a feed that’s consistent with the Big Four & see WHY IT WORKS:

LIGHTING:

Everything is diffused light.

When outside, this means it’s either cloudy outside or our subject is in the shade. When inside, this means all the lights are off and subject is lit by soft window light. (ie: sun isn’t directly streaming in)

LOCATION:

Three main locations throughout.

OUTSIDE: Colorful murals serve as different-but-similar backgrounds.
OUTSIDE: Coffee shop
INSIDE: Living room couch
INSIDE: Bedroom
Since inside was all her home, the aesthetic there is very similar.

COLORs:

MAIN: Blues, Teals, Orange, Yellow, White (even the dogs fit in to the white & orange/bown color theme!)

SUPPORTING POPS:
Red: her bag strap in a few and the Coca Cola fridge she’s sitting against, the words on her clutch. So that’s something that can come up now and then in small pops.
Pink: the “hello gorgeous” sign and some on the murals.

SUBJECTS:

It’s just her and her dogs the whole time!

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Let’s look at another feed that’s consistent with the Big Four & see WHY IT WORKS:

LIGHTING:

Mix of diffused light & direct outdoor light. Indoor is mid-day. Outdoor direct is late afternoon as the sun lowers.

LOCATIONs:

All indoor locations are her home & each room has a very clean white aesthetic with black accents. Pops of color look more like confetti than true blocks of color.

Outdoor location uses same black/white aesthetic with white brick and black garage doors. Keeps consistent with indoor color scheme.

COLORs:

MAIN: White, Yellow, Black, a neutral palette with confetti-style pops of bright colors. Color pops show up in playroom area and match with the color pops in her art studio & paint.

SUPPORTING POPS:
Blue Jeans & some army green.

SUBJECTS/PROPS:

Family, Family Connection
Her
Paint & Paint Supplies
Kids Toys

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Let’s look at one more feed that’s consistent with the Big Four & see WHY IT WORKS:

LIGHTING:

Mix of diffused indoor & outdoor.
Late afternoon + early evening light.

LOCATIONs:

AirBNB apartment rental + common areas.
All one central location = consistency because apartment complex is decorated and designed cohesively.
Apartment room itself.
Oudoor common area.
Indoor common area, upstairs & downstairs.

COLORs:

MAIN: Yellow, Rose Gold, White, Woods/Camel

SUPPORTING POPS:
Blue Jeans & some greenery

SUBJECTS/PROPS:

Her
Laptop
Books
Bracelets

As long as you are consistent with AT LEAST THREE of THE BIG FOUR, you’re well on your way to a gloriously cohesive & gorgeous Instagram feed!

Q&A:

• So what do you do if your look has been diffused light so far because you took photos on a cloudy day, and now you’ve run out of photos so you’re doing a new shoot and it’s SUNNY? Well, then you make sure you take a ton of photos in the new light (or in the new location or whatever) and then your IG will shift a bit, but it will still be consistent as you keep sharing the updated look! It helps if you only change 1-2 of the BIG FOUR at a time so the shift is gradual and natural!

• Example of 3 out of the four: you might have different locations, but they’re all white aesthetic with bright natural light, keeping with colors in wardrobe and props, and keeping with same subject - and you’re STILL all set!

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Now that you know about the BIG FOUR when it comes to consistency, you ready to find out if you’re accidentally REPELLING your ideal client on Instagram? This guide gives you instant insight on how to find out & what to do about it - and will give you clarity on what things to focus on in YOUR Big Four!

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Now, for fun, let’s look at what happens when you take your colors and bring them into some quote graphics using the above feeds as examples!!

Is Your Instagram REPELLING Your Ideal Client?!
Get the workbook & find out!

Looking for more branding support & inspiration?! I’ve got options for you!

• Come join my Create Your Badass Brand Facebook Group!

• Submit your Instagram feed via IG DM to be reviewed by me! Weekly reviews in my stories!

• Get the “Is Your Instagram Repelling Your Ideal Client” Workbook!

“I want to do something fun. I want to show that I’m fun to work with. Oh, and I usually don’t like photos of myself.”

Yes! This is what I am SO USED TO HEARING and I am always up for the challenge! Basically, women want someone who can capture their true, authentic selves (often, the lightheartedness and laughter) and also make them look good. ;) OF COURSE we want those things! I want those things FOR you! Which is why I make sure that I have a connection with all the clients I work with so that we both feel free to be ourselves and get a little silly, so we can have a great shoot AND a good time.

Lauren and I had a blast at her short brand session - probably because we’re both Jersey/NYC and both have two daughters that are the same age! She moved to Nashville not too long ago and came down here with her passion for clean-palette New York City fashion and a desire help on all levels of fashion! She has some serious knowledge of top brands & a keen eye for what goes together in super cool ways. Since she really wanted her and her outfits to be the feature of this shoot, we went with a clean white background for all her personal brand photography!

If you want to see how she’s using some photos on her website, just click here!

And if you’re looking for even white background brand photography inspiration, check out my Pinterest board all about it!

Looking for more personal brand shoots? Check these out!

See anything that inspires you? Make sure to save it to a Pinterest board!

“I hope this isn’t weird. I just wanted to tell you that what you do is so important. My son never smiles in photos and he’s smiling in these. Please keep doing what you do.”

Those were some of the first things that Courtney ever said to me when she called me, out of the blue, after receiving her son’s school photos from the Montessori school that I work with every year.

THAT, my friends, is an ideal client. From then on Courtney and I connected and talked of being creatives and the joy and struggles of those gifts. She’s an amazing human for so many reasons, not the least of which is that she simply cannot do fluff talk and gets right to the hearts of things. She hears you, she’s honest, she’s raw, vulnerable, full of faith and ridiculously talented and passionate. She would fit right in with the coolest art scenes of NYC, but instead navigates suburban life outside Nashville, TN.

When she said she wanted to do a personal brand photoshoot, I was practically jumping up and down. After the planning session we had (that I have with all my On Fire clients), I could barely contain myself. I was beyond stoked for this brand shoot.

Her art is dark, deep, soulful; it makes you a little uncomfortable - and that’s the way Courtney wants it. She wants you to feel moved out of your comfort zone, but also so in love with the paintings that you must have them on your wall. I knew this is what I wanted for our shoot. I wanted to make the majority of our shots a little off - maybe the horizon would be a little crooked or I’d miss getting a foot in the frame or the composition would be not quite right. Something so that the viewer would go, “Hmm…there’s something off about this.”

Her brand photography shoot also needed to be moody, have a touch of angst, struggle, and passion. In short, it needed to match her brand dead on so that the images would serve as award-winning supporting actors in the story of her artwork.

She was my first personal brand photoshoot that was an artist/painter, and I have since done 2 more, and I am in love. Artists allow me to bring out my own artistry even further, and each has her own unique style, and creating inside of that is just the coolest.

So, this is some of her shoot. To see how she’s doing an UNBELIEVABLE job using her brand photos & incorporating her own photos of her work and other photos from her phone, check out her Instagram.

Want more brand inspiration?!
Check out these blog posts!

Anything give you some ideas? Pin any of these photos to Pinterest!

Wondering if you’re speaking to your ideal client as clearly as these ladies are? Find out now!

I could not have felt more welcome by these ladies! Amanda Knapp is the CEO & Founder of Sitting Made Simple, a franchise that connects families with babysitters, and these are her current franchisee owners!

Once she was all booked for her personal brand photo session, Amanda & team started sharing on Instagram about their upcoming shoot with me right away. It was so sweet, and made me even more excited to work with them!

Amanda is the “strong female lead” (as her white t-shirt so accurately proclaims) in the black-rimmed glasses, and she is every bit as awesome and badass as she looks. Let me tell you, head-to-toe and website-to-social, this lady has her personal branding DOWN PAT. If you’re wondering how you can knock yours out equally as awesomely, check out my FB group, Create Your Badass Brand!

Our shoot was a walking brand shoot in the Gulch area of Nashville, TN. I love walking shoots. You just walk around an area that you know has some good stuff, and then you stop when something inspires someone! With all the fun walls and murals and textures in the Gulch, we found tons of picture-perfect locations!

Since the franchisee owners are all around the US and them being altogether is rare, Amanda wanted to make sure we got ALL. THE. PHOTOS. We did big groups, small groups, tons and tons of pairs, lots of fun with the Nashville babysitters, then everyone did a wardrobe chance so we could zhuzh it up a bit, and then we shot some more!

Bright pink is a main brand color for Sitting Made Simple, and these gals came ready to rock their brand photos. There were all kinds of pink and red wardrobe choices from shoes and jackets to dresses and skirts. Everyone looked great and totally on-brand individually and group photos worked out perfectly!

They also do an AMAZING - like, UH-MAZING - job using the images from their brand photography shoot on their Instagram feed & in their Instagram stories. Go check it out & see if you can spot all the clever ways they’re using their photos!

Want to rock your IG feed like SMS? Click the button, yo!

If you see something inspiring, save it to a Pinterest board!

“Wait, why are you calling ME?” is what I asked Ashley when she told me she lived in Kentucky. “Because I looked around here for brand photographers and there was no one I wanted to work with. I’m fine driving to Nashville to work with you!”

I mean, why would you ever turn down a client that’s willing to drive quite the drive just to work with you?! Ashley was finishing up a course with a nationally-acclaimed coach so she could launch her own coaching business helping women walk through divorce. She was walking right into this new venture with very much the “been there, done that” story, determined to help other women not only navigate the dark, wooded path of divorce, but to come out the other side with a plan of joy. A way of approaching life that wasn’t about merely surviving alone, but thriving through intentional creation of a life that women adore.

I’ve redone my packages recently, but Ashely did the one that was the equivalent of my current Getting Started brand photography package. It was perfect for where she was in her business as it would provide a great new headshot/profile photo and lots of great 3/4 and full-length options, which are always great for about pages and “work with me” sections. The fact that we were in one location just walking around meant that she could do a few outfit changes, which would provide a nice variety for her Instagram!

As usual, we talked about her ideal client first so we could choose outfits and shot styles that would speak to them best. If you’re still struggling with figuring out your ideal client, I have a blog post all about it!

Her brand is definitely a little more badass and hard-edged than what you might expect, but it speaks very clearly to her ideal client and it stand out, for sure.

If you’re working on your brand, come join my Facebook group all about creating your beautiful, bold, badass brand!

If you hate the thought of posting on Instagram and find it difficult to come up with ideas for photos and captions and just generally want to throw in the towel, you’ve got a problem:

You have no idea who you’re talking to.

In fact, if this is you, you’re likely not really talking to ANYONE. My guess is that you have not-a-one person in mind when you’re posting.

Your brain goes like this (usually right when you’re trying to fall asleep at night, right?): 

Oh, my gosh, I haven’t posted in FOREVER! I need to post something ASAP so people don’t think I’ve gone out of business! I hate posting, I don’t know what to post. Ok, let me scroll through my camera roll and see if I’ve taken any Instagram-worthy photos lately…hmm...this one of all of us at the skating rink is fun. Skates are cool, right? It shows I’ve gone out, been social, that I do things…. Yeah, this’ll work. I know I should probably post something about my product or service, but that seems so SALESLY and I don’t want to be all yucky, so I’ll go with this shoes-with-wheels deal! 

*writes post, which consists simply of “Fun times!” or possibly “Fun times with friends!”*

*uploads post*

*feels immediate pit in stomach that was the entirely wrong thing to do*

Sound familiar?! Yeah. No game plan = last-minute posting of horribly-lit photos that have nothing to do with what you’d love to actually get paid for.

I GET IT. I have been there more times that I can to admit and more recently than I care to admit.

It’s SO EASY to forget that we are on Instagram FOR A REASON (which is NOT “make ourselves feel bad about our lives,” btw). We are on Instagram to GROW OUR BUSINESSES.

That means we need to connect with potential clients, people who could possibly help us, share about what we do, what we offer, how we are unique and, most importantly, how we solve a problem for our ideal client.

AH. There it is. That evil phrase: IDEAL CLIENT.

Why do we resist really digging in and figuring out who our ideal client is?! Well, it takes time and thought and planning and usually stepping away from the computer. It’s a process that doesn’t have a quick “check THAT off the list” feel to it, so instead, we skip it and do things that we CAN check off our lists quickly (like posting a photo that has nothing to do with anything).

So, we can’t get our ideal clients to pay attention to us, let alone want to part with their money for us, if we aren’t even talking to them.

Imagine this: You are standing in the doorway of a beautiful boutique storefront - it’s YOUR storefront! You have made it pretty and you have honed in on your product or service and you are standing there as hundreds and hundreds of people walk by, all ready to spend money at all these different boutiques! Suddenly, a group of grandparents and their little grandkids walk by! How cute! Oh, they’re so adorable! You start chatting, asking what their plans are, telling the little kids that you love their shoes and their hair bows and then you wish them all the BEST day as they walk by. As you wave goodbye with a huge smile on your face, you look past them on the other side of the street and you see them: a group of women wearing outfits like you sell! They have margaritas and cute coffee mugs - that’s what you have inside! Suddenly, you realize they are YOUR PERFECT CLIENT!!! But it’s too late! They are too far down the street and you were too busy talking to the little kids. They didn’t even know you were there. And they would have LOVED everything about your store. 

This is what happens when you don’t do the work. You waste time talking to the wrong people. And guys, you can talk until you are blue in the face, but it won’t matter if the right people aren’t hearing you.

This goes for Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, your website, your emails, EVERYWHERE that you show up as your brand. 

So what can you do?

The work. You figure out who the heck you need to be talking to. You figure out everything you can about them. 

But let’s make it easier. Let’s make it check-off-able so it’s not so overwhelming.

First, let’s get a rough idea of who you might be talking to. Just something blurry for now, okay? If you have had a few clients already where you’ve thought, “YES! THIS is how I want every client experience to be!” Then use them as your starting point. If you haven’t yet, you get to dream! Just think: Who would I LOVE to work with?! Could be a specific person you dream about working with or could be made up right from the start. 

Ultimately, you want to describe a SINGLE PERSON as your ideal client. You’ll even want to give them a name! This helps create things for them on a more personal level! Don’t worry, this is just your focus point. You’ll still attract plenty of people within this circle who might not be exactly this description. You know when you look on a map and it shows the center and then a 20-mile radius in a circle around it? That center dot is your focus point, your destination, your SINGLE ideal client. If you get to that, you’ll have a circle around you that you’ll hit in different ways - some will identify with parts of your ideal client and some with others, but, either way, you’re reaching that whole radius of people!

Now, let’s answer some questions that are check-off-able to help you knock this step out RIGHT NOW!!

If you really like checking things off and you like pretty checklists, I’ve created one for you for free that you can download! They’re the exact same questions as right here, but they just give you that yummy satisfaction of filling in your answers and checking off your boxes! And you’ll also have a pretty printout with all your ideal client info for easy reference!

TIPS: Keep in mind a few of your favorite clients. Ask a few people these questions who you think might be your ideal client. Look at some clients or friends on Facebook that you think might be your ideal client and look at the groups they are a part of and any other interests.

1. How old is your ideal client? 

2. Are they male, female or identify in some other way?

3. What is their marital status?

4. Do they have children? If no, is it by choice? If yes, what is the age range of their kids?

5. What time do they wake up?

6. What is the first thing they drink in the morning?

7. What do they eat for lunch?

8. What is a typical day like for them?

9. What podcasts do they listen to?

10. What books do they read?

11. What is something little that bothers them?

12. What is something big that worries them?

13. Do they work? What do they do for work?

14. What are 1-2 personal goals they have?

15. What are 1-2 business goals they have?

16. What do they wish they had more time for?

17. What would they do with an extra $1,000/month? An extra $5,000/month?

18. Where do they live? City? Suburbs? New construction house? Apartment?

19. What is their shopping guilty pleasure?

20. Who or what inspires them?

21. As it relates to your product or service, what is something they complain about that you can help with?

22. What do they worry about outside of your product or service?

23. What do you offer that can help them the most?

24. What 3-5 words would they use to describe themselves?

25. If they got to design their perfect living room, what would it look like? Color scheme? Where would the furniture be from?

26. Your ideal client walks up to a bar. What do they order?

27. What is their dream vacation?

Alright, if you answered those (and checked them off as you went!), you should have a pretty clear idea of who you are talking to!

What now?

Well, if you’re ready for the next step, I have another free resource for you! It’s a 16-page guide with 6 printable worksheets: “Is Instagram Repelling Your Ideal Client?. Now that you’ve got some ideal-client-clarity, it’s time to learn how to talk to them visually! Learn if you could even be repelling them, and learn what to do about it TODAY!

When I arrived at Meg’s home, my immediate question was, “Why is this not ANYWHERE in your Instagram feed?!” See, Meg is a painter, whose style is distinctly like her mother’s, and she is also a non-practicing architect. And, with her architect’s eye and skill, she designed her current home. And it’s stunning.

I was immediately thrilled about her upcoming brand photography shoot just two days later.

As I walked through her home, hearing how she simply hated the entire process of posting on social media, I knew that showing the beauty of the spaces around her house would only serve to lend legitimacy to her artistic eye as a painter.

Not only do people love seeing behind-the-scenes, they also want to see evidence that you’re good at what you do. That you not only talk the talk, but that you walk that gorgeous walk as well, and Meg certainly does. As we walked around and chatted during her pre-session consultation for her brand shoot, I began talking about showing her house along with her art. I talked about how she could share her artistic process, how she learned painting from her mother, how she designed her home, her favorite spots in her house, what motivates her as a painter, etc.

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Often, we’re not excited about social media because we don’t know our ideal client and we don’t have a plan.

See, like most women, Meg wants to be able to leverage Instagram to sell her paintings, but she’s been inundated with the idea that she has to share all kinds of private things in order to be successful. MANY women tell me this. They say, “I’m a private person, but I know I need to be on Instagram for my business.”

Like I talked about in a recent weekly live in my Facebook group Create Your Badass Brand, you do not need to spill personal and private details about your life in order to be successful, I PROMISE! For someone like Meg, simply sticking to the categories of things I just mentioned would give her plenty to talk about, AND feel like her audience was getting to know her!

We can talk about things we love, things that motivate us, things that can get us stuck, dreams we have, even a favorite eye cream - all without divulging intimate details about our marriages or our finances or any other private matter that is no one else’s business and still make it so that we have created a connection to our audience.

Once we got through that and the ideas for images and content started rolling, Meg began to realize how much easier it was going to be posting on Instagram once she had the photos to help her say what she wanted to say! By the end of our consult, she was telling me she was EXCITED!

Two days later we had a beautiful shoot, which resulted in not only a unique brand photography session that showed off her super artsy in-home studio and her at work, but also the beauty of the home around that she created. I can’t wait to see what she does on social!

If you’d like to see more of Meg’s work and what she’s up to, check her out on Instagram!

Good gosh was Diana a treat to work with! She’s a clarity coach for millennials (how cool is THAT?) and helps them make decisions! You guys, I’m technically a “Xennial” (those few 6 years right between Gen X and Millennials where we didn’t have the internet growing up, but we applied for jobs online), and I’m pretty sure I could use her help, because I can TOTALLY get stuck in second guessing myself! Anyone else?

Diana was already working with a web designer and re-brand coach, Tiffany Tolliver of The Emma Rose Agency, when she found me. Working with the two of them was AMAZING. The funny part is that I met Tiffany at Amber Housley’s intimate event, Inspired Retreat, last May and she didn’t know Diana had chosen me to be her brand photographer, so when we each found out were were like HEY, GIRL, HEY!

Tiffany had done tons of work already on Diana’s new brand, including all her brand colors, her brand words and they even picked out this amazing Air BNB called Niido’s Treehouse in a super trendy apartment complex in Nashville! How cool is this place?! GAH!!! The photos of it had me drooling before I even got close to the building!

Don’t worry if you don’t have someone helping you with all that yet! When we work with my On Fire packages, I help you figure a lot of that out! Also, if you need to get clear on your ideal client, I have a blog post to help you do that and have fun at the same time! And THEN, once you’ve got that, I’ve got a freebie guide + workbook where you can figure out what kind of imagery you need to use to ATTRACT that amazing client on Instagram!

I was also excited to work with Diana because this was my first brand photoshoot for an African American woman of color, and goodness, you guys, is this an under-represented area when it comes to not only female entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship in general! I was like, “Yes! I will give you amazing photos to support you in doing amazing things!” (Which is also how I treat all my amazing ladies.) Just the other day there was a woman in of my biz groups on Facebook saying how hard it was to find inspiration on Pinterest for women of color brand photography, and IT IS!! So, we’re definitely getting Diana’s shoot on some boards!

So, as I was ogling all the photos of Niido’s Treehouse and the common areas we would be able to shoot in, I was dreaming of beautifully lit photos on the green couch, sun streaming in, soft diffused light…and then…it rained. Like, so much rain and darkness and thick clouds. And Diana’s schedule was squished and we only had a certain window and, because of the weather, the whole place got DARK. FAST.

We definitely got some amazing shots of her in the apartment in front of that to-die-for muted green bookshelf with that golden frame that worked so gorgeously with her skin, so that was a major plus! As for the rain outside and the darkening sky, it wasn’t what I’d pictured and it wasn’t ideal, but you know what? WE MADE IT WORK. I’d even go so far as to say WE ROCKED IT.

I had brought one of my lights with me, so I just moved it around until I found a spot I liked and we kept shooting!

So, one of the things I like to do, even with my Getting Started packages, is to make sure my clients have a few shots that will help them tell stories - either of the creation of their brand or something more personal (though, they are often one-in-the-same) - so when Diana started talking about the high expectations placed on her at an early age, I knew we needed something for that.

Toward the end of the shoot, back in the room, I had the idea of her “casually” knocking a bunch of books off the table as a way to represent breaking through that perfection syndrome for her. She loved it, so we shot it.

In designing her shoot, Tiffany & Diana had decide on a shoot that was:

• Regal

• Classy

• Velvety Smooth

• Like a masculine-scented candle

We needed people to see her photos and feel:

• Safe

• Like Diana could be a friend and a guide

• Inspired

• Confident in Diana

Personally, I LOVE her shoot, (even with the dark clouds!) and I love even more how Tiffany so brilliantly and beautifully incorporated the photos into her brand!

CHECK OUT DIANA’S WEBSITE TO SEE HOW SHE USES HER PHOTOS
CHECK OUT DIANA’S INSTAGRAM TO SEE HOW SHE USES HER BRAND PHOTOS TO TELL HER STORY

Lindsay Stafford, the owner of Prickly Dame, mama to two adorable kiddos & wife to the original guitarist of the band Train, makes some dang cool jewelry. She started woodworking in 2015 and now makes jewelry out of reclaimed wood.

She recently launched her business online and wanted some photos for a “creator card” that she’d be putting with each purchase as well as having some new personal branding photos for her website.

In our current online consumer world, potential customers and clients want to see your face. They want to feel like they have a general idea of who you are, and having a variety of photos on your website - especially where you are looking directly into the camera (basically, virtually making eye contact with your customer) - can help achieve that. If you’re not a recognizable giant brand like Target or you don’t have that personal connection point, people are simply not as likely to purchase from you as they are from someone willing to share a bit about themselves.

Now Lindsay, like most women and business owners I’ve worked with, came to me going, “I HATE getting my photo taken.” She’s obviously very photogenic, so it’s not about whether or not “the camera loves you.” For anyone who is camera shy, it’s about feeling awkward, feeling like you don’t know what to do and like you don’t know how to relax and be natural so that the camera can capture the real you. So, how do we overcome this?

It’s all about your photographer, truly. You’ve got to make sure that whoever you choose to do your branding photography is someone that you feel comfortable with. It helps if you can laugh with them and even feel like the two of you are friends. A photographer doesn’t just hold up a camera and snap photos. A photographer’s job is to help you shake off your camera anxiety and have some fun. For this shoot, Lindsay even asked if my neighbor - a friend of hers - could stop by to help her loosen up! OF COURSE I said that’s fine! I’m always game for anything that can make my clients feel less self-conscious!

We blasted some music that she loves, had her friend there, laughed a lot and maybe poured a small glass of champagne (not me, ladies, I need to keep my wit’s about me when shooting)! And we did the whole shoot in about 30 minutes.

The result? Photos that she LOVED and that are getting tons of Instagram love and that are now all over her website. Why? Because they accurately represent who she is and also show off her awesome jewelry!

A single subject and a white background. I’m such a sucker for this look! It’s so clean and classic, and puts all the focus right on your subject. It’s hard to go wrong with this, especially for some personal branding fun.

Caitlin here proves my point. The undistracting background lets viewers and potential clients focus completely on her and get an instant sense of her personality and what she might be like to work with - fun, bold, trendy, sassy and personable.

We laughed a lot through our session, which is always a goal of time in order to help my clients relax and feel like themselves. Whenever I showed Caitlin some sneaks on my camera, her response was always, “Oh, yeah, that’s so me,” which is how I want everyone to feel! And, bonus, she had her bestie come by for the last half of the shoot. If that’s something that will loosen someone up and not make them feel self-conscious, then, I’m all for it!

This Work ‘n’ Play shoot was mainly for Caitlin to have some images to use on her new website for her graphic design business and some for social media posts. She’s got tons of great options for her landing page, about page, how it works section, and just about any other kind of section she could want!

For those influencers and online entrepreneurs needing more variety of branding photos and a consistent stream of images for social media, a personal branding package would make more sense, but this type of shoot can absolutely be integrated into that!

Are you looking to uplevel your branding game?! Click the button for a free chat with me!

When Franklin TN's newest lawyer, Shanone (pronounced "Shannon") contacted me about doing a little personal branding shoot in front of the courthouse, I was so excited! I know it sounds odd, but so many headshots are done in my studio in front of a plain backdrop, that the thought mixing it up a little sounded fun.  She said she'd be using them on her website - that this wasn't just a single-shot deal for something like a corporate team page or a new LinkedIn profile pic - so I suggested we go with two different outfits and that we walk around downtown shooting a bit to get of that small town vibe.

This kind of shoot is a little more involved than a one-off headshot deal, but less so than a full lifestyle shoot.  I like them, also, because it allows me to get to know my clients a little more, and that always helps both of us.

Fun fact about this headshot session: this was the first time I ever had to DARKEN someone's eyes in post-processing!  Her eyes are hands down the brightest, sparkliest eyes I have EVER come across and I had to do just a tad bit of darkening in one or two photos just to help define them!  Isn't that nuts?!