Posed for Success

Whether or not you've had a branding session done, you may not know that it's not a one-and-done photography deal. It's always important to update and refresh your images to make sure they reflect who you and your business are today.

You might be thinking, "I don't need to work with a photographer or I had my pictures done and my website updated a couple years ago." So I've got a few questions you should consider if you don't know whether or not it's time to schedule a new one.

1. You Are Using Old Images

How old are the images that you're using? Are you using old images. Have you changed your style since you had your last pictures? Is your hair cut or a different color. Are you serving a different market? Have you lost or gained 10 lbs? It's important that you have updated, relevant images that reflect you right now.

2. You Are Only Using Stock Images

You should consider booking a branding session if you're only using stock images. Now there is nothing wrong with using stock images. I use them in my own business, website, and courses. The issue comes when you are only using stock images. Because your images will never truly connect to your brand and speak to your customers.

3. Nothing Matches

Does everything you post look a little jumbled because you have old pictures here and there, mixed with newer pictures and updated branding? Are your colors confusing and you're using different styles or fonts everywhere? We talked so much about consistency in building your brand that this is really where it comes down to. You want everything to look consistent. Take a minute and look at your brand. From FB to your website and everything in-between. If it just doesn't look like it's matching then you know that it's time for you schedule a session.

4. You’re Out Of Season

You should definitely try to have a brand session every season, so that your images are current and relevant to the times. Otherwise you will come across as disconnected to your clients and current issues. I always talk about being really intentional when it comes to writing your captions when it comes to talking to your audience so make sure that your pictures are intentional and it matches that. 

Links Mentioned in this Episode

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Discovery Call on Calendly

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Charlotte Kaye aka the Airy Fairy Feminist, is a life coach, decluttering coach and podcaster. Through her services she helps women be who they are and do what they want guilt free.  She is also the creator of the online course “Be You: Awaken Your Inner Badass”.

What she loves most about her work is that she gets to support her amazing clients in bringing their most authentic, confident selves to the forefront of their life. Charlotte loves to help people discover their true calling in life and incorporate that into what they do in real authentic ways.  She truly believes that when we follow what lights us up we create a kinder, more inclusive, world.

In this episode we talk all about how you can build your personal brand by learning to accept yourself, exactly as you are.

It’s so important because when we are building our businesses, this is something that we have to face daily. And it can be one of the biggest things that holds us as women entrepreneurs back.

So many times we don’t think others will accept us because we don’t know how to accept ourselves. 

Charlotte teaches women entrepreneurs all about mindset and meditation. Not just to calm you down, but to get you into the action you need to grow your business.

Charlotte says that there’s no such thing as being bad at meditation. I’ve been taking this to heart and have been working on a daily morning meditation.

I’ve been able to get into my body and calm my mind, and I’ve been able to move the needle in my business even more. Plus I can show up even more. 

So I challenge you to try it. I promise that it can be a part of making you a better business woman and more in touch with you clients!

Links Mentioned In This Podcast

Airy Fairy Feminist

Be You: Awaken Your Inner Badass Course

Airy Fairy Feminist Podcast

Playing Big by Tara Mohr

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Have you ever avoided getting you pictures taken because you just feel unnatural or awkward in front of the camera?  

Girl....read on!

I know far too many people that have had a bad experience with pictures. Having a bad session can totally turn us off from taking photos. 

But what I want to tell you first and foremost, is that if you are hiring a personal branding photographer, you want to make sure that you are hiring someone who knows their stuff. There’s a HUGE difference in someone who will just push a button to take pictures and someone who knows how to guide and direct you. 

If you are not in a position to hire someone right now, or if you find yourself in a situation where you are not getting the posing direction you need, I’ve got 4 tips to help you feel and look more natural in front of the camera.

1. Incorporate Movement

I always start off my sessions this way. Whether walking, talking, or working, it can help to loosen you up and get more comfortable in front of the camera.

So start with an action. Move around. Walk, talk, make a coffee. Do the things that you normally do in your business. Got it? The ideas are endless.

2. Create Candid Moments

If you do not want to be posed or look stiff, then don’t do stiff things. It can be as simple as playing with your dog or reading a book. 

These moments shouldn’t be perfect or staged. 

What this does is it brings people into your world, virtually, of course….and allows you to be relatable and authentic. 

The best way to be authentic is to invite your audience into your life ever so slightly. Almost like they are a fly on your wall, or your best friend that you’re meeting for coffee.

3. Change Your Focus

So if you’re like, "I’m terrified of getting in front of the camera because I can NEVER take a good picture” then I’ll let you in on a little secret. You DON’T have to look at the camera! 

Think about looking in a different direction, off to the side, even down at the ground. 

Changing your focus can actually help your viewer follow along to where you are looking.

This also adds a ton of variety. You could honestly be in the exact same position, but just turn your head and change your focus a few times and BAM! You’ve got 4 different looks. 

4. Show Emotions

Let your guard down a little and accept who you are….all of you. It’s usually the people who say they want natural looking photos that are stiff and critical of themselves and they think that if they just had a natural looking photo they would like how they look in photos. 

That is 100% backwards. 

We have to be willing to get comfortable with how we look in photos first….no matter what our faces are doing...and THEN we will start to look natural. 

*BONUS* Practice, Practice, Practice

If you want to know how to look natural in your pictures, you need to practice. 

The more you practice, the more natural you will feel when you are posing. I promise. So get practicing, got it?!

*BONUS* Laugh

Just laugh. I spend a huge portion of my sessions with my clients laughing. Because nothing feels more natural or loosens you up more than laughing. 

You’ve been asking it of me for forever and I’ve finally got it for you! 

Introducing the:

Quick Start Brand Posing Guide

This beautiful guide has 10 of my favorite and best selling poses that you can immediately. It’s the perfect guide to start practicing with!

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I recently listened to an amazing podcast by Brooke Castillo on The Life Coach School Podcast. 

She talked all about how you get to be whoever you want to be despite your circumstance. We are stuck indoors, some of you may not be able to work, some of you may have limited customers, or may be contemplating closing your doors. But you can still show up however you want during this.

So how can you show up in your business? We are going to talk about four tips to getting beautiful pictures while you are quarantined. 

1. Find a great place to take pictures

This may not be the first place you think you should be taking pictures at. You'll want to find a location that has the best lighting and a simple background. If you don't have a place like this right now, find a way to rearrange some things so that you can create a space with these two characteristics.   

2. Dress casually, but not sloppy

Unless you get dressed 100% with makeup and hair done every single day you don't need to be dressed super professional for these pictures you are taking.

However, don't swing all the way to the other side and not feel like you have to put yourself together at all.

Find a balance between casual and professional. Real and authentic.

3. Show your work

I want you to focus on showing your work. This is what personal branding is all about and so it doesn't change much now that we're in quarantine. 

However, how you work, where you work, and how you get your work done may change and that's what I want you to show and capture. 

4. Show your personal life

I know that so many of you get nervous about showing the personal side of you and you just want to show up as the brand and the business but this is really great time for you to do a bit of a sneak peek or behind-the-scenes look into your life. 

This is where people are really going to connect with you because many people don't have the ability to connect with others except for through social media right now.

You may not even be taking pictures of yourself or posting regularly during quarantine. And I would like to encourage you to start to do that immediately. 

If you feel like you're being held back for any reason about how to take pictures go ahead use these tips or check out my DIY Branding Photography course, where I teach you how to take your own photos and will even edit them for you! 

All so you can focus on doing the work that matters to you!

Links Mentioned

The Life Coach School Podcast

DIY Branding Photoshoot

How to Take Pictures of Your Products

Understanding the Lighting In Your Home

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Have you ever been approached by an old high school friend or second cousin who you have talked to in YEARS and they have an "amazing" new product for you to try?

It's happened to all of us. But if you really want to have success in sales, you need to build trust between you and your customers. 

Erika Tebbens is a pro at guiding customers down the know, like, and trust path to provide them with the best service you have to offer.

Here's a brief rundown of her amazingly simple method to SALES:

Set the tone - Have a warm, greeting to be acknowledged as a customer.

Ask really good questions - Understand your client's needs in order to know what problem you need to solve.

Listen, Limit, Lead - Listen to your client, limit their options, and lead them to what is best for your client.

Expect the Yes - Be confident.

Sincerely Thank - Show sincerity and lead them to the next steps to take.

This works whether you are selling a service or product.

You want to get the person to the best solution for their current problem right now. Because selling them the right solution builds trust and your customer will come back for more.

Connect with Erika:

FREE - No Sleeze Sales Method

Instagram 

Erika Tebbens Consulting

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Hey friends! If you haven't stopped by my About Me page, let me introduce myself again. I'm Brittany Bennion and I’m a personal branding photographer and business strategist. I help women entrepreneurs learn how to create and use beautiful images of themselves and their products so that they can show up more in the world and serve their clients at a higher level.

If you want to join a community where you can really dig into these topics, I’d like to invite you to join my brand new, private Facebook Group, Posed for Success - Branding Photography and Business Strategy. You can find the link to that at the bottom of this page. We are really awesome and my mission is to help you find greater success in your business.

If you are ready to up level your selfie game, then it's time to dive on into this episode. If you are stuck inside during the quarantine or if you just aren't ready for a full blown branding session, then this information is for you. In fact, I have a whole course just for you.

But whether you're in uncertain circumstances or not, we should always be showing up for our customers and audience. So I'm here to be your one stop shop for creating the pictures that you need to gain the attention of your audience. You don't need to be a photographer or know everything about photography. You are the master of your own craft, and you're rocking it. This is to help you capitalize on every resource available to you that will help you get that edge up.

Here are 8 simple tips to take your own photos to create that perfect instagram selfie. But don't forget to check out the podcast where we go over all the details of how to make these tips work for you!

8 STEPS FOR THE PERFECT INSTAGRAM SELFIE

Step 1:  Turn your indoor lights off and open all the window shades in your house.

Step 2:  Take your photos when the light is at it’s brightest in the room

Step 3:  Turn into the light and get close to your window. Put your camera in between you and the window.

Step 4: Avoid cluttered rooms and make sure to use a room with neutral colored walls.

Step 5: Know your intentions before you start.

Step 6: Use a tripod

Step 7: Watch your angles, explore and get creative.

Step 8: Give yourself lots of time and shoot a lot of pictures.

Now don’t forget to share all of your photos on instagram. Tag me at #brandingbybrit so I can see your amazing work. It’s really not that hard, and it’s actually so much fun once you get the hang of it. 

Podcast Mentions
Intentional Content Creation
Understanding The Lighting In Your Home
Brittany Bennion Photography
Follow me on Instagram
Posed for Success - Facebook Group

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By now I hope that you understand that photography is all about lighting. So if we want to improve the pictures that we take in our home (or office....or anywhere indoor for that matter) we need to understand a few things about it. Starting with color temperature.

Did you know that lights have different colors to them? Color temperature determines the color or warmth of the light. Some tend to be more yellow/orange/red and some tend to be more blue. Color temperature is measured in terms of Kelvin.

So when we use lights that are of a higher Kelvin, or look more blue, we tend to call those photographs, cooler lighting. And when they have a yellow or orange cast to them, meaning we are using a lower Kelvin light, we call those photographs warmer lighting. 

See the chart below if you got confused there.

Most home lighting tends to be warmer because it provides a sense of comfort, while blue lights are used more in industrial settings because it provides a sense of sterilization and cleanliness.

The light that is coming in from your window in the middle of the day is blue light. 

So here’s the trick. Now that you know there are two kinds of light, you should never mix them. What does that mean? Don’t take pictures with one yellow light next to you and one blue light next to you. It will make you have some pretty funky skin colors or your product will start to look green and discolored. 

Now why is it important to keep your lighting the same and not mix it? Well we talked about how it can make your colors look funky….but the hardest thing is that it’s difficult to fix it later on. Because I always want you to take some time to review your images and edit them before you throw them up on your website or social media to represent your professional business. 

If you have all the lighting the same, it’s easy to edit them, because you can just use universal editing, which means editing that effects the entire image, rather than having to do selective editing, which means edited different parts of your picture in different ways. That’s way too much work and you don’t have the time to meticulous correct all of your pictures after the fact when you could have solved the problem by just turning off one hallway light.

You can only know what lighting is best in your home if you practice. As a business owner, look for examples of lighting that you like. Test it out. 

And while we are under stay at home order, or for any time really, I am here to help you. Learn more about my new DIY Stay At Home Branding Session. You will get guidance all about posing, wardrobe, and lighting in order to take some amazing brand pictures of yourself. Plus….you don’t have to worry about the editing because I will do all of it for you. 

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Do you know what it means to be flexible in your business? When things change and shift in the economy, which they do often, it's important to be able to change and shift too. It's a crucial tool for small businesses.

A strong personal brand can weather storms if you make sure to stay true to your brand throughout a time of crisis. Don't use a crisis as a time to become lax and not "show up".

It's really important to note that we do need to focus on consistency with our clients.

So here are three different ways in which you can think about pivoting your business so that you can continue to stay successful and viable during this unique time.

1) Think about what problem your customer is currently experiencing. In times of crisis or economic uncertainty, this probably will be a different problem than you're used to solving. Deep dive into what your current customer are saying or asking they need. Listen to their concerns and how it relates to your product or service.

2) Focus on one aspect or feature of your offering and highlight it. Try not to overwhelm your client when they are already overwhelmed. Remember, less is more, so start with one part of your business and highlight that.

3) Try to flip-flop your offering. For example, if you have a service, can you turn it into a product and if you have a product, can you turn it into a service? This helps you maintain your loyal clientele base and provide them a different offering.

I'd like to share an example of pivoting in difficult time.....introducing the DIY Stay At Home Branding Session.

While I cannot physically be in the same space as my clients, I can provide you with the tools you need to take your own branding pictures. From posing to wardrobe and everything in-between. But the best part is I will edit 10 of your favorite images. Thus giving you the professional touch you need to keep your business running.

Check out all the details here!

Take some time to see what it is that you can do in your business to review your offerings and pivot (if you need to) to provide better services to your clients.

Resources:
DIY Stay At Home Brand Session
Britney Garner - Brand Photographer + Brand Strategist
The Show Up System

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Creating flat lays are one of the best things you can do for your business. 

They are fast, easy, and inexpensive.

And the best part, is you can have unique images that are 100% on brand.

You will need a few simple tools in order to create a flat lay. 

The first thing that I would recommend is a poster board. If you don't have poster-board you can go ahead and use a really nicely pressed sheet or wrapping paper. But start with a simple backdrop to display your images.

Don't forget a camera to take your images. These are simple enough to take even with your smartphone.

You'll also need your props that you are including in your flat lays.

Tips to Creating Successful Flat Lays

• Arrange your products in odd groupings.
• Find items that have "on-brand" colors.
• Add dimension by pairing products and items of different heights.
• Get creative with how you arrange your items. You'll be surprised with how many different flat lays you can create with just a few items.
• Get intentional with how you are using your flat lays before you start creating. 

These images are called flat lays because you need to stand above your flat lay and have your camera looking directly down. Like a bird's eye view.

Don't forget to edit your images when you are done! Check out my smartphone course below for everything you need to know on editing photos and flat lays.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Intentional Content Creation
• How to Be Successful During A Crisis
• THE THREE SECRETS TO MAKE YOUR SMARTPHONE PICTURES LOOK PRO

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