November 22, 2024 • 41 mins
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SUMMARY
In this episode, I’m diving into why professional photos are a must-have for your business, how to prepare for a successful photo shoot, and how to overcome any nerves you might have about being in front of the camera. If you’ve been thinking about having a photo shoot but don’t know where to start, I’ve got you covered with practical advice and mindset tips.
We talk about everything from choosing the right photographer and planning your vision, to outfit choices and logistics. I’ll also share how to be authentic in your photos, which is key to building trust with your audience. We discuss how to prepare props, brainstorm locations, and practice poses that work best for your body and brand personality. I also touch on what photo shoot costs can look like and how to work within your budget.
A good photo shoot is an investment in your brand’s image and ultimately in your business growth. So, if you’re ready to take your business photos to the next level, this episode will give you the confidence and clarity to make it happen!
FULL SHOW-NOTES WITH TAKEAWAYS + LINKS
BEST QUOTE FROM THIS EPISODE
- “It’s an investment, not an expense. It’s worth it and not as expensive as you think” – Saskia de Feijter, host
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are you the face of your small business, but camera
shy or stuck relying on selfies?
Let me tell you why investingin a professional photo shoot
might be the best decision foryour brand and how you can
prepare to make it an amazingexperience.
Are you running a textile craftbusiness or dreaming of
(00:21):
starting one?
Whether you are trying to makea living or something extra on
the side, turning from crafterto business owner can be a steep
learning curve.
It doesn't have to be With 16years of experience in running
small business in textile craftsand a drive to build a solid
alternative to fast fashion.
My mission is to provide youwith no BS, actionable exercises
(00:45):
and strategies in a languagethat makes sense to you that you
can implement right away so youcan organize, build and grow
your business.
Don't burn out before you getstarted.
Build a solid base with thehelp of Pattern Shift Podcast
and the Yavol community and itsprograms and the Yavol community
(01:07):
and its programs.
Now, when you have a small brand, it is really really hard to
shine next to all the othersmall brands.
If you're a yarn dyer, if youhave a web shop, if you run a
shop, a local shop, if you're adesigner, there are multitude of
(01:28):
businesses that do the samething and offer similar products
.
So what we do to make ourselvesstand out from the crowd is to
work on our branding, to showwho we are and why we are
different, and we work onbuilding a relationship with our
(01:49):
customers.
We want them to find us, get toknow us, trust us and,
preferably, like us.
How do you do that?
When you land on a website andthere's no face?
Or when you land on socialmedia and there's no face?
It's really hard to connect toa faceless business, and we all
(02:15):
know that we do not likefaceless businesses.
We think about completelydifferent kinds of businesses
when we use those words.
So be different, show yourself,give your audience and your
clients a chance to get to knowyou.
In this episode, we will look atthe importance of professional
(02:38):
photos, at how you can preparefor a shoot, how you can
overcome shyness, the budgetingpart of it, and I will be
sharing bits and bobs of my ownstory.
So why does professionalphotography matter?
Well, there's the part that Ibriefly talked about before.
(02:58):
It's the branding.
It's working on a relationshipwith your audience and
credibility when you are notshowing your face more and more
in a world of dropshippingwebsites, ai everything is
generated by something otherthan a human soul.
(03:20):
It is really nice to be able tobuild some credibility through
professional makers and businessowners like yourself, and in
this case I'm talking aboutprofessional photographers.
I know that AI has been sogreat for us small businesses
with low budgets.
(03:42):
It's been amazing with lowbudgets.
It's been amazing.
But every now and then you haveto invest in your business and
you have to take that extra step, and I believe that getting
professional photos taken is oneof the best ways to start
becoming more and moreprofessional.
(04:02):
If you have professional photos, you are just more credible.
It just really helps to showpeople that you are taking your
business seriously.
You stand out.
So if you go to a festivallet's say, if you go to a yarn
festival or a craft show orsomething like that and you
(04:24):
return home and then you boughtsome things, you collected some
business cards, you signed upfor some newsletters if they did
their job right, you, as abusiness owner, will go to these
websites and will have a lookat who they are websites, and
we'll have a look at who theyare and you want to learn more
(04:45):
about them, and I'm saying as abusiness owner, as a crafter,
you go to these festivals and asa business owners, you go there
as well, in another capacitysometimes, when you are selling.
But the same thing applies.
You come back home, you've madesome new connections, you sit
down at your computer and youwant to learn more about these
(05:07):
people.
Now that would be really niceif you can see their face and
you're like, oh, that was thatperson, they were so lovely, all
of that kind of thing.
So we need to kind ofcounterbalance all the digital
tools and to add a little bitmore humanity into what we do.
(05:27):
It fits what we do, it fits ourvalues and it just makes sense.
I went to the LandelijkeSpindag recently and talked
about that in the last episode,if I remember it well, in the
(05:47):
last episode, if I remember itwell and I did the same thing.
I went on some websites andthere is so much to win there.
There are so many businessesthat clearly are uncomfortable
or don't set out enough time tomake some good branding
decisions.
It is just really let me justtell it like it is.
It's really off-putting if awebsite is not clear, if it's
(06:09):
not inviting, if you don't knowwho you're talking to, basically
.
So yeah, you want to stand outin the digital world and you
want to add some humanity tothings.
It's a huge opportunity to showyourself as you are and how you
are different and how youdifferentiate, not just as a
(06:29):
person, also because of what youoffer, obviously, but that's
another topic for another day.
That is the full branding, whatwe do in branding and figuring
out how your products, yourvalues, how everything
differentiates from yourcompetitors.
But in this case, we talk aboutyou as a person and you have to
(06:52):
communicate with other people,and this is just one of the ways
that you communicate theconnection, the reliability that
communicates to your audience,the reliability that
communicates to your audience.
So, building a connection andshowing that you are reliable,
because you don't hide, that'sreally important.
(07:14):
So, for me, I decided aboutthree years ago, when I closed
my shop and started my businessin its current form, that I
needed to have more images, anda website without images is just
plain boring, and I really needto show people who I am,
(07:36):
because I am basically sellingmyself right now.
I'm selling my ability to helpthem grow their business, and
you don't work with somebodythat you've never seen before.
I mean, yesterday, the solereason that I watched a Zoom
(07:57):
call from somebody that offers acoaching course is because I
wanted to know the vibe.
The vibe is important to me.
I can read what they offer.
I can read their credentials.
I just wanted to know if theyare my people, and they were.
(08:17):
They were amazing and that isreally important.
And when you can do that with apodcast like this one, or a
video or going live or whateveryou want to do, that is great.
But you don't have to becomenecessarily this content maker,
but showing your face is theleast you can do.
(08:40):
So that's what I.
Okay, I made my point.
I made my point.
So I decided that I needed abunch of images and not just
anything.
I mean, I couldn't show theballs of the yarn that I sold
anymore, I didn't have workshopsanymore, so they would have to
be images of me and what I do,which is basically sitting
(09:05):
behind a computer mostly, but Ialso still do a lot of crafting.
I'm fully emerged in the craftworld when it comes to making my
own conscious wardrobe.
So I actually had a photosession where I appeared to be
naked.
I was not, I can assure you, inthe bath with all my yarn, or a
(09:27):
lot of my yarn, in the bathtub.
I have actually more than abathtub full of yarn, but it was
a lot, and we had differentlocations.
We went to the park.
In my house, in my garden, inmy kitchen, my office when did
we go?
Yeah, that was, those were thelocations and it was a really
(09:51):
amazing experience.
It's been three years andhonestly, I haven't even used
all the photos yet.
But I'm getting to the pointwhere I'm like oh, I'm three
years older, I look a bitdifferent.
Now it might be time for somenew pictures, and the weather is
really meh.
I'm hoping for snow, so perhapswhen it's snowy I can set up a
(10:15):
new shoot like a shorter shootfor just snow pictures, because
obviously you can't use them fora whole year.
But we'll get to that, we'llget to that.
But I really so much enjoyedthe whole experience.
Now I have to tell you that I'mnot necessarily camera shy.
I studied photography and a lotof what we did in art school
(10:39):
was model for the other peoplein the class.
I also did some modeling backin the day for hairdressers and
stuff, so I was kind of used toit, but I'm not always my best
self, so I don't.
I'm not always very comfortablein front of a camera.
(11:00):
Sometimes I just don't feelgreat and I know things and I've
learned things that reallyhelped me to get to that point.
So we'll talk about that lateras well, but my photographer was
amazing and we had a wonderfultime.
I would love to interview herone day and just get a little
(11:22):
bit deeper into this subject,but there were so many instances
of lack of connection that Ifound in the websites that I
visited in the last couple ofmonths that I thought it's time
to talk about this subject rightnow and to help you prepare to
do this in the new year.
(11:44):
What was really hilarious isthat Rachel my photographer she
was so fun.
I found her through I thinkmust have been through Instagram
or another business.
Yeah, that's it.
I saw her work on anotherInstagram from a local business
(12:06):
and I really liked it.
I liked the vibe.
When you think about branding,my brand is, of course, I'm in
the needlecraft world, but Iwanted something that was a
little bit edgy but alsofriendly.
So what I decided on is Iworked with an illustrator and I
(12:26):
worked with this photographer.
The photographer had a littlebit more of the edgy side of the
picture.
They have a little bit of abrown, darker filter going on.
She works a lot with peoplethat are tattooed, so we also
got a photo of my knittingtattoo in the bathtub with the
yarn and everything, which wasreally fun, and she just has a
(12:47):
way of making her shots lookrock and roll, which is that was
just what I was looking for.
So the fact that she had herown branding, her own type of
photography, made me decide Ineed to work with her because
(13:07):
she's perfect for my brand.
And then later on, I workedwith Loes van Oosten, who did
the illustrations for my brand,which is more of my friendlier,
more colorful side.
So I've got two parts of my ownidentity connected to my
business identity and all ofthat is my branding and it just
(13:32):
feels like me, which isbasically the point of this
whole episode and my whole jobin the world right now, except
for being a mom and all of thatAmazing experience.
And what I was going to say isthat Rachel was so funny, she
was so good at what she did thatshe although I had some
(13:53):
experience in posing, I wasstill very nervous.
Yeah, I was quite nervous, butshe took that away in like
moments.
She asked me questions and thenwe were in the park and all of
a sudden she yelled out penisesand I was like what?
And then she got my reactionand I laughed so hard and she
(14:15):
took some really cool picturesof me laughing hard and you
might've seen them actually, Iuse them a lot Like I'm really
laughing there because I'm solike embarrassed, but at the
same time, I was like you didn'tjust do that, that was amazing.
So they're professionals, sothey know what they're doing.
(14:38):
So, of course, you're nervous,but she made me feel at ease in
no time.
She was my kind of person also.
We didn't really chat a lot,but we just vibed.
It was just great and I reallyyeah, I really really enjoyed
that.
So that was my personalexperience.
Now we talked about why you wantto do this, why you want to go
(15:03):
for a professional photographyshoot.
Now, when you're here listeningto me and you're like, okay,
okay, I got you, I got you.
You made your point.
How do I prepare for somethinglike that?
Well, here we go.
I'm going to take you throughfive steps.
The first thing that we need totalk about before we get into
(15:26):
the steps is your mindset shift.
There's a lot of us that couldbenefit from having a sit down,
journaling, talking to ourselves, looking in the mirror and
going like listen.
This is not an expense.
This is an investment.
It's worth the money.
It's going to help to make myaudience, my clients, see me and
(15:48):
trust me and choose me becausethey fit.
It's just part of this know,like and trust journey that you
go through as a brand.
When it comes to your audience,they need to know you, then
they need to like you and thenthey trust you and then they buy
(16:12):
from you.
That's the process that they gothrough.
So it's an investment.
It's worth it.
It's so worth it.
What is also important is it isabout presenting your authentic
self.
It's not about perfection.
So I know you might strugglewith perfection.
(16:34):
We've all been there.
I struggle with it.
Still, I have to battle it, butperfection is our enemy.
We just want to be ourselves.
Of course, this photographer isgoing to make us look good,
we're going to wear the rightclothes, we're going to do all
the things, but you have to beyourself.
If you show up as somebody else, if you look at Instagram and
(16:59):
are like I'm going to do it justlike that person, that's not
you.
You have to figure out who youare so you show up authentically
so that vibe comes across.
That's important, otherwiseit's just there's no point to
this, because we're doing thisfor connection and it needs to
be authentic, and I'm all aboutfocusing on the ethical side of
(17:21):
business and we want to be asauthentic as we can be.
Yeah, that's important.
So here we go.
Step one choose a photographer,do your research, find somebody
whose style, as I said, matchesyour brand.
If you haven't done a lot ofwork around branding, you can do
(17:41):
that later.
You can go to patternshiftfmand you can find my course and
do all of that and get there.
But if you haven't done thatyet, it's fine.
Who matches your vibe?
I mean, my teenagers talk aboutvibe a lot.
I love it.
Vibe is a word that is reallyuseful, so I'm using it a lot.
(18:07):
I love it.
Vibe is a word that is reallyuseful, so I'm using it.
And researching is quite simple.
Use Google, use your friends.
As I said, how I found her wason Instagram.
Local businesses see what kindof photographers they've used.
Talk to other people and findsomebody like you would find any
other professional, which couldalso be LinkedIn, by the way.
You might not be on LinkedIn,but that's how people in the
(18:31):
business world kind of meet eachother.
I'm not on there a lot either,but it's very useful for finding
people that you need Right Now.
That's one Choose aphotographer.
Step two plan your vision.
What do you have in mind?
Makeup interest board.
I did that as well.
(18:52):
I just looked at poses, whatkind of lightning?
I think for me, naturallighting is always best, but
that's also a little bit up towhat your vibe is and what your.
Here we go with the vibe again,and what your branding is, and
if you're all like bright lights, neon, disco vibing, then
(19:16):
perhaps no natural lighting, butyou're roller skating in a
disco or something like that.
That's up.
That's up to you.
Think about it, though, andthink about style, ideas that
resonate with your brand interms of clothing and, uh yeah,
the style of the picture ingeneral.
Just collect images, but don'tdo this for months and months
(19:38):
and months, like at one point,it's just going to be okay,
we're going to get going withthis months and months, like, at
one point.
It's just going to be okay.
We're going to get going withthis.
For me, as a fat woman, Icollected poses specifically for
voluptuous ladies.
So what is a good pose for memight be different than if you
are more slender looking or andthat goes for all kinds of
(20:01):
things Say, if you are a lessable bod, how do you want to
pose?
What can you do and look forposes that work for you.
Are you going to go for theprofessional, creative, casual,
bold?
Think about those kinds ofthings.
What is matching with yourbrand?
(20:23):
Think about those kinds ofthings.
What is matching with yourbrand?
And then brainstorm the propsand the locations that could
showcase your businesspersonality, your personality,
your work.
You don't have to be set inyour shop for all the pictures.
You could also be for all thepictures.
(20:47):
You could also be knitting andhaving coffee in a cafe.
I mean, it's not just you inyour business, it's you as a
person as well.
I have some pictures of me withchickens, so that just shows
people who I am, and I like thatkind of thing.
It's really fun.
So think about that and thenstep three outfits and props.
Think about what you'll wearNeutral, bold, connected to your
(21:10):
brand, but keep it comfortablefor you.
You are going to step out ofyour comfort zone, probably
anyway, so you can do a littlebit of that, but it has to feel
like it's still you.
So if you work all day in yourpajamas, then perhaps do not do
that.
But you could do a very cozy onthe couch under a blanket with
(21:35):
a cup of tea type of picture.
That could work.
But if you just jazz it up alittle but make it still be you,
try your outfits on and try thedifferent poses, so that you've
done a bit of that and don'tlook at it as if you're
(21:56):
rehearsing a dance or something.
You don't have to completelyremember all the poses, it's
just that you get a feel for howthese things go.
And it might go completelydifferently in the moment, and
that's fine too.
Just preparing for this makesit like you're more relaxed and
(22:18):
know a little bit of what'sgoing to happen.
When you talk about props, forme that would be computer, my
desk, a laptop and a cafe.
But if you have a shop or dyeyarn, you could be actually
dyeing yarn and pulling the yarnout of the pot and getting your
picture taken that way, thoseare all props.
(22:40):
If you are feeding the chickensor walking the dog, then the
dog becomes the prop.
Don't dress up the dog, though,unless that's part of your
brand, and let me think whatelse it could be something
symbolic, like rainbow posters,anything that matches who you
(23:04):
are, your values, things youwant to communicate and things
that you want to come across toyour audience and clients.
We talked about poses before,and I'm going to come back to
them in step four.
Practicing the poses Using amirror.
You can see what it looks likeif you crush your legs or if you
(23:27):
have like, for instance, if youhave a very bold, colored brand
a jump in the air.
I mean, I know that you'relistening to me and you're
cringing, but if that's yourpersonality, if you're bubbly
and wild, take a bubbly and wildpicture.
Jump up in the air and take thepicture midair.
Throw your yarn in the air andtake the picture while it's
(23:49):
falling down.
I mean, be creative and take,as I said before, when you
practice these poses, it's notgoing to be so weird and so new
and so awkward in the momentwhen you do them for the first
time to look my very, very best,and I think we all have a
(24:22):
little bit of that.
You might consider what angleslook good for portraiture closer
up, and also angles for thebody.
I mean, for me I do notnecessarily like ample feel with
my body because I have a littlebit of depth to my belly
section and it looks for me.
It looks better from the front,I think, for a picture, because
(24:44):
then I have a little bit ofwaist and I don't want to.
This is all me Like.
This is what I feel comfortablein and you need to be you, you
do you.
And if you're like I'm not, Idon't care.
I just want to look like I look, and in every moment.
That's great.
(25:04):
More power to you, do it.
So you want to look like you.
You want to look good.
You're not going to be superfiltered, insta-fabulous, it's
not going to be like that.
But you also don't want to lookin the picture like my husband
takes the worst pictures of meand he's like, yeah, but that's
(25:27):
how you look and I love you,that's great.
But could you just move theangle up a little so I see a
little bit less of my secondchin, please?
Thank you.
And because I used to be aphotographer.
I look at all those detailswhen I take a picture.
I look at, I make sure I payattention to those things, but
(25:49):
some people, they just love you,so that's great.
What was my point here?
Yeah, don't overthink it.
I feel like I'm talking aboutit too much, but I also feel
like I know you and you're goingto be awkward and you're not
going to be comfortable.
So I just want to, on one hand,say don't, don't overthink it,
(26:10):
don't take it too seriously.
It's not a model shoot, it's abrand shoot which is different,
a lot different.
So, be you, but also prepare sothat you can look your best and
you're going to be feelinggreat when you did all the
preparation.
So that was step four, practiceposes.
(26:31):
And now we go into step five,which are the logistics.
Of course, you have to confirmthe schedule and the details
with the photographer.
You've already found thephotographer, you've already
emailed them and you're justgoing to find out how they work
so that you know how muchpreparation you need to do.
(26:51):
You need to know how much timeyou'll have, if you have time to
do multiple outfits or not,because that's going to take
time.
So if you already know whatkind of outfits you're going to
wear and you have them ready,then it's going to be bam quick,
quick, quick onto the next one.
And that's what I did andthat's how I had a very
(27:15):
affordable photo shoot, becauseI was just so prepared.
I hope she wasn't disappointedbecause I was so fast.
I even had it down to my underlayer so that I could just
change in front of her wherever,and that was really fun.
So I just asked her how muchtime do we have?
And we talked about thedifferent locations and we made
(27:39):
it clear beforehand very clearwhat we could expect from each
other.
And then, of course, otherlogistics are before you start,
double check your hair, yourmakeup, any accessories that you
need.
You might want to book anappointment with your
hairdresser and if you do yournails, go do your nails, because
(28:02):
paying for a shoot and havingoutgrown nails or whatever might
not be the best timing for that.
So make sure that you thinkabout those kind of things.
So those are the five steps inthe preparation for a photo
shoot Choose your photographer,plan your vision, outfits and
(28:23):
props, practice your poses andthe logistics.
All right.
So let's talk about budgetingfor our photo shoot Before I
talked about mindset shift andthat you have to see this as an
investment.
Now what kind of general costsare we looking at here?
I think a lot of you want toknow.
(28:44):
So it's just a range I'm givingyou and so that you have a
general idea.
In smaller cities or beginnerphotographers can do photo
shoots from two to 500.
I'm using dollars for thisexample.
I think that because we've gotI've got a lot of listeners in
(29:04):
the USA Hello, usa listeners.
I think everybody kind of knowshow much that would be.
So.
And then when you go to moreexperienced photographers in the
kind of mid-tier market, it'sfrom 500 to 1500 dollars.
And then the high-end custombranding shoots in the large
cities they can go up to from1500 to 5000.
(29:29):
Like, you can go crazy if youwant to.
I wouldn't.
Personally, I think my firstshoot was about 300 euros.
I'm just thinking about this.
Rachel was actually also ourwedding photographer, which was
great.
I completely forgot to tell youthat.
Of course, that was anotherprice range, because that's a
(29:50):
whole other thing, but my firstshort shoot was around 300 euros
.
That is not a lot and you getso much for it.
You can use it forever and everand ever.
It's not like you get just onephoto.
You get a whole range of photosand you can use them in your
newsletters, on your website, onyour social media, like it's
(30:12):
for everything, and it buildsthis relationship with your
customer and it's so worth thecost.
So, yeah, just want to mentionthat if you do want to work with
makeup artists and things likethat, if you want to be fancy,
schmancy and multiple locations,or if they do retouching,
(30:33):
that's a whole thing and that'sa whole different episode as
well, because do you want to dothat?
Do you not want to do that?
I mean, I had a conversationwith her about it and I thought
it was fine to do some like ifthere's a car, well, that's too
big of a thing.
If there's a fly somewhere, shecan take the fly away, but I
didn't want to retouche anythingon me.
(30:55):
So, yeah, of course, all theextras are more, but then you
get a general idea and I'm sureyou are thinking now oh, that's
not too bad.
No, it's not.
It really is not.
If you run a business, set asidea couple of tenors every month
(31:15):
if you are really struggling,but otherwise you should be able
to do this.
So if you're on a tight budget,of course you can do a shorter
session or you can do just oneoutfit.
You can do a mini session.
Just talk to the photographerand see what they can do.
Perhaps they have some kind ofpackage deal.
(31:36):
Do a shorter session now andnext year do another one, and
you can get a discount perhapsan off-season discount, who
knows what they offer.
But I think the quality goesover the quantity.
Prioritize your quality overquantity.
A few amazing photos they cango a long way.
Focus on your website.
(31:57):
That's what you need them forfirst, and everything else is an
added bonus.
Right, I thought it was soworth it.
It was so worth the money, andI'm still using the.
I still haven't used all thephotos, and I remember Rachel
saying that some of the picturesthat are in there now you might
not like right now, but youprobably will in the future.
(32:18):
She was really right.
Of course, you're going to wantto pick out those pictures that
make you look your best first,and then they become a part of
your brand.
They are just there, like yourfont is there and your one-liner
is there.
And if you don't know what thatis, go check out parentshiftcom
(32:39):
and sign up for the course andI'll tell you about the
one-liner.
So that's all for the budgeting.
Now I feel like there's noexcuse.
You really should just go forit.
Overcoming camera shyness, whichis a big thing for a lot of
people.
I think that the majority ofthe clients that I'm working
(33:00):
with now are extremely camerashy and are not great at showing
their faces.
I loosened them up a little bit.
It's going better and better,and even one of them even had a
photo shoot done in the past,but she wasn't using it.
What, seriously what?
She is now, though, because I'msuper strict and mean, so she
(33:25):
is now.
So, yeah, overcoming chimerousshyness.
It's a thing.
You just have to realize thatit's really normal to feel
nervous and awkward in front ofa camera.
Feel nervous and awkward infront of a camera, I like, even
(33:46):
with experience, for me it's thesame thing.
I just have to get over thisinitial and shake your body,
shake it off if you need toBuild that trust with your
photographer.
Some emails, but also maybe acall beforehand.
Some emails, but also maybe acall beforehand, just to figure
out if you can vibe with them.
A good photographer, theyreally know how to help you
(34:09):
relax.
That's their job, right.
They want you to look good too.
They want you to be happy withthe pictures, and so they will
guide you through the poses, andthey should be able to do this
stuff.
This is what they do.
Be honest, share what yourconcerns are.
They've seen it all.
Just if you say like, look, Iknow I've got this second chin
(34:29):
coming and it doesn't make mefeel great.
So if you could like have alittle bit of an extra eye for
that when you take pictures,that would be great.
If you are paying them to notmake you look like somebody else
, but make you look like yourbest self, and this is why
(34:51):
communication and talking isimportant, because from personal
experience, people say you lookgreat, I love how you look as a
fat person.
You always look so stylish orwhatever, and they're very kind,
but they look at me differentlythan I look at me.
So I have my tummy is a littlebit of a part where I'm feeling
(35:13):
a little bit uncomfortable.
I have had moments, years,decades where I didn't care, and
now I care a little bit more.
I'm kind of in a chapter in mylife where I'm a little bit less
comfortable in my skin.
I know it'll pass, but this iswhat's happening right now.
Just talk to the photographerabout it and they can help you
(35:36):
to take the right poses.
Be kind to yourself and you'reoffering value to your audience.
You are giving them somethingthat they wouldn't have if it
wasn't for you.
It is not about communicatingwhat doesn't look good on you.
(35:56):
It's about communicating whoyou are as a person.
That is the focus.
So, even though I know what Ijust said, I want you to feel
good so that you talk to yourphotographer and they can keep
that in mind.
But in the end, be kind toyourself.
It's about showing who you areas a person, not what you look
(36:19):
like as a person.
That's kind of the difference.
Right, you're representing yourbrand and you're not
auditioning for a modelingagency.
What can help?
And it's also a lot of thevoorpret, as we call it in Dutch
like the fun beforehand before.
Is there a word for that inEnglish?
(36:40):
I don't think so.
Like the initiative yeah, thereis a word, but I can't think of
it right now, but like the funyou have before.
The actual thing is, it's greatto do some visualization
exercises, just to visualize theoutcome.
What would they look like?
How could you communicate,elevating your business,
(37:02):
empowering yourself, lookingstrong, confident or lovely,
soft and shy, if that's yourthing.
What would that look like?
And yeah, do some mindfulnessexercises, deep breathing before
the shoot, have a cup of coffeeor tea, and just make sure that
(37:25):
you don't plan all kinds ofthings before the shoot.
Just be kind to yourself and bemindful and visualize the
outcome just as a fun exercise.
I did feel nervous but, as Isaid before, she made me feel at
ease in no time.
It was amazing.
So let me summarize what we'vebeen talking about.
(37:48):
I hope you got some informationthat you didn't have before and
I want to kind of summarize thekey points that we talked about
.
It's so important to show yourface and professional photos.
They build trust and they showthat you are confident and
competent.
We talked about preparingeffectively for a photo shoot,
(38:10):
how you do that and how toovercome camera shyness.
We talked about managing thecost, and I just wanted to leave
you with the thought that youraudience, your clients, they
want to see you.
A shoot isn't just about takingpictures.
It's about sharing your fullstory and building the brand
(38:32):
that feels approachable and realand kind and all of that, all
of those values that are you.
I have a challenge for you.
You can take the first steptoday.
You can find a photographertoday or start a Pinterest board
.
Just small steps.
Just do that today and, trustme, your future self will thank
(38:54):
you.
I will have a checklistavailable for you to download.
You'll find the link in theshow notes at patternshiftfm and
hopefully this will help youeven more in finally getting
that lovely view of you on yourwebsite, on your social media
and wherever you need it.
Thank you so much.
(39:15):
Good luck.
Are you the face of your small business, but camera
shy or stuck relying on selfies?
Let me tell you why investingin a professional photo shoot
might be the best decision foryour brand and how you can
prepare to make it an amazingexperience.
Are you running a textile craftbusiness or dreaming of
(00:21):
starting one?
Whether you are trying to makea living or something extra on
the side, turning from crafterto business owner can be a steep
learning curve.
It doesn't have to be With 16years of experience in running
small business in textile craftsand a drive to build a solid
alternative to fast fashion.
My mission is to provide youwith no BS, actionable exercises
(00:45):
and strategies in a languagethat makes sense to you that you
can implement right away so youcan organize, build and grow
your business.
Don't burn out before you getstarted.
Build a solid base with thehelp of Pattern Shift Podcast
and the Yavol community and itsprograms and the Yavol community
(01:07):
and its programs.
Now, when you have a small brand, it is really really hard to
shine next to all the othersmall brands.
If you're a yarn dyer, if youhave a web shop, if you run a
shop, a local shop, if you're adesigner, there are multitude of
(01:28):
businesses that do the samething and offer similar products
.
So what we do to make ourselvesstand out from the crowd is to
work on our branding, to showwho we are and why we are
different, and we work onbuilding a relationship with our
(01:49):
customers.
We want them to find us, get toknow us, trust us and,
preferably, like us.
How do you do that?
When you land on a website andthere's no face?
Or when you land on socialmedia and there's no face?
It's really hard to connect toa faceless business, and we all
(02:15):
know that we do not likefaceless businesses.
We think about completelydifferent kinds of businesses
when we use those words.
So be different, show yourself,give your audience and your
clients a chance to get to knowyou.
In this episode, we will look atthe importance of professional
(02:38):
photos, at how you can preparefor a shoot, how you can
overcome shyness, the budgetingpart of it, and I will be
sharing bits and bobs of my ownstory.
So why does professionalphotography matter?
Well, there's the part that Ibriefly talked about before.
(02:58):
It's the branding.
It's working on a relationshipwith your audience and
credibility when you are notshowing your face more and more
in a world of dropshippingwebsites, ai everything is
generated by something otherthan a human soul.
(03:20):
It is really nice to be able tobuild some credibility through
professional makers and businessowners like yourself, and in
this case I'm talking aboutprofessional photographers.
I know that AI has been sogreat for us small businesses
with low budgets.
(03:42):
It's been amazing with lowbudgets.
It's been amazing.
But every now and then you haveto invest in your business and
you have to take that extra step, and I believe that getting
professional photos taken is oneof the best ways to start
becoming more and moreprofessional.
(04:02):
If you have professional photos, you are just more credible.
It just really helps to showpeople that you are taking your
business seriously.
You stand out.
So if you go to a festivallet's say, if you go to a yarn
festival or a craft show orsomething like that and you
(04:24):
return home and then you boughtsome things, you collected some
business cards, you signed upfor some newsletters if they did
their job right, you, as abusiness owner, will go to these
websites and will have a lookat who they are websites, and
we'll have a look at who theyare and you want to learn more
(04:45):
about them, and I'm saying as abusiness owner, as a crafter,
you go to these festivals and asa business owners, you go there
as well, in another capacitysometimes, when you are selling.
But the same thing applies.
You come back home, you've madesome new connections, you sit
down at your computer and youwant to learn more about these
(05:07):
people.
Now that would be really niceif you can see their face and
you're like, oh, that was thatperson, they were so lovely, all
of that kind of thing.
So we need to kind ofcounterbalance all the digital
tools and to add a little bitmore humanity into what we do.
(05:27):
It fits what we do, it fits ourvalues and it just makes sense.
I went to the LandelijkeSpindag recently and talked
about that in the last episode,if I remember it well, in the
(05:47):
last episode, if I remember itwell and I did the same thing.
I went on some websites andthere is so much to win there.
There are so many businessesthat clearly are uncomfortable
or don't set out enough time tomake some good branding
decisions.
It is just really let me justtell it like it is.
It's really off-putting if awebsite is not clear, if it's
(06:09):
not inviting, if you don't knowwho you're talking to, basically
.
So yeah, you want to stand outin the digital world and you
want to add some humanity tothings.
It's a huge opportunity to showyourself as you are and how you
are different and how youdifferentiate, not just as a
(06:29):
person, also because of what youoffer, obviously, but that's
another topic for another day.
That is the full branding, whatwe do in branding and figuring
out how your products, yourvalues, how everything
differentiates from yourcompetitors.
But in this case, we talk aboutyou as a person and you have to
(06:52):
communicate with other people,and this is just one of the ways
that you communicate theconnection, the reliability that
communicates to your audience,the reliability that
communicates to your audience.
So, building a connection andshowing that you are reliable,
because you don't hide, that'sreally important.
(07:14):
So, for me, I decided aboutthree years ago, when I closed
my shop and started my businessin its current form, that I
needed to have more images, anda website without images is just
plain boring, and I really needto show people who I am,
(07:36):
because I am basically sellingmyself right now.
I'm selling my ability to helpthem grow their business, and
you don't work with somebodythat you've never seen before.
I mean, yesterday, the solereason that I watched a Zoom
(07:57):
call from somebody that offers acoaching course is because I
wanted to know the vibe.
The vibe is important to me.
I can read what they offer.
I can read their credentials.
I just wanted to know if theyare my people, and they were.
(08:17):
They were amazing and that isreally important.
And when you can do that with apodcast like this one, or a
video or going live or whateveryou want to do, that is great.
But you don't have to becomenecessarily this content maker,
but showing your face is theleast you can do.
(08:40):
So that's what I.
Okay, I made my point.
I made my point.
So I decided that I needed abunch of images and not just
anything.
I mean, I couldn't show theballs of the yarn that I sold
anymore, I didn't have workshopsanymore, so they would have to
be images of me and what I do,which is basically sitting
(09:05):
behind a computer mostly, but Ialso still do a lot of crafting.
I'm fully emerged in the craftworld when it comes to making my
own conscious wardrobe.
So I actually had a photosession where I appeared to be
naked.
I was not, I can assure you, inthe bath with all my yarn, or a
(09:27):
lot of my yarn, in the bathtub.
I have actually more than abathtub full of yarn, but it was
a lot, and we had differentlocations.
We went to the park.
In my house, in my garden, inmy kitchen, my office when did
we go?
Yeah, that was, those were thelocations and it was a really
(09:51):
amazing experience.
It's been three years andhonestly, I haven't even used
all the photos yet.
But I'm getting to the pointwhere I'm like oh, I'm three
years older, I look a bitdifferent.
Now it might be time for somenew pictures, and the weather is
really meh.
I'm hoping for snow, so perhapswhen it's snowy I can set up a
(10:15):
new shoot like a shorter shootfor just snow pictures, because
obviously you can't use them fora whole year.
But we'll get to that, we'llget to that.
But I really so much enjoyedthe whole experience.
Now I have to tell you that I'mnot necessarily camera shy.
I studied photography and a lotof what we did in art school
(10:39):
was model for the other peoplein the class.
I also did some modeling backin the day for hairdressers and
stuff, so I was kind of used toit, but I'm not always my best
self, so I don't.
I'm not always very comfortablein front of a camera.
(11:00):
Sometimes I just don't feelgreat and I know things and I've
learned things that reallyhelped me to get to that point.
So we'll talk about that lateras well, but my photographer was
amazing and we had a wonderfultime.
I would love to interview herone day and just get a little
(11:22):
bit deeper into this subject,but there were so many instances
of lack of connection that Ifound in the websites that I
visited in the last couple ofmonths that I thought it's time
to talk about this subject rightnow and to help you prepare to
do this in the new year.
(11:44):
What was really hilarious isthat Rachel my photographer she
was so fun.
I found her through I thinkmust have been through Instagram
or another business.
Yeah, that's it.
I saw her work on anotherInstagram from a local business
(12:06):
and I really liked it.
I liked the vibe.
When you think about branding,my brand is, of course, I'm in
the needlecraft world, but Iwanted something that was a
little bit edgy but alsofriendly.
So what I decided on is Iworked with an illustrator and I
(12:26):
worked with this photographer.
The photographer had a littlebit more of the edgy side of the
picture.
They have a little bit of abrown, darker filter going on.
She works a lot with peoplethat are tattooed, so we also
got a photo of my knittingtattoo in the bathtub with the
yarn and everything, which wasreally fun, and she just has a
(12:47):
way of making her shots lookrock and roll, which is that was
just what I was looking for.
So the fact that she had herown branding, her own type of
photography, made me decide Ineed to work with her because
(13:07):
she's perfect for my brand.
And then later on, I workedwith Loes van Oosten, who did
the illustrations for my brand,which is more of my friendlier,
more colorful side.
So I've got two parts of my ownidentity connected to my
business identity and all ofthat is my branding and it just
(13:32):
feels like me, which isbasically the point of this
whole episode and my whole jobin the world right now, except
for being a mom and all of thatAmazing experience.
And what I was going to say isthat Rachel was so funny, she
was so good at what she did thatshe although I had some
(13:53):
experience in posing, I wasstill very nervous.
Yeah, I was quite nervous, butshe took that away in like
moments.
She asked me questions and thenwe were in the park and all of
a sudden she yelled out penisesand I was like what?
And then she got my reactionand I laughed so hard and she
(14:15):
took some really cool picturesof me laughing hard and you
might've seen them actually, Iuse them a lot Like I'm really
laughing there because I'm solike embarrassed, but at the
same time, I was like you didn'tjust do that, that was amazing.
So they're professionals, sothey know what they're doing.
(14:38):
So, of course, you're nervous,but she made me feel at ease in
no time.
She was my kind of person also.
We didn't really chat a lot,but we just vibed.
It was just great and I reallyyeah, I really really enjoyed
that.
So that was my personalexperience.
Now we talked about why you wantto do this, why you want to go
(15:03):
for a professional photographyshoot.
Now, when you're here listeningto me and you're like, okay,
okay, I got you, I got you.
You made your point.
How do I prepare for somethinglike that?
Well, here we go.
I'm going to take you throughfive steps.
The first thing that we need totalk about before we get into
(15:26):
the steps is your mindset shift.
There's a lot of us that couldbenefit from having a sit down,
journaling, talking to ourselves, looking in the mirror and
going like listen.
This is not an expense.
This is an investment.
It's worth the money.
It's going to help to make myaudience, my clients, see me and
(15:48):
trust me and choose me becausethey fit.
It's just part of this know,like and trust journey that you
go through as a brand.
When it comes to your audience,they need to know you, then
they need to like you and thenthey trust you and then they buy
(16:12):
from you.
That's the process that they gothrough.
So it's an investment.
It's worth it.
It's so worth it.
What is also important is it isabout presenting your authentic
self.
It's not about perfection.
So I know you might strugglewith perfection.
(16:34):
We've all been there.
I struggle with it.
Still, I have to battle it, butperfection is our enemy.
We just want to be ourselves.
Of course, this photographer isgoing to make us look good,
we're going to wear the rightclothes, we're going to do all
the things, but you have to beyourself.
If you show up as somebody else, if you look at Instagram and
(16:59):
are like I'm going to do it justlike that person, that's not
you.
You have to figure out who youare so you show up authentically
so that vibe comes across.
That's important, otherwiseit's just there's no point to
this, because we're doing thisfor connection and it needs to
be authentic, and I'm all aboutfocusing on the ethical side of
(17:21):
business and we want to be asauthentic as we can be.
Yeah, that's important.
So here we go.
Step one choose a photographer,do your research, find somebody
whose style, as I said, matchesyour brand.
If you haven't done a lot ofwork around branding, you can do
(17:41):
that later.
You can go to patternshiftfmand you can find my course and
do all of that and get there.
But if you haven't done thatyet, it's fine.
Who matches your vibe?
I mean, my teenagers talk aboutvibe a lot.
I love it.
Vibe is a word that is reallyuseful, so I'm using it a lot.
(18:07):
I love it.
Vibe is a word that is reallyuseful, so I'm using it.
And researching is quite simple.
Use Google, use your friends.
As I said, how I found her wason Instagram.
Local businesses see what kindof photographers they've used.
Talk to other people and findsomebody like you would find any
other professional, which couldalso be LinkedIn, by the way.
You might not be on LinkedIn,but that's how people in the
(18:31):
business world kind of meet eachother.
I'm not on there a lot either,but it's very useful for finding
people that you need Right Now.
That's one Choose aphotographer.
Step two plan your vision.
What do you have in mind?
Makeup interest board.
I did that as well.
(18:52):
I just looked at poses, whatkind of lightning?
I think for me, naturallighting is always best, but
that's also a little bit up towhat your vibe is and what your.
Here we go with the vibe again,and what your branding is, and
if you're all like bright lights, neon, disco vibing, then
(19:16):
perhaps no natural lighting, butyou're roller skating in a
disco or something like that.
That's up.
That's up to you.
Think about it, though, andthink about style, ideas that
resonate with your brand interms of clothing and, uh yeah,
the style of the picture ingeneral.
Just collect images, but don'tdo this for months and months
(19:38):
and months, like at one point,it's just going to be okay,
we're going to get going withthis months and months, like, at
one point.
It's just going to be okay.
We're going to get going withthis.
For me, as a fat woman, Icollected poses specifically for
voluptuous ladies.
So what is a good pose for memight be different than if you
are more slender looking or andthat goes for all kinds of
(20:01):
things Say, if you are a lessable bod, how do you want to
pose?
What can you do and look forposes that work for you.
Are you going to go for theprofessional, creative, casual,
bold?
Think about those kinds ofthings.
What is matching with yourbrand?
(20:23):
Think about those kinds ofthings.
What is matching with yourbrand?
And then brainstorm the propsand the locations that could
showcase your businesspersonality, your personality,
your work.
You don't have to be set inyour shop for all the pictures.
You could also be for all thepictures.
(20:47):
You could also be knitting andhaving coffee in a cafe.
I mean, it's not just you inyour business, it's you as a
person as well.
I have some pictures of me withchickens, so that just shows
people who I am, and I like thatkind of thing.
It's really fun.
So think about that and thenstep three outfits and props.
Think about what you'll wearNeutral, bold, connected to your
(21:10):
brand, but keep it comfortablefor you.
You are going to step out ofyour comfort zone, probably
anyway, so you can do a littlebit of that, but it has to feel
like it's still you.
So if you work all day in yourpajamas, then perhaps do not do
that.
But you could do a very cozy onthe couch under a blanket with
(21:35):
a cup of tea type of picture.
That could work.
But if you just jazz it up alittle but make it still be you,
try your outfits on and try thedifferent poses, so that you've
done a bit of that and don'tlook at it as if you're
(21:56):
rehearsing a dance or something.
You don't have to completelyremember all the poses, it's
just that you get a feel for howthese things go.
And it might go completelydifferently in the moment, and
that's fine too.
Just preparing for this makesit like you're more relaxed and
(22:18):
know a little bit of what'sgoing to happen.
When you talk about props, forme that would be computer, my
desk, a laptop and a cafe.
But if you have a shop or dyeyarn, you could be actually
dyeing yarn and pulling the yarnout of the pot and getting your
picture taken that way, thoseare all props.
(22:40):
If you are feeding the chickensor walking the dog, then the
dog becomes the prop.
Don't dress up the dog, though,unless that's part of your
brand, and let me think whatelse it could be something
symbolic, like rainbow posters,anything that matches who you
(23:04):
are, your values, things youwant to communicate and things
that you want to come across toyour audience and clients.
We talked about poses before,and I'm going to come back to
them in step four.
Practicing the poses Using amirror.
You can see what it looks likeif you crush your legs or if you
(23:27):
have like, for instance, if youhave a very bold, colored brand
a jump in the air.
I mean, I know that you'relistening to me and you're
cringing, but if that's yourpersonality, if you're bubbly
and wild, take a bubbly and wildpicture.
Jump up in the air and take thepicture midair.
Throw your yarn in the air andtake the picture while it's
(23:49):
falling down.
I mean, be creative and take,as I said before, when you
practice these poses, it's notgoing to be so weird and so new
and so awkward in the momentwhen you do them for the first
time to look my very, very best,and I think we all have a
(24:22):
little bit of that.
You might consider what angleslook good for portraiture closer
up, and also angles for thebody.
I mean, for me I do notnecessarily like ample feel with
my body because I have a littlebit of depth to my belly
section and it looks for me.
It looks better from the front,I think, for a picture, because
(24:44):
then I have a little bit ofwaist and I don't want to.
This is all me Like.
This is what I feel comfortablein and you need to be you, you
do you.
And if you're like I'm not, Idon't care.
I just want to look like I look, and in every moment.
That's great.
(25:04):
More power to you, do it.
So you want to look like you.
You want to look good.
You're not going to be superfiltered, insta-fabulous, it's
not going to be like that.
But you also don't want to lookin the picture like my husband
takes the worst pictures of meand he's like, yeah, but that's
(25:27):
how you look and I love you,that's great.
But could you just move theangle up a little so I see a
little bit less of my secondchin, please?
Thank you.
And because I used to be aphotographer.
I look at all those detailswhen I take a picture.
I look at, I make sure I payattention to those things, but
(25:49):
some people, they just love you,so that's great.
What was my point here?
Yeah, don't overthink it.
I feel like I'm talking aboutit too much, but I also feel
like I know you and you're goingto be awkward and you're not
going to be comfortable.
So I just want to, on one hand,say don't, don't overthink it,
(26:10):
don't take it too seriously.
It's not a model shoot, it's abrand shoot which is different,
a lot different.
So, be you, but also prepare sothat you can look your best and
you're going to be feelinggreat when you did all the
preparation.
So that was step four, practiceposes.
(26:31):
And now we go into step five,which are the logistics.
Of course, you have to confirmthe schedule and the details
with the photographer.
You've already found thephotographer, you've already
emailed them and you're justgoing to find out how they work
so that you know how muchpreparation you need to do.
(26:51):
You need to know how much timeyou'll have, if you have time to
do multiple outfits or not,because that's going to take
time.
So if you already know whatkind of outfits you're going to
wear and you have them ready,then it's going to be bam quick,
quick, quick onto the next one.
And that's what I did andthat's how I had a very
(27:15):
affordable photo shoot, becauseI was just so prepared.
I hope she wasn't disappointedbecause I was so fast.
I even had it down to my underlayer so that I could just
change in front of her wherever,and that was really fun.
So I just asked her how muchtime do we have?
And we talked about thedifferent locations and we made
(27:39):
it clear beforehand very clearwhat we could expect from each
other.
And then, of course, otherlogistics are before you start,
double check your hair, yourmakeup, any accessories that you
need.
You might want to book anappointment with your
hairdresser and if you do yournails, go do your nails, because
(28:02):
paying for a shoot and havingoutgrown nails or whatever might
not be the best timing for that.
So make sure that you thinkabout those kind of things.
So those are the five steps inthe preparation for a photo
shoot Choose your photographer,plan your vision, outfits and
(28:23):
props, practice your poses andthe logistics.
All right.
So let's talk about budgetingfor our photo shoot Before I
talked about mindset shift andthat you have to see this as an
investment.
Now what kind of general costsare we looking at here?
I think a lot of you want toknow.
(28:44):
So it's just a range I'm givingyou and so that you have a
general idea.
In smaller cities or beginnerphotographers can do photo
shoots from two to 500.
I'm using dollars for thisexample.
I think that because we've gotI've got a lot of listeners in
(29:04):
the USA Hello, usa listeners.
I think everybody kind of knowshow much that would be.
So.
And then when you go to moreexperienced photographers in the
kind of mid-tier market, it'sfrom 500 to 1500 dollars.
And then the high-end custombranding shoots in the large
cities they can go up to from1500 to 5000.
(29:29):
Like, you can go crazy if youwant to.
I wouldn't.
Personally, I think my firstshoot was about 300 euros.
I'm just thinking about this.
Rachel was actually also ourwedding photographer, which was
great.
I completely forgot to tell youthat.
Of course, that was anotherprice range, because that's a
(29:50):
whole other thing, but my firstshort shoot was around 300 euros
.
That is not a lot and you getso much for it.
You can use it forever and everand ever.
It's not like you get just onephoto.
You get a whole range of photosand you can use them in your
newsletters, on your website, onyour social media, like it's
(30:12):
for everything, and it buildsthis relationship with your
customer and it's so worth thecost.
So, yeah, just want to mentionthat if you do want to work with
makeup artists and things likethat, if you want to be fancy,
schmancy and multiple locations,or if they do retouching,
(30:33):
that's a whole thing and that'sa whole different episode as
well, because do you want to dothat?
Do you not want to do that?
I mean, I had a conversationwith her about it and I thought
it was fine to do some like ifthere's a car, well, that's too
big of a thing.
If there's a fly somewhere, shecan take the fly away, but I
didn't want to retouche anythingon me.
(30:55):
So, yeah, of course, all theextras are more, but then you
get a general idea and I'm sureyou are thinking now oh, that's
not too bad.
No, it's not.
It really is not.
If you run a business, set asidea couple of tenors every month
(31:15):
if you are really struggling,but otherwise you should be able
to do this.
So if you're on a tight budget,of course you can do a shorter
session or you can do just oneoutfit.
You can do a mini session.
Just talk to the photographerand see what they can do.
Perhaps they have some kind ofpackage deal.
(31:36):
Do a shorter session now andnext year do another one, and
you can get a discount perhapsan off-season discount, who
knows what they offer.
But I think the quality goesover the quantity.
Prioritize your quality overquantity.
A few amazing photos they cango a long way.
Focus on your website.
(31:57):
That's what you need them forfirst, and everything else is an
added bonus.
Right, I thought it was soworth it.
It was so worth the money, andI'm still using the.
I still haven't used all thephotos, and I remember Rachel
saying that some of the picturesthat are in there now you might
not like right now, but youprobably will in the future.
(32:18):
She was really right.
Of course, you're going to wantto pick out those pictures that
make you look your best first,and then they become a part of
your brand.
They are just there, like yourfont is there and your one-liner
is there.
And if you don't know what thatis, go check out parentshiftcom
(32:39):
and sign up for the course andI'll tell you about the
one-liner.
So that's all for the budgeting.
Now I feel like there's noexcuse.
You really should just go forit.
Overcoming camera shyness, whichis a big thing for a lot of
people.
I think that the majority ofthe clients that I'm working
(33:00):
with now are extremely camerashy and are not great at showing
their faces.
I loosened them up a little bit.
It's going better and better,and even one of them even had a
photo shoot done in the past,but she wasn't using it.
What, seriously what?
She is now, though, because I'msuper strict and mean, so she
(33:25):
is now.
So, yeah, overcoming chimerousshyness.
It's a thing.
You just have to realize thatit's really normal to feel
nervous and awkward in front ofa camera.
Feel nervous and awkward infront of a camera, I like, even
(33:46):
with experience, for me it's thesame thing.
I just have to get over thisinitial and shake your body,
shake it off if you need toBuild that trust with your
photographer.
Some emails, but also maybe acall beforehand.
Some emails, but also maybe acall beforehand, just to figure
out if you can vibe with them.
A good photographer, theyreally know how to help you
(34:09):
relax.
That's their job, right.
They want you to look good too.
They want you to be happy withthe pictures, and so they will
guide you through the poses, andthey should be able to do this
stuff.
This is what they do.
Be honest, share what yourconcerns are.
They've seen it all.
Just if you say like, look, Iknow I've got this second chin
(34:29):
coming and it doesn't make mefeel great.
So if you could like have alittle bit of an extra eye for
that when you take pictures,that would be great.
If you are paying them to notmake you look like somebody else
, but make you look like yourbest self, and this is why
(34:51):
communication and talking isimportant, because from personal
experience, people say you lookgreat, I love how you look as a
fat person.
You always look so stylish orwhatever, and they're very kind,
but they look at me differentlythan I look at me.
So I have my tummy is a littlebit of a part where I'm feeling
(35:13):
a little bit uncomfortable.
I have had moments, years,decades where I didn't care, and
now I care a little bit more.
I'm kind of in a chapter in mylife where I'm a little bit less
comfortable in my skin.
I know it'll pass, but this iswhat's happening right now.
Just talk to the photographerabout it and they can help you
(35:36):
to take the right poses.
Be kind to yourself and you'reoffering value to your audience.
You are giving them somethingthat they wouldn't have if it
wasn't for you.
It is not about communicatingwhat doesn't look good on you.
(35:56):
It's about communicating whoyou are as a person.
That is the focus.
So, even though I know what Ijust said, I want you to feel
good so that you talk to yourphotographer and they can keep
that in mind.
But in the end, be kind toyourself.
It's about showing who you areas a person, not what you look
(36:19):
like as a person.
That's kind of the difference.
Right, you're representing yourbrand and you're not
auditioning for a modelingagency.
What can help?
And it's also a lot of thevoorpret, as we call it in Dutch
like the fun beforehand before.
Is there a word for that inEnglish?
(36:40):
I don't think so.
Like the initiative yeah, thereis a word, but I can't think of
it right now, but like the funyou have before.
The actual thing is, it's greatto do some visualization
exercises, just to visualize theoutcome.
What would they look like?
How could you communicate,elevating your business,
(37:02):
empowering yourself, lookingstrong, confident or lovely,
soft and shy, if that's yourthing.
What would that look like?
And yeah, do some mindfulnessexercises, deep breathing before
the shoot, have a cup of coffeeor tea, and just make sure that
(37:25):
you don't plan all kinds ofthings before the shoot.
Just be kind to yourself and bemindful and visualize the
outcome just as a fun exercise.
I did feel nervous but, as Isaid before, she made me feel at
ease in no time.
It was amazing.
So let me summarize what we'vebeen talking about.
(37:48):
I hope you got some informationthat you didn't have before and
I want to kind of summarize thekey points that we talked about
.
It's so important to show yourface and professional photos.
They build trust and they showthat you are confident and
competent.
We talked about preparingeffectively for a photo shoot,
(38:10):
how you do that and how toovercome camera shyness.
We talked about managing thecost, and I just wanted to leave
you with the thought that youraudience, your clients, they
want to see you.
A shoot isn't just about takingpictures.
It's about sharing your fullstory and building the brand
(38:32):
that feels approachable and realand kind and all of that, all
of those values that are you.
I have a challenge for you.
You can take the first steptoday.
You can find a photographertoday or start a Pinterest board
.
Just small steps.
Just do that today and, trustme, your future self will thank
(38:54):
you.
I will have a checklistavailable for you to download.
You'll find the link in theshow notes at patternshiftfm and
hopefully this will help youeven more in finally getting
that lovely view of you on yourwebsite, on your social media
and wherever you need it.
Thank you so much.
(39:15):
Good luck.
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