Shownotes
BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS
- Educate yourself about personal branding and the power it can have on your business. It's what sets you apart from all other businesses in your industry.
- The YOU of the business will help you stand out.
- Putting a face to your business gives people a personal connection that helps them want to support you.
- Work with a photographer to get your stories captured.
- Six questions before your next photoshoot:
- How are you going to use the photos?
- Are there any visual holes in your business?
- What colors express your brand the best?
- What does your ideal client love about your brand?
- What do I share most often on social media?
- What do you need to share more often on social media?
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Gift biz unwrapped episode 270.
Speaker:You're going to want to have photos that show who you
Speaker:are within your brand that tell the story of what makes
Speaker:you, you within your brand attention.
Speaker:Gifters bakers,
Speaker:crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.
Speaker:Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.
Speaker:Now you are in the right place.
Speaker:This is gift to biz unwrapped,
Speaker:helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.
Speaker:Join us for an episode,
Speaker:packed full of invaluable guidance,
Speaker:resources, and the support you need to grow.
Speaker:Your gift biz.
Speaker:Here is your host gift biz gal Sue moon Heights.
Speaker:Hi there.
Speaker:Thanks for joining me here today.
Speaker:We just completed a four part series around ways to sell
Speaker:online. And if you haven't checked that out there,
Speaker:the four episodes right before this one really great info,
Speaker:not just during a time of quarantine,
Speaker:but for the future too.
Speaker:Also, I want to make sure if you're an existing handmade
Speaker:product business owner.
Speaker:So in business for at least two years that you know
Speaker:about your new opportunity called maker's MBA accelerator.
Speaker:If you're feeling like you're not getting the sales or something
Speaker:just feels off in your business right now,
Speaker:jump over to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash makers,
Speaker:MBA, and then click on the link for established businesses.
Speaker:Let's get you back on track and excited about the results
Speaker:you're seeing.
Speaker:Remember, you don't have to figure all this out alone.
Speaker:Now we're moving onto a new two part series on personal
Speaker:branding. What's that?
Speaker:Well, you're the owner behind your business and the designer of
Speaker:your products,
Speaker:right? That means you have as much,
Speaker:if not more power to attract sales than even your product
Speaker:itself. Did you get that as a small business maker?
Speaker:You can make the difference in someone buying from you or
Speaker:not. And the best way not to have people buy is
Speaker:staying behind the scenes.
Speaker:Non-existent. So today and next week,
Speaker:we're going to be talking about how to create a strong,
Speaker:personal brand and persuade you about why this is so important
Speaker:for your business.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:really, let me continue with a story.
Speaker:So as you know,
Speaker:in the normal times,
Speaker:quote, unquote,
Speaker:I'm out at trade shows a lot like maybe six or
Speaker:80 year.
Speaker:My favorite thing is to interact with people about ribbon printing
Speaker:or when I'm teaching a class.
Speaker:So last year I'd been communicating with someone online for a
Speaker:few months and we agreed we'd meet in person at the
Speaker:Philly candy show.
Speaker:So that was last September.
Speaker:I was so excited to meet her and to get to
Speaker:know her better.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:the way you can only when you're in person,
Speaker:I wasn't prepared for what happens next.
Speaker:Don Don thought add a little drama.
Speaker:A woman came up to the booth,
Speaker:smiling and jovial acting like we were old time buddies.
Speaker:And I was completely caught off guard.
Speaker:Who is this?
Speaker:How do I know her embarrassed?
Speaker:I played along until finally I figured out that it was
Speaker:the woman I'd mentioned earlier.
Speaker:Why didn't I make the connection right away?
Speaker:Because the avatar,
Speaker:so the photo that she was using online,
Speaker:didn't look at all like the person who was standing in
Speaker:front of me,
Speaker:different hair color,
Speaker:a few pounds heavier and at least a 10 year age
Speaker:difference. Well,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:once I figured out that it was her,
Speaker:I was much more comfortable with our conversation,
Speaker:but still I felt a little bit deceived.
Speaker:Think about doing this to your customer.
Speaker:Do you think it could affect her interest in buying from
Speaker:you? You bet your booty at can you see even that
Speaker:subtle disconnect can create a level of unconscious mistrust,
Speaker:a feeling that something just isn't right.
Speaker:That's how important representing yourself correctly and genuinely online is so,
Speaker:so very valuable.
Speaker:Let's get into how to do this headshots and all Today.
Speaker:I am so excited to introduce you to Nicole Marie of
Speaker:Nicole Marie photography.
Speaker:Nicole is a film inspired wedding and personal brand photographer who
Speaker:followed a very winding path to work.
Speaker:That truly fulfills her.
Speaker:She serves couples filled with love and joy by creating images
Speaker:that capture the connection and beauty of their relationships.
Speaker:It's then documented for them to share for a lifetime.
Speaker:Nicole also creates branded imagery for female entrepreneurs looking to grow
Speaker:their brand strategically by sharing the story of their businesses through
Speaker:photos. Nicole,
Speaker:welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.
Speaker:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:I'm so excited to hear what you have to tell us.
Speaker:I think this is going to be a great,
Speaker:great episode for everybody,
Speaker:but before we do that,
Speaker:I like to do a question.
Speaker:That's become a traditional thing here on the show.
Speaker:And that is to have you describe yourself by way of
Speaker:a motivational candle.
Speaker:So if you were to tell us what color and a
Speaker:motivational quote that resonates with you,
Speaker:that would make up this candle,
Speaker:what would it look like?
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:I love this question.
Speaker:It's so different.
Speaker:My ideal candle would be probably this like a soft,
Speaker:dusty blue,
Speaker:like you would see in the sky when the sun first
Speaker:comes up,
Speaker:I do a lot of sunrise engagement sessions.
Speaker:So if there's this really pretty dusty blue that comes at
Speaker:that time of day and it would probably say it starts
Speaker:with love.
Speaker:I truly believe if you do everything from a place of
Speaker:love, it'll all work out,
Speaker:like to bring it to business.
Speaker:I would say,
Speaker:if you're creating with love of the product and your customers
Speaker:in mind,
Speaker:then your business will end up serving you and your customer.
Speaker:I so agree.
Speaker:And when I first started talking with people about creating a
Speaker:business, if they're doing it just because of the money part,
Speaker:it's never going to work out in the long run.
Speaker:Yes. You have to have that.
Speaker:What you're calling it,
Speaker:the love element,
Speaker:right? Yeah.
Speaker:But you've got to have something stronger than just the money.
Speaker:So that's what I thought of when I heard your quote
Speaker:there. Totally agree.
Speaker:So share with us.
Speaker:Now you say in the interim and it was a winding
Speaker:path. So that made me be like,
Speaker:Hm, what's that all about?
Speaker:So fill us in.
Speaker:Yeah. So I didn't start out necessarily thinking I was going
Speaker:to be a photographer.
Speaker:So it really was a journey for me.
Speaker:I was premed when I took a photography class for the
Speaker:first time in college.
Speaker:And I remember standing in the dark room,
Speaker:developing film,
Speaker:dunking photo paper,
Speaker:into the solution,
Speaker:watching as my images would materialize and thinking,
Speaker:I absolutely love this,
Speaker:but I couldn't make this a career like this.
Speaker:Isn't something I could do for,
Speaker:for life,
Speaker:like to do this.
Speaker:I would have to be an artist in a gallery and
Speaker:I would be a struggling artist.
Speaker:And so I had all these like inner dialogue of what
Speaker:it would be.
Speaker:And so I ignored that inner voice.
Speaker:I didn't follow it.
Speaker:I ended up finishing out school and with all the prerequisites
Speaker:to go to medical school,
Speaker:but instead got a master's in education and became a teacher.
Speaker:And it wasn't until I was planning my own wedding and
Speaker:had children that I came back to photography.
Speaker:Okay, wait,
Speaker:way, way,
Speaker:way, way,
Speaker:wait. So what was the premed?
Speaker:And then instead of teacher,
Speaker:how did that happen?
Speaker:So I was in school and I was a psych major
Speaker:and we had this internship class and I was at a
Speaker:school for children with autism and I was absolutely loving the
Speaker:work that I was getting to do.
Speaker:And so I decided I don't want to be a doctor.
Speaker:I'm going to go and get a master's in special education.
Speaker:And I became a special education teacher.
Speaker:Oh, that's so cool.
Speaker:But you know what that was saying to me,
Speaker:I think is that this whole premed thing wasn't really settling
Speaker:with, you know,
Speaker:because you saw photography,
Speaker:but you're like,
Speaker:no, no,
Speaker:no, can't do it.
Speaker:Right. And then you went into teaching.
Speaker:And so what was the transition then from teaching?
Speaker:The transition from teaching?
Speaker:It really came.
Speaker:It really was when I started planning my wedding and I
Speaker:started having children,
Speaker:like when I started playing my wedding,
Speaker:I saw,
Speaker:Oh, there's another type of photography.
Speaker:Like I really only saw photography as this like artist in
Speaker:a gallery.
Speaker:And I didn't see myself in that way necessarily.
Speaker:I've always loved documenting life and documenting interaction and connection.
Speaker:I was always that person who had a camera on me
Speaker:before you had a cell phone to actually capture it.
Speaker:And so I loved the idea of being able to capture
Speaker:that. And so when I saw wedding photography,
Speaker:I saw that there was something different.
Speaker:And then I had my own kids and I wanted to
Speaker:be able to take these beautiful photos.
Speaker:And I would be out with my camera,
Speaker:photographing my family.
Speaker:And I actually got asked by somebody like,
Speaker:Oh, will you photograph my family and dove into learning more
Speaker:and more about being better at photos being better with my
Speaker:camera. And then once I got asked to take photos for
Speaker:people, I was like,
Speaker:Oh, I need to figure out the business side of this.
Speaker:Interesting. You know what I'm thinking,
Speaker:as you're telling the story is what I'm seeing as the
Speaker:common thread throughout all of this is you're caring about people
Speaker:because pre-med is caring for the health of people or the
Speaker:mind of people.
Speaker:Like, I'm not sure which direction you were going there,
Speaker:but with your psychology degree,
Speaker:right. And then special needs is caring for children.
Speaker:And then moments is caring about special things in life or
Speaker:photography. Yes,
Speaker:I, you nailed it completely.
Speaker:I always knew that at the heart of what I wanted
Speaker:to do was to be able to serve people in some
Speaker:way. And so I think in all of the careers path,
Speaker:that is the thread that ties it all together.
Speaker:Yeah. I love that.
Speaker:There are a lot of people who are listening here who
Speaker:are thinking that there may be something else that they want
Speaker:to do.
Speaker:And they're in another job right now.
Speaker:And that's why I like going through people's journeys,
Speaker:but we've never really talked about that.
Speaker:There was a common thread,
Speaker:like we're seeing here with yours.
Speaker:So I think that's interesting.
Speaker:So I'm just thinking,
Speaker:give biz listeners that may be something to consider if you're
Speaker:thinking what's next or what do I do or there's something
Speaker:more, don't just think of what that business is,
Speaker:but what's the thread.
Speaker:What's the deeper drive that you have,
Speaker:like Nicole was just describing.
Speaker:So we're getting into some good stuff from the top.
Speaker:So you say that then with photography,
Speaker:you decided,
Speaker:okay. I got to now know more about the business end.
Speaker:Were you having any pushback about making that transition,
Speaker:like from your husband or other people in the family or
Speaker:was it smooth acceptance of the idea?
Speaker:I think for the most part,
Speaker:it was,
Speaker:we are definitely we support what you want to do.
Speaker:I think there was definitely fear about what that would mean
Speaker:and what that would entail for the family.
Speaker:But I would say that as we've transitioned to,
Speaker:I just went full time in my business two years or
Speaker:a year and a half ago at this point.
Speaker:And I think what we've seen is that yes,
Speaker:on the weekends,
Speaker:if I'm shooting a wedding,
Speaker:there's not a lot of flexibility,
Speaker:but during the week I have all of the power in
Speaker:what my schedule looks like.
Speaker:And so that has only been a benefit to our family.
Speaker:Sure. Okay.
Speaker:So you answered a question that I was going to follow
Speaker:up on,
Speaker:which is you kind of wound your business up before you
Speaker:released your other job,
Speaker:which was still teaching,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:Okay. All right.
Speaker:Good. And how did you know what point was a good
Speaker:point to make a full jump over?
Speaker:I would say I was looking at,
Speaker:we are very big budgeters we followed the Dave Ramsey plan
Speaker:and got ourselves out of debt.
Speaker:And so like I knew exactly what our family needed in
Speaker:order to feel comfortable,
Speaker:what we needed to be better off.
Speaker:So I knew all the different transitions that we would need
Speaker:to make,
Speaker:and I knew what we needed to get by.
Speaker:So I decided for me,
Speaker:I would feel most comfortable leaving at what point I knew
Speaker:we would be fine to get by and then I could
Speaker:continue to ramp up from there.
Speaker:Then I would have all the time to work on it.
Speaker:And not just my after hours.
Speaker:Yeah. I think that's so smart because if you would have
Speaker:to kind of speculate,
Speaker:well, I'm not even going to go there.
Speaker:I'll tell you why.
Speaker:I think it's so smart is number one,
Speaker:there was a specific line in the sand that you drew
Speaker:that said,
Speaker:okay, when we get to this point,
Speaker:it was very black and white,
Speaker:right. Cause you were looking at numbers,
Speaker:this is a time that I can release.
Speaker:It will make sense and feel comfortable,
Speaker:but also you can kind of speculate,
Speaker:like if you stopped earlier,
Speaker:how stressful that would be because you weren't at that spot
Speaker:yet. Right.
Speaker:Exactly. And I tell people all the time that I'm not
Speaker:an advocate and it sounds like you're not either of how
Speaker:they'll say,
Speaker:Oh, well just jump in with two feet and you'll figure
Speaker:it out.
Speaker:Like you have to figure it out.
Speaker:I think that is so stressful.
Speaker:And it comes across to potential customers for sure.
Speaker:And the overall experience that you have with the growth of
Speaker:your business,
Speaker:To me,
Speaker:that's way too scary.
Speaker:And I think it does put you in this position,
Speaker:like you're saying where maybe the way you're marketing isn't necessarily
Speaker:how you would Mark it.
Speaker:If you feel comfortable with where you're at,
Speaker:it might come across more insincere because you're driving after the
Speaker:dollar. Right.
Speaker:I agree with you.
Speaker:Totally. So any comments or thoughts or observations because you were
Speaker:doing two jobs and you had a family at the same
Speaker:time, right?
Speaker:How was that time and the balancing there for you?
Speaker:It was difficult.
Speaker:I think having a family and then specifically being a teacher
Speaker:because the hours are physically set,
Speaker:but emotionally unset because of how much you invest into your
Speaker:class and your kids and the stories that you take home
Speaker:with you.
Speaker:So I think that trying to navigate that,
Speaker:I had to be very clear with what my hours were
Speaker:for my business,
Speaker:so that I could spend that time on there.
Speaker:And oftentimes it was once my kiddos were in bed.
Speaker:And so that meant that I had to communicate very clearly
Speaker:with my husband when those hours were going to be so
Speaker:that I can make sure that those hours regarded.
Speaker:Oh, that's really good advice.
Speaker:Yeah. So it's not just like when you find free time,
Speaker:but specific hours that you set aside for working on your
Speaker:new business and building the business.
Speaker:Yes. As much as I can try to make my schedule
Speaker:standard and standardized in some way,
Speaker:the easier it is and the easier it is to get
Speaker:it done.
Speaker:Like especially,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:we're talking about this at a time where our schedules are
Speaker:completely off kilter and I have found,
Speaker:I have made an,
Speaker:it has had to transition several times because my kids' schedules
Speaker:have transitioned several times,
Speaker:but we have a set schedule of when things are going
Speaker:to happen throughout the day and they know where they're going
Speaker:to be and they know where I'm going to be so
Speaker:that I can get the work done.
Speaker:Right. Well,
Speaker:I think it's healthier for everybody,
Speaker:your husband included because then you guys know when you're available
Speaker:when you're not and why you're not.
Speaker:And I think it's important for children to understand too,
Speaker:that you're driving to something and you're working towards something and
Speaker:this is the time that mommy's working on that.
Speaker:And then right after that's done,
Speaker:then I'm all in with you,
Speaker:with the kids.
Speaker:Right. All right.
Speaker:So you do a lot with weddings in life.
Speaker:Special moment.
Speaker:I know all of that.
Speaker:I want to focus today on business owners who need to
Speaker:have imagery and photos for their business.
Speaker:Okay. Yes.
Speaker:So when somebody comes to you,
Speaker:I'm gonna create a scenario.
Speaker:Okay. It's a soap maker and she does craft shows and
Speaker:she's had her business for maybe about a year.
Speaker:Okay. And so she has a logo and she does her
Speaker:soaps and she has some promotional materials,
Speaker:business cards.
Speaker:And maybe a little bit of a website has never really
Speaker:thought about like photos of me.
Speaker:Like, why would I do that?
Speaker:What's the importance of that?
Speaker:How would you talk to this person?
Speaker:I would start with,
Speaker:I think it's important to,
Speaker:hopefully that's what we're doing now is to educate yourself around
Speaker:what personal branding is and what the power of that can
Speaker:be for your business.
Speaker:So it's,
Speaker:what's going to set her apart from every other soap maker.
Speaker:So is she just the soap maker or is she this
Speaker:artistic soap maker that puts pressed flowers into the soap and
Speaker:there each scent is picked based on the feeling of what
Speaker:she's doing.
Speaker:And I think when you nail down those smaller parts of
Speaker:what makes her unique,
Speaker:that's, what's going to help her stand out and that's,
Speaker:what's going to help with her branding.
Speaker:And so you wouldn't just want then a headshot of yourself.
Speaker:You'd also want some photos of you actually pressing those flowers
Speaker:into the soap that you're taking to your trade show.
Speaker:Yeah. You know,
Speaker:I think a lot of people to your point about,
Speaker:okay, so she does flowers within her soap.
Speaker:A lot of the pictures then are always just the product
Speaker:because let's face it.
Speaker:Also, when we are a new business owners,
Speaker:who's taking those photos into us.
Speaker:We can't in the picture when we're taking the picture and
Speaker:even trying to put like your hand in the picture,
Speaker:balancing a camera is kind of awkward.
Speaker:I don't think those pictures would normally come out so well,
Speaker:but I like what you're talking about.
Speaker:That it's more than just,
Speaker:you need to make and want to make your product unique
Speaker:and different and set apart on its own.
Speaker:But it's also so much about the maker of the product
Speaker:and what better way to start sharing what that means then
Speaker:having pictures,
Speaker:Right? Because the you of the business is going to certainly
Speaker:help you stand out because there isn't another,
Speaker:you, I don't know who said that,
Speaker:go for it,
Speaker:but there's only one you,
Speaker:right? There's no way anybody else can top that because they
Speaker:can't be you.
Speaker:Exactly. And I talk about this.
Speaker:I don't know if you were in my talk when we
Speaker:were at Lakeside,
Speaker:but I talk about this a lot because that is the
Speaker:way you can stand out by identifying something that is uniquely
Speaker:you, that nobody else can mimic.
Speaker:And you know how it is.
Speaker:If you respect somebody and you watch what they do,
Speaker:and then you try to do what they do,
Speaker:it comes off as fake.
Speaker:Right. Cause you can't do it cause you're not them.
Speaker:Right. So I think the very first part of it is
Speaker:we have to just own who we are.
Speaker:Right. We just have to own us own ourselves.
Speaker:Like I think of you,
Speaker:I'm looking at your picture right now because we interview gift
Speaker:biz listeners.
Speaker:We interview over Skype,
Speaker:but I don't have the visuals on because the audio file
Speaker:goes better when we don't do that.
Speaker:But so I'm looking at you,
Speaker:Nicole, with the picture that you have just on your Skype
Speaker:account, not looking at you in life person right now.
Speaker:And you're so adorable.
Speaker:Your hair makes a statement.
Speaker:Right? Well,
Speaker:first off you're super cute.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:You're so sweet.
Speaker:Your hair makes a statement.
Speaker:You are a personality just by how you look.
Speaker:And I think everybody is right,
Speaker:right. Yes.
Speaker:Everyone looks different,
Speaker:obviously. So everyone has things.
Speaker:If you just own who you are,
Speaker:I think that's how you also make the best photos.
Speaker:Like it makes it so much easier for you as the
Speaker:photographer. Right?
Speaker:All completely,
Speaker:Definitely. Anytime I'm photograph someone,
Speaker:they come out.
Speaker:If they are willing to release to the process and be
Speaker:a part of it,
Speaker:then they come out.
Speaker:Like when I photographed you,
Speaker:like you are so fun.
Speaker:And effervescent went in front of the camera and it comes
Speaker:out. If you're willing to show who you are.
Speaker:Yeah. Well you made it easy.
Speaker:Let me just start with that.
Speaker:But I had to learn that over time,
Speaker:right? Like it took me a while to understand,
Speaker:and this is so much better.
Speaker:And you tell me what you think about this,
Speaker:Nicole. But what I've learned is those photos.
Speaker:Now I get for headshots that you want to have,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:your head and it's more of a blank background and all
Speaker:of that,
Speaker:but you've got to show some personality.
Speaker:You know,
Speaker:it's not like the school pictures of old where you sit
Speaker:in a chair and smile and take a shot.
Speaker:And the best way to get pictures is if you're interacting
Speaker:or talking or moving and then let the person who's taking
Speaker:the picture of you capture those images.
Speaker:Not totally in motion,
Speaker:obviously. I don't know exactly how I'm saying this.
Speaker:You can probably say it better than me,
Speaker:but not just that standard frozen face to the camera click.
Speaker:Right? So I like to think of your personal brand shoe
Speaker:as it's kind of like the umbrella of what multiple different
Speaker:kinds of photos are going to come out of it.
Speaker:So you would get,
Speaker:if you're doing a personal brand,
Speaker:you're going to need that headshot.
Speaker:Right? Cause that's you see my headshot as we're sitting here
Speaker:talking on Skype,
Speaker:you have that standard photo and you want to make sure
Speaker:you have a fresh one out of it,
Speaker:but you're also going to get other images.
Speaker:You're going to want to have photos that show who you
Speaker:are within your brand that tell the story of what makes
Speaker:you, you within your brand.
Speaker:You're going to want to have like photos of you and
Speaker:action. You're going to want to have photos of you behind
Speaker:the scenes of things that you do within your business.
Speaker:Things like that.
cause you're trying to tell a story,
Speaker:right? Yes,
Speaker:exactly. I heard it Something lately that I've really been trying
Speaker:to push forward to everybody.
Speaker:Specially our,
Speaker:our business,
Speaker:the handmade business is once people know you,
Speaker:they buy products because they want to support the creator behind
Speaker:the product.
Speaker:It's still about the product and you have to have a
Speaker:good, solid product to start with for sure.
Speaker:But it becomes more about the interaction and the relationship and
Speaker:things they know about the creator that actually reinforced coming back
Speaker:and supporting,
Speaker:being loyal and telling other people about you and the best
Speaker:way to do that.
Speaker:For me,
Speaker:I think after you've seen people face to face is the
Speaker:photos. I would agree because if you can't put a face
Speaker:to the business,
Speaker:I think we as humans more likely do business with people.
Speaker:And so if you don't have that face to put it
Speaker:too, it's hard to do business with that person.
Speaker:You're just doing it with the logo or the characters and
Speaker:you don't get that personalized feeling.
Speaker:And so why would I buy from one soap owner when
Speaker:I could just buy from a different soap owner?
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:Uh, Oh,
Speaker:I'm hearing a lot of people saying,
Speaker:Oh gosh,
Speaker:because their logos are what they have probably on social media,
Speaker:on their websites and probably not much of their own face.
Speaker:Oh no.
Speaker:Where should we change that out?
Speaker:Are you thinking,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:you still want your logo also of course,
Speaker:but where would be places where we'll get into like how
Speaker:to do the photo shoot and I have some questions for
Speaker:you there,
Speaker:but where would you put these photos?
Speaker:So you're going to need photos for,
Speaker:I would have it on your homepage of your website.
Speaker:Usually there's like an about section within that.
Speaker:You're going to need it on your,
Speaker:about section.
Speaker:So having different styles of photos of yourself is helpful for
Speaker:that. You're going to use it within your actual social media
Speaker:platform when you're actually posting.
Speaker:But then I would even change out your icon photo to
Speaker:you instead of your logo.
Speaker:I agree with you.
Speaker:I was hoping you would say that.
Speaker:So if I'm the soap maker,
Speaker:we're going to stick with that throughout.
Speaker:Perfect. I like it.
Speaker:So if I'm the soap maker,
Speaker:I still have the logo of my business,
Speaker:but I should probably show myself as the maker on social
Speaker:media. Cause the soap isn't talking to potential customers,
Speaker:you are like the maker is right.
Speaker:Yes. Yeah.
Speaker:I really agree with that.
Speaker:And I know that's a hard concept to get over.
Speaker:I think for people,
Speaker:but the more people feel comfortable and close to you,
Speaker:the more likely they are to purchase the whole know like,
Speaker:and trust that's so overused.
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:But this is one way of making people more comfortable with
Speaker:you and feeling like it's more genuine,
Speaker:Right? I mean,
Speaker:I get it.
Speaker:I get that struggle to want to be,
Speaker:or not wanting to be in front of the camera just
Speaker:to put a story behind it.
Speaker:I think it was three years ago.
Speaker:I noticed that for two years straight,
Speaker:there weren't any photos of me and not just within my
Speaker:business, like within my family life.
Speaker:And it was because I was avoiding to be in front
Speaker:of the camera at all costs.
Speaker:Well, I got to say why I have to ask why
Speaker:It's that insecurity.
Speaker:I get why my clients don't want to be in front
Speaker:of the camera.
Speaker:It feels revealing.
Speaker:And it feels vulnerable.
Speaker:And I was in a place where I didn't feel beautiful
Speaker:in front of the camera,
Speaker:so I didn't want to be in front of the camera.
Speaker:And I think a lot of that,
Speaker:like a lot of the not wanting to be photographed comes
Speaker:from those insecurities.
Speaker:And you got to work past that because one for me
Speaker:on my family side for two years,
Speaker:my kids wouldn't have had,
Speaker:if I continued,
Speaker:they would have never,
Speaker:ever had photos of me with our family.
Speaker:And that's just,
Speaker:that's tragic.
Speaker:And then on the business side,
Speaker:people are going to want to know who you are and
Speaker:why they should do business with you.
Speaker:Right. And I don't think we need to be perfect.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:I think if we try to be perfect,
Speaker:we come across more false anyway.
Speaker:And fate.
Speaker:So here's the worst Nicole,
Speaker:I think is when somebody has a photo that they've used
Speaker:for a while.
Speaker:Maybe it's been on their LinkedIn and they had it taken
Speaker:when they were in corporate.
Speaker:So the hotel was like 10 years old.
Speaker:Let's say,
Speaker:then you meet someone in person.
Speaker:And they look nothing like the images that they've have all
Speaker:over social media because social media to younger more professional version
Speaker:of themself.
Speaker:Right. And I feel like when that happens and I've had
Speaker:it happen to me a lot.
Speaker:And what I feel like is this person is not as
Speaker:genuine as I would want them to be like,
Speaker:if that's what they're representing,
Speaker:that it's still down.
Speaker:Cause, but it's them from a while ago.
Speaker:Right? What else?
Speaker:Isn't quite represented as it is.
Speaker:Right? I mean,
Speaker:it takes away from the honesty of your brand.
Speaker:Exactly. I love the way you just put that agree a
Speaker:hundred percent.
Speaker:But I think the other challenge that people will have,
Speaker:let's just say they're okay with having their face there.
Speaker:Okay. Look at the big brands.
Speaker:But the big brands do put their logos.
Speaker:Right, right.
Speaker:And so if you're aspiring to be a big brand and
Speaker:you're looking and following a bigger brand and it's the logo,
Speaker:How big of a brand are we talking?
Speaker:Are we talking like the apples of the world or,
Speaker:Well, right.
Speaker:I guess that's my point is if you're not that now,
Speaker:right? You want to be selling as a person,
Speaker:not a logo.
Speaker:Yes. That is completely,
Speaker:the point is we're I am not the Apple of the
Speaker:world. I am not an Amazon and I'm not a JC
Speaker:penny like rate JC Penney photos.
Speaker:Right. And one,
Speaker:I know my clients,
Speaker:that's not what they would want.
Speaker:Of course.
Speaker:I think that puts another layer between you and your customer.
Speaker:If you're hiding behind or we won't even say hi to
Speaker:my logo,
Speaker:but if you're aspiring to be this bigger brand that carries
Speaker:weight, I think part of the way you're going to do
Speaker:that, especially when you're small to begin with is by growing
Speaker:a personal brand first,
Speaker:that doesn't mean that at some point you might not grow
Speaker:your brand to something bigger to where the logo is known,
Speaker:but I think you are going to be the person that
Speaker:gets it.
Speaker:There Absolutely agree.
Speaker:I totally agree with you.
Speaker:And you're still always the owner behind the brand.
Speaker:Yes. And like,
Speaker:I don't think there's anything wrong with owning exactly where you
Speaker:are in your business development and not trying to be something
Speaker:more than you already are.
Speaker:Right? Like if you're just genuine and let's face it,
Speaker:there's a lot of value with working with small businesses,
Speaker:not larger businesses.
Speaker:You're talking directly with the owner,
Speaker:it's more personable.
Speaker:There's I'm going to say less structure in a good way.
Speaker:Like you can adjust.
Speaker:It's not like when you have a big company,
Speaker:there are certain structures you have to go by like by
Speaker:the line,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:writing or whatever,
Speaker:small businesses are more nimble,
Speaker:flexible. So there's so much value.
Speaker:It doesn't hold true.
Speaker:And I think more and more we're seeing this,
Speaker:that just because it's a bigger brand,
Speaker:a products more valuable or the services are better because we
Speaker:all know that's not always the case.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:So I'm trying to make a point with everybody and get
Speaker:people who have never considered doing this,
Speaker:thinking along these lines.
Speaker:I think this is a great opportunity for you to differentiate
Speaker:yourself as we were talking about before making people fall in
Speaker:love with your brand because they feel more connected with you
Speaker:and you just have to show up as you are now.
Speaker:Yes. Are you probably going to get your makeup done and
Speaker:your hair done?
Speaker:And you're like,
Speaker:you're gonna want to represent the best you,
Speaker:but still be truly you it's the same hairstyle you would
Speaker:normally wear.
Speaker:So people recognize you and know who you are.
Speaker:You know how sometimes people will get pictures taken and it's
Speaker:like, Oh my gosh,
Speaker:that's you.
Speaker:Right? Cause they've been all dialed up in different,
Speaker:right after a quick word from our sponsor,
Speaker:we are going to talk about how to prepare for your
Speaker:next or first photo shoot.
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Speaker:So let's say Going back to our soap maker,
Speaker:who's only been in business for a year.
Speaker:Doesn't have any photos at all.
Speaker:Okay. And they are deciding that they're going to do a
Speaker:photo shoot with you.
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:So how do they prepare?
Speaker:What should they be doing beforehand?
Speaker:Because I'm thinking this will make people feel more comfortable about
Speaker:potentially doing it.
Speaker:So what happens?
Speaker:So I signed the dotted line.
Speaker:We're doing it,
Speaker:or I made my appointment now what happens?
Speaker:Okay. So for my personal clients,
Speaker:when we're doing a full brand shoe,
Speaker:I like to walk them through or give them a questionnaire
Speaker:that lets me know more about them and helps them think
Speaker:more strategically about their business and how they're going to use
Speaker:the photos.
Speaker:I'm actually working on creating a guided workbook for people who
Speaker:don't necessarily get to work with me,
Speaker:but that's not out yet.
Speaker:Okay. But when it is,
Speaker:will you let me know or give me a link?
Speaker:Cause I'll put it in the show notes of this episode.
Speaker:Sure. Of course.
Speaker:Okay. But I thought I would share six questions that you
Speaker:should ask yourself so that you can help get yourself ready
Speaker:for your shoe.
Speaker:Does that work?
Speaker:Yes, that's wonderful.
Speaker:Okay. Okay.
Speaker:So the first question is how are you going to use
Speaker:these photos?
Speaker:So we kind of talked about it a little bit already,
Speaker:but like you run to start thinking about what places that
Speaker:you're going to use the photos.
Speaker:Do you need a fresh headshot?
Speaker:Like I said,
Speaker:I think would be,
Speaker:have a good personal brand photographer.
Speaker:They will get you a fresh head shot along with all
Speaker:these other strategic photos that you need.
Speaker:I don't think you can ever have too many headshots to
Speaker:be quite honest.
Speaker:I agree.
Speaker:And then you're going to want to look,
Speaker:are there any visual holes you've seen in your biz right
Speaker:now? Like,
Speaker:are there any places that you were thinking I needed more
Speaker:for the about section on Facebook?
Speaker:I needed something different.
Speaker:So it's not the same photo in every single place.
Speaker:So you want to start thinking about where those visual holes
Speaker:have you and then what color is express your brand the
Speaker:best. So if you have brand colors for your business,
Speaker:I suggest either choosing to wear them,
Speaker:yourself thinking about like maybe the location that you're taking.
Speaker:Maybe it's going to have pull in some of those colors
Speaker:or possibly just sticking to more neutral colors.
Speaker:But thinking about other ways that it'll be incorporated color wise,
Speaker:I totally made this mistake.
Speaker:One of the very first photo shoots I ever did.
Speaker:I wore a color.
Speaker:I had just gotten this sweater.
Speaker:I thought it was really pretty,
Speaker:he had nothing to do with my brand color.
Speaker:It was like the stupidest thing to do now.
Speaker:Can I use it in social media post here or there?
Speaker:Yeah. But the pictures were good,
Speaker:but I couldn't use them for like the big banner photos.
Speaker:Cause it wasn't my color romantic class with my color.
Speaker:I was so mad at myself.
Speaker:So I'm so glad you say that.
Speaker:Yeah. And I think some people,
Speaker:especially when they get very like honed in on their Instagram
Speaker:feed, they choose to make,
Speaker:like to have like a color consistency within their photos and
Speaker:it's, so that really helps to already know ahead of time
Speaker:going into your shoe.
Speaker:Right. And it doesn't mean that you're going to have like
Speaker:always all the same colors,
Speaker:but like if you're muted or more pastorally versus bright or
Speaker:like, you know,
Speaker:just think of that.
Speaker:They all come together.
Speaker:Like in my brand knows people who follow me,
Speaker:bright purples Browns,
Speaker:neither of those have anything to do with my brand.
Speaker:Never now a lighter topi beigey could fit or isn't right.
Speaker:My brand.
Speaker:But like I could slip that in,
Speaker:but there are some that are so obviously obnoxiously,
Speaker:not, not that I don't like those colors,
Speaker:but no exactly.
Speaker:Can you see that?
Speaker:I'm still mad at myself about this when you hear it.
Speaker:I wasted that money because even though the photos are great,
Speaker:I can't use them as much as I would've wanted to.
Speaker:So Exactly.
Speaker:If you're going to spend the money in your business,
Speaker:you want it to help your business.
Speaker:Right. You want to be able to see what the growth
Speaker:will come from it.
Speaker:So definitely consider those colors.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker:For sure.
Speaker:Sorry. I interrupted your questions,
Speaker:but I had to,
Speaker:I think that's powerful.
Speaker:I think that's a powerful story to share.
Speaker:And then you're also going to want to ask,
Speaker:what does your ideal client love about your brand or if
Speaker:you're not there yet,
Speaker:what do you want your ideal client to love about your
Speaker:brand? So maybe that's some stories that you're sharing and so
Speaker:that you need that captured or things like that.
Speaker:Oh, so that's interesting.
Speaker:So if there are certain things,
Speaker:like maybe it's the story of why you started your business,
Speaker:right? And so you might want some types of photos that
Speaker:you could use as your telling that story.
Speaker:And so the photo relates the story in some way,
Speaker:maybe Exactly.
Speaker:Because you're going to keep sharing that.
Speaker:Like it's not just a one and done that story is
Speaker:going to continue to come up within your brand and within
Speaker:your social media feed,
Speaker:you're going to continue to come back to it.
Speaker:It's not just,
Speaker:you're going to tell it in different ways.
Speaker:So you'll want fresh imagery to do that.
Speaker:And then the fifth one that you should ask is what
Speaker:do I share about most often on social media?
Speaker:So what are the things that you consistently talk about for
Speaker:your brand on social media or if you're not consistently doing
Speaker:it yet,
Speaker:what do you think you need to be consistently talking about?
Speaker:So that way you can pull in images and you have
Speaker:stuff available,
Speaker:you have this backlog of stuff that you can use to
Speaker:then have.
Speaker:So your feed,
Speaker:isn't one thing the whole time,
Speaker:not just your soap.
Speaker:It's what do I need to share about this soap?
Speaker:Right. Would you also say then for a brand shoot like
Speaker:this, you could do behind the scenes.
Speaker:Like, you know how I was saying that somebody could take
Speaker:pictures of,
Speaker:let's say them making the soap,
Speaker:but they can't take a picture with their hand in it
Speaker:right away like themselves.
Speaker:So we're to do some of those types of things.
Speaker:So it's not them even in full screen,
Speaker:maybe not even always their face,
Speaker:but their hands or something else.
Speaker:100%. It depends on your photographer,
Speaker:but if they know what you need for social media,
Speaker:they're going to talk to you about that.
Speaker:They're going to make sure that those stories that you want
Speaker:to bring up.
Speaker:So if it's exactly that it's just a closeup of your
Speaker:hands of you doing or making or pressing the flowers or
Speaker:creating the soap in some way,
Speaker:I don't know the process you're going to want maybe some
Speaker:of those images of closeup,
Speaker:not just your face,
Speaker:you're going to want to have the actual activity that's happening.
Speaker:And it's so much,
Speaker:like you said,
Speaker:it's so much easier to have somebody else do it.
Speaker:Then try to like prop up a phone in some way
Speaker:or a camera and try to get it while you're trying
Speaker:to navigate also doing the activity.
Speaker:Absolutely. So how do you feel about,
Speaker:let's say you're going in,
Speaker:you're doing this photo shoot and it's so baking still.
Speaker:So you're going to learn all the process,
Speaker:Nicole, during our imaginary modem.
Speaker:But so they're pouring the soap,
Speaker:let's say,
Speaker:and you're taking a picture of them head-on or from the
Speaker:side, but a full body image of them making the product.
Speaker:You could also crop those photos down then of just being
Speaker:the hands and pouring too.
Speaker:So you could get multiple photos out of one large photo.
Speaker:Yes. Oh 100%.
Speaker:You can.
Speaker:Totally. Especially if you get a high resolution photo,
Speaker:it gets more difficult when it's not,
Speaker:because the more you crop it down,
Speaker:you're going to change the quality of the photo.
Speaker:But I'm saying like,
Speaker:I think it's really powerful for you to have a photographer.
Speaker:Who's going to think strategically with you and actually get that
Speaker:full body in and then zoom in weather or walk in
Speaker:and get that tighter shot for you as a separate photo.
yeah. So you're strategically because you know what to do,
Speaker:but I'm saying if you have a good photographer there to
Speaker:support you,
Speaker:you don't necessarily have to do that work.
Speaker:You just need to tell them the stories you want captured.
Speaker:Right. I was just thinking of also other people who are
Speaker:listening, who have done photo shoots,
Speaker:they might be able to go back to some of their
Speaker:photos again,
Speaker:if they're high res images,
Speaker:right? Yes.
Speaker:But they may have something that they can crop.
Speaker:They've used a picture a long time,
Speaker:but they may be able to use it in a different
Speaker:way now.
Speaker:And let's be honest.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:there are a lot of photographers,
Speaker:not sliding anybody in any way,
Speaker:but who aren't thinking of taking pictures in this way.
Speaker:Right. But there may be some pictures you have that you
Speaker:can already use.
Speaker:Very, very smart idea.
Speaker:Very smart idea.
Speaker:You could definitely go in and crop in to get that
Speaker:tighter image.
Speaker:And if you're just sharing it on social media,
Speaker:you've most likely the photo that you crop,
Speaker:even if it's not like professional quality will crop in really
Speaker:nicely, just like she said.
Speaker:And a lot of people don't even know that there are
Speaker:images you've already had.
Speaker:Right. It completely changes the dynamic of your photo.
Speaker:Your one photo can become so much more.
Speaker:Right. Okay.
Speaker:I think we have one more.
Speaker:Yeah. The last one relates back to what you share the
Speaker:most often.
Speaker:It's what do you need to share more often?
Speaker:What is missing from your brand that needs to be shared
Speaker:on social media?
Speaker:Okay. Share more often.
Speaker:I'm writing these down.
Speaker:Very good.
Speaker:Cause I need them.
Speaker:Cause this is going to give me some training to hear
Speaker:that's one good thing about doing these interviews because I learned
Speaker:too at the same time here.
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:Really good.
Speaker:So these are things that you should be thinking about before
Speaker:you go in.
Speaker:So you're prepared because it's so easy.
Speaker:Like once you start doing the photos to forget,
Speaker:because you're so busy trying to look good,
Speaker:smiling, maybe changing out an outfit or something when you and
Speaker:I just did photos recently because I've done them now a
Speaker:couple of times I was wearing a cardigan,
Speaker:but also a sleeveless black top underneath so that I could
Speaker:just pull that off real quick.
Speaker:And it almost looks like a separate photo shoot.
Speaker:Yes. So,
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:depending on the time that you book with your photographer,
Speaker:I think it's definitely smart either to wear layers like you
Speaker:did, or to have just maybe a couple of different tops
Speaker:that you can switch out quickly.
Speaker:And that way you can get a totally different look for
Speaker:yourself. And I also think I've taken two now wearing my
Speaker:glasses when I do photos too,
Speaker:because most of the time when I'm working or people are
Speaker:going to see me,
Speaker:I'm going to be in glasses.
Speaker:Right. So I shouldn't be without glasses for a professional image.
Speaker:If the way people are going to really see me as
Speaker:now with glasses.
Speaker:Yes. You want to show,
Speaker:like you said earlier,
Speaker:you want to show who you truly are.
Speaker:Okay. So let's review really quickly,
Speaker:these six.
Speaker:Cause we had commentary in between.
Speaker:Make sure everyone captures them.
Speaker:So do you want me to review them or do you
Speaker:want to review them either way?
Speaker:Okay. You go for it.
Speaker:Okay. So let's review the six questions you should be asking
Speaker:before you go in.
Speaker:Let's do a summary.
Speaker:Okay. So you're going to first ask yourself,
Speaker:how are you going to use the photos?
Speaker:What is the use you want to get out of them?
Speaker:Two is,
Speaker:are there any visual holes you've seen in your business right
Speaker:now? Like are there places that you need to add more
Speaker:in the third one is what colors express your brand the
Speaker:best. If you've decided on brand colors,
Speaker:then you're going to want to incorporate those in some way.
Speaker:The fourth question is what does your ideal client love about
Speaker:your brand?
Speaker:The fifth question is what do I share most often on
Speaker:social media?
Speaker:And the last one is what do I need to share
Speaker:about more often on social media.
Speaker:Beautiful. And especially now that we've been talking about the story
Speaker:and that maybe you should be sharing a little bit more
Speaker:about how you started or a little bit more about you
Speaker:as a person or all of that,
Speaker:that might be missing and you don't have any photos for
Speaker:that. Exactly.
Speaker:Okay. So here you're going to be my consultant right now.
Speaker:I have a question.
Speaker:Okay. Part of my story is having worked in corporate forever
Speaker:and I loved my job.
Speaker:Like for me it wasn't that I was escaping corporate.
Speaker:I really did love it.
Speaker:The thing is I had children and I can't press pause.
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:Like I wanted some of their childhood,
Speaker:me not traveling at all.
Speaker:Right. But so that's part of my story.
Speaker:But when I'm doing like in a presentation,
Speaker:you talk about,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:who you are.
Speaker:I have no pictures,
Speaker:zero pictures of me in my corporate life.
Speaker:What kind of pictures could I create now that I could
Speaker:use for that?
Speaker:So you could do more of a corporate headshot type photo
Speaker:and have like one of that.
Speaker:And then one of you now,
Speaker:and like the arrow going that way,
Speaker:like arrow going into my life.
Speaker:Now you could do more of a desk type photo of
Speaker:yourself. Cause that gives off that corporate feel.
Speaker:But maybe still have it set up to where you are
Speaker:now, but just talk about how,
Speaker:like that was something you loved.
Speaker:And so you still show yourself behind more of like the
Speaker:corporate aid type desk,
Speaker:but doing it in a new way.
Speaker:Oh, that's a good idea.
Speaker:Yeah. Maybe more corporate thing,
Speaker:like maybe even dress up in more of a suit type
Speaker:thing. Maybe something like that.
Speaker:The only thing I thought of is I was traveling so
Speaker:much that I have a picture of me pulling a suitcase,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:traveling. That would be great.
Speaker:Yeah. I've used that,
Speaker:but I didn't know what else to do.
Speaker:So you've given me some ideas.
Speaker:So that is perfect.
Speaker:Okay. So we get our photos taken and I know,
Speaker:and I'm talking for people who have never gone through this
Speaker:process before.
Speaker:So how long does it take to get them back?
Speaker:Do I get every single photo?
Speaker:Like how does that work?
Speaker:Okay. So it really is going to depend on your photographer
Speaker:and the timeframe that the photographer you're working with does,
Speaker:I would say that the majority of photographers wouldn't take any
Speaker:more than 30 days to get photos back to you,
Speaker:but that's not everyone.
Speaker:So you definitely want to ask that of them and then
Speaker:you're going to get back.
Speaker:That's also something that's going to depend on what you agree
Speaker:upon to begin with for a photo shoot that I do
Speaker:when I do personal brand,
Speaker:I want to make sure that ideally in that shoot,
Speaker:you have enough for 90 days worth of content.
Speaker:And so that's the collection I create for my clients because
Speaker:I think that there's power in doing a quarterly personal brand
Speaker:shoot. So that way you have fresh imagery to use.
Speaker:Okay. So you're thinking three times a year or so you
Speaker:should do a shoot.
Speaker:Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:Interesting. All right.
Speaker:So I get my photos back and lots of times they'll
Speaker:offer digital files.
Speaker:Maybe you want some prints,
Speaker:but really you want digital for media,
Speaker:for sure.
Speaker:Exactly. Yes.
Speaker:What are the right best practices for using the photos?
Speaker:Should you be always referencing the photographer or what do you
Speaker:do with that?
Speaker:So personal branding is different than what I would say for
Speaker:wedding photography.
Speaker:You're going to want to talk to your photographer upfront,
Speaker:but ideally what you would want to do is to be
Speaker:able to get commercial license.
Speaker:So you don't necessarily have to reference the photographer unless you
Speaker:want to credit them.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:it is nice at some point along the way to say
Speaker:it, but maybe not on every single photo.
Speaker:Exactly. You don't want to feel obligated to do it on
Speaker:every single photo you're going to want to know,
Speaker:are they watermarking their images?
Speaker:You want to make sure that the images that you're getting
Speaker:back does not have their logo on it.
Speaker:If you're trying to use it for your business,
Speaker:right? You're going to want to ask if you're getting high
Speaker:resolution photos,
Speaker:because online,
Speaker:you don't necessarily need a high resolution photo,
Speaker:but if you're going to do any print media,
Speaker:you will.
Speaker:And if you're paying for your shoe,
Speaker:I believe you should get your high resolution photos.
Speaker:If you're paying for the digital file.
Speaker:Well, that goes to them,
Speaker:understanding what you're going to be using the photos for too.
Speaker:Exactly. And then you'll need to ask them to make sure
Speaker:that you can actually make edit to the photo and like
Speaker:overlay stuff over it.
Speaker:If you want to,
Speaker:these are all things that you need to find out ahead
Speaker:of time.
Speaker:Because if you don't know that ahead of time and you
Speaker:sign your contract and your photographer says no,
Speaker:Any of that,
Speaker:no touching my photos.
Speaker:You're going to be a little frustrated.
Speaker:Right? So you're talking about like,
Speaker:if you want to do text overlays or maybe you want
Speaker:to do a montage of a couple of the photos or
Speaker:you want to zoom in,
Speaker:like we were talking about before you want the flexibility of
Speaker:being able to do all of that 100%.
Speaker:What about adding filters or any of that?
Speaker:Also a question or Also a question,
Speaker:personal branding.
Speaker:It's still kind of a developing field.
Speaker:And there are more photographers who are learning that,
Speaker:especially in the online space,
Speaker:in an online world brands and businesses,
Speaker:creators and makers,
Speaker:they need to be able to have more flexibility over their
Speaker:images. So it might cost more than a family shoot because
Speaker:you are getting more control over the art that we create
Speaker:as it is scary for a photographer to say,
Speaker:like, I did all this work for you and created something
Speaker:that I think is going to be beautiful for your brand,
Speaker:but go ahead and change all of it.
Speaker:Right? Well,
Speaker:no. And what if you don't like it,
Speaker:it's not your style and then your name is connected to
Speaker:it. Right.
Speaker:And you'd be like,
Speaker:this is not what I do.
Speaker:Right. But my guess is that most people they're more busy
Speaker:working their product.
Speaker:Right. And talking with customers then adjusting all of the images.
Speaker:I'm just thinking like,
Speaker:if you go,
Speaker:you know how you can go on to Instagram and then
Speaker:they've got all the filters and all of that.
Speaker:But mostly then we all know it's a filter like from
Speaker:an app.
Speaker:Right, right.
Speaker:Geez. Okay.
Speaker:So what about,
Speaker:how long does a photographer keep your pictures?
Speaker:Like let's say I did not buy all the pictures that
Speaker:were done because I couldn't afford it,
Speaker:whatever. And now I want more.
Speaker:Is that possible or is it,
Speaker:is that another question you ask or what It is possible
Speaker:and generally your photographer will tell you upfront how long the
Speaker:images are available for you to choose from or how long
Speaker:they will keep a backlog of it.
Speaker:So I generally tell people that I have it on my
Speaker:own hard drives available easily for at least a year.
Speaker:And then after that,
Speaker:like sometimes it's archived.
Speaker:And so there's more,
Speaker:it's more difficult to go back,
Speaker:to get to More difficult.
Speaker:And like when you're in business for 10 or 15 years,
Speaker:you're still keeping your one photos.
Speaker:Like at some point,
Speaker:I don't know.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:I don't guarantee it for my clients,
Speaker:but because of who I am,
Speaker:yes. I could go back to my very first photo and
Speaker:find it,
Speaker:but because it's archived on like hard drives that's Right.
Speaker:It would take awhile potentially.
Speaker:Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Good. All right.
Speaker:Wonderful. Well,
Speaker:what final partying advice would you have for somebody who has
Speaker:never done their photo before is now listening to us and
Speaker:saying, okay,
Speaker:that doesn't sound so bad.
Speaker:Maybe I could do that,
Speaker:but now tomorrow they're going to say,
Speaker:Oh no,
Speaker:it sounded good.
Speaker:Then not now.
Speaker:What would you say to that person?
Speaker:I would say that when you can do it,
Speaker:cause I have been there where I haven't wanted to be
Speaker:in front of the camera and you pick a photographer that
Speaker:you feel comfortable with and who will make you feel comfortable
Speaker:and you've got this for sure.
Speaker:And then the second thing is,
Speaker:is your brand needs it.
Speaker:So go out and do it.
Speaker:And I think it gets easier.
Speaker:The more you do it,
Speaker:the easier it gets to 100%.
Speaker:I mean,
Speaker:if the only thing you did at first was your headshot
Speaker:and maybe a couple of other pictures real quick from a
Speaker:professional. I'm not talking about when you drag your husband out
Speaker:into the backyard and take a picture because I mean,
Speaker:I get that there's room for that as well.
Speaker:But we're talking about,
Speaker:these are more professionally done pictures with an intent following Nicole
Speaker:six questions.
Speaker:So it's more strategic than that.
Speaker:Right. And where would you direct people to go to know
Speaker:more about you Just definitely go head over to my website.
Speaker:It's Nicole marie.com
Speaker:and it's Nicole with a K.
Speaker:So it's N I K O L E murray.com.
Speaker:That's where you can find everything about me or come and
Speaker:hang out on Instagram.
Speaker:I'd love to chat with you guys.
Speaker:So it's Nicole Murray photo.
Speaker:Beautiful. And you're in the Chicago area.
Speaker:So those who are local listening to us.
Speaker:And if you're interested in a photo shoot,
Speaker:then Nicole might be at your ready,
Speaker:wait in Rio.
Speaker:Super. So what do you see as the future of your
Speaker:business? Do you see yourself gravitating more weddings or branding or
Speaker:both or something new?
Speaker:Where does your mind and your heart right now?
Speaker:I definitely see myself doing both still.
Speaker:I feel in my heart that like both of them really
Speaker:fulfill me.
Speaker:I think I would have answered this question very differently prior
Speaker:to being on quarantine.
Speaker:But the more I've been on quarantine,
Speaker:the more I've been talking to other business owners.
Speaker:And I find that I definitely love the talking with businesses
Speaker:about what they need to do strategically to move forward.
Speaker:So I think I'm going to continue to explore some of
Speaker:what that means.
Speaker:And if that means like more intention,
Speaker:even more so in the packaging of personal branding,
Speaker:that includes some coaching,
Speaker:maybe it does,
Speaker:but we'll see.
Speaker:I think I'm excited to see what's going to come out
Speaker:of this time.
Speaker:Love it.
Speaker:Well, I can clearly see that you're observing what's happening around
Speaker:you and adjusting and tweaking and then deciding what feels good
Speaker:for you too.
Speaker:Yeah. So wonderful.
Speaker:Well, Nicole,
Speaker:thank you so much for being on the show today.
Speaker:I really appreciate it.
Speaker:And I think we've convinced some people that maybe they're going
Speaker:to add their face to their brand and that will be
Speaker:a great thing.
Speaker:Right? I hope so.
Speaker:Yes. Okay.
Speaker:Thanks again for being here.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:This was great.
Speaker:If you didn't catch them,
Speaker:jump into the show notes for the three questions to ask
Speaker:yourself before your next or your first photo shoot.
Speaker:Now next week is part two of this personal branding series
Speaker:you're covered on headshots and still images.
Speaker:And we're going to move on and talk about how to
Speaker:feel comfortable and make the best impression when you're on video
Speaker:or live streaming,
Speaker:we'll be getting direction from a former actress and an on-camera
Speaker:coach. So make sure to join me next Monday.
Speaker:And a reminder when you subscribe to the show,
Speaker:you'll automatically have the next episode ready and waiting for you.
Speaker:The minute it goes live,
Speaker:I'm looking forward to being together again,
Speaker:then be safe,
Speaker:be well and bye for now.
Speaker:I want to make sure you're familiar with my free Facebook
Speaker:group called gift is breeze.
Speaker:It's a place where we all gather and our community to
Speaker:support each other.
Speaker:Got a really fun post in there.
Speaker:That's my favorite of the week.
Speaker:I have to say where I invite all of you to
Speaker:share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,
Speaker:to show what you're working on for the week to get
Speaker:reaction from other people and just for fun,
Speaker:because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody
Speaker:in the community is making my favorite post every single week,
Speaker:without doubt.
Speaker:Wait, what,
Speaker:aren't you part of the group already,
Speaker:if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search
Speaker:for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.
