I often get the question, what is personal branding? Why is it important?
Think about it likes this. Compare a generic, white tennis shoe to a white tennis shoe with a brand on. Which one is perceived more valuable? Which is more expensive? Which one will people stand in line for? We all know the answer to that.
Let’s also do a comparison between being a practitioner vs a personality in your brand. Take Dr. Phil as an example. He is not the best psychologist in the world but he is the personality in his business and I imagine he can charge what he likes for a session and there are people who will think he is worth it.
So your headshot is your book cover, your personal branding images tells the story about you, your brand and your personality. What you stand for, who you are and that attracts the right people to you, who shares values and identities with you. We all like to do business with other humans that we know, like and trust, that we can relate to and identify with.
By showing up online and telling people about it you become more than just a generic tennis shoe, you stand out and differentiate yourself.
If you are ready to explore this more and have elevated branding images that matches the level of service you provide, simply fill out my form on the website and let’s get you started!
Free, empowered, confident, bold, playful and brave.
I am expanding the perception of myself.
Being INTENTIONAL with the growth I want to see in myself.
If you know me, you know that I choose hiking boots over heels any day of the week. I almost fell over more than once just trying to stand in these heels However, I wanted to see myself differently, have fun and embody new sides and traits in me. Having a visual representation of what that looks like so everyday Christina can step into that too.
I grew up painfully shy, I made the interpretation early on that standing out in any way was not safe, I used to avoid mirrors and was hiding in plain sight. So it takes courage to do the opposite of what your brain tells you to do. But nothing changes, if nothing changes.
Before this photoshoot I went through the same emotions of resistance and insecurities that my clients often feel. The difference this time for me was that I welcomed it in. “Thank you for trying to keep me safe, but I choose to be more.” I got curious and it showed me where I need to love and accept myself more.
Let’s look at the “I have nothing to wear” objection, it is often deeper than that. It’s not just about the clothes. It’s about the acceptance of self. Of seeing yourself. In the end it’s not really about what you look like, it’s how you FEEL! When you are in front of the camera, when you look at your photos and in your life. Am I willing to see my own beauty? Am I willing to take a stand for myself? Accept myself? It’s all an inside job but having your own photoshoot can help you see yourself differently and also feel differently. Drop a heart in the comments if you are ready to put the next version of you on your vision board!
I’m so excited to capture your special bond on November 12th, 2022.
I’ve put together some things to think about before your session.
Exercise your dog before your session to get rid f some of that pent up energy and have him/her go potty to avoid any accidents.
Think about the color of your collar and leash, neon or super bright colors are cool but not in photos since they capture all the attention. Neutral colors works best and if you can match to your outfit, even better!
What motivates your dog? Makes it perk up? Noise or food? any keywords? Bring his/hers favorite toys.
Lets’ talk about wardrobe.
There will be two backgrounds available, one white and one dark grey. As you see in these examples, light outfit colors on a light background makes everything goes together nicely. If you are going for a monochromatic look, black on white background is also an option. To make it very easy for you, bring one darker and one lighter option for your upper body 🙂
I’ve had some conversations lately with women who are always behind the camera, taking the photos of the kids, hiding in the back if they need to be in a photo. Now they want to step forward but don’t know if they have the confidence.
But how will you know when you have enough confidence?
How much more confidence do you need? 50%? 78%? Confidence does not just drop in your lap one day. I know that from experience. I was waiting for my confidence to show up and THEN I would do things. Thing is, it never arrived, I was always waiting, until I started to do things that were uncomfortable. Confidence comes from competence and if we never show up, start, do the thing, we will continue to repeat the same pattern all over again.
So I started showing up even if I was super nervous. I started to watch my self talk, turns out I was not very nice to myself. It’s really hard to build confidence if nothing is ever good enough. So I started to change that. What if I was that confident woman, what would I do then? Then I went and did the thing, sweaty palms and pounding heart, and you know what? I didn’t die. It got a little easier next time.
What if you trusted yourself enough to start showing up. What if you did love a photo of you? What if you accepted yourself like you are, right now? What would be possible then? Would you show up a little more in other areas of life? Chances are that if you are hiding in one area of life, you are hiding in other areas too. Do you need to wait or can you start showing up now? If not now, when?
I invite you to step into your power in front of my lens in my studio in Bozeman, where you will discover a confident woman who in fact looks amazing in photos.
For many women it is that they never look good in photographs.
But is that really true?
You really don’t have one photograph that you like of yourself?
You see, we look into the past for confirming evidence, looking for every experience that confirms our belief, we seldom look for contrary evidence to our beliefs. We filter out the times when we felt good in front of the camera, the photo we do like.
Just because you believe it doesn’t mean it’s true. In fact I have plenty of evidence for myself and my clients that they DO look good in photos, amazing in fact!
I invite you to reframe the things you think about yourself. Start looking for contrary evidence to the belief that isn’t serving you. Reframe it to something that serves you. Go find that photo you like and keep it as evidence that you in fact can rock it in front of the camera. This portrait is one of my evidence. And if you find there isn’t enough evidence, book a photoshoot with me and you will have plenty!
I was recently recognized and awarded the title of an Accredited Portrait Masters Associate Photographer. I’m so happy to have reached this milestone in my portrait photography career!
How do you build yourself up? By celebrating and acknowledging the wins, big and small.
By taking time to reflect on how far you come. Be thankful for the journey.
I would never celebrate anything, I desperately craved external validation but when I got it I could not RECEIVE it. Ok, I did that, next! Never enough.
So today I celebrate this, for an analytical, overthinking engineer to take this step is quite remarkable, to embark on a new journey, to follow her heart instead of her head. So often we think we have it all figured out in life, we have the plan, however sometimes your heart wants something completely different than your head and what you “should” do.
I’ve come to discover for myself that my life is more about growth and expansion and less abut what I actually do to achieve it as long as I am enjoying the journey. As introverted as I am, working alone in a lab was not it, I thrive connecting with people and instead of creating nanoparticles I get to create portraits
The Portrait Masters International Awards and Accreditation Program is a recognition of “high professional standard,” and submitted images are judged by a panel of internationally renowned Photographers and given an average score.
I’m proud to be an Accredited Portrait Masters Associate Photographer, you can be assured that you are working with a true professional in the industry. (https://theportraitmasters.com/directory/)
I used to be a control freak and a perfectionist. Not a great combination if you want to get anything done
When I had to do public speaking I dreaded it. I had to memorize every single word because what if I made a mistake? The horror! And the fear of judgement used to paralyze me.
Now I’m pretty good with doing lives on my phone, however doing something more “official” like this still got me spinning a bit.
The difference is that I did it anyway. I could wait until it was perfect…. But what is perfect anyway? There is no such thing. It’s so easy to get into our heads, to make it about us and hide.
But the world needs every one of us to show up, to share what we are passionate about. After you do something you are scared of you are going to find that you didn’t die Next time it will be even easier. Remember, our brain just wants to keep us safe.
In this video I talk about the importance to exist in photographs, not just for yourself but for your loved ones to whom they will be priceless one day. Little did I know that when I took the portraits of my dad, that would be the last time I saw him. I see his soul in them, I remember him and the experience through those portraits. I so wish I had the same experience and portraits of my mom to remember her by.
Join me in my studio in Bozeman for a beautiful experience that will leave feeling empowered and unstoppable!
I’m so excited to announce my new campaign – Beauty is Ageless! I can’t wait to share amazing stories and gorgeous portraits of badass women over 40 living their best life!
Imagine a day where it’s all about celebrating YOU. Have far you have come, everything that shaped you up to this point. Let us take care of you, we will treat you like the queen you are!
Toss the to-do lists and obligations for a day! You come into the studio in Bozeman and you just relax and let us take care of you. We greet you with a glass of bubbly and invite you to sit down. We put on your favorite music and you get your hair and makeup done exactly as you envisioned. You knew this woman was in there, she just needed a little time for herself to come out and shine.
Let us treat you to a red luxurious phtotshoot, we created different sets just for you, to allow all the aspects of you to shine. You are wearing some of your favorite outfits, posing is effortlessly because it’s my job as the photographer to guide you through this whole process. You don’t have to worry about anything!
I could tell you that this photoshoot experience is a fantastic way to step into your power while having tons of fun but I’ll let you discover that for yourself.
Life has shown me the importance of community, seeking help and being open to new experiences lately.
I was a vendor at the Women in Tech Festival a few weeks back where I met all these amazing women. What really stood out to me was how these women are paving their own path, defining what success looks like for them and how important it is to have a strong personal brand.
One of the talks that stood out to me was by Pasha Cook, Founder of Pasha Cook & Associates.“Personal branding creates opportunities, it’s about understanding who you are so you can show up fully.”
I’ve been having some health problems lately, forcing me to slow down, to reflect and to try new things. Last week I did my first Reiki session, having no idea what to expect. After the session my healer told me that the words “heart centered photography” had showed up for her when she was working on me.
She said “you should put Heart Centered Photography on your website”. I just stared at her in disbelief, she just described exactly what I do in 3 simple words.
I will continue to mull over what these words mean to me and my branding, I just wanted to share that sometimes we get a message from the most unexpected source when we try something new. Sometimes we get so busy doing that we loose track off who we are when we are just being.
My yoga teacher spoke those words when I was in a particularly hard pose to hold. Can you meet your edge? Hold just a little bit longer?
That got me thinking of when I do this in my life, where I prematurely decide where it ends. I recently began talking singing lessons and when I come to this high note in this Lady Gaga song, I stop, thinking I can’t hit that note, that it will sound terrible (hello perfectionism!). But that was all in my head, I could in fact hit that note after a couple of trials, I had the power in me to do it all along, I just needed a little coaching.
Take a look at these two portraits below. Looking at the woman I was in 2013, I’m cute and younger but I can see the insecurity in my eyes. I was new in my role as a marketing and event manager, going to network at an event full of Silicon Valley hotshots and I dreaded it. Because I did not feel worthy, who was I to be there?
Looking at the woman I am today, I see someone who is on track to own her femininity, to step into her power and journey and ask herself, who am I NOT to be there? And that is powerful. Every time I doubt that, I can look at my new portrait and remind myself.
As a portrait photographer I meet women who have decided where and when it ended. Who tells me with their objections that it ended before this age, before this particular weight or before……. But they decided that they are not worthy of being photographed. Not in this season of life.
But it hasn’tended. You can hit that note even if your mind says you can’t. You can meet your edge where it is today. And you can move that edge, bit by bit every day until you are in a completely different place that when you started out. Don’tdecide where it ends, my sweet friends.
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