As you may (or may not) know, I don’t charge per image, I charge per session, so although we were after that one epic shot, we organised an hour of personal brand photography  focussing on headshots. We headed down to Frankston waterfront – a location that resonated with her.

I was very concerned about my photographs competition with her favorite photo. I felt the low resolution had something to do with the feeling of youthfulness which just wouldn’t occur in my images. I’m also not into retouching (unless its something transient like a pimple or coldsore) so that wasn’t going to help.  Plus we were going to be shooting in pretty bright sunlight – notorious for accentuating the shadows under eyes!

So why did I deliver 159 photos?

<gets out soapbox> I don’t like the traditional model in photography of a session fee and then a price per image – especially when you are delivering digital files.  I do the same amount of work whether you purchase one of my photographs or all 159 – so why should you pay more?!?! <slides soapbox to the side a little but keeps it within reach!>

I also understand that you are probably not going to use all 159 images.  I deliver a heap of locations and different poses but you get a couple of varients for some shots so you can chose which crop you prefer or which facial expression you prefer or which composition etc.

And we don’t waste any time going backward and forward because you don’t have to pour over the gallery then chose your favorites then send that info to me, then I have to deliver the chosen few images.

And its also super handy to have all those small variations so if you want to use the same kind of photo again next month on your socials – you’ve got one slightly different and don’t repeat yourself.

So Bernadine now has a new favorite shot to use everywhere plus a heap of other images to update the website, fill her socials and make her graphic designer/social media manager VA super happy!

 “Oh Miranda! I have never liked photos of myself and now I am finding it hard to choose which ones I don’t like. I love them all. Thank you so much!”

Would love to know if you have that one photo you love and use everywhere or do you like to change it up regularly?  And what is it about that photo that makes it the favorite?

The post Why deliver over 150 photos (when she needed one)? appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

and its coming off the todo list

and you’ve sent the initial enquiry

– so what’s next!?!
 
 

Before the photoshoot

We start with a discovery questionnaire to better understand your brand and your audience. I’ll ask things like where you’ll be using your photos, what you like about photos of yourself, what colors and styles do people associate with your brand and checkout out all of your socials and website. We use this discussion to determine the photos required, the location(s)/backdrops we’ll be shooting at, your wardrobe and any prop choices.

Each photoshoot is tailored to your outcomes – we might be shooting in your home office and backyard or the local beach/park/café or a hired Airbnb – I’m very good at finding scenes whilst we’re out and about and I can also pack portable backdrops and lighting so we can recreate the studio in your home. There might be some shots of your tools of the trade, we might get a friend in to pretend to be a client, you might want photos of your products, some photos with the family or pets, photos of you doing what you love from making a coffee to journaling – we’ll work this all out.

I recommend 1.5 hours for your first personal branding shoot. 1 hour feels rushed and if you don’t love being in front of the camera 90 minutes is a good length.

I believe you need to feel comfortable and look like yourself in your wardrobe choices and there are no rules on what you can and can’t wear because these are not going to be printed and date hanging on the wall and its your business your way. If you want to get your hair and makeup done and hire a stylist, do it! If you want to throw on your jeans, favorite tops and a little mascara – do that! We want your photos to be genuine and look like you (with great lighting, clever angles and on a good hair day haha!)

On the day

Bring all the outfit changes and props and let’s have some fun.  Feel free to pack a friend to cheerlead and make you feel more comfortable. Pretend your a celebrity and trust me to implement your vision – I take the responsibility for telling your story authentically very seriously.

There will be some ‘action shots’ where I’ll probably ask you do it again slower or pause on occasion and there will be some more posed shots – that I promise don’t look awkward or posed! You’ll hear me say ‘chin down just a fraction’ waaaay too many times.

We’ll go from serious and thinking to hint of a smile, natural smile to laugh out loud. 

Just pretend I’m your ideal client and you’re telling me passionately about your business.

Bottom line: I promise to not stand you in front of the camera and just say ‘smile’.

Receiving your photos

I pride myself in a fast turnaround so you should have access to your online gallery within a week. Login and download the social res to use for anything online – your website, profile pics and socials.  And use the high resolution copies for printing, documents and where you might want to crop in tight without losing the clarity.

As you get all of the insta-worthy images you don’t have to flick thru hundreds of photographs and just choose your ten favorites. And I understand you won’t use them all – but you can choose which smile you prefer rather than the one I think you’ll prefer!

Plus when you want to post a similar images in a month or two’s time – you’ve got some variations so you don’t have to reuse the same photo over and over.

Your photos come with commercial use licensing too – so you can crop, filter, color, overlay, collage etc in whatever way best suits your business needs.

Anything else you’d like to know about planning your photoshoot or what to expect?  Send thru your questions!

The post Prepare for your personal brand photoshoot and what to expect on the day appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

Anna from Old Vine Candles contacted me to level up her website with professional photographs of her soy candles.   With over 19 products across three collections she wanted a mixture of styles and said “basically need a lot of everything”.  (Yay for an hourly rate versus per image eh?!)  These were a pleasure to photograph as they just smell divine!

The post Old Vine Candles appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

1) Define your personal brand
This isn’t an epic essay that defines every nuance of your branding. Just take a little time to define:
* your brand values – what’s important to you? what do you believe in?
* your brand personality – how do you present your message and values?
* your brand iconography – are there a few key colors you want to stick to? what’s your style? Do you need or have a logo and fonts?
Hopefully these are quite simple questions to answer as you’ve aligned your brand with who you are and you’ve now got a high level brand blue print:)

2) Niche your message
It’s so hard in business to not to try and please everyone. The fear of losing potential customers because you’re not pitching to everyone all of the time is very real. But usually a message that tries to speak to everyone is wishy washy and doesn’t directly speak to anyone. Taking the time to do your ‘know your ideal client avatar’ exercise of choice is usually* well worth it. (Or short cut: just think of a favorite existing/past client). You then construct all your marketing as if you were talking directly to them.

You’ll want to discuss your product/solution and how it benefits them. Always about them. Also think about how you would talk to them the first time you mentioned your business (aka cold audience who may not even be aware of the problem you solve) versus how you’d talk to them after you’d had a number of conversations about your business (aka warm audiences, who know what they want but need convincing to buy from you, not a competitor). You want your ideal client feeling like you know them and can help them and its only you they’re interested in working with.

* I say usually because some avatar creation workbooks have you creating some obscure info that isn’t really useful!

3) Tame them socials
Keeping on top of the myriad of social media platforms we’re expected to be on can be so overwhelming. Then add in business groups and local groups and perhaps you run your own facebook group and there’s just so much to do! And if you’re not in a position to be able to outsource some of the work then you know that feeling of scrabbling and throwing up something that isn’t consistant or leading your clients to conversions.

I recommend picking the two social channels that you feel are the most successful and enjoyable for you. Are you a video guru so its FB lives and youtube all day? Or you’re all about the imagery and get a heap of traffic from Insta and Pinterest. And then nail those two channels. Work out if you can outsource the scheduling or any graphic creation to further reduce the overhead. Schedule a couple of hours a fornight where you batch create the content for those channels for the next two weeks, taking the time to ensure your content is aligned with your brand blue print and the messaging you just niched.

When two channels are manageable, then you can look at existing on a more (especially if you can reuse or repurpose content) but ensure you’re going to get more enquires for the time you commit, you’re not just distracted by something new and shiny!

4) Check your workflow
Taking the time to write down your process from a client reaching out to initiate a sales conversation through to delivering and potentially archiving the work can be worthwhile.

Often we’re down in the trenches completing step 17 of 42 and taking a step back to review the entire process can highlight bottlenecks & inefficiencies that can be fixed plus highlight potential tasks that can be outsourced. And documenting the process also ensures we don’t miss steps when thing get busy.

It might also show which sales channels and communication methods are generating most of your customers so you can better focus on growing those (and drop something else that might take your time for little return)

and 5)Update your photographs!

Okay – so we all saw that coming. But having a set of professional photographs that you love is so worth it. You stand out from the competition, you’re excited and proud to create and share marketing, you’re not wasting time or money using stock photographs with a library of your own to chose from, you’re socials look schmik, the website looks great, you’re profile pics show you’ve got this and you’re personal brand, messaging and images are all in alignment! It’s win win win. 

Short headshot sessions start at $190, personal branding photography is $790 or as little as $100 per month if you need photos regularly (including all the images). So stop putting it off and just book the shoot!

What are you doing to grow your business this year?

The post 5 ways to better your biz in 2021 (without a big $$ spend) appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

WEBSITE

• Banners
• About page
• Blog
• Content

SOCIAL MEDIA (Facebook, Instagram, Pintrest, LinkedIn etc)

• Profile pictures
• Cover images
• Content (lots and lots of content!)
• Ads

EMAIL

• Banners
• Footer/Signature
• EDM content

ONLINE

• eBooks
• Downloads
• Lead Magnets
• Online course content
• Publications

PRINT MARKETING

• Flyers
• Posters
• Banners
• Business cards
• Catalogs
• Thank you cards
• Post cards
• Magazines
• Packaging

OTHER

• Podcast covers
• Collaboration / Guest Speaker advertising
• TVC
• On the wall!

Remember you’ll need high resolution images for your printing requirements and lower resolution for online – so you don’t slow down your website!

Where else are you using your photographs that I’ve missed?

The post Where to use your personal brand photos appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

I’ll be implementing the following changes to safely reopen:

• frequent hand washing/santising before, during and after the photoshoot (by the photographer and all attendees)
• cleaning of photographic equipment surfaces before and after each photoshoot
• small hair and clothing adjustments will be done by photo subject (aka no touching!) and we’ll adhere to physical distancing requirements at all times
• the number of people in front of the camera must fall below household and/or outdoor gathering numbers and/or density quotients as per the current restrictions including counting me!
• if anyone has a fever, cold/flu/Covid-19 symptoms or is feeling unwell, we’ll reschedule
• if anyone has been in contact with someone with Covid-19 or displaying Covid-19 symptoms, we’ll reschedule on a date at least 14 days later
• if anyone involved is not comfortable or feels unsafe at any time, the shoot will pause and an alternate location will be sought or the shoot will be rescheduled (for example, shooting at an outdoor location that becomes crowded and physical distancing cannot be maintained)
• the photographer will wear a mask at all times, photo subjects over 12 years of age can remove their masks whilst being photographed
• we will communicate in the event of a positive Covid-19 test result in the 14 days following a photoshoot, and I will pass on your information to relevant authorities are required for contact tracing.

And there is no penalty for rescheduling – you’re deposit is totally transferable.

Looking forward to telling your story soon xx

The post Staying Covid Safe appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

As we pass the halfway point of lockdown 2.0 I’ve seen some questions on how to take a headshot of yourself in lockdown.  I’ve been contemplating the main scenarios for why you’d need to refresh your headshot whilst in lockdown and I’ve narrowed it down to either:

1. You’ve been working on growing your business and your personal brand and so have had to provide a headshot for that collaboration podcast or facebook live interview so the canva event image can be created OR
2. You’ve radically changed your hair do with some self iso cut and color! 😛

For whatever reason it might be – here are my adventures taking a headshot, at home, with no fancy photography equipment.  No camera or flash or tripod or backdrop.  It was just me, my phone and an ikea stool in the bathroom! (cos yeah – it turns out the only room in my house with a window on a wall adjacent to a plain wall, is in my bathroom :P)

To take a natural light photo in your home:

• find a plainish wall near a window (and by plainish I kinda mean flat – a really loud funky wallpaper will totally work if that’s your vibe.)
• leave a gap between you and the wall (at least 50cm)
• turn your body 45ish degrees to the light and your face back towards the camera (if feel more comfortable sitting – use a bench stool)
• setup the camera at around your eye level

If the light coming through the window is too bright, soften it with a sheer curtain

If the side of your face away from the window is too dark, bounce some more light back onto it using a white sheet or white piece of cardboard, even a mirror potentially or move you’re camera so you’re angled a little more towards the window.

If you want to see this setup in my bathroom (with zero hair and makeup prep) which produced the photo below and the photo in the header- checkout the quick video I made.

 If you’ve any other DIY photography questions, message me as I’m happy to help.

And may the second half of lockdown seem shorter than the first!

oh! and…

If you’re after headshots that do involve a fancy camera, flash, a non-bathroom backdrop and someone else taking the shot, I’m currently taking bookings now for late September and beyond, and am flexible with these dates if lockdown continues beyond that (it better not!). I am also still taking product-related photos which don’t require personal contact, so you can update your website, social media and other marketing during this time. Message me and let me know what you need.

The post Take a headshot at home with just your phone appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

When not in lockdown, I spend a morning a month with The Babes Project. Their vision is a society in which all women have access to perinatal support and they help families thrive by creating safe spaces and innovative avenues for vulnerable women to access this vital support. They rely on the generosity of their own supporters so it’s crucial for them to have images that tell their story and get them visible.

>>  THE USUAL SUSPECTS

The Babes Project website gets maximum image impact via powerful web banners and team shots that aren’t always on a perfect background with everyone smiling at the camera.  These candid images resonate with their target audience who understand life isn’t always perfect.

Facebook and Instagram are full of images of their team working with the mums and bubs they support. Most of these images are captured as they interact naturally.  These emotive action shots paint the picture of their passion and support for new and soon to be mums. We also take many close up images which are perfect for text overlays.

>>  IN PRINT

The Babes Project produces a plethora of printed materials for awareness marketing, fundraising, team education and to update supporters on their work.

>>  ON A WALL

I faced my strong dislike of flying late last year to photograph the opening of The Babes Project Cairns Centre. I was blown away to see a number of my photos printed and framed up on the walls. Pictures of real women The Babes Project have helped, that I got to photograph and are now sharing their journey with the women of Cairns. Proud, humbling and way too many feelings.

This use is obviously quite specific to this business but printing and hanging a photograph (professional or not) that celebrates your journey or business milestone is one of the best ways to use your photos!

The post Photos in Action: The Babes Project appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

Oh – I’m a big fan!

This was a fun product photography brief: the sexiest fans in ventilation!

As well as photography products on a white backgrounds from a multitude of angles for the catalog,

I got to roam the local Pacific Ventilation factory and grab photographs of anything that caught my eye.

The post Oh – I’m a big fan! appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.

Lifestyle product photography is so useful – it helps your clients really visualise your products in action, see exactly how they perform and consider something they might have scrolled past on a plain white background. You don’t want to overwhelm your product – it needs to be the obvious hero in the shot but you can give some context and tell a bit more story than photographing the product on its own.

Due to poor air quality our beach shoot was moved to the gym. And a gym is always a challenge – they’re not usually bright and airy, quite industrial and covered in mirrors – and no one wants me in the photos! This means I focus on the products and the people more – tight crops, shallow depth of field and lighting that highlights the subject not the backdrop. Plus mirrors keep you on your toes for the best and sometimes most creative angles.

Here are some of the amazing new arrivals at Riveols. 10+ outfits, 1.5 hour photoshoot and just under 200 images delivered.  “They are amazing and are absolutely the look I am going for! Thank you again so much for such a great job and I’m so happy there are so many photos. ❤️❤️❤️ love them so much! Cant wait to get them up on my website”

The post Riveols Sports Apparel appeared first on Miranda Mayle Photography.