[00:00:00.250] - Candice Coppola (Host)

Being in front of the camera for photos, I hate it. I'm rebranding and I have to do one, but I'm dreading it because I don't feel gorgeous. Taking pictures, I never like how they turn out. Those are just a few of the dozens of responses I got over on Instagram when I asked the question, what's been holding you back from doing a brand shoot in your business? In today's episode of the podcast, I want to share with you how I overcame my fear of being photographed and finally did a brand shoot for my business. You're here to grow a business, but not just any business. You want to grow a profitable business with purpose, a business where you wake up every single day driven to serve your customers and make a difference in your own life. I'm Candice Coppola, published author, business coach, and your guide to building a profitable business with purpose. Join me here every single week as we explore how to build and grow your business with purpose. Get ready to dig in and have meaningful conversations about the strategies and techniques that will help you build your dream business. This is the power in purpose.

[00:01:21.920] - Candice Coppola (Host)

Hey there, friend. Welcome back to the Power In Purpose podcast. It's me, your host, Candice. And listen, I've tried to record this podcast episode, no joke, at least a dozen times, and I've started it and I've stopped it and I've started it and I've stopped it. It's been a hard one for me to record. And I think because it's so personal to me, my fear of being photographed, this fear that I've begun to have over the last couple of years. I never used to have it, but I certainly have it now. This fear of being photographed and how I've been able to overcome it. It's a vulnerable conversation I'm sharing with you today and it's just been tough to record, honestly. It's been tough to tell this story. But it's an important story to tell because there are so many of you out there who are incredibly talented at what you do. And I know that brand photos will help to take your business to the next level this year. But you're holding back for a few reasons in getting refreshed images of yourself. And in today's episode, I thought maybe I could share my story about brand photos and how I was able to overcome my fear of being photographed, why I had this fear in the first place, and the results that I've been able to achieve since having those brand photos back in October of 2022.

[00:02:40.540] - Candice Coppola (Host)

So that's today's episode. I know it's going to help somebody listening, and that's the whole point. I will say that this is a two part episode. In today's episode, I'm going to share my story and some observations. Then next week, I'm bringing in my brand photographer, Amalie Orange, from the Branded Boss Lady to share her tips and tricks with you about how you can get prepared and get the most out of your branding sessions. So this is a two part episode, which is exciting. I love being able to do these. So let's start off first with why I think brand photos are so important. It's the premise behind why we're recording this episode in general. So listen, I waited years. Yeah, years to get my brand photos redone. I hadn't had new brand photos in my business since 2018. That's a long freaking time to wait. It's four years of not refreshing my images. And I only had a handful of images back in 2018. I didn't have a lot to work from. In fact, this podcast cover art is from 2018. It's crazy. I just had a few images and girl, I looped them over and over and over again as much as I could.

[00:03:50.250] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I got maximum out of that brand shoot in those images. But a brand shoot is so important in your business because it puts you, the business owner, front and center. And people want to do business with people. That's really important to know. People want to do business with people. They don't want to do business with a business. And so having images of yourself, the business owner helps to position you as the face of your business. It also helps to cement you as an expert in whatever it is that you do, whether you're a planner, photographer, invitation designer, Florist. The images of you being an expert in your field, working on your craft, they help to position you as that expert. It also helps to accelerate the know, like, and trust factor. There have been many marketing studies that show when there's an image of someone with a product versus just the product itself, people are more drawn to the image. So for instance, my podcast cover art, when I had just an image of hands being raised up versus the image of my face, more people would click on the image of my face than just the image of an object.

[00:04:59.330] - Candice Coppola (Host)

So being able to show your face in your marketing is powerful and it helps to draw people in. They feel connected with you. So a brand shoot is just critical on so many different fronts. What I found over the years is that refreshed images, new images of you interacting and doing your thing and just smiling and being the most amazing self that you are, help to bring in new opportunities to you as well. Listen, a brand shoot can bring you a speaking opportunity. It can land you an incredible client. It can help to introduce you to a new audience or a new group of people. There's so many opportunities that come from fresh images of you. To say a brand shoot is important is I think an understatement. Look at how you use brand images. You use them on your website to introduce yourself, to show who you are and what you do. You use them on social media to promote your brand, to elevate your brand, to build brand awareness, and to build awareness around you and your team. There's so much that we use brand photography for, and that's why it's important to prioritize it in your business.

[00:06:11.000] - Candice Coppola (Host)

But I know better than anybody else how hard it is to get in front of the camera. I'm not going to lie. For four and a half years, I procrastinated on getting new brand photos, and I had so many reasons why. The number one reason was I hated how I looked in images. I had gained some weight. I had gotten older. And girl, I hated how I looked in pictures. I mean, hated. So much so that I wasn't even going to let my husband take a picture of me, let alone a professional photographer in a professional setting where I'm paying lots of money. So I understand all of you who are putting off doing a brand photo shoot because you don't like the way you look. And it wasn't just that I hated the way I looked. I was also terrified of how the images would come out. So spending all this money on a brand shoot, so much is invested in it. You're obviously nervous about it. You want to look your best. You want to get the most bang for your buck. And I was just terrified that I would be disappointed. I would have this great time.

[00:07:16.060] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I would hire this amazing photographer. I would put all this effort into props and into outfits and the drill of a brand photo shoot. And then I would get the images back and my heart would sink and I would hate the way I look and I would not use them and I'd be embarrassed to use them. I would take even two steps further back in my self image and be scared to do it again. It would even hinder me even more in my business. I say all of this and I think you should also know, just an important note that I've struggled with my body image pretty much my entire life. This has been something that's been ongoing for me my entire life. I have good years. Clearly, I have bad years when it comes to my body image. I think mine goes a little bit beyond what maybe most women experience. It's just been something that I've dealt with pretty much my entire life. It is something that I've had to constantly overcome internally. It's just fighting through how I perceive myself because the way I perceive myself is not reality. It's not based in reality.

[00:08:22.980] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I look at myself in the mirror and I see every flaw known to man and other people look at me and they just see me however they might see me not the way I see myself. I hated the way I looked. I was terrified of getting these images back and not being in love with them, hating them. A lso, it felt really overwhelming for me to try to figure all this out. You might be feeling this, too. Maybe you feel confident in the front of the camera. It's not necessarily how you look that's holding you back, but the logistics of it feel overwhelming. You want to make sure you do it right and you want it to be perfect. You want to look perfect. You want to get all the perfect images. It feels like I need a lot of outfits. I need to spend a lot of money. I need to hire the right photographer, I need to think through every single thing I might need an image for. And it just becomes big and overwhelming, not fun. And something that you say like, You know what? I'll figure that out later. It's one of those figure out later things and later just never comes.

[00:09:22.340] - Candice Coppola (Host)

And it's four years later and you still don't have any pictures of yourself. So for me personally, it felt overwhelming logistically to figure out how to do all of this. I had a unique circumstance. I wasn't on an island and they rent an Airbnb. My house isn't necessarily esthetically beautiful, so do I rent a place? How does this work? It felt overwhelming to figure out those logistics. But something changed for me and it began. Those are the things that helped me back for so long or what I believe to be the main reasons why I was so held back. But there was a change and I want to talk about it. The first thing that changed with my own body image and my own self image, and I hate to be this guy, don't @ me, I hate being this guy, but I started working out and prioritizing my health. And I hate being this guy because I feel like somebody listening is just going... I thought she was going to tell me something else. And no, unfortunately, that's what it is. And I hate being this guy because, listen, I was the fat kid in gym class.

[00:10:28.430] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I've been the fat kid in gym class for my entire life. I don't work out. I don't have a gym membership. I don't work out. I don't ride a peloton bike. I don't lift weights. I don't do crunches. I do know. So part of how this brand shoot came to be was I started prioritizing my health. I started taking matters in my own hands. I got really tired of looking in the mirror and not liking the way I looked. I got really tired of saying no to things because of how I looked, no to opportunities, no to speaking engagements, no to going out with my friends on a Friday night. Yeah, all of that was getting in the way. My self image was getting in the way of living my life and growing my business. And I was just like, you know what? Fuck this. So I started working out. Me, the fat kid in gym class, I started working out and it changed my freaking life. I'm one of those people now. I'm one of those people now, I know. I know. But seriously, it changed my life in so many different ways. The funny part is the scale has not moved.

[00:11:26.510] - Candice Coppola (Host)

Since the day I started working out and the two today, over a year later, I've only lost three pounds. Three pounds. I mean, I've obviously lost dress sizes. My body has changed significantly. And as in a super personal side note, I would measure my happiness really on a day to day basis based on what the skill told me. So through working it out, I've really been able to work on some internal things that I've dealt with for most of my adult life around my weight, the numbers on the scale, how I feel about myself, and how that in turn affects my day to day life. Because pretty much if the number on the scale didn't read a certain number, I was not going out on a Friday night. I was not going to those dinner reservations. I was not speaking up at conference, and I certainly wasn't stepping in front of the camera. That is just the God honest truth. So through working out, I've been able to, I think, establish a healthier relationship with my body, and I see myself completely differently. It's fascinating. I don't want to get too in the weeds here, but it's really fascinating how I've just completely changed.

[00:12:35.740] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I don't know if this is a podcast episode in and of itself, but I think it's a conversation that I would be so willing to have. So if this is something you want to hear more from me about, let me know. Maybe I'll do a blog post or maybe I'll just record a YouTube video on it. Let me know. You can DM me on Instagram and say, Hey, Candice, I'd love to hear more of your story about exercise, losing weight, and body image. Because it's just been fascinating how exercising every day has changed my mental health and it's changed how I view myself. I'm not that guy, but I'm that guy now. What if you could spend more time being creative in your business and less time managing it? Real quick, I want to tell you about one of my favorite tools, Honeybook. Honeybook is an all in one client flow platform that helps wedding pros like you manage your business from processes like booking and payments to invoicing and so much more. Honeybook simplifies the process of running a successful wedding business. With customizable templates and even a mobile app, you will be able to manage your client flow on the go.

[00:13:45.100] - Candice Coppola (Host)

Honeybook is offering listeners of the Power and Purpose podcast 35 % off any one of their three plans for the first year. Use the code purpose at checkout or go to candice coppola. Com honeybook to learn more. That's candice coppola. Com honeybook. That's the first thing that changed for me. That was one of the biggest things. It made me begin to feel better about myself so much so that I started considering getting in front of the camera again and doing a brand shoot. I also began to get some help with how I view myself. You just heard me mention some of the things I've struggled with most of my adult life and even in my childhood because I was that fat kid in gym class. Actually, I didn't even go to gym class. I had a note that excuse me from gym class. And if you've ever been the fat kid in gym class, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The embarrassment, the fact that maybe you can't keep up physically with your peers. You hate gym clothes and how they make you look. You're so far thrown out of your comfort zone. It's honestly the worst.

[00:14:51.750] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I don't wish it on anybody. It sucks when you are in that position and you are so, so conscious. But anyway, I began to get help with some of that. Those feelings, those emotions, I began to work on that. And it really helped to change things around for me, too. So one day I was just sitting down on the couch. It was a Sunday afternoon. I was looking around on Pinterest. I was doing some light work, and I came across this idea of doing a brand shoot. And I was going to Orlando in a couple of days. And I googled Orlando Brand Photographer, and guess who popped up? Ms. Amelie Orange from the Branded Boss Lady. And I loved her work. I felt like she made everybody look beautiful. Everybody looked fabulous. Her work was diverse. She had an amazing studio with all these props, so I didn't have to rent an Airbnb or try to figure that out. And I reached out to her within a couple of minutes and she emailed me back within the hour. And before I knew it, girl, I had spent a ton of money willingly, and we had started cooking up a pretty epic brand shoot that would include a tablescape and lots of props.

[00:15:56.750] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I spent a lot of money on props, pulling things together. And I even brought in a video guy to come in and to create some B roll, some behind the scenes B roll of me, which I'm so grateful that I did. So what changed for me was I started to own the fact that, Okay, you don't like the way you look? Well, what are we going to do about it? E xercise was the beginning of that. But through exercise, I just developed a better body image. And like I said, I haven't lost a pound, but I feel like a completely different person. So this brand shoot was incredible with Amelie. I had the best time. We're going to talk a little bit more about that in her episode next week and just the whole brand photography process. So stay tuned for that. But I wanted to share with you just a couple of lessons that I learned from my brand shoot. And the first was that the brand photos made a huge difference. When I got those images back, and by the way, I loved every single one of the images and the videos, seeing myself on camera and in video after all the work that I had put into getting myself there, I loved how I looked.

[00:16:58.770] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I loved the images of myself. I loved the videos of myself. I couldn't believe that that was me. I think it just further cemented how ridiculous I was being for so many years not stepping in front of the camera. Because when I did, what I was delivered back to me was so great. I loved the images that Amelie took, and the brand photo images made a huge difference. Suddenly, I had just unlocked and unleashed this whole new arm of marketing in my business. Everybody on my team got a hold of these pictures, and it just elevated everything we were doing in my business. And the same will be said for you. It's also really nice that I can just post a really pretty image of myself on Instagram and share a story or share a joke or a tidbit, and it's that easy to do. It's also nice that I can get videos. And I have these videos now that I can use and I am using on my website. I'm using them on Instagram. I'm using them to create reels and TikToks and even B roll footage for my YouTube channel. The video aspect of it was also just a great add on.

[00:18:02.710] - Candice Coppola (Host)

And it was one of those last minute things. I think it was my business coach who was like, Hey, I think you should get some video. And I thought, You know what? I was thinking about that. And then boom, bam, it all came together. And it was one of the best decisions I made. So brand photos made a huge difference in my business. I think it helped to do all the things that I spoke about earlier in this episode. Create opportunities, help accelerate that know, like, and trust, give me options for marketing, help me to be the face of my brand in a more profound way. So that was one of the biggest lessons I learned from this brand shoot is I can never allow that procrastination to happen again. And I can never allow my not based in reality self image to get in the way of me doing what I want to do in my business and showing up in big ways for the people I desire to help. Because that always rings in the back of my head, too. It's not about you, it's about the people you desire to help that you created your business for.

[00:19:04.060] - Candice Coppola (Host)

And they're not expecting you... What do you think they expect of you? To show up as some supermodel? No, they expect you to show up as yourself and they like who you are. They're not judging every wrinkle or every pound on your body. That's not what's important to them. What's important to them is that you have knowledge or you have experience or expertise. You offer a service which they want to buy. That in and of itself was a bit of a revelation too for me. If you're listening, which you are, I want you to hear me out here. There's the people who desire to work with you as their photographer or their planner or their invitation designer, their Florida, whatever space you occupy in this crazy awesome industry, they just want you to be you. They have no expectations based on how you look. And honestly, it's a freeing fact to hear that. So that made a huge difference for me. Another lesson I learned from my brand shoot was to really trust the photographer. I've been in this industry a long time. I've worked with a lot of photographers, some of the best in the industry, quite frankly.

[00:20:18.080] - Candice Coppola (Host)

I know to trust my photographers, and it was so freeing to be able to work with someone who I could fully trust to make me look good. I trusted in her direction, I trusted in her posing, I trusted in her ideas. We did prep work beforehand. I trusted in those ideas she gave me. I ran with them. And I'm so glad I trusted Amalie throughout this process because it really made all the difference. I didn't let my tendency to be in control get in the way of her expertise. I think that's so we're all type A, right? We're all business owners, entrepreneurs. Many of you listening are in enneagram three, which is what I am. And so I have a tendency to be in charge of everything all the time. I just had to really put my faith in her. I'm so glad I did because she's the freaking expert, not me. I learned that I needed to trust in my brand photographer and I want to offer that up to you as well. I also want to impart on you as you begin this process of creating space for brand photos, that I really want you to think through where your business is going and not where it's been.

[00:21:28.830] - Candice Coppola (Host)

So this requires a little foresight. You need to think about where are we going in the future and how can I leverage these images for the future iteration of my business. I want you to remember that the eye is what buys in most industries, but especially the wedding industry. So whether you're doing a 45 minute brand session or you're doing a four hour long brand shoot like I did, keep that in mind, the eye is what buys. And you want your brand images to help someone buy you. So if you're a photographer, make sure you're interacting with your art form. If you're a planner, make sure that there are props and things around you, a tablescape, flowers, checklist, things like that that you can call upon and use to tell a greater story about who you are and what you do. I think brand photos, it's really important that you interact with the mediums that you're known for. So you interact with your camera, you interact with the tablescape, you interact with invitations or food or whatever your jam is. And that the interaction with those items helps to tell the story of who you are and what you do.

[00:22:34.980] - Candice Coppola (Host)

So it's really important to consider your props and to consider how you're going to interact with those props. I also think it's very nice to work with a photographer who is a brand photographer who specializes in telling the stories behind brands and businesses. It's okay to work with somebody who is a great photographer, but if you're looking to do a shoot similar to what I did, and you can see my images over on my website, Candice Coppola. Com, having somebody who specializes in a brand is going to maybe give you the most bang for your buck, honestly, if this is something you're paying for and not bartering for. Working with a brand photographer, you just have access to certain elements of knowledge that I think only brand photographers might have or experience that they might bring to the table. I also really loved working in a studio with someone that gave me opportunities to use props to create different environments, and to have multiple different types of pictures. We did an office vignette, we did a tablescape vignette, we did a vignette with the planner's playbook, playbooks, and a confetti vignette. We even did a cocktail in a kitchen vignette where I was there and I was shaking up a cocktail, making a cocktail, which is really part of my brand, the client cocktail, which is my signature course.

[00:23:53.450] - Candice Coppola (Host)

Also my quiz was your brand strategy cocktail for success. So we were able to have some fun and do different vignettes, which might not be possible if you're just going to a bookstore or maybe shooting in your house or something like that. I loved being able to go to a dedicated studio where Amelie had thousands of props, from couches to backdrops to chairs, to the whole kitchen scenes, which was really cool. Those were a few lessons that I learned in my recent brand shoot. I'm going to save the rest for my conversation with Amelie in the next episode, so be sure to stay tuned for part two. But as we round out this experience and I put an end cap to this episode, which I have to say I'm just so happy that I've been able to record this. You have no idea how long it took me to record. Literally, this is like the 12th time I've tried to sit down and do this. I just want to give you some encouragement to take some matters into your own hands and to go and see what could be possible for a brand shoot for your business.

[00:24:59.820] - Candice Coppola (Host)

Just start researching, just start doing a little googling, maybe doing a little pinterest googling, a little pinterest searching, or searching on Google for a brand photographer in your area and just see what could be possible for you. Go look at the images of the other women and the other people that they photographed, you're probably going to see people of all shapes and all sizes, of all races and ethnicities and backgrounds and businesses. And that can also make you feel more comfortable and more confident that this person might be able to capture you and what you do. But just take that first step to seeing what might be available for you to access. And I don't want to give you any advice on body image or self image. I don't know if I'm qualified to do that because I still struggle some days with my own. But I think that taking matters into your own hands, whether that is moving your body, nourishing yourself, or even talking to somebody about your self image can be the step in the right direction that you need to overcome some of your fears. We can't do life alone. We can't do everything on our own.

[00:26:09.950] - Candice Coppola (Host)

We need help. We might need help from a therapist. We might need help from a friend, business coach. We might need help from a nutritionist, or maybe a trainer, or somebody who can help us get more active. All I'm saying to you is to put your hand out and to ask for a little help from someone who has more experience or who has the knowledge and the expertise to help you start looking in the mirror and seeing all the beautiful features and the beautifulness that is reflected back to you, the beautiful person that you are, somebody who can help you see that. It makes all the difference, honestly. That's my advice on getting prepped for a brand shoot. My recent experience, what I went through and what I know some of you guys are also experiencing in your own business right now, I'd love to hear from you. You can feel free to reach out to me personally and privately over on Instagram. You can also email me at hello@ Candice Coppola. Com. If any part of this podcast episode resonated with you, if you want to talk about your own experience, I'm all ears, I know firsthand.

[00:27:20.300] - Candice Coppola (Host)

And sometimes we just need to vocalize our fears. We just need to say, Hey, this is why I'm scared to do it. To someone else to maybe see how ridiculous our fears are, or just to put it out there in the world and release it and let it go and take a step forward. But there's one thing I want you to do this year, and it's to refresh the images of your brand. I know you're capable of doing it, and I know you're capable of overcoming whatever is holding you back, whether it's finances, whether it's your image, whether it's time, whether it's being overwhelmed by the prospect of doing it in the first place. And I hope next week's episode with Amaligh, my brand photographer, is going to give you even more inspiration to get started. All right, friend, that's it from me. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The Power and Purpose Podcast and letting me share a little of my own personal experience in a vulnerable way. I'm here to remind you, as always, there's so much power in your purpose. I'll see you next time. Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode of The Power and Purpose podcast.

[00:28:22.610] - Candice Coppola (Host)

If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode and consider leaving a review. Head over to powerandpurpose podcast. Com to access all of the resources and links mentioned in today's episode. That's powerinpurpose podcast. Com. I'll see you next time.