057 – Tricks So YOU Look Fabulous in Photos Every Time with Cyrissa Carlson

Gift biz unwrapped episode 57,

I was built and made for something different.

Is it harder?

Yes. Is it scarier?

Yes. Has it brought tears?

Yes. Has it brought amazing blessings and rewards?

Absolutely. Hi,

this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,

and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped,

and now it's time to light it up.

Welcome to gift biz,

unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop

and grow your business.

And now here's your host Sue Monheit.

Hi there.

I'm Sue and welcome to weekend biz unwrapped podcast.

Whether you own a brick and mortar shop sell online or

are just getting started,

you'll discover a new insight to gain traction and to grow

your business.

And today we have,

as our special guest Cerisa Carlson,

Syriza is a Southern Ohio based photographer and business coach for

contagious energy and social media savvy with a master's in art

education experience on the creative live stage published work and a

large following of sparkly photographers with her online community.

She is well-prepared to help you shine.

So get ready to be encouraged,

educated, and empowered to make strategic and informed decisions for your

business right here.

And right now,

welcome to the show.

Syriza. Thank you So much.

I loved it.

Listening to you read that.

I always Like sitting here smile.

That was perfect.

Smiling for the camera.

That's right.

Oh my gosh.

Share with us a little bit more about you as a

person and your life and all of that before we get

started. Yeah.

So as you can tell,

I'm really shy and afraid of people.

We joke that my parents have never met a stranger.

So I grew up with lots of friends in the marching

band and competing on the equestrian team.

And then as I figured out what I wanted to do

with my life,

I actually went into teaching as a profession and taught for

10 years.

So I'm used to having elementary kids looking at me and

teaching them how to use the rule of thirds and what

tertiary colors are.

So I take that same passion that I learned in the

classroom and in the marching band and have brought that into

my business strategies.

Four years ago,

I started my photography business and it was just kind of

been this evolution of a journey.

And as you and I have discussed that passion and that

excitement has turned not just into a photography company,

but one that also empowers and teaches other photographers to do

very much of the same thing that I've done.

So it's been a fabulous journey As we get started.

I want to hear a little bit more about the growth

of your business,

but before we do that,

we have a little ritual here on the podcast.

We talk about a motivational candle because it gives us a

way to envision you in a different light.

The candle shines on you while you share your stories and

your experiences.

So are you ready to light this up Syriza?

Oh, absolutely.

All right.

Motivational candle.

What color is it?

And what would be the quote on your candle?

Okay. So I don't know if I'm allowed to give you

this answer,

but I'm going to anyways.

I want my candle to be sparkly and glittery does that

count? Does that Say,

I want my candle to be sparkly.

One is just represents who I am.

And I think,

you know,

so often we're afraid to let our personalities and who we

are shine.

So I think that whole spirit of sparkle and glitter just

really embodies the spirit of what I love to do personally,

what I love to encourage other people to do.

But the quote that I would put on here,

one of my very favorite quotes aside from scripture is a

ship and Harbor is safe,

but that is not what ships are for aside from the

grammatical errors.

Because I think so many times we think that,

you know,

you see these beautiful majestic ships in a Harbor and they're

safe and they're beautiful and they're pristine,

but that's not where they're meant to be.

They're meant to be in the ocean are supposed to be

at risk.

They're supposed to be at danger.

They're supposed to be exploring and learning and growing and doing

new things.

And I think sometimes,

you know,

and they come home sometimes beaten up from the storm,

but they come back with more in their journey and more

in their story.

And I think as entrepreneurs,

that's something it's so hard and you,

and I know this stepping out and doing something new can

be terrifying,

but you have to remember that that's what we were made

for. And we're not meant to just sit in our safe

little bubble wrapped offices.

We're meant to go out and experience life and experience the

storm and come home weathered and beaten up and torn up

with a story because the stories are what changes everything.

Absolutely. It's a great quote,

Syriza. And I want you guys gift biz listeners to think

about that when you're nervous,

you're doing something that makes you anxious or uncomfortable.

Think of this quote.

It's a perfect one.

I've not heard it before.

And it's absolutely wonderful.

I love it.

Serosa thanks.

All right.

Now I want to talk about your business and I'm just

now noticing in your bio.

We didn't even talk about the name of your business.

We're just going to so relate to the candle,

right? Absolutely.

Absolutely. So take it away.

And this time mentioned the names of your business and the

group that you do,

and then it's all gonna come together for everybody.

It's going to get it.

Yes. I'm going to make so much more sense.

So, yeah,

so when I was teaching in the classroom,

I had a passion for photography.

So I was doing digital photography clubs with my students.

And so when I originally began my photography journey,

the goal was that I would teach during the school year

because I loved what I did loved it.

I was going to teach during the school year and then

shoot during the summer.

That was our plan.

But, you know,

plans change the university had different ideas for us.

And so I actually,

my business exploded.

And so I was working 70 to 80 hours a week

and had to choose,

do I want to do the teaching or do I want

to do the photography?

And it was a very hard choice.

And as a mom,

you know,

that sometimes those factors can weigh into.

And so we chose to pursue the photography.

So I started immerse photography here in Ohio,

and I was photographing families and seniors and weddings and doing

my thing.

But what I noticed is that people kept coming to me

and asking for and asking for help.

And Hey,

can you mentor me?

And what I found myself doing,

Sue, and this is so silly.

But when I left my classroom,

I mourned for that side of my life.

I was like,

I'm leaving teaching.

I will no longer be a teacher,

but the farther I got away from those four walls,

the more I realized that those four walls didn't define me

as a teacher who I am.

And my journey is what defines me as a teacher.

So as more and more people came to me asking questions

and asking for mentorships,

I found myself low on time.

So I was like,

I've got to do something about this.

I have to find a way to effectively share what I

know and teach and help these people.

And so that's where I branched off and develops.

You ready for everyone?

This will not affect the candle.

Make more sense.

The sparkle society.

Basically what I do through the sparkle society is I encourage

educate and empower photographers to make informed and strategic decisions for

their businesses.

So through that platform.

So I have immerse photography,

which is where I actually photograph my clients,

but through the sparkle society and kind of the bridge between

those two things is immersed workshops between those outlets.

Now I'm able to mentor and teach and share what I

know in a completely different platforms.

So we joke my dad always laughs.

Anytime I'm telling him about like a success in my business,

he laughs he's like,

you know,

Syriza. I never thought you'd be my entrepreneur because I like

safety. Like security.

I like predictability.

And we just laugh because this was never in our plan.

But I think that's why this quote is so dear to

me, because I wanted security.

I wanted predictability,

but being an entrepreneur and seeing how this journey,

how far it's taken us in a way that we never

could have predicted.

I think that's why that quote resonates with me so much.

Being in those four walls in my classroom was not what

I was made for.

I was built and made for something different.

Is it harder?

Yes. Is it scarier?

Yes. Has it brought tears?

Yes. Has it brought amazing blessings and rewards?

Absolutely. Yeah.

And the cool thing about the story is you saw how

much you were really missing teaching.

So you're able to interweave that in to the whole photography

thing too.

And now you have something so spectacular,

so different.

And so you,

if anyone were to see you when you live in your

teaching, it's so you and it's so cool.

So as listeners,

we continue to hear this every single podcast,

when people go back and they talk about how they've landed

on what they love doing,

it reflects what naturally they're good at.

So thinking about that for yourself,

what do you like doing what just jazzes you up?

You know,

when you're doing it,

you are in your groove,

you love it.

It's so easy for you.

It comes naturally to you.

How can you incorporate that into the business that you've already

created or something that you could possibly create?

Absolutely. All right.

I want to jump right into our main topic and the

reason why I wanted to have you on the show in

the first place.

And that is to talk about professional photography.

What is the main reason why someone would want to have

a professional photographer versus just a friend taking pictures that then

they can crop and use on their social media site or

their website,

et cetera.

Why would you hire a professional photographer?

And what's the value for your business?

This is a great question.

And I'm going to give you this from my personal perspective,

why I think this is important because a few short years

ago, when I started my business professionally,

I've been shooting forever.

But when I started professionally,

I remember sitting in the teacher's lounge with one of my

friends and she was like,

Hey, will you do my daughter senior photos?

And I was like,

no problem.

I've got a great camera.

I know photography.

I can rock this out.

I'll charge you two 50 and good to go.

Well, I shortly and very quickly realized,

Oh my goodness,

number one,

do I have a lot more to learn?

Number two,

I'm going to spend way more than $250 worth of time

on this project.

And then I looked at the resulting photos and I was

like, Oh my gosh,

she should have hired someone else.

I had the skills and I had the camera and I

thought I had the confidence to do what needed to be

done to get these amazing senior portraits to this girl.

But the reality was when it was all said and done,

I looked at what I created.

It was good,

but it wasn't great.

And I think that's something as entrepreneurs.

A lot of times I get it,

especially when you're starting up,

funds are tight.

We want to try to find ways to cut corners.

And we're like,

okay, well maybe I can cut back here and I can

spend a little bit less here and I'll really invest in

this. And you know,

a lot of the times,

one of the things we cut back on is the photography

or the videography even,

and we settle for what's good,

but not.

What's great.

And if you think about nowadays in terms of social media,

especially your visual content is what drives everything in terms of

Facebook ads,

we all know the number one thing when it comes to

a Facebook ad is a strong photo.

The copy is second.

The promotion is second.

The links are second.

The photo is the number one thing that gets attention and

gets clicks.

And when people are on Instagram and they're scrolling through that

newsfeed, you have maybe a nanosecond.

I don't even know if that's a real term,

but we're going to go with it a nanosecond to get

their attention.

And if you don't have a strong photograph and you don't

have a strong image that compels them to stop and look

and think they are going to move on.

And there are so many startups and so many people coming

out of the woodwork,

starting new companies,

and that's wonderful.

However, it makes it harder for us to stand out from

the crowd and get the attention of those ideal clients.

And one of the ways that I firmly believe that you

can do this,

and I know it can sound very self-serving right now,

cause I'm a photographer telling you to hire a photographer.

But I will tell you that in the past year alone,

I have hired three of my friends to do three professional

photo shoots.

So I am practicing what I preach because I know that

the number one thing that matters is a photograph I've got

to let everybody know that you were also my photographer in

the recent photos that I just took.

So if you guys were to go over and look at

my Facebook page,

Instagram, all of that,

you're going to see a whole different image of what I'm

doing and it's because of you serous.

And the thing that was so interesting is you're right.

The quality of the photos that came back were so different

because I did have someone who I thought was a good

photographer, but it's the editing afterwards.

It's getting the right angles.

It's poaching you to stand in that super crazy.

Funny, not get the whole thing.

Yeah. Well we may work on some of those tips here.

We're talking well,

we'll see where we go with this,

but, and also shots that you need where you might not

be in the center.

We're not just talking headshots here.

We're talking active shots,

working in your business shops that you might want to use

that you'd want to put on social media with a bubble

that has words,

all that type of thing is something that a professional photographer

will consider for you.

If I,

and I guess I'll ask you this Syriza,

cause you also are.

Well-versed on social media photos too.

Absolutely. And I think that's another key selling point for hiring

a professional who not only is great with their camera and

great with our business,

but who knows social media.

Because a lot of times,

the way we compose things,

and this was something we talked about with you during your

photo shoot is,

and I told you like,

Hey, when you see some of these images,

if you were a normal portrait client,

I would never crop a photo this way,

but I'm going to crop it this way.

That way you got room to make a Facebook ad or

an Instagram ad out of this,

because here's the thing.

If you have a professional photographer,

who's familiar with social media marketing,

they will know how to shoot you.

Because if we think about it,

if you guys think about a Facebook ad,

a Facebook ad is almost,

it's a rectangle,

it's a horizontal rectangle,

but it's almost kind of like a panoramic in terms of

its ratio.

It's very long,

but very shortened kind of study.

Whereas with few,

think about an Instagram image,

that's a square ratio.

So you need to have images that can translate well to

social media because I know I had a friend of mine

do headshots and I didn't even think to tell her that,

Hey, I need most of these to be horizontal because most

of social media marketing has horizontal with the exception of Pinterest

horizontal images.

And so just having a professional who can be thinking ahead

and not only coaching you on what you need to do

and working their camera,

but also thinking about,

okay, I need to shoot this this way,

or I need to crop this way or this client might

want this photo.

Even though they're telling me like,

Oh no,

no, no,

I don't need that photo.

You know that eventually they're going to want and need that

photo. So it's just being able to think ahead and predict

what you're going to need going forward.

Wonderful. Now on the other side of this,

let me ask you this question.

Is there ever a time for business photography when you do

just want to grab a photo from your phone?

Oh, absolutely.

You want to have on your social media,

this could be like a whole other podcast you want to

have on your social media,

a mix of the personal and the professional.

And what I tell my girls is always,

when you post post with a purpose,

if it is something,

ask yourself the question.

Like if this is going to add value to my client's

life, then 100% post it.

But if it is going to be white noise,

then you don't want to post it.

But yeah,

those personal photos absolutely taken with your iPhone.

You see,

this is crazy.

But one of my top 10 Instagram photos that I've ever

posted is a photo of me.

And my two labs.

I have two 90 pound labs.

We went to Starbucks and we got a puppy whip where

they feel like the little mini cups with a whipped cream.

And I just posted something on,

you know,

just kind of as a joke,

Hey, did my devotional get my Starbucks?

Now I'm ready to edit and rock out your sessions or

just something silly like that.

But that is one of my top 10 photos I have

ever posted it.

And I have some darn good photos,

but people love that human element and that human element,

you can't capture that all the time with a big girl

camera. You sometimes you got to pull out that iPhone,

but if you're balancing it with strong quality images and there's

an iPhone photo and there every now and then people are

going to love it and they're going to respond to that.

So some of those more casual in the moment,

images absolutely are acceptable,

but more in the feed.

Yes. Versus your banners or your,

your headshots or that kind of,

Yes. That's a great,

that is an absolute great point.

Yeah. You don't want to be like a camera snob,

like, Oh,

only the best photos go up because then you become too

perfect. And people,

especially with live video becoming so trending and so popular.

People want the imperfection,

they want that realness,

but you have to balance that with,

come to my website and look at how professional I am,

like, trust me with your investment.

But here's the real side of me,

you know?

Like it's,

it's a,

it's a tricky line to walk sometimes.

All right.

So if we have listeners who are thinking,

I understand you've sold me.

I need some professional headshots.

And that doesn't mean you need to do.

I mean Syriza and I did two days of shooting,

multiple fits craziness,

no snow though.

Gosh, darn it.

I know we were looking for the snow cause I love

that snow.

You don't need to go that far.

If someone was looking to do even,

let's just start with professional headshots,

maybe a couple of scenery shots.

What are the tips to start finding a professional photographer?

So I would get onto your local Facebook groups,

get into some local forums maybe.

And I would start by asking,

I think word of mouth is so huge.

And I see this is going to be like scandalous that

I'm about to tell you,

are you ready for this?

Ready? Don't use a CEO very much for my business.

I know some people,

I know some people right now are probably downright horrified.

And they're like,

what kind of professional is that?

I do use it for my workshops,

but for my photography business,

I have never used an ounce of SEO marketing.

Here's why so much of what I do is personal relationship

driven. And I want to have my referrals exclusively from word

of mouth because here's the thing.

And you can chime in too.

But when you were in front of the camera,

you can feel very insecure,

very like,

Oh my gosh,

is my hair right?

Oh my gosh,

do I look fat?

And it can be a very intimate thing.

I have had people cry in front of my camera on

more than one occasion simply because it is kind of an

intimate thing,

what you're doing.

So I would recommend getting on Facebook and asking your friends,

Hey, who is a local photographer or who is a photographer

that you've flown in.

That you've had a great experience with.

Then once you get some names,

go check out their website and kind of see,

does their style match yours?

Because the thing with photography is it's very much like cooking.

You might find one chef who puts tons of spices and

seasoning and salt in their food.

And somebody might like that,

but somebody else might think that's nasty and they might more

simple, clean classic.

And it doesn't mean that one is right or wrong.

They're just different.

So you need to find a photographer who understands your style

or whose style you appreciate.

And then once you found that narrowed down to like maybe

two or three of those and then reach out to them

and just simply ask them some questions,

say, Hey,

you know,

I'm a professional entrepreneur.

I need some photos for my website and some headshots.

Can you tell me about your experience?

And if you've done this before,

because then you can get a feel for one,

do they know what they're doing?

Or you know,

a lot of photographers just because someone's a photographer.

It's like being an athlete.

You can be an athlete and be amazing at football,

but have no clue how to play hockey.

Okay. It's the same thing and photography,

maybe someone's really good at doing headshots,

but they might have no idea how to photograph.

If you sell candles or if you sell chapstick,

they might have no idea how to use that type of

lighting to get those shots you need to ask and get

a feel for,

do they know how to photograph what you need?

And if so,

what is their experience?

If you find someone who's a little bit newer,

I would not do the new photographer.

But if you have someone that says,

you know what,

I've not done a branding shoot,

but at,

Hey, I'm willing to do the research.

I'm willing to,

you know,

listen and sit down and talk to you and find out

exactly what you're needing.

You know,

I wouldn't be opposed to giving them a shot as long

as they're really,

really understanding and clear on what your expectations are.

I'd say that could be a good way.

So I would say,

look for someone that's,

you know,

a friend of yours has had a good experience with it

and then start there and start the process.

That way I'm going to summarize these points.

And even before that,

I'm going to add a 0.0.

You gave us three points.

I'm going to add a 0.0.

And the first one is that zero is you and your

own mind need to know why you're taking these pictures.

Do you need X new headshots?

Do you need something?

Because you're putting out a new course or a sales program,

or you're going to an event.

What do you need these photos for?

Do you need all new social media banners so that when

you start talking with these people,

you have a specific thing in mind of what you need

as the outcome.

Not just,

I want professional photos,

because then you're spending a lot of money and you might

not have in the end,

what you needed.

So that's 0.0

0.1 is services saying,

is word of mouth.

Talk with people,

see who people,

other people have had a good experience with your rights or

is, I mean,

you're just a whole bunch of funds.

So I thought,

I thought my two days were going to be,

you know,

they're going to be okay,

but I don't really like being in front of the camera

that much,

but I just gave it up.

We had a blast and I was totally comfortable.

And you were a good girl because when I got all

the pictures back there,

weren't a lot of shots that I know probably looked off.

Well, yes,

a good photographer is going to delete the bad photos and

never even show them to you.

So when you see them,

you're like,

man, I looked really good every time I'm just going to

go away.

Okay. So that's number one.

Number two is go online.

Once you've got a couple of recommendations,

look and see if their style blends with what you want

as the outcome,

if it's the right feel for how you are and that

it resonates with you because obviously the photography has to mimic

what you're like,

what you're all about,

what your business is about.

And then talk with them,

take a couple as Syriza sane and call them,

talk with them.

And you can get a really good feel that way as

to whether you're going to be comfortable with them.

And you feel that they're credible because there can be a

lot of photographers out there that like you said,

are picking up a hobby camera and they want to make

some money.

Yeah. Yes,

yes. And that's so important too.

I just totally thought of something I'm going to go rogue

for a second.

Is that okay if I go rogue?

Totally. I have.

I did not even think about this until this very moment,

but I have a PDF ebook.

I want to send it to you and you can give

it to your viewers.

It's a five page ebook and it talks about how to

put together a branding shoot.

So it's something that your photographer.

So if you go hire a photographer and you can present

it to them,

so they know where to start,

and those of you that are listening,

if you're like,

I have no idea what to even say to my photographer.

It has some ideas for you there.

I think that would be an amazing resource for your viewers.

Do you think that's something that they would like?

Absolutely. Yes.

Thank you.

Is it online,

anywhere connected with a URL somewhere?

It is,

but it is on the,

it's a hidden link because it's normally something that I sell

for 49 bucks.

Whoa, we're going to go ahead and just give it to

you. Is that sound good?

Oh, That is awesome.

Farkle power.

How about that?

Okay. So on behalf of everyone listening,

who can be like jumping up and down and,

And you see a know it right now.

Huge. Thank you so much from this ebook.

Can you pull out just a couple of tips of what

you need to do to prepare for a professional photo shoot?

Oh my gosh,

absolutely. So one of the things that you did so beautifully,

and I actually told you,

after I left Chicago,

I stole it.

You can take it.

Thanks. One of the things that I love that suited for

me is she puts together a couple like printouts,

like, okay,

here's the location.

And then she had a photograph of the outfit she was

going to wear and the outcomes that she wanted to have

happened at that specific location.

And I think one of the biggest things that you can

do to ensure that you have a successful shoot,

whether it's a one hour shoot or a two day shoot

is to have ultra clear expectations for your photographer.

If you are not communicating,

Jay are not going to be able to give you what

you want because they simply don't know.

So Sue literally had,

we're going to hit this location and I'm going to wear

this or this,

and I'm going to do this and I need to get

this photograph here.

And then we're going to go here and then we're going

to go.

So it was so clearly laid out so I could predict

what was coming.

I could then think about what I knew thinking,

okay, well,

I know I need to get a couple of really wide

shots. I'm not going to be able to do it necessarily

in her office because it's a tight space.

So maybe I'm going to do it at this location.

So just giving your photographer is much information beforehand so that

they can mentally prepare and kind of lay out the pacing

of the photo shoot.

And another thing that's really helpful is knowing your outfits and

what you're going to wear as we just kind of hinted

on, but your clothing can really make or break your shoot.

You don't want to have things that are too busy.

You want to have things that are nice and solid with

great accessories,

makeup and hair is a big thing.

Getting some amazing eyelashes.

That's a big thing,

getting all those little details put into place.

But one of the things from the photographer's perspective,

I love when my clients come to me and you did

this so beautifully.

And when you do this,

when I have clients like this,

it makes me want to perform for them.

It makes me want to give them so amazing that they

are just overwhelmed when they see their images.

And what that thing is is when my client comes to

me and they say,

okay, this is what I need.

This is what I hope happens.

And I'm going to trust you with a process.

So what they do is they give me what they need.

They give me their expectations.

Nothing is left to chance or mystery,

but then they release the grip.

They release the control and they say,

I hired you because you're a professional.

And I trust you and I'm going to let you do

your thing and I'm going to listen.

And that gives your photographer so much creative freedom.

If you guys don't know this already,

we photographers.

We're kind of weirdos.

We kind of get into this creative zone and see,

I don't know if you saw it all,

but sometimes my husband will make fun of me because he's

like, Oh,

are you in creative mode?

And I'll be like,

yep. He's like,

okay, we'll have this conversation later because my mind is thinking,

what about this?

Single, what about this sunlight?

What about this?

But what about this color with that tech?

And if you give your artists a chance to let their

mind go into that creative space,

your images are going to be so much better Unbound.

I don't know if that's the right word.

We're going to make it up.

But Unbound,

you're just going to release your photographer to create something unique

and amazing for you.

Whereas if you're micromanaging and say,

okay, now do this now,

how about this?

What about this?

What about this?

You're breaking their flow and you're not giving them the freedom

to create for you.

So I know as entrepreneurs letting go of that control can

be so hard,

but if you've done all your work beforehand and you've hired

a true professional,

they're going to create amazing art for you.

And that would be one of the best things that I

can say you can do for your photo shoot.

That's really great.

And I will just tell you,

I'm going to tease the audience because these photos Have been

released, but Syriza made me do some really crazy things.

And I'm like,

I looked at her like,

are you serious?

And those are some of the best photos.

I love those photos.

So I know none of you understand or know what we're

talking about yet,

but if you're following me on social media and a couple

of other things,

you're going to see them later and I'm not going to

bring them up here because they aren't released yet saving them

for certain project.

The other thing I might just break in here and I

know your time restricted to,

so I'm just going to say this and then we'll move

on. But when I went into my photo shoot,

I was also thinking of different things that I'm going to

want as I'm projecting out into the year.

So there's something that I'm looking at releasing in the fall.

And so I wanted a certain location and certain photos for

that. And then I thought,

well, as the holidays come in December,

maybe I want some photos that are more glittery and festive.

So I was anticipating photos that I wish I would have

had before the shoot so that I could make sure we

would capture them during that time.

Absolutely. And that's so smart on a kind of tangent.

I'm getting to the point where I'm about ready to hire

an assistant.

And along that same lines,

I just have a little notebook that I keep in my

desk drawer.

And every time I think of something that I'm like,

Oh, an assistant could do this,

I write it down and you can do the same thing

with your photographs.

Like, shoot,

I really wish I had a photo of write it down.

So even if you're not in a place financially or in

your business where you can schedule that photo shoot,

when it comes time,

you can go to your photographer and say,

Hey, I need these 24 shots for sure.

That's a really easy way to make sure that you get

what you need and you can predict what you're going to

need in the future.

Great idea.

Thank you.

That's perfect advice.

All right.

We're going to finish up this photography section by you giving

us three tips,

photographer or not.

What do you need to do for a good photo?

Let's say a good headshot.

Oh, a good headshot.

Three good tips for a good Headshot.

Okay. So number one,

thinking about your outfit,

when you're doing a headshot in particular,

you want to make sure you got to think about where

that photo is going to be.

It's going to be on an ad campaign is going to

be on a promo book for our conference.

You need to have your smile or your personality shining through.

So you need to make sure you get professional hair and

makeup. Yes,

it is worth the investment.

Get professional hair and makeup,

get a solid shirt.

And what I tell people is to focus on something with

a really interesting neck line versus an interesting pattern or texture

email that pattern or texture might be you.

The thing is,

is it's going to distract from you.

Okay? So use that more in a photo,

branding shoots an entire shoot,

but for your headshots,

think of simple colors and an interesting neckline and then pull

in those accessories.

So that's the number one thing you can do.

The second thing is don't be afraid to let your personality

shine, turn on music,

bring a friend that's going to make you laugh.

You know,

we had your assistant,

Lori with us kind of in the corner making you smile

sometimes because sometimes,

you know,

being a supermodel sounds really fun and glamorous,

but so you can attest to this.

It's exhausting,

isn't it?

It is exhausting.

You Get tired.

So bring someone along and bring something along.

That's going to make you smile.

Get that Starbucks,

get all jacked up on caffeine.

If you need to do whatever you need to do to

let your smile and your personality come through.

And then the last thing is be hyper aware of your

phone or your posing.

Now this is really,

it feels very narcissistic,

but here's what I want you all to do.

And I'm not kidding.

If you're listening to this podcast on your computer,

get it on your laptop and go in the bathroom or

take your phone and go in the bathroom.

I want you in front of a mirror.

I know this sounds ridiculous,

but trust me,

go in front of a mirror.

And here's what I want you to do.

I want you to put your fingers up,

like you're making a limbo limbo bar with your fingers,

and I'm literally doing this as I talk right now.

So envision this.

And what I want you to do is I want you

to lift your chin up and go up and over that

limbo bar.

Now you should feel a little bit of a strain underneath

your job bone in your neck.

If you are feeling that strain,

that is perfect.

And if you feel a little bit like a turtle,

because when you do that,

what you're doing is not only are you lengthening your neck,

which will visually on camera lose about five pounds side note,

but it will also get separation between your shoulders and your

jaw line.

And your neck is the number one thing that makes you

look skinnier or heavier in photos.

So I'm not kidding.

Literally look in the mirror and do that and feel that

limbo bar,

that turtle trick.

And then here's the key.

A good photographer will walk you through this.

As you're in front of the camera and Sue,

like I was yelling at her all the time.

I was like turtle,

chin, like,

but she knew because I trained her on what to do.

But here's the thing.

If your photographer isn't walking you through that,

or maybe you don't have a professional photographer and you're just

doing an iPhone photo,

look in the mirror,

get yourself posed.

And then here's key close your eyes.

And I want you to feel,

yes, I'm serious.

If you're in the bathroom looking into me or do this,

do you feel stupid?

Close the door.

So nobody sees do this,

close your eyes and feel what this feels likes,

because this will be almost like muscle memory.

If you can train your body on what it feels like

we can all look good in a selfie or in front

of a mirror because we can see ourselves.

But what happens when you can't see yourself,

if you can train your body on what that feels like,

you can get yourself into that same posture and that same

pose and nail it on camera every single time.

Boom, done drop the mic.

Boom, love it.

All right.

Summary of these three points,

your image,

make sure you get professional hair and makeup done.

Solid colors.

Neck line is important.

And then accessorize number two,

let your personality shine.

You're doing this because you're you.

And there's no one else like you and people are attracted

to the genuine use.

So just be yourself and three,

do the turtle,

do the turtle.

So I want everybody to comment on the show notes,

comment, portion,

and tell us that you did the turtle exercise that I

want to see a hashtag immerse workshops so I can see

it too.

There you go.

Hashtag immerse workshop.

All right.

We'll we'll see how that works out.

All right.

So Risa,

we're going to start going a little quicker because like I

said, I know your time constraint here.

I want to move into the reflection section.

And this is a place where we look at you and

see what you're doing behind the scenes.

That's making you successful.

If you have one trait besides teaching.

Cause we've already talked about that.

Now, what innately is a natural trait of yours that you

tap into for your Yes.

Yeah. I did a Bible study like four or five years

ago. And the book was called you matter more than you

think. And I remember one of the questions it asked at

the very,

very beginning was if you,

if money was no object and time was no object,

what would you do with your life?

I remember like reading that and being like,

I don't,

I don't know,

like start a nonprofit.

I like,

I gave the answer that I thought I was supposed to

give. And you know,

as we worked through a book and even if you're not

a Christian,

it's a fabulous book.

It's called you matter more than you think.

I think it's by Dr.

Leslie Parrott.

I believe it's a great book,

but she talked about,

and her son was younger and she was very,

very busy working and doing her career.

There's a lady up the street and she would have little

lunch dates with this lady,

son. And she would make these little sandwiches and she would

cut them out in the shapes of cowboy hats and cowboy

boots. And she would play guns with him and cops and

robbers. And she just poured love into this little boy because

his mama was so busy.

And I think sometimes we look at all these big things

that matter and we see other people doing and we're like,

Oh, we have to do a nonprofit.

Oh, I have to give away this.

Oh, I have to donate this.

But sometimes it's those little small things.

And so through that process,

I really was able to identify that.

I believe I've been put on this earth to encourage and

to make people feel welcome and loved.

I feel like that's one of my sole purposes.

So through my workshops,

I'm not trying to maintain,

you know,

some people can look at me and dare I say it.

They could say,

Oh, she's so unprofessional,

but you know what?

I'm real.

And I'm personable.

And I let people see the imperfection.

I cry on camera.

Sometimes if there's something I'm going through,

but I want to share it.

I don't,

I'm not afraid to cry.

I'm not afraid to let people see that real because people

need to know that there's other people going through the exact

same things and that they are in a safe and welcoming

environment to grow.

And that is something that I've seen as I,

especially I nurture new photographers is that ability to embrace and

to welcome and to love on them.

So many of them say like,

Oh my gosh,

I love this.

I've reached out to photographers.

And they've been mean to me just to find a safe

place and a person to ask.

You have no idea how much I appreciate this.

And so just really being authentic with who I am knowing

it's going to get judged.

I know darn well,

people say sparkle society really.

I know darn well,

but I also know that my ideal client resonates with that

and they need that nurturing and they need that love.

And if that's what they need and that's who I am,

then we're perfect.

And you've just slipped a really,

really Solid and important business tip not everyone's going to resonate

with you.

And you have to be to the core who you genuinely

are. It makes your work fun.

It makes your work much easier.

Not that there's not stumbling blocks.

We know that.

But if you're trying to be somebody who you're not always

going to be difficult,

it's always going to be over off-road and you're going to

look fake And people see right through it.

Absolutely. All right.

So I love this book.

You matter more than you think and give biz listeners,

as you know,

you're listening to this podcast today,

but if you like audio books,

you can go onto audible.

I've teamed up with them for you to be able to

get a book for free.

And to do that,

just jump over to gift biz,

book.com and make a selection.

And who knows,

maybe this book is one of those that you could select.

That'd be awesome.

Okay. So Risa,

when you're looking at your day,

besides your camera and everything else,

what other tools do you use that help you to stay

productive? Oh my gosh.

So I have just started using hoot suite.

Do you use hoot suite?

I have used,

HootSweet like I've had it for awhile and like dabbled in

it, but I really like gotten into it.

Girlfriend is changing my life.

What's the biggest thing about HootSweet that you like,

I love that I can schedule into groups.

You know,

we can schedule onto our Facebook page on our Facebook walls.

That's valuable,

but when you're running groups and workshops,

maintaining consistent interaction and providing high levels of value and content

can be very tricky.

You know,

our lives get busy and I love hoot suite because I

can schedule all of my posts.

Yes. Even into a Facebook group.

So I went on vacation two weeks ago.

I had 42 posts that went out just on my social

media and in my workshop pages.

And so while I was on vacation on the beach,

I was still working and providing awesome content.

It freed me up to have a life.

It was amazing.

Sweet, sweet,

sweet. There you go.

I'm not,

I'm not sure you think HootSweet Alrighty.

There you go.

All right.

Cerisa I would like to invite you to dare to dream.

I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

So this is your dream or your goal of almost unreachable

Heights that you would wish to obtain.

Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.

What is inside your super sparkly Box?

My sparkly box.

Oh, so you just might make me cry.

If I were to open that virtual gift,

it would have more margin to spend the time with the

people that I want to spend time with and love.

It would have more abundance so that I could just give

more freely without restriction.

And it would just be over abounding and filled with love

the deeper I get into the entrepreneur world.

The more I realize it,

not just for myself,

but for all of us,

many of us are lonely.

We're struggling.

Our lives are not balanced.

We're out of whack.

Just having that unconditional love and support is just something that

drives me the end of a long day.

When I get a hug from my husband or a kiss

from my kids or a snuggle,

that just is everything.

So abundance time with my family margin and love that.

That makes us girl happy.

Do you believe in the law of attraction?

Yeah. All right.

So you put out all of this already to your customers.

All of our listeners can hear it in you just through

this interview.

So I know that by you putting it out,

it's going to keep coming back to you tenfold over and

over again.

You are just one awesome girl,

Syriza. Thank you.

I love working with you.

So you've been such a joy to have in my life,

and I love that you and I are just embracing this

entrepreneurial spirit and sharing that with everyone,

because I think the more we have community,

the stronger we all become.

Totally. We agree if our listeners want to see more of

your work,

possibly contact,

you possibly become part of the sparkle society.

Where's one good place where they could reach out to you.

So the best place is probably to go to my website,

which is going to be www dot immerse,

which is I M M E R S E workshops.com.

So if you go to immerse workshops.com,

you'll see what I have to offer on there.

I actually have a photo course that is meant specifically for

small business owners like yourselves who may only have an iPhone,

or they may only have a point and shoot camera,

but it's how to take better photos for your business and

your social media stream.

So I have that small course on there where you can

join the sparkle society,

where I share tips and encouragement.

So hopping on there,

you'll find the place to sign up for my email list.

And I'll all kinds of information about my workshops.

And as all of you know,

on the show notes page,

there'll be additional links of other ways that you can reach

out to Cyrissa.

But just in case you're walking your dog or doing that

turtle thing in front of the mirror,

I wanted to make sure that you captured some of her

contact information here.

Cerisa first off.

Thank you so much for the offer of that valuable ebook,

a $50 value.

You guys she's offering it to us for free.

So make sure to jump over to the show notes page.

I think I'm going to put a link there somehow,

so that you'll be able to grab it as you wish

and such great information here.

So Theresa,

just the understanding of why you need professional photography,

the difference in the shoot,

how to prepare the turtle 10,

so, so much value.

I thank you so much for coming on today,

sharing all this information and may your candle Learn how to

work smarter while developing and growing your business.

Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business

in life.

It's our gift to you and available at gift biz,

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