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6/26/19
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Creating a personal brand is all about setting yourself apart from the competition. Your personal brand is what makes you and your business unique — it’s what makes you a relatable, authentic, go-to professional instead of just blending in with everyone else in your field.
While putting together your personal brand involves a lot of different parts — from how your website looks to your logo to the words you use to tell your story — your personal brand photos can really make or break your entire image.
So how can you make sure your personal brand photos really pop? Here are a few things to consider before getting in front of the camera.
Planning
My number one tip for getting the most out of your session is planning ahead of time! I love chatting with clients about their goals for their session as well as key concepts they want to convey.
Communication
This goes with tip number one but it’s worth repeating. Communication is KEY to a successful session. There is NO such thing as a dumb question or request. Tell/ask me ALL the things! This session is all about YOU and creating beautiful images to elevate your brand.
Look your best
Put your best face forward for your personal brand photoshoot by hiring a professional hair/makeup artist. Makeup never looks as vibrant behind the camera as it does in real life — a professional will know exactly how much makeup to put on to make you really shine. Plus, a pro will be able to make your vision come to life better than you can, whether you want a look that will make you look fun, young, sophisticated, or somewhere in between!
Choose your wardrobe carefully
Wear something that makes you feel confident and that tells your audience about who you are. I always allow for an outfit change or two as part of my brand photography package, which is a great way to try out a few looks if you can’t decide! Plus it helps you get the most out of your session!
Use props
Try using a few props to better tell the story of who you are and what you do. If you’re a blogger, get a shot of you writing at your desk. Don’t be afraid to get a little creative with it!
Remember: your personal brand should be an accurate reflection of you. As long as you’re sharing your authentic self with the world, your intended audience will eat it up.
Your personal brand photoshoot shouldn’t be about trying to be something you’re not — it’s about making sure you present the absolute best and most confident version of yourself to the world. So embrace those qualities that make you uniquely you!
Want to know more about Brand Sessions? Click HERE
Ready to book a session?? Click HERE!
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In October I was brought on to work for a new brand, a villa-based travel company in Orvieto, Italy.
Throughout the process we discussed various experiences for the tour. The one everyone seemed most excited for was truffle hunting.
At the end of the second week of our tour, we were welcomed by San Pietro a Pettine for an adventure up the mountain.
Our group was outfitted with rain boots and two sweet truffle dogs. We made our way up the mountain where the dogs were able to fetch more than a handful of black truffles. A great way to start the truffle season.
Next, we were given a quick lesson on what happens to the truffles after they’re retrieved. Next, the truffles got a quick scrub down and were then shaved with a special tool to prepare them for our meal.
After our hunt, we were greeted by the most stylish dinning area and poured fresh, crisp glasses of Prosecco (always my favorite) and served a meal I’ll have a very hard time topping in this lifetime. Course after course of truffle toped deliciousness.
Here’s a peek at our adventure…
Host – Heart of Italia
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5/15/19
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We are just over a month away from our trip and I feel like it might be time to share more about this place I keep gabbing about and why I’m always so emotional about it.
I strongly believe everyone has a place that makes them get a little weepy. Whether it’s a memory of your Granny’s garden in the summer, full of veggies she’s tended carefully since they were fledgling blooms. Maybe it’s your high school baseball dugout after a big win your senior year. I don’t know what form this achingly beautiful feeling takes shape for you but mine is Villa Selvamica (and Italy in general).
Seven years and a different person ago I I set off on my own with a suitcase a passport, and my handful of precious belongings (mostly books and one beautiful planner that I still think started my attachment to paper planners. Those same books almost got me left behind in the Paris airport for a too heavy carry on, yes they weigh them.).
I won’t say that I was in a phase of life where I was making the best choices. The choice to study abroad may have been the one that changed my life, though who knows I may have smartened up eventually. But that’s not how the story goes. I was about to hop on a plane to a place where I knew no one and I definitely didn’t speak the language. I remember being a little teary landing and feeling SO small and so far away from everything I knew.
I’ll spare you most of the details to keep from boring you to death. It went probably like you think. Cheap wine, a group of artists/college kids in a foreign country. Learning how to manage money and lots of emotions as we adjusted to life in a new country that would likely be tattooed on our hearts just as deep as the tattoos we gave ourselves on the last night in our beloved Cortona. I told you…my decision making wasn’t great at 22. The crescent moon on my foot hasn’t faded at all, contrary to what I thought would happen…
Another quick fast forward and we come to the weekend that changes everything. My suite mate Sophie had two of the most beautiful grandparents who at the time owned a beautiful villa in Orvieto. On one of our weekends free of organized class trips five of us hoped on a train with a backpack each and the feeling of true freedom. The kind of freedom you feel at twenty two with no responsibility and an adventure on the horizon. We spent one of the most beautiful Saturdays at Selvamica. Dinner at a tiny restaurant where food was served family style. Gelato on the steps on the cathedral in Orvieto. A night spent talking all night until we all fell asleep in our day clothes in a full sized bed.
The next morning we were heading back to the real world, or at least our current reality of living in a beautiful old buidling on the top of a mountain. We had breakfast with Walter and Mary. Somehow it seemed magical. I remember looking out over the vineyards and thinking “this is what I want for my life.” They were so gracious and warm and welcoming. And they had this life in a beaufutl vila together in this beautiful country. I got to know them as much as one can in a 24 hour visit, but to me, it seemed like a dream. One I’ve been plotting since I left.
At the time Ben and I weren’t together. We had dated for a few years, called it quits but kept closely in touch both of us with the idea we’d be getting back together at some point…until we weren’t. Again, I’ll spare you most of the details here. If not for the feelings of my family and respect for my hubby’s version of the story that might not be as sugar coated and serendipitous as mine, at least not to go on forever. Basically I was a jerk who thought he’d wait on me until I got my act together.
What instead happened was this beautiful weekend, which did in fact get my act together. Just barely on the edge of being too late, this place brought us back together. And just like that Villa Selvamica would be etched into my heart forever, the starting point of a new adventure.
In 2017 Ben and I visited Italy, married and pregnant with our now bubbly, loving one year old. We had recently discovered we were pregnant for the third time after two heart breaking loses, the loss of my Granny, and a big move across the state. I was a bit nervous about all the travel and the walking but I was determined to make it work. Of course we were nervous. Ben and Mav’s first trip to my Italy.
Now, we are just a few weeks away from a trip I never could have imagined. We are heading back to Villa Selvamica in what feels like one of the most beautiful examples of how God works in ways I can’t fathom. I’m taking with me my mom, who visited while I was in school along with my Granny, Ben’s mom, and my dear friend Sophie is making a trip back to her Villa Selvamica with all of her memories I can’t even begin to imagine. We are also bringing along my aunt and a handful of sweet friends from our adventures here in Charleston. There will be LOTS of tears and laughs and wine and cheese and some really beautiful memories made!
Together we get to help tell the story of the next beautiful chapter for Selvamica! Honestly, I can’t think of a dreamier experience.
“Amid vineyards and olive groves, Selvamica seduces with centuries-old charm in its perched location near medieval Orvieto.
We invite you — and your family or group of good friends — to enjoy a relaxed stay in our classic Italian villa on the Umbrian-Tuscan border. Enjoy a glass of wine on the terrace as the sun sets over the vineyards. Discover local bakeries, wineries, trattorias and markets that we can personally recommend.
Set out for the day to such fabled destinations as Florence, Assisi, Rome, and other enchanting villages and cities. Or simply sit by the sparkling swimming pool, taking in the lulling hum of birdsong and cigali. Embrace the best of villa living in the Heart of Italia.
As beautiful and relaxing as the villa is, you are here to immerse yourself in Italian life, to connect with the heart of Italia. We don’t offer a cookie-cutter menu of packaged excursions. As locals ourselves who know the best people to share the local way of life, we sit with you to create a personalized itinerary that will make your stay unique and extraordinary.”
You can find more information about Heart of Italia here.
Or, feel free to reach out to us! We can’t wait to share more about our trip and this incredible new travel option for those who want an authentic Italian experience (FROM actual, real Italians!!!)
More soon!
xoxo,
Josie
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