Capturing the Heart, Soul & Impact Behind Female-owned Service-Based Small Businesses

This past year I made the decision to start formally offer branding sessions! Looking back it seems like such an obvious decision given that I’ve been photographing female-owned creative small business owners here and there throughout the years.

I’ve always enjoyed being able to flex my creative muscles a little more during those shoots since they were different than portraits & weddings. Although each portrait & wedding day is so incredibly unique, I approach each day pretty systematically to make sure I’m not missing any important detail or moment! With branding shoots I love that I get to bring more of my strategic AND creative brain to the mix. Each shoot is incredibly unique in that there is not set shot list – there’s more digging into the heart, soul & impact of their brand and using my creative brain & photography to visually convey that to connect with their dream clients! So these ladies can get back to doing what they do best & serving their clients and putting the very best face of their business forward!

I wanted to give a huge shout out to Jontell Vanessa Photography – Jontell’s my sounding board for pretty much everything I do in my business and she has been seriously KILLING the game in doing brand sessions over the last year and a half. It’s been such a joy watching her create an incredibly unique experience for her branding clients. When I first toyed with the idea of stepping into branding I was worried that she’d view it as taking over “her” thing but in true #communityovercompetition fashion she welcome me into the world of brand photography & I’m so grateful to have her as the ultimate sounding board to be able to best serve my clients!

Check out this branding session with Jontell Vanessa Photography!

I also wanted to give a big shout out to Abby Grace Photography – I’ve been following along with her work since pretty much right when I started my photography business and it’s been beautiful to watch her breathe so much life into this new type of photography within our industry! She’s been such an advocate for it and getting to learn from the years of work she’s put into scaling her branding sessions has been immensely helpful in taking the plunge confidently & translating all of her education into feeling equipped to serve my clients SUPER well – even if I am a little “newer” to the game!

I always write a lot here but here’s a little sneak peek behind what the Branding Experience entails!

The MP Branding Mission Statement

A personalized brand photography experience that digs deep to understand the core of your brand to capture a curated gallery of elevated imagery to showcase the heart behind your work

An Overview of the Process

1. Let’s Get to Know You & Your Brand!

We’ll chat about your business & brand over Zoom so I can get to know you, your brand & what you want out of your brand imagery in more detail! Then we’ll determine the best collection for you & nail down a shoot date!

2. Digging Into the Heart of Your Brand

After you’ve booked, you’ll have an extensive questionnaire & Pinterest board to fill out so that I can really dig deep & understand the heart, vision and details behind your business.

3. Shoot Planning Prep!

We’ll work to narrow down our shoot location, choose outfits (I’ll guide you through it) and chat over another video call to confirm the direction of your shoot! I’ll present you with a couple of main storylines over another prep video call that we’ll work off of to build out your brand imagery with a detailed shot list so we can maximize our shoot time.

Check out 16 Locations to Consider for Your Brand Session!

4. Get Excited – It’s the Week of Your Shoot!

The week of the shoot I send over a packing list for you to bring everything we need to make our shoot as authentic to you & your brand as possible!

5. Shoot Day!

We’ll plan to arrive early to scout out the locations & get everything you need set up so we can start shooting! I’ll work through our detailed shot list & mood board. I’ll be your eyes to make sure that all the little details are in place so you don’t have to worry about anything other than having fun throughout the entire process! From posing to helping set up the shot to making sure everything is in it’s place – I’ve got you!!

6. Pop the bubbly & celebrate ALL the new images!

You’ll receive some sneak peeks within 1 week of your shoot to share anywhere & everywhere 🙂 And then 3 weeks later you can POP the bubbly!! Your final gallery will be delivered so get ready to spend some time updating your website, social & any other collateral that you have with your cohesive set of brand imagery!!

You’ll forever have all of the online high-resolution images delivered through PASS gallery. I’ll reach out shortly after to get your feedback on the shoot & hear about how you’re using your images to build up your business’ brand identity!

READY TO HAVE YOUR OWN PERSONAL GALLERY OF IMAGERY THAT ENCAPSULATES THE HEART BEHIND YOUR BRAND & INSTANTLY CONNECTS WITH YOUR DREAM CLIENTS?

Be sure to reach out to schedule a consult call or learn more HERE so we can talk through the hopes & dreams you have for your brand!

Each session includes a prep questionnaire, two planning calls, help choosing locations & outfits, a week-of packing list, 2+ hours of shooting time & an online gallery with digital high-resolution images! I take core of creating our shot list, posing you & prepping you for an incredible experience!

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

I got to work with the incredible Cait Kramer to get my very OWN brand pictures taken! It was such a fun experience planning everything from the beginning, picking out Quirk Hotel as one of my locations & finalizing all the outfits & accessories that I would need to bring it to life! Caity I am head over heels in love with these sneak peeks from @caitkramer – I can’t thank you for capturing a part of my journey going after some crazy big dreams I have for this business!! It’s been amazing getting to see tangible pictures capturing the magic behind the work that I do and it has only helped build my belief in my big dreams! I can’t wait to share more of these 🥰

I couldn’t be more grateful that I met you over DC tacos & have continued to grow and support each other all these years! 🥂 You were born for capturing the essence of brands and I can’t wait to see where your talent and heart takes you with it 💕 I only hope that I can make my very own branding clients as happy I have been with these images!

I’ve loved being able to easily update my website & have a TON of content for social as well! If you’re looking to get branding images taken for your very own small business, be sure to check out the Branding Experience here!

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Today I get to share just a handful of my FAVORITE images from Addie Gray’s Branding Shoot from this past December! Addie is a Pinterest Strategist & Manager offering both done for you work and VIP day for her clients!

She has been up-leveling her brand to match the caliber of the work that she does for her clients and I loved collaborating with her & getting nerdy to come up with shot concepts that would bring her brand & services to life.

We got super creative with my ~virtual clipboard~ a.k.a my branding session shot list especially since so much of her work is “digital.”

Scroll on down for a few creative takes on how Pinterst can help build the foundation of your business, keyword research, and all the research & strategy that goes into a Pinterest account that helps you make more 💸

Throughout our shot list we focused on 3 main storylines to encompass her main offerings over our 2 hours together elements of her brand into every intentional shot:

✨ Her brand colors

✨ Her core values

✨ Her unique value (being research & results-focused)

✨ And her day to day tools

At the end of the shoot she told me she’s so relieved that she’ll have a library of on-brand images to pull from instead of reusing the SAME ones over and over again!

It’s been such a joy seeing her put her new intentional images to use on her website, on social media & Pinterest to help elevate her brand & stay booked out with even more incredible clients in 2022!

And here are a quick few peeks at her new rebranded site!

If you enjoyed this post, binge through these brand shoots as well & learn more about the Branding Experience.

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Today’s conversation was with Rachael of Rachael Leigh Photos! I got to meet her at this past Creative At Heart Conference and have loved continuing to follow along with her & her branding work!

On the podcast we chatted all about the core parts of strong brands and practically how to stay true and authentic to your brand! This was one of the longer interviews that I’ve done so far because we had SO much to cover & a ton of great back and forth about the topic – and how it applies to our businesses in different ways!

Be sure to grab Rachael’s brand shoot checklist here!

Memorable Moments & Quotes from today’s episode:

08:27  “A great brand is able to articulate their why, the reason why they do what they do, and why they do it that way, in such a way that rallies everybody around the cause.”

10:49  “A strong brand knows their audience, and they know them well. They always create for them, make decisions for them, create offerings around them. They look at their needs and they create from that versus creating something and then hoping someone needs it.”

23:51  “There’s this push to just do what’s trendy and to not find our own way of doing it. We’re creatives, we function with a creative brain, so why are we like ‘okay I have to lump myself into this group of people this this is what’s working for them.'”

29:23  “As creatives we have a hard time putting on our business brains and making decisions from that, but if we did for long enough I feel like we would operate with so much more creativity and the space online would be so much more diverse.”

35:14  “Where does my personal life intersect with my brand, which intersects with my client’s lives, and becomes these intentional connection points that humanize my brand, but allow me to keep my personal life as personal life.”

Be sure to tune in to the full episode to hear more about creating an intentional brand, staying true to yourself, and overcoming limiting beliefs.

You can find Rachael at:

Instagram: @rachaelleighphotos

Facebook: @rachaelleighphotos

Website: rachaelleighphotos.com

New episodes come out every Monday on YouTube! If you love Behind the Business, be sure to leave a comment and share the show with a friend in the industry!

Cheers to showing up imperfectly & making an impact!

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT QUICKLY GROWING YOUR BUSINESS? WATCH THE FREE MASTERCLASS!

If you’re wondering what the inside of a successful & streamlined photography business looks like, the masterclass is for you! Tune in to this free masterclass to learn how I grew from $600 to $5k weddings and went full-time in less than 1 year without sacrificing my time!

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

If you enjoyed this post check out the MP Educational Series

I had the joy of capturing Meg’s branding portraits last year in the fall and was so honored when she reached out to me for updated ones! She is growing her team this year to include Molly who compliments Meg’s personality AND Meg’s work beautifully! Meg is stepping into focusing on the full glam style while brides love the natural look that Molly has perfected!

I love how these girls balance each other out so beautifully and no minute goes by without a TON of fun and laughter with these two! We got to shoot them in their element in Meg’s studio in Downtown Studio and they recruited a friend to step into model being a bride! We ended by capturing some pictures outside the Downtown and grabbing a bite & beer and cider at a local restaurant that they often hang out at for happy hour post-work!

This was one of my most laughter-filled and fun brand shoots to date and it truly felt like just hanging out with them all afternoon while capturing some incredibly fun headshots and branding images for them to showcase that they’re a tag-team duo on their website & social media! If you’re not already following along, be sure to catch them on Instagram @captivatingcomplexion!

I can’t wait to be able to work with Cincinnati makeup artists in the near future once I move!!

If you enjoyed this post, binge through these brand shoots as well & learn more about the Branding Experience

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

​Marketing your business through social media gets a LOT of hype!

But what about all the ways to quickly grow your business WITHOUT stepping onto the hamster wheel of creating social content?

I loved getting to chat with Jontell on the podcast this week about her take on creating a strong brand for your business & how to quickly grow your business without the pressure of constantly being on social media!

Jontell and I met before I actually started my business at UVA through our mutual love of photography. Ever since, she’s been such a huge inspiration and cheerleader behind my own business!

Although we run our photography businesses VERY similarly, we market our businesses in different ways!

Over the years, Jontell has consistently and successfully leaned into building her business WITHOUT social media!

I had her on the podcast to share all of the ways she’s been able to successfully do so & even pivot her business into branding photography so well! Here’s a look at what we covered during our conversation today!

Memorable Moments & Quotes from today’s episode:

04:50 – “I think some people don’t realize the importance of really having a strategy with their brand photography. Having headshots is wonderful, but really having shots that can show people what you’re doing in your business is really important for your website and social media.”

08:03 – “Studying the work of people that I admire was helpful with weddings, branding, and is helpful now with products, in a way that along with education. Whether it’s investing time or money into it, is probably what I’ve found to be the most helpful and to get good quickly.”

13:20 – “If you are going to try something outside of social media, don’t be afraid. I know that for the longest time I just thought that if I wasn’t posting on Instagram that my business would fail – and it hasn’t!”

15:39 – “I would probably tell myself to not be afraid to do things. I think everything in my business that I was afraid to do, whether it was raising my wedding prices or even launching brand photography…everything I was afraid to do ended up working out really well, and I think a lot of times my regret is not doing it sooner.”

Be sure to tune in to the full episode to hear more about brand photography, pivoting within your business, and growing a business without social media.

You can find Jontell at:

Instagram: @jontellvanessa

Facebook: @jontellvanessaphoto

Website: jontellvanessa.com

New episodes come out every Monday on YouTube! If you love Behind the Business, be sure to leave a comment and share the show with a friend in the industry!

Cheers to showing up imperfectly & making an impact!

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT QUICKLY GROWING YOUR BUSINESS? WATCH THE FREE MASTERCLASS!

If you’re wondering what the inside of a successful & streamlined photography business looks like, the masterclass is for you! Tune in to this free masterclass to learn how I grew from $600 to $5k weddings and went full-time in less than 1 year without sacrificing my time!

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

If you enjoyed this post check out the MP Educational Series

Today’s conversation was with Natasha of Natasha Coyle Photography! You may know her as the queen of TikTok and Reels and using short form video content in your business!

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and knowing Natasha through a mastermind that we were in together last year! I’ve always admired her confidence showing up on video, how much she cares about her clients and provides an incredible client experience & her transparency and honesty running a very personal brand!

Here’s a quick look at what we covered during our conversation today:

1. How she found a gap in the market & used it to show up imperfectly, infuse more of her personality in her brand and grow very quickly!
2. What business and life balance looks like to Natasha
3. Her thoughts on social media and using it as a tool for your business
4. What boundaries she’s had to put in place!

Memorable Moments & Quotes from today’s episode:

3:43  “I think I’m still learning balance, and balance changes throughout our business. Balance four years ago looks way different than balance does now”

15:20  “The thing with TikTok that I loved was that you did not have to be perfect, it was not perfect feeds, and we did not have to show up and create this unachievable idea of perfection within our business”

20:59  “I learned early on that we should invest in ourselves and that’s something especially when you’re first starting…it just helped me be able to make even more money to be able to learn and grow through investments”

21:51  “One piece I live by and tell everybody is people are not going to remember what you did, but they’re going to remember how you made them feel, and if you can make the people that you’re working with feel amazing…and leave them with such a lasting impression that they are going to scream your name from the rooftops, then you really can’t go wrong in your business”

Be sure to tune in to the full episode to hear our honest conversation! You can find Natasha online at:

Instagram: @natashacoylephotography

Facebook: @natashacoylephotography

Website: https://natashacoylephotography.com/

TikTok: @natashacoylephotography

New episodes come out every Monday on YouTube! If you love Behind the Business, be sure to leave a comment and share the show with a friend in the industry!

Cheers to showing up imperfectly & making an impact!

READY TO START PUTTING SYSTEMS IN PLACE IN YOUR BUSINESS?

If you’re wondering what the inside of a successful & streamlined photography business looks like the Behind the Business Course & Toolkit is for you! It includes everything from email templates, client questionnaires, workflows for portraits & questionnaires, a breakdown of a profitable marketing strategy & how to streamline and organize each and every part of your business.

More of a visual learner? Be sure to watch the totally-free masterclass!

Cheers to showing up imperfectly & making an impact!

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

If you enjoyed this post check out the MP Educational Series

If you’re a photographer like me, maybe you can relate to a day in the life:

You start your day off with the strongest mug of black coffee, you’re feeling good in your Athleta leggings & a cute Zoom-appropriate top. You have your to-do list meticulously written out in your Simplified Planner.

All is well and you have that ready-to-tackle-the-freakin’-day vibes going STRONG.

*Cue the first mistake of the day*

Your Reel that you spent 37 minutes making yesterday posted WITHOUT the text on it.

So your perfectionistic-tendencies take over & you start running in auto-pilot to get it all fixed before no one notices.

Delete — edit — re-type caption — add in cover photo — post — “oh wait!” add in hashtags

And you breathe a sigh of relief, you handled it like a pro!

That is. . . until you open your inbox to an unhappy client freaking out about when they’re going to receive their pictures from your shoot that happened LITERALLY YESTERDAY

“It’s fine, everything’s fine”

You fire off a response that’s overly nice & includes plenty of !!! and 🙂 to save the day

And all is well again, except for the fact that your heartbeat is now running like you’re mid-Pelton workout & your coffee has made you jittery and you look over to the clock to see that it’s not even 11 AM. . . .

Not gonna lie. . . .I was hesitant to tell you this, but this used to be ME — like every Monday.

As soon as ONE thing went wrong: it was a pretty strong predictor of how the rest of my day was going to go.

Any innocent mistake (whether it was even my fault or not!) and my day was d-e-r-a-i-l-e-d. Nothing would go right for me the rest of the day.

Have you ever fallen into this trap, friend?

This is what happens when we’re in an All-Or-Nothing Mindset.

“The All Or Nothing mindset is a cognitive distortion — a negative or twisted thought process. You see things in terms of extremes, in black and white. You are either a success or a failure, according to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles: “Your performance was totally good or totally bad. If you are not perfect, then you are a failure. This binary way of thinking does not account for shades of gray, and can be responsible for a great deal of negative evaluations of yourself and others.”

It can be the greatest thing holding you back from succeeding. If you don’t think you’ll be the VERY best photographer out there, why even try?! You give up altogether when you could have served so many incredible wedding clients or family clients in your area.

When we fall into the All or Nothing Mindset, we rob ourselves from the opportunity to even try or to fail upwards and learn from our experiences.

Now most days you can find me brushing off little mistakes and continuing on my day knowing that no one typo is going to end my photography career. Mistakes happen. We are human.

If I have a BIG project I’m excited about — I go ALL IN!

I don’t let the fear and the self-doubt stop me from taking action to try. I believe in working out of a place of faith over fear and know that no matter what the outcome is, I will be okay.

Getting over the limiting belief and fear that “Everything Has To Be Perfect” is the ONLY way that I was able to launch the Elevate Mastermind Program that’s opening up its doors at the end of this year!

It had always been a huge goal of mine to provide a high-level group coaching program.

But before I did the mindset work, it was only ever a pipe-dream that always stayed on the back burner because my FEAR was in the driver’s seat.

And now the #1 question I get asked is how I moved past my fear to do big things like:

1. Start up my photography business
2. Make the leap to full-time 11 months later
3. Raise my prices so quickly for weddings (we’re at $5K+ and counting!)
4. Branch out so quickly into brand photography
5. Create the Behind the Business Course

— All within 3 years while dancing competitively, staying close with my family & enjoying brunches out with friends!

Spoiler alert: I’m not Superwoman but I’ve had some pretty amazing coaches & have worked on my mindset since WAY before I started this whole business thing.

CLICK HERE TO GRAB MY JOURNAL PROMPTS TO UPLEVEL YOUR MINDSET

Inside you’ll find:

1. Why journaling is so powerful
2. What’s driving 90% of your daily thoughts & actions
3. How to get your brain on board with your big business dreams
4. AND. . . 20 daily, weekly, monthly & quarterly journal prompts designed to expand your mindset & set yourself up for success

READY TO START PUTTING SYSTEMS IN PLACE IN YOUR BUSINESS?

If you’re wondering what the inside of a successful & streamlined photography business looks like the Behind the Business Course is for you! It includes everything from email templates, client questionnaires, workflows for portraits & questionnaires, a breakdown of a profitable marketing strategy & how to streamline and organize each and every part of your business. More of a visual learner? Be sure to watch the totally-free masterclass!

If you enjoyed this post check out the MP Educational Series

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Welp we all know how fast things move in the online space…

So today I thought it’d be fun to bring you some systems tips to make Reels easier, efficient and more fun – RAPID FIRE STYLE!!

1. Save content ideas somewhere – this can be your phone’s notes app, in Asana (my preference!). Or even on a good ol’ fashioned sticky note!
2. Trending music helps bump your reel to more peeps!
3. Shoot / film first & edit later!! ** Always save your video to your phone so you don’t lose it!
4. Place your text towards the “middle” of the screen so it shows up even if people are scrolling through the normal “non-reels” feed
5. BATCH RECORD YOUR REELS!!!!! This is the biggest time-saving tip – I usually will pull out 3-4 tops and record multiple reels in EACH top on ONE afternoon so I’m set with content for multiple weeks at a time!
6. You can “SAVE” other peoples’ reels as Inspiration on Instagram so you never run out of ideas!
7. “Done is better than perfect” is my motto – I try not to let perfection suck the FUN out of making reels!
8. Keep your reels content related to your main/ideal audience! I’ve noticed the algorithm loves when you do this!
9. Be unabashedly authentically you!! TikTok and Reels have blown up because people are craving authenticity & realness online these days! Don’t be afraid to break out of the mold and what’s super “on brand” for you!
10. Share your Reels to your stories!!! You can even share old reels to your stories each week to increase the engagement on them & repurpose your content (aka save alllllll the time!)

Be sure to tag me on Instagram @manalisontakke if you create a new Reel or reshare an old one so I can comment & share it as well!

And hit reply and let me know if you have one tip that’s helped you up your video game!

READY TO START PUTTING SYSTEMS IN PLACE IN YOUR BUSINESS?

If you’re wondering what the inside of a successful & streamlined photography business looks like the Behind the Business Course is for you! It includes everything from email templates, client questionnaires, workflows for portraits & questionnaires, a breakdown of a profitable marketing strategy & how to streamline and organize each and every part of your business. More of a visual learner? Be sure to watch the totally-free masterclass!

If you enjoyed this post check out the MP Educational Series

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Posting a branding headshots blog from a couple of years ago now! It’s been my pleasure to know Angelica over the years and to have as one of my very first branding clients 3 years ago! Click here to check out the Branding Experience 🙂

I wanted to do a quick shout out post for Angelica of Angelica & Co Weddings who I’ve had the pleasure of working with for over a year now!! We started following each other on Instagram and I somehow had a feeling that one day if we met in person, we’d be GREAT friends! And soon enough we actually DID meet in person and now over a year later, I can’t quite remember when the first time actually was! I know I had emailed her asking if she would be down to do a styled shoot together. I had a vague vision for what I wanted and hopping on a video chat with her and meeting her for the first time, I knew that she was INCREDIBLE at what she did! She was able to take my dream and narrow it down into a tangible plan and essentially turned my dream into real life! She did the EXACT same thing for Tatiana & Ky this past weekend at Avon Hill Lodge!

She just has an incredible way of listening to you, helping narrow down what you’re looking for and helping bring it to life with her expertise in design & detail. But the thing that stands out the most watching her work is seeing her interact with not just the bride and groom but also their family, their bridal party, EVERY single guest and how she treats each and every vendor like they’ve been friends for years! That’s so rare to find and it makes her the best at what she does! 🙂 She has years of experience in Charlottesville and the DC wedding market is SO very lucky to have her! Angelica, thank you for letting me capture some lifestyle portraits for you at the Kennedy Center! It’s been a pleasure being able to talk through all things business and life with you and I CAN NOT WAIT for our next wedding together!!

 

LOVED her outfits!!

Follow Along On:

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest