Welcome to the UnCloned® Insider audio newsletter. My name is Audria Richmond®, and I am your marketing and launch strategist. I work directly with my clients to show them how to build uncloned brands and launch profitable marketing campaigns. We are the brand that you come to when you want to become or remain the obvious choice of your industry. Hey, y'all.

What's going on? I am back with another audio newsletter. Today, we're gonna be talking about 5 photoshoot tips for your 1st or next photoshoot. So before we get into the tips, I recently just did a photo shoot. And when I say recently, like, this past Friday.

And I feel so good, and I'm so thankful that I did it anyway. And what do you mean by did it anyway? I was actually scared, y'all. I'm being honest. And I wouldn't say scared in the sense of, like, didn't wanna take the photos.

I was scared about how much growth I've had since last time. I had some insecurities about weight gain I've had since last time I've done a photoshoot. And so the last photoshoot I had was in 20, 18. My hair was short. It was different color and all the things.

Right? And as you all know, I'm an advocate for professional photos. I am a formal, professional photographer. So your girl know all about photoshoots, planning them, doing them, conducting them, so on and so forth. So I'm not new to the photoshoot world or taking photos.

But the reason why I had so much fear, coming into this photo shoot was because I know for a fact that the girl I was in 2018 is not who I am in 2024, and I knew I was bringing that energy into this photoshoot. Right? Like, I have evolved since then. I've written more books since that photoshoot. I've created more products since that photoshoot.

I have redefined who I wanna work with and how I wanna show up and how I wanna be positioned in the world. So I was dealing with all of that head junk, right, and really get into a place where I'm like, you know what? Now is my time to take some new photos. And not only am I gonna do this photoshoot, but I'm gonna put some more photoshoots on the book so I can get back in the habit of taking photos every quarter, if not biannually. Right?

And so today, I wanna give you some photoshoot tips, obviously, from my formal experience, but also from my most recent experience that I believe that you will be able to benefit for for, from as you go into your next photo shoot, your first or your next photo shoot. So before you start taking photos, the number one thing you wanna know is why am I taking photos? That's number 1. Why am I taking photos? Right?

You gotta get clear on your why because that's gonna that's gonna decide everything. It's gonna decide what you wear. It's going to decide who you decide to do photos with. All of that plays a huge role. So for me, my biggest why for doing this photo shoot, 1, I hadn't done one since 2018.

2, I wanted to face all of my insecurities around all the weight gain I've had since my last photoshoot. And 3, I wanted to, like like, own my shit, basically. And so that was all my reasons for why I was like, no. Now is the time. Quit putting it off.

You need new photos. The other reason that I wanted to do the photo shoot, we recently hired an agency. We'll be working with them for the next 6 months. And so they're gonna be building out funnel funnels and doing graphic design for us and doing a lot of other projects for us, and so I need a new photos for that. So the photos are for a new level.

The photos was for me facing my insecurities. The photos were for accepting where I am and and, like, owning my shit. Right? That's all the reasons why I was doing this photo shoot. So, again, number 1, you wanna know why are you taking photos.

Number 2, how do you plan to use the photos? So as I just stated previously with you all, I'll be using my photos for our upcoming launches, our upcoming funnels and marketing campaigns. And so I wanna give you 5 ideas to help you kinda think through like, okay, how can I use these photos? Number 1, you can use them for your lunches and marketing campaigns. Number 2, you can use them for your websites and landing pages.

Number 3, you can use them for physical products or digital products. Number 4, you can use them for press and media. And number 5, you can use it for your social media content. So as you can see, one photo shoot can be multipurpose across all of these different, things that we just discussed. So when you're doing your photos, you wanna make sure that you're thinking about the use cases for all of it.

If this picture is going to go on the landing page and you're going to be, you know, looking up at an opt in box, you might wanna have a photo of you looking at the opt in box. Right? So you wanna kinda think through like, do I need a photo of me jumping? Do I need a photo of me pointing? Do I need new headshots because I'm a be pitching myself for speaking?

Am I going to be, pitching myself to be featured in a different, news article? Am I gonna be pitching myself as a part of my press kit for my podcast interviews? Like, what are you going to be using the photos for? So I just gave you some ideas and so that should really get you going. Number 3, you wanna know the vibe you are going for.

So for me, for this particular photo shoot, I wanted to go with a clean-cut look. Right? I was going for clean. I was going for own brand. So everything I wore is a part of my brand palette.

The other thing that I was going for, with this photo shoot, I wanted an editorial, very bold, colorful, but all white background vibe. Right? I didn't wanna I really wanted to stay away from colored backgrounds mainly because the photos were gonna be cut out and be utilized in our funnels. But the other reason I wanted to, get clean-cut photos is because I wanted a clean look. We have a very unique branding style guide, and so we have a lot of palettes, a lot of, patterns.

We have, you know, a lot of different color. And so my photos didn't need to be busy because all of the branding is going to complement the photos. So that was super crucial. The other thing you wanna think about is like, are you going for an indoor vibe, an outdoor vibe? Are you going for a studio and commercial look, or are you going for a fun casual look?

You really wanna get clear on that because it's gonna dictate your fashion, your style, all of those things. Right? Number 4. Based on the vibe you're going for, select the best photographer for the job. So I am based in Atlanta and I had the privilege of doing my photoshoot with Mecca Gimbel.

And I have to say y'all, when I say world class, world class experience, I've never had a photo shoot experience like that. I've never had anyone cater to my experience. I have never had anyone, like, take the initiative and, like, book my for book my makeup artist and all of those things. So I was just blown away by the level of professionalism with that experience, and I definitely would be going back. But so but the reason I'm saying that is because the photography you pick will dictate everything.

Right? You know, when you're picking your photographer, and these are some of the things that I look at and it's something that I wanna share with you. You know? What are their editing styles? I didn't want anybody who's gonna make me look cakey.

I didn't want anybody who's gonna make me look, overly polished. I wanted to remain the natural skin texture as much as humanly possible. I also was looking for a photographer with clean lighting. I mean, when I say clean lighting, I'm talking about super bright and bold. That's the vibe I was going for.

Now if you're like, hey. I wanna go with a, like, grungy, dark, you know, old school type of look, then that's the photography you would choose. But if you look at her portfolio, everything that she that she shoots is bright, colorful, bold. It showcases personality. Everybody looks hella professional, with their photos, and they're timeless.

Right? The next thing you wanna think about is, like, get clear on how you can use the photos. So one of the questions I asked when I was booking, Mecca, Well, one of the things I I asked her was, hey, you know, how can I use the photos? Can I use the photos for this? Can I use the photos for that?

Like I had to get clear on that before I booked her because I didn't wanna book a photo shoot and then I couldn't use the photos in certain way. And the reason this is important is that when you're working with certain photographers, they they have certain licenses that you have to sign up for and you need to be clear around that. Especially if you're using your book for, like, press, in the media or on a book cover, you really wanna talk with your photographer to make sure you understand the rights, on how you can use your photos. Alright? And number 5, who do you need to support you for your photoshoot?

So for me, I had my wardrobe stylist, I had hired a makeup artist and then obviously my husband was there to help me, with the photo shoot, with doing behind the scenes content. Fun fact, when I was at my photoshoot, Mecca and her team, they actually had behind the scenes content as well with her assistant. So that was a bomb experience being able to have that added bonus that I wasn't even expecting or looking forward to. So, you know, I had the best of both worlds. They did behind the scenes content and my husband did behind the scenes content.

And so if you don't have someone who can, you know, shoot behind the scenes for you then maybe ask a friend or somebody that you can get to help you out. And then the last but not least y'all, have fun, don't be stressed out. I was so stressed out going into this photo shoot. It took me a little minute to warm up at the photo shoot and then once I found my vibe, it was over with. So just a re a recap, I wanna go over those 5, photoshoot tips for your first or next photoshoot.

Number 1, know why you are taking photos. That's number 1. Number 2, how you plan to use the photos. Number 3, know the vibe you are going for. Number 4, based on the vibe you're going for, select the best photographer for the job.

Number 5, who do you need to support you for this photoshoot? Like who else do you need to hire to make sure that your photoshoot go off without a hitch? Right? So hopefully, you enjoyed these 5 photoshoot tips and I cannot wait to see your next photoshoot. If you want to share if you let's say, if you've done a recent photoshoot and you wanna share it in our Facebook community, please do so.

Let me know your biggest takeaway in the Unclown Marketing free Facebook group. If you are not a member, please visit the description section of this audio newsletter to join our free Facebook group. Until next time y'all. Let's go live an UnCLoned® Life and build an UnCloned® Brand. Bye y'all.