← The Abigail Peugh Podcast
The Abigail Peugh Podcast
41. DIY Your Brand Photos: Pro Tips for Stunning Photos on Any Budget with Erin Blackwell
00:24:08
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Transcript60 lines
- [00:00]
Abigail Pugh
Foreign.
- [00:04]
Aaron Blackwell
You're listening to an episode of the Abigail Pugh podcast with, you guessed it, Abigail Pugh. I'm an introverted mama who took my online business from zero to seven figures in 15 months, selling my own digital products on social media. And guess what? I did it all with my 3 year old daughter no less than 3ft.
- [00:21]
Abigail Pugh
Away from me at all times.
- [00:23]
Aaron Blackwell
Now I'm bringing you everything I've learned about building a wildly profitable online business that supports your life while allowing you.
- [00:30]
Abigail Pugh
To truly live it.
- [00:31]
Aaron Blackwell
Get ready for raw, honest conversations with entrepreneurs making thousands per month selling their own digital products and people just like you who ditch self doubt to create the life they've always wanted. If you're ready to make more money, have more impact and still have time for the things that matter most, you're in the right place. Grab your sneakers, head out on your hot girl walk and let's dive in.
- [00:53]
Abigail Pugh
Today's guest is actually my award winning brand and portrait photographer who specializes in helping women like you and me show up confidently as the face of their brand through posing. She actually just recently took all my new brand images and I don't think I've ever felt so me in brand images before. And this is coming from a girl who is currently £50 over my usual weight. So that's saying a lot to the magic that Aaron creates when it comes to posing for your brand images. Aaron, welcome to the show.
- [01:24]
Aaron Blackwell
Thank you so much. What an intro.
- [01:27]
Abigail Pugh
I always love to like tie it in when I know the person because I don't know. Just I don't know. It's fun to know when people actually know people. I'm not at the point in my podcast yet where I'm interviewing people I don't know yet. I know everyone. But yes, you guys, Aaron did my brand photos and I love them. They're so good. They look like me. I feel good. And funny enough, my husband is actually a photographer, but. But he doesn't know the posing, right? So he's like so good at taking images, but he'll take one and I'm like, oh my God, why does my back look like Hunchback Another day? I'm like, why do I look like that? Or where's that flab of skin coming from? Like, are you kidding me? Why didn't you tell me to move that? Like he just, he doesn't notice the details like Aaron does. So Aaron, tell us a little bit about how you got into photography and kind of how you got into posing. I feel like you have a very Unique take on brand photo photos that not a lot of people do. And you focus more so on the posing and making people like, look their absolute best. So how did you get into this?
- [02:26]
Aaron Blackwell
Yes. Well, really, I mean, just by accident. So I was a young mom. I had at the time three kids, five and under. And I, I wanted a way to contribute to the family income, but I knew I couldn't afford to put my kids in daycare. So I was like, what can I do? And I had never used a digital camera. Cause this was back in the days when those were like brand new. I always liked photography and I always would study photos. And then how did they do that and kind of get the eye for it. And so I just randomly was like, what if I start a photography business? I was so naive and it really helped me because I wasn't afraid. I was just like, sure, I can do that. And so I reached out to a friend I had gone to high school with, who was a wedding photographer, very successful one. And I was like, hey, do you think I could do this? Like, I have little kids, I don't have any money. Um, you know, how can I get this going? And she was so gracious and she was like, come out, shoot a wedding with me. Just like, see how it feels. Um, she told me what to buy. I bought a used Canon 20D. If you know anything about cameras, the viewfinder was like minuscule. You could barely see what you were doing. Um, I bought that with my tax refund. And that's how I started. And I started with boudoir specifically. And I think salty. A big, yes, very salty. But I think that plays a big part into posing. Because I had to learn how to make the female form look and feel good. Because if you don't feel good when you're doing a boudoir shoot, the pictures are not going to turn out. And so I think that really is what set me down that path. And then I started what they call beauty photography, which is basically glamour shots. And then branding came on the scene and it wasn't a thing. Nobody knew what it was. I had to call it headshots back then, which it's not the same as a headshot. And then, yeah, I just kind of in my. I was living in Colorado at the time and in my city, no one really shot headshots like I did. They were doing the old school, you know, in front of a backdrop.
- [04:16]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah.
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Aaron Blackwell
And so started. Yes. Very stiff, very professional, very, you know, shoulder pad, blazer deal. Yes. And so, yeah, that's how it started. And I think just having shot beauty and having shot boudoir, it gave my headshots and branding just that softer edge and the beauty edge that, you know, women want to look beautiful no matter what photo they're in. And so I think that's what really set me apart.
- [04:39]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah, I love that. It's so fun to hear, kind of when people start a business, just like, you know what? I think I can do this. And I'm just gonna go, yes.
- [04:46]
Aaron Blackwell
I had no idea what I was doing. Thank God it worked out.
- [04:49]
Abigail Pugh
I feel like it's better that way because I think sometimes when you have so much planned out, you have like, every duck in a row. It's almost harder that way because then if it doesn't go exactly how you planned, you feel defeated. Whereas if you're like, hey, I want to do this. Here's my camera. I'm going to buy a used camera and we're just going to start. In my opinion, I feel like that's the way to do it. Just start messy and just go for it.
- [05:10]
Aaron Blackwell
Yep.
- [05:11]
Abigail Pugh
Um, I love it. Now. I'd love to kind of hear. We're going to get to some tips in a little bit of how you guys can kind of take your own brand images if you're not kind of at the point where you can invest in it. But when is someone. Like, how do you tell someone when they're ready or not for brand images? Because they're definitely an investment. And you guys, I want to say I. I know I'm married to a photographer, so I kind of had that. I have that hookup with my husband being able to take some images and my profile picture right now, actually, I updated it to one from Aaron yet who knows if it'll be updated by the time this goes live. But Instagram, there's some glitch. I can't change my profile picture right now. Otherwise it would be updated to a new one from Aaron. But the one that's there with my hat, where I'm, like, looking sideways, it's my short hair. My husband took that in our office, like, randomly. I got ready. I was like, hey, I need a headshot. So it's not impossible to start. And I've had that one, what, for two and a half years since starting this business? It's not. You don't. I don't think when you first start, you investing a huge chunk into brand images right away is necessarily the choice, but how would you kind of let someone know when it is Time to invest in those types of images. And let me be clear, when I say brand shoots, like, it's not one headshot. Like, I have, like, I think it's 75 images to pull from, from Aaron. And we did all these different scenes. So I did some podcasting scenes, I did some content creation, I did some casual and some, you know, a little fancier. I'm not a fancy person, so they're not ever that fancy, but there's like multiple different scenes. So when would you tell someone, let's say they sell digital products and they have never had professional photos done. When is the time to get those?
- [06:43]
Aaron Blackwell
The time to get professional photos is when you really have your brand on lock. Because like you just said, if you're going to get a huge variety and if in, you know, a month or two down the line, you're changing up your. Your whole brand, you're not going to want to use those. So I, you know, obviously I'm a huge advocate for getting professional writing photos done, but I agree with you 100% that you can do them yourself. In fact, that is what I teach and why I teach it.
- [07:05]
Abigail Pugh
Because I.
- [07:06]
Aaron Blackwell
Not everyone starting out, I certainly wasn't able to back in the day. I know that that is such a need, especially now with. With all of social media. It's like a constant need to show your face because that's how your potential clients are going to connect with you. And so if you have no photos of yourself, at least getting some nice ones that you take or a friend takes is the first step. And you can do that right away. Professional. I'd wait till you're a little down the line and your brand's a little more established.
- [07:33]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah, absolutely. Now, what are some of the ways that people are using these brand images? I know for me, I didn't have a website in the beginning, so it wasn't really about the website. But I wanted some level of, like, cohesiveness with my business. So, like my Pinterest, my Instagram, my YouTube, everything all had the same profile image. And I, I felt like that was really important. Um, but what are some ways that people can actually use these images?
- [07:58]
Aaron Blackwell
Yeah, that actually is really important. It's actually a fact that if you have cohesive branding images across all platform, that your brand actually performs better and invokes more trust with the viewers. So it's super important. There are so many places to use your branding images besides the obvious ones of, like LinkedIn, your website, whatever, email signature, super powerful place to use one. And you guys, we have Canva now. Like, it's so easy to make these things just go in and type email, signature, pop in your photo. But that just, it's a way to elevate your brand because a lot of people don't do these tiny things. And again, that cohesiveness and you know, using the same photo so that you're instantly recognizable. Because we're bombarded every day with videos, reels, images, and if we can subconsciously connect to your face every time because it's the same photo or a similar photo, that's going to be huge for your brand and just creating that brand awareness.
- [08:53]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah, absolutely. Now, on the flip side, I saw, I think it was a reel or something today popped up where you were saying that it's important to have them done kind of every year if you can. Why? Why do people need to have them updated? Like, what's the reason for that?
- [09:08]
Aaron Blackwell
Yeah, whether you're doing them yourself or having them done. I, I always say once a quarter, but I know that's a lot for most people. So I would say once a year at a minimum. And it's really because you're changing, right? Like your looks are changing, the way you feel is changing. And that is captured in a photo, the more confident you get. Go out and take some pictures. Cause that's going to shine through. You know, what you're promoting is changing your products and your services. And so it' good to update. I'm sure you guys, if you've ever updated your profile photo, you know that you get an influx of comments and an influx of eyes on your profile. And so that's another. I always say, even just change your photo once a quarter if you. Even if it's from the same shoot. Because again, you're just kind of refreshing. You're getting away from that. Almost like I'm glazing over you at this point because I've seen that photo so many times. And so now you're kind of causing that pattern interrupt with a new photo and getting just more eyes on you and reminding them and staying top of mind, like who you are and what you do.
- [10:08]
Abigail Pugh
I love that. Now if someone doesn't live here in Boise, Idaho, and not local to you, which if you do live in Idaho, I'm sure she. Do you travel out of Idaho? Okay, I do. Well, if you aren't wanting to play the pay the travel fee as well, because you guys, I get it. It's. It's a big investment to do these types of things. And do I Think it's worth every penny. Absolutely. But this is not something that you're going to do like in the beginning days, um, in my opinion, and Aaron agrees. Um, but if someone is not local to you, how do you go about finding good brand photographers? Like, what do they want to look for? Because I feel like I'm good at this because, you know, I have a past in photography. My husband does. Like, I instantly know if I like someone's style or not. Like, it's very instant for me. But if someone is not kind of in the world of photography, how do they find someone that they can kind of trust is going to create the vision that they want?
- [11:00]
Aaron Blackwell
It's a great question. So what I always say to look for is, first of all, try to see if you can find the photographer on video and make sure that you connect with their personality, because that's going to be a huge part of the photo shoot. It's most likely going to be you, the photographer, maybe one other person assisting. So you really have to gel well together and have kind of the same vibe as each other. Secondly, something that I see a lot of with photographers is on their website or even on their social, they're posting their very best work, as they should. Right. Their galleries are very work. But if you can find a photographer who shows a full gallery from one session, I think that's huge. And it's something that I always encourage my students to show on their website because I want to know that you're good consistently through an entire shoot, not just you got two great images from one shoot. Those are the two things I would look for. And then honestly, like, obviously I'm a huge posing nerd. Look for someone that poses and you'll be able to tell. You'll. You'll start to be able to tell as you're looking through different potential photographer portfolios. Like, what's the difference between a good photo and a great photo? It's posing and it's lighting. And so you can tell if you're looking at a photo. Like, if the person looks professional and approachable, they're relaxed, but they're also like not slumped over and don't have bad posture. You can guess that that photographer has kind of steady posing. And feel free to ask too. I would never be offended if someone said, hey, do you pose Me? Do you know about posing? And that would be a huge green flag to me if they're like, yes, I know all about posing.
- [12:29]
Abigail Pugh
Honestly, that's one of the reasons I booked you is Aaron is So adamant about talking about posing. And I knew that, like, I wasn't at a weight that I was, like, super comfortable in. I didn't feel good in my skin. I've put these photos off for, like, a year. It's been a lot of, like, grappling in my head of, like, ugh. I don't like how I look right now, but I need new photos. And so Erin talks about posing all the time, and she'll do before and afters. And they're so funny. Oh, my gosh. You guys gotta go look at some of her reels. She does, like, the most ridiculous before.
- [12:57]
Aaron Blackwell
Of myself.
- [12:58]
Abigail Pugh
They're so good.
- [12:59]
Aaron Blackwell
Yes.
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Abigail Pugh
Of herself. It's so funny. Like, I'm, like, howling watching her reels. And so I knew a. Like, her personality was. She had humor. I'm a humorous person. Like, if someone can't, you know, read sarcasm and then laugh at themselves and me, like, probably not the best fit for me. So that was, like, the first thing I was like, perfect. This girl loves to laugh. And then she talked about posing all the time, which I knew I needed that. And I was like, hey, I. I need someone that's gonna help me pose because I don't feel the best in my body. And when I see these images, there's not one image where I'm like, wow, I hate that part of my body. Wow. I don't like that. And that's huge for me. Cause body image has always been hard for me. But then gaining weight with all the mold stuff, it just made it even harder. And so that was something that, like, instantly let me know that Aaron was the photographer for me.
- [13:47]
Aaron Blackwell
And honestly, you are most people. That is how most women feel. No matter what, you know, size they are. Most of us are not super comfortable in our skin. And so if you can be comfortable on camera, it, like I said, it's going to show through. And that's probably why you like them, because we were having fun.
- [14:03]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah, we were. We were laughing the whole time.
- [14:05]
Aaron Blackwell
Yeah.
- [14:07]
Abigail Pugh
Okay, so if somebody wants to take their own brand photos, what would you recommend they bring set up? Like, what are all the things? Walk us through what somebody would need to do to have their own brand photography day. Right. And you guys, you could easily, you know, teach your spouse how to take a view of them, for sure. I think tripods work great, too. With timers. There's lots of things you can do with that. But what would you tell someone if they're like, hey, I need 30 brand images in two weeks. What do I need to do to prepare for that.
- [14:37]
Aaron Blackwell
Yes. I will say this. If you know how to pose yourself on camera, anyone can take a good photo of you. It's really about you knowing what to do and then giving a few pointers to someone. And so I always teach that too, whether it's like a spouse or even a kid. You can have a kid take a great photo as long as you're doing the right thing. So I would say, number one, study posing. Go watch the reels like there's a ton of them. Number two, you need to find somewhere with good light. So whether. Whether it's a ring light, if you're inside facing a window, a big mistake I see is people putting their back to the window when they're taking. Usually when they're taking a selfie, need to face the light. Always, always, always a great tripod. That'll do the trick. And if you can even get a little timer remote, that makes it easier for you to go pose and snap the picture and not worry about the countdown on your phone.
- [15:21]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah, a lot of the tripods have that with it now you can connect the tripod. So I'll link one in the show notes for you guys. It's the one that I use all the time, but it's not. I never use the remote part of it, but it does come with it. And you just connect the bluet to your phone and it will do it for you. So you just hold this tiny little button in your hand. So I'll link that below for you guys. But sorry, keep going.
- [15:40]
Aaron Blackwell
No, that's okay. And then I was going to say, like, you don't even need a camera nowadays. Again, I. I'm a big advocate for just using what you have. And so cell phone cameras are amazing. Like, they take amazing photos now. But again, you want to make sure that you're using it properly, using it on the right settings, getting the correct angles with your cell phone. Because cell phone cameras cause distortion big time.
- [16:02]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah.
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Aaron Blackwell
And so that's something that we can combat with posing. And that's, you know, posing. Sometimes I get comments like, oh, this is fake, or I would never stand like that. And that's true. You would never just stand like you would in a pose in real life. But what we're trying to do is combat that distortion with the camera and make you look your most proportionate so that the eye isn't distracted by something on your body and that the eye goes right to your face. That's the main point of posing.
- [16:26]
Abigail Pugh
Okay, neutrals or color and then patterns or no patterns.
- [16:32]
Aaron Blackwell
Okay, well, I say you can do either. It just really depends on who you are, how you feel in your brand. I'm a. I'm a big color person. I love a pop of color. Again, it's going to stop people in the scroll.
- [16:43]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah.
- [16:44]
Aaron Blackwell
So I. I do love color. I also like making sure that you have some color and some neutrals because there's very few brands that can pull off a million different colors. Right. And then I'm not afraid of patterns. I actually love a good pattern. I always recommend you do the squint test, which is if you are going to wear outfits with pattern, lay them all out on your bed, step back and do a squint. And if anything really stands out at you, it's probably a little too much for camera. And that's a good way to test it.
- [17:10]
Abigail Pugh
That's cool. Something else that I did before the shoot as well is I got my colors done. So I got the, like, analysis of what I think I'm a spring with warm tones. I can't even remember. I just have a screenshot of all the colors I can wear. And I made sure that all of my outfits not only, you know, worked with my brand colors, because I want those on my new website that's coming soon. Very excited. But I wanted them to also be colors that I looked good in because there are certain ones that like, make my skin pop, make my eyes pop. And so that helped a lot too. So I went shopping, like two weeks before and then one day before because I couldn't find anything earlier. And I found all these really great things that, I don't know, I felt really comfortable in. And I did some. I think I did, like two patterns, and the rest were pretty neutral with no pattern. Not neutral, but no pattern because I didn't want a lot going on for the website. So if you are going to use these for a website down the line, I would keep that in mind as well. Because the photos on a website, if the photos have like a ton going on, it will kind of distract from the website copy and everything else that's going on on the website. So I will say for mine, I did focus more on no patterns or less patterns, I should say. I had one that's something that I would typically wear. But I felt like that was really helpful as well. Something else that Aaron did for my shoot is she had a shot list and we went through and had all these, like, Pinterest ideas and things that I really liked. And that was super helpful, and I don't think we missed anything, which was really nice to just go in and have that. I also rented a really cute Airbnb for the photo shoot. Something else I would totally recommend. If your house doesn't have good lighting, I will say I like having these types of photos done in the actual spaces that you're going to be in. If you're using them more for social media, if these are just for your website, I would say if you want to rent a place or a studio or something, that makes perfect sense. But the next photo shoot that I do will definitely be in our house, because I want to use them more in, like, my stories and my feed and things that feel a little bit more organic to me. So if someone's thinking of renting a place, what would you tell them to look for in, like, an Airbnb or a studio for those photos?
- [19:25]
Aaron Blackwell
Light, light, light. Lots of natural light, and then lots of natural light. And then I would say a neutral palette, because, again, you want to be the star of the show. So there are so many beautiful Airbnbs. Now there's a site called Home Studio List, which lets you rent gorgeous Airbnbs by the hour instead of by the night for photo shoots. But, you know, just. You want it to be on brand. Like, obviously, like, if your brand's not super modern, you don't want to find a super modern home, but you do want it to be a clean palette. You want it to be light and bright and not have anything that's really going to distract from you.
- [19:59]
Abigail Pugh
Yeah. And that's what we. We did with mine. So mine, it was this, like, tiny, little. I don't know if you would call it a condo. It's. There was, like, a living room, and then the stairs went up and there was a bedroom, but the light was so good. And then all the colors in the house were either whites or soft greens and then some plants thrown in, which. My house doesn't have any pink in it, but pink is very much a part of my brand. I wear pink all the time. It's one of my brand colors, like reds and pinks. So that just made perfect sense. And now looking back at the photos, I mean, obviously it's not my house. Like, if you guys pay attention to my content, you know that it's not my house, but it still feels like me. And that was super important to me.
- [20:38]
Aaron Blackwell
It's still going to blend in.
- [20:40]
Abigail Pugh
Okay, so if somebody is listening to this and they're like, wow, okay, I need brand Photos, but I don't have the, you know, money to invest right now. I need to do my own. Do you have something for the listeners that can kind of just prepare them for what shots to take? Because I feel like that is one of the hardest things if you are not in photography is knowing like, okay, what, what actual shots do I need for this?
- [21:02]
Aaron Blackwell
Yes, I do. It's a freebie called calling your shots. It's 31 photos that your business needs to stop people in their scroll. And so what it is is really like the 31 shots that I would take for any entrepreneur or business owner because I know that you're going to need them in these certain places. And I walk you through how to do them and common mistakes and kind of like as if I were there, how I would direct you into those shots to help you, no matter who's taking them, to get the image you want.
- [21:27]
Abigail Pugh
Oh my gosh, that's awesome. Now, if you guys want to take it a step further, she has something called opposing bible and it looks incredible. I don't have it because I just trust her to pose me. But again, if you are like, hey, I need to do this myself and I need to get these photos, I have no idea how to pose. Tell us a little bit about the posing bible. Again, I will link all of this below in the show notes for you guys to grab because I know Aaron, I trust her and just, just my photo shoot with her is like proof that she knows what she's talking about. So tell us a little bit about your posing bible.
- [22:01]
Aaron Blackwell
Yeah, I just wanted to really pack everything that I've learned in posing in the last 15 years as a photographer into a downloadable for people. So Posing Bible is over 155 pages. It's not only how to pose in any situation, but it's also specific poses more than the freebie that you need in your business. And again, how I would direct you into them. And it's got even more than that. Talks about wardrobe, hair and makeup on camera. I even have a section on flat lays in there. I mean, I really give you the whole shebang in that thing.
- [22:33]
Abigail Pugh
I love that it's a PDF guide too. It's not because I think courses, obviously courses and video content, they have their place, but with this type of thing, I feel like being able to print it out and bring it with you when you're doing things is super. To have that visual while you are trying to take these photos is super important. So you guys, thank you so much for tuning in.
- [22:53]
Aaron Blackwell
Today.
- [22:53]
Abigail Pugh
This was so fun. I love doing these kind of episodes that are kind of about, like, the nitty gritty things in business when we are, you know, creating personal brands, selling digital products. People don't talk about this a lot, right? Like, the big names just show up and have these beautiful brand images, and then you're like, oh, I don't have that. How do I. How do I get that? Like, I want that. So thank you so much for coming today. Aaron, let us know where we can find you on social media, because I want to send everybody to your reels that make me laugh so hard.
- [23:23]
Aaron Blackwell
Thank you. First of all, thank you so much for having me. I am on Instagram. I am Erin Blackwell, and like I said, tons of posing reels to get you started on there.
- [23:31]
Abigail Pugh
Yep, absolutely. And you guys, if you use her poses and things like that, make sure you tag her on Instagram. It's always so fun to see how people are utilizing the content that we put out there. And sometimes it kind of feels like I'm putting stuff out and I don't get to see, like, the results of people. So please make sure you tag her, and we will see you guys next week.
- [23:51]
Aaron Blackwell
Thank you so much for hanging out with me and my guests today. If you learned anything from our episode, I would love it if you could share it over on your Instagram stories and tag me, Abigail Pugh until next time.
- [24:02]
Abigail Pugh
Love you.
- [24:02]
Aaron Blackwell
Mean it.