Take care of the temple

Before you set foot in front of a camera…

…take care of the temple first.

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome during a lifestyle portrait session doesn’t involve technical, logistical or creative challenges.

Those are a given every time a camera is involved.  

No, the biggest challenge is that the expert looks exhausted in front of the camera.  

And it stands to reason. 

The speakers, authors, consultants, trainers and coaches I photograph live extremely busy lives and have to block out time in their schedules to breathe. 

You folks never stop, I know - I have to adjust to your last-minute, schedule changes all the time :) 

While it’s true you live with a blocked out calendar most of the time, it’s also true that creating photos with a person who needs a bed more than a close-up is not an ideal situation. 

Sure, makeup helps. 

Lighting chips in, too. 

And so does working with a photographer with whom you have a great rapport. 

But the best way to combat looking fatigued starts with you:

You need to take care of the temple first.

Specifically, I’m talking about sleep and hydration. 

Lots of it.

Sleep not only knocks back some of those dark circles under your eyes, but it also helps add to your energy level while in front of the camera. The more energy you have, the more present you are with your photographer, and that only adds to the value of the photos created during the session. 

And if you’re fully hydrated, that helps your skin to shine and minimize it’s oiliness, which contributes to nasty shine on your forehead, cheeks, chin and the bridge of your nose. 

Of course, makeup can help with this, but it never fully mutes that distracting shine. It’s not as good as drinking a boatload of water the night - and several days prior - before your session. 

There’s also another way to take care of yourself before a session:

Strategically schedule the shoot during a dip in your workload. 

Instead of shoe-horning a frantic, half-day photo session in between a week stacked with meetings, flights, workshops, presentations and family time, find a 2-3 day stretch where things are fairly calm, where you don’t have huge commitments BEFORE or AFTER the session date.

If you put in a 20-hour day before your session, you’ll look exhausted. 

And if you have a 20-hour day staring at you in the face the day after your shoot, you’ll be distracted and in your head and not fully present when in front of the camera.

Either way, that’s a shitty situation. 

Be purposeful about blocking off time to rest, hydrate, charge up, and prep for the shoot in order to give yourself an opportunity to create a portfolio of compelling and high-quality photos. Photos that you’ll be EXCITED to use every day across your entire online presence.

Don’t treat your session as another casual to-do that you want to quickly scratch off the list. It’s an investment of your time and money, and it’s an important one, at that. 

After all, your photos position you as an authority in your space of expertise in order to attract those who need your help most. 

You think they’re going to be super psyched to reach out to someone who looks like they need a vacation in every photo they see of you? 

Avoid that problem by taking care of your temple before the photographer takes the camera out of the bag. 

For more insights on how to maximize the value of your photos in order to capture the attention of those you serve, I’ve written a Guide that’s chock full of nuggets for you to nibble on before AND after you create the photos. 

It’s called the Visual Storytelling Guide For Experts - grab your copy here.