The Confidence To Be Seen: My Headshots and Empowerment Shoot

Your image, how you portray yourself and how you are perceived is such a huge and integral part of running a successful business, especially within the luxury wedding sector.

Your image is, of course, a very big part of your brand and helps tell the story of who you are and what kind of business you run.

As human beings, we like to know who we are investing not just our money but our trust and time in. And rightly so. Not only the product, but the real people behind it.

Let’s face it! A picture can tell a thousand words.

I was lucky enough to join the fantastic Sarah Kate Photography in her London studio a few months ago for some exciting new brand images and headshots.

Sarah is predominantly a family and motherhood photographer, but has also recently added another string to her rather talented bow with Narrative London. A new venture which focuses on celebrating women, capturing and empowering who they are, inside and out.

I initially found Sarah after spotting some gorgeous images she had snapped of another fellow wedding industry supplier. I had been on the hunt for a little while to find the right person to help showcase the real woman behind the cake designs.

The wedding industry is a fantastic industry to be a part of, but it can also come with a great deal of expectation. Let’s face it, it is an industry built on perception and images. ‘Prettiness’ and ‘perfection’,

as such.

For a while and whilst building my business over the years, I thought being a ‘luxury’ supplier meant keeping things calm, understated. A pristine, squeaky clean image and pretty floral dresses.

A wallflower, as such. Unfortunately (and this is only my personal opinion), there are so many suppliers out there that blur together. They don’t stand out. They aren’t different. They don’t make a statement.

Exclusivity, individuality, choosing to stand out from the crowd and having the confidence in your convictions.

That, to me, is what true luxury looks like in a wedding supplier.

It finally dawned on me that I didn’t fit this. This isn’t or hasn’t ever been me. I don’t do  understated. I’m all in. Whatever I put my heart and soul into. I love creating designs that say, look at me. That command the room and are full of life. Let’s be honest, I probably have quite a colourful and chaotic personality. I swear like a trooper, I love getting tattoos and I’d rather wear leather trousers and Louboutins than pretty pastel dresses and pumps.

Everybody’s character traits, good and not so good, make them the creatives they are.

This should be celebrated!!

So it was decided… I needed some new headshots.

After first reaching out to Sarah, she asked me to fill in a questionnaire regarding what I wanted to get from my new headshots and why I wanted them. We then scheduled a call, and after getting a good understanding as to what I wanted to achieve, she sent me a very beautiful and helpful brochure with lots of tips on how to prepare for the shoot, from best poses and angles for the camera to skincare before shoot day.

I then spent a HUGE amount of time planning the perfect outfits. My style, my look. Clothes that I feel comfortable and, of course, confident in.

I was ready!!

On the day of the shoot, my hubby and I set off in the morning, arriving at Sarah’s lovely London based studio a few hours later.

The studio was bright, airy and perfectly kept, with great lighting. A perfect space for creating these all important new images.

Sarah had also organised for the fabulous Storme (Surrey based hair and makeup artist) to do my hair and makeup on the day.

We chose two looks for my hair. We started with it down, with loose, natural waves (which was lovely, as I don’t often wear my hair down!) and then moved on to a tidy updo. Much more my everyday style.

So, hair and make up done. It was time for the fun part. To start shooting.

Sarah was always on hand to help direct me into the correct position and stance if needed.

After a few hours of shooting, outfit changing and makeup touch ups, it was a wrap. We headed home tired (It is rather tiring being in front of the camera. A hard job, but someone’s got to do it), but super excited to see the finished result.

Two weeks later, they dropped into my inbox. I was absolutely thrilled with the finished result.

Strong, confident images that say…

This is me.

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Fundamentally, the shoot was about me. And I make no apologies for celebrating the woman I am, the real woman behind the brand, and what I have achieved as a 43 year old mum, wife, cake designer and all round bad ass business bitch.

Credits

Photography: Sarah Kate Photography / Narrative London

Hair and Makeup: Storme Hair and Makeup