Brittney and I first met on a sunny day in River North - she came in bustling, excited and full of ideas for her branding photography session. She told me her story of how she started in floral design, what it's like to be an educator and entrepreneur, and how she's pursuing her dreams and learning along the way. Over coffee we planned out her goals for the session and before I knew it we had planned out 4 scenes, tons of massive props, and had the beautiful…
Read MoreAfter taking a painfully long (and actually painful) hiatus from creating anything while my back healed, I was SO excited to get some creativity going with the beautiful Lauren Rebecca Roth at Happy Place while it was in Chicago! This was the first time I was able to hold my camera without a monopod since my injury and it was so scary + exciting to walk around for a few hours with Lauren and take super fun photos and get to know each other! Y'all, this place was happy…
Read MoreI feel like no one would fight me on saying that Pinterest is a fantastic source for finding inspiration - right? There's like millions of photos to use for ideas when you're planning personal branding photography, of all different styles and moods and it's super likely that you can find photos that reflect the style you're going for when it comes to your own photography in your brand. But the thing that's tough about Pinterest is that it's easy to feel like anything that you create in a photograph could be misconstrued as mainstream or like you're copying another creative…
Read MoreI met Layne recently when she reached out for me to photograph the author headshot for her book cover (literally, the coolest thing ever). After we had had her session and were at our final meeting where we went over her photographs together, she mentioned that one of the things she connected with me about before we even met was the Inspired Chicago feature series. I'm always ridiculously happy to hear that a creative woman in Chicago feels like the series resonates with them, but to have an author tell me that my interview series was good almost made me faint - it's like sending a contract to a lawyer and them telling you you did a good job…
Read MoreIf you're a service based business like a life coach, an event planner, a business strategist, a podcaster or some other type of creative that doesn't necessarily have a product to show on social media, it can be hard to know what types of photos to share and how to connect visually with your audience - and that can be a problem. Humans are visual beasts; our brains process images faster than text (like, 60,000 times faster) which makes visual communication so valuable in the creative entrepreneurs tool belt and something that when utilized strategically can help our audiences connect with our services…
Read MoreThere's been a short hiatus for the Inspired Chicago Feature Series over the last few months - I've taken time to think about how the feature highlights Chicago's entrepreneurial women, ways I can improve and widen the access to women who want to be interviewed, and how the feature will look going on from here. I'm happy to say not a whole lot has changed except for feeling a bit more clarity about Inspired Chicago - and what's better than clarity for creative entrepreneurs? What a way to bring back the feature than with this amazing interview with Leigh of Indigo & Violet Studio…
Read MoreWe all want to provide a beautiful, value-driven brand experience to our dream clients - the kind that speaks to the care we put into our work, that visualizes the experience we create, and helps potential clients want to be a part of the brand. Whether you're just starting out in building your brand experience, or you're an old pro who wants to upgrade where you're at - this post will help you figure out where your brand experience is on point and where you can improve…
Read MoreThere are so many myths that are easy to get wrapped up in for creative entrepreneurs - that our industry is too saturated which is why we aren't booking any clients, that we aren't interesting enough to share parts of our personality that will connect with our dream audience, and that it's next to impossible to stand out in such a competitive market. But the problem with these ideas is that they can be paralyzing - yes, there are a ton of creative entrepreneurs out there and yes, it's very competitive, but focusing on the negative, scary parts of our creative industries can make us feel so discouraged that we stop trying at all…
Read MoreConsistency is key in a lot of aspects of business for creative entrepreneurs - but for the soloprenur's who are the face of their brand, a cohesive brand is even more important in building trust with your potential clients and creating a unique experience that will get your clients raving to their friends about you. What does having a strong, compelling and cohesive brand do for your business? It builds a brand experience that your dream audience will seek you out for…
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