News & Useful Stuff
(also procrastination fuel – you’re welcome!)
Business & brand photography FAQs: “But I hate having my photo taken!”
If I had a penny for every time someone told me they hate having their photo taken, I'd be a rich woman. But if you run a business, your photos can really elevate your marketing - and if you're putting them off, or not marketing much, because you don't want to be in...
Beyond the logo – what is business branding, really?
What is business branding? Whether you're established or fairly new to business, unless you're a brand expert, the terms thrown around can be really overwhelming and confusing. If you ask three or four different people, you'll probably get five different definitions -...
Getting the most from a brand shoot in a single location
Lots of small business & entrepreneur photography you'll see online is spread across all sorts of different places. If you're just dipping your toes into the waters of professional photos for your business, you mostly work in one type of space, or you need...
Align, ignite & soar – my 2020 words
When it comes to planning, I can be both detailed and a bit big-pictureish. With the business I have really clear goals mapped out, and ways to get there, plus systems & content plans because that's (weirdly) part of what I find fun about running a business. For...
Imagine having a photographer all year round…
The beginning of the year is always a weird combination of dull, dreary and seemingly endless... and exciting, fizzy and full of promise. Don't you think? The other thing that is often seemingly endless is the need for photos to post online and promote your business -...
Creative soul, stuck in a rut?
Your next car journey and editing session just got more fun... Some things in business take their sweet time, but are worth the wait... and Creative Reboot is one of those things! About 18 months ago, Sarah Wayte and I came up with the name & concept of a new...
Celebrating small businesses
December has rolled round again and it's Small Business Saturday! If you move in similar circles to me, you'll have spotted a few posts today, probably from your friends, family or colleagues who run small businesses themselves. For my part, I thought I'd do a mini...
Press: Women Who Create UK interview
A lovely feature on the Women Who Create UK blog - happy teabreak reading!
Introducing the Improper Job Collective
As a personal branding photographer, and a commercial photographer, I spend most of my working life with businesses and the people who run them. They come in all shapes and sizes, and one of the things almost all of them have in common is not wanting the standard,...
Book launch: Be A Free Range Human, at LIBRARY, London
If you know me even a little bit, you'll know the impact Free Range Humans and Marianne Cantwell have had on my life. So when I was featured in the second edition of the book, it was a super proud moment for me - and of course when I got the invitation to the book...
Full circle & proud moment – I’m in a BOOK!
Last month brought a really proud moment in my career - being profiled in the second edition of a bestselling book! Be A Free Range Human has long been at the top of my recommended books list, because Marianne Cantwell, who wrote it, is a properly magical human. It...
Open Studios – see behind the scenes!
It's September, which means Open Studios is approaching at a rate of knots! Although the majority of my work is done out & about, wherever my lovely clients work & play, I have a little studio in Ardleigh which is my playground and my happy place. It's...
Personal brand photography ideas for coaches
Lots of my clients are coaches, or owners of service based businesses who don't really have a product to photograph. Think this means you won't get many photos? Think again! Part of your personal brand photography booking is an in depth Brand Clarity workbook, and...
5 places to use your personal branding photos
So you're thinking about booking a personal branding shoot and you can mostly see why you'd quite like some up to date photos of you, doing your business thing. But where the hell do you use them once you have them?! Here are some ideas: Profile photos Maybe obvious,...
That time I went to Wizard School – branding & event photography for Bothwell School of Witchcraft at Herstmonceux Castle
For years, I dreamed of attending wizard school - Hogwarts, and then St Trinian's (less wizards, more rebelliousness). When I was invited to photograph Bothwell School of Witchcraft (sadly not by owl, but I did get to cuddle Bramble the owl while I was there!), I was...
Help! I need a stock photo!
We've all been there - writing an article, adding something to our website or just needing a background photo for social media. If you're not yet at the stage where you need your own bespoke picture library, what's a girl to do when she needs images?! Well, the first...
LinkedIn photos: Sarah | Colchester, Essex
As much as I love my studio, my heart lights up when a client says they're outdoorsy and would like photos that represent that part of them. Sarah wanted new profile pictures and headshots for LinkedIn, among other things, but couldn't face a corporate-style portrait...
Multipod Issues: What is a multipod, anyway?
Multipod, multipotentialite, Scanner, Renaissance person - what do all these terms actually mean? You may have seen them thrown about or mentioned, and they're definitely more commonplace now than when I first discovered the concept, but if you're still somewhat at...
How to customise your 404 error page
404 pages are a pain in the butt. Often resulting from people typing the wrong thing, a broken link, or other small gremlins lurking in your site, getting a 404 page tells you that what you have attempted to access doesn't exist. And usually, they are boring as hell -...
Secret Vintage Fair at Colchester Town Hall – sneak peeks!
Just checking in to show off a few sneak peeks from the Secret Vintage Fair yesterday - I had so much fun capturing the music, the vibe, the stallholders and the visitors! Here are a few teasers, I'll blog the rest when they're ready: Were you there? What vintage...
Checking in with your dreams
What are you dreaming of? What are your wishes and hopes for your business and life? As business owners, our lives are so caught up in our businesses, so intertwined that we often can't disentangle the two. Since leaving my day job I've been doing, every day, what I...