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How To Not Let Your Brand Look Unprofessional – Business Brand Photographer

As a company that specializes in branding, we see a lot of brands of our competitors (of course) slip from their foundation. This is how to not let your brand look unprofessional.

If you are just starting or have had your own brand for years, it’s easy to let your brand look unprofessional. When your brand looks professional and your message is conveyed then you can easily gain the trust of your ideal clients!

Read on to learn how to stand out from your competition and look the best in your industry.

Professional Photos

I had to start with what we know so well and that is photography! We see so many personal brands and professional photos of business owners look so pixelated and/or poorly lit.

If you look at the Forbes section of the top grossing billionaires, most of them do not have good photos. When you see one with a professional photo you click to learn more!

Because they look the part, if you want to look professional you need professional photos. It’s simple yet we see so many business owners look unprofessional in their photos or the photographer did a bad job supplying them with professional photos.

Your photos can make or break you. Even having bad photos on your website can make your business look unprofessional! People are visual creatures especially when it comes to deciding if they are going to spend money.

Think about it, you have probably not bought a product because it was displayed incorrectly or the images didn’t represent the quality of the product. Always keep in mind your target audience and what you want to portray with your product or images.

Consistency

If you want a good brand image then consistency is key. To make a brand last and keep your customers coming back you need to lay the payment for what your brand will say.

The colors, fonts, pictures, styles, and words you say must all relate. Take for instance Apple if you see an ad that has no Apple logo you can directly relate it to them without even seeing their logo!

They’ve created a consistent brand that people relate to. They won’t ever change that because it’s who they are.

Taking Time

Don’t rush or do it yourself because it will show. Think before you do anything, I know this sounds redundant but it’s true.

Especially if you are branding your personal brand. Most likely you are doing all the work. If you don’t take time, and strategize before you make changes on your social media or website.

You can look unprofessional! Deadlines are great but don’t spread yourself too thin. When this happens, the world can tell.

They’ll see you didn’t put the time or effort. We see all the time Instagram accounts that post the same quotes over and over, and it just looks lazy. You don’t want to look lazy.

Put time and effort into everything you do, and it will be paid back graciously. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same goes with amazing brands!

If you want to hear more about the mistakes you are making in your business image, watch Sandy’s video.

If you need a business branding photographer with over 15 years of experience that can tell you the ins and outs of branding.

Book a Call with Los Angeles Business Brand Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

The post How To Not Let Your Brand Look Unprofessional – Business Brand Photographer appeared first on Briofive - Self-Image & Personal Branding Photography.

Being a women entrepreneur is not easy. Here are five inspirational women entrepreneurs that are rising in 2017  that are sure to inspire you. 

It takes hard work, courage, and dedication to take an idea and grow it into a concrete business, let alone one that becomes successful. While there is much to learn from women who rise and fall, it is always amazing when you see a woman crushing it.  

Seeing other women succeed at their goals and lead businesses that are blowing their competition out of the water can become a source of inspiration for others.

1. Lisa Wang and Yin Lin, She Worx

Inspired by their experiences as CEOs of their companies;  when these two women met investors they were always in disbelief that they, were not males and were in top roles of their companies. 

Because of the misogynistic comments they received, Lisa Wang and Yin Lin created SheWorkx. They aspire to create a level playing field for women entering the business world.

They realized that complaining was not going to help solve anything and instead thought of how to improve the situation for themselves and other women.

Together through SheWorx,  they created a place where women entrepreneurs could come together and learn tips from mentors while discussing how they can grow their businesses. SheWorks is all about having women work together instead of against each other.

2. Shradha Agarwal, Outcome Health

There are constantly new medical advances that come out year after year. When a person is diagnosed with an illness or condition, the person and their family want to know what is the best way to treat it.

Shradha Agarwal co-started Context Media, now called Outcome Health,  in order to help people with chronic illness manage their health.  The technology they use helps doctors, patients, and brands make the best choices with the best outcome health decisions for each person.

Agarwal has won a series of awards praising her hard work, such as the Champion of Change by the White House, was recognized as Best Female Founder at the United Nations and won a Moxie Award as Tech Woman of the Year in Chicago, where she is based out of.

3. Alaina Percival, Women Who Code

Alaina Percival started as a volunteer at Women Who Code, an organization which strives to inspire women to succeed in technological careers.

After grad school she wanted to enter the startup world but lacked experience beyond branding and marketing, so she learned how to code.

While volunteering and eventually leveling up to more prestigious leadership roles, eventually landing the role of CEO, she worked at startups that were succeeding, which made her believe that she was really making it in the tech industry. Her success encouraged her to strive to encourage more women to become tech leaders.

4. Stella Mateo, SheTaxi

The transportation world has been revolutionized by the likes of Uber and Lyft, which provide transportation on demand to its consumer. Stella Mateo, who immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic without knowing English.

While working as a seamstress for her family’s business, she worked her way to be an accounting head in a real estate business. When her husband started The New York Federation of Taxi Drivers, she realized that while women made up the majority of passengers, their needs were not being met.

Mateo also noticed that very little women were driving taxis, and SheTaxi, is “for women, by women” was born. She is all about women empowerment and knows that owning a business that can provide women with flexibility and self-sufficiency, is what most women crave when they enter the workforce.

5. Natasha Case, CoolHaus

Natasha Case worked in architecture in Walt Disney Disney Imagineering before starting CoolHaus from scratch. CoolHaus is architecturally-inspired gourmet ice cream, sandwiches, and desserts sold through their trucks and two LA shops but could be also seen in stores throughout the USA.

Together with Freya Estreller her partner, they started CoolHaus in a postal truck at Coachella music festival and just have been growing ever since.

Forbes’s 30 under 30 Food and Beverage,  Zagat 30 Under 30, Linked in 10 under 35 for Food & Leisure, as well as being featured in many national publications and radio like Cosmo, Dwell and NPR, and TV shows including Food Network’s Chopped, Barefoot Contessa, Unique Sweets, Good Morning America, King of Cones, Andy Cohen Live are some of the places that all praise CoolHaus.  One of her tips to all entrepreneurs is to go for it and to not be afraid to take risks. 

We hope these Five Inspirational Women Entrepreneurs inspired you if you have questions or comments please let us know!

If you are ready to produce an image that shows your best self and conveys your authentic brand.

Book a Call with Los Angeles Professional Brand Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

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Working in the Brio Five office makes me realize how Sandy does too much, how many of the women she works with are doing too much. Women are constantly doing, going and not stopping. It’s admirable to see but it’s also very stressful. After seeing this pattern of women’s daily patterns I decided to do some research to see how much women are actually doing and what they can do to get relief.

Long nights, early mornings, and just a completely booked out calendar can seem like utter exhaustion. To most of these women, they see it as a natural cycle. There are so many women wearing multiple hats, caring for their families, running a business, while trying to uphold mass media beauty and fitness standards. Not only is this type of life overwhelming but it develops an acute and chronic stress.

Psychology Today touches on this “Acute stress that comes in the form of physical and mental symptoms, like fatigue, irritability, anxiety and tension, depression, headaches, shortness of breath, insomnia, disorganization and short-term memory problems. If it is a skill-deficit that makes your daily responsibilities hard to handle, then the mental and behavioral stress-management recommendations mentioned above will do much to alleviate the symptoms you feel.”

The subject of women who do too much is everywhere on Google searches because it is so common. Most women are overworked and want to find a way to combat their daily workload. With technology, life was supposed to get easier but it is not. We are constantly checking emails and our phones, which gives us something to do with a touch of a button. Most women want to do better and be better because of the gender pay gap as well. We make less and work more most of the time. It’s a constant struggle and women need a break.

It is time to take charge and organize your life, stop putting too many eggs in your basket. Take up something that makes you de-stress and relax twice a week. Such as yoga, dancing, spa days, or reading (an amazing read is “Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much”). Have your family do some chores and help you out for a change. Women need to realize they are already amazing and don’t have to do more to get there. It’s time to keep your schedule filled to the point where you do have days off. I know this may feel impossible but it’s time to ask for help. Time to think about what will make you feel better for a change, ask the questions why am I so busy and what can I do to help myself? We help women who do too much here at Brio Five if you need help with anything reach out to us.

If you want to book a photo shoot experience with Sandy and our team at Brio Five, book a call with Sandy. We create a day all about you, so you can feel pampered and absolutely beautiful

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What Makes a Great Brand and Why? – Business Branding Photographer

Starting a brand or in our case being a business branding photographer means you must research other competition, historic brands, and always ask what makes them a great brand and why?

We work with our clients to make sure they stand out while building a brand reputation that attracts their ideal clients. In this post we wanted to go over some of the most influential brands in the world, why they’ve had success, and what to learn from it. We love branding and the first thing to building a great brand is love what you are doing.

Loving Your Brand

See for instance, Ralph Lauren, he loves what he does.

“The clothes that I design and everything I’ve done is about life and how people live and how they want to live and how they dream they’ll live. That’s what I do.”- Ralph Lauren

He started one of the biggest fashion houses in the world, and his name is recognised all over the world. His designs, imagery, color choices, are ones you can recognise without even seeing the Ralph Lauren typeface or horse logo written in navy across them. He uses similar business branding and photographers so his style is consistent throughout his different labels. Ralph Lauren is that powerful, it has the “all american dream” written all over it. What’s so powerful about a brand like Ralph Lauren is that is allows people to express themselves.

Defining Great

Defining what your brand’s meaning is (your core message you want to show the world) defines a great brand. Even Coca-Cola had a mission which has been defining their brand for 125 years. They want “To refresh the world… and inspire moments of optimism and happiness…” which they do with their niche marketing, ads, visuals, and packaging which changes due to events, seasons, and their “make a difference” motto. The Coke logo is the best known trademark in the world. The Coca Cola logo has been the same since 1941. Their marketing has changed, but the classic Coca Cola bottles stay the same and are actually coveted for. They’ve created a historic brand, that is the most recognised brand in the world. They’ve defined what they wanted to stand for since 1887. Defining who and what you stand for, is huge, just look at what messages come to mind when you think of Coca Cola. 

Knowing Your Audience

Knowing who your audience is everything when it comes to branding. One of the best brands to do this is Apple. Apple has always had commercials and  campaigns that appealed to a hip audience of ages 18 – 35. Even though people of all ages buy Apple products their branding is tailored to that target age group. Targeting who your branding will be sold to, will help brand your company. Apple has a simplicity set branding usually with their products photographed in the same styles against all white with their black logo. Their packaging is minimalist and sophisticated, which appeals to a millennial crowd. Apple knows their audience so well, it even made a campaign that made their buyers photographers. For the “Shot on Iphone” Campaign Apple crowdsources its customers photos to “display on billboards, bus stops and train stations, and it remained minimalistic, featuring a photograph, with the words: Shot on iPhone,”. Apple knows its audience, what it wants, and how devoted they are to the Apple brand.

So You’re Just Starting

If you don’t have one the biggest companies in the world and branding still seems like a pain. Then take things we learned above like loving your brand, staying authentic, defining what you want your brand to stand for, and knowing your target audience. Use these to brand your business for success, figure out what you stand for and who, to develop your colors, logos, messages and imagery.

If you need a business branding photographer with over 15 years of experience that can tell you the ins and outs of branding.

Book a Call with Los Angeles Business Brand Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

The post What Makes a Great Brand and Why? – Business Branding Photographer appeared first on Briofive - Self-Image & Personal Branding Photography.

Starting a Self Care Plan or Routine

We are going to touch on the most important thing in your life… you! Starting a self care plan or routine can help you focus on what matters the most. I was once told the first person I had to love was myself, and that was hard for me to grasp. But now I’m starting to understand that more and more, and why it’s so important to love yourself. Read on to learn why having a self care plan or routine is fun, easy, and so beneficial.

1. Focus on You

To start a plan your main focus has to be you. Figure out how much time you can first allocate to your self care routine. If you can’t seem make time find that one slot in your weekly calendar and dedicate that hour to “self care time”. This time will become your weekly time for just you!

2. Figure Out Your Needs

There are so many types of self care rituals to do. To find out what you personally need you may have to do some research. I personally am stressed very often so hot yoga tends to be one of my favorites. When I was going through a breakup I went to hot yoga 4 times a week and it really helped me focus on myself. I also love taking long baths with with salts, I use a cocoa coffee body scrub that is just delightful and helps me relax. You could just sit down, journal, relax or meditate. Maybe you are moving so fast focusing on the needs of others, you need just you time. Be honest with yourself let yourself feel and see what you need to be your ultimate self. Whether it be working out, sauna time, meditation, having tea outside by yourself, whatever it may be let it happen. You’ll feel so much better and love yourself so much more. This post touches on the 5 kinds of self care, Physical, Intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and social, see which one you need the most.

3. Internal Self Care Routine

Time to let go of what is hurting your internally. Whether it be past emotions, people, or anything that is stopping you to reach your true potential. Time to release, forgive, and forget what you ever is holding you back.

“According to Everett Worthington, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, learning to forgive others can improve not only your mental and emotional well-being, but also your physical health. “When you get rid of anger, your muscles relax, you’re less anxious, you have more energy, [and] your immune system can strengthen,” he told the American Psychological Association.”

4. Time to Take Action

Start today, even with little steps. This article has 25 simple practices for self care. We dance in the office sometimes just for one song! Dance today or goof around for 4 minutes. Be your own best friend, and laugh at your own jokes. It’s time to put yourself first. Doing this will not only help your self esteem, but your confidence, and over all your health.

Do you want to produce an image that shows your best self and conveys your inner beauty?

Book a Call with Empowerment Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

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Putting on makeup for many women is a hassle, especially natural makeup. If you are a mature woman, putting on makeup effortlessly while bringing out your best features can be a great confidence boost. Read on for the best ways to put makeup on and feel picture perfect every time you step out!

BASE

Before makeup application you must start with a great base. This means prepping your skin for makeup. Slather some moisturizer on, followed by sunscreen to hydrate and protect your skin from the sunlight you will be exposed to throughout your day. Then put on some primer, a primer will allow your makeup to stay on your face. There are many types of primers out there, so you can choose one that compliments your skin. For example, there are many hydrating primers or color-correcting ones that cancel out any skin discoloration. Check out this article on Allure for the best primers in the game.

FOUNDATION

Like primers, there are many types of foundations with different finishes and levels of opaqueness. For a natural look, a low coverage foundation will look best. That way your skin will look flawless but not overdone. You can choose a dewy finish if your skin is dry or a matte foundation if your skin is on the oily side. You find your correct shade by swatching a bit of foundation on your jaw. The color that disappears is your perfect shade. A beauty blender or foundation brush is great for applying foundation.

Other options could be a BB cream or a tinted moisturizer, which offer coverage to even out the skin tone but is not heavy.

Concealer under eyes and dotted just on the areas that need covering will add brightness to your face. The key is to go only one or two shades lighter than your foundation. A trick is to apply concealer under and in a triangle on the dark circles so that light reflects back to cover them.  Hot and Flashy on Youtube has some of our favorite videos on natural makeup for mature faces. 

CONTOUR

Contouring is where you play with light and shadows to either hide and brighten certain features of a person’s face. Use this trend to your advantage to show off what you like and hide what you don’t! The trick is to not do a harsh contour and use a contour shade that looks like it could be a shadow on your face. The rule for contouring is to use the contour to hide and highlight the areas that you want to bring out. Bronzer is a must but only one sweep and lightly pat on your bronzer color, be sure to pick a shade that looks like you have a slight tan (a Northern California tan not a tan from Cabo). Blush is great but be subtle you should do “pinch your cheeks” blush, just one pat on the apples of your cheeks.

EYES

What gets our goat at Brio Five is jarring black eyeliner, that totally engulfs your eyes, making them look like dark black pits. The only time that this black heavy eyeliner looks good is if you are going to be a witch for Halloween. Please beauties let your eyes shine and no heavy eyeliner. A little thin line as big as a hair to accentuate your eyelashes is fine but please nothing thicker than that.

To start your eyeshadow use a primer and use neutral/ natural colored eyeshadows like light golds, peaches, light bronzes and nudes. Good eyelashes are key if you don’t have much hair there we recommend Latisse or lash extensions. But a good mascara and curler will do wonders. Always curl your eyelashes and use a great mascara that is volumizing and lengthening without clumps. Eyebrows are so important and many women skip this step. Eyebrows give your face a whole different shape. Use an excellent pencil or brush lightly to fill in your brows against their natural growth. Always use the eyebrow makeup very lightly never press hard when doing any makeup.

SKIN CARE and LIPS

I combined skin care and lips because when you have a steady skin care routine you can look flawless, even makeup free with just a lip balm. To read our tips on skin care click this blog post. For lips remember to use a lip scrub twice a week and use a good lip balm. Eco Lips and Sugar Lip Treatment are our favorites at Brio Five. For lip color use simple colors that are natural like rosy pinks or nudes to bring out your natural lip color and pout!

Do you want to produce an image that shows your best self and conveys your inner beauty?

Book a Call with Empowerment Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

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Every single woman has the power to become the person they want to be, simply by overcoming these challenges that all female entrepreneurs face. We want all women to be bold and unleash their potential to the world. This is how leaders are made. Bold, empowered and confident women entrepreneurs face many obstacles but can easily overcome all things thrown their way by being unapologetic with their wants and needs career-wise. There are many inspirational worthy women out there, living their dreams. Read our client spotlight for advice from successful female entrepreneurs we have photographed. Unfortunately, women have many things to consider when they finally make the decision to become entrepreneurs. The following are top five challenges women entrepreneurs face and how to rise above them.

Work/Life Balance

Balancing your life with your career is challenging but especially for women. They not only have to factor in families as well as their professional choices. Choosing to have or not have a family and when, is an important decision they must make, which can be very stressful. People tend to look down on women who choose to forsake having children or choosing to work instead of staying at home with the children. Traditional gender roles are unfortunately still in play, but feminism is also on the rise in 2017 .  The key is to not feel guilty about the choices you make and be confident that the choice you made is the one that will benefit you and your family in the long run. Watch videos/listen to podcasts that inspire you to keep going, hear others women’s stories; their struggles and successes.

Earning Respect

Female CEO’s may have a hard time earning the respect from males who are not used to accepting leadership from a woman. Many women could simply be dismissed as if they do not know what they are doing or were simply given this position one way or the other, in a way that was not earned. To overcome this simply ignore and demonstrate through your attitude and actions that you do belong in your position. Kill them with kindness, and ultimately make them see how you are perfect for your position or business. Joining female entrepreneur/collaboration groups such as ours, help build a tribe of women that believe in you and will help you grow no matter what circumstance. A big trend right now is that women empower women, and we do, all of us are here for you!

Fear of Failure

Feeling the pressure to succeed is a feeling that all entrepreneurs feel, but for women, often there is much at stake. The voice of self-doubt is often louder for women.

“The shortage of female confidence is increasingly well quantified and well documented. In 2011, the Institute of Leadership and Management, in the United Kingdom, surveyed British managers about how confident they feel in their professions. Half the female respondents reported self-doubt about their job performance and careers, compared with fewer than a third of male respondents.”

Failure should not be viewed as a negative event. Society expects women to always succeed at everything they do, especially at their careers. To cope with this, keep in mind that failures happen and as long as you know what the goal is, failing should not be a big deal.  Without failure we would not know what success even is. Know that every step taken is a step towards achieving your dreams.  Strive to become so good and knowledgeable in your field that no one will care that you are a woman. Being bold requires accepting challenges and facing them, even after failing. This article describes some extraordinary people (some may even surprise you) who have failed and what to learn from it. If you haven’t made mistakes how are you supposed to grow?

Access To Funding

When starting out, women entrepreneurs, face the challenge of getting funding for their businesses.  

“Women-owned businesses receive just 7 percent of venture capital investment money, which is highly disproportionate to their role in the economy. Additionally, loan approval rates for female entrepreneurs is 15 to 20 percent less than it is for men. Clearly, something is not right.”

Due to sexism, investors tend to help out like-minded people or other men that they consider them to be part of their own “vision”, so the key is to find investors that support a company like yours. A women investor or feminist is more likely to support a women entrepreneur, as they know what you are searching for and have most likely been in your place before. Funding is out there, you just have to seek it out.

Owning Accomplishments

Women have a habit of downplaying their accomplishments and worth, a habit that most likely started since childhood. Your expertise is valuable and the strides you have made for your company are worth noting and celebrating! Confidence is the key when it comes to competing with anyone. Your ideas may be scrutinized heavily by naysayers but if you bold and demonstrate you know what you are talking about, people will have confidence that you are indeed an expert.  At the same time, make sure you aren’t giving away too much. It goes back to realizing your worth. Make sure people are giving you the credit you rightfully deserve.  Don’t undersell yourself to a client, colleagues or in the long run yourself.

If you are ready to produce an image that shows your best self and conveys your authentic brand.

Book a Call with Los Angeles Professional Brand Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

The post How To Overcome Challenges Female Entrepreneurs Face appeared first on Briofive - Self-Image & Personal Branding Photography.

We love spotlighting our wonderful clients, especially for Women’s History Month! This week we are telling you about the accomplishments of our lovely client Kelly Johnson.

Kelly is an owner and principal consultant at Velatrio, LLC, which was founded by a three women in the hi-tech industry. Velatrio, provides business planning and marketing for tech companies based in the Northwest. Velatrio grants professional women a work/life balance, while providing meaningful roles where they can use their education and experience to make great contributions to businesses and organizations. Kelly is a seasoned marketing professional with vast experience in positioning, launch planning and execution, go-to-market campaign development, brand building, and product management for business-to-business to customer products and services in the hi-tech industry.

Before joining Velatrio, Kelly honed her craft by working for Microsoft Corporation for 13 years. There she took on many diverse strategic marketing and planning roles – mostly in the Windows and Developer/Partner Evangelism organizations. Her main roles included building programs to create C-level Information Technology customer advocates, server, platform and cloud competitive positioning, driving infrastructure business value initiatives, and building field and partner training programs.

Kelly’s number one tip for other female entrepreneurs is to maintain and forge great relationships.

“Forging great relationships is so important with clients, candidates, employees, and your community. Business can ebb and flow, but your connections to people both professional and personal can level out the bumps along the way and keep you relevant no matter the circumstances.”

One of Kelly’s role models is her grandmother, a strong woman who grew up on a farm and lived through the great depression. As a young woman during the great depression, she traveled to California alone and found a job (a big deal for a farm girl in the 1930’s).  “She was a WWII wife, an excellent mom, an outstanding grandmother, and an amazingly strong person.”  She lived just shy of 100 years old and worked as a bookkeeper up until her mid 80’s!

Kelly clearly took after her grandmother when it came to her strength. Not only does her business track record prove her determination, but her entire aura boasted this during our photo session with her. She has brains, personality, style, wit, and beauty and is the perfect role model for any woman running her own business. We love meeting these empowering women and learning their stories, especially hearing about the other inspiring women before who raised them! #womenempowerwomen

If you are ready to produce an image that shows your best self and conveys your authentic brand.

Book a Call with Los Angeles Professional Brand Photographer Sandy Grigsby.

The post Women’s History Month Client Spotlight | Kelly Johnson appeared first on Briofive - Self-Image & Personal Branding Photography.

Don’t miss Sandy’s segment on the  “Branding Made Easy” summit which goes live Tuesday, March 28 on Mintgem. Sandy who is a top personal branding photographer will be featured with 20 other branding experts in this FREE online branding summit hosted by Mary Alvizures.

Check it out if you want to learn some awesome tips on how to prepare for a photo session and how to brand yourself successfully. As for Sandy’s video, she promises to deliver some fantastic tips you never knew about posing for the camera, at least one silly face and a few laughs along the way!

Sign up for the FREE summit here: bit.ly/bizbrandingwithsandy

To see more of Sandy’s branding photography click this link.

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