WHAT (MENTALLY) PREPARING FOR A BRANDING SHOOT CAN LOOK LIKE

I recently had a branding photo shoot with Leslie, and I really wanted to share her story. First of all because I love her photos so much, secondly because the work she is doing for women in their peri-/menopause era is so vitally important… but there’s an even bigger reason.

The way she felt leading up to her photo shoot is the way a lot of my clients feel and how I think a lot of women feel. And it just feels TOO IMPORTANT to not talk about it.

I wanted to share her own words, so while she was really excited about her new brand photos and feeling amazing, I asked her to think back to conversations we had when she first reached out to me and to remember how she felt leading up to her photo shoot and why she wanted to wait a little while, even though she was more than ready to build her website and start promoting her new business.

HERE ARE LESLIE’S OWN WORDS:

I wanted more time to lose weight. I’ve put on weight in recent years and have had trouble recognising myself in photos.

This time in life changes us and it can be difficult to recognise yourself.

I teach other women to love themselves, but forgot about myself.

I booked a photo shoot about a month in advance because I wanted to have time to lose weight (as if that even mattered!!).

During that time, I chose to work a lot on my mindset and realised that my value or beauty is not in how many kilos I weigh.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU SAID TO ME WHEN WE FIRST MET, AND THAT CONVERSATION HELPED ME RETHINK THE WAY I SAW MYSELF.

You were so excited about photographing me and it rubbed off on me. I found out about you through my contacts and they said they were so incredibly happy with you.

When the time came, I was ready mentally.

You recommended a makeup artist and I felt a little nervous about that, but I needn’t need to be. Mia did a fantastic job with both my makeup and hair.

It was a completely magical day. It felt like having a girl’s day with your best friend. We talked about everything under the sun, and your way of being made me relax and be myself. 

YOU MADE me, and what I work with, FEEL IMPORTANT.

I can tell from the photos you took of me that you captured the Leslie that I see when I look in the mirror every day.

A woman in the middle of life, full of energy and self-belief, determined and ready to help other women become themselves again! (And beautiful at the same time :D)

It’s not about how your body looks or that you’ve gained weight. Beauty comes from within and you have captured that with your photos.

I can only attest to how fantastic it is to work with you. Teamwork at its best. (The fact that you fell for my dog, Dessie, also made me happy.)

I think it’s a shame that we spend so much time and energy on not liking ourselves and finding lots of faults instead.

I see it as my mission now to make other women love themselves.

I have received so much praise for the photos and recommended you in my network. 💕

THIS IS WHY I LOVE THIS WORK

Being a part of Leslie’s journey and playing even a tiny role in making her feel that way about herself is why I love my work as a brand photographer. It’s not only about creating brand photos that look good on the internet. It’s about capturing the essence of these women so that they can show their clients who they are and how they can affect their lives in the most important way. Thank you, Leslie, for this experience and for giving me the opportunity to capture YOU.

FOLLOW LESLIE’S WORK HERE:

Leslie Jensen | Menopause Coach
www.lesliejensen.se
Instagram @lesliejensen_