Episode #72: The Inside Scoop on Brand Photography with Jenn Hernandez

Intro (00:01): When you give smart women a five-year plan, simple business strategies and a positive mindset. It's amazing how fast your business can grow. Welcome to the fast track woman podcast with your host and business strategist, Terra Bohlmann. She helps women business owners stop winging it and board the fast track to success. When she's not making high flying dreams, the reality you can find her traveling to random destinations, desperately tracking down Chanel, broaches, or sipping overpriced coffee drinks. Her purpose in life is to help you build a profitable first-class business, smooth out the bumpy ride, and finally have more time, energy and freedom. So buckle your seatbelt because this episode of the fast track woman takes off right now. Welcome back to the fast track woman podcast. I am your host Terra Bohlmann. And

Terra Bohlmann (01:01): Today I have an amazing interview for you. So I have an expert who is a brand photographer, and that's what she specializes in. And I've actually worked with her before. So we'll be able to give you all kinds of great insight on brand photography and where to put it in on your business. So let me introduce her and I'll bring her on the show. So Jenn Hernandez is a wife and a mama. She's passionate about helping women see their worth, their value and their inner and helping their inner light shine. She spent much of her adult life learning about herself and others. She loves when her clients see the light and joy that's captured in their images. Photography is an obsession for her. Every client she's worked with has insecurities and past experiences that they bring into their sessions. Her mission is to take all these factors and navigate the how to create engaging and inspiring images. Beauty attracts the eye, but personality captures the heart is one of her favorite quotes. She strives to capture your unique personality, your heart and beauty and every photo. So please join me in welcoming Jenn Hernandez. How are you, Jenn?

Jenn Hernandez (02:18): I'm doing really good. Wow. It's kind of weird hearing all of that red. I'm like, oh yeah,

Terra Bohlmann (02:26): That's awesome. Usually I'm like, I just like to sit back and bask in the, oh my gosh. Is she talking about, oh my that's me. Yeah, no,

Jenn Hernandez (02:33): It's very like that girl. She's

Terra Bohlmann (02:35): Pretty cool. I would be friends with her. I love it. I love it. So yeah, let's dig in because we became friends because Jenn has also done brand photography for me. She's based out of Denver, Colorado. So when my family did a trip to Denver, my son wants to, was looking, is looking at a college and golden Colorado school of mines. And we went for a college visit and she not only did my brand photography, but I was like, please do some co senior pictures for my son too. And they turned out fantastic. So we've had the chance to work together. Plus she's also been a guest expert in my mastermind. So we, I have so many questions that I can dig in and for this podcast, so that you can share your genius with these high achieving women. So, yeah, so let's just get started. So what, so what's the difference between, you know, brand photography and just getting a photographer to do your head shots.

Jenn Hernandez (03:37): Ah, amazing. Love that question. So there's a really big difference, obviously there's spatially, you are looking in brand photography to have your look, your, feel, your scenery, your essence in the picture. But the biggest thing for brand photography is to have room in the picture. So you would want to have like a right or left, justified or centered. You want room to be able to put writing, to be able to use them in newsletters, to be able to use them in your marketing on your website. So the biggest difference between headshot photography, which is obviously head shots. So you're looking at like shoulders up or maybe even waist up and it's usually in a portrait. So it's really just not something that is very usable and a lot of different spaces, unless you just, you know, you have a speakers reel or, you know, something along those lines.

Jenn Hernandez (04:32): So that's the biggest difference. One of the other differences, I think in a brand photography from headshots is we're looking to capture personality and lifestyle. So how would we capture you in kind of everyday life or what is the story that you're looking to tell your, your audience what do you want to bring them into? So those are the things that are, you know, just really exciting to try and think about when you, when you're looking at doing brand photography versus headshots. And I've had a lot of people say that you know, they, they had headshots photographer and they tried to get them to do brand. And it's, it's really, I hate to use the attache. It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks but when you're used to coming in and cropping clothes, it's really hard for you to leave a lot of room in the picture. And and then there's a lot of other moving parts that you have to think about when you're doing that as well. So cool. Yeah. Okay.

Terra Bohlmann (05:30): Well, it's good to know. So it's like at what point and a woman's business, should she hire someone who does brand photography?

Jenn Hernandez (05:37): So the answer to that question is it's obviously going to depend on budget and how quickly and how fast you want to move. I know a lot of people that kind of bootstrap it and use you know, digital images from their cell phone and things like that to try to capture it, capture everyday life. And I, and I feel like there is a place for the candid images is what I'll call them versus the branded images, the branded images just display and show your business in just a much more professional light via social media, via a website. So if you're looking at doing either a one pager or website for your business, or you just want to take it to the next level hiring a brand photographer can definitely help you with that as well as like, you know, I can think of like three other people you'd want in the business strategies such as yourself. You'd also want your accountant, your accountant, lawyer. Exactly. yeah, your copywriter, a photographer is definitely somebody you want to kind of have in your back pocket. And if you can establish a relationship with someone you know, and they, and they know you're going to be shooting long-term and over many different sessions, the, they get a different feel for your brand. And it becomes much easier to work with them. You'll be so efficient versus trying to start new kind of every time.

Terra Bohlmann (06:59): Yeah. And that's one thing, I mean, I'm in Houston, Jennsen Denver, but like a couple of people that I work with here in Houston, we're going to have her come down and like do sessions with all of us. But like if I were in Denver, I would be a, no-brainer like once a quarter go to Jenn, get the photos done for the season and off we go. So I think good to weather, no matter where you live is establish that relationship with your brand photographer. And I would imagine most of them would give you some sort of special pricing if you lock in for the year. Right. Exactly.

Jenn Hernandez (07:30): Exactly. And there's a contract to negotiate there for sure. Yeah.

Terra Bohlmann (07:33): Knowing that you like their style because I've hired a kazillion brand photographers. And you know, I remember I'll never forget the one guy and it was like someone recommended him and then like, I got all the images and he did this like vignette, smoky look around every picture and it was more for like, you know, so I'll talk about all the horrible, like not horrible experiences I've had, but you know, it's kind of a waste of money cause I'm like, what am I going to do with these? Yeah. Yeah, it does not match my brand at all. And that's definitely

Jenn Hernandez (08:08): Something to consider, you know, when you're looking to hire someone, you know, ask around, first of all go poke around and look at their stuff. What have they done for other people that you maybe know, or don't know, or maybe somebody that you admire, you know, look at, look at their portfolio, look at their social media. Like how are they putting themselves out there that can really help you connect also with the photographer ahead of time. So you can kind of get a sense for their personality.

Terra Bohlmann (08:32): Yeah. Yeah. And that's the key is like, yeah. And then I had this other experience. I went to New York city and and it was another guy. So maybe, I mean, no offense, if there's any guys listening, but like maybe that's my aha. So I've only hired two, I know three men that had did the brand photography. And anyway, so two out of the three, it wasn't a great experience, but like I was in new and, and the guy I found out at the end was more of like a landscape you know, photographer, like as in, I like to take pictures of like the trees and the mountains and the whatever, not so much making us female look as skinny as we can or pose this way. It was more about here's the smoke coming out of the sewer system and look how cool that looks it juxtaposed with you crossing the street. And I'm like, I know, but I look 825 pounds. I'm never going to use this.

Jenn Hernandez (09:28): The other thing that I find very interesting just as a caveat too, like the men versus women thing is men have a different way of seeing women than we see ourselves. Interesting. So, and they have a tendency of taking pictures from a lower vantage point, which isn't as flattering for women. So yeah, that's just, it's always something to keep in mind. You know, that's one of my first clues, if somebody is saying to me, you know, I want to look as thin as I possibly can. Then I know my vantage point needs to be higher than them at all times. I can't be eye level or lower.

Terra Bohlmann (10:05): There you go. That's a pro tip because they're protect, I've had my husband take a picture and he's six, four I'm five foot one just to give you some range. Jenn knows this because she had met Darren. And I remember the first one was like, oh, will you take this picture? And like, he does it like from down low. And I'm like, Ooh, you know, it's like, no, and now he knows he's tall. Like he's taller so he can kind of do it just normal. And I would, they look so nice. I'm always like, Darren, you have like good height. How about you to snap this picture of the kids? And I,

Jenn Hernandez (10:37): Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. A little pro tip. Yup. Camera needs to be high as you won't want to look thin. Nobody likes their selfies because everybody takes their selfie from up above. So yeah, there

Terra Bohlmann (10:49): You go. If you learn anything on this podcast, you've learned that you are capable of looking even more amazing than I know you are. So the one thing that I loved about working with Jenn was she is also like your creative director. So I've had shoots where you have the person who does your hair, your makeup, that actually sources your outfits that has looked at, you know, someone else who's like done your webs, like looks at your website to see what kind of images you're missing and you know, all that kind of stuff. Right. So Jenn kind of, you do all of that, right? I'm not the hair and makeup part. And we can talk about hair and makeup in a second, but like you know, by the time I had shown up, like we had did a collaboration was like, okay, well, here's the pages on my website that I'm definitely missing some of key images that I wanted to be more like my meet me page. I wanted to be more personality friendly. So I was using a couple of stock photos and she's like, oh, okay. Yeah. And then we got there and she just like pulled them up and like, here's the inspiration, you like this. Okay, cool. We can recreate something like that. So she was kind of like an all-in-one, which was so much easier. So that's awesome. Does that something you like that you have to teach yourself how to be a creative director in that case or?

Jenn Hernandez (12:05): Well, I, I found it's interesting to me when I first started is that I thought everyone coming to me would have this grand idea of what they imagined their pictures to be. And so many people didn't. And I found through some frustration at the beginning five years ago when I started all of this, that, you know, I wasn't able to hit the mark for these people because they didn't even know what they wanted. So it's really important for me to know what the expectation is going in ahead of time. So I encourage people to go through Instagram, stuck the people you love, not, you're not trying to recreate exactly. Obviously you're going to answer it yourself, but inspiration from Pinterest, from Instagram, just to say like, I like this look and feel, I like this vibe. I like the attitude she has in this picture.

Jenn Hernandez (12:53): I'm looking to put this here. So that gives me a target to hit versus I don't know, just whatever you think. Yeah. Because you're not going to get what you want. And what people may realize is that you definitely do, like you said, need to think about some quarterly photography, because one to change with the seasons, your business is constantly rolling out something new. You want new, fresh social media images to integrate with your candid stuff. So it's good to have kind of your own stock photography to go in between what you're putting in as far as candidate and quotes and messages out there. So yeah, it's, it's really good to have a target to hit. So now I don't do photo shoots without a target.

Terra Bohlmann (13:38): I love it. That's so smart. So make sure anyone you work with has a process and like, you know, and they're doing that research and spending the time and energy to like, look at your brand holistically. So that definitely on, on shoot day, I mean, it was like, we did so much in like an hour, you know? So before I ask about hair and makeup, there was something else I wanted to bring up. Oh, now I'm losing my train of thought. Well, let's, we'll, we'll talk about, let's talk about hair and makeup and like when, when is it a good, oh, I remember the other thing now, but I'll, I'll circle back to it. Don't you love it when people do that, like the hanging like lingering question, they love it. At least you thought of it, but hair and makeup is, you know, when do you, do you always do your people that you shoot your women business owners specifically? Do they like their photos better or worse if they use professional hair and makeup?

Jenn Hernandez (14:34): So I can tell you I've had both sides of the coin on that one. So I have had women show up after doing hair and makeup with someone that they've never done hair and makeup with before and almost in tears and almost not wanting to do the shoot because they didn't feel like themselves. And a, you know, they just, they felt like a clown or whatever. I've also had women just show up as their natural selves and wish they would have put at least false eyelashes on. So I think it really depends again, on the target that you're looking to hit. You know, if you're going for something that's a little more glamorous and a little more like up there, then I think Karen makeup is really important to have done. And I would recommend doing it with someone who, you know, and trust versus just some random person at the Nordstrom's counter.

Jenn Hernandez (15:27): Because you don't know how they're gonna interpret a natural look for you. For myself as a natural light photographer, I don't need a lot of makeup. So if you have a little more blush on a shade, darker lipstick and maybe some false lashes or just an extra swipe of mascara, we can make it work because in post-production I can add more eyelashes. I can add more blush. I can add, I can add more things, but I can't take away. So if you feel like it's too dark and too overdone then it's really hard to take away from that. And I think that would be true for even studio work. If it's too much, it's too much, but studio lights do have a tendency of washing you out versus natural light. So maybe a little bit more is okay there. As far as hair is concerned, I say, do what, you know, what feels natural to you?

Jenn Hernandez (16:20): Like if you wear your hair straight, have your hair straight and some pictures, if you wear your hair wavy where it wavy in some pictures, I do a bit of both and I have photos of both. And I think it's really good just to have the variety. You know, if you always wear your hair straight in all your pictures are cruelly, there's just a slight disconnect there. I think maybe even for the audience, because if you show up in your candid shots and you always look a certain way and all your professional photos look differently than, you know, I don't know. No, I haven't had anybody tell me that it's something I noticed, but I also have a trained eye to notice. So yeah.

Terra Bohlmann (16:54): It's and I've seen that like from, you know, even for me, I've had, there's a service. I can't remember the name of it, but you can like order up hair and makeup to come, you know, in my case to your home, or if I have a live event, you know, they'll show up and like, I've never thought to show them a picture of what I'm supposed to look like. Because they can kind of see and, you know, it's kind of scary what people can do with like contouring. You're like, wait, you how, like, you just, you look like a, you know, 25 year old, beautiful natural girl. And then it's like an hour later you look like Kim perdition. Like, how did that happen? You know? So people, you know, makeup artists are see you they're artists. So they're like, Ooh, they'll mold you into something.

Terra Bohlmann (17:35): And I've done the worst things now I know is like, cause I lashes are cool, but I've found that they're like, I've had people are like, oh, and I fell for it multiple times. Or it's like let's put eyelashes on you. And these are mink and they're and you are just, oh, they're going to pop in though. And then they put these mink eyelashes on me and I'm like, I can't even like open my eyes. Like they're so heavy that I look at the fixture zone. I'm like, what? And I mean, maybe from a stage, like if I'm doing a live event, they don't look as insane. But like, if I hear mink eyelashes, I know for me, that is, that's a no, I'm more of a, just add some wispies at the end and I'm happy. So you start finding your flow, but the first time you don't know, you're kind of just trusting people to do their jobs.

Terra Bohlmann (18:20): So and the studio versus what, you know, the lifestyle, natural light, it's like, I've found like I have a lot of good studio photos that are like, but they're almost like they're so pretty. And I was missing. And that's why I came to John because I was missing the more casual, real life, Terra side of things. And I thought in my business, I always had to show up as bougie Chanel girl, which that's one part of my personality, but that's all that was represented. And it's like, okay, come down to earth. And I am very down to earth. So I was like, Jenn, like, what I'm missing are like casual Terra. Like if I'm your business coach and we have a call, I'm going to have some t-shirt or some funny saying on it or whatever. Like that's how I show up. And especially the thing I had forgotten to say is like, the reason we need to do a mini, even if it's a mini photo shoot to keep our stuff, our brand photography fresh is as women, we love to change our hair colors and hair styles and the length and the whatever.

Terra Bohlmann (19:30): And it's like, you know, there's nothing that drives me crazier than seeing somebody online. Right. And there's this online persona and they've had the same picture for 14 years. And when you meet them in person at a live event, you're like expecting this, oh, you know, like some, I don't know. And they look nothing like their photos. And in that case, it's kind of like, it becomes a trust thing for me. And so I'm like, yeah, I've got the nice photos and whatnot. And I think we need those very professional ones. But then on the other side, as you want to be relatable and you've got to have these other, you know, I just call them lifestyle photos too. And that's what I was missing. So what do you think from a, what do you seem like a gap and in a lot, like, cause I'm sure you've looked at a lot of websites and worked with a lot of women too. It's like, what is the main gap that most women business owners are missing? The mark on as far as brand photography goes because we know when you invest in it, it like you can raise your prices, it elevates everything. Right. We know what works. What's the main gaps missing gaps that you see a lot of times with women business owners.

Jenn Hernandez (20:49): Yeah. So a lot of people go out and like you said, they get like the, you know, the bougie headshots, and then they've got stock or stock photography of like women talking. Let's say they're a woman business coach and they have a room for a little women, but they're not in it. Or you know, there's just so many things that you can do to kind of elevate your brand. So it's thinking about all the little things that you do for people and getting photos of that. Like, so let's say for example, you're a note writer and you write, thank you notes all the time. You know, getting, getting you in action, writing the thank you notes, showing the handwriting after, you know, just all the different pieces, the little different touch gift baskets, you like gift baskets or flowers, but having, having those professionally done to kind of insert in the different areas, are you throwing a Fredy in the air?

Jenn Hernandez (21:44): You know, just hurray, you made it to my program kind of thing. You know, you just, a lot of people will spend money. Like you said, at the beginning, they'll spend money on a good headshots. They'll have an image of them setting at a desk or a computer on the phone shop and the coffee shop, you know, I mean, you have all of those pictures and those are all great. But yeah, just having those little fillers and the, the little detail moments, you know, there's so much, there's so much in the little details and I I'm guaranteeing, if you were to go to someone's site who is fully personally branded and all of their photos are their own, you can tell the difference between that and someone who's integrated, not this stock photography is bad, but you have to be really smart at how you integrate stock photography. It still needs to match your brand, which is just easier to do when you have your own photos, honestly. But yeah. And

Terra Bohlmann (22:42): Then you can kind of add it into your overall vibe, which I think is okay. And it's

Jenn Hernandez (22:47): Okay for that stuff to take time and it's okay to start where you are and just build it out. It's like, like you do with anything at any part of your business, it's a matter of having a plan, having the action plan, having like, okay, so this next shoot, I'm going to do all my behind the scenes stuff. The one after that, it's going to be all about my launch for my next course. And I'm going to get all the pictures for that. Then it's going to be just like all my newsletter stuff for my seasonal stuff, like me putting up the Christmas tree or putting up Halloween decorations or, you know, just whatever it depends on if you're a lifestyle brand or not a lifestyle brand, but obviously there's, there's just different sections that you can plan, plan out for, to have the collateral when you want it. And then of course, like you said, there's, there's the hair and the changing and

Terra Bohlmann (23:35): Right. And you have to be really creative on where you find the places to go change real quick and stuff. Yeah, yeah, no, it's really cool. Yeah. And then do you typically, you like to have somebody that's also like kind of helping coordinate and whatnot, so like, what's it like, so let's say someone's like, oh my gosh, this Jenn Hernandez sounds amazing. I'm in Atlanta, Georgia, but I'm going to stalk her website, her websites, Jenn Hernandez, photography.com. So J E N N with twins and you like, oh my gosh, I'm going to fly to Denver. So what's that experience like when somebody is like, I'm going to actually fly to your city and we're going to do this. What's that? What is that like?

Jenn Hernandez (24:16): So first off we start with the branding session questionnaire. I want to know everything about your brands. I want to know the colors. I want to know the fonts. I want to know your pain points that you've, that you solve for your clients. I want to know, you know, what are the top three things that people want to know about you or that you want to share with your audience? What is the feeling that you're looking for them to walk away with and how are you going to be using the photography? Then we go into, what is this section? What is this session specifically need to accomplish? What are the scenes that we need to have? I try to have, when I have people flying in, I take the brand and con in consideration when I'm recommending a hotel, because if we can get a hotel room that matches your brand, a lobby that matches your brand and just things around the hotel, we make it so much easier. By doing that is just having everything kind of in one place. And then we can get a large variety of photos. So I had a lady come in from LA and we had, we, you know, she needed some outdoor stuff because she's into essential oils and Reiki and things like that. And it was so funny because, you know, it's, it's October late October in Denver, thankfully still green. Thank goodness.

Terra Bohlmann (25:40): And

Jenn Hernandez (25:41): Yeah, we totally, we picked a park that she was like, absolutely. That would look like, I look like I could be an LA here. And you know, we, we got all this stuff done and it's snowed the next day. So it was like, the timing was perfect, but like we map all that out. Like, what are we, what are we looking to do? What's the shot list looked like she sent me her inspiration. I recreated the shot list with the visuals so that we had a printout of everything that we were looking to complete so we could check them off. You know, and then we would just kind of base it on that. So that would be considered like a VIP session. Usually I would have somebody stay overnight kind of depending on flight and arrangements and things like that. Because then we are also able to get different times of day and, and move around the city and do the things that we need to do.

Jenn Hernandez (26:29): The other thing that I've done for clients, which we've talked about me coming to Houston is I, I fly to locations all the time. So, you know, going to your location, then I need a little more of your help because you're local, I'm not local. So, you know, give me some ideas, some websites I can go to to see if something is going to fit the brand. And, you know, we just, we do a lot of research kind of ahead of time to make sure that everything has a flow. Everything has a purpose. And then we just go,

Terra Bohlmann (26:58): It's just so nice. And then it's just like, you know, Don, that's what I, that's what I love about it. Because unlike for me personally, like I have friends who are in a similar space as me, or just, you know, they do a ton of online marketing and they're getting photo shoots all the time and they love it. Like they're part of them make, it, makes them feel like they're like, I don't know, like a superstar for me. I like, like, okay, let's just get this done. It's a necessary, I don't want to say necessarily evil. Cause I don't, I don't like that, but I just said the term, but like what we're, you know what I'm thinking? Like, yeah. It's just something that has to be done.

Jenn Hernandez (27:38): It's essential in

Terra Bohlmann (27:39): Order to connect with your audience and whatnot and

Jenn Hernandez (27:44): Your audience, doesn't see you, like you see you and they love, they love to connect with you and how you really are. And when you show up like 100% real, you people will gravitate to that. Yeah.

Terra Bohlmann (28:00): And I was like, Jenn, in my questionnaire or whatever, it's like, w you know, what do you want to capture? I'm like, well, all my clients want to go faster. Hello. The fast track woman, the fast track mastermind, the fast track accelerator, the phone, like everything is fast track, like, and, you know, and I know we're all busy. We all, you know, a lot of it is sometimes we need to slow down in order to go faster. But, you know, I work with high achievers that like success yesterday, and there's nothing wrong with that. Like, we, we all have purpose. Right. we're there making up for lost time. So, you know, and I was like, I need to capture going faster. And she's like, okay, I got some ideas. So then I show up and it's like, okay, Terra hop on this scooter, you know, like, whatever, what are they called in Denver?

Terra Bohlmann (28:47): Like, no there's scooters, birds or lines, or they have, oh yeah. Pop on the scooter. And there's me like, ah, I'm going faster. Right. And then, oh, it's right in front of the train. So run to the train. Like we were at a union station. So there was like, ironically a train feminine, you know? And it was like, yeah. Fast track. Like, I was just like that's awesome. And I got my pictures back and and I was just more like, I can immediately use these, like, this is so cool. So as well as like the very casual ones too, and, you know, we just captured some really cool things that are, that feel in alignment because I'm excited to share it a, because they feel like authentically me in the past. I was a, I guess I just get pictures in the coffee shop kind of girl.

Terra Bohlmann (29:33): Cause that's what business coaches are doing. And that's more what I had a, me too brand with the blush that was my blush brand days. And I was like, in reality, it never resonated a, I've never worked in a coffee shop because it's loud. Like I can't, how do I talk to my clients? You know, like I had the main lectures on that didn't feel natural. You know, there was just so many things that were out of, I don't know, out of alignment and this just feels, and nobody can duplicate when you're authentically you. So exactly. I love it. Yeah. So it's awesome. Awesome. And you

Jenn Hernandez (30:09): Have such a great space in your house too. So when I get out there, we're definitely shooting

Terra Bohlmann (30:14): Like totally rearranged my entire office. It just feels so much more spacious and yeah. It's and I think it's something that's really special when you invite people to see what the inside of your home looks like. Like there's just something about, I don't know, level, it is a different level of intimacy where I know people who are like, yeah, I never let people see the inside of my house or whatever. And that can be for your whatever own security reasons, I guess. But

Jenn Hernandez (30:44): I suggest hotels because they can look kind of like a house they're homey. Yeah. You have a bedroom and a desk and you know, you can create the environment that you want to create to give, you know, cause I work with people all the time and they're like, I have a brand, but my house is not my brand. So that's where we, we help meld that disconnect is just find a hotel that speaks and screams you.

Terra Bohlmann (31:11): Yup. And then you step into that. Like for me, like I have been at this 10 years and I've now pretty much made my house, my brand. I mean, it's not a, if I could frame all my Chanel broaches, I'm working on that. Honestly, I told my husband the last time we went to Chanel, like on Saturday cause I just play the, just gonna put me up, present oil and he's like, all right. You know, we went to the Galleria and I'm like, and I'm like, here's the deal? 90% of the time I'll be like, show me the brunches, you know? Cause people think, oh, these broaches and you know, they only show what they have. Oh no, no. Here's the secret to the broaches and I'm spilling my secret for yeah. Yeah. Anyway, like you go in and you say, I would like to see all the broaches and then they will bring out boxes, approaches, and some have, you know, like if it's online, does that mean that every, sometimes that's like in Europe or, I mean, I have, like, my friends are flight attendants and you know, like they're looking all over the world, the broaches I get obsessed with, I have like a whole network.

Terra Bohlmann (32:17): And I even have my assistant sometimes calling the different places and whatnot to try to track them down. So I don't do vintage. I only do the new, but and so when I go in it's like it's hit or miss. And so, you know, I was like, honey, don't get stressed out, you know, cause he's very thrifty and he's just, and we call him thrifty. And you know, but he knows it makes happy. And so he's like, okay. And I'm like nine times out of 10, they don't have what I want anyway. Or it's embarrassing when I'm like, they bring out, I'm like, I have all those, you know, I know like that's, that's next level, next level bougie. But so they bring him out and there was this one, it was never online. It was never, but it was like, I it's my newest broach.

Terra Bohlmann (33:00): It says like has this double season that says Coco Chanel and the O's and Coco are pearls. It is heavenly. So I was like, whew. And then I instantly see it. And I'm like, you must come home in my broach box. Like it will make some people collect art. I collect brushes. And so then I love it. Then afterwards I was like, honey, don't you think? Like, because rather than having these boxes, because it's really because one of my boxes is getting full. And so I'm like, do I find another broach box? I would like to display them on the wall. Like they do at Chanel. Can, can we just have something with a light on it? Like I have this whole thing

Jenn Hernandez (33:38): And then you can open a habit. Open-Close yeah. That's beautiful. I love that.

Terra Bohlmann (33:43): I know. So that's kind of my next level of in-home branding is to bring it that level in there just about the every day. Yeah. So anyway, but I, you know, I'm the type of girl and this is what I tapped into gen for. Cause I like my broaches, but I also put them on a Levi Jean jacket, like I'm a Gemini, there's two sides. And a lot of us have multiple sides. We have our like professional side and then we have kind of our fun, normal every day. And what my struggle was in the corporate world is I always had to show up. I saw it as having two types of distinct personalities. I was at work. I had the power suit on, I had this, I had the, you know, this is what I wore and this is who I was. And then I would come home and be like, oh, it felt so good just to like chill. Well, like in your business, we can actually meld the two and you can have a personality. And like this took me seven years to learn this. So, and

Jenn Hernandez (34:47): To have fun in your pictures, it's okay. I give you the permission

Terra Bohlmann (34:52): Took me seven years. So if you're newer in business, Hey, just, just like grab onto this concept now and know that you're going to actually connect with more people if they see you as real. So that's your brand photography? It's, it's huge. I wish I would've known that instead of, I'll never forget my first, you know, brand photo shoot. It was like I had an intern because I always used to hire interns. I'd get them from like a college or something. Cause I necessarily quote unquote couldn't really afford you know, like super professional people. So I was like, oh, I'll train them. And so she had a friend who was a photographer and I was writing, I wrote a book called the Boston bunny slippers. So my whole concept was, and I was my own creative director. So here I am, what did I wear a black dress, which I would have worn in the corporate world. And then I bought these like $50 bunny slippers and it felt like I felt like such a rebel. And then I had my high heels behind me and my Bearnaise slippers. And I mean, it was like, you would have thought that was the most risque photo I could have ever taken in my life.

Terra Bohlmann (35:58): So I think I heard it recently when I found it, I was like a it's hilarious B. I was like super skinny, like wasting

Jenn Hernandez (36:04): Time. I remember seeing that. I do remember seeing that. That was amazing. Oh my gosh. I think that's a Testament to you as to how long you known branding photography for you is a big deal. Like yeah. You and I and people who make it a priority sooner than later. I, I feel like have success quicker and yeah, you just, you're, you're, you're giving yourself a bigger platform to connect with your audience when you're allowing yourself to show up you.

Terra Bohlmann (36:35): And it's a marketing expense ladies. Like, you know, a lot of the times we see it as oh, and it's like, well, you know what? You have to buy a certain props. So this and that, it's all a marketing expense. Right? I mean, talk to your CPA and accountant. I don't want to give you that kind of advice, but like, you know, that it ends your marketing budget because it's, it's a game changer. So so, and wrapping up a couple more questions for you. One, what do you, what do you tell the woman that's like, I hate my photos done because I know I work with like super smart, amazing women that will change the world, but like they don't want to get their pictures done.

Jenn Hernandez (37:13): I think it must be a type, a personality type of thing because almost every woman that I work with will say that to me. Okay. And then when they get their pictures back, they're like, oh my gosh, I love them. So just hold on. When you're working with the right person, you're going to love them. The difference too is when you're allowing yourself to really just show up as you, you it translates on camera. I don't know how to explain it. You know, if you're, if you're there and you're being posed and you're being told to like, stand this way and move this way until your head this way, you know, that, that shows up on your face, right. Versus just being able to move or just having conversation with someone and, and they're shooting. And then all of a sudden, you know, they're like, Hey, go with this or put your hand here, gimme some attitude or grab your hair or, you know, just all these different things.

Jenn Hernandez (38:09): You, it does, it just translates. And then, you know, again, finding somebody that you work with that has like that personality, I have always been of the mindset. That photos should be fun. I don't want people to feel like they're coming to the dentist when they're getting photos done by me. And then I feel like that's kind of the precedent that's been set in past for some people who haven't done it as much. But yeah, I know it should not be, it should be fun. You know, if you find the right professional, trust them, trust them.

Terra Bohlmann (38:41): There you go. And that's, that's the key, it's like a brand photographer should be part of your dream team, you know? And the more you find someone, you like, you work with them, you add it to the budget and whatever, and it's like, then you don't have to, you're not constantly having to like figure it out or you just get into a flow just like if you were to have a employee that you train and once you train them, it's like, okay, now it's like get into flow, you know? And that's what we want more and more of. So that's really, really cool. So if someone, but he was creating their, or redoing their website or, you know, if they, what are like the key images every women business owner needs to have.

Jenn Hernandez (39:25): So obviously you want to keep in mind the space you're looking to fill and the story you're looking to tell. So that drives everything else. I would say a big banner photo for the website is obviously something that you would need to have that needs to speak to you and your brand. And then a lot of extra white space for words kind of the basics when people just really have no idea and they just want like a base package. You're always gonna want to capture you working. So how do you work with clients? Is it on the computer? Is it on the phone? Is it FaceTime face to face? Do you write letters? Do you take notes? You know, just those kinds of things, get that, get those images as well. And then the, you know, if you're gonna be personal on your website, get the, get the three images of things that you want them to know about you. Is it you and your dogs? Is it you in your house? Is it you with coffee? Is it you with, you know, food? Whatever

Terra Bohlmann (40:29): Describing me. Yes. And when you come, it's like, it's going to be like, Terra, this is a brand photo shoot, not you and the Aussies. Okay.

Jenn Hernandez (40:39): Totally make a you in the Aussies. But yes, no. I mean, it's, it's just, it's really all about that. You know, knowing, knowing what it is you're wanting to communicate to your audience and just making sure you have those pictures. And then just, you know, again, making sure you have the room. So, you know, if you have this much space to fill in your image only, you know, I'm making my hands really big right now. Not that anybody can see me, but if you make it, if you're, if you have a tons of space on your, on your website and then you get this really, really tiny image you know, it's not gonna feel right. It's not gonna, it's not going to fit the space, so,

Terra Bohlmann (41:15): Okay. And she knows how to like put it on. She has a hus super high quality bougie camera that does cool things too. So it's like, you gotta have the right resolution. And like, so yeah. It's kind of the, yeah.

Jenn Hernandez (41:29): Yup, yup. Yeah. Always high resolution. Because you can always compress it. Can't expand

Terra Bohlmann (41:37): The makeup. You can always add, you can add to

Jenn Hernandez (41:40): Take away. Exactly. And I

Terra Bohlmann (41:42): Love it. No, this is so good. I'm like, I think I've like peppered your brain with like anything that I feel like a woman business owner would want to know about brand photography. I mean, budget wise, like for the year, I mean, that might say like, oh, this is great. Oh my gosh, if I'm going to fly there, Jenn's going to fly to me. You know, you know, that could sound, oh gosh, like super out of budget for somebody who's kind of in that growth stage of their business. I mean, you don't have to give your prices. I think your prices are amazing, but yeah. Taking a look at, from a budgetary standpoint, what would you say, like a typical women business owner who's in that growth stage of her business? What should she budget a year for images and photography?

Jenn Hernandez (42:24): Okay. I think reasonably, I mean, if you can find somebody local, you could probably get away with an annual budget of anywhere from 1500 to 2000. If you're flying somebody in or your flying someone in, then you have obviously a bit of a, you know, different expenses there. Yeah. And I would, I would say you could probably get away with around three to 5,000. Yeah.

Terra Bohlmann (42:48): I mean, and I'll tell you like, I've I spent like triple down. Yeah. And

Jenn Hernandez (42:53): I know there's people out there that, that pay a lot more money and get a lot less collateral. So that's something that, that would be one other thing that I would tell women to look for. It's not just style and price. You need to know what you get delivered. Because I I've seen a lot of branding photographers give five images. What are you supposed to do for a quarter with five images? You need to make sure that you are getting access to as much of your collateral as they can give you. Yeah. So, yeah,

Terra Bohlmann (43:26): Like I felt like, because I did my thing and then my, I, you know, she did some for my son, but like even the mini shoot package you have, you would give a high number of images and I'm like, yeah,

Jenn Hernandez (43:38): That is, it's like, I'm taking them there. You know, I'm taking them, you might as well have access. Right. And it was the other thing I would recommend for women that are just starting out. And if you're looking at having somebody come to you see if the photographer would allow for you to have one or two other people split the package out with you. So that you can split out the expense. There you go. That's another option.

Terra Bohlmann (44:05): Yeah. No, that's a really great idea. Or if you don't ask saying if you were, if they wanted to come to you, like bring a couple of you or a couple girlfriend business owners and share the hotel room and the whatever, and you know, there's ways that we can, we, women can be,

Jenn Hernandez (44:21): And then you have a built-in audience, wherever you go. If you're supposed to do one-on-one coaching, you can use your friend in the photo to be the person being coached and vice versa. So yeah,

Terra Bohlmann (44:31): There you go. Oh my gosh. We're giving all the ideas. Yeah. My best. [inaudible] What we do here on the podcast. But the one, my best tip that I felt like I'd be remiss if I didn't share that. I learned about brand photography coming from I've had like kazillion websites. I've spent a lot on branding photography, and a lot of that, like, I didn't, I did it because I was seeking clarity and I had more of a Frankenstein business model back then and I was doing it because I had a fear of showing up and being visible. So even having this podcast and putting it out there, I mean, it may seem like, oh, no big deal. I was, you know, whatever podcasts, but like that it's hard for me. And it was, it's easier. Now once you actually get into momentum, then it's not so scary anymore. But the first time I did it was so scary. So, you know, I've evolved. So like, as somebody who's probably, I mean, I've spent a lot, like I could have, I could pay from the new Mercedes that I want in what I've quote unquote learned about branding and all that process and websites and whatever.

Jenn Hernandez (45:40): But a good person to ask is like, what should I not do? And what

Terra Bohlmann (45:46): Should I do? I do. And then what's the biggest lesson I learned too, when I am thinking of going and doing like a photo shoot, like I will purchase clothes or pull from my closet of colors that match my brand. Yeah. Or neutral. Like we always need us in the white shirt. Cause we're going to put it on a black background, you know, like stick to neutrals or pepper and your brand colors, or like a necklace or whatever. Like, and this still bothers me. So I I the brand shoe I did with Jenn, it says like vacation vibes or something on it. And it was like a blue shirt. And I went to Kendra, I love Kendra Scott jewelry. So I went to Kendra Scott and I had bought a matching necklace and earrings and probably the bracelet. Cause that's, I'm crazy like that. And then I forgot at the show. I was like, that would have been cuter with my Kendra Scott blue necklace. I know. Right. So we're going to have to get out again and go somewhere where it looks at vacation. Right. So, yeah. So it's like you think of your you know, your shot list and work with your brand photographer and have it be on point with your brand like this. It was a bit like, and then just

Jenn Hernandez (47:03): Get it all in one place. Like just have everything stacked together so that it's just there and ready to go. And this is why you give yourself some leeway time, right? You don't, you don't call one day and you're shooting the next, you need some time to get stuff together. So, and I'm

Terra Bohlmann (47:18): A systems, girl, you're a systems person too, but I'm a girl. If I can save time and money and whatever. And like 90% of my closet is black, like love black clothes. And it's just, I don't have to think about it. Right. And black makes you skinnier. So there's nothing wrong with it. And I'll pepper in, I have some blue and the reds that go with my colors and then some tans and whites. So it's like, I just, really, my eyes are drawn when I go into go shopping, I'll go to Zara. It's like my eyes just go there. And then one time someone's like, you have to wear bright colors. So this like mastermind. And I was like, I don't even own, I had to go buy a hot pink dress because I didn't have, I don't even have money. So, but it just, and it makes everything more cohesive and it's just so fantastic. So anyway,

Jenn Hernandez (48:10): To your images, if you're doing neutral and you're doing things that are true to your brand, you could use the images for a while.

Terra Bohlmann (48:17): Yep. And when I did more trendy brands, which would mean, so you know, my, I just my blush years and it was like, you know, I had blushed a year or two before it became popular at target. So it was like, then once it's at target, your brand colors are kind of like, alright, well, crap, I to move on. But you know, so I got a couple of seasons out of it, but then you have to go get your brand photography. And then I had my CLA my closet was blushed at this. I'm like, I don't even look good in blush. And then I was like, new brand is going to be classic airline colors from vintage back in the day. It is never going to go to style. Right. And so we have to learn this and please learn from me on what not to do, but I love it. We can talk about brand photography for like, I don't know, 18 hours, but wrapping up two things. How can people find out more about you?

Jenn Hernandez (49:12): So I have my website, which you mentioned earlier is Jenn Hernandez, photography with two ends. And I'm also out on Instagram. So same handle it's at Jenn Hernandez, photography. I'm there and I'm on there a lot. So DME, I've got my contact information there. If you just want to have a conversation, then I'm here. I love it.

Terra Bohlmann (49:34): I love it. So definitely check out our website. There's some really cool you know, she has a great portfolio on there and just your site's amazing. And on Instagram you are just like all about it. So it's awesome. And

Jenn Hernandez (49:46): I'm a quote junkie too. So you'll get to learn about me through my quotes as well. I

Terra Bohlmann (49:50): Love that. And I love how supportive you are of your clients. Cause she's always sharing her clients photos as like stories and stuff. And it's like not many people do that. And so you're a major supporter of women, which I love yes. Try to do the

Jenn Hernandez (50:04): Same. Cause we all rock and we all need a little cheerleader. Sometimes

Terra Bohlmann (50:09): There is exactly. And there's no competition. There's plenty for all of us. So let's just do it. And then the final question I ask everyone that I interview on the podcast is it's called the fast track woman. Right? What advice do you have for the woman that you wish you would've known? Cause you've been in business for awhile that would have helped fast track your own success.

Jenn Hernandez (50:34): Start listening to the little voice that tells, you know, so what I mean by that is when you're first starting out, you want to take on everyone as a client. You want to serve everyone. You, you haven't narrowed it down. You haven't niched down, allow yourself to do that and allow yourself to say no, because you'll save so much headache by not working with the wrong people work only with the right people. Yes. That's my suggestion

Terra Bohlmann (50:59): Is so true. And like at first we want to, cause we don't want to say no. And for me I'm a people pleaser, which is like even more so like I would get clients, I get eight type a clients cause I'm type a, but I've learned to have high expectations for Terra, but I have lower expectations for everyone else. So when they would come in with high expectations, it would be, and I would be like, and then I would like want to double people please. And like those clients take so much stress and time and energy that it doesn't open up space for the right people that

Jenn Hernandez (51:32): Well, and then not getting your best in your genius because you're, you're going for the, you're going for the please and the win versus the big picture help. And the, you know, the really just getting them there. So it's okay to say no.

Terra Bohlmann (51:46): And I was like, and I'm not saying I'm the world's best client for you, but I could just say like I was thinking about it when you're like, you sat over my portfolio and I was like up, I even picked my son's and later he's like, why didn't you let me pick? I'm like, cause I need pictures for a Facebook thing. And you know, so I like picked all the pictures, sent them and like done and it was done. Right. And versus I would imagine some people fast surprise, surprise, surprise. But I would imagine like probably a not good fit client would be like, oh my gosh, I just don't like my hand in that photo or my route or showing, or I, you know, like, can you take this? And you could go. And you're like, oh my gosh, like a shoot that should have taken me an hour to plan an hour to do. And maybe an hour to edit. It has, now this is, you know, taken three days to just make this person happy, not a good fit client, the same way. As like, when I had a website business, it would be like websites, never, like they're never done, you know? So it's like

Jenn Hernandez (52:48): They're perpetually growing.

Terra Bohlmann (52:50): Exactly. So yeah, I was like, and that's my practice business. So she's so right about that advice is let's, you know, listen to your gut, your, you know, your heart, your whatever. And if it's a no, that's okay, you can always refer them to someone else. But when you

Jenn Hernandez (53:09): Can't imagine the space that you're opening for the right people, when you do say no, I think, I think it's just like, I believe it's, God's way of testing me and my have I really learned the lesson and am I really reeling and able to trust that the things will come? Yeah, yeah.

Terra Bohlmann (53:28): Yeah. My bestie Kelly always tells me that where I'm like Kelly in mine is about like having a girlfriend, like friends, you know? And it's like, I will attract people who like, you know, I'm like, I just want to make good friends and then like, it gets off kilter. Right. And you're just like, but I don't want to like let go of the friendship. And, but yet I feel like a little bit used. And like, it's this whole thing that is really started in fourth grade for me, that is like this recurring pattern. And I, you know, we'll just make this therapy session now at this point on the podcast, but I'll tell my friend Kelly, I'm like, it happens again. And she's like, okay, so you haven't learned your lesson yet. So that's why,

Jenn Hernandez (54:11): And I'm like, it will keep showing up until you learn your lesson. So now I see the markers learn fast, fail, fast, fail fast, another way. And now

Terra Bohlmann (54:21): I'm like, I can, yeah. I wish you all the best and I can love you from over here, but I'm not going down that path again. So yes, I love it. So this has been so fantastic. Thank you so much, Jenn, for sharing all your insights and amazing this and all that good stuff. So definitely check her out at Jenn Hernandez, photography.com two NS, and you'll find all kinds of awesome stuff on her site. So until next time,

Jenn Hernandez (54:46): Thank you, Jenn. Thanks for having me. Bye.

Outro (54:52): And there you have it. Another jam packed episode of the fast-track woman podcast. Don't forget to visit Terra Bohlmann.com where you can get more business tips and strategies learn how we can work together to accelerate your business success or access this podcast. Episode show notes with a full transcript and links to resources mentioned today. And if you enjoyed this podcast, I invite you to leave a review so that we can help serve more women business owners like you until next time here's to owning your time and valuing your word.