Leave your ego at the door.
That’s it. That’s the single most important thing.
One of the biggest reasons people don’t get the photos they want?
They’re in their head the entire time. Obsessing over how they look.
And when that happens, their personality never comes through. The authenticity doesn’t land.
You’re going to be nervous. You are going to feel like a twat.
That’s part of the process. I’ve worked with hundreds of women — and the same pattern shows up. They arrive tense. Unsure. Twenty minutes in, they’re laughing barefoot in a field or channelling their CEO energy on a rooftop-looking like a boss, but feeling light as an overdressed, child like fairy. That shift? Comes from dropping the performance.
The first 10–15 minutes of any shoot are about you and your photographer finding each other — energetically. It’s invisible but critical. You need to settle into a middle ground where you’re not “performing,” but present.
From there, your only job is to enjoy yourself. That’s the mantra I give my clients:
👉 “My only job is to enjoy myself. I just need to show up.”
Posing? Here’s the truth:
I operate 80–90% posing, 10% “being caught.”
Some people can’t pose — and that’s okay. They’ll only be captured in movement or transition.
Personally, I don’t like any photos where I’m looking directly at the camera. You’ll never see one. It’s just not me.
Some people can do that, and it works beautifully for them.
But if you’re someone who can’t — don’t force it.
When I need to pose, I channel someone I know is great at it. I pretend to be them.
Pick the right photographer — and I mean this:
Find someone who not only understands your vision, but wants to amplify it. Push it. Make it bigger.
If they’re not excited about what you’re creating — they’re not your photographer.
And make sure they’re bossy.
You shouldn’t have to figure it out.
It’s not your job to know what to do with your chin, your hands, your jawline, or your eyes.
It’s their job to micromanage the entire thing.
If I walked into a reformer Pilates class and the instructor said, “Go on then, get on with it,” I’d walk right out.
So why would a photoshoot be any different?
Styling Is 80% of Your Shoot — Act Like It
Styling is 80% of the shoot. Your props — your laptop, your book, whatever — are the other 20%.
But they won’t carry it.
Your branding should show up loud.
If your brand is pink and red? Go all in on pink and red. Exaggerate it. Make it theatrical.
This is not the moment to be neutral.
This is the moment to be a bold, exaggerated version of your brand.
The wrong photographer will let you perform and keep smiling and clicking. The right one will pull you out of your head, mid-shoot, and say ‘Let’s change things up.’ That’s who you want.
Final tip: Power posing is not fluff.
We start every shoot with power poses. Why?
Because it lowers cortisol, and raises testosterone — your risk-taking hormone.
And visibility is a risk. Especially for women.
When testosterone rises, the body says: “We can handle this.”
That’s the energy shift that changes everything.
Want real photos?
Drop the ego. Trust the process. Get bossed around. Literal surreder which I get the boss girls hate-but secretly we want someone to hold it-so.
And let yourself be seen — properly.
