Fausts USA Karate: Fairport NY Personal Brand Photographers

Full disclosure, we’ve been members at Fausts USA Karate since 2019. Having taken classes myself and watched my child grow through the ranks has been pretty rewarding.

However, I’m pretty sure that the the last headshots they had taken were in another decade, so they were due for an update. They’ve just updated their website, and were looking to update their branding photographs rather than use stock photography, like other dojos might do.

By mixing updated portraits with candid class photographs on the pages of their website, they help potential students see themselves in the class in their minds. Branding photography takes a boring stock photograph and makes it real to a viewer. This will help Fausts, an already successful karate dojo, continue to grow and adapt in an ever changing world.

Check out some of their update photographs below, and their new website at: Fausts USA Karate

Look great in pictures without retouching: Fairport NY Photographers

PS: It's not what you think.

If you ask us about retouching, you may see us cringe. It’s not because we don’t know how, or that we’re not good at it. In fact, some have called us Photoshop wizards.

No, it’s not that. Rather, we prefer to see everyone the way they are, and celebrate that real, honest beauty.

What’s more beautiful than confidence?

So you want to look good in your photos. Who doesn't?
Here are our top tips to look good.

1. Confidence. Radical self love. Acceptance. Whatever you want to call it: if you feel good on the inside, it shows on the outside. So take care of yourself! If that means getting your nails done, do it. If it means going for a run, do it. If it means listening to your favorite music on the way to your session, DO IT! Find what makes you feel really you, and bring that beautiful you to your session.

2. Choose an outfit that makes you feel good. This doesn't mean you have to wear what's trending, high heels, or all black, it just means wear something that makes you smile. Flaunt the parts of you that you love and don’t stress the parts that you don't.

3. Trust your photographer. (that's us!) Through lens choices, angles and positioning, we emphasize your best features, naturally reducing the rest.

   Remember: The eyes say it all. If you are truly present, happy, and connected, no one is looking anywhere else.

In both of these photos, my eyes go straight to Erin’s face. With a twist of her body, thoughtfully placed hands, good light and a fun prop, we have a 3/4 length portrait with the emphasis on her smile.

Why do we hate retouching so much?

1. It assumes we think you need it. We think all people are beautiful, and our differences make us special.

2. It assumes we know what you want to look like. Appearance is a very personal thing. Our preferences may be the opposite of yours. If you want something retouched, we need you to be specific about what that is for you.

3. Where do you draw the line? How many pounds or years do you want to take off? 1, 5, 20? It is very subjective, and if you have found our work, I assume you like the natural feel of our images.

This is example of going to far (in my opinion). On the left, I softened the bags under my eyes (hey, I have a toddler.) On the right, I smoothed away all evidence of skin texture to create an unrealistic glow. I could have even gone farther and added makeup, but then no one would recognize me.

So what do we do?

We'll remove acne (we assume no one wants to remember that) and subtly brighten teeth. Other than that, not much unless you ask for it.

Braces are optional, but lately, more folks have opted to keep them in their pictures. If you’ve got concerns about shape, we discuss that in advance and choose clothes and poses that flatter. As for wrinkles, beauty marks and hair, we don’t touch them unless you ask.

So tell us... do you love yourself just the way you are, or do you want to look 20 years younger?

Because we think you are beautiful.

Love, Lori & Erin

I adore freckles like Mallory’s! (above) My niece, Grace, hates hers.

Personal Branding Mini Sessions: Rochester NY Brand Photography

Some of our favorite entrepreneurs just gained a fantastic collection of branding images.

All it took was saying “yes” to a 15 minute personal brand mini session.

We had some great female entrepreneurs show up from various occupations - SEO specialist, marketing strategy, college administrators and even a fellow branding photographer!

What’s great about this space, is that we were able to create great branding portraits and headshots for every person that came, because there are a variety of backgrounds that range from fun and funky to board room business.

In just 15 minutes, you could revamp the images on your whole website. For example - shortly after we delivered Kristi Mitchell’s images, we saw them on her website, and we have to say, the pictures fit her brand perfectly! (See what we mean below.)

Or, you could create a library of images you can use on social media to talk about your brand. The options for using brand photography are endless.

Check out more of our favorites from the branding mini sessions at Do or Dye Beauty and Barber Shop below!

Our Fairport NY Headshots and Personal Branding Session: Behind the Scenes

Yes, we are photographers, so you might be thinking, why didn’t you take your headshots and branding pictures yourselves? The main reason is that it’s pretty hard to get us both in photographs together. But there are other perks to hiring someone from outside your circle.

We choose to work with Sarah Heppell Photography out of Syracuse. Along the way, we discovered some unexpected benefits of working with Sarah and her team.

1. Outside Perspective on our Business. As much as we love, and are good at, helping others create a plan for their business headshots and branding sessions, we struggled with planning our own. Even though we have a strong social media presence and regularly have new photos to post (granted, more of clients than of ourselves), we had trouble focusing in on what would help people connect to us. Going through this process helped draw that out of us in a way that hasn’t been done before.

2. Efficiency. We think of great shots all the time, but shooting them one at a time would be an inefficient use of time. By brainstorming several locations and themes in advance, we captured them all in one day, and now have several months worth of content to share. It was more work upfront and requires planning, but worth it to have so much ready to go, especially during the busy summer season!

3. Fresh eyes. We stare at the walls of our offices all day long, so it can be hard to see them in a new way. Fresh eyes from someone who hasn’t seen them, we knew Sarah would see things in a different way.

These are all the things we offer our clients, and Sarah was able to offer them to us. So pop on over to Instagram to see how we are using these photos, and if it gets your idea factory running, give us a call or check out how we can do the same for you!

Business Branding Portraits: Rochester NY Photographers

Commercial portraiture isn't something we do every day, but we get the opportunity every once in awhile. When we do, It's fun to come up with different ideas for businesses like S&T Bank to use in their marketing materials.

We've visited this office on a few occasions now to work on different portrait options. This time, they wanted to incorporate the atmosphere of their downtown office location. With great exposed brick walls to use, their downtown Rochester location provided the right atmosphere for their needs.

Looking for ways to show off your business and it's great people regularly? Get in touch, let's talk!

~ Erin