I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten in trouble for wanting to understand what was going on behind closed doors, tight lipped secrets, or silent systems. I also don’t know how many times I’ve been told to “mind my own business”, “stop being a sticky- beak”, or have been told, “don’t you know curiosity killed the cat”. Well guess what, I’m not a cat. Now I’m not condoning gossip, what I am condoning is the need for us to be radically and uncomfortably curious.  In this current climate it is imperative for us to get radically curious. When something makes us uncomfortable, our natural re ..read more

If you’ve been alive any decent period of time, you’ve seen more change than probably at any other time in history. You don’t have to be that old to remember when your information had to come from other people or a library rather than the internet! It’s really not that long ago. Really. 30 years ago nobody had heard of the internet, 15 years ago there was no such thing as Facebook! Remember the days when we had giant yellow books giving us a list of businesses? OK, now I feel old. Immediate, ongoing connectivity has had a profound impact on society, and, it seems to me, the consequen ..read more

“Branding is for products. Also, for cattle. People-even artists- aren’t products. You may make things, but you aren’t a thing. Resist the temptation to climb into a perfectly-crafted brand identity. Instead, practice claiming your whole self- your wild, weird, ever-changing, ever-learning, mistake-making, beautiful/ awful whole self, something so much more powerful and honest than a brand.”- Shauna Neiquist  Recently I can’t escape from the word “Authenticity”.  It’s like every blog, Instagram post, book, and talk show is talking about Authenticity. I’ve loved it. It’s a ..read more

THE IMPRESSION ON OTHERS When you spend any decent period of time around other people – like family, school, work, church, clubs etc – who you are leaves an impression on that group. The longer you are in that group, the deeper the impression that you leave. If you’ve been there for a long time and then suddenly, you’re not … the people in that group sense your presence missing. That impression is the idea of you that you leave other people with. It may not be who you are, it may not be who you think you are – and it’s likely to be slightly different for each person. When who you actually are ..read more

Where do you stand on the whole “Buy Cheap and Often” or “Buy Expensive and Rarely” debate? Whether it’s a nice pair of shoes, a new jacket, or maybe even a first car, we approach our buying decisions somewhere along this spectrum. Perhaps we even range along this spectrum depending on the context (or financial pressure) in which we are making our purchasing decisions. When I was younger, I was quite happy with an “on the cheap” first car … but then again, that car didn’t last long. These days I just want a reliable vehicle that is going to survive my children – even though it costs more! INT ..read more

PLEASE STEP INTO THE BOX WE HAVE PRE- PREPARED FOR YOU We live in a society that wants us to fit into nice, neat categories. Categories make life simpler for controlling people. Set up a category, claim your adherents, throw stones at the other categories! Just look at the Mummy wars that rage online … Breast vs Bottle-fed, Organic vs leftover Maccas chips on the floor of the mini-van! Or, more broadly, Normal vs Weird, Left vs Right, Conservative vs Progressive, Male vs Female. Life is so much “simpler” when you can manufacture an identity that is made up of a set of dogmatic ideas. Same vs D ..read more

What do you think is the most valuable part of your business??? Spreadsheets? Important, but probably not the most valuable. How about your product? Getting warmer. What about your client base? Still important but we’re not there yet. Can you guess? ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ The very most important part of your business is … YOU! If you are anything like me, this is probably a very uncomfortable idea. On one hand, we realise that we are the very core of our business, but on the other hand, there’s a whole life time of self-talk saying we’re not important. Perhaps we’ve picked up from others tha ..read more

Your online imagery is often the first impression your potential clients have with you and your brand. Because of this, it is important that your headshot and branding photography convey approachability and openness. There are a few techniques that we use to achieve a final image that is relatable and approachable to your potential clients. Open communication and support before the day of the shoot. Most people we work with don’t enjoy being in front of the camera. In order to achieve the best imagery on the day we provide a Client Guide that is brimming with information and tips to help cl ..read more

The yellow glow of summer sunshine. The smell of sunscreen. The sticky feeling of drippy ice cream cones. Summer is full of memories and emotional connection. The warm weather sends us outside looking for cool water, and sandy memories. Something about the extreme temperatures make memories a bit more sticky in the subconscious. These sticky memories are an amazing opportunity for businesses to tie their brand with emotions that are already deep seated in their clients. A brand that presents itself as warm and approachable will outshine their competitors. Capitalising on summer memories is a ..read more

Change the World! That’s the goal! It’s definitely a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), but here at Life as Art Photography we believe that we all have the power to change the world. Change is like a ripple of water. It starts with us as individuals, which then changes our families, which then changes communities, which changes nations, which changes the world. At Life as Art Photography the way we change the world is by challenging the superficial. We challenge superficial stereotypes revealing authentic truths that empower and uplift both the viewers and the subject of our imag ..read more