Thoughts: Brave new girl

Alright, so anyone who knows me AT ALL can vouch for the fact that I hate pictures. Like, hatethem. To the point where there has to be some deep-rooted psychological thing going on, and I probably need to have my dreams evaluated, or something.

That being said, I still sometimes take pictures, and pose for pictures, and have the common human desire to look so effortlessly photogenic if I ever am caught in a picture. I’m not the girl who takes selfies or consolidates everyone around their pretty cocktails for a group photo. I’m not the girl who takes her phone out to take a picture of every amazing meal she eats, and have quite literally forgotten to do this DOZENS of times since I started this blog (shout out to all my “friends” who promise to remind me and then completely forget the second there’s food and drinks in their faces…).

I say all this to say that I would never, ever do a photo shoot.

Until now.

I did a photo shoot.

Guys. I did a photo shoot.

In line with my year of realizing stuff/bettering myself/being as dope as I can be, I decided it was time to update my online brand. As in, establish one in the first place. As a marketer by day, I appreciate the value of having a good brand. As a networking junkie, I know how important it is for people to getwhat you’re about, and why they should care. And, like many of us, I was guilty of using the only head shot I’d ever taken – like, six years ago – as my LinkedIn picture.

I’m not on a bunch of social media sites (although, I will be ramping up my very first Instagram in the near future!), but this blog and LinkedIn and the picture I use for guest posts and my Pinterest profile and my Twitter all had different looks and feels. That is irresponsible branding, people! So, I decided I wanted to try and do better, to make my online “personality” feel less like a crazy preteen hormonal mood swing, and instead come across as one thematically similar human everywhere my name pops up.

I decided the first/best/easiest/simplest way to start that process was visually. And, fortunately, I have a friend who does freelance photography (@marcinhd on Instagram if you’re in the NYC-area and need some pics), and was down to create some art together! So off we went into the wild (industrialized) blue (Big) yonder (Apple).

Included some of my favorites below!

I will be honest, I was SO nervous. And I’ll be honest again – I am SO glad I did this, anyways. Aside from just the pics, and aside from getting to shout out my friend and hopefully get him a couple more potential clients, I think it’s good to be this kind of uncomfortable sometimes. The kind that makes you better in the ways that you don’t see immediately, like swallowing a horse pill or starting a new diet.

Maybe that’s what this all is? My new confidence diet. (Pizza allowed.)

Xo Charlene