If you’ve followed us for a while you’ve probably realized that we have a love-hate relationship with Instagram! We LOVE for the connection we have with our friends and fam (AKA you), but we don’t love the amount of posts it takes to keep up with that eye-catching feed. How do these cute influencers keep up???
Whether you’re a mom blogger, entrepreneur, or business owner, you understand the unending need to create content that can be used for the long haul. But the real question is… how do you do it without having to book a professional photographer? And how can you make the process as PAINLESS as possible?
As business owners and moms, we are constantly juggling a million things, and the pressure of ALWAYS needing new photos and content to post can be SO draining.
…Well that WAS all true, until recently! Our BFF, and portrait photographer extraordinaire, Erin Blackwell (who is the genius photog behind for all of our BA TEAM photoshoots) dropped the most awesome guide revealing all of her secrets to taking LEGIT photos of yourself (that you actually like) all in one ebook!
The Get The Shot Guide has been life changing for us, and we want to share exactly how we utilized the guide to create TONS of awesome content in just a couple hours—-by ourselves—–using an iphone!
Friends, this guide is a game changer and it spells out exactly how to achieve the best shots, with the least amount of time and energy. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it’s the real deal, and we put it to the test.. In this blog post, you will get our take on the GET THE SHOT GUIDE, and how we used it to create loads of great content for Instagram.
Read on to see how we used it to create some of our favorite photos.
How we put the Get The Shot Guide to the test, from start to finish!
We purchased the Get the Shot Guide for $27, which is ridiculously cheap when you see what’s inside! It came in a downloadable PDF form, so while you could print it and carry it with you, we decided to add it to our iBooks so it’s on our phone and right at our side at all times!
First impressions are EVERYTHING, and right away we were blown away with the valuable information in this ebook. Whether you are just getting started in the world of social media, or veterans like us, there is so much incredible info in the guide that will help you on your way.
First things first though… Erin begins the guide with a lesson in understanding the importance of branding and HOW TO BE YOUR BRAND, If you’re a baby business owner, you just got the BEST advice to get your business off on the right foot — so definitely don’t skip this section, it’s what the Kardashians would call “BIBLE”.
The 3 P’s- Planning, Posing, and Posting
Ready to have your mind blown? According to one of the facts from the Get the Shot Guide, customers who have an emotional connection with a brand increase revenue by 23% and have 3x great lifetime value. In lay-womans terms, that means adding more cash in your pocket by showing UP as the face of your company!. So for us, that was reason enough to validate our need for this, and hopefully for you that’s reason enough to get your face in front of the camera and become your brand.
Showing our faces on camera, in posts, and through our content, makes a HUGE difference in engagement and has really helped us grow our following over the last several years.
While we felt pretty confident about being the face of our brand, we definitely wanted info about creating fresh content, which led us to the very next section of the Get the Shot Guide- how to PLAN, POSE, and then POST the right content and pics for the gram.
So this is where we jumped in using the guide and discovered the method to getting the shot right every single time… and that begins with getting the right outfit!
Picking outfits is always one of the hardest parts about doing photoshoots, especially with two of us. And even though we’ve all heard that wearing black is the slimming, we were mind blown to learn from the guide that wearing black (in a photoshoot) can actually add bulk and make you even appear bigger than you actually are — yeah we know, we ALSO just spit out our coffee!!
Erin gives you the professional secrets to planning your shoot from:
- How to pick outfits
- Choosing your location
- Prepping your shot list
- Beauty tips
- Camera equipment and more
And our personal fave in this guide is exactly how to POSE yourself to look your best on camera–every time!
You will get all of her expert posing tips for any and every body type to put your best self forward to look amazing in every shot.
A fun sidenote: Camille got to help Erin take pictures for this guide at the end of quarantine. So yes, she got a sneak peek from the JUMP, and she has been a huge fan-girl EVER since!
[PIC OF POSING BEFORE and POSING AFTER}
Now, do you want to know the secret to nailing photos while walking? You know that famous blogger strut walking down the sidewalk looking all sophisticated and cute? Well, apparently you need to walk in a certain pattern! There is a secret walking trick that will feel totally awkward but gives you the cutest walking photos EVERY TIME! Yeah, we didn’t know this either until we got the Get The Shot Guide.
I mean the proof is in the pictures. Just a few simple body movements and Wha–la! You can go from frumpy to flattering in ANY photo.
Camera Ready Hair and Makeup
This comes as no surprise to us, but it’s nice when a professional photographer like Erin (who has been in the business of making people look beautiful on camera) confirms that hair and makeup are important for getting good photos! In the guide she shares some of her timeless tips for hair and makeup that never fail to get results.
For this shoot we both applied our versions of our No Filter Necessary makeup look, because our BA signature techniques shared in the NFN course work GREAT for portraits!
The Photoshoot: Mission Accomplished
For us the true test of using the guide was to see if we could create a BUNCH of content in a short window of time, using just tips from the guide, and our iphones.
So with two basic locations (downtown and Lindsey’s house), coffee cups as props, and 3 different outfits, we were able to GET THE SHOT- and by that I mean LOTS of shots. We were able to get multiple shots in just a couple hours, and had time to spare! Seriously, if we weren’t there we wouldn’t even know they were created on the same day.
We took turns taking photos of each other using both the tips for the photographer and the posing guide. Fortunately, our surroundings made the perfect tripod (like a big potted plant and a newspaper stand) and we got some AMAZING photos together using the timer.
And even though there is a list of technology and a section about equipment, we didn’t use anything except our iphones. That’s right…you don’t need any special equipment.
Our entire morning was SO FUN and our mission was accomplished. Three unique locations, three outfits, and hundreds of photos that we can use for months!
And What About Those Bonuses?
When we purchased the Get The Shot Guide we also received:
- Two behind the scenes posing commandment videos
- Facebook Live Q&A video
- PDF on what to do with a reluctant photographer
- Working with kids and pets tips sheet
- Mini-guide to nailing our selfies
- Posing commandments PDF
Don’t just take our word for it…
We are SUPER excited to see your LOVELY faces using this guide. We can already see the confidence you will have and the amount of time you will save with it. Without any hesitation, we can say this guide was a game-changer for our branding and social media.
Go check it out or buy the Get The Shot Guide HERE. Make sure you tag #gettheshoteb and @bamkeupcompany on Instagram so we can see you using it!
