3 things to do now to break free of yoga studios as a teacher
I am a wellness and personal branding photographer and before that I was a full time yoga teacher.
I went through the grind of teaching for studios, running across London, chasing private students in order to make ends meet. I am fortunate enough that my photography business took off and I was able to take a step back. Here is my advice for yoga teachers.
What to do when you get into your own head for posing for asana
If you’ve ever asked someone to take pictures of you whilst practicing asanas, you might have noticed that sometimes the mind freezes and you run out of asanas to think of!
It is a perfectly normal phenomenon that I have noticed throughout my photoshoots.
Here is some advice I have gathered to help you get out of your own head when that happens.
Croatia
I seem to have forgotten the primary usage of blogs and was wondering where to share my travel pictures … Well here goes.
I went to Croatia back in April and those are my favourite images.
Branding photoshoot for Emerald Peseah
Emerald is the first of my clients (and so far only) who got in touch through Tiktok.
We met on a steamy hot day in London to take branding pictures in an even steamier studio. The heat made us change our setting and move things around and I am so glad we did because the pictures turned out dreamier than what I had originally planned.
Branding photoshoot for Sally Connor
Sally and I have been insta friends for a few years. I write and share a lot about my eating disorder recovery on my yoga instagram and I think this is how Sally found me. We have had many conversations about body dysmorphia, fatphobia within the yoga industry, and all things ED recovery.
She reached out to me for a photoshoot months before the actual date - to get mentally ready. To hold herself accountable. And on the day of the photoshoot … She smashed it.
Branding photoshoot for Axelle Calixte
Axelle is a tattoo artist living in Brussels who needed pictures to represent all sides of her as well as her business. We decided to create different concepts for her branding photoshoots. We worked together to find what atmosphere she wanted to convey and I’m so happy with the results.
3 places to go in Ischia, Italy
For someone who has taken up Spanish as a third language, I travel an awful lot to Italy. I picked the beautiful island of Ischia upon researching where to go with my mum.
Branding shoot for Angie Brand
Angie used to run a yoga studio at the heart of Deptford in London. I was lucky enough to teach there for a few month, before Angie made the decision to close it. She decided to pivot and develop her personal brand instead. She now specialises in pain management and injury prevention, because of how her practice transformed the last few years. She wanted to showcase the personal care she puts into her 1:1 consultations, and cover all sides of her business including what is going on behind the scenes. Here is the result!
3 standing poses that look good in pictures
Continuing my series of poses that look good on pictures - to help my lovely teacher friends getting stage fright when put in front of a camera!
When in doubt, bind
My second favourite thing to photograph after backbends are binds of all sorts: Marichyasanas, bird of paradise, baddha parsva konasana ... The possibilities are endless. Here is a mix of my favourite. Plus find my free asana posing guide.
How I practice the Niyamas as a yoga photographer
I’m continuing on my philosophical and spiritual exploration of how I use yoga in my business as a yoga photographer.
How to prepare for your branding photoshoot
Here are my top tips for preparing for your yoga business photoshoot to make the most of our time together.
How do I deal with the fact that I hate what I see in pictures?
A question I have been asked quite fair bit as someone who suffers from body dysmorphia is “how to deal with what I perceive as negative emotions when I see myself on a picture” or in other words, “how do I deal with the fact that I hate what I see?”
3 myths that prevent you from booking a yoga photoshoot
I need to be good at asana to have my picture taken… The same way you don’t need to be “good” at asana to be a teacher or a practitioner, same goes for a photoshoot. We take these pictures in order to be credible and visible when we put ourselves out there as teachers - it means that you want to show up authentically to find your people.
How to choose the right photographer
I know it’s tempting to go for the cheapest option - that’s how I used to think before I got used to invest in my own business. But working with a person you trust ultimately saves money.
If you pick the cheapest photographer, chances are you are going to be disappointed with the images of someone who is either overworked because not charging enough, or inexperienced. Then you will have to take more pictures, and pay more money. So how do you choose?
4 myths about using photography for your business
Over the course of my career I was met with different reactions to the idea of having your picture taken in order to promote something such a yoga teacher - the idea of “branding” can seem somewhat incongruous when talking about teaching yoga.
How I practice the Yamas as a yoga photographer
I don’t think I ever expected to put “Yoga Photographer” as my job title - and yet here we are. I started yoga as a movement practice, and like many of us it became the gateway to what is now my spiritual practice. And if there’s anything to know about any spiritual practice, it’s that they are not separate from life: they ARE life. So I try to apply this philosophy to the way I conduct my life, and to the way I conduct my business. Here are some of the things I implement to work in line with my value system.
3 inversion variations that look great in photos
So I have the controversial opinion that straight legs inversions don’t look great on pictures - of course there are exceptions in my eye but I prefer working with leg variations, which usually have the benefits to be “easier” (well, except for the last one).
How to bring a photographer on your retreat
I’ve run retreats of my own and have been a photographer on others. I’ve been on the back end of painful number crunching, excel sheeting, advertising yoga retreat preparation and planning and I’ve made mistakes as a photographer and as a teacher. So if you’re thinking of bringing a photographer on your retreat, here a few things to consider…
3 backbends that look great in photos
Over the last few years of taking pictures of yoga teachers across the UK I’ve noticed the same thing happens every single time: The teacher forgets every single yoga asana they know! Because it can be a bit intimidating to be in front of a camera, the brain freezes - trust me it happened to me too. So I’ve decided to put together a little series of posts about poses that I think look good on camera, based on my experience as a yoga photographer in London.