Branding Photography & Headshots | San Diego Photographer

January is cold on the beach, and, this year, really stormy! So what is a San Diego beach photographer to do?

Answer: Avoid the beach at all costs and do something INDOORS! I got my business mastermind group together, and we made a day of refreshing our headshots. As self-employed entrepreneurs, it’s important to have fresh profile photos and website images regularly, and these winter months are the perfect time to do them. We hired a hair and makeup artist, my fellow photographer Liz came to help, everyone brought their favorite outfits, and I enjoyed using the natural light in my home to create these professional images. Here’s what our very productive day looked like, thanks to Mary Ann’s behind-the-scenes photos:

Behind-the-scenes: makeup artist and woman in khaki shirt during branding session prep
Woman in coral pink blazer and light blue pants seated, dark backdrop
Photographer capturing entrepreneur portraits in bright home studio with natural light
Behind-the-scenes: photographer with subject on bed during professional portrait session

Now, introducing my incredible mastermind group:

JEAN KAISER

Woman in black top, gaze lowered, posed against dark background
Woman in black top with forward leaning pose, light background
Woman in teal velvet top with long tassel necklace, dark backdrop

Jean is a realtor with who’s been helping San Diego families reach their real estate goals since 2002. Her promise is to buy and sell your home in 60 days, guaranteed, and she sticks to that! Jean spearheads our group of Christian entrepreneurs, along with Terri, and hosts our retreats at her beautiful East County home. She serves faithfully at her church and dotes on her three precious grandbabies. Jean is a brilliant home decorator/designer but will tell you it’s all no big deal.

TERRI PODLENSKI

Woman in multicolor floral cardigan seated on upholstered chair, light backdrop
Woman in peach blazer and light pants seated, dark backdrop
Woman in pink blazer and white pants standing, hand on hip, light backdrop

Terri was my first friend in this group. She and I live in the same neighborhood and go to the same church, and I had seen her around enough to strike up a conversation at Rubio’s one day. During the pandemic we got together for a walk in our community, and that has turned into a twice-weekly hike in the hills of East County. Terri owns two marketing and brand strategy businesses, working with big-name international corporate clients on their event promotions and with Christian organizations with the goal to help them present themselves with excellence.

JEN NELSON

Woman in bright blue long-sleeve blouse, seated against light background
Woman in black sleeveless top with long dark hair seated on chair, dark backdrop
Woman in teal textured sleeveless top seated on tufted chair, light backdrop

Dr. Jennifer Nelson, DC, owns Maverick Chiropractic Clinic, where she specializes in providing innovative total-body care for her clientele of primarily first responders and military personnel. Dr. Jen utilizes up-to-date, individualized assessment and treatment protocols and has a holistic view of health and wellness. Her goal is to hack into the patients’ lives and make small adjustments to their daily movements and habits to enable them the power to live a pain-free, healthy, and progressive lifestyle. I’m at Pilates three times a week due to Jen’s encouragement. She keeps us all on track.

MARY ANN MARIANI

Woman in black sequined top with long layered necklace, dark backdrop
Woman in blue denim shirt with hand-to-face pose, light background
Woman in black top with subtle smile seated against dark backdrop

Mary Ann trains people to make strong presentations. She was on the Macintosh launch team for Apple Computer and worked in leadership and development at Vignette Corporation and Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and she has devoted her career to helping people develop their communication and presentation skills through group facilitation and training services. Her passion for serving others and the Lord flows into her business, Kingdom Presenters, which she created to support communication in nonprofits and faith-based communities.

JILL ADDISON

Woman in red cable-knit sweater and denim jeans seated, light backdrop
Woman in turquoise button-up blouse, seated against dark backdrop
Woman in red textured top with drawstring neckline and jeans standing, light backdrop

When I met Jill, she was frustrated with the amazing business she had built. She had twin preschoolers, and her thriving company that creates explainer videos for financial planners took so much time, she was ready to let it go. Over the last two years, Jill has sold her business and become a real estate investor. Now she has the flexibility to do all the mom things with her kindergartners, and she’s working on an online training system to help other women invest successfully in real estate. Most recently, Jill gave a presentation to our group about the Sabbath and reminded us all how important it is to take time to rest.

. . . and thank you to the wonderful LIZ ROMEKA for taking a few shots of me at the end. It’s fun to have some new photos for my website and social media.

Woman in cream blazer with rust undertop standing, light backdrop
Woman with dark hair in red pleated blouse against dark backdrop
Woman in cream blazer, partial view with upholstered furniture, light backdrop

I’d love to do more branding and headshot photography in these winter months, so contact me if you’re interested in a weekday morning session.

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