What does your photo say about you? Maia Rosenfeld

Is your image telling your story as intended? How to look better and real on camera

Episode 228 (Maia is based in Chicago)

In this conversation with Maia Rosenfeld we explore:

• How do other judge you based on your photograph?
• How a photographer first needs to understand you
• How to stop sabotaging your photographs
• What a better word than "cheese"
• The power of visual messages on trust
• The first impression when we see your photo on Linkedin
• How might the photograph convey your brand?
• Why do people check their reflection when they walk by store windows

About our guest, Maia Rosenfeld:

Maia has been a headshot photographer in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York for 28 years.

Some of her corporate clients include BMW, J.P. Morgan Chase, Salesforce, GE Healthcare and The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

She's never met a stranger.

Learn more about her photography services at

MRPCreative.com

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Excerpts from this conversation with Maia Rosenfeld:

Is it welcoming? Do you look smart? Do you look like you're good at what you do? Do you look like someone they want to spend the time reading the next little blurb that's probably only three sentences underneath their chin, getting to figure out what is the unique thing, the differentiator of each client that comes into my studio to figure out how to tell their story, to make sure that their authenticity is represented, is the thing right.

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I'm not particularly interested in taking photographs of what you look like. Lucky for me, you already look like what you look like. Thank you very much. I'm interested in taking photos of who you are.

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I've come up with a game that they do, which is I throw a word out at them, and they just repeat that word inside their brain. They just have to think it.

So if I say to you, just with your eyes, say the word power, if you literally just think the word power, you're done. You don't have to give me what you think a powerful look is.

You don't have to define power. You don't have to think of a ton you once felt powerful. Literally, I say power. You say power. I say cat, you say cat. And why does it work?

It works because it keeps George inside the building. That is George, where people tend to derail themselves in photos, any photo, family photo, picture, it out with your friends.

Is the second the camera comes up. Everyone tends to leave the building, right? We're in a big group of people. We say cheese. We don't know how long it's taking. We don't know how many they're taking.

Our faces kind of freeze. We don't know it's, oh, it's the other camera. Are they using a flash? We get that photo back, and we hate how we look, right? You're not in that photo.

You left at least 15 seconds ago, right? So that is one of the places that we derail ourselves and we don't we start to hate how we look.

Now we live in a world, in this selfie culture, where you can watch yourself in the photo, right? Which is almost even worse of a problem. It makes it even more self conscious, right? 

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Your Intended Message is the podcast about how you can boost your career and business success by honing your communication skills. We’ll examine the aspects of how we communicate one-to-one, one to few and one to many – plus that important conversation, one to self.

In these interviews we will explore presentation skills, public speaking, conversation, persuasion, negotiation, sales conversations, marketing, team meetings, social media, branding, self talk and more.

 

Your host is George Torok

George is a specialist in communication skills. Especially presentation. He’s fascinated by the links between communication and influencing behaviors. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.

 

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