Elevating Your Brand with Professional Images, with Mo Lima, Mo Lima Photography

[00:00:00]  Live from the Business Radio X studio inside Renasant Bank, the bank that specializes in understanding you. It’s time for North Fulton Business Radio.
[00:00:20] John Ray: And hello again, everyone. Welcome to another edition of North Fulton Business Radio. I’m John Ray and folks, we are broadcasting from inside Renasant Bank in beautiful Alpharetta. And if you are looking for a bank that’s big enough to handle pretty much any need you can throw at them, but they’re small enough to do it without tagging you with that mega bank experience.
[00:00:42] John Ray: And if you’re at one of those banks, you know what I’m talking about. I think Renasant bank has found that magic combination of size, the size you need delivering their services in a personal way. I found that myself in terms of the clients that I work with in conjunction with Renasant. And I think you will find it too, if you give them a shot, so go to Renasant bank.
[00:01:04] John Ray: com, find one of their local offices and give them a call. I think you’ll be glad you did. Renasant bank, understanding you member FDIC, and now I want to welcome Mokwang Lima. Mo is with Mo Lima Photography. Mo,
[00:01:23] Mo Lima: welcome. Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.
[00:01:26] John Ray: I’m delighted you’re here. Let’s talk about you and how you’re serving folks at Mo Lima Photography.
[00:01:32] Mo Lima: Great. I am owner of a photography studio in downtown Alpharetta, and I serve folks with I do portrait photography for families, I do headshots, and I specialize in photographing women who are 40 and older.
[00:01:53] John Ray: Ooh, that’s interesting. I want to get, certainly want to get to that specialty, but let’s talk about, um, your journey and why photography, is this something that you got onto in an early age?
[00:02:05] Mo Lima: Actually, yes, it was. My mother bought me a professional camera in high school as a gift.
[00:02:12] John Ray: Really? Yes. Why did she do that? Did you show some, some skills and aptitude for that? Or did she just see that in you and maybe you didn’t see it yourself?
[00:02:22] Mo Lima: Actually, I think she saw it in me. And also, I went to school for art, so I was always a creative person.
[00:02:30] Mo Lima: And at that time I was doing watercolors and sculpture. And my mother thought it would be fun to try something new and I loved it. And I’ve always been the photographer of the family. I’ve never been in the photos, but I’ve always taken the photos.
[00:02:46] John Ray: Yeah, right. That, that’s what happens with the family photographer.
[00:02:51] John Ray: I think every family has one, right? Yes, I think so. Yeah. It’s usually mom. What, what made you narrow your focus down to you? You had this, all these artistic disciplines as part of your education. What caused you to narrow in on photography and make it your vocation? So
[00:03:12] Mo Lima: It is actually a second career for me.
[00:03:15] Mo Lima: Okay. I had worked in corporate America and marketing for most recently a fortune 100 company. And, I was looking at retirement, early retirement, and when I was offered that, I was like, I’ve got to do something with myself. I can’t just, sit around and why don’t I do something that I absolutely love because they say, if you’re doing what you love, you’re not working, right?
[00:03:40] Mo Lima: It’s right. Yeah. So that was something that I reached back into from my youth. And so I decided to become a certified photographer and do have a studio.
[00:03:58] John Ray: Oh, wow. And you’ve had your studio how long now?
[00:04:02] Mo Lima: I have been a professional photographer for five years now. And then actually six years.
[00:04:08] Mo Lima: And I have been at the current studio that I am as an independent studio for three years now.
[00:04:15] John Ray: Okay. Congratulations on that. Thank you. There, there are… There are a lot of photographers out there, right? Many. And there are a lot of, professionals and then there are a lot of amateurs, right?
[00:04:30] John Ray: Absolutely. How do, if I’m a consumer, how do I know, how do I know what
[00:04:38] John Ray: I’m getting?
[00:04:38] Mo Lima: Great question. I love that. Okay. Yes, there are so many photographers out there and, Everybody’s got to start from somewhere. I was once an amateur photographer, decided to make that my business.
[00:04:52] Mo Lima: And of course, a professional photographer makes at least 50 percent or more of their income from photography. That’s the difference between an amateur a lot of times and also experience and dedication to the craft. So as a certified professional photographer, I take classes. And I join organizations and I actually teach as well.
[00:05:16] Mo Lima: So that I can keep up to speed and understand all the nuances of running a business. Because it’s totally different from being an amateur photographer who maybe, doesn’t have 50 percent or more of their time spent in photography. But really the best way to choose a photographer And to think about photography is to look at the photographer’s work.
[00:05:45] Mo Lima: Every photographer should have a portfolio out there with what they do. So that consumers can make a wise choice. If you like what I’m showing you in my portfolio, I can replicate that for you. If you’re looking for a photographer and you’re not familiar with their work, they may not be able to give you what you’re looking for.
[00:06:06] John Ray: That makes a lot of sense. You said something, two things there that I find interesting. One is there, you can be certified. Yes. Talk about the
[00:06:18] John Ray: certifications.
[00:06:19] Mo Lima: Absolutely. So through the photographer professional photographers association of America, you can take an exam and prove that you are a professional through your work.
[00:06:31] Mo Lima: And there are about. I think 35 of us in all of the Atlanta metro Atlanta area who are certified professional and it’s not an easy test. I’ll tell you that. There are only 35. That is correct. Out of the thousands and
[00:06:46] Mo Lima: thousands.
[00:06:46] John Ray: In a metropolitan area of what, 7 million or whatever it is right now.
[00:06:50] John Ray: Yeah. Wow.
[00:06:51] Mo Lima: Yeah, so I’m in an elite group,
[00:06:54] John Ray: aren’t you though? You’re in thin air. Good for you.
[00:06:59] John Ray: Congratulations on this.
[00:07:00] Mo Lima: Thank you. And I love it. I love learning details about everything I do. And, you have to know the physics of light to really be good at photography because photography is all about light.
[00:07:15] Mo Lima: In fact, the word. Photo means light, right?
[00:07:20] John Ray: You
[00:07:20] John Ray: say that like I knew, but… Thank you. Thank you for assuming that. But, no, I didn’t know that. But thank you, Bo. You’re so kind. That’s see, there you go. I learn something every day. That’s why I do this show. So you… tHat’s very, I find that fascinating.
[00:07:40] John Ray: But but one other thing you said there is you talked about the um, you get 50 percent or more of your earnings through professional photography. And that’s a dividing line.
[00:07:51] Mo Lima: That’s a standard
[00:07:52] Mo Lima: for
[00:07:52] Mo Lima: any profession.
[00:07:53] John Ray: That’s a standard. Oh, okay. In photography, anywhere, anywhere. Okay. Okay. That’s.
[00:08:00] John Ray: That’s good. I love that. Okay, let’s get into the details here of or more details of, as I’m thinking about getting my headshot my a business profile image, what should I be thinking about? Let’s talk about business profile images. What do, what, what do professionals need to know?
[00:08:18] Mo Lima: That’s a great question. Truly the bottom line is that images that. Portray you as a professional, make you money and that is one of the reasons you want to have a professional photograph that makes you look like a professional and shows that you give value in what you do as a professional. You want an image that shows that you have a connection.
[00:08:48] Mo Lima: And authority and a lot of that I do with posing and lighting and just the lens choice that I use. Don’t let me get too geeky about it, but um, your images communicate your brand. And so it’s really important that you give care. And to show that you are a professional if you look sloppy and you’re a photo people will think that’s what they’re gonna get from you and that you are sloppy and I tell people a lot of times to, make sure that they’re dressed appropriately and I know these days it’s a little more casual than it had been in the past, which is fine, but also to make sure that those profile images are focused on you.
[00:09:34] Mo Lima: Not your background, what’s behind you, the green field that’s behind, that’s not important not necessarily even all that you’re wearing. You want to wear a simple outfits with no pattern, no logos unless it’s your business kind of thing. So those are some tips.
[00:09:54] John Ray: tHose are good tips.
[00:09:55] John Ray: How often should you refresh your image?
[00:09:58] Mo Lima: So that’s a question I get a lot. This industry standard is two years, believe it or not. But I say that if you have a significant change, whether it’s, it could be weight loss, it could be you’ve changed your hair, you’ve grown a beard, or you, have new glasses, it’s time for a new headshot.
[00:10:22] Mo Lima: People need to recognize you when they see you.
[00:10:25] John Ray: What about if I’m going gray? I don’t you want me to show more gray,
[00:10:29] Mo Lima: huh? Oh, yeah. Don’t fool people. I
[00:10:31] John Ray: don’t know anybody like that, but I
[00:10:36] John Ray: Yeah, My wife would say different
[00:10:40] Mo Lima: That’s too funny. You definitely don’t want people to be surprised when they meet you. Yeah, that’s not a good feeling.
[00:10:45] John Ray: Right Whoa Yeah for sure. But so every two years, unless there’s a big change.
[00:10:52] Mo Lima: Yeah I would say three years. I would even get
[00:10:54] John Ray: three years.
[00:10:56] John Ray: Okay. Okay. And what I guess it depends on the business but what are the, some of the factors that you think about as you think about somebody comes to you and says, I want a new headshot or I want a new portfolio, whatever they’re looking for. What are some of the questions you’re going to ask them, maybe is the way to say it that help you determined, determine what you’re going to offer them or recommend to them.
[00:11:27] Mo Lima: So it depends on exactly what they’re looking for. If it’s a simple headshot for LinkedIn we go over wardrobe. They can bring, a couple outfits and, I’ll help them choose what to wear. I find out exactly. else they might want to use a simple headshot, whether it’s for, work, maybe it’s for a website.
[00:11:47] Mo Lima: If they need something a little more extensive let’s say they need something for brochures or they want something for their book jacket. I do offer a more. exTensive type of photography session where I first do an interview with them and I considered that my design consultation where we talk about their brand colors, what’s significant for them and how they want to be seen by their.
[00:12:14] Mo Lima: audience and we talk about words that people would use when looking for them because I do add that to the image file so that people can find it on search. And that helps a lot. It brings it closer to the top of search results when you’ve got The correct metadata behind it. And so there’s a lot of factors that we consider first before their actual photo session.
[00:12:38] Mo Lima: So I know exactly the type of lighting we’re using, the type of background. And also the posing that I’m going to use. Are they an author? Maybe they want to look a little more confident and, you knowledged, or are they an athlete? I want to do something, maybe a little more dramatic for them with some dramatic lighting.
[00:12:58] Mo Lima: Those are the things that I go through with every client that comes in who wants those business images.
[00:13:06] John Ray: Okay, so how do I prepare? How do I, and specifically, how do I get rid of my nerves?
[00:13:15] Mo Lima: Good question. Good question.
[00:13:17] John Ray: Because I’m going to be nervous.
[00:13:18] Mo Lima: Oh, absolutely. Everybody is.
[00:13:20] Mo Lima: Everybody’s nervous. Everybody’s nervous. And if you’re not, then you’re probably used to being photographed a lot, but most people are nervous. And with those folks, just getting to know them, first of all, at that design consultation helps a lot. Because it’s important to have a good rapport with your photographer.
[00:13:36] Mo Lima: anD then during the session before that, we just plan everything out so they feel confident. I do give them instructions before they come in for this session. And what’s funny that people laugh about is that I tell them to practice posing in front of the mirror. Oh, really? Yes. So
[00:13:56] John Ray: before they even come in.
[00:13:56] John Ray: I wonder how many people really
[00:13:57] Mo Lima: do that. Not as many as I’d like. But it really makes a difference and I can tell when people have done it.
[00:14:04] John Ray: You can?
[00:14:04] Mo Lima: Oh, yes.
[00:14:06] John Ray: Say more about that. How can you tell?
[00:14:08] Mo Lima: Yes, because they feel a little more confident. They know their smile. A lot of times when people have not had.
[00:14:16] Mo Lima: They’re photos done in a long time. They’re not used to looking at themselves. They look past themselves in the mirror when they’re getting ready in the morning or whatever. But when you’re forced to really see how you look, you become a little more confident with that look. You’re not expecting to see the 20 year old John in the mirror.
[00:14:36] Mo Lima: Don’t worry, I don’t ever see that,
[00:14:40] Mo Lima: but some people don’t see themselves past a certain age, which is really interesting to me, right? So I think they feel more confident once they’ve gotten used to looking at themselves in the mirror and really seeing themselves and seeing which angles. They like the best.
[00:14:54] Mo Lima: I can tell them what I think looks good. But it’s also helpful if they have an idea of the smile that they make that they like.
[00:15:02] John Ray: Because that’s muscle memory.
[00:15:04] Mo Lima: It
[00:15:04] Mo Lima: is.
[00:15:05] Mo Lima: Agreed. Yes.
[00:15:06] John Ray: Okay. Okay. I was guessing on that and I got it right. So
[00:15:10] John Ray: good. Okay. Some people are so natural, right? Because they know already sure that look
[00:15:16] John Ray: interesting.
[00:15:17] John Ray: Very interesting. We’re speaking with Mo Lima. Mo is with Mo Lima Photography. Mo, you have got this you mentioned your, the kinds of photography you do. And you mentioned a certain specialty and that’s women over 50,
[00:15:36] Mo Lima: yes, over 40 and over 50,
[00:15:37] John Ray: over 40 and over 50. Okay. So why? Why that specialty?
[00:15:41] Mo Lima: I do offer hair and makeup at the studio. I love the feeling that women have after a little bit of a makeover. I feel a lot of times, because I can relate to them, that women over a certain age in our society can be. Overlooked. And ignored. Yeah, to be honest. Yeah. And I love to serve.
[00:16:07] Mo Lima: I love to make people feel good and feel good about themselves. And also, I tend to love seeing the beauty in people, male or female. Especially women, because I think it’s so important for women our age to feel good. We give so much to our families a lot of times, or taking care of sickly or elderly family members, and ignoring ourselves and our own needs and feeling special.
[00:16:35] Mo Lima: This is something I like to give to clients. Yeah,
[00:16:39] John Ray: I love that. You’ve got some And I I think the word we were talking about this before we came on the air, I think the word that you like to use is empowerment. Yes. So say more on that. Expand
[00:16:54] Mo Lima: on that, please. Sure. Thank you. I do feel that by connecting with yourself, understanding who you are and recognizing that and seeing how someone else might see you in their eyes.
[00:17:11] Mo Lima: can give you a feeling of empowerment, can help you understand your own value. Seeing yourself looking beautiful in a photo can give you that feeling. Having family members comment on how gorgeous mom is or how grandma looks beautiful in this picture can really make you feel great about yourself and that’s so important.
[00:17:34] Mo Lima: Feeling bad about yourself can be so debilitating, um, and I do encourage some of my women clients who purchase photos cause I do offer also wall art is to purchase a photo of themselves. And put it in front of where they get dressed in the morning to see themselves and remember themselves as this gorgeous woman that they were on this day and keep it up.
[00:18:00] John Ray: That’s great advice. That’s great advice. So you have a magazine. Yes. Let’s talk
[00:18:10] Mo Lima: about that. Yeah. So for my clients 40 and over, and also I have another magazine for my clients, 50 and older. I I’m actually having I hold a campaign for each of that, those groups and feature them in the magazine with their portraits and a little bit about their story.
[00:18:29] Mo Lima: And this is a keepsake for them and it just is something that. That they can have for themselves or that they share with their family members and it’s just beautiful and the women sometimes meet each other and they know who they are and they can share stories. There are so many similar stories in the magazine that I produce called Portrait Experience Magazine.
[00:18:57] John Ray: That’s wonderful. And any How often does that how often do those magazines come out? Do you have any?
[00:19:05] Mo Lima: Approximately annually.
[00:19:06] John Ray: Okay. Okay. Got it. Got it Okay, very interesting. So Just a couple more questions about the session itself. So one of the things that you Point out that it’s really important is just the body language Yes.
[00:19:25] John Ray: That someone that’s posing they throw off, right? Tell us about what your thoughts are on that.
[00:19:31] Mo Lima: Yeah, and I think it’s really much needed information because Body language is one of the highest ranking pages on my site. I don’t really understand. Oh, really? But yeah, I get a lot of hits on my content about body language because it is important to have the correct body language in your photos so that you’re giving the correct information about yourself or what you, how you want to portray yourself.
[00:19:58] Mo Lima: Also, the body language for couples. is important and I do consider myself an expert at posing people and making sure that they have the correct body language and showing the most beautiful, features and angles and that. Enhances the story for each of the photos. You can have totally different body language in the same session, and it’s a totally different story about that person, depending on what they’re wearing, or, what the the lighting is.
[00:20:31] Mo Lima: But posing to me and body language is important in that empowerment as well, in making you feel good. About yourself. And I do train people to use the right body language going forward in their photos. I like to give tips.
[00:20:48] John Ray: Yeah that’s wonderful. What you’re doing really for people, whether it’s women over 50 or some old dude like me is you’re really giving people a refresh of their own sense of themselves, right?
[00:21:05] John Ray: And that is really, truly invaluable in terms of what people do with that. Let’s get to that. Let’s talk about maybe a success story or two that helped illustrate the great work you
[00:21:19] Mo Lima: do. Yeah. A client of mine Kevin had he was one that really didn’t have a lot of great profile images of himself.
[00:21:29] Mo Lima: And whenever people were looking for something, they go to Facebook and find, a photo of him at a bar or whatever, like the wrong message. Yeah. Yeah. And we put together a series of photos based on how he wanted people to see him. I interviewed him about who he admired, who in business inspires him, and just taking some of that energy.
[00:21:55] Mo Lima: reinforce his own brand and his own images so that he had enough great images for its website, for his press kit and for marketing material that he used. And He said he would never again take his image for granted after that because it impacted everything that he had out there and he got so many compliments on the new photos and he got lots of business as well.
[00:22:24] Mo Lima: Because he portrayed himself as a professional now and people could really appreciate that.
[00:22:30] John Ray: That’s awesome. Any other.
[00:22:32] Mo Lima: that. I do have plenty of stories.
[00:22:37] John Ray: How about for a woman
[00:22:38] Mo Lima: over 50? Yeah. So yes. I have had many emotions in my studio when people are, Women are getting their photos.
[00:22:50] Mo Lima: First we do hair and makeup and they get to see a little bit of the transformation, a piece at a time. They get to choose from studio wardrobe, or I also do a thing that I call fabric wrapping or fabric draping, where. If you know you don’t have a dress that you’re happy with, I can create one on set with the fabrics that I have.
[00:23:10] Mo Lima: I have sewn strips of fabric or used organza to create something unique for anybody, any woman that wants to have something unique. I love seeing that transformation and several and during the photo session give them a little sneak peek so they can see. What this progress is like, what it looks like.
[00:23:31] Mo Lima: And then when they come back to see their photos I’ve had several women really comment on how different they feel afterwards. And this has happened multiple times. It’s not just one story but as a synopsis, it’s just I’ve had women cry in the studio. I keep tissue at my desk because they’re so emotional about how they see themselves and how I’ve seen them.
[00:23:58] Mo Lima: Sure. They’re seeing themselves through my eyes and I like to follow sometimes fine art photos I’m sorry, portraits and artwork to go back to my artistic beginnings and old masters paintings and replicate that for some of the women and they see themselves in these beautiful portraits and it’s amazing.
[00:24:18] John Ray: Yeah. And that’s, wow, that’s wonderful. What great work you’re doing Mo. This has been great. And I can’t imagine that there aren’t some folks out there that at this point want to know where they can get in touch. So let’s tell them how they can do that.
[00:24:33] Mo Lima: Absolutely. My Instagram, where I have a lot of my portfolio, I am at Mo Lima photo.
[00:24:42] Mo Lima: So it’s M O L I M A P H O T O. And then on Facebook, it’s Mo Lima photography. And my website is molimaphotography. com and you can get all of my telephone numbers and email there and contact me and get a free consultation if you want.
[00:25:05] John Ray: Mo, this has been fascinating, and I’m just delightful and I’m delighted you could come in and we could celebrate the work you do, shine a light on it, pardon the pun, on the great work that you do.
[00:25:19] John Ray: So thank you for that and keep it up.
[00:25:21] Mo Lima: Thank you so much. This has been such a joy. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, John.
[00:25:28] John Ray: Folks, just a quick reminder. If you would be ashamed to have a picture taken of your bookkeeping system. And if you know what I mean, if you’ve got one of those boxes that’s full of receipts and it’s all scattered all over the place, or you’re, you’ve got administrative tasks that are piled high that you can’t get to.
[00:25:49] John Ray: And all those things are destroying the joy in your business, admit it. That’s what’s happening. I’ve got a solution for you. The people at Office Angels, that whole team of angels that fly in and get that work done for you, and then they fly out and they do it on an ongoing or as needed basis. I know the work they do myself personally, because they do it for me and my business.
[00:26:13] John Ray: And I couldn’t do it without them. Give them a call. If you’re shy, you can go to officeangels. us and learn a little bit more, but I just encourage you to give them a call and let them know I sent you their number is 6 7 8 5 2 8 0 5 0 0. And you will be glad you did because again, you will get the joy back in your business by using them and a quick reminder.
[00:26:41] John Ray: For those that listen to the show that are waiting. Yes, I’ve got a book coming out here in about a month. As we record this show mid November. So mid December my book is called The Generosity Mindset for Business Success. Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices that will be out.
[00:27:00] John Ray: If you want to know more, you want updates on when the book is released, go to the generosity mindset. com to learn more and to. Sign up for updates there and just a big thank you to you. Our listeners you are fantastic. You continue to share our social media posts like us. And then what you’ve done here that I’ve seen quite a few times is you share the show with others.
[00:27:30] John Ray: That may need the services of those who are on the show. And that’s such a general act of generosity. Thank you for doing that. And please continue to do that because you help us help the guest on this show and business leaders like Mo who deserve that spotlight, and then it helps us fulfill our mission to be the voice of business in the North Fulton region.
[00:27:54] John Ray: So for my guest Mo Lima. I’m John Ray, join us next time here on North Fulton Business Radio.