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00:00:01
Want More Impact? Stop Obsessing Over How It Looks
113 Plays3 months ago
It’s the season finale of The Empowered Photographer Podcast! In this episode, Elena wraps up Season 3 with a heartfelt message that just might change the way you approach your photography forever. If you’ve been chasing the “perfect” look the right light, the trendy edit, or the sharpest shot this episode is your reminder that the real magic lies in how your work feels, not just how it looks.
Whether you’re feeling stuck, burned out, or disconnected from your work, Elena shares a mindset shift that will reignite your passion and set your business apart: focus on the emotion behind the image. She also leaves you with a powerful, game-changing challenge to take into your next session.
Key Takeaways:
- A beautiful photo isn’t just technically strong it makes people feel something.
- Stop obsessing over your style and editing; start tuning into how it feels to create your images.
- If you feel something when you shoot, chances are your viewer will too.
- Consistency in your brand comes from emotional clarity, not just a uniform aesthetic.
- Homework: Choose 3 emotions you want your work to evoke and bring those into your next session.
- Emotionally resonant work leads to a more meaningful and sustainable business.
Final Thoughts:
Photography is more than a visual art, it’s a feeling. When you create with emotion at the center, you not only connect with your clients in a deeper way, but you also protect yourself from creative burnout. So next time you shoot, pause and ask yourself: How do I want this to feel?
🔗 Links & Resources:
Apply for The Mastermind (next cohort starts July 29, 2025)
👉 Click here to apply
Free Posing Guide for Photographers
👉 Grab your free guide
📣 Don’t Forget:
If you loved this season, please leave a 5-star review — it helps more photographers like you find the show and feel empowered in their journey.
Recommended
Transcript
Intro and Call for Reviews
00:00:01
Elena Blair
What is up, empowered photographer? I hope that you are enjoying this third season. And if you haven't already, please give us a five-star review. It helps my little podcast to get seen by more photographers who would benefit from these bite-size
Focus on Actionable Photography Tips
00:00:17
Elena Blair
episodes. I plan to mostly keep the episodes as bite-size, actionable tips that you can start implementing right away.
00:00:27
Elena Blair
And today I want to talk about one thing, one piece of advice that will change your photography. It will change the quality of your work, the consistency of your work.
00:00:40
Elena Blair
I want you to focus less on how your photography looks looks. and more on how it feels. Now, as a visual artist, this may seem counterintuitive.
Technical Aspects vs Emotional Impact
00:00:52
Elena Blair
You are probably obsessing over colors and white balance and all of these things like the technical stuff, like the perfect lighting and the sharpest image and the trendy edit. Am I going to be light and airy? Am I going to be dark and moody? All of those things.
00:01:06
Elena Blair
But that is actually not what makes your work powerful. And that is not what makes your work stand out in our industry. What makes it impactful, what has the biggest impact is the feeling.
00:01:21
Elena Blair
If you allow yourself to feel something while you are taking a photo, then the person, anyone who is looking at that photo will feel something as well. I actually really believe that if you don't feel something when you're taking a photo, well, it's going to be very hard for anybody to connect.
00:01:37
Elena Blair
So The moment you felt something while you were taking that photo, the connection that you had with the people in front of you, the way you saw something real unfolds, and then you click that shutter, that's what your clients are going to remember.
00:01:53
Elena Blair
That is what is going to keep you, yourself, connected to your work and help you to avoid burnout, which is so important.
Creating Meaningful Work for Sustainability
00:02:01
Elena Blair
When you create work that has a feeling that's meaningful, your business also becomes meaningful.
00:02:08
Elena Blair
And when your business is rooted in meaning, it is so much easier to keep going. You're not just showing up to deliver images that look a certain way. You're showing up to witness and preserve emotion,
00:02:21
Elena Blair
and connection, and life. I always say, I am trying to capture a little piece of humanity every time I take a photo.
Evoking Emotions to Create Magic
00:02:30
Elena Blair
So if you've been feeling disconnected, or if maybe you've been questioning everything, or if you have been feeling like your work is not consistent, or you're feeling like people are not connecting to it and not reaching out and booking you, they're not responding to your emails, they're not replying to your or commenting on your post that you're sharing, they're not engaging well i want you to stop obsessing over how it looks and start asking yourself if it felt good when you made it if you had a feeling when you created that work that is where the magic lives
00:03:07
Elena Blair
Truly. So think about today. i would challenge you to say, what are three emotions that you want to evoke with your work? And next time you set out for a photo shoot, try your best to do that. Try your best to make those emotions come out of your work.
00:03:24
Elena Blair
So for me, I love my work to feel romantic. I love my work to feel nostalgic. And I actually love my work to feel kind of intense. um And it it does feel that way.
00:03:34
Elena Blair
And I'm always thinking about that when I'm guiding and directing. And my posing is very much aligned with that. So if this is something that you are struggling with, your work isn't consistent, it doesn't feel aligned, you're feeling disconnected, you're feeling like something's missing, ground into the feeling that you want your work to evoke.
Mastermind Application and Free Guide
00:03:57
Elena Blair
I um wanted to mention that my mastermind is open for applications right now. We get really into this, and this is really the foundation of a solid brand is a brand that makes people feel something.
00:04:08
Elena Blair
I'm going to link in the um notes here ah a way to apply to the mastermind. We're almost full for the next cohort, which starts July 29th of 2025. I also am going to link my free posing guide for you so that you can kind of eliminate that variable. If you already have a pose, you can get them in the pose and then you can guide and direct to create the emotions that you're trying to evoke.
00:04:32
Elena Blair
so having a guide having a opposing guide gives you structure so i'm going to give you that free guide but i also would encourage you if you have been connecting to this podcast if you want to feel even more empowered to apply for my mastermind because applications are open right now all right so do that homework figure out those three emotions you're going to be so glad you did it's going to make such a big difference and stop obsessing over how it looks.
00:04:57
Elena Blair
Start instead obsessing over emotion, obsessing over how you want your work to feel, and you will see a shift.