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Have you ever wanted to take a selfie for marketing purposes for your social media only to cringe?

You see all these beautiful photos of other entrepreneur women who are using selfies to sell programs and courses, and you’re wondering what’s the secret and how can you take a picture like that?

I know many entrepreneurs who are moms and women that want to show up powerfully, and having a great photo of yourself can make or break the difference of you showing up and I don’t want that for you.

That is why I interviewed Mira Zika who is a professional photographer in New York City and she’s out to help professionals like yourself stand out, be seen, and show up.

I interviewed Mira within The 6-Figure Momma Facebook Group community where it’s geared to help entrepreneurs women who are raising children scale their businesses to 6-Figures while having a safe place to be themselves, in both mom and businesswoman.

If you would like the see the recording of this interview, you can click here to watch it on YouTube. This article will focus on highlights of what was said, but not the entirety of the interview.

1) Mira, take it away and tell us about yourself.

Thank you so much for having me. Hello to everybody, I’m newly introduced to Monica, and we just kind of got along immediately so very grateful to be here, and talking about the thing I love the most in the world: photography.

I am normally a globally traveling photographer, but in the last year, I’ve been parked here at home in New York City.

I am on a mission to help elevate and empower women in whatever it is that they need for their lives and businesses. As a result of COVID, I created classes for the first time and realized that I really enjoyed teaching photography!

I think there’s something really beautiful in the conversation among women to show up because showing up in front of a camera is really vulnerable. And that’s kind of what my whole jam is talking about as a woman, I understand how you feel, so I tried to make that process a lot more celebratory, and more of like having a little party.

Photoshoots [can be] kind of awkward. So I’m here to transform that experience for women, whether it’s with your own phone, taking a selfie in your house, or whether it’s on a professional photoshoot. 

2) Tell us how you got started with your photography journey.

When I was eight years old, there was this thing called the Polaroid camera, and my parents had one and I just picked it up one day, took a picture, and I fell in love.

I was like, “What just happened? This is magic!” If you’re familiar with the Polaroids of the 1980s, you would shake the photo for it to appear.

And I [remember thinking], “Oh my God, this is cool!” And then [it turned into a kind of] expression that I could have without having to talk.

I never stopped, I just kept taking pictures. I studied it in school I have a degree in commercial advertising photography, and I’m still as in love with it today as I was on that first day, when I just decided to pick up this camera.

3) Why do you believe that many women entrepreneurs don’t share their content or market it as much as they want to? 

I think it’s going back to that kind of vulnerability of visibility, like putting yourself out there in any capacity is terrifying, really.

Even if you love [what you’re doing] and you know that you’re here to do something amazing! You feel cute one day and you just want to share what you’re doing, [but] the kind of the voices begin to come in really quick like, “You don’t look the way you did in your last photo!” or you’re feeling kind of COVID-y, or you just had a baby and you’re not feeling like yourself.

All those kinds of voices come in and it prevents a lot of people from showing up. It’s really perspective and perception is a really intense thing.

If we’re not really feeling totally grounded and really happy about where we are right now and even if you are, it’s still vulnerable.

4) How do you think people can use selfies to promote their marketing?

I think it’s really important to have the real candid photos that you take of yourself. I always share with my clients that you should have a mix.

You should have professional photos and you should have photos that you take yourself because it makes you relatable and people love that!

Instagram exists for this reason people love to see photos of you, of what you’re doing, have your new hair, of your new manicure. People go crazy when you post a new photo.

Because photos have energy and they tell a story and that’s why we love them so much. We don’t have to read a 700 page novel, and I’m somebody who loves the written word.

I‘m also a writer, but there’s something about photography that just takes you there faster. It’s a faster shortcut way to communicate, way to relate, a way to connect.

And that’s what we really are doing no matter what your business is. That’s what we want, we want to kind of move people. We want them to connect with us. And the way you can do that is by being intimate. Be more relatable with them.

5) What have you found are the best types of photos that people respond to most?

So here’s kind of a secret that there’s some research that has shown. The top three photos that stop a scroll is babies, animals and skylines.

Now, I don’t have the exact science behind this, but I’ve seen a lot of research about it. And I know for myself, I do stop on all three of those, like I don’t have children, but I’m like, “Oh, look at my friend’s baby”, “look at their dog”,  “look at their two dogs at doggy daycare!”

If you’ve got any of those things available to you, use them and track it to see if it really does land from your audience. 

6) What are some tips that you can give us to help us to show up more confidently?

My number one secret with every single person who’s ever ever in front of my lens is they have to make a playlist, they make a Spotify playlist.

And I require this homework because music has a frequency that changes us, it gets us into a more calm state, a healing state.

And that for me the celebratory state, I can’t possibly listen to a certain song and not move a little bit. So it helps the nerves and helps you forget about being so serious and so focused.

And I think that’s kind of one of the keys is to have some fun with it, you know if you are not feeling the music, I asked people to watch a video that cracks them up, right before and take a selfie and look at it.

Do one before and do when after. And the difference is just outrageous, you can just tell that someone is genuinely smiling or laughing.

The vibe, how you feel, comes across.

If you’re feeling terrible and you’re faking a smile, we can tell, and you don’t really have to do that. You can try to get yourself into a mood that’s a little bit more lighthearted.

I think what we could stand to welcome in is a little bit more light heartedness in business because it’s so much to think about, especially if you’re a one woman show.

If you can just take a moment to make it more fun or make it more silly or have a dance party and then snap that selfie, I guarantee that people are going to love it, they’re going to connect with it and they’re going to gravitate to you, naturally, because you’re being human and relatable.

7) Any tips on how we can better handle the camera? 

The best way to get away from the double chin is to make sure that you’re at eye level. Put your camera at your eye level or set up your timer and walk a little bit of a distance from it.

What you can also do is just tilt your head down, tilt your chin down at eye level. What that also does is it makes you human and relatable, it makes it intimate.

You’re not too close, you’re not at a strange angle that’s not normal. And you’re not too far away. 

8) Is there anything that you suggest we could add if we wanted to use a prop?

I would say for a prop, use your favorite thing. So this is what I call the tools of life.

If you have a journal, a pen, a coffee mug, a tea cup that you use everyday that’s actually part of your brand. Use it!

The more human and real you can be like capturing yourself in something you’re actually doing the easier it’s going to be. It’s going to read better, and it’s going to be more relatable.

Get more insights on taking better selfies for your marketing by watching the interview by clicking here!

9) What do you think about makeup with pictures?

I think makeup is your choice. If you want to wear makeup you wear it and you rock it if you don’t absolutely don’t wear it.

That’s really important to me because there’s no like template for how you’re supposed to show up.

10) So when it comes to our marketing copy, what kinds of selfie works best?

I think it really matters which photo you’re putting with which offer. So it depends on what it is that you’re trying to get across, and also potentially what the price point is.

If you’re selling something for $10,000, at that level of investment is going to require some trust. And so that’s where I would put in a professional photo.

There’s also the thought process of what it is that you’re trying to do, if you’re in the business of transformation of some sort.

What you want to do is help people feel through your photo, and how you can do that is to ask, “How do I want them to feel?”

Not necessarily how do you feel, but what are they going to get as a result of working with you? Are they going to get more freedom, more time, more joy, more pleasure?

Then you can put something in there that suggests something like that. If you want more pleasure, then you want a photo of enjoyment and pleasure and smiling and authenticity, like there’s a theme here, because those are the things that sell.

And it is shown and proven that candid photos will sell faster than a posed ones.

I asked Mira what was the common mistake people make when taking selfies and you won’t believe what she said below in the live interview!

11) Mira, tell us where we can find you.

Feel free to reach out to me through my website, Mirazaki.com

And I also have a Secret to Selfies workshop that goes way into depth of what we’ve talked about today and takes it a step further. It’s lifetime access, and it’s just $99.

You’re next!

Check out Mira’s video interview where she shares lightning tips, tips if you wear glasses, and so much more! I couldn’t put it all in the article since it was over 4,000 words long!

Take time out to follow Mira on social media and take her Secrets to Selfies Workshop to up your skills and land more clients!

I would also encourage you to join The 6-Figure Momma Facebook Community as it’s the place for entrepreneur moms who want to earn a 6-Figure income while having fun, being supported, and show up authentically!

There are weekly marketing and messaging training as well as guest interviews to help you pick up your 6-Figure game!