So this week and last, you had to be living under a rock to not notice the new Under Armour ad campaign featuring Misty Copeland. The ad is everywhere and then there was the image of her talking about dancers as athletes. Love it or over it,  she is out there and picking up followers at a fast rate.

If you’ve been following me for a bit you know I’m on a kick to help get dancers and dance companies to up their games when it comes to marketing. You spend hours a day, 6 days a week, 50 weeks a year, for years on end, to perfect, hone and rehearse your craft. Then when it comes time to get the materials out there to sell yourselves, the tendency is to throw something together at the last minute.

Let’s be clear here.  We do not all have the PR people or the big budgets behind us like the companies signing Misty do,  But be very sure, big or little budget, her rocket to stardom did not happen overnight. It took consistent work, putting herself out there, networking, sending and using the right materials, and over the years the effort pays off. She has a message and that message is bankable.

What is your message?

What are you trying to say to your prospective jobs or audience? Do all your materials speak to that?

In these dog days of summer I am right there with you. Now is the perfect time to start looking ahead to your goals and marketing for the upcoming year.

Define and describe who you are.

Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) Photo: Rachel Neville

Here is a little exercise for you.

Answer the questions below, two of the many questions I ask all my clients in consultations before we shoot:

1) If you could describe yourself/dancing/choreography/company in 4 adjectives what would they be – what sets you apart?

2)What materials (photos, videos, copy etc.) do you need throughout the course of the year in order to grab the attention of the right people?

Talk to me about your answers, and take the next steps to upping your marketing campaign – and your success!

This post is part of the Audition Photo Tips Series.  For more tips delivered directly to your inbox, sign up to receive emails from Rachel Neville Photography.

So I’m getting back on my mat starting this week.  I feel a little bit like if I say it out loud (and to you in this post!) that I will have to hold myself accountable and for a couple of hours a week put my body and my headspace first.

Now with being a fitness photographer and running a business, as well as being a mom to two small children, the next question is, of course, what will I have to give in order for me to do get this time for fitness and health for myself?

Let’s be real, nothing comes without cost.  And this is an investment in me and ultimately the clients and the  family I serve.

It’s the time of year when my phone starts ringing and email starts pinging with dancers setting up audition photo shoots to prepare for the season.

It’s funny, when I ask dancers in their intake form about their concerns for the photoshoot and their audition process in general, the concerns are almost always the same.  For the shoot, dancers are worried about what poses, what to wear, and if their hair and makeup will work.  For auditions, dancers are often concerned about being able to stand out in the crowd. These are all valid questions indeed.  As we go through the consultation process, dancers soon find out that these points are quite easily answered if we do the right prep work first.

Being well rehearsed and prepared is drilled into us dancers: you train for hours a day, finesse your movements and work on strength and nuance. Watching videos, performances, taking in art in all forms and having life experiences, you build up your artistry. If you are an auditioning dancer this year, now is the time to start the metal preparation as well.

At the Olympics, an athlete who has worked with a sports psychologist often has the edge over one who hasn’t. Having worked and prepared for the competition in all aspects, not just the physical, gives them an edge. As dancers facing similar odds when looking for a contract with a dance company, it begs the question, where are you in your preparation?

What is going to give you that edge? And where does that edge come from?

One of the questions I ask my clients to answer in consultation is ‘if an open audition came down to you and two other dancers, all about the same height, weight, physical attributes and capabilities, why would the company select you?’ because it is about knowing both who you are auditioning for and who you are when you go into an audition. When I ask this question I am looking for the answer that allows me to pull out of you when we are shooting. But some of these questions I ask are also a great way to start thinking as you go through the next 4 months before the first wave of auditions hits.

For those of you who are in or able to travel to the NYC area, I highly recommend booking your shoot now so we can get this conversation started soon.  Aside from shooting awesome pictures, there’s nothing I love more than helping my clients prepare powerfully for and succeed in their auditions.

If you’re not in NYC, I am now offering phone or Skype consultation appointments.  Contact me to schedule your consultation today.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working on updating some of the images on my website and beginning new projects to re-vamp my book.  A bit of a task yes, but so excellent because it’s forcing me to really look at who I am as a photographer, what my vision is and how what I do makes an impact on the lives and work of my dance, movement and fitness photography clients.

The defining thing that I’ve been thinking about is not just what I like to shoot, but what gets dancers and movement professionals noticed?  What images speak to get your foot in the door?  What makes your images stand out and get you the results (more jobs, more clients, a contract, more tickets purchased for performances) that my photography clients need?

Initially, the common concern for many of my dancers and movement professionals is that they want to look their best.  They want to have the right lines.  Ok great, that’s easily here in the tool box.  I’m a former dancer and teacher, so I address these concerns naturally and give my clients the confidence they need for great dance and fitness photos.  But what else?

What colors, textures, angles, feelings can we pull out?  What can we do to make your images exciting, to give them a visual impact that makes your audience stop and look at you?  What makes your work different and how can we bring that to light in images

These are the important questions that not every dance photographer or fitness photographer will ask.  And this is where your images can really stand out for you.  Here is some of the new work I’ve been doing with just those themes: color, textures and spacial features?

In the next few weeks I will be writing a series of posts talking about each of these themes and how understanding them and using them can transform your photos and truly make them work hard for you.

When you look at these images, which ones stand out to you the most?  Do you respond to color, texture, angle?  What do you feel when you see certain colors, textures or angles in a shot?  And what do you want people to feel when they look at your photo?

So we are about 6 weeks into the dance school year and now is the time that many pre-pro and newly pro dancers are starting to think ahead about audition marketing. In another 3 months (orsooner!) you’ll need to have your dance audition package ready to go.  Now is the season when I field many emails and calls regarding appointments, rates and options. I’m always so pleased to be working with dancers in advance, but here’s a question I would love to hear more  often from you all:

“How do I make my audition photos stand out in the sea of applications dance companies receive?”

If you’ve been following me for awhile you know I’m all about dancers beginning to brand themselves and stepping it up in marketing. The investment of time, energy and yes more than likely a little bit of money (not going to sugar coat that, quality images and video packages cost a little bit but are worth the investment) makes all the difference. Like so many of my clients have attested to, really good pictures and video can get your foot in the door.  They get you noticed where you want to be seen.

So, how do you do that? Of course, I have some tips.

1) Make sure you shoot with a photographer who knows line and technique.

You need someone who will not let small little details go. Those small details will be noticed by company directors. They make or break your shots, so your photographer should be able to pull those details out of you.

2) Shoot in a style that suits your personality and dance presence.

If you are an elegant, sophisticated, nuanced dancer, create that mood and evoke that feeling with the photo background, lighting and styling choices. If you are bright and bubbly, create that in the dance photography studio. Shooting on a white background is not for everyone, but neither is a black or a grey background right for every dancer.

3) Remember that variety is important.

Give the dance company directors something interesting and eye catching to look at. Imagine sending in 3 shots: an arabesque, a jump and a contemporary shot. Imagine the difference if they are all done in the same leotard on the same background with the same lighting.

Now imagine those same shots done with different backgrounds, different leotards and perhaps different lighting. Are you giving the audience/directors a peak at your versatility and making your image interesting for them to connect with, or are you giving them something boring or not memorable?

4) Use facial expressions.

I don’t really need to say more, right? But you would be surprised at how much of an afterthought facial expression often is. Or how often dancers think they are giving it and how little is actually there.

5) Always, always, always shoot one ‘killer’ shot.

These are the dance photos you can’t stop looking at when you are going through your proofs or when you are looking at the screen during a shoot.

If everyone, including the photographer, keeps coming back to a shot, you know you’ve got something special that is going to catch eyeballs.

Ready to catch some eyeballs?

Give me a shout, fall time slots are booking up!

Passion? Softness? Energy? Nuance? Elegance? Fierceness? Crazy lines and shapes, bodies that can contort…

This has been a hot topic of conversation at my studio lately. What gives a picture the power to hold your attention? What makes you stop and look at it for more than the 1-2 seconds you normally give to the images you are inundated with every day?

The Wow Factor of course is largely dependent on the audience. A great example is the attention I’m paying to my Instagram account. Now I’m not the photographer who has a crazy number of followers, just a little over 2000 (yes, I was a little late to the party and joined up this past April), but I do want to provide content that my followers enjoy, and to connect with more people who want to see what I do. So I’m paying attention to what people like, what people want to share and comment on.  Seeing what makes people stop in their tracks.

Interestingly, the images that I post that have a special place in my heart, those that happen to be more along the lines of my conceptual, more personal work, tend to gain fewer ‘likes’ than shots of individual dancers with either super great lines or with awesome props.

The scoring on this is purely based on the transient ‘like’ which is by no means a scientific analysis.  There are many factors at play here, including day and time of day I post. However, the trend is fairly strong.  And from there you can start to draw some conclusions about what kinds of dance photos resonate with audiences.  And that is something that, as a dancer, you need to know.  The same is true for fitness photos.  What fitness photos make potential clients stop in their tracks and say “that’s what I want”?

So the larger question for all dancers, dance companies and fitness professionals to consider is what images make people stop, think and respond.

Consider what types of images will make your clients or your audience stop in their tracks and pay attention.  Then work with your dance photographer to create them to deliver powerful dance audition photos or fitness marketing images.

If you’re not sure, before you consult with your dance and movement photographer, ask yourself these questions:

What do you want to see more of?

What images do you  like most?

Do you feel like you need to present a certain look or style in your dance photos and at auditions?  

Does this look connect to who you are, what you want to do, and what makes you stop and look?

Share your answers in the comments!

I have been having a great time working with Kira Stokes, an NYC trainer who works with celebrity clients and has, over the better part of two decades, built a strong, powerful and engaging presence in the fitness world.

Recently, Kira signed a deal with BFX Studio and will be available to clients exclusively through BFX.  Kira says that this new phase for her fitness business is “a dream come true.”

With it, came a need for more amped-up fitness branding. We tackled the project together, working to create images that speak to the strength, power and energy that is Kira. These are the elements that make her uniquely her and, in addition to her expertise, they are what make her so appealing to her clients.

I have talked before about asking what you want your images to say about you when you are creating fitness branding. You can see in these photos that Kira’s brand is starting to speak. You get to know what kind of experience you can expect when you work with her, just by looking at the images. That is a huge part of getting the job done with images for branding and marketing for fitness businesses.

And it’s working!  In the past week, Kira has been featured on NY1 and on the popular fitness blog well + good.

Ask me how you can use images to create your fitness brand!

The Body Language Experiment

Be Part of the Body Language Experiment!

Hey, I want to hear from you!

I was sitting in a cab on the way home last night, well surviving a cab ride, really. It seemed as though the driver had some affinity for smelly dinners, and we were stuck for more than an hour behind an accident on the 495.

I decided to distract myself from thoughts of jumping out the window and walking in the frigid cold down the highway, or googling a way to put the driver to sleep so I could open the windows, crank the heat and take over the cab, by thinking about what would most serve you all on the blog this week.

What topics would you most like to know about, get information on, get hooked into? What do you most want to know about?

Juliette Bosco, photo by Rachel Neville

Whether it’s audition photos, fitness marketing, photoshoots, or something else, what are you focused on this week?

So, while hiding my nose in my sleeve, I decided to ask you all for input!

Drop me a line here… I’ll not only answer your questions, but I’ll give 2 of you who submit a question to me a pretty significant discount on a photo shoot.  Just for taking a minute of your time to stop, think, and shoot me an email.

Really, I thank you in advance since even just the act of writing this helped distract me from that smelly car!

What I Want to Hear

Tell me now… and be the lucky winner to collect your photoshoot discount.

Lately I’ve been getting angry and yelling at my clients.  And that’s a good thing.  I’m yelling because I care, because I believe in them, and because I know every one of them can push the limits and achieve great things.

So often people say to me, ‘you work with only really good dancers’, and yes it’s true I’m lucky in the artist who have honored me by coming through my doors. But the truth is, there’s a knack to pulling out the very best in artists, and I don’t give up until I get it.

Celestin Boutin, Ellison Ballet Photo: Rachel Neville

Occasionally that means that I raise my voice, get excited, get agitated, yell a little – even cry a little – whatever it takes to get my dancers to give me their full energy and engagement and then go beyond what they thought possible.

Why are you talking about this, you ask? Because I want to take a moment from my little corner of the world to encourage you to do the same. Every day. Every class.  Give your full energy and engagement.  Go beyond what you think you can.

 Allison Lang, National Ballet of Canada School Photo: Rachel Neville

At least once per photo shoot, it seems like my clients think that they can’t do something, some movement, some pose, some line that doesn’t work for their body. And they want to move on. Sometimes this is practical, it’s not a developed area of their technique and we talk about them working on it over the next year to shoot it again. But frequently, I can get them to a place, in that same movement, where they say ‘whoa, I didn’t think I could look like that. I didn’t think I could do that’. Then I say, ‘can you imagine how good you would be, if you gave that much of yourself to your work and your classes and rehearsals everyday?

That much effort, all the time?

Holy Cow!

Courtney Lavine, American Ballet Theater (ABT) Photo: Rachel Neville

Don’t get me wrong, it takes a huge amount of work. And work and work. When I was dancing, I’m convinced I didn’t know how to work as hard as I push my clients to work now. I know I didn’t, and I think that’s why I regularly get upset at dancers who have so much facility and so much to give, but don’t work as hard as I know they can, in order to get to where I see they can and should be. Yes, occasionally it brings me to tears.

Courtney Lavine, American Ballet Theater (ABT) Photo: Rachel Neville

I had a moment this past summer when I was shooting with American Ballet Theater member Courtney Lavine. She mentioned that a jump we were working on she nails in every photo because she worked that jump hard. By herself, in the studio, until she could nail it effortlessly every time. Every. Time.

Now is the time, people, auditions are coming up.  It’s time to go beyond what you think possible, as often as possible.  Let this be your recipe for growth, improvement and getting where you want to be.

Courtney Lavine, American Ballet Theater (ABT) Photo: Rachel Neville

For more on challenging yourself, staying connected and staying in the moment, working hard every time, stay tuned next week for an update on the body language experiment.  I think you will be amazed at the results.

The results of the Body Language Experiment are in and are rather astounding!

I’m so excited to share with you the synopsis of what has happened to my 6 Body Language Experiment volunteers!

If you are new to this blog, let me give you a quick re-cap of what this experiment is all about:

In shoots, I often start my clients off with a conversation about what their facial and body language is saying to their intended audience. Recently, in a shoot with Ellison Dancer Gianna Caridi, we decided to do an experiment to see what would happen if we took these simple concepts into the dance studio. Of course, my intention was to find out if this affected peoples’ classes and rehearsals, and then to share the results with my clients and readers, giving you a ‘one up’ for your auditions. Every little bit helps right?!

What the Body Language Experiment asked for:

In the same class (or rehearsals, etc..), every day, for 2 weeks, the dancers shifted their weight over the balls of their feet and left their hands down by their side, open and ready to receive information.

After class, dancers recorded the following: 

a) how well did the class go

b) did the teacher have a difference in his/her approach to the dancer

c) did the dancer got more or less attention/corrections

d) was the dancer’s overall progress over the two weeks affected by the changes in body language, and if so, how

Now, with a few scientists in my family, I’ll be the first one to admit that this is far from a perfect scientific study. We only had 6 volunteers, who dropped to 4 after the initial week. We didn’t have a control group, and there were very few parameters.

However, I think you’ll agree, when you hear what happened, that there is much more to this than most dancers realize!

Can changing your body language and how you use your body to communicate help you in your auditions and career? I wouldn’t doubt it.

Results of the Body Language Experiment

1)In general, all the dancers felt that many of their classes went better.
2)The dancers overwhelmingly felt that they received more attention.
3)The dancers seemed to be thrown into extra parts in rehearsals after others dropped out
4)A few of the dancers felt that they ‘felt more on their legs’ those days that they changed their body language to participate in the experiment.

If you are ready to pull this into your work in the studio, drop me a line.

Now is the time to implement all these small changes, make them become habits one day at a time because small shifts over time make big differences.

One month until auditions begin, don’t wait, start now!

With the New Year on the horizon, it’s time to engage your fitness and movement brand. Be in position to take advantage of the busy New Year season, and focus on connecting more with the clients you have and the new clients you want.

Marketing Advice for Movement and Fitness Professionals

Work through these five basic steps to get in position for a strong start to your best year yet.

How to Make the Most of Your Fitness Brand

1) Be consistent in the tone and feel of your marketing materials.

The tone of your words should be similar: friendly and open, expert, quirky, direct…. whatever your personality is, stick to it.

2) Start now.

Don’t procrastinate until your grand ideas of the perfect fitness website, classes, workshops, marketing materials are in place.  You don’t tell your clients to wait to start their new regime till they have lost 5 pounds and can fit those snazzy lulu pants they bought 2 years ago right? Apply the same thinking to your fitness marketing.  Consistent, regular baby steps are better than no steps at all.

3) Have a clear vision of what images will best suit your brand before you shoot for it.

Maintain your ‘look’ in all of your postings and materials.

4) Know how to explain what you do and what problems you solve for your clients in short one or two sentence form.

Make sure that your message is consistent with the look of your materials.

5) Make your visuals easy for people to read and understand.

Can the fitness clients you want tell what you do at a quick glance? If not, refine and simplify. Consider how long you would stay on a website that is difficult to navigate or to understand.

This is your jumping off point.  That means now is the time to get started.

For more advice on getting your fitness and movement marketing ready for the New Year, contact me now!

Happy New Year!

Anthony Savoy, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Ashely Mayeux, Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Thank you so much to all of our readers, clients and supporters.

Anthony Savoy, Dance Theatre of Harlem

2014 has been a year full of exciting moments and great work and I have all of you to thank for it.  Whether you worked with me in the new studio, read and shared a blog post, or staged a great performance, you have helped to make 2014 special.

Anthony Savoy, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Ashely Mayeux, Complexions Contemporary Ballet

I can’t wait to share all of the amazing things on the horizon for 2015.

Anthony Savoy, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Ashely Mayeux, Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Derek from Zuetfilms helped capture some special moments from 2014.  Take a look and enjoy!  Cheers to the old year and wishing you all the best in 2015.

A few weeks ago we did a Body Language Experiment with a few dancers, and the results (although I’m the first one to admit were not scientific), were astounding.   By simply having the dancers shift their body weight over the balls of their feet and allow their arms and hands to hang and feel relaxed, open and ready to receive, they all experienced a higher level of satisfaction in their classes, improved work and more attention from their coaches and teachers. YES!!!

What if we were to bring this experiment over to the yoga and fitness world?  How would this work?

I know few really good teachers and instructors that don’t already practice some form of this without even thinking about it.  The ones that really are in the zone motivate you and keep you going don’t sit back and cross their arms over their chests, right?

But let’s take it another step.  Could there be room to work on a specific type of body language that will keep your clients coming back for more and telling their friends about your sessions and classes?

Let’s experiment!

Are you interested in participating?  Drop me a line and I’ll give you the details, I’m really excited to get this new approach working for you!

As we come to the end of the first month of 2015 I am still filled with the excitement of the new year and full of good wishes for all of you as we move ahead through this great year.

Celestin Boutin, Photo Rachel Neville Photography at Long Island City Dance Photography Studio

I’m in the middle of a moment of extreme gratitude for all that happened in 2014, and I want to share it with all of you who are so important to me.  It’s been a dream of mine to have my own studio, built specifically for the kind of dance photography and fitness photographs I create.

Jessica Cobb, Photo Rachel Neville Photography at Long Island City Dance Photography Studio

I’m so grateful for all of you, for your support, continued trust and your positive energy.  It is your energy that helps make this kind of dance and movement photography possible.  It is what we are able to do together, with your energy and mine, in this studio space in Long Island City, that makes great photography possible.

Photo Rachel Neville Photography at Long Island City Dance Photography Studio

With my 18 foot wide cyc (with sprung floor… my dream!), and space to store backgrounds, loads of props, costumes, leotards and more of my toys (killer equipment) than ever before, I truly feel like my work has been able to spread its wings.  I have the clients who constantly allow me to get creative and expand my mind and create new ideas together.  Thank you for that!

Photo Rachel Neville Photography at Long Island City Dance Photography Studio

Marketing and visibility for pro dancers. They are so important but so easily left on the side burner.  Dancers often think I’ve got the contract, now it’s time to forget about everything and just dance, right?

Not any more.

There are so many reasons to stay focused on your own marketing once you have, or have had, a contract for awhile.

Dance Marketing is Good for Individual Dancers, their Companies and their Careers

• Using marketing tools like social media helps you build a following.  Even a small following can help sell tickets to your shows.
• Your marketing can help build your company’s following.  This is great for ticket sales and interest in your company, and for your career.
• Putting yourself out there helps dancers get guesting work and to build up a base in a location you may want to do workshops in.
• Some smart marketing can help you get those extra endorsements or modeling contracts that can come from the least expected places

 Contemporary Dancer Ashley Mayeaux, Photo by Rachel Neville

Marketing Tip for Dancers:

Getting involved in social media to share and market you and your work is just the tip of the iceberg and we will continue to provide you advice on how to use the tools you already use to promote your career, support your company and find new opportunities to flourish.  In the meantime, remember to use the social media sites you already love (Insta, Facebook, Twitter… pick your favorite) and start sharing in your story, your photos, shout outs to friends and fellow company members.  Marketing on social media should feel natural, so start where you’re comfortable.  And don’t forget to use and share the professional images you had created for your auditions and your book.

It Really Works!  Dancer Ashley Mayeaux Shares Her Marketing Success Story

Recently, Ashley Mayeaux, one of my dance photography clients, sent me an email. We had done a creative shoot before Christmas (see some of the highlights in the video below). Ashley said in the email that she had gotten so much mileage out of one of the photos we had done.  Just that one photo, that she and I had shared, was giving her more visibility more attention than she had ever thought.

I had found some interesting packing material I had wanted to use for a ‘bodice’ and had coached her into a really great 180, focusing on getting the energy of her body to really translate while maintaining her supporting leg rotation. That shot seemed to go around and around social media. It not only gave her visibility, it gave her access to a larger audience.  Complexions Dance, after seeing the photo on Instagram, asked us if they could use it as a poster.  High praise for Ashley indeed!

Ashley’s story is a great way to understand what’s next after you get the job, how you need to be thinking about marketing yourself as a professional dancer and how you can increase your visibility and your career opportunities with just a little focus on sharing the great things you are already doing.

Follow here on the blog for more information as we cover more on this topic, offer tips, share advice and bring you more success stories and opportunities to share.

We all know the story, whether we are fitness trainers or not.  Even people with the best intentions break their resolutions by the time February rolls around.  And while it’s not unexpected, it can leave trainers, yoga instructors and other fitness professionals scrambling to meet goals and to keep their own momentum going through the winter.

To keep clients coming back to you, you need to let them know the value that you are bringing to them, as well as the experience that you offer in a way no one else can.  Just like you needed to help your clients develop an understanding of who you are and a level of trust in you and what you can do for them in order to get them as clients in the first place, you need to continue to reinforce that trust to keep them as clients over time.

Last week I touched on a similar topic for professional dancers.  Once they have a contract with a dance company, many dancers feel like their commitment to marketing themselves can stop.  This is not the case.  To build and nurture a growing career, a professional dancer has to be constantly aware of what they are communicating about themselves, how they are communicating it and who they are communicating to.

The same is true for trainers and other fitness professionals.  Even if your clients came to you for the first time as part of a New Year’s resolution, there is still a reason why they chose you.  You built trust with them and you showed them your value as a trainer.

Continue to keep that trust and to make your clients want to stay with you as their fitness instructor both through the work that you do with them and by keeping up your own commitment to marketing your services the right way.

In the coming weeks here on the blog, I will be talking about more tips for how to stay committed to your marketing.