Why I became a musician

Of course a music drop requires a QnA, but why make it normal, when you can make it weird and fun. It’s dooope! Hope you find it slightly uncomfortable but wildly entertaining like I do.

Oh and thanks for the questions via Instagram. I asked for weird ones, and some weird ones I got!

Sorelle

I became a musician

22 years…stuck…thinking…debating with myself whether or not to just surrender to this persistent inner voice begging me to sing.

“Sorelle! Stop! Please”

I gave myself every reason under the sun as to why it wouldn’t work.

But why did the voice stay? I tried to reason with it, why wouldn’t it hear me?

And as if a desperate child, it tugged and tugged at my trousers, slowly fading of life and soul, but unwilling to walk away.

And when my world ceased in 2020, lifeless and numb, I didn’t know where to turn. No matter what familiar activities or tasks I undertook, my body resisted. Everything felt like pushing a boulder up a hill.

“Life has never felt so heavy! What is happening to me?”.

I couldn’t recognize myself.

And music…knock, knock, knock.

“Do you want to play now?”

Sure. Why not. And so I faced my shadows, doubts and fears every time I stepped into that studio, petrified I was getting closer to admitting that this artistry was ACTUALLY what I wanted.

I destroyed my reputation and my career in my mind and mocked myself before even writing the first lyric, before anyone else could tear me down.

But the most beautiful thing began occurring simultaneously.

With every self-battle I faced, I felt the soul of the lifeless child replenishing. Breathing just a little bit deeper, smiling just a little bit sweeter.

I don’t know why I was asked to pursue this irrational path, but I don’t think I’ll ever find the answer within logic.

And today, after 6 months of sitting on a completed album, I unleashed Ring Road into the world.

And at this moment, I feel a 22 year exhale. I feel like I am exactly where I was always meant to be. I feel relief and lightness like I haven’t really felt before.

Now I’m no fool, I know this feeling will fade, replaced with more doubts and excuses at bay. But in this moment, I relish in this taste of ecstatic fever, grateful to the battles I’ve faced, which have allowed me to make today a day to remember.

#ringroad

Renovating My Eccentric Office in Iceland - White, Wooden, Thrifted Office Tour

Hey friends,

It's been almost 18 months being a first time home owner in Iceland with my Australian parter Leon and I'm finally starting to become quite happy with the renovations of areas of the house. Let me show you room by room starting with my very eccentric office.

It was a path that was a little uncomfortable because as a life long renter, I've not have the ability to do whatever I want in a space. And so it took a while to get used to it.

Then I of course messed up the colour choice for the room and that was a major scary set back, but it meant that the mistake turned into one of the best things that could have happened in my room because the white has transformed this space into a very beautiful, delicate and cozy escape.

I am beyond thrilled with the result. Of course calling it the 'world's most beautiful office' leaves me open to much criticism since beauty is obviously subjective, BUT I am biased towards my space and I honestly do thing it's the most beautiful

I'm so happy with it, in instantly warms my heart whenever I'm in the room.

I used my office of course for work, such as computer work and filming videos, but I wanted the space to be so much more.

As a recovering workaholic (actually, not exaggerating for funsies), I wanted to make it quite hard for me to spend endless hours working, so I made the office seem very much not like an office.

I included a tiny, highly uncomfortable desk (used to be a sewing machine which is pretty cool. It was $15 and my chair is also super uncomfortable.

I'm sure a lot of people won't be able to relate to needing to stop myself from working, but after a decade of grinding (and I'm honestly glad I did because it was a great foundation for my future), I needed to back off a little and work smarter, rather than harder.

But the addiction was really strong, hence why I needed to do whatever I could to make it harder for myself.

Anywho...I digress.

The items in the office are mostly thrifted and I tried to use a lot of very affordable elements with much impact - including lots of dried roses and flowers, sticks, trees.

I have much fur in my office, all of it second hand, the butterfly in the frame was also a birthday gift.

As I was editing this video I realised how much death surrounds my office - the furs, the flowers, the skeleton, the butterflies. Quite interesting considering the death phobia challenge I've had for over 3 years now (story for another time).

The biggest splurge of the office is my beautiful couch. It was an impulsive purchase and wow...am I glad it worked out in the end.

It turned out to be the perfect colour even though I never thought my room would be white.

It was a dumb purchase but glad it worked out in the end.

The endless instruments in my room bring me immense joy considering for so long I've wanted to learn music. And I am.

There will be an update on all the musical things I'm doing in my life soon. So tune in.

Anyway, thanks for watching this strange Australian that was once a travel YouTuber now set up her life here in Iceland. Different life stage but I'm starting to really thrive in it, even though the choice to step away from travel was obviously not my own.

But we adapt and we learn.

Please subscribe, like and leave a comment. You know how this all works

Many kisses.

Sorelle

How to Look Good in EVERY Photo (For Non-Models)

These days creative photography has become the minimum required to stand out online - both for business and for personal use. Nowadays, you are compelled to take a snapshot or post a beautiful photo of yourself on social media. To stand out, you have to understand the technical aspects of photography (e.g. display, white balance), the creative (how it looks, is the photo visually interesting), and much more to effectively lead your digital presence. 

Sadly, most of us aren’t naturally photogenic, and being the subject of multiple pictures often leads to more than a few we wished didn’t exist.

However, you don’t have to be a celebrity, model, or blogger to look great in photos. You also don't need an expert camera-man either. By adhering to these simple tips, you can begin mastering your own presence in front of the camera and take photos that you’re truly proud of.

Here are my top 10 tips to look good in every photo:

1. Practice

Figure out what angles look good on you. Of course, this rarely comes naturally to most of us and will take a lot of time to figure out. While it may appear ridiculous at first, practicing smiling, slightly turning your head, and modeling in front of the mirror to figure out your best sides goes a long way once you start taking photos. Professional models do this often to ensure they can achieve the most striking images.

2. Facial expressions

The zero expression is a very hard look and I strongly recommend you leave it for professional models. If you don't know how to smile, where to look, etc. it will show in the photo. So, learning the right facial expressions for your photos is definitely a must. This definitely doesn't come naturally to most people so practicing in the mirror is your best bet to finding what works best for you!

3. Make micro-adjustments in every photo that you take.

If you know any professional photographers, you'll maybe think it's excessive that they'll take anywhere from dozens to hundreds of photos of the exact same thing. However, the reason for this is trying to get just the right combination of elements for the perfect shot and often, patience is the virtue that helps you achieve it.

This means that for great photos, you need to take a LOT of photos of yourself. If you don't, there's a lower chance that you'll land on that perfect shot where everything comes together how you want it to.

To begin with, you want to establish what poses make you look your best and fit with your particular environment. Then, you may want to tilt your head slightly, moving in different angles and directions as well as your facial expressions while continuing to take shots until everything falls in place. If you use a Sony camera, you may want to try Sony's Imaging Edge mobile app where you can actually see yourself on the screen and control the camera remotely from your phone. This way you can see exactly what your camera is seeing before you take the shot. 

4. Framing

Framing is exactly what it sounds like - viewing your image via something that frames it such as a window, a doorway, through leaves of a tree, etc.

It might seem like it doesn't really matter but if your frame is off then the entire photo is off. Try learning about the role of framing. This is one of the most crucial components of getting the perfect shot. 

Some quick tips on framing:

Make sure you don't place yourself too close to the edges as it can appear that you're squeezing yourself into the frame.

Next, turn on the grid on your phone or camera to guide you. 

You must ensure that your horizon is straight. If you want to be center-frame, your eyes should be along the top horizontal line of the grid. If you prefer to be off-center, then use one of the two vertical grid lines to align your eyes at that place. 

Another crucial point is to ensure that your limbs are not cut out of the frame, as this can look pretty awkward.

Note: You can set up your frame before asking someone to take a photo of you. That way, you automatically ensure that they don't cut off the background, the sky, or your legs.

5. Lighting.

Lighting is everything in photography. Therefore, choosing the right lighting is essential to looking good in any photo. Even though you may be lured into taking photos in direct sunlight, this isn't the easiest way to capture good photos. The sun can generate harsh shadows on your face, whereas a bit of cloud coverage will soften these shadows. 

Similarly, do not pose directly under a light when taking snapshots inside as it generates a similar effect. if you're sitting indoors and you don't have a professional photography light, find a window and utilize the natural light.

If you want to elevate your lighting from beginner to master level and take better photos from the start, I highly recommend shooting during sunrise or sunset. 

On occasion, the contrast of light and dark can add a really creative edge to your photos if you know how to work with it. Practice again is essential to this.

6. The perspective

If you're a beginner, it's important to know that the different cameras and lenses you use will alter your face and features. You always want to make sure that you're getting the best out of your cameras. 

If the camera is too close to you, you risk enlarging your features. Thus, it's better to move the camera away from you then zoom in to compress your features.

A good rule of thumb to remember is that whatever is closest to the camera will look larger.

If you want to look taller, for example, you can take photos of yourself from a lower angle and angle your legs towards the camera. If you're trying to make some part of you look a little smaller, find a pose that shifts that part of your body away from the camera a little bit. 

Also, try to avoid taking photos of yourself from eye level for full body shots; This will shrink your legs, which doesn't look great.

7. Dress to accentuate your body shape

Photography is art. You, as the subject, are part of this art so showing up as your best self is a must! Dress up and have fun with it! 

What do you own that contrasts well with your location? How can a unique item in your closet help you tell a story or build a character?

You definitely don't need an extensive wardrobe to take amazing photos. Just play around with what you have, wear what makes you feel great about yourself, and just go with it!

8. Be further away from the camera 

Looking through #advancedselfie on social media, I've noticed that most of the pictures are of just people. One way to spice things up is by showcasing a background a little bit. Scout out some beautiful locations, find a cool spot in nature, or showcase a particular aspect of your home to add a more dynamic element to your photo.

9. Overediting

If you're brand new to photo editing, be aware of overediting your photos. A lot of beginners in photography often do this, which is all part of the process. Just remember, it’s more appealing to keep things a little more on the natural side. The best way to see if you've overedited is to look at the work done by a professional photographers and compare side by side; does your photo look a little bit too overedited? If yes, tune it down just a little bit.

10. Engage in QUEEN MODE (A weird but effective tip to instantly get sky-high confidence)

This is a strange one but has worked for me for a long time. It refers to anchoring in Natural Language Processing (NLP). Think of this memory and build it into your mind that your body will switch into a 'queen mode' when you perform/do a certain action. For me, I've trained myself to 'go Queen'; I know exactly the state I want my body to be in and I created this a few years ago. It has worked wonders in boosting my confidence which really helps me in showcasing my absolute best while taking photos.

I hope you find these tips helpful to look your best in photographs! Do you have any of your own tips you’ve come across for killer photos? Drop them down in the comments!

---

For more in-depth information on shooting next level self-portraits, check out my Advanced Selfie University here.

My Journey to Photography Success - From Novice to Highly Paid Professional

My Journey To Photography Success - From Novice to Highly Paid Photo Professional Try two months of SKILLSHARE for free!: https://skl.sh/sorelleamore12 MY AD...

You probably saw in my recent Youtube video the complete story of my photography journey - from when I first picked up a camera, to learning everything I could about it at every opportunity, and to eventually making a full-time income as a professional photographer.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I first decided to focus on photography. Zero.

And even though I’ve really been afraid of calling myself a professional photographer all of this time, I’ve recently looked back at these past 5 years and realized this might not have been realistic.

Looking back I’ve learned a lot and am humbled to say that at this time I’ve been able to help nearly 6,000 students improve their photos and self-esteem through the Advanced Selfie - a concept I created to crack the code on capturing powerful self-portraits. Not only that, I’ve managed to make a full-time income from my photography…which technically makes me a professional.

What to say? It’s been one crazy adventure!

But how did I become a photographer? How does one go from a photography novice - or art novice of any kind- to a highly paid professional?

While I definitely don’t believe that there’s any one path to achieving success, I wanted to break down what eventually got me there and hopefully inspire some ideas for the next stage of your journey!

Step 1: Realization

I first picked up a camera when I was eighteen and, while I wasn’t trying to do anything amazing, my family was really surprised and impressed with what I was able to capture. Photography was never something I had thought about before but it definitely sparked an interest that stayed with me for a couple of years. Though with this I kind of suppressed it for many years afterward and I found myself working a lot of different jobs. I never found any of these very fulfilling.

Step 2: Action

After completing a Vipassana (an intense 10-day meditation), I felt really compelled to reach out to my friend Sasha from Sherbet Birdie Photography and asking about being a photography intern. I had been telling myself for a long time that I wasn’t creative, but the thought kept coming up! I listened and eventually picked up an internship with Sasha where I immersed myself in the world of photography to learn anything and everything possible.

During this period I learned some really valuable things, namely a strong focus on quality, how powerful passion is as a driving force when you don’t always have the talent for something, and learning how to say YES to new possibilities and figure it out as you go!

Pro tip: If it’s something you think you can manage learn to say yes and research and figure things out! You never know how much these challenges will open new doors and rapidly build your skills!

Step 3: Detachment

This is when I said goodbye to comfort - including my own home country, my family, and my friends and headed to Europe to make it on my own with photography.

It was scary as hell. With only 9 months of photography experience, I decided to head out on my own and see what really stuck for me in my photography, which is where a lot of experimenting happened.

Step 4: Copycat Stage

Basically, I had no idea what I was doing with my camera. While in Iceland I watched what everyone else did and tried to mimic what better photographers than myself were doing. This included landscape photography and a lot of other unique styles from professional photographers that were unlike my own, and I learned a lot from studying them!

Yet from all of this, I mostly learned about what I personally did and didn’t like in photography and realized how much I loved capturing that human element in photos. I also didn’t see the point in continuing to capture the same shots as everyone else and from there started looking for ways to be more unique and creative; continuing to look for what really “stuck” for me was what lead me to the next stage in my art.

Step 5: Originality

Eventually, I took the two categories I knew the most about in photography: studio pin-up portraits and landscapes and merged them together. This worked great because I was traveling to beautiful places and I could take photos of myself since I was always available! And thus, the beginnings of the Advanced Selfie were born!

Over time I also found that my confidence in my photography improved, as did my own confidence in who I was and how I could communicate myself to the world.

Step 6: Creating the Movement

Almost as a joke I started calling my self-portraits Advanced Selfies but later it really stuck. Not only that but it started growing like crazy on social media! I absolutely loved what the concept did for me in building my self-esteem and my art, but I found it also helped a lot of others do the same.

After creating content on my YouTube channel and getting a ton of more in-depth questions relating to posing, editing, and composition for Advanced Selfies I created my first course: The Advanced Selfie University.

Conclusion:

To sum all of this up, this journey was anything but a straight line from point A to Z of success as a professional photographer. It was messy, terrifying, and confusing, but I was determined to keep perfecting my work and grow every single day.

Sometimes you can open that first door by yourself by saying that one big, resolute YES to what you’re passionate about and trying to make it work. So if you’re questioning yourself with whether you should really try out something you love, here’s my advice: Go for it!

All the best,

Sorelle

How I Afford the Life That I Live

BE THE FIRST to find out about the PUBLIC FIGURE BOOTCAMP: https://bit.ly/sa-pfb

I'm currently in Isafjodur in the Westfjords in Iceland, exploring for 2 weeks in a camper (cozycamper.is) with my man Leon. 

So...decided it's time to address the big questions I often get:

- Did I inherit the money? 

- Do my parent pay for it all? 

- Am I relying on a rich boyfriend? 

Or did I create this life all by myself?

I get asked this question very often, how I afford the life I have. I’m blessed to buy a home in Iceland almost outright recently for my 31st bday, I reached a really dope financial goal in Jan, I was an avid traveler until I got quite tired of it and then also realized how bad that is for the world - best of all, I don’t work for anyone, my time is mine and I’m a free woman.

It seems to be a really hard pill for some people to swallow that I did essentially create this life for myself, all by myself - especially as a woman ;) 

How do I do it? 

1. Sell Own Products

Benefit: make money whilst I sleep

Results compound upon themselves - eg. One YouTube video keeps selling my work as the video grows instead of a sponsorship message for someone else

I’m fully in control of the marketing.

What I sell: 

- My courses: 

ADVANCED SELFIE UNIVERSITY: https://bit.ly/2BJ4V4B

GROW YOUR INSTAGRAM LIKE ME: http://blesseduni.com

- My presets - new ones launched now called 'I'm Famous'. Check them out here: 

https://www.sorelleamore.com/shop

- My email template and media kit: https://www.sorelleamore.com/shop

2. Brand Deals - since I’m not dependent on others, I choose only deals I fully believe in - like Skillshare who is sponsoring this video

3. YouTube Ad Revenue - VERY small portion of what I make. Niche isn’t hyper profitable so I don't focus on this income stream.

Multiple streams of revenue are the goal. Make money whilst you sleep and don’t rely on one source. 

What I did to get here: 

Marketing skills - super important - I think my greatest weapon is understanding marketing. Skillshare is dope and you can get two months of Skillshare for free: https://skl.sh/sorelleamore10

The rest of the wisdom about how I grew my wallet is in the video, so keep watching until the end for some golden nuggets of wisdom :) 

Like and subscribe, if you got value, drop a comment as it helps the algorithm immensely. 

Join My Newsletter: https://www.sorelleamore.com/opt-in-newsletter

Try two months of SKILLSHARE for free!: https://skl.sh/sorelleamore10

ADVANCED SELFIE UNIVERSITY: https://bit.ly/2BJ4V4B

GROW YOUR INSTAGRAM LIKE ME: http://blesseduni.com

MY PRESETS: https://sellfy.com/sorelleamore

MY MUSIC (Great for YouTubers) - https://bit.ly/2IwOW8C

MY GEAR: https://kit.co/SorelleAmore

Kisses to you all :) 

Sorelle

Bikini In The Snow Remake - The END of Photography Tutorials

I am EXTREMELY thrilled and at the same time saddened to be announcing the end of my photography tutorials online.

I have spoken before about wanting to let go of the 'Photography Online Teacher' version of me, but I guess I wanted to do one final video to end it all.

One which would showcase to me and you my evolution as an artist. And so here is me, remaking my first photography series - the Bikini in the Snow series which went viral in 2016. It was picked up by Buzzfeed, Daily Mail, Digital Rev, a Mexican TV morning show apparently spoke about it. In total about 8 million people saw this series.

Not bad for a chica that had only been doing photography for less than a year. And so...now that I'm about 5 years into photography, I'm sure there has been some progress.

Absolutely my editing and posing has changed and evolved. I really love my dark and moody images these days that I do as part of my Advanced Selfie (http://www.AdvancedSelfie.co) work.

But...does it work as a Bikini In The Snow series? Let's see!

Thanks so much for being here as part of my photography YouTube journey. It's been a BLAST! Super ready for the next chapter, whatever that might be.

It's scary at times to let go of who you were, but in order to become who you want to be, you have to let go completely.

But alas...still quite nervous because of course the unknown can be a bit daunting.

Lots of love to you all :)

Thanks for being here on my journey.

Oh! Here are the articles which went viral:
Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...
Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/annamendoza/...

Sorelle

PS. Subscribe and like this video aaaaaand have a great day!

Banging Online Presence For Creatives: How To Look Professional, Make Money and Command Attention


Hello photographers, individuals with a message eg PT’s, cooks, lawyers, hi mum. Anyone that needs an individual online presence, I’ve got you covered with the video on what to focus on when setting up an online presence for yourself so you look pro, get followers and get that money honey. 


1.  Who are you?
It’s important for you to identify who you are. This might take you a while. Are you a photographer? Do you specialise in an area of photography? What makes you different. For a long time I also personally didn’t know who I was so I chopped and changed. That’s normal when you’re still developing yourself and learning about yourself. Seldom do people or personal brands know exactly who they are from the start. You should aim to get it as accurate as possible, but it’s ok to change it as you evolve.



Currently I’m sitting on ‘Beautifully Building Better Beings’. It helps to encompass everything I stand for - helping people feel good about themselves internally and externally because beautiful beings help to make the world beautiful. It’s not too specific - eg. Advanced Selfie Queen even though lots of people know me for that skill, as if I want to make videos about other topics, I’m free to do so which otherwise I could be restricted.


2. Social media - Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch (insert other platform here).
Choose your poison. You don’t need to be on everything. You should choose only the ones you can do REALLY well. I have Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter with content across everything but my main is Instagram and YouTube. If I have the danger of a platform sitting empty and looking poor, I’d rather not have an account on that platform as measly attempts make you look even less professional. 


3. Have flawless images of yourself and your business
AdvancedSelfie.co - you need good images to sell yourself and your image. I’ve found the cheapest and best way to do this comfortable and quickly. You’re welcome.


4. Be consistent and provide value
If you don’t provide value somehow - whether it’s through humour, your personality, your message, etc etc - people won’t have a bar of it. If it’s always about you, you, you, then it gets old pretty quick. Fastest way to getting a great online presence is serving as many people as you can. So provide value though your work!


5. Gather online reviews
on Google, Facebook and transfer those to your website - This is for those offering a service. PT’s, photographers, Lawyers, Hairdressers. Anyone really. Ask your clients to do a google review and Facebook review. If you have a good relationship with them and they love you, this should be easy peasy. Once these reviews are done, get them up on your website. Which brings me to.


6.  Set up a website.
You need a website which is basically your online business card of who you are. I don’t know how people survive without websites these days. Even for a college graduate looking to get into Marketing. Having a website with everything on there about you, even if you are just trying to get a job and don’t have too many skills, this will set you apart MASSIVELY. On there you should have photos of you, a bio, your socials, reviews.



7. Patience
Your online presence will become more concrete and your online followers will grow as you grow, as you learn who you are, as you perfect your craft, as you produce more content, as you train more people or cut more peoples hair and you can show off what you’ve done for others. 

Patience is key in this all. Don’t sweat it just concentrate on building up your skills all the time.



What is your favourite tip out of all this? What will you implement right away?



Also, as always, I’m all about that free self promo so please plug yourself down below. The perfect plug should be confident, but not cocky, should have what you do in a short sentence, your Instagram or website should be linked and what value people can expect from you.



Look forward to reading so I know who’s watching this!



Here is my Instagram and Twitter if you’d like to see more and until next time guys…peace!


 Sorelle

5 SELF PORTRAIT HACKS IN 300 SECONDS (Advanced Selfie Edition)

The Advanced Selfie is all about taking a normal photograph and turning it into art. The online world is vicious but this girl ain’t going to let social media intimidate you because I’ll teach you hacks to level up your Instagram feed.

1. Use what you’ve got - I’m not a fan of endless wardrobes because realistically who has the money for that, or the time to shop and it’s better to have a few items you love then crappy fast fashion clothing that looks like a bag of dic in 2 washes. So…here is just one of the solutions I use: Bedsheets. If you use this tip, make sure you tag #BedsheetArt so I can look at what you’ve created. hehe

2. Perfect the pose, then make minor tweaks - it’s far too difficult to make your entire pose flawless from the start. Lock in the pose and then tweak the face. Take as many photos as you need until you’re happy with your facial expression. That would be a couple or 20.

3. Aim to be uncomfortable - posing is never comfortable. Aim to make it look easy with a relaxed face, but secretly, you’ll be suffering.

4. Use The Golden Rule of 5 - In every location that you shoot, the aim is to walk away with as many photos as you can because this gives you a backlog of content you can use and make the most of your time. Whenever I’m out shooting my Advanced Selfies I aim for the golden five - close up, mid shot, far away, sitting, lying down. Then you can also add different backgrounds and different outfits, different editing and one location can produce a million different looks for you.

5. Use props - shadows, add elements to the foreground, clothing or items (bed drone) to help enhance your photo and take it from photo to art.

6. Bonus - use beautiful locations - whether you’re renting out stunning AirBnBs for the day or integrating mother nature - a beautiful background is 50% of the photograph and it will make your job so much easier. Goodbye ugly background challenge. I’m totally not into you.

This video is brought to you by the Advanced Selfie University.

Let me share my secrets of taking beautiful, attention-grabbing self portraits with you in this comprehensive video course that will help you level up your photography, online presence and instagram feed whether you’re doing it to increase your self-esteem, your following or your sales. Create incredible solo content that looks like it was created by an entire professional team. Check out the link here to find out more.

What is your favourite hack?

Make sure you tag your work, like, subscribe and hit that bell. Share this video with anyone that hates their online presence and wants to not feel so crappy when they go onto social media.

Also, please keep sending this video to James Charles because they guy is learning Self-Portraits right now and he should only be taught by the Advanced Selfie Queen himself. hehe.

Until next time guys…peace!

Sorelle Amore
x

The Advanced Selfie Isn't As It Seems: The Unexpected Life Changing Story of An Accidental Creation

ADVANCED SELFIE UNIVERSITY: https://bit.ly/2BJ4V4B

People laugh at me when I tell them I teach the Advanced Selfie to thousands.

Recently I met a person that gave me another eye roll when I told them I teach how to take Advanced Selfies. He didn’t understand. He thought it was pathetic. And when I explained the importance of the Advanced Selfie and how it helped me and how it helped him, he finally understood and acknowledged it was important.

I also started thinking in the recent months that maybe this isn’t the best thing to be teaching and maybe it’s a little lame and very shallow, but I just finished a trip to Palm Springs and took so many new Advanced Selfies (as you can see in this video) and I reconnected to my love of this art.

I realised truly my journey of what it took to get to the point of confidence in myself and the love of myself and the love of this self-portrait craft for me and for thousands of others that write to me daily how much it has helped them.

So as weird of a journey as it is for me to be doing this apparently shallow game (probably due to the name, but come on…it’s funny and it’s genius), I now understand it’s not shallow and it’s very necessary in the world we live in now days.

I hope this video helps to explain why I adore this self-portrait style so much.If you know of someone that could use some nice photos of themselves for their personal enjoyment or their business or a boost in confidence, please send them this video. I think it will be helpful!

Lots of love to you all,

Sorelle

How To NOT Be A Starving Artist - 6 Tips To Kick Start Your Journey

There is no reason for anyone to be a starving artist in this day and age.

We have endless access to resources on how to teach us to make our craft a full time gig. But I think the problem may also lie in people’s incorrect idea about art and business, sometimes believing that doing business will make you less creative or that if you’re business minded, you’re probably a fake creative. 
Ain’t nothing fake about eating two minute noodles all of your life and allowing your art to go to the grave with you because you didn’t know how to sell it.

I’m personally very grateful that I didn’t discover I was creative until about 4 years ago when I first picked up a camera. Before that I was a business person, studied business and marketing, and was convinced I didn’t have a creative bone in my body. Well…I was wrong. But I’m glad I have skills in both departments because they go hand in hand.

For those worried that a business plan might take away from your creativity, think again. It’s been proven through research, and my own personal experience, that when you have that steady cashflow, you stress less and can concentrate on your craft more.

It also helps that you don’t feel like the world is against you and you build up resentment for your mum, nephew, neighbours cat and the checkout chick down the road. Resentment paralyses every creative. 

But how much do you need to make to be comfortable and how to make that cash?

An easy way to calculate everything backwards is to work out how much it costs you to live comfortable.

Figure out your eating expenses, other bills, rent, car payments and a little extra leeway for life enjoyment per month. Then figure out how much that is daily.

Once you have a daily figure you need to aspire for, you’ll probably notice it’s not as high as you thought.

And then it’s a case of figuring out how many pieces of your art, music, gigs, services you need to sell in order to match that figure.

Making your goal an actual number instead of…ummmm….I just wanna make some money, will help you to streamline and focus.

Then it was research and action time.

In my personal journey of learning to make money as a business person and artist, I have:

• sold physical products online

• sold affiliate products

• sold online coaching information

• sold online coaching one on one sessions

• sold photography tours

• sold ebooks

• sold tickets to events

• sold digital products

• sold my marketing skills

• sold my social media skills

Did they all work? No. But did all the knowledge help? Yes

Here are a few quick starting points to get you on your way to being a wealthy artist:

1. Set up an online brand - website

2. If you don’t know what brand you are or you don’t have specific art to sell just yet, ask your friends what your strengths are and find out what brand you are. What problems do your friends come to you for?

3. Set up your social media and work on it - properly

4. Work with brands for free stuff to offset the cost of equipment

5. Create a newsletter for your following with valuable information

6. Concentrate on uniqueness and utilising PR

7. Do…just do. And add value wherever possible

8. Package your information that you know and make it into products. Ebooks, audio books, online courses - like my Advanced Selfie University, my presets, etc

9. Rinse and repeat 

What other things can you do now to stop being a starving artist? Let me know down below.

Why You Look Better in The Mirror Than In Photos - 9 Reasons

Why You Look Better in The Mirror Than In Photos - 9 Reasons ADVANCED SELFIE UNIVERSITY: https://bit.ly/2BJ4V4B MY PRESETS: https://sellfy.com/sorelleamore MY MUSIC (Great for YouTubers) - https://bit.ly/2IwOW8C OTHER MUSIC (Fresh New Sound) - http://share.mscbd.fm/SorelleAmore MY GEAR: https://kit.com/sorelleamore It's ok. It happens to all of us. So many of us wonder..."are we actually pretty?"

Ever looked in the mirror, loved what you see, then someone snaps a picture of you and your whole world is shattered because it’s a disaster?

Yep…it’s happened to all of us. Here are 9 reasons as to why this is happening.

Very quickly skimming over the obvious first 7 points:

1. you don’t know how to pose

2. you don’t know how to dress properly for your body shape

3. you don’t know which colours are best for your skin tone

4. you haven’t found your best face and body angles 

5. the lighting is incorrect

6. wrong positioning of the camera - different lenses and positioning of the camera in proportion to you will make you look entirely different. that’s why often 50mm angles are the choice for portrait photography as this lens makes people look smashing

7. what camera is used - and no - best quality isn’t always the best. Sometimes with crappy cameras the quality is a bit grainy and we like that as it hides imperfections and the high quality cameras can bring every detail to life
   

Then we get into the psychological effects why you might not like what you look like. And this is going to blow your mind:

1. Mere exposure effect -  - people react to things better when they are exposed to it more often.
   You’re not used to seeing the side of your head - i started getting adjusted to my side angles slowly but at first when i started being on youtube or seeing photos from the side, cringe. it took me a while to digest what my profile looks like and start falling in love with it. 

2. the mirror is a flipped reflection of reality - so you’re not used to seeing yourself that way

3. in the mirror you give yourself immediate feedback and you adjust your face to suit how you like yourself. you can’t tweak photos like that - you look better when you’re moving

4. filters are altering the way we see ourselves - a quick swipe on instagram on the regular will mean you literally start viewing yourself that way instead of the original. The more you use filters, then watch back your stories, the less you’ll be used to what the original snap looked like and it’s all downhill from there. So I’d say, for your own minds sake, keep the original snaps and don’t use filters even if it risks looking ‘better’ on the internet. It’s about self preservation after all in the long run.

5. research shows most people actually think they are more attractive than they are. It’s a bit confusing this as we all know we can be our own worst enemy, however from personal experience, I can also vouch for this to be true. Having taken hundreds of advanced selfies now, I do think my photos are MUCH more beautiful than reality. I actually think that’s why you guys like me so much because i’m just some normal ass girl, but in photos I can look like queen which hopefully inspires you that anyone can get a good photo of themselves. And luckily I am actually aware that photos are better of me than real life, but I just giggle at this now. 

Do you think there is a difference between what you look like in the mirror and pictures? Which one do you prefer?

To end it all, we’re all meant to be unique and different. A world full of cookie cutter pictures (aka most instagrams online) is boring and you can probably vouch for yourself instagram is just the same old shit and it’s getting pretty lame. To back yourself and fall in love with your unique beauty and work that with confidence, it stops people in their tracks. Here are just a few examples of Instagram accounts that stand out like sore thumbs in the world of fakes.

31 Ways to Make Money as a Photographer

Hello humans!

I'm currently surrounded by chickens in Australia and I'm so freakin excited today to be talking to you guys about this topic!

It's kind of like a pep talk mixed in with a video and it is 31 ways of making money through photography (the amount of times I hear people asking how to make money through photography, it almost blows my mind!)  

If you have pretty good skills, there are endless amounts of ways of making money through photography.

If one of these ideas doesn't trigger your mind to think of business opportunities, hopefully the next one will. So let’s get started!

1. Wedding photography
2. Boudoir Photography
3. Maternity Photography
4. Infant Photography
5. Baby Photography
6. Kids Photography
7. Family Portraits
- Do you like the order that I put all that in? ;-) Do you see what I did there?

8. Animal Photography
How many people do you know that are obsessed with their pets? Imagine how lucrative that business is if you take just photos of the pets or photos of the pets and the owners together in funny ways for example. Oh that would be a hit!

9. Instagram photography
I just want to bust a little myth here because on my account right now I have 360K people following me. I have made very little money with my Instagram. It is my platform that makes the absolute least and I think a lot of people out there are gonna be shocked by that.

Of course you can monetize it, but the reason I don't is because I don't want to be selling to you guys environmentally destructive brands that are just fast fashion. A lot of the brands that have the money to pay for Instagrammers is fast fashion, and I'm not ok sponsoring that.

But I even know people that have millions of followers and aren't necessarily environmentally-conscious, that still don’t make a lot of money from Instagram.

10. Concert Photography
11. Festival Photography
12. Nightlife Photography
I used to work in a place when I was a bartender at 21, where there was literally specific photographers at nighttime that came in on the party nights and they would photograph everyone, to upload to social media, so people could tag themselves.

Baby Sorelle!

13. Special Niche Photography
For example sports photography or underwater photography, which can be sold to diving companies or scientists also need underwater photography. My friend specifically does pole dancers photography and my other friend does vintage retro photography, very specific niches.

This is the space where it can just go on forever - it can be anything you want it to be! It could be chickens with candles! You could have chicken candle photography! You don't know what people love, if you find a twist it can work.

If you like surfing, maybe it's photography of custom surfboards. It can be so specific and the more specific you get the more specialized you become,  the more you can charge because you know exactly how to take the absolute best photos in that niche.

14. Business Photography
This can include photographing stores, the offices or the staff members at the business. This includes restaurants, clothing stores, cinemas, yoga retreats, yoga centers, gyms - everyone needs photographs.

15. Real Estate Photography
There is always a house going on sale somewhere.

16. Business Events
17. Selfies
You can make them advance selfies and have an Advance Selfie University! That's mine :-P  

18. Social Media Photography
This is another endless niche that you can just go after and make it your own. As a business owner, in the past having worked in a marketing position many times, I know that businesses need endless supply of social media images in order to upkeep their social media and marketing. You can't have the same image go out on repeat.

You can even get a bunch of businesses on a monthly retainer and you just take 20 to 30 photographs for them so they they have one a day that they can post in social media. 30 photographs of their stores, of their staff, of their products, it is endless.

19. Headshots
This is for models, actors, business people, which can also be marketed as LinkedIn photography.

20. Editing and retouching for other photographers
I used to edit photographs before I even had YouTube and I was editing from Iceland for Australia - complete opposite ends of the world, and I was getting paid for it.

21. Stock Photography
But from the research I've done it seems that there's not a huge amount of money in this. I might be wrong!

22. Photography Assistants
This is what I was when I first started photography, and even though I had little knowledge of photography, I was already getting paid. Research your favorite photographers in the area and be like “hey, I'm real keen, love to help you out!” and most likely if you set up a good relationship and you guys get on, it's gonna be a great team and that's what it kind of comes down to.

As a side note, when I started photography, I offered my work for free, I did not want to take money because I was afraid that I was gonna actually suck so bad. I did do a little stint working for free but then it upgraded into money making pretty soon after that because I showed my work.

23. Event Photography
Think exhibitions and expos.

24. Teaching photography online
One way is YouTube, otherwise it's just selling straight through your website, selling ebooks, having your course on an online teaching platform such as Skillshare.

25. Local Paper
The newspapers always need to visually represent what is happening in the area, so journalists are always necessary

26. Photo Tours and Workshops
There are two ways that you can be doing this - one is through having a social media following like myself. I have run tours before successfully, they've all sold out. That's just one way to market them.

The second way - my friend has basically zero online presence, he doesn't actually do social media, he doesn't get it, he's very much a typical photographer, technically very skilled and he promotes his workshops just through online marketing and he always sells out his workshops and he runs a lot of them all over the world.

You're responsible for these people once they arrive so don't screw them over, do the right thing, organize the greatest, most kick-ass photo tour or workshop that they will ever have, that there will be, that they will be bragging to their friends about. You can charge a great price for that and travel the world while doing this as well.

27. Selling prints online
This should only be done when you're really good.

28. Fashion Photography
This is for designers to sell their clothes online and for magazines for example.  

29. Product Photography
Again this is an endless source of photography income because the world we live in right now means that companies need lots of photographs of their huge stock that they turn over.

Basically anything that needs to be sold online needs a photograph for it, just know that this is a very very fast-paced environment, you need to get the photos done as soon as possible so they can put them up online as soon as possible and start selling them ASAP.

30. Advertising Photography
These are the images that you'll see on Billboard's for example or on brochures. When I worked at an advertising company, one photographer for example kept on reselling the exact same image to this car company that he took a photograph of. ONE photograph that he was making about 20,000 or 30,000 dollars a year I'm pretty sure, just for them to use that photograph on all their advertising material! That is an endless amount of income for you. You have to be ridiculously good, but that is absolutely an option as well.

31. Paparazzi
Ew, but if that's something you're into, that is another source of income.


I hope you enjoyed this list, if you did please leave a comment and let me know which was your favorite way and which one feels like it's the right thing for you to do. Don't sit on these ideas, they're not gonna happen themselves, you have to take action now.

Until next time humans, peace from me and the chickens!

ADVANCED SELFIE CHALLENGE: Bali Vacation Self Portrait Ideas

Hi there humans!

Today's concept is a little bit unique, As you guys know, I’m a Digital Nomad and for the last 15 or 16 months I've been traveling full time - that means i’ve stayed in a lot of different houses!

You guys keep saying “hey Sorelle, I really want to see where you're staying. Can we have a house tour?” but I felt kind of strange doing a house tour of an Airbnb!

That was until today! I decided that I'm going to do the advanced selfie Airbnb challenge, which is going to include two things:
1. Me finally giving you the house tour you have been asking for!
2. Photographing in this incredible Airbnb at the same time! (And you know me -

I like to do the advanced selfies in a very unique artistic way and never want my photographs to look normal! I want to capture the artistic side of things, I want people to be wowed, I want the photographs to seem like they belong in an art gallery or magazine.

Sometimes I don't succeed, I do admit that, but I'm working on it and today is absolutely no exception to that!

Here are my top tips for getting the best advanced holiday selfies you’ve ever seen.

1. Examine Your surroundings
Take a good look at what you’ve got right in front of you, then think about how you can photograph it in a more artistic way. Look at something ‘normal’ and figure out how you can make it really strange. Go for weird locations, artistic angles, crazy body poses, different editing - anything that can make it look as Vogue as possible.

2.  When it comes to clothing, keep it simple
Stay away from patterns, logos and prints. The easiest thing to work with is black, always.

I love to find textures and materials to photograph with, so for this shot I decided to use a mosquito net. Play around with it and take test shots. I loved the look when I came through from the back. This is the photograph I came out with in the end!

I really love this door in my Airbnb, I think it's so beautiful and rich in colour and texture - and of course, anything looks good with wood. I’ve had this up-cycled rubber tire bracelet for so long, , so I added it in front of the lens to add interest to the photograph. Adding objects or textures in front of the camera can turn a bland photo into something far more interesting!

3. Keep an eye out for interesting details about the house
Sometimes the most interesting parts of the accommodation, might not be the most common places to takes photos in, but you should use these unique characteristics to get the perfect shot.

In this case, the staircase was the perfect place for a photo shoot! I have also been very much loving awkward angles lately in my photographs. Awkward locations mixed with awkward angles is a recipe for fantastic art.

Shout-out to boyfriend for holding the leaf today! Superb job :-P

How could I talk about interesting locations without mentioning the house bridge!

I have to admit, I love these photos! Yes they're a little bit sexy, but I really enjoy bringing out my feminine side every now and again.

As always my photographs are edited with the Hipster AF preset pack. Most of these photographs are edited with the typewriter preset and I freaking love how it makes them look!

If you want to find out how to get the most from these presets, you can find a tonne of information in my Advanced Selfie University, where I created 26 videos breaking down everything you need to know to take your perfect Advanced Selfies.

I would love to know what you guys think of my advanced selfies and what you would like to see from me next (I’m always up for a challenge)!

Until next time guys, peace!

Why You Look FAT In Photos - And 6 Ways To Fix It

Hi there humans!

I personally really, really, really hate the blog post title but I knew that you guys would click on it because so many of you guys think that about yourself. Time and time again, I hear people say “I look so fat in photos!”. Let's be honest, you are your own worst critic sometimes. So, i’m sorry about the blog post title, I don't like it myself.

Today though, I am covering the common mistakes that curvy women make and showing you my top tips on how to pose in photos. I want you to feel as good as possible in every photograph that you take, so hopefully these tips will be a life changer!

I know my body shape isn't curvy. I literally have zero curves, so why the hell am I talking about this topic?

First and foremost, I need you guys to understand that I am a photographer first and I see what looks good in photographs. I started my photography journey posing everyday women and showing them what looks good in photographs, so I know the little tips and tricks to help you to look your best. I am on your team and just want you to feel better about your own photographs.

HOW TO LOOK GOOD IN PHOTOS:

1. The Clothes You Wear
This is a very classic mistake that every women does, of every shape and size. We see all the ‘latest and greatest trends’ that you think you have to follow in order to look cool or relevant. Absolutely not the case! This is just companies pushing these clothes on to you, because they need to make the money.

I have certain clothes that look good on me and some that do not look good on me at all. If you are a curvy lady, you probably have the exact same thing. Not probably, 100%!

You need to put blinders on and figure out what looks good for your body shape.

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR BODY SHAPE
Once you identify your shape, it’s time to find famous celebrities that have your body shape and see what their stylist is recommending for them to wear. This is free advice that you've been given. These women have professional stylists that they pay thousands of dollars for and your job is done for you.

Some curvey women that I recommend you study are…
1. Tess Holliday
2. Beyonce
3. Jennifer Lopez
4. Rebel Wilson
5. Amy Schumer
6. Ashley Marie

STEP 2: WATCH THE PATTERNS AND THE COLOURS YOU WEAR
This is an often forgotten part of the equation.

As a rule of thumb stripes going sideways actually make you look wider.

Low waisted pants generally don’t look good on - anyone, to be completely honest. I would recommend having pants that go right up above your hips, these look kick ass on curvy ladies, to accentuate all the right curves, in all the right places.

Any clothes that nip in around your waist, or any accessories that accentuate the waist, or create the illusion of a waist, are really good! That could be belts, or the high waisted pants, it could be t-shirts that stuff in around your waistline, it could be dresses that nip in at the waist. This is a winner!

Fully baggy clothes should be avoided, for example if you have a baggy top make sure that your pants are fitted. If you have nice loose flowy pants, make sure that the top is fitted.

All of these rules can absolutely be broken! They told me that I'm not allowed to wear thin spaghetti straps, because apparently my shoulders look too large if I do it? I actually ended up really liking my wide shoulders, so I go ahead and wear these tops anyway - & I feel damn good in them! So if there's any rules you want to break, you go for it honey, as long as you feel comfortable, that is literally the most important thing.

2. BODY POSITION IN RELATION TO THE CAMERA

This is where my photography know-how comes in.

Anything that is closer to the camera is gonna appear larger, so therefore anything you're really self-conscious about, you just move it back out of frame.

If you have concerns about your arm being too big, just move it back in, away from your body. If you think your booty is too big (is that even possible?) just move it back out of frame. If you think your boobies are too large, don’t lean into the camera. It's going to make them appear a lot larger.

3. THE DOUBLE CHIN DILEMMA

There are two ways that you can avoid this. One is to actually put your chin forward and then down. It looks really great in photographs. A lot of celebrities actually do this. They stick their head out and down on the red carpet because it does do the trick.

The second thing you can do is actually lift your tongue up to the roof of your mouth - for some people it works!

4. SQUISHY ADVICE

I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a better name!

Anything you squish against your body in a photograph (having your arms tucked by your side for example) is going to appear larger, so if you need to, just lift your arms away a little bit from your body or when you're sitting, raise your leg a little bit off the seat onto your toes.

Now for the part you have all been waiting for!

5. THE POSES

These are my go-to poses to always look good to photos! Firstly, make sure that you think about your body posture. You should always have your shoulders back and down and breath in.

If you desire a thigh gap and you don't have a thigh gap, you’ve just got to stand up on your tippy toes and tip your pelvis back - voila! Thigh gap - probably, most likely, hopefully, if not it doesn't matter.

Whenever you're doing a standing pose, turning your body 45 degrees to the camera looks the absolute best, because it accentuates those lovely curves that you have darling.

Tol create a nice bootylicious bum bum bum, standing straight doesn't look as good, so twist yourself and put all the pressure into one hip and pop your hip to the side. All your curves are now concentrated to one side instead of just like a bit of a blob (my demonstration in the video sucks because... I have no curves).

With the sitting proses, make sure you're not slouching - that’s not a pretty look. Try to sit closer to the edge of the seat as well to not cause any squishiness on the leg. If you can sit at a 45 degree angle to the camera, that is a winning sitting pose!

WARNING: CORNY MESSAGE ALERT!

The best thing you guys can do for yourselves to love the photographs that you are taking is to embrace your body shape. I know it's so cliche and everyone talks about it, but how rare is a confident woman these days?

I follow this amazing Instagrammer, who just looks so confident, that I thought to myself “finally, a woman that is unapologetically herself, in a world full of people that are hating on themselves! Yeah! One that I can look up to and I want to be like her!”... well it turns out she's also crapping on herself and super uncomfortable, but the photos she puts out are brilliant! I am personally sick and tired of it, so we just have to learn to embrace it and be okay to say you're beautiful, when you feel great.

Maybe you want to get healthy or fitter or whatever, but hey - you're working on it! Don't crush your beautiful body that's trying to take you through life and is just housing your perfect soul in there.

Anyway, that’s just a little pep talk because I feel horrible for this blog post title!

If you would love to have beautiful photographs of yourself but you sure as hell don't want anyone to take photos of you, with fear that the photos will be bad or you won't know what you're doing, I recommend you guys sign up for my Advanced Selfie University course. It is literally a course to teach you how to take beautiful, stunning, magazine worthy photographs of yourself, that don't look like selfies at all. I guide you through everything you need to know, poses, lighting, angles and equipment. It is for people that shoot with mobile phones or with a camera. It's for everyone!

Until next time guys!

How To Pose Male Models: 5 Photo Tips For Men

You guys have been asking for this video for the longest time, so here it is - finally! :)

For today’s very special episode of ‘HOW TO POSE IN PHOTOGRAPHS- Male Edition!’ We have an extra special model! Introducing Boyfriendo!

The actual truth is Leon hasn't been in front of the camera that much, actually he hates it!

Although on the weekend we did our first ever photoshoot together - a ‘couple advanced selfie’ photoshoot and he did amazingly well.

So today we're gonna be running you through different poses that you can do for male models in case you're kind of confused as to what to do in front of the camera.

Guys have it a little bit more limited the girls, girls have so many different possibilities for poses, but it doesn't matter - you guys are gonna own it!

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR MALE POSING:

You want to make yourself look stronger and more fierce, it’s all about that fierceness baby!

The way you can do this is by...
- Including sharp body angles
- Lessening any curves
- Bold facial expressions
- Leaning into the camera
- Being photographed from lower angles to signify dominance

But as you guys know, I'm all about breaking the rules, so if you feel like making a more ‘welcoming’ photograph, this is exactly what I want you guys to be doing. Break the stereotypes.

It is a bit boring but these are the general guidelines for male posing as it's been done throughout history.

1. STANDING POSES

#1 - Lean casually against a wall, bend your leg and put your foot against the wall, then fold your arms.

#2 - Turn 45 degrees onto the camera

#3 - Stand straight onto the camera

SITTING POSES:

#1 - One leg outstretched, one bent.

#2 - Drape your arms casually over your knee, remember to keep your fingers loose.

#3 - Lean forward and rest your arms on your knees.

#4 - One foot on top of the knee & ensure that you keep your arms relaxed at all times.

3. WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR HANDS:

#1 - One hand and pocket, one relaxed.

#2 - Play with your rings, play with your watch, play with your hair.

4. HEAD POSITIONING

Once your body is in position, shift your head in tiny movements, up, down, side to side, to experiment with different head positions.

5. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

This was the funniest part of making this whole video with Leon! He found it so difficult to get the facial expressions right. I found it difficult in the beginning too, so I actually left my facial expressions for a very very long time, until I became quite comfortable in front of camera.

If you're not comfortable doing facial expressions, then don't do them and stand further away from the camera. Focus on your body positioning at first and when you get more comfortable you just move a little bit closer to the camera. Don't stress if you can't get your facial expressions on point, focus on the body, break it down into sections, start mastering every section one at a time.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Here are some things I've learned from working with a male ‘model’ :-P  

Posture is extremely important, you want to make sure that you are standing as straight as possible.

For anyone, guys, girls, no matter who you are, you're probably gonna have a favorite side of your face, so figure out what that is by standing in front of the mirror, taking selfies over yourself to figure out what side of your face you love the most.


As always, all of my photographs have been edited using my preset pack! L

That's all that me and boyfriendo have time for, the Sun is setting and we're gonna sit and enjoy the sunset now. Thank you very much for tuning in, here's my Instagram if you'd like to check out more. Here’s Leon’s Instagram if you would like to check out his stuff and until next time, PEACE!

Conquering Creativity: 8 Universal Mistakes Every Artist Makes

Hello Humans! Greetings from Toronto!

I'm here at the Buffer Festival, where I'm gonna be screening my first ever short film, which I'm super excited about, because last year I was like “mannnn... I really wish that one day I could do that” and then one year later, here we are! Also very nervous as a side note…

A lot of people assume that because you are professional, you never make mistakes. People hold themselves back massively because they're just constantly in their heads, so today I’m going to be sharing with you guys some mistakes that I make as a creator, as an artist, as a youtuber.

I'm sharing all of these mistakes because if you catch yourself procrastinating, experiencing perfectionism, that do not give a f*** attitude, carelessness, anger, low self-esteem, these are all signs that you're probably self sabotaging yourself.

I am experiencing this stuff and I am a professional. This is why I'm sharing it, because it'll show you that you just have to get shit done. You can't be in your head, we need your art, so get your shit done.

1. NOT BEING CONSISTENT
Consistency holts procrastination. You need to get out of your head, leave your baggage at the door and just do it, every single day, even if it's crap, even if you don't feel like it, you have to get up and do your art. It is all about your art, so do not let your mind stop you from providing your gift to the world.

2. NOT CHALLENGING YOURSELF OR FOLLOWING YOUR HEART
If you are not challenging yourself, creating for yourself, trying to be better than what you were yesterday and at the same time also not doing the things that you want to be doing about working and creating art for other people, stuff that you don't really care about, this is how burner is gonna happen. You’re going to get bored and you’re just grinding for someone else’s sake. This is a very dangerous territory to be in, so just make sure that you stick to your guns, stick to what makes you happy, because this is where the greatest results will come.

3. LEAVING THINGS TO THE LAST MINUTE
We're all guilty of leaving stuff to the very last minute when there's a deadline. Pre-plan and backtrack so you can give your best at all times and save yourself distress.

4. NOT VALUING YOURSELF ENOUGH
This is such a common problem for all artists. We don't know how much we're worth. It's really hard to put a value on art or creation or anything like that.

I often come across people that I like “well I'm not good enough yet to be charging money, so I just charge a little bit here and a little bit there, but it's not a lot”. This is where you have to get a professional opinion of how much you’re worth.

I do the same thing, I always undervalue myself until someone says “hey, you know your stuff is actually worth this much” and generally I'm charging about half of what I should be.

Get a professional objective opinion of how much your art is worth, stick to that even if you  don't feel good enough because I guarantee you, even people at the top don't feel good enough but they know how much they're worth and they stick to that.

If you demand it, people will pay.

5. NOT BEING GRATEFUL
This is gonna destroy your career if you're not grateful. I am very guilty of this, I do this a lot to myself and you get into your head again and you start thinking of all the things that aren't going right without focusing on the things that are going well.

We all know that we create our own reality, the more you think about the positive, you're thankful for it, you're gonna get more of that and if you're not and you're concentrating on the negative you're gonna get more and more of that.

You create your reality so whatever you have right now, even the small things, it doesn't matter, you have to practice gratitude. Otherwise everything you have, your dreams, they're never gonna come true. Be grateful for what you have and watch more of it roll in.

6. SELF-CARE
I think this next point has become like a status quo thing… apparently if you’re not sleeping, if you're not eating probably, not being healthy and you have no work-life balance, THAT makes you a proper artist.

I don't know if this can be anything that's further from the truth.

I just read yesterday that if humans don't eat, we last weeks, if we don't sleep for 11 days, we die. You need to make sure that your normal rhythms are in place, you have a routine, you take care of yourself.

This is a huge one for me right now. I have zero work-life balance and I'm seeing it affect me massively. I have no time for exercise, very little time for my friends and my relationship, I'm eating semi okay but there's so much more that I can be doing. My life is just work right now and I know in the end it's actually affecting my creativity and my art and it's not making me produce the very best work.

Who wants to get to the end of their days and say “well I've worked a lot but I didn't actually even create the best work because I never recovered”.

Make sure you take time out for yourself. Days without the phone, that's so important! You have to have days without phones.

7. ADDING MADE UP PRESSURE TO YOUR SITUATION
This one sucks honestly... What if this happens? What if that happens? I'm gonna destroy my career if this doesn't happen! What if I don't survive next year? There’s so many made-up things that we have going on in our brains, which are holding us.

How about breaking down what you need to do into tiny little chunks and just doing it. Progress is much better than sitting in your brain. Nothing is gonna happen if you're just sitting in your head, being too concerned about yourself... Which brings me to one of the most important points.

8. THINKING ABOUT ME INSTEAD OF CREATING THE ART
So often we get caught up in things like “what does my hair look like? What does my butt/house look like? Do I sound stupid? Am I sounding right?”

You and I, this body, us, this is a vehicle for you to produce your art - that is it. The thing that's gonna stop you from creating massive amounts of beautiful, life-changing, world-changing work, is thinking about you instead of the art.

Think about who is consuming your art, what do they need from you, what do they want from you, are you gonna be able to help them with your art?

Mistakes. They’re gonna happen, it's part of the process.

Until next time guys, PEACE!

ADVANCED SELFIE CHALLENGE: Tiny Room Self Portraits (7 Easy Selfie Ideas)

MY PRESETS: https://sellfy.com/p/ZhQD/
MY MUSIC (Great for YouTubers) - https://bit.ly/2IwOW8C
MY GEAR: https://kit.com/sorelleamore

This is the first time I'm revealing my new goal and dream of where I want to take these Advanced Selfies! I'm very exited to just give this dream a crack. 

But in order for me to be good enough to take Advanced Selfies for a huge and luxury brand, I really have to get really, really good at these self-portraits. 

And luckily, you guys are coming along on the ride with me and I'll be teaching you everything I possibly can about advanced selfies along the way so you can get better for yourself too!

In this challenge, I'm working with a really tiny hotel room and trying to get the most out of the room. It was super hard!

The lighting wasn't amazing, it was hard to get my camera in the right areas I needed to. But here are the results!

I'm excited what came out of them. Please let me know which shot is your favourite! 
 
I hope you enjoyed this video!

The Art Of Scouting: How To Find Stunning Locations For Your Photo And Video Shoots

My favorite quote in the world is…

“I’m going to make everything around me beautiful. That will be my life.”

— Elsie de Wolfe

I learned this quote four years ago and since then it's shifted completely my outlook on life. I have beauty goggles on basically non-stop now. Whether it's admiring the detail of the beautiful flowers or tiny little insects, or admiring the whole beautiful building that is in front of me, or admiring the sad times that I'm experiencing and the feelings associated with that, or even admiring the so called ‘ugly’ locations or things.

There's beauty everywhere. Choosing to see life through this beauty lens has really helped me as an artist.

Perhaps this is why I can personally find beautiful locations to always shoot in. There is never ever a shortage for me to find these locations, so today I'm going to be sharing with you the thought process that I go into when I'm looking for beautiful places to photograph so you can find it as many as you can and create beautiful art.

I don't have the luxury of planning out photo shoots, so I'm very spontaneous in choosing locations. The locations that I find and I stumble upon literally dictate the entire photo shoot for me.

For example, I'll be driving along and I'll see a bunch of tires, so I'll dress appropriately to that experience to make sure that I get the most out of the location.

Right now, I'm in a tiny little village in Germany and even the Vodafone guys just up the road were laughing that I'm here. But to me this is the most beautiful location I could be in and I am seeing beauty everywhere.

I've already taken photographs with a range of objects including my home, a pile of tires, the wind turbines, the grass, the cornfields, the sunflower fields and the hay fields. I’ve shot in sunlight and at nighttime to give a variety of shots.

I know the question will be “what if I live in this village/city? What can I do if I'm not traveling as much as you?” ... well I've got a full list!

If I did live here, I would take photos with the horses, cows, chickens, with the tractors in the area. I would shoot in front of the beautiful homes, I'd drive an hour and shoot at the beach, I'd shoot near the local ponds or rivers, I would shoot at the local cafe, the playground, maybe even inside the local school at the weekend (with permission!).Then I just tailor my outfits to make sure that it matches with this school environment. It would like a cool, edgy photoshoot.

In each of these locations, I change outfits a million times, posed differently, edit the photos differently, and that would give me a variety of shots.

Then you also have the change of seasons and times of day! It's gonna be a completely different photograph.

Use what you got man! Stop making excuses.

TIP #1: VARIETY OF SHOTS
I choose locations that can give me as much variety in one location as possible.

Whenever I'm traveling I look for a hotel or Airbnb that is really beautiful inside and it has a variety of shots. Even if it's a tiny little room, that room itself just has to have a variety of corners that look completely different and can give a variety of shoots because I don't want to just get two snaps out of a location. If I'm paying to stay in a hotel, I better be able to get some nice photographs out of that too.

TIP #2: SHOOT IN BULK
I recommend taking a huge chunk of time out to go explore and take as many photos as possible. It's fun and there's never a time restraint.

If you're taking a model or yourself, try to find a forest that is close enough to a hay field, or a beach close to a little city or a town. Then you can spend the entire day photographing. It’s so much fun, why wouldn't you want to do that? The added bonus is that you get many different photos from that.

TIP #3: CHANGE IT UP (ANGLES, CLOTHES, MAKEUP ETC)
Change your hair, change your makeup, change your accessories. Again, work with what you have.

In one spot you can take photos from above, below, straight on, close-up, far away, sitting, standing. One location = many options!

TIP #4: IT’S ALL ABOUT LIGHTING
I always aim to shoot in natural light because I don't really have the luxury of carring lighting equipment with me because I'm a full time traveler.

I aim to generally shoot always at golden hour, so sunrise or sunset. That is the best light ever.

By the time you finish shooting all the locations during sunset, you should probably be skilled enough by that time to start shooting those locations during the harshest sun. That means you can go back to all those locations and shoot again, giving you a completely different feel to the photograph, especially if you switch up the hair, makeup, accessories, clothing and so forth.

TIP #5: INSTAGRAM SCOUTING
No matter where you are in the world you can go onto Instagram for example and put the hashtag of the city you're in or the country you're in and see what comes up. That could lead you to beautiful locations to photograph.

Another great way is to stay in beautiful Airbnb’s or hotels that have a nice environment to shoot in. If it's too expensive and you can't afford it right now, you could potentially become best friends with the manager and ask them if it is okay if you go into the rooms after someone checks out (but it's still messy so you don't mess it up for them) and just take a few photographs or their beautiful hotel room. Tell them you're studying photography and see if it's possible for you to just spend half an hour in between the cleaning sessions before the cleaner comes along.

Yes, you're gonna get rejected by a lot of hotels, but so what? Keep going until you can get into a hotel because there will be someone that will say yes.

If this sounds like a very daunting thought, to go approach the manager and ask for this... Dude! Not many people will ask this! It is a golden opportunity for you. Yes it's gonna be scary, but if it works you have a beautiful location for free - hell yeah!

To do great things you must push the boundaries sometimes.

Finally, I am NOT an expert in location scouting, I just take photographs non-stop wherever I can, that's my approach to this whole thing. You see me with a camera basically non-stop. It's my addiction and I just make it work, I just have fun with it but hopefully these tips have helped you in one way or another.

Until next time, PEACE!

How To Take Your Own Travel Photos

You have all asked for so long how to take your own travel photos. 

So in this edition of the video, I'm going to share my secrets of the perfect travel indoor self-portrait.

What you will need:

1. Camera

2. Phone

3. App

4. Tripod

5. Them good looks of yours

It's a lot easier than you think. 

Hope you enjoy this video. Let me know if you'd like more of these.

Love always, 
Sorelle Amore