Los Angeles Personal Brand Photography: Business Strategist Rachel Barbic
There’s sometimes a certain stigma attached to the word “coach” in the entrepreneur industry. Tacky and forceful sales strategies that have an MLM vibe are likely to blame. So when Rachel Barbic reached out to me for a Los Angeles brand photography session and I asked her what she does, her response of, “I’m not a coach, I hate that term,” was received with a lot of understanding.
Before all the coaches (and potential clients) that read this blog post run away, I want to be clear -- I don’t HATE coaches. I’ve worked with a lot of great ones both as a client and as their photographer. The reason the coaching industry gets such a bad rap is because
It’s a foreign concept to the audience. Anyone who’s trying to explain to friends and family outside of the entrepreneur space what they do for a living can attest to this.
There’s no oversight. For all the good coaches I’ve worked with as a client, I’ve also worked with a lot of bad ones. Ones who gave really misguided advice or misaligned advice. But when you’re investing thousands of dollars in a service, misguided information won’t only cost you that investment, but also all the potential income you could have made if you followed a different direction.
For Rachel, her biggest frustration was listening to the coaching industry tell you what you SHOULD do, because against all those odds, she built a six-figure business without following a single one of those shoulds. So she knew it was all bullshit (and no, don’t pardon my French). Ultimately, that’s what she ended up building her business around, only instead of calling herself a coach, she aptly calls herself a strategist.
At the time Rachel and I started working together, she was on the cusp of moving herself and her business to Los Angeles from Cleveland, Ohio. An Angeleno at heart, Rachel was better versed than me when it came to shoot locations (to be fair, it was also my first year of living in Los Angeles, so I was still learning all the best spots myself.)
We started out at a beautiful loft in Downtown Los Angeles with a professional aesthetic combined with brick walls. Afterwards we hopped over to the Arts District where we spent some time at The Giving Keys shop, a company and cause Rachel is a big supporter of. We ended the day walking the streets of Abbott Kinney in Venice Beach, using the backdrop of colorful walls and alleyways to illustrate the bright and unique approach Rachel uses with all of her clients.
One other thing you will quickly notice about Rachel are her wardrobe and prop choices. Rachel is extremely vocal about human rights and social justice issues. If you follow her on Instagram, you will be met with a lot of education about these subjects and she does not veil her disdain for our current climate around the topics. It was (and still is) a big reason why we get along so well long after our shoot.
I absolutely love the way our shoot turned out, and even more love how it all came together on her absolutely kickass website. Welcome to, LA Rachel!
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MEET YOUR BRAND PHOTOGRAPHER
Bernadette Marciniak is a branding photographer based out of Los Angeles & New York City. She works with coaches, healers, educators and creative business owners to create powerful imagery that converts audiences into clients.
A former photojournalist, Bernadette approaches brand photography from a storytelling standpoint, using the emotions of your ideal client to guide a photoshoot. Illustrating the achievable transformations of the people you work with is the most powerful way to create the visibility your business needs.
Bernadette loves good pizza, craft beer and red wine. She watches Parks and Rec, Friends and How I Met Your Mother on repeat.
