Healthy Chicks

Hello beauties! I don’t know about you but I’ve been craving more connection lately — through meetups with friends, dinners out and sprinkling in some in-person events again (finally).

One way that I love connecting is through the amazing women I’ve been fortunate to meet in the community, which was the inspiration behind Healthy Chicks in the Community, a monthly series highlighting rockstar Girl Bosses making an impact.

I’m thrilled to bring back this series by introducing you Kaitlyn Casso, a CT Brand Photographer who specializes in working with women entrepreneurs. We first connected online a couple years back through my affirmation deck, and she actually ended up taking the incredible photos for my most recent brand photoshoot. (You know, the ones that are all over this website and social media! 😉 )

In this inspiring interview, we chat with Kaitlyn about her go-to morning ritual to set her day up for success, how she instills confidence in front of the camera, and her love for chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. I’ll let Kaitlyn take it away from here!

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THREE WORDS:

Passionate, driven, sincere 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY IN BECOMING A BRAND PHOTOGRAPHER. WERE YOU ALWAYS PASSIONATE ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY?

I actually started off in the marketing field (getting my Bachelor’s in Marketing and working in corporate Marketing for over 7 years) before taking my brand photography business full time. Between my Marketing job and my love for travel, I gradually started getting into photography. I found myself gaining an appreciation for photography as I was outsourcing photography needs for marketing and starting to follow a bunch of travel photographers. So I decided, “Hey why not try it.”

Eventually I ended up becoming my old company’s in-house photographer (and Marketer) and started building a business on the side. Once I realized how much I loved working for myself and how photography was quickly becoming a passion of mine I decided to take my business full time. I knew Brand Photography was going to be the perfect option for me with being a mix of photography and marketing…. this way I didn’t have to give up either.

And then I’ve grown from there! Constantly finding myself giving my clients even more advice when it came to branding and marketing, I decided to add on another service of being a Brand Coach and Marketing Strategist. I LOVE being able to help other women business owners build their brands and represent it in the best light possible. It literally lights me up! 

HELPING WOMEN FEEL CONFIDENT IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA IS IMPORTANT TO YOU. WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIPS & TRICKS IN INSTILLING A CONFIDENT MINDSET?

To me having a photoshoot is SO fun and I want all of my clients to feel that but I understand that it can be a little intimidating getting in front of the camera. But mindset is key! I love being able to give my clients tips and tricks on how to feel comfortable and confident so they can bring out their best selves in their photos.

There are a few things that I always recommend my clients to do before their photoshoot so they feel their best. The first step is feeling prepared. If they are rushing around at the last minute to get everything ready for the photoshoot, they’re going to be in a chaotic mindset. That’s why preparing for a brand photoshoot ahead of time is so important.

Then from there I recommend a few things from waking up in the morning to right before the photoshoot. These include meditating right when you wake up, journaling how grateful you are for the opportunity to do a photoshoot for your brand, and doing mirror mantras to remind yourself how amazing you are. So often we get overwhelmed by all the things we need to do so taking the time to sit back and feel grateful for the opportunity can really help that confidence grow before the shoot.

Once my clients do everything on their end, the rest is up to me. I will be their hype-woman the entire time and remind them how amazing they are while putting them in poses that are best for them. 

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE OR MANTRA TO LIFT YOU UP? 

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” I knew since I was a little girl that I was put on this Earth to serve others and this quote always hits home for me. 

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’D TELL YOUR CHILDHOOD SELF:

Keep going. Even when things are scary, intimidating, and uncomfortable, keep going. The feeling of the accomplishment at the end will all be worth it. 

FAVORITE SOUL COMFORT FOOD: 
Ice cream! Chocolate fudge brownie all the way! 

SONG THAT MOVES YOU: 
Satsang – I Am

SOMETHING IN YOUR “WELLNESS TOOLBOX” YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT:
Morning meditations. I love how it sets me up with a calm mind for the day. 

IF YOU COULD PICK ONE PERSON TO HAVE DINNER WITH, WHO WOULD IT BE & WHAT WOULD YOU MAKE THEM:

Oprah…because I mean it’s Oprah…enough said. I would make her coconut curry turkey meatballs with jasmine rice.

WHAT DOES “HEALTHY” MEAN TO YOU? 

Healthy means for your mind, body, and spirit to feel good. This means giving it things that it likes and makes it happy. I don’t believe in restricting food items but having them in moderation. Ice cream makes me happy so I’m going to eat it. If I completely gave it up because it’s “not healthy” then I would be really sad and my body would feel it. But I’m also not going to eat ice cream every day… maybe close but not every day. 😉

And having a healthy mind also coincides with how your body feels. I know for a fact I did not feel good in my body when I had a lot of stress going on in my life. Once I was able to reduce my stress and feel overall happy with things in my life, I felt the best in my body. There’s so many things that contribute to health so feeling good in all areas makes such a difference.