As you may have realised, my website has had a glow up! When I set it up just short of two years ago, I wanted to get to the point where I could have a little help, and that time has finally arrived. I’m very pleased to say that the words continue to all be my own work. Read on to find out more about the rest…

A picture is worth a thousand words…
When I started out, I couldn’t yet afford professional shots. Fortunately, smartphones are of good enough quality that you can get away with that one for a while! But it did always niggle at me that my images were mismatched.

Earlier this year, I did some maths, and booked a photographer (and my hairdresser. And a makeup artist – those things are important to note!), plus a date. Back in May, we spent an afternoon shooting on the seafront and at Rockwater in Hove, and the results are now here to see!

Accidental branding sometimes works
When I was planning the shoot, the seafront was an obvious (though slightly risky!) choice. My original profile photo, and main images I used, were in fact all taken by my photographer, Anneli, albeit on a phone, and spontaneously at the very end of our first COVID-related lockdown in June 2020.

Thankfully, I’ve had my hair done since! And a few other things have changed with regard to my image, so I wanted to make sure that my photos still reflect how I look. But the location really does suit me – I love the beach, and I wanted my images to look relaxed, fun and casual. We also then had the convenience of Rockwater – a bright bar with lots of interesting elements for us to play with.

With a little help…
I want to always be honest about how a look was achieved. These photos have had a gentle edit. I had professional hair and makeup done. I don’t look exactly like this in everyday life – the brief was “me on my best day”, and the makeup isn’t all-out glamour, as I didn’t want to look totally unrecognisable. But it is more than you’ll see me in if you book a session, or catch me stumbling in at 6:15am of a weekday for my own training session!

I’m very grateful to my hairdresser, Leah; makeup artist, Cara; and photographer, Anneli, who worked together to make me shine. They also made it a straightforward experience – I sat in the chair and relaxed as my face and hair were prepared. The shoot itself was less relaxing – there was a lot of dashing off to toilets to change clothes; plus some figuring out of poses, and many many many fake laughs and bigger-than-average smiles. You have to do things better for the camera!

I’m incredibly pleased with the results – even when I move on from these images in good time, I’ll have them in my library to treasure forever, and that’s an extra gift when you think about it.

And now for the tech part
I didn’t go into business because I wanted to run a website, I think that’s very obvious! As a solo enterprise, there are certain things that you really need, and when you first set up, professional help isn’t an option financially. So I built this site myself, via the help of a template and a lot of swearing.

There are so many things I’m capable of – some of them come naturally (like my social media content, which I hope will always be run by me), and some less so (I can organise my own finances… but when it comes to the actual taxperson calculations, I outsource that to the brilliant Beth, who saves me a lot of time and crying). There are times when it’s worth asking for help, and I reached that point here. Things that would take me a long time to figure out are simple for others – just like you with your fitness, perhaps! That’s what I’m really here to do, not tinker with code.

So I’m pleased to say that Carly and Jan have helped me with my website. There were some glitches to iron out, and even uploading and resizing images is trickier than you might think. The whole thing is tidier and flows better, so hopefully you the reader has a better experience! And I don’t have a sore head.

The future is bright
So what’s next now that I’ve got a new look?

More time in the gym.

And more writing. What subjects would you like to see me cover next?