29 Jul Texture Tuesday – I Got Shot Y’all and So Should You!

Boy, did I have such a blast getting shot last week. And it didn’t hurt at all.

NO emergency room.

NO surgery.

NO pain.

Only pure fun and laughter all the way!

Now that’s what happens when you get shot in South Austin at “Headshots Y’all”. And yes, it is ALL….and I mean ALL, in one big pink truck!

Hard to believe right?  Well here’s the truck to prove it (with assistant Andrea Reesing holding the loot – my wardrobe changes) parked right out in front of Fiber Cove, an awesome new shared co-working and meeting space in South Austin.  We got a little tour by Felicity Maxwell, but take a peek below.

And are you ready for this?  The pink truck is literally right at the end of my street!  With that bright color you cant miss it! Now how perfect is that?

It was all so easy breezy….no hauling myself to North Austin to a studio. They can come right to your door.  Headshots Y’all partners with Fiber Cove so they can park their truck in front and also offer a relaxing spacious meeting area. Now, in my part of town I think that’s darn right neighborly. It’s a win-win for all!

It was so easy for me to drive to the corner, pop into their air conditioned space (Yes, the truck has AC too as you can see in HUGE letters above the head of dynamic owner Korey Howell) and get fabulous headshots done pronto. I needed new ones asap for the magazine Vision’s interview coming out in Sept/Oct issue about color. And I did not have to look far. Now, doesn’t this make y’all want to get shot too? No more dreaded, boring, drab headshots. Instead, some good ‘ole Texas fun!  

By the way, what are women thinking when they bring a mousy tan blouse to wear for the headshot??  Color gals….color….it’s all about color!!!

Oh, speaking of color, I must sneak in a big CONGRATULATIONS here to my friend Amy Wax.  Amy’s a talented international color expert and the genius behind the NEW color app, Color911, recently featured in Elle Decor as one of “8 Apps That Will Change The Way You Decorate” Please check it out! Congratulations Amy!!!

Now on to all the colors I selected to wear for my headshots and the full scoop. Most people HATE to have a headshot done because, well, let’s face it, most of them are “contrived”. To be honest, that is exactly why I have NEVER had one done. Boring beige backgrounds and tilted heads like it doesn’t even look part of your body. Not for me, ever. But none of that goes on in this purple truck.  You can literally count on having the time of your life with Korey and her fabulous crew at Headshots Y’all!

(Left to right: Makeup & Hair Stylist, Lyndsey Kincer; Assistant Andrea Reesing, Owner, Korey Howell, Photographer Extraordinaire (aka ‘Digital Surgeon), Olympia Sobande, and “The Man”, Frank Roll).

And the best part of all, is you can get your makeup and hair done right there too. As I mentioned, it is ALL IN ONE PLACE!!  A truck, called “Headshots In A Truck”. Hair, makeup, styling, fun, your choice of photos, and out the door you go with a huge smile on your face.

They’ve got one helluva marketing plan going on too. You get this fabulous T-shirt and a sticker that says “I got shot Y’all”. And remember NO pain.  I probably haven’t laughed that hard in weeks. And I haven’t had that much fun in months either (yes, I do really lead a rather low-key life when I’m not working, as I’m just a South Austin Gal at heart).

Here’s living proof (pun intended) how they got me all loosy-goosy (with only water mind you!) and I got into it laughing and having the time of my life.

I asked Korey, what gave her the idea? And she said they were all talking and joking one day about how it would be fun to take the headshots right to their customers and not lug all that equipment around. (I can relate as I’ve been hauling pillows around for 10 years now!) Then they paused, laughed aloud, and realized, hell yeah, that’s a great idea!

Owner Korey Howell, a long-time experienced Austin photographer decided it was time to branch out but in a unique and different way:

“With the success of my Northwest Austin studio, it was time to open a second location. Instead of committing to a brick and mortar set up, the concept of a studio in a truck seemed like a no-brainer. So now we can serve not only South Austin, but really all of Austin — heck, all of Texas while we’re at it!” – Korey Howell

As far as how long a typical customer gets is really about 45 minutes. But if they book the styling session that is 45 minutes, the shoot time is 45 minutes and the review and selection time should be about 30, so in all it can be about almost two hours.  But that’s for the royal treatment, which I happily paid for.

But right now through August 14th they’re  offering a “Grand Opening”  Homestead Package for $150.00 and you get one look, one shot and you’re out the door with your photo emailed to you that day. And with an “I Got Shot Ya’ll!” Koozie for these hot summer days we’re having here in Austin.

Now, sit back, relax and hear about my personal experience and enjoy all the fun photos, cause boy, did we ever have fun!! (I know I’m long-winded, but if you’ve made it this far, you might as well read the rest cause there’s some fun, fun photos…did I mention FUN??). And best part of all is I have gorgeous images that I’ve never had before in my life and can now use for not only the magazine interview, but for social media, press releases and any thing a small business owner needs a headshot for.

So here’s the scoop!  I knocked on the truck and out came the owner, Korey Howell, with a Texas size gorgeous smile and her clipboard.  It was funny at first, cause it felt like I was standing in line for an icecream (or in the Texas heat, a snowcone).

Here’s Korey (above) with her lead photographer (who btw is AMAZING!!) Olympia Sobande finishing up with another customer. Then it’s time to get to work. Korey starts entering my information to take payment and introduces me to the super sweet and talented make up artist & hair stylist, Lyndsey Kincer. What I loved about Lyndsey’s style was that I didn’t feel overly made up at all….it was very natural, yet showed up real well on camera.

Korey had invited my daughter, Qin, to come along with me and we tested out some of the new colored backgrounds for the truck.  Here I’m waving to Qin and she’s up next.

And below is my immediate reaction when I saw my makeup!  (You can tell I don’t get made up too often or get my hair teased). I loved it!  It felt so natural, like it was the real me which gave me a lot of confidence to just have fun with the whole process. (I normally do NOT like being in front of a camera and immediately get awkward and shy…that’s why you’ve never seen a head shot till now).  And anyways, did I mention they had music going and we were all rocking out and having a blast?

I love this image of Korey below because it reminds me of the Wizard of Oz. Korey’s behind the curtain working her magic with the next customer while I’m on this side of the curtain getting shot by Olympia.  They also open up the back of the truck and have you sit down on the edge.  It’s all a very natural, casual and very comfortable atmosphere. And you can use the rest room at Fiber Cove to change clothing, or you can change right there, whatever you’re comfortable with.

 

 

 

Here’s Ms. Olympia in action and then me giving the thumbs up.  Wait till you see how bright, crisp and colorful the images turned out.

 

 

Oh yes, and they got me really hamming it up at the end, in my favorite vintage light blue, fox-trimmed coat which was my last wardrobe change.

And that’s my story y’all!  So check out the fabulous headshots below and all the fun photos Olympia took of me (in my striped shirt) and my daughter Qin too.  They made it extra special for me and my daughter, and a day to remember. Now how often can you say that about getting shot!?!?

On holiday after this post till end of summer, but please be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you Korey and crew for a fabulous time and friends thank you so much for helping me select which headshot to email the magazine. Till next time, I hope you’re having a fabulous summer and enjoying some time off yourself.  And remember Koozie Friday’s at Headshots Ya’ll and go get shot! XOPG

Note: All photography that is not mine is by, and with permission from, Headshots Y’all.