Client Story: Natalie’s personal branding session experience

Full interview with Natalie Nava (22 min)

In a recent post in one of my photographer communities, someone posted a tongue-in-cheek question:

Is it even possible to do a personal branding shoot nowadays without a MacBook, an iPhone or a coffee mug?

After a very entertaining discussion, the general consensus was, “Probably not.”

And then I got connected to Natalie Nava.

Natalie runs an organization called Normalize Rest, to help women recover from burnout. She wanted a shoot that was as far away from the typical #girlboss vibe as possible, with no MacBooks or iPhones, or anything else that invoked work. Her ideal images for her website and social media were those that invoked a restful and joyful vibe.

It was easily one of the most fun shoots I have done. I interviewed her after the shoot to ask her more about her work. We first talked about burnout in women and recovery, and then about her photo shoot experience.

On Burnout and Recovery

Tell us a bit more about your story and what got you thinking about this photo shoot

In September 2019, I experienced severe burnout due to some stressful life situations. As a result of that, I hit this breaking point and found myself unable to function. My body and my brain were just sending me all kinds of signals that they couldn't go on anymore.

I left my job. I moved back in with my parents. I left the relationship that I was in and started the process of recovery and healing and really coming back to myself.

Eventually, I started an organization called Normalize Rest, and I'm hoping to do coaching for women who are experiencing similar things to what I was going through. Then our mutual friend Janel connected me to you and I thought it was a really good fit for taking the types of photographs with a restful vibe that I wanted to have for my website and for my social media.

What is burnout and what are the signs?

Burnout is kind of an extreme form of exhaustion where we aren't able to cope the way that we might normally be able to cope. It typically happens because we have been under extreme stress for too long of a time.

When people talk about burnout today, they're usually talking about work or occupational burnout. But obviously we're humans, our lives are not in a vacuum. I think it's important to just know that there can be work, personal and cultural factors that can all play together.

What is the psychological basis of burnout?

We have different stress responses as human beings. Probably you've heard of flight or fight? There’s a tiger, and I’m either going to run away or take it on!

A third response is the freeze response. The tiger is here. I'm actively being eaten alive and I'm shutting down, I'm making myself small. It's a way to kind of minimize pain on the body when the stressor is imminent and there's nowhere else to go.

Even if there isn't a tiger, if we have been kind of in that fight or flight mode for a long time, the freeze response can become activated.We just can't deal with this anymore.

Experiencing burnout is a sign that we need to take a step back, according to Natalie.

A lot of people who are experiencing burnout might think, oh my God, I'm going crazy. Or my brain is broken and my body's breaking, but actually these are really protective mechanisms to help bring yourselves back into balance. It's like we need to step back from life and from all the stressors to bring yourself back into balance.

How is burnout different for women?

The way women are socialized in this culture tells us that if we're prioritizing ourselves and our needs, then we're selfish. I have to take care of everybody before I can take care of myself. We know that women in the workplace have to work much harder than men. There's still a big gap in terms of childcare.

There are very real pressures and stressors that women experience disproportionately compared to men. I have to have an amazing career, partner, house and look great while I'm doing it. And over time, that just gets to be too much.

Natalie’s reaction to #hustle culture for women

The whole concept of the #hustle is away to rebrand the fact that you have to work 20 out of 24 hours a day in this century to get your basic needs met. It’s toxic for people to be constantly performing, constantly optimizing and creating output. I think a lot of female centered organizations take that on too and it's just too toxic. It really is.

Experiencing burnout is a sign that we need to take a step back, according to Natalie.

What are some things that helped you recover?

I was doing neurofeedback, getting B12 shots, meditating, sleeping a ton. But the most transformative thing was to go on antidepressants. Not everyone will have to go on medication, but for me it was transformative. It helped me get my sleep regulated. I was able to experience calm, take stock of all the internal and external factors that contributed to my situation. I recognized that I had been in this heightened stress state for most of my life, so I needed this additional tool to experience a state of relaxation.

In terms of specific resources, there is a book called Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. She is a public health educator. I highly recommend it.

I also definitely recommend The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It's not about burnout, but about connecting back to joy and creativity. The book is filled with activities for just considering what you're interested in, what you might find enjoyable, what you might find joyful.

On the photo session

What was the planning process for the photo session like?

Mood Board for Natalie’s shoot on Pinterest.

Oh, so much fun! The planning process really helped me clarify what I was trying to do, who I was trying to reach, and all of the business things that I hadn't really thought of. It forced me recognize that this idea of starting a business is a reality! And even just having to communicate those words to you forced me to clarify my intentions.

I feel like I had a really clear idea of the types of images that I wanted and because I had seen your work, I knew that that was going to be a really great fit. So you and I had a very easy time just kind of coming to collaborate on, okay, this is what we want. This is the look. Talking through examples on the Pinterest Board together it just felt very easy.

[During the planning process] I realized I don't want there to be laptops. I don't want it to be like working. I want it to be very restful. I want to really normalize images of black and brown women just doing nothing and feeling joyful and taking a nap because images are powerful.

What was the actual session like?

“It’s hard to put in words the feeling of someone making art you are in.”

It was so much fun. I absolutely loved it. I think it's a really nice gift that someone can give to themselves - just being able to feel it. It really does feel like you're being pampered. I felt really beautiful and I felt ... It's hard to put into words honestly. It's hard to put into words just the feeling of having someone make art that you are in.

Seeing those pictures of myself is just powerful and I think it really does change your brain to see yourself doing a particular thing. So seeing myself rest, seeing myself really enjoy resting it's like, “Yeah, that's what I'm going for you know?” I hope that everybody gets to have that experience. So overwhelmingly positive and just so much fun.

Any favorite images?

Yes! The one that comes to mind immediately - I was kneeling under that magical tree, and kind of like, “Oh I don’t know about this.” But when I saw it, I was like, "Oh my gosh!" There's so much pleasure and warmth and groundedness. I just loved seeing myself manifest these things that I am passionate about in that picture. So that is really powerful for me!

Would you recommend this experience to a friend? What would you tell them?

Oh my gosh. Yeah, absolutely! It's just such a nice way to treat yourself. Especially as a woman, just being able to feel safe and feel embodied, feel beautiful, get to have these just stunning images of yourself I think is really confidence boosting. It's very healing to just work with you and just feel that lightness in a time when ... I mean just having your picture taken is fraught, right? It's just like, I can be so stressful. And just to know that you'll be so well taken care of and that the end result is so great.

Find out more about Natalie’s work at Normalize Rest, and follow her on Instagram.