When I first connected with Yulia Gladysheva on Instagram, I was struck by how different her approach to photography felt. In a world filled with staged brand shoots and carefully curated feeds, Yulia was teaching entrepreneurs something radically simple — and deeply powerful: how to market themselves with everyday pictures.

Yulia is a single mom of two teenage girls, a skier and lake-lover in the Canadian mountains, and the author of Live Unfiltered: Market Yourself with Everyday Pictures. She has a background in documentary photography, and she’s built an entire business around helping entrepreneurs create their own storytelling images with nothing more than their phones.

Her mission? To bring us back to ourselves, inviting us to set aside filters and staged expressions in favor of real life captured with intention.

Why Storytelling Images Matter

We spend so much time crafting words for our websites, emails, and captions. But how often do we think about the story our images are telling?

According to Yulia, photos make up nearly 50% of what we share online. A single headshot or selfie doesn’t say much about who we are, but when we step back, include our environment, and show our daily life, we give our audience a chance to connect with us.

She explained it beautifully: “If I’m in the kitchen and the photo shows just my face, you don’t learn anything about me. But if the photo steps back to include the kitchen, suddenly you know something about my life. Maybe you notice the cup of tea in my hand, the way the light comes in through the window, or even the kind of knife I’m using. Those details matter. They help people relate to you.”

That’s the heart of persuasive photography: images that look beautiful while also building trust and sparking sales.

The Persuasive Photography Method

Over time, Yulia developed her own framework to guide entrepreneurs through the process:

1. Why Photos Matter

Understanding how images impact engagement and sales helps entrepreneurs show up consistently. As Yulia says, “People may not comment or like your posts, but they are watching. They already know who you are by the time they book a call.”

2. How to Take the Photos

Forget stiff posing or the dreaded three-second timer. Yulia teaches her clients to position the camera farther away so the environment is included and the moment feels natural, like pouring tea, chatting with kids, or walking the dog. The pressure disappears when the image becomes a story, not a spotlight.

3. Building a Visual Strategy

Once you know how to take great photos, the key is to create a set of brand “stories” — usually three to six themes that you rotate through. Whether it’s family, hobbies, your workspace, or your process, these themes keep your content consistent and meaningful while still leaving room for creativity.

Overcoming the Fear of Imperfection

One of the most common objections Yulia hears from entrepreneurs is: “But my house isn’t perfect. I don’t look good on camera.”

Her answer? It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence.

“When you stop performing for the camera and start living in the moment, your body language shifts. You look natural. You look like yourself. And when my clients see those photos, they often say, ‘I love myself in these.’”

The transformation goes deeper than photography. Many of her clients walk away with renewed confidence both in how they look, and in how they show up in their lives and businesses.

Editing Without the Overwhelm

Yulia encourages entrepreneurs to keep things simple: shoot in natural daylight, avoid professional lighting setups, and use easy apps like Lightroom with just a handful of tools. The goal isn’t to make images look artificial, but to highlight the story you want to tell.

As she put it, “You already know how to take pictures. I just help you see what you’ve never noticed before.”

The Bigger Mission

At the end of our conversation, Yulia shared the deeper reason behind her work. In a culture saturated with filters, AI-generated faces, and perfectly staged images, she wants her daughters (and all of us) to see the beauty in real, unedited life.

Her book Live Unfiltered is packed with practical tips and examples for creating authentic images, but it’s also an invitation: to love ourselves as we are, and to let our audiences connect with the real humans behind our brands.