Liza Andrews

Liza Andrews is a multilingual marketing consultant, who has worked in the US, Europe and South America. A decade ago, Andrews created a method of self-improvement and goal achievement combining her formal education in business, marketing and branding with her lifetime hobby, photography. During a period of illness that affected her looks, energy level and self-esteem, she developed and tested the method on herself. Once she recovered, Andrews perfected it to coach others. Initially, she delivered the program as a volunteer, and then later, to serve a diversified client base. For the past seven years, she has nurtured her New York City-based company, PictureCure, a space where clients experience an atmospheric infrastructure, complete with digital training, dining area, production wardrobe, and a photography studio. Liza offers one-on-one customized programs in a fun, light ambiance, where goals and timelines shift into stunning personal improvements. Liza conducts speaking engagements and workshops nationwide. 

Her story

How photography can help you achieve goals and improve your self-esteem

I’ve being capturing headshots for about twenty years in the United States, Europe and South America. For the past decade, I’ve specialized in photography therapy, teaching professionals and everyday individuals how to become more photogenic. I perfected my fashion photography at Fashion Institute of Technology and my celebrity headshot technique studying under Peter Hurley.  My differential is the workshop that “body-maps" the subject and teaches him or her how to pose with charm and confidence, bringing the best out of their photoshoot. 

I'm 45 years old. In my mid-30s, I suffered a hormonal imbalance that (among other issues) caused premature facial age spots, weight and hair loss. The solution seemed simple: taking bio-identical hormones and committing to a certain diet. But I felt hopeless. I grew up with members of my family visiting oncologists; most of them lost their lives. The idea of having to take hormones for the rest of my life screamed "cancer" to me. On the other hand, the sudden drop of estrogen and testosterone levels in my body had a deep impact on my appearance. It was like I had aged three years in one, and it kept getting worse.

One day, I was in Central Park, photographing the passersby. After a while, I turned the camera to myself and clicked. I looked at that "ugly face" staring back at me, and my appearance shocked me like never before. The impact of a picture is different from that of your reflection in the mirror. Although we think that both images look the same, they don't. The mirror can be more or less generous to us. Technically, the image is inverted and also, there are emotions involved when one "interacts" with the mirror. You can see yourself better or worse than you really are. A photo, however, is exactly how other people see us. That day, I learned to trust only the photograph.

During business school, I studied two years of psychology and later learned more about behavior working in human resources. I started to research "image and self-esteem" and "motivational tools," and eventually created my own method of photography therapy. If you Google "photography therapy" you'll see that there are several types used all over the world by different professionals. PictureCure's differential is that we work only with photos of the individual in question, while most methods use photos of anything you can emotionally or physically relate to (objects, animals, other people). I developed a timeline with my photos to help me achieve my goals. By taking weekly pictures of myself, I could map out my problems, establish improvement goals and see my evolution. That helps you stick with the (sometimes unpleasant) routine until you get results. Whenever I felt like quitting the pills or the gym, going to bed late or skipping a meal, I would look at my before and after pictures, and keep following the program. Even when I still looked bad, I realized that I could look worse if I did nothing, so I kept moving forward. 

It took me eight months to see substantial progress and about two years to have a full hair and less sunken in cheeks. It was a life-changing experience that both recovered my looks and increased my self-esteem. When I recovered, I decided that it was something worth sharing, and I started doing pro bono work for cancer survivors, helping them start over inside out.

I continued to write about my method's benefits in my life and the lives of those I was now introducing it to. Along this process, I built a professional photo studio and began to assist regular individuals, who wanted to use photography to achieve different purposes: losing weight, going back to dating, and other transformational needs. My book, The Picture Cure: You Beyond The Mirror (Fall 2017) will show you how to use photography therapy at home to help you set goals for looks and for life, and become the person you want to be. 

Please contact us if you have any questions. I hope to meet you soon!