Liza Andrews
Credentials: Liza Andrews is the founder of PictureCure and the creator of Reinvention Photography. With over twenty years of experience in branding, training programs, and professional photography, she combined her unique set of skills to create The Reinvention Studio — a place where people fall in love with themselves.
In Europe, South America and the U.S, Liza has been teaching clients how to use photography to boost their self-esteem, become more photogenic and achieve personal goals, such as weight loss, health improvement, getting over Illness, divorce and redefining their personal style.
Voluntary work: Having used Reinvention Photography on herself to recover from illness and to fight bias in the workplace, Liza offers pro bono inspirational speeches for cancer survivors to help them recover self-esteem and reintegrate their social and professional lives (read more). A skillful photographer specializing in portraiture, fashion and fine art, Liza also shoots portfolios for students of design and young models.
Liza’s book, You Beyond the Mirror, on the power of Reinvention Photography is in the process of being published.
She has appeared on Globo TV and Bold TV in NYC as an industry expert.
HER PERSONAL STORY
I’m 46 years old now. In my thirties, I started suffering from a severe hormonal dysfunction that affected my pituitary gland, thyroids, and ovaries. A few months after my diagnosis, I looked in the mirror and saw someone I barely recognized. The condition made me lose a lot of weight and acquire aging spots on my face. My hair, once full and long, started falling out; first, it got thinner and dull, then holes started to show up on top of my head revealing my scalp. That affected my self-esteem and my work, since my boss no longer wanted me face to face with clients. He said I looked ill and that could affect my credibility. I engaged in the medical treatment, aided by special diets and exercises, and used photography to monitor my results. I took pictures of myself once a week no matter how bad I looked and kept a photo-log. Studying those images taught me how to highlight my good features and disguise the ones that were not so great. Since I had been practicing portrait photography since my teens, I had already mastered the tricks of looking good on camera. But through my illness, I gained full awareness of my body, and how to successfully improve my image when I looked bad. I discovered new resources like special makeup to even my skin tones; hair interlaces and wigs that seemed natural, and the power of wearing the right colors and tailoring my wardrobe for a perfect fit. Most importantly, I learned how to love myself when I was down, and that it was possible to reinvent a new — perhaps an even better — me, as many times as I needed. During a two-year recovery period, I created and perfected my signature method, using reinvention photography… (Read full article)
Me, after my diagnosis, when my problem started to change my appearance. At some point, I had “holes” of missing hair on top of my head. My skin started to show age spots and become saggy. I never showed up anywhere without makeup and a hat or wig.
I lost weight in an "undesirable" way, which made me look unhealthy. I started working on my image more aggressively from these day 1 photos. I set my improvement goals, including diet, physiotherapy and medical treatments that I was always postponing or avoiding. I also worked on a new wardrobe more appropriate to the 18 pounds I had lost. And did endless work with voice and body language in front of a camera to increase my confidence and strenghen my personal and professional presence.
Liza is available for speaking engagements for a variety of audiences on the following topics:
Reinvention Photography: How to Achieve your Goals Using Photography
Bias-Proof Professional Presence
Photographic Techniques for Personal Branding
Increasing Confidence to Overcome Personal and Professional Barriers
Accelerating Inclusion in the Workspace with a Strong Professional Presence
Using Photography to Monitor the Progress of Your Goals
Developing New Facets of Yourself to Start Over in Life or Business
Some locations Liza has spoken at:
Bold TV - New York City
Globo TV - New York City
92Y - New York City
Atheneum Hotel (Women’s Reinvention Group) - London
Love Heals - Fashion Show for Cancer Survivors – Westchester, NY
ESPM University, Rio de Janeiro
EMBRATEL Telecommunications Company, Rio de Janeiro
Everglades Plaza - Community Service, Palm Beach, FL
Survivors from INCA - Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro
Photography Therapy Club Meetings - PictureCure, New York City
American Ways, New York City
Theresa Mueller Clinic, New York City
Brazil Ahead Language School, New York City
Probono Work
It took me eight months to see substantial progress in my general appearance, and about two years to have a full hair. It was a life-changing experience that both recovered my looks and empowered me in the workplace. When I recovered, I decided that it was something worth sharing, and started doing my volunteer work for cancer survivors. Helping someone reinvent themselves feels close to a miracle and I will continue to do it indefinitely.