What exactly is a brand? It’s certainly more than just colors, fonts, and photography logo designs. It’s that and so much more. Your brand is how you make people feel when they interact with you. Having never before hired someone to do professional branding for my photography business–I knew it was time for something new! Though it wasn’t a full overhaul, I am over the moon with how my photography branding refresh turned out and what it means for my business!

Photography Branding: How You Make Your Client Feel

I hired a designer whose work I already followed (Abbey Chaplain of Studio Gail) so I knew that I would like what she did for me! I made a Pinterest board with all the designs and textures that caught my eye. All of these influences together contributed to our answering the questions: Does my in-person work match my online image? How does my presence make people feel?

A few of the words that kept coming back during my design redo process were timeless, nostalgic, joyful, artistic, and emotive. These are the feelings and impressions I want my clients to walk away with in viewing my content or working with me. I wanted to have a strong visual identity that truly represented me and communicated everything that I want my clients to feel! My goal was to have something recognizable, but not too trendy, and that would last for the foreseeable future. That’s what my designer created!

Photography Branding: Hiring a Designer vs DIY

I went with a designer this time (after designing my first logo myself) because I wanted my photography branding to be updated professionally in a reasonable timeline. I also knew that committing to this investment would push me to integrate the new look into my business immediately.

Here’s what I think are the pros and cons for designing your own branding vs hiring a designer:

Photography Branding: DIY

• PROS: no cost, full creative freedom, no timeline limitations. 

• CONS: easily falls to the bottom of your to-do list, too much creative freedom can make it hard to make decisions, lacking technical or design knowledge, takes much longer.

Photography Branding: Hiring a Designer

• PROS: follows a reasonable timeframe, your time can be spent on more important tasks in your business, a designer may have ideas you didn’t think of, they have a fresh perspective of your business looking at it from the outside.

• CONS: more costly investment, difficult to communicate clearly enough to really get your vision to come across in their design, you may find it intimidating to share how you really feel about the design to a professional designer.

Being prepared with a general idea of what styles you like or dislike along with the confidence to speak up to your designer will enable you to create the best work. Before you start your own photography branding design or approach a designer, it’s also important to know who you are as a business owner and what values you want to communicate through your brand. If you know this, the right design will follow!

Showing My Values Through My Photography Rebrand

The space I’ve created for my clients is one of love, kindness, and joy! My goal is to capture their memories in the most timeless and nostalgic way possible so that anytime they reminisce, all the feelings immediately come flooding back. People are the most important part of this job, and I hope you can feel that even through a screen!

Whenever I change anything in my business, especially visually, it sets me on a deep-dive into the “why” behind my business. If I’m going to make a change, I want it to be for the right reasons. I want the change to propel my business forward into the next phase that is leading to my goals. In fewer words, I want it to mean something.

It’s funny how smaller, often unnoticeable changes to my business from my clients’ point of view can be the most significant to me! There are always specific intentions behind the decisions that I make in my business. So when it came to changing up my photography branding, I already knew who I was and what I do and how I wanted to make my clients feel. 

What I Do: Your Story Captured

Obviously, I am a photographer. But, my dream is that when a client and I get a chance to work together, it will be so much more than just taking your photos. My goal is to be your friend first, and your photographer second, telling your story through timeless, artful imagery.

Being a photographer is more than just taking your photos: it’s telling your story through timeless, artful imagery.

It’s often said that people won’t remember the things you say but how you made them feel. I firmly believe that. My goal even with something as simple as my photography branding is to leave people better off than when I found them. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life to capture stories of people that move from clients to friends.

Who I Am: The Heart Behind My Brand

First and foremost, I am a daughter, a sister, and a friend. Most importantly, I am a follower of Jesus and I aim to live my life in a way that glorifies His name. The love that I feel in my life stems deeply from these values and that’s what pops up throughout my photography branding.

I think it’s important to circle back every few years and look at your photography business branding to see that it still represents what you value. As you rebrand, your photography design elements should morph with you as your business grows and changes.

Even if I change my visual style over time–it’s still me.

Are you looking for someone who will capture your upcoming important life event or talk through your photography business goals? Let’s be friends first!