I don’t have many regrets looking back on my journey so far as a photographer and business owner, but there are a few things I would’ve done differently if I had to start over, one of which we’re talking about today.
I wish I wouldn’t have done what everyone else was doing to try and get where everyone else was.
Let’s travel back to 2015 when it seemed like every successful photographer was an adventurous elopement photographer who shot at national parks, had “I love coffee & dogs” in their Instagram bio and stickers all over their laptop case. They had bohemian style branding and probably wore a big hat to every session.
Let me be the first to say there is nothing wrong with embracing those things. However, I was embracing most of those even though it didn't really feel like me. In reality, I just hadn't really figured out who I was as a photographer and a brand at the time.
I made the mistake of thinking the quickest way to find success was to mimic people who had already found it. In reality, the success they had was not the success I wanted.
I didn’t like spending my weekends hiking 4 miles to our shoot location, or the idea of tent camping to capture a sunrise elopement.
Looking back, the burnt orange and mustard in my branding, and the moody edits with desaturated greens and washed out colors, really don't feel like me.
The clients I was attracting weren’t always great fit for me because I was using branding that wasn’t my style.
When I realized I was creating a brand that didn’t represent as well as it could, I pivoted by thinking about things I did like. Here are just some examples of some of those things:
Luxurious Traveling (aka: not in a tent)
Interior Design
Neutral Colors
Fashion
Reading
Fitness
Routines
You might be thinking, “what any of those things have to do with photography,” but just hang with me!
I used things I liked to draw inspiration for the brand I wanted to create. Now, my brand embodies all the things I love while also helping me build a community around people who are attracted to the same things.
If you are realizing in this moment that you brand is not aligned with your style, I would highly recommend stopping here to check out The Brand Kit.
This kit was created by my designer of seven years, Morgan, and I to help you create a brand foundation based on who you are, and bring it to life in a practical way.
I hope you’re catching on to just how important your branding is to your business success. In my experience, I was the happiest with every area of my business when I found my own path instead of trying to take everyone else’s.
Where do you go from here? Answer our questions in The Brand Kit, and then use the templates inside to build a brand that lights you up and attracts the type of clients you want to work with.
PS: here’s a look at some templates included in The Brand Kit…
- a brand cheat sheet with color palette inspo, sample type pairings, and simple type-based logo templates for you to use as a starting point to create your own.
- a brand guidelines manual to help you keep your branding consistent
- Instagram story templates
- a business card template
Everything you need to kick-start your new branding starts right here.
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