By showcasing the relationship you have with your dog, you’re showing the human side of your business. This builds trust, and trust leads to loyal and engaged clients. Standing out as an entrepreneur is no easy feat! But what if I told you that your secret weapon could be right by your side – yes, your loyal pet! Including pets in your brand photos might just be the game changer your business needs. I absolutely LOVE to include a dog or cat in the library of branding images I create for the business owners. Six reasons to include your dog or cat in your next brand shoot: 1. YOU’RE MORE RELA ..read more

What do you wear for your brand shoot that will look good, make you look professional yet approachable, and coordinate with your website? That is the question so many entrepreneurs ask as they plan for their sessions! A lot goes into a successful brand shoot, and for good reason! You’re investing in something that will ultimately increase your know, like and trust factor with potential clients. And you want to maximize this investment so you have a beautiful library of images to draw from as you update your website and other client-facing collateral & social media. Here are seven tips for ..read more

Are you afraid to get professional hair and makeup done for your personal branding photo session? Afraid you’ll look too glam, too fake, too unnatural? I used to worry about that, too. I mean, I wanted to look like I took my business seriously but did NOT want to look like I was on my way to a Broadway play – or worse yet, IN a Broadway play! I took my own advice for my last brand shoot. I could not believe the difference I felt for my 2022 personal brand photo shoot compared to the shoot I had done in 2021. You can see a comparison of my two professional branding shoots. In the one on the lef ..read more

Your brand colors – you may have chosen them because you love them, but they mean so much more to your business. Brand colors can invoke a feeling when your clients and followers see it. They also come to expect a certain color (or colors) when they think of you. Wearing your brand colors, both in your brand photos and real life can help people relate to your business. The palette you use and wear in your business should be something that grows with you – and not something to be changed often! It’s a strategic component of your brand identity. Colors represent the core values and traits of a b ..read more

You’re ready to make a very important investment in your business – it’s time to select a brand photographer! But how do you know what to look for; and who can help you achieve your goals? Personal brand photography is a very specialized field of photography, different than wedding or family photography. You’ll also see headshot photographers that call their work brand photography, but I consider them to be very different. First of all, you want to select a brand photographer that is experienced in photographing entrepreneurs. You need your brand photography library to include images that sho ..read more

Have you developed a strategy in your photography business to use client testimonials? Client testimonials give prospective customers an insight into the experience of working with you. It can give you the street cred needed to make that perfect client decide to fill out your contact form and start working with you. Before you can USE testimonials, however, you first have to GET some! Here are best practices for photographers to build a client testimonial strategy: Keep a “Kudos” folder on your computer, in your file drawer and/or email inbox. Add any thank you notes from clients. Most like ..read more

Professional Photographers need a personal brand just like many other entrepreneurs do. Unfortunately, many photographers assume their beautiful work will speak for itself, and that couldn’t be more wrong. With thousands of photographers in every geographic area, what is it that sets your business apart from the masses? Easy answer: It’s YOU! Photography is a personality-driven business. By showing your personality in your marketing and on your website, you’ll create a base of loyal fans that want to work with you. The messaging you share out there will help qualify clients, attracting those ..read more

One of the most cherished products I offer are custom senior albums. Every high school senior that walks through my studio knows that I LOVE albums! And just about every parent of a high school senior invests in one. You can to capture all the looks of the senior in one beautiful, easy to enjoy heirloom. Don’t laugh when you hear me say that someday THEIR kids will be fighting over it; I truly believe it! Today I am showcasing my album offerings. These albums are made with beautiful leathers, canvas, fabrics and nice, thick pages. And of course, your stunning images are on each page ..read more

It’s spring and that means graduations, open houses and excitement about plans this fall. For juniors who are graduating next year, this time of year means deciding on your senior portrait photographer! The best time to be photographed for your senior portraits here in Michigan is this summer, BEFORE your senior year. Once school starts, it becomes super difficult to schedule sessions! Seniors are busy, and, since I photograph seniors on weekday evenings, there isn’t much time to prep after school and sports practice. So summer sessions are definitely the best! I work with a small number of s ..read more

It’s time to refresh your website for the new year! There are five easy ways to refresh your website so that things look more up to date. It doesn’t have to be an all day project. Some of the following tasks will take less than five minutes, for instance! Change the year on your footer. Don’t you hate it when you go to a website and the copyright date on the footer is three years old? Are they still in business? To make this easy change, find the area that changes the footer content (which is shown on every page of your website.) This update should take about 2 minutes and then you can check ..read more