Redefining my brand as a South Jersey wedding photographer has been a long time in the making.   A really long time.  Just about 10 years ago I started charging for photography although it had been a hobby for 15 years before that. I never thought it would really go anywhere.  I had a full time job and this was just something I did now and then.  I headed to Photoshop as all new photographers do and came up with a kelly green and black and white damask print logo.  I actually loved that silly little home made logo. Fast forward a few years and my little-kinda-sometimes-once-in-a-while company had grown into something much larger. At this point I was making some extreme life changes, getting divorced, moving into my first solo place, quiting my job to do photography full time and making a huge overhaul on my life.  Out of necessity I needed to change my business name.  I hired a wonderful designer but had a hard time conveying what I wanted.  I basically came up with my purple, teal and gray logo on a whim in Photoshop.  Life was so over whelming I simply ran with it because it worked and it was one more thing off my check list.  My then logo had colors I liked and wasn’t seeing every where, cost me no additional money, had a feather as an accent in places that made me think of my dear friend who had passed, so I ran with it.

A year went by and life began to even out. I didn’t feel overwhelmed and stressed anymore. I knew I wanted to change my logo and brand but didn’t want to make another hasty decision. My brand didn’t reflect my style, my ideal clients energy or the brand I wanted to portray.  I started spending lots of time on pinterest picking color swatches and visual items that I felt represented to direction I wanted to go.  I waited another year and decided to hire a different designer.  I paid this designer a pretty hefty fee to design my perfect mint, gray and gold brand. I answered her questionnaires. I responded to her emails.  And you know what?  I didn’t like anything she sent me in return.  Not one thing. I then realized I was yet again spending money and not getting the results I wanted because I STILL COULDN”T IDENTIFY WHAT I WANTED. I wanted florals, colors, loopy fonts but still something modern.  Basically I wanted what I was seeing every where else but my problem was I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing.  In the end I got over that last part but I spent way, way to much time worrying about what every one else was doing.  I finally had to continue to remind myself that “Lions don’t concern them self with the opinions of sheep”. I am a successful entrepreneur who is trying to stay true to myself and genuine in my actions. Sometimes that means going with the flow simply because you LIKE the flow.

Finally this summer I knew I needed to make a decision.  For 4 years I had a logo and brand that simply wasn’t working for me. I spent some time looking through pre-made logos and found a few I loved. I waited a few days and was still drawn to the same thing. I then emailed these ideas to my friend Meghan at Lace and Bell Designs  and she came up with this logo (and a few others!) for me.  I love it.  I love the bright colors, the touch of gold and the font.  It sounds silly but finding a loopy-scripty font that looks good when you have a capital in the middle of your name is TOUGH.  Heck, having a capital in the middle of my name makes most fonts look odd.  That silly capital in the middle of my name was an important factor to keep. It’s who I am. My name has always been unique and it was important to me that I maintain that.

I wanted a brand that felt like me when I looked at it.  A brand that would appeal to my idea client. A brand that felt a little like how my personality feels. Creating a new brand consists of a lot of time, energy and expense. It isn’t something to be taken lightly. For some businesses that simply have a facebook page and possibly a simple site – a new brand is easy!  When you have multiple social media platforms, printed marketing materials, website and more there is a lot of energy that goes into things!  I am so grateful to finally have something that seems to fit my brand and feel pretty to look at.  Having a business means that your business grows and develops with you. I envy the creatives who have had one look and stuck with it for years. There is something beautiful about that consistency.  I am simply not at that point in my career yet. I am evolving, creating and changing and my brand needs to do that with me.

Cheers to a new LTP in 2017 and to all the things that make YOUR heart fill with joy!

South Jersey Wedding Photographer