Howdy. I’m Love’s Apprentice, photographer and brand strategist. With consumers doing more and more business online, the competition is stiffer now more than ever if you want to stand out in this crowd. Image is everything! I help you develop the image and strategy to really engage the people you want to do business with. I’ve grown to enjoy sharing my experiences and resources I’ve gathered, hence the blog as well as amazing resources like
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The Get Down: Brand Strategy Explained
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. Yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. Branding is sometimes considered to be merely an advertising function, but it is so much more than that. What trends can your brand leverage to modernize + monetize in 2020? Discover how to create and manage a brand that helps your business become known, loved, and preferred in this brand strategy break-down we call "The Get Down."
Brand Strategy: What you need to know in 2019
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. Yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. Branding is sometimes considered to be merely an advertising function, but it is so much more than that. What trends can your brand leverage to modernize + monetize in 2020? Discover how to create and manage a brand that helps your business become known, loved, and preferred in this brand strategy break-down we call "The Get Down."
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NLC Austin's Headshots and Happy Hour
Here’s a preview of the final gallery from NLC Austin’s Headshots and Happy Hour. Check back on Thursday when I reveal the final gallery, but until then, download, share, and enjoy!
I had such an amazing time photographing NLC Austin’s Prospective 2020 Fellows! Here are the headshots and highlights from the evening. Download, share, and enjoy!
One of my favorite things is hearing the feedback from the people I photograph. Chime in here and let me know what you thought about our experience together.
If you were blown away by the work you received, feel free to leave me a donation!
Why Your Brand Colors Matter
Colors have the power to impact moods, feelings, and behaviors.
The psychology of color as it pertains to influencing people is one of the most interesting — and most disputed — aspects of branding and marketing.
Learn what matters, and what doesn't, in this intro guide to color psychology.
When It Comes to Branding, It's All About Color
For sighted people, colors are important, Top brands know this. That's why they invest so much money into researching consumer preferences. They understand that the more they understand about their audiences, the greater their ability to develop messaging and branding that actually works to effect the behaviors of the organisms that can perceive them.
In nature, colors started as a means for survival. Some flowers are grown to have vivid colors to attract pollinators, and there are reptiles whose color changes to protect them from predators in their ecosystems. So if on a lower tier, color plays such an important role to smaller organisms and life, you better believe that it has a significant effect on people. Humans respond to color behaviorally, mentally, and emotionally. Although we are still learning all the ways that color effects us chemically, we've learned enough to know how important colors are to inform, persuade, and influence people on a psychological level.
If you're doing your marketing and branding, consider what your colors are saying about you and your brand and if you're still in the building stages and haven't quite got all your marketing collateral worked out, consider your color theory ahead of time so you can really craft messaging that speaks to the audience that you want to bring in.
There are also commonly reported psychological effects of color as it relates to two main categories: warm and cool. Warm colors – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger while cooler colors like purple, green, and blue can often spark feelings from calmness to sadness.
Let's dig into a few of the most popular colors to see what how they're being perceived. The following are some common reactions to colors here in the U.S. You can also review a more comprehensive list of color meanings and symbolism on this chart created for download or embed on your site.
Just remember, certain shades or tones may result in very different meanings. Also, the context around the color, and even surrounding colors, can have an effect. Think of this as a more "beginner's look" into color psychology:
RED - Red is the color of passion. It can also be the color of aggression. It is attention grabbing. Interestingly enough, red is appetite stimulating. A lot of fast food restaurants use red because it stimulates your digestion.
GREY - Grey is sort of like the opposite of red. It is a very neutral color. It is a little bit more passive. Speakers might wear grey because they want you to concentrate on what they're saying and not so much what they are wearing.
BLUE - Blue is the color of the sky and the ocean. It's loyal, dependable, honest, trustworthy, and very wise. When you wear blue, it's a great color to show that you are an expert, that you are calm, that you know what you're doing and that you're very loyal and dependable. There have been many really fascinating studies done, one of which had workers work in an all white office and workers working in an all blue office. The workers in the all blue office had 20% less errors, so blue can make you feel more wise, or feel more productive, so it would be a great color to have around you where you work.
PURPLE - Purple is the color of royalty. It's the color of luxury, so if you want someone to thing your gift is expensive, wrap it in purple wrapping paper! LOL! But seriously, there’s a reason why purple doesn't appear in nature very much. That’s why purple dye is so expensive. We attribute the color to being expensive and unique.
ORANGE - Success and high energy. Orange is a great color to wear to the gym. Look around at your next sporting event and see how much orange you find.
BRAND STRATEGY 101 AND WHY YOU NEED ONE (FOR CREATIVES & ENTREPRENEURS)
Bringing your brand to life is not about how it looks; it’s about how it makes others feel. It’s all about what your customers say and how they feel when you leave the room. That’s why having a great strategy for your brand is so important. Your brand strategy is what cements people’s perceptions of your brand. What might you perceive of a brand with no clear strategy?
Let’s dig a little bit deeper into this whole “branding” thing though.
HOW TO DEVELOP A STRATEGY THAT LEADS TO MEASURABLY POSITIVE RESULTS
Bringing your brand to life is not about how it looks; it’s about how it makes others feel. It’s all about what your customers say and how they feel when you leave the room. That’s why having a great strategy for your brand is so important. Your brand strategy is what cements people’s perceptions of your brand. What might you perceive of a brand with no clear strategy?
Let’s dig a little bit deeper into this whole “branding” thing though.
Branding, according to Entrepreneur.com is “your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.”
That’s a decent definition, but I’ve cleaned it up a bit. Branding, to me, is actively shaping people’s perceptions about your business. Strategy implies that there is a methodical system that one can implement to attain measurably positive results.
That’s all brand strategy is in the big scheme of things. It’s a system that you implement in your business to shape people’s thoughts about your brand.
Now that we’ve defined Brand Strategy, let’s talk about how we can start to build one for your brand.
I’ve broken it down into a nice little acronym that I hope you remember when you’re developing your brand strategy. Let’s get right into it.
1. C = Customer
Your branding should be geared towards your customer so you have to know who they are. If you’ve got a make-up line, think about the kinds of people you think will be interested in your make-up and direct your messages to them.
2. O = Objective
I believe that knowing from the start what you expect to get out of your branding efforts will help determine whether your branding efforts actually worked. It’s important to start with measurable goals. If your goal is to get 100 new subscribers to your mailing list, your branding efforts should direct your customers to get you to that goal. If you started with 0 followers, then after the release of your new promotional material and a certain amount of time, you should have 100 new subscribers if your branding efforts worked.
3. V = Values
This part needs time for serious self reflection, but being able to convey your values through your marketing and branding is crucial part of signaling customers and clients. Having well conceived core values for your business and brand helps set you apart in the competitive space because your values are unique to you. Your values act as the emotional attitude of your brand.
4. E = Express
As a creative, this is the fun part. Express is communicating those values and beliefs about your brand to your audience. How will your marketing collateral express the vision of your brand? How will your audience receive your messaging? Have you made a branding style guide? Do you need a photoshoot? The sky is the limit, so to narrow things down, refer back to the previous tips and ask yourself if these new creative assets fit your brand, match your values, and support your objective.
5. T = Tweak
As your business grows and your brand evolves, you’ll be able to see the results of your branding and marketing collateral. If you’re not getting the results you need, it’s OK to tweak what you’ve got to create something better.
When I discuss tweaking with my clients, I ask things like…
Is your logo a png?
Is the text written from your point of view?
Are you photos really old?
Does a different motto, slogan, hashtag resonate more significantly with your audience?
These are all critical things to consider when devising your brand strategy.
CAN NOT HAVING A BRAND STRATEGY HURT MY BUSINESS?
It absolutely could. Let’s say that you are an online retailer of custom made goods. You have a beautiful and responsive website, but you’re checkout page is difficult to navigate. If that’s the case, the chances are, you’re not getting the sales you deserve. This is what I call “brand incongruence;” The experience doesn’t match the brand, thus turning off your customers.
By implementing a strategy for your brand to convert interested buyers into returning buyers, this is the type of thing that you can address before it results in financial loss. Sure, you might have been able to save a few coins going with the default checkout theme, but how many customers have you lost in the process.
Being strategic about your branding efforts will allow you the ability to track whether your efforts worked and to recalculate so you can succeed. You’ll have the power to make smarter business decisions because a certain amount of your success has already been pre-determined.
FINAL WORDS
Denzel Washington is quoted as saying “Dreams without goals remain dreams and fuel disappointment.” The same is kinda true for your branding. If you don’t set a goal for your branding, and if you’re not being strategic about accomplishing that goal, then get ready to be disappointed.
Sure, having an awesome name, great brand colors, and beautiful photos taken by Love’s Apprentice are all important and will help make your brand stand out, but if you care about growth, then you need to make sure these resources help to get you there.
If you would like to discuss how to develop a brand strategy for your own business, please get in touch for a low cost brand development session. We’ll get you squared away on all the steps you can take to refine your brand to get the results you want.
Why Your Brand Photography Matters
SIMPLE QUESTION: When you’re scrolling down your endless Facebook and Instagram timelines, which makes you stop scrolling first - the text or the images?
If you answered with “the images,” then congratulations! You’re part off the majority!! So much for individuality. LOL! But on a serious note, the reason why you’re more compelled to stop on the photos is actually backed up by science. According to researched complied by 3M, the corporation behind Post-it Notes, images are processed 60,000 times faster than written words, which means you can show off your brand to your followers much quicker with pictures.
Branding + Design
SIMPLE QUESTION: When you’re scrolling down your endless Facebook and Instagram timelines, which makes you stop scrolling first - the text or the images?
If you answered with “the images,” then congratulations! You’re part off the majority!! So much for individuality. LOL! But on a serious note, the reason why you’re more compelled to stop on the photos is actually backed up by science. According to researched complied by 3M, the corporation behind Post-it Notes, images are processed 60,000 times faster than written words, which means you can show off your brand to your followers much quicker with pictures.
So I guess it’s safe to say that your brand photography is probably going to be your most advantageous tool when it comes to your branding.
Photography provides PROOF! It helps your audience to visually perceive you as an expert in your field, which hopefully is good for your bottom line.
Let’s take a shallow dive two similar BLACK-OWNED businesses and the choices they have made to build their brands using photography.
(image credit: XOXO Sugar)
XOXO Sugar and The Crayon Case have both gained notoriety (#1) because of the strong desire of black people to support black business, but mainly because of (#2) the superior quality of their products. However, it is worth noting how they each approach swaggering their brands. Both pages tell a story about what their products are like, what their brands are about and the kinds of customers they want to attract.
(image credit: The Crayon Case)
(image credit: The Crayon Case)
XOXO Sugar is giving off a sweet/affordability sensibility that’s probably catered to 18 - 35 year old female demographic, whereas The Crayon Case is going for a back-to-school vibe which could appeal to both school aged audiences and trendy, fashion-forward adults craving a sense of nostalgia. One can assume that not too many men or women over 50 will be buying, but they’ve totally got the attention of their intended audiences. So as you can see, although these brands are quite similar, they’re harnessing the power of great brand photography to tell 2 totally different stories to potentially the same audience and to differentiate their brands from one another in such a competitive marketplace.
We’re going to be taking a closer look into how photography can be used to help develop an increased awareness of your brand and the steps that you can take to make a better showing to your followers. Remember - Your visual presentation will make or break your brand, so don’t risk turning potential customers off by using unflattering photos cause it’ll instantly devalue your brand.
Using Photography in Your Branding
In the above examples, both brands themed their images in eye-catching ways to convey different messages to their audiences. This is how you should be thinking when developing your brand. Know your audience and tell them your story.
1. The 3 P’s: Perspective, Portrayal & Purpose
You’ll need all of these in order to start visualizing and actualizing your branding.
Perspective - What’s your perspective? What is the message that you are trying to send to your audience?
Portrayal - How do you want to portray that message? Do you have a particular concept that could help send the message?
Purpose - What’s the purpose? What do you want your customers to do? How do you want your clients to feel? What’s your desired end result?
2. Create a mood board
Having a clear overview of these 3 things will definitely help you when it’s time to start pinning. Back in the day, we used to have to make moodboards from old magazine cut-outs, but now-a-days, all you need is Pinterest. Create a board and collect all of the inspiration that you need until you see your brand materialize.
Save photos from everywhere you can find that looks like the photography that you want to featured your brand. Take a look at your closest competitors and take note of the techniques they employ to engage their following. Let your Pinterest Board reflect the feeling of what you want your audience to receive from you. It should have personality. It should convey a mood. It should look like it comes from you as opposed to someone else. Every pin should work together to tell the story of your brand.
3. Edit, Edit, Edit!!!
Now that you’ve got a pretty good inspo’ board, you’re going to have to pare it down. Look through your collection and get organized. Recognizing patterns in your preferences is going to help you assemble your style guide and to remove duplicate pins or ones that tell the same story, either visually or emotionally. Be selective about what you keep, making sure only to save the items that most closely reflect your brand’s point of view.
A great way to make this easier on yourself is to have a client-first attitude. Consider their needs because after all, you’re choosing these images for them. Having a clear set of guidelines makes the blueprint easy to replicate so consider the following:
What is the subject of the photos? Are you selling a product? Are you the subject because you provide the service? Are you a landscape photographer who needs to feature landscape photography?
Telling a story means CONTENT so plan shoots that tell a story so you can get a series of images to use that suit your brand instead of just the one or two desired images at a time.
How will you customer feel after seeing the images? More confident in your service? Like they have to buy your product now? Like they need their next portrait session shot by YOU?
Editing photos with a consistent style brings a level of polish to your brand that you don’t know is missing unless it’s missing. This is all to say - bookmark your filters. This helpful tip also helps to give a vibe. Your photo editing can tell the audience if your brand is sweet, edgy, artistic, natural, raw, etc… you get the picture.
Remember what you hate! When researching, you’re going to see plenty of images and branding that you don’t like or that doesn’t speak to you. Remember that and make sure not to repeat it in your branding. You know how you would feel as a potential customer looking for a photographer but only seeing stock photography on their website - or when you’re looking for the perfect foundation, but the lighting is bad in the photos. Would that CONVERT you?
The below example is my simple style guide which is a a great way to collect and organize ideas that you have for your brand. Since I’m a photographer, finding photos wasn’t too hard, but I still had to edit to make sure that my brand has a unique perspective that yo’ll only get from me.
4. Story Telling is KEY!
Be selective in your choice of visuals. I suggest you start with your PURPOSE and ask your self if the image fits that.
I created these 2 examples to illustrate my point. This is the difference between good photography and better photography for your branding. The flyer on the left is OK. It matches the theme of the ad. It shows a pool and we’re talking about a pool party, but there’s something missing that picture 2 clearly is not. What the difference between the two? The answer - The people and the vibe! Now ask yourself.. which party would you most likely want to attend?
5. Get Great Photos
There are many different ways that you can get really good photos for your brand. The first, and most obvious way would be to hire a professional. Once you have a style guide ready, its as easy as sharing that with a professional photographer who could easily capture similarly styled images for your brand.
Another great resource for great photography is stock photos. If budget and time are your challenges, I’m linking a few of my favorites for getting stunning stock photography.
PIXABAY - Over 1.6 million royalty free stock photos and videos
BURST - Free stock photos for websites and commercial use
And if you’re the type who is not afraid to get their hands dirty, Pinterest is full of DIY Photography Ideas that you could try out for your brand.
Wrapping up
Photography at its core is a method way to tell stories and we all, if we can, respond to visual images. Understanding why might just be the difference between attracting more clients or turning them away. So again, take special care in selecting your brand images. They’re just as, if not more important as your logo, brand voice, content, etc. If I’m attracted to intriguing and consistent images from your brand on Insta or FB , that pulls me in so I want to learn more, and as a result I hit the follow button.
Is a picture worth a thousand words? Some would argue they’re worth a whole lot more. That’s why killer brand photography is so crucial to the success of your business.
At-home sessions: 5 reasons these make for amazing family portraits
This Holiday Season, I had the pleasure of photographing The Overton Family. They were a ton of fun and totally open to just letting the morning unfold, naturally. I arrived to their home at about 10 AM, the highlight - being greeted by one of the most charismatic kiddos in the whole state of Texas, and his big sister- well, as teenagers go - wouldn’t have minded a few extra minutes to text. Anyway, we didn’t worry about wrangling the family together too much to get the “perfect” shot, and as a result, we have a huge gallery that details the day in a candid, “merry” way. The best thing about these photos is how they will tell the story of how family was at their beautiful home, on this lovely, December day in 2018.
"Love’s Apprentice at your service and my super power is photographing loving and memorable moments in an imaginative way. “ A way that paints the full picture, from the subtle kiss on the forehead to pinky fingers interlocking to your family positioned perfectly in front of the Christmas Tree. It’s as close to putting love in a bottle as one can get, but its also pure , truthful, and authentic at the same time.
This Holiday Season, I had the pleasure of photographing The Overton Family. They were a ton of fun and totally open to just letting the morning unfold, naturally. I arrived to their home at about 10 AM, the highlight - being greeted by one of the most charismatic kiddos in the whole state of Texas, and his big sister- well, as teenagers go - wouldn’t have minded a few extra minutes to text. Anyway, we didn’t worry about wrangling the family together too much to get the “perfect” shot, and as a result, we have a huge gallery that details the day in a candid, “merry” way. The best thing about these photos is how they will tell the story of how this family was at their beautiful home, on this lovely, December day.
“Mama” Overton contacted me after searching for photographers on Instagram. See.. hashtags do work! More on that later. She wanted a family shoot at her Central Texas home and was hesitant about hiring an in home photographer because their family had only ever had department store photo session experiences. This brings me to the meat and potatoes of this post.
When considering photoshoot locations, look no further than:
Your Home
I’ve done family sessions in a variety of locations and review those locations with my clients once we are in contact. Today, I want to share a few reasons to pick your own house as a family photo session location. Newborn photo shoots aren’t the only reason to decide to shoot at home. Here are five more:
Five Reasons to Have Your Family Session At Home
1.
Making the kiddos comfortable :
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that c-stands, lights on poles, cameras on tripods, cords on floors, and CHILDREN don’t mix very well. Some children have a much easier time being engaged with their family and photographer while in the comfort of their own homes. I mean.. c’mon.. you know how good it feels to come home after a long day of work, or when you’ve been away on vacation? Walking back into your home, especially after you’ve been away for a while, has a way of putting you at ease and it will do the same for your children. Kids also tend to warm up quicker when they’re already in a familiar environment. For me, it helps with capturing real moments. I don’t mean “Stepford Wives” happy moments, but moments where the family is really connecting. I love snapping parents getting the children ready just before they think the photo will be snapped, when the dad is so focused on the hairs on his sons head that you can’t help but want to capture that moment. Plus, your family is less likely to tense up from being overwhelmed by the shear amount of equipment that most studios have. You’ll most likely feel way more relaxed on your own playing ground. This, in turn, will equate to amazingly sincere portraits.
2.
Archiving the Family Legacy for Posterity:
Your home is the center of your story. Family photos at home can show where you fellowship as a family or maybe even something you love to do together like playing board games or tinkering around on that “out of tune” piano. What better place to document the love of a growing family than somewhere that truly defines you?! It’s most likely already decorated just the way you like. It has paintings hanging that your husband might have spent months to create and pictures framed from 5th grade graduations to vacations in various nations. Even if you’re renting, you might someday move out and want to have photos that depict your life as you once knew it. The added bonus - since your dog “SPOT" will already be there, she could easily join in on the fun. A home shoot is a great way to archive your “real” life!
3.
Did I mention it’s easy?
Too easy! You won’t have to get gas or find directions. All you have to do is wait for me to get there. You won’t have to worry about the weather or even clean up if you don’t want to. You’ve already got access to a dressing room. And I’m excited to see the “prop shop” that has been building in your garage. Your home is perfect the way it is. We can push the furniture to the side if its in the way:) Doing a session at your home equates to less stress for you, and when you’re less stressed, your’re happier, and when you’re happy, better photos. You see where this is going.
4.
Beautiful light is right at your doorstep - LITERALLY!
Have you ever walked through your home at just the right time of day when the sun rays are leaking through the blinds and plays a light show across the room? That’s the light I’m talking about. I call it “WINDOW LIGHT!” Its God’s gift to photographers and its totally free. And if you’re worried your home doesn’t have enough light, no worries! That’s what the flash is for.
5.
Your photos will be ONE-OF-A-KIND.
No two houses are equal and even if they were created equally, it’s the inhabitants who bring the life to the domicile. The photos that you take in your home will be unique to YOU! In my shoot with The Overtons, their Chrismtas decorations represent them. But most importantly, the chemistry that we create will be unique to us.. to that specific day.. to those specific moments frozen in time. If you are wanting photos that show a real connection, the love, and the eccentricity in your family relationships, having a session in the place where you would naturally be open is an easy call.
BONUS LOCATION:
* Your home actually extends beyond your house. We can always go for a neighborhood walk or pop into the backyard for more variety or to round out the experience and photo session.
Enjoy these images of The Overtons, a morning in their lives, in the environment that shapes them.
XO,
Love’s Apprentice
Franco Washington
