Somewhere in June I went digging through my photo folder for something to post and came up frustrated. Not because I don’t have good photos, I have plenty, but every single one of them had me in a jacket, long sleeves, pants, colours that belonged in April. It was 27 degrees outside and none of it fit the season I was actually living in. So I did exactly what I watch my clients do all the time: spent way too long scrolling and looking for the right image, then getting frustrated and not making the website updates or the post because what I had didn’t match the vibe. I caught myself mid-scroll and thought, I know better than this.

So I called up my friend Laura of Laura Manson Creative Co. to plan my own brand photoshoot. I knew what I wanted and, just as important, what I didn’t. No white wall, no coffee cup, you’ve seen those a million times and so have I. I wanted something fun, bold and unique. I wanted something that was fun and creative but also that I could use to show all the parts of brand photography that aren’t taking the photos. We talked through what would actually tell my story and what would land with the people who follow me. That’s how we ended up with the ultimate 90s summer vibes. A vintage phone, an old TV, a typewriter, my actual Walkman and CDs (Big Shiny Tunes 5 included, some things you hang onto), every piece of colourful stationery I own, all of it in the garden.

The photos are casual the way I actually am, and they finally feel like summer.

Here’s the part nobody sees in the gallery, though. Getting to “phone, TV, typewriter, garden, Walkman” wasn’t a moodboard I found that morning. It was a call about what I actually wanted these photos to do for me, tracking down a typewriter on short notice, choosing the garden over three other spots because the light is perfect and its a space the resonates with me and my ideal clients. None of that shows up in the photo, but it’s the entire reason the photo works.

We also talked a lot about capturing custom stock photos. Images that fit the vibe, but didn’t have my face so I could use them in backgrounds, or as filler on my website. We talked about wardrobe, something more whimsical and something more casual, and of course I pulled out my Saskatchewan shirt because that is part of my brand too!

That’s what I try to tell people who book a brand session with me: the pretty picture is maybe 20% of what they’re paying for. The other 80% is someone thinking through their actual business before the camera comes out. I get it, brand photography isn’t cheap, but it is so worth it to have the marketing materials that actually work for you!

And I can feel the difference already. I’ve got a stack of photos I actually reach for now, my website updates go faster, and marketing my own business got a little easier, which is the entire point I keep making to everyone else.

So if your brand photos are wrong-season, wrong-vibe, or just don’t feel like you anymore, that’s not a you problem. That’s a “time to book the thing” problem. Bring your own Walkman if you’ve got one, lets create some magic!