Sunday, March 17, 2013

Saint Patrick's Day | Pinterest Thursday | Fayetteville, N.C. Photographer

As y'all know, St. Patty's day is a pretty big deal in the Wells' household! ;-) But this year it snuck up on us with the untimely death of a family member. So, instead of a big shindig like usual, we had a small get together at the house. We had lime marshmallow rice krispie treats (they were okay), shepherd's pie minis - yum, mozzarella sticks (cause I was craving them), and of course, we had a leperchaun visit us and take the kids on a lil' scavenger hunt to find a secret treasure. It was so much fun watching the kids run around in their superhero outfits. My son is the only one who can read, so the little ones would find the clue and my son would read the next clue. LOL They were so excited to find the "treasure" — lil' rainbow Twizzlers with golden Rolos. SOOOOOO cute. I got most of the ideas off of Pinterest ... you really should follow me! ;-)

And of course, we topped the day off with a special lime float. Caffeine free Mountain Dew with lime sherbert ice cream ... yum yum yum! (I got the clover straws from the Dollar Store!).



Pinterest Links:

Rainbow/Rolo treasure
Scavenger hunt
Rice Krispies (with out lime marshmallow twist-found in Walmart)
Sherbert Punch (with Caffeine free Mountain Dew - forgot that it called for Sprite...)
Leprechaun visit

Don't forget to :
Follow Me on Pinterest


All my  photos were taken with an iPhone and copyrighted by SWP.

 *** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***

Monday, March 4, 2013

SWP's New Look | Marketing | Fayetteville, N.C. Photographer



I'm sure you guys have noticed a lil' change in the way Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC has been looking. In the beginning, I really wasn't sure of my business identity. I realized that once my "hobby" was actually starting to take off, I had to make my business legit and I had to quickly throw together some marketing tools so that I could get the word out. Though I didn't (and still don't) HATE my old logo ... It was still time to update and actually show myself in my business. (How many times has Coca-Cola changed their branding, right?) ;-)

My first logo was a mixture of teal and gray with polka dots — who doesn't love polka dots?! But did it really represent me? No, not really. It was just a quick, simple, and pretty way of putting together my business cards.


Speaking of business cards, my first business cards (which I was SO proud of) also didn't represent my company very well ... I mean, they had a newborn on the front and I don't specialize in newborns. In fact, I don't even want to take pictures of newborns at all! LOL They're so tiny and frail ... nope, not for me. I will gladly recommend wonderful newborn photographers to clients who contact me for baby pics! LOL


I thought I was pretty cool, toting around this card and handing them out. Now, don't get me wrong. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this business card or putting together a quick business card to start your business, because without these, I wouldn't have gotten half of my clientele! These definitely did their job.

After visiting Imaging USA with two other fellow photographers, I realized exactly what I was doing wrong in my marketing. I wasn't representing ME. Face it, when you're in this sort of business, you aren't just marketing the business, you are marketing YOU. The client deals with YOU, the client relies on YOUR talent and skill, and the client trusts YOU. So, market YOU. And that's what I did.

I changed up my logo. Not by much, but enough to show who I am. I took my watermark and added one simple little element — a clover. (And of course my motto).


Just by doing this, I feel like I'm representing me and my business on a more personal basis. Why the clover you ask? Well, not only are they just adorable to look at, but I'm Irish. I'm a very proud Irish American ... even though I've only visited Ireland once (but I'm working on fixing that). I have a very strong bond with my Irish roots and I wanted to show that in my business. Also, notice that it's just a three-leafed clover. It's not that I hate four-leafed clovers, but what is the meaning behind a four-leafed clover? That's right, luck. Even though much luck came into play on receiving some of the best and most loyal clients out there, I don't want to rely on my luck (because it truly is sparse!). I want to rely on three basics of why I do what I do: Live, Laugh, and Love. And this is my principle in running my business. I want my clients to live life and remember those precious moments. I want them to have fun and laugh while creating memories. And above all, I want them to love each other and those memories for eternity. Photographs aren't just about remembering those moments, it's about looking back at those moments and remembering why they were so important to you. There are some photographs of my own that make me smile, cry, and shake my head, but they're memories of how I live my life and how I love everything that has been a part of it.

Even though I live in the "now," you can clearly see that my past is very important to me. Even though I was adding a new element to my branding, I didn't want to lose my teal and gray dots, because honestly, my business wouldn't be where it is today without them. So, I revamped polka dots and then added a pop of coral.


Badda-bing. Gorgeous. It took me a while to figure out exactly how I wanted it but I couldn't be more proud of it! I feel as though this branding is going to take me places and really express who I am. Speaking of that, I also revamped my business cards to show EXACTLY what I specialize in:

Not only did I show who I specialize in (couples, families, and children), I also added someone who is going to carry on my traditional roots ... my son. Family is important to me and that's why I work so hard to capture your family's life in photographs.

I am still in the process of updating my packaging look, but I know you guys are going to just love the new packaging. I love the old beige boxes with brown ribbon I have now, but again, they don't represent my business at all.  But until next time, you're just going to have to wait and see. *wink*

I am going to leave you with another clover image (and be prepared to see more). My son bought this lil' tank with his own money and was super excited about it because it reminds him of Daddy, who is currently deployed. He set this image up for me and I think it's just the cutest, because guess what, Daddy is Irish too. ;-)

*** Please remember that all images are copyrighted to Sharilyn Wells Photography, LLC. Please do not copy or alter any images without SWP, LLC consent. ***