You know how you'll be walking down the street and you see an amazing outfit on someone and your like "Oh! I bet they got that at Holister." Or you'll see a pair of shoes and just know they are doc martins?
That is pretty much what a signature look is in photography. An image pops up in your newsfeed and you know which photographer the image belongs to without even seeing who posted it.
Having a signature look is crucial to your business brand. It is also something I REALLY lacked having the first several years of my career. I saw lots of photographers who produced amazing work and I wanted to be every one of them. I loved newborn photography, wedding photography, seniors, couples, families and anything that was light and airy. I photographed it all and had several different editing styles (Not good! Consistency is key). But the more I soul searched, I realized that newborn posed photography wasn't my thing at all. In fact, lots of things just weren't "my thing."
I really enjoyed documentary photography, and I also really liked fine art photography. But I was struggling with them both. Documentary photography isn't on super high demand where I am from and fine art photography... well everyone wanted the beautiful images but didn't want to pay the prices and I simply couldn't afford sitting at my computer editing one image per 2-3 hours making pennies. So I found a happy medium. Lifestyle photography.
As far as the light and airy look goes, it's great for a lot of photographers and I still really admire the look. I am deep person, with lots of feelings and I like to express them through my work. I wanted my pictures to show my soul. So my images are more on the moody side. Lots of contrast and shadowing going on. It is a look that my social media followers and clients have grown to love.
It was this past year that I had an AH-HA moment. I knew I had to change how I was conducting my business. I needed to narrow things down, and really stick to one specific style. I specialize in weddings, couples, and small families. I do take seniors as well because I feel like I still get to do the fine art editing that I enjoy so much. And I do take larger families as well, but I let them know it isn't my strong point.
The biggest thing with creating my signature look was to STOP posing. Ugh. It stressed the heck out of me. I hated the look. I did not want this posed style attached to my business name. I needed to get creative and figure out how to accomplish this. I wracked my brain for several months two years ago on how to get my clients to just relax, open up and be themselves. I created the Organic Posing Guide, which has helped increase my business and has allowed my images to have that natural feel to them. I position my clients naturally, and get them to interact with one another and help create genuine moments for them. Laughing, serious, romance.... it's all there and it's super easy! It is rare while scrolling through my social media pages that you ever see images where my clients are all looking at the camera. It's a look that I adore; couples showing real affection and emotion, and a look that more and more couples and families are appreciating!
I no longer have clients TELLING ME what they want, because they know exactly what they'll get when they hire me because everything I post on my website and social media showcases my style.
So here are the 3 key things to creating your photographer signature look:
1. Focus on one or two types clients. In my case that is couples and small families.
2. Editing style- pick one and stick to it.
3. Only post work on social media that showcases your editing style and desired clientele (NOTE: delete only work that doesn't look like your current style)
