This 365 post isn’t too exciting.  I got an email from a local magazine to see if I could take a last-minute photo for an ad in their publication.  Nothing too special.  What was weird is that my husband saw this shot & says, “Hey, that’s one of my clients.”  Small world!  (oh, and my many thanks go out to my two assistants on this job – Emma & Brooke.  Thanks for making me look good.)

“Rain drops on roses & whiskers on kittens…la la la la la la la….these are a few of my favorite things!”  (Sorry about the singing….at least it was only in your head & not in your ears).  This magazine is the ONLY magazine I’ve gotten consistently over probably the last 5 years.  I love it.  I always look forward to getting at it.  I think it’s pretty, it’s crisp, it’s clean, and it’s simple.  It’s what I strive to be.

When I went to the Spread the Love tour with Justin & Mary Marantz they talked a lot about your “brand” and how important it is.  That you don’t want to simply be a brand, but that you want to make your business a love mark.  So that when people see your brand, your logo, or your name, it instantly invokes feelings of love, devotion, need.  When people see the following icons, they invoke immediate feelings (usually good)….

And I think the reason I love Real Simple (magazine, products, e-mails, website, etc), is because they are a Love Mark for me.  They illicit feelings of cleanliness, order, simplicity, calm, and so on…all things I want in my life.  So that brings me to think of my logo, my company, my brand (aka: me).  What do I want my clients, customers, friends to feel when they think of me?  What feelings to I want to come to mind when they think of me and their experience with me as their photographer?  Basically, why would I want someone to WANT to hire me?  Not really looking for any answers here, just thinking out loud.

I was at a meeting of professional photographers the other night and got to talk with the guest speaker.  She basically asked me, “What are you looking for?  What is your goal with this business?”  I suppose that is a simple question, but sometimes simple is good.

Oh, and I really like Real Simple’s tag line:  Life Made Easier.  Think I could copy it?  Could I use it for mine?  People Made Prettier…haha!  Not that one.  What are your thoughts?

Photos:  Just looking through my Real Simple magazines again at their photographs.  They may seem simple, and not very interesting.  But for some reason they speak to me, draw me in, and I need to find out why.  What is it that I like about their style?  Why are they one of my Love Marks?

Tast of the Bay magazine

It’s official…I’ve been published! I’d like to take this post to toot my own horn….toot, toot! I answered an ad on Craig’s List for a freelance photographer and was hired by Taste of the Bay Magazine to shoot pictures of three female business owners for their September 2008 Women In Business issue. It was a lot of fun and I’d like to show you some of the magazine where my name is in PRINT! Also, many thanks go out to my grandmother (Nanny) for riding with me to two of these places and entertaining my princesses while I “worked.” My mom as well, thank you for sitting with them one morning too! Couldn’t have done it without you ladies! Without further delay, here are the pictures!

September 2008 Issue

My name in the

The article, page 18

Karen Anderson, owner of Whimsicality & Pink Beach

Doris Vasquez, owner of Annapolis Formal

Jill Soja, owner of Lure's Bar & Grille