You may have noticed things look a bit different on the website, and here’s a little glance into the reasoning and inspiration for it!
Why the Change?
This may come to a surprise, but updating my branding was actually a bit of a challenge for me! I loooved how colorful my original brand was with my favorite earth tones covering the pages, the swirly fonts, and how I felt it did such a good job representing my upbeat personality. But…I began to notice how my photos seemed to be in competition with this all, how the brightness of the pages actually were maybe taking away from the real beauty I was hoping to portray through my work. I later felt that my original site wasn’t really representing the experience or my work to its fullest potential anymore. Although, it wasn’t until I reached out to Kris at Femme Collective for just a logo update, that I became inspired to go beyond the logo, and actually adjust my entire brand.
She said it so well, my past website was fun and young. And it’s true, I started this business when I was 18 years old but have grown so much since then in many ways. I think moving on from my first brand was also me letting go of my younger self in a way. I’d known her so well for the last decade…how could I let her go and step into the unknown of this next decade of my 30s? And what did this mean not only for my business, but me?! Gosh, who knew updating a website could send you into such a deep spiral of thoughts haha!
Before
After
Admittedly, change is hard for me. A lot of things in my life stay the same, even I myself have stayed the same in a lot of ways! ( at least that’s what I hear when I run into old HS classmates ) Of course there are things within me that aren’t so obvious on the outside that have grown and shifted throughout the years. I’ve gone through different experiences that have changed me whether I wanted to or not. All this to say, there were times Kris really had to challenge me out of love and sometimes it would take comparing my old site to the new for me to really visually grasp what she was saying.
Now that it’s done and I’ve spent time with the new brand, reviewing the site over and over, and refining my mission and new dreams within my business, I cannot say enough how much I am absolutely in love with it. Even though there aren’t bright colors and swirly gold lettering sprinkling the pages, it IS still me! The scripture remained because faith will always be a part of me and how I run and approach my business, Jesus has been there with me through it all and keeping Him at the center is just how I operate!
The whimsical feel is there just different, my love for Maine and the coast is now represented which has always been something close and important to me, and lastly my passion that started this all… florals and nature in its every form, hence the coastal garden party theme. (; I was so nervous that through this transition I would lose myself in my business, that the Katie who shows up on your wedding day full of joy and pure excitement wouldn’t actually be represented on this site. Through this though, I’ve realized that’s not the only part of me that’s important to share.
Before
After
I come to you wholly as myself, in hopes it encourages you to do the same, nerves aside! I want you to feel like I care about the small details just as much as you do, because I do! I want you to know just from our interactions, that I understand this great privilege and meaning of capturing something so special and dear to you, that I will give everything I have to document the very emotions that are swirling between you two. So while yes, I do naturally have a more upbeat personality which I think you could probably read from my original website; but I also read the room, I try to be what you need, when you need it, I put much love and intention into how I capture your story, because this was never and has never been just a career for me.
I was once that little girl in my backyard photographing butterflies landing on flower petals to creating art with shadows from foliage, to bringing my little digital camera on every trip we went on because even then, I had the desire to capture moments I never wanted to forget . It started as a joy, then a passion, to a dream to do this for a lifetime, to the greatest gift I get to call my career for last 13+ years. I have grown, true. But this gift of photographing love, is something I will never grow out of.
Behind the New Logo
Hydrangeas
When I think of home and my favorite place to be, I see myself looking out at the ocean speckled with sailboats, the sun beaming down, birds singing their songs, and those big brilliant hydrangeas bouncing in the wind. To me, they encompass home, my beloved coastal Maine.
Birds
The meaning behind this is two fold, both close to my heart.
Jesus: Being in the business of love, I would be remiss to not recognize the creator of it all. Jesus tells us in scripture that He watches over the birds and the flowers and that neither go without. And how much more he loves us! This is so beautiful to me and one of my favorite verses. I’ve always loved love, so there’s something so profound about knowing who Jesus is and reading about His love for us. It’s like the greatest rom com of all time!! Because of this verse and a few others in the bible, when I think of how much God loves and takes care of the birds, I am immediately reminded that His love for us is even more vast. So the birds in my logo symbolize the ultimate version of love and the one behind it all.
My Dad: Here is where the double meaning comes in! My photography journey largely involves my Dad, so I felt I needed to have him be a visual part of my business! His favorite bird is a swallow, and while the bird in my logo may not be exactly that, it’s still the perfect symbol to represent him.
I believe God placed the seed/ dream of documenting love on my heart, knowing that it would be my Dad who would water it. He himself is an excellent photographer! His passion is capturing wildlife and landscapes ( mine too! ) and from that, since I was a little girl, I was watching, learning, and practicing my own craft. Some of my favorite memories are going on adventure photo trips, where we’d grab our cameras and drive around to find something that inspired us. He brought so much magic to photography and taught me what made a great photo. How to add movement and tell a story, the gift of having a passion that could lead to something more if you wanted it to, and that it’s not just about capturing, but creating too.
My Dad ( my Mom too ) has always believed in me and without that, I’m not sure I would have ever really pursued this career path and instead have tucked it away as a silly childhood dream. 14 years ago when I started this business, I had no idea it could ever become what it is today, but he did. So thank you to my Dad, who asked 17 year old Katie what my dream job was and instead of laughing, pushing me toward it.
Thank you to each of you, from the bottom of my heart, you’re the ones keeping my dream job alive. And for that, I will be forever grateful.<3
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