Small business branding photography for Emma Parker Art a specialist pet portrait artist
Emma Parker is a South East London-based specialist pet portrait artist, as well as creative and beautiful watercolour prints and original artwork.
There’s something special about working with and supporting other local businesses. So it was an absolute pleasure to work with Emma on updating her personal branding headshots, as well as shooting some editorial photos of her working behind the scenes too.
Emma intends to use the images towards her social media marketing and website in order to promote her artwork and business based in Bexley.
What inspired you to start Emma Parker Art & Pet Portrait Artist?
I left Sixth Form with absolutely no idea of what I wanted to do as a job – all I knew is that I didn’t want to be sat at a desk on a computer all day until I retired! I’ve always had a love for art and so one day decided to book a last-minute craft fair in which I took my paintings along just to see what kind of response they would get. I made more sales than expected and got so many lovely compliments from people which made me realise that my artwork was worth showing and that it was possible to make a living from doing what I love!
What is unique about Emma Parker Art that you would like everyone to know about?
I think the main thing I want to achieve through my artwork is essential to just make people happy, whether that is by drawing a portrait of a beloved pet or by creating a painting that makes someone smile. It’s amazing to think that I can take a piece of plain paper and turn it into something that will make someone’s day! I think it’s fair to say that a lot of businesses create purely for profit without enjoying the process, whereas I love chatting with my clients and getting to know them. Getting to know my clients inspires me to create the best artwork I possibly can for them, which in return pushes me to be the best artist I possibly can be.
What is your advice to aspiring artists? – or – Best advice to your clients?
My advice would be to always create what you love – if the passion isn’t there, you’ll never be happy with the finished product. I think it’s also important to remember that your art isn’t always going to be everybody’s cup of tea and that that’s okay too. The people who do love your work will find you, which is why it’s so important to have a big social media presence. I love interacting with my followers and in return, they like to share my work with their friends so I think having a good relationship with your ‘fan-base is essential to doing well.
Who has been some of the mentors/key people who are instrumental to your success/starting Emma Parker Art?
have an amazing network of family and friends who are so supportive of what I do and who are always encouraging me to carry on creating what I love. It can be hard being self-employed so to have them always egging me on is really great. As I’m a largely self-taught artist I also owe a lot to all the artists I follow on social media, as seeing them creating beautiful things really inspires me to pick up my paintbrush and create my own.
What are the one or two key things you’ve learnt from working with Graham Baker Photography?
Graham was really great at highlighting to me the importance of brand photography and how having a portfolio of my own can help me appeal to new clients and further connect with my current ones. I love the behind the scenes shots we worked on too as I feel they really give my followers an understanding of who I am and how I work as an artist – a concept I didn’t give much thought to before!
How are you going to use your new brand images?
I’m really enjoying using my brand images on my social media pages. Having such professional photos of myself and my work really gives my pages those finishing touches! It’s also great to be able to share them with my audience and to show them the face behind the art, allowing me to connect further with them.
Prior to my photoshoot with Graham I had no experience of working with photographers so wasn’t entirely sure what to expect upon booking. However, Graham made sure to give me a detailed outline of how long the photography session would last, what kind of shots he would be taking etc beforehand so I had nothing to worry about when the day came. Aside from providing a highly professional service, I found that he was also a very friendly and chatty person to be around which I think are valuable qualities for any photographer to have. You can tell client comfort is very important to him. It certainly made my experience more enjoyable to be around such a positive person! Graham also encouraged me to voice & discuss my own ideas for photographs which would help me connect with my clients (alongside my standard headshots) and was eager to listen to what I had to say. He managed to bring my ideas to life so perfectly which has resulted in some incredible behind the scenes photos of me working and of my workspace which really capture the heart & soul of what I do. I am passionate about my work and so to see that passion captured so perfectly in Graham’s photos is really special. All that’s really left to say is another huge ‘thank you’ to Graham for his fantastic customer service and communication skills as well as the the highly professional photography service I received. I can’t wait to use your photos to promote myself, they are going to be such a huge help in growing my business 😄”
Interested in showing more behind the scenes and connecting with your customers with brand photography?
Click here to book your no-obligation phone consultation with me
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