Roslyn Jewellery - Brand photography case study
Brand photography is about storytelling. So rather than me telling you about how it works and the benefits for your business, read my client’s “story” about their experience of working with me and how it helped their business grow.
Meet Roslyn - Bespoke Jeweller
“I’m an artisan, jeweller, silversmith and metal clay artist. But more than that, I’m a memory catcher. I like to listen to people’s stories and I like to collect and pick up things and then translate those into jewellery designs and create a piece of wearable art.”
“It’s not just a pretty piece of Jewellery to look at. It’s something to reflect your memories or tell your story.”
Roslyn's - 360 Studio Tour
Why did you need photography and video?
“I previously built my website using one of those drag-and-drop platforms, but I wanted something more bespoke and in line, with the brand message for Roslyn Jewellery. I wanted to get my message across and stand out, completely rebranding my business.”
“Nothing in my branding was accidental. It was all deeply researched down to the colours I used, the fronts and the type of photography I wanted.”
“So it was an interesting process to give my thoughts to someone and trust they would give me back an end product matching the vision in my head.”
How have you used your visual content for Roslyn Jewellery?
“I used the images and the video on my website and I’ve also used them extensively in my social media marketing.”
“What I create is quite tactile so this is where the photography & videos are important because they show the jewellery in the best light.”
“The videos also give people a real sense of the person behind the brand. They get to hear my voice, and my different accent which kind of sets me apart a little bit. Helping them get to know me better and helping me connect with them.”
“I found if I post selfies on my social media, I might get one or two comments. But whenever I’ve posted one of the professionally taken headshots you did for me, I get lots of comments on how great the photo is or how wonderful I’m looking.”
“The photography creates a sense of quality, to the overall brand as well when you take the time to focus on the details of who I am as a person, the work that I do and how it comes across.”
Why use a commercial photographer, why not do this yourself?
“Because when you do it all yourself, sometimes you get too close to it.”
“It was helpful for me to have your view and for me to have your interpretation of the brief bringing another dimension and perspective to my brand.”
“I might be quite handy with taking photos myself, but I’m not a professional photographer. There are things professionals know and can do that I can’t. Whether it’s with setting the shot up right through to those final tweaks and the editing, it just elevates it.”
“I’m quite happy to do my day-to-day photography, but for something more permanent and core to my brand, I wanted something which had a mark of professionalism and the message I’m trying to put across with my brand as well as taking take care with how I present myself and my work as a professional business.”
why is it important to have professional photography and video to represent Roslyn Jewellery?
“Because it stands out!”
“When you’re scrolling through social media, you are more likely to stop and look at photographs that are clear and beautiful and the photograph itself tells a story. The way the photos are composed is going to draw the eye and make people stop.”
“Although our mobile phones have good cameras these days good professional shots still stand out and make a statement putting the right message across in the best light it can be shown in.”
“Every time I’ve used your photos, I’ve had people compliment me on the quality. I’ve also had some analytics done on it and the feedback has always been the imagery on my website is professional.”
Did you have any objections about handing over some of the control?
“It was a scary experience, to be honest!”
“I’d spent more than a year working on the new branding for Roslyn Jewellery, signing up for the Jewellers Academy Business Bootcamp where I heard about Fiona Humberstone (Brand Strategist). I loved how she talks about colour psychology and for me, colour psychology just made sense. I was fully invested in the process.”
“To then have other professionals come in and I hand over the reins was a big deal for me!”
“What I loved about you is, I sent you my brief and you just got onto the same ‘page’ immediately and all the suggestions you made were on the same wavelength. Which turned my nervousness into excitement.”
“I think if I hadn’t been working with you, I might have had a little bit of a nervous breakdown at points throughout the process! I started to think my ideas were not clear enough but you gave me the confidence they were clear and you understood my brief and implemented it incredibly and in line with my vision.
What was your experience of working with Graham Baker Photography?
“I’d had a photo shoot previously with another photographer. However, they had very different ideas of how they wanted to portray my jewellery and I ended up not being able to use a single one of those photos because they clashed with the brand.”
“However, when, you arrived, it didn’t take long for you to make me feel at ease. You have a lovely sense of humour and an open approach. I felt comfortable with you right from the beginning.”
“I didn’t feel like I needed to be anything I wasn’t and comfortable opening the door to you in my t-shirt and jeans you still made me look great and I quite enjoyed being in front of the camera by the end of it.”
“I knew you would capture the right things in between all my messing around so I could just relax and have fun and have such an amazing selection.”
“You’ve got some great photos of my studio, all the tools and bits and pieces I’ve got around the room that makes up the whole of who I am and how it’s reflected in my business. The 360 is great as well. It’s been lovely to be able to use it on my website.”
“I also wanted location shots to represent two of my most important happy places. One was the beach and the other was the woods. You captured me in places where I draw inspiration and influence my work so much.”
Is there anything else you would like to say to anyone thinking about brand photography?
“I would say make sure before you do anything, you have a plan.”
“There are lots of photographers out there, but not every photographer is going to be a good fit for your business or your personality. Talk to them. Did they understand your brief and what’s your gut feeling? You’re not going to know without talking to them”
“If your photographer doesn’t come back to you and ask the right questions or comes back to you with ideas which don’t connect with your brand, I would say that’s where you got to take a step back and question if it’s the right person.”
“I think the fact you saw my vision and you understood it made a perfect working partnership.”
“I’d say to anyone if you’re on the fence about whether it’s something you should invest in for your business then you should get off the fence and invest especially if you get a good photographer like you.”
Working with Roslyn Jewellery was different because she already had clear ideas of her brand mapped out. In this instance, it was my job to interpret her brief correctly which was then reflected in the photography and video.
Other times this isn’t the case, some clients approach their visual content and brand without plans or strategy in place.
But that’s OK too.
I can support you through the process and develop your brief collaboratively and create visual content with purpose and in line with your goals.
Graham was a delight to work with. He was very supportive and gave me a lot of advice to help me prepare. Most important to me was that he really listened to me and read my design brief and interpreted it exactly as I'd imagined it. I was a bit stressed in the lead up to the shoot but Graham kept assuring me that we were going to have lots of fun and that's exactly what we did. Within minutes I felt completely at ease in Graham's presence and actually even enjoyed interacting with the camera. Graham captured me perfectly in my natural habitat and with a combination of photos and videos he has created a beautiful, consistent brand story.
I now have a wonderful selection of highly professional headshots, photographs, 360 tour and video clips that I can use on my social media and website. Graham and I have already started talking about the next shoot and how we're going to grow the ideas started on this one. I loved working with Graham and couldn't recommend Graham Baker Photography more highly."
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