Nearly eleven years ago I decided I wanted to go into business. I was a new photographer and I had a big dream. If you know me, I am one to follow said big dreams and jump into the fire.

While I was gaining skill and surviving on passion and caffeine I did one thing and I did it hard.

I obsessed over my logo and color pallet. I remember spending hours on Etsy and searching other photographers websites. I saw so many beautiful ones and so many that stood out to me and what I was the most obsessed with was how those brands made me feel.

Now here is the big mistake I made. HUGE. LARGE. MASSIVE.

A mistake I see nearly every new photographer or entrepreneur making.

I thought those feelings I was having about those brands that I loved were connected to the logo and color pallet of the photographers “branding.” What I didn’t know is that the brands I loved had NOTHING to do with those things and everything to do with the photographers brand story.

Let me explain…

We think branding has everything to do with aesthetics and colors when really it has everything to do with the actual human creating the work and the story they are telling.

Clear as mud?

YOU are your brand. Your brand is who you are.

Your website and your logo and your social media platforms should all be extensions of who you are and why you are creating and sharing. They should feel like you. You should be telling a story with your brand, one that makes others want to be a part of it, one that makes others want to know more.

Let me say this again.

YOU ARE YOUR BRAND.

So if I could give you some advice that is simple and impactful I would say this. Strip away all colors and logos and fonts. All of it. Those things are important, of course, but not as important as you think.

Now that you have stripped all those distractions away, think about what is left. YOU. You are.

So who are you, my friend? What story are you telling with your work that you are sharing with the world.

If you don’t know, that is okay. And it is also okay for that to change with you.

But right now, just take a minute and ponder that question.

Who are you and what are you sharing with the world?

I want you to remember. You are unique and what you have to share with the world needs to be shared. So share it.

Xoxo,

Elena