At the start of the year, I made a goal to really focus on my photography side-hustle. To get started I made an investment in new kit, namely a full-frame body and an 85mm prime lens that is officially my new workhorse. Then I scheduled a couple free shoots with folks who I knew had a large social media following. This not only allowed me to practice with my new gear in a low-pressure environment, but also helped get my name out amidst the huge number of photographers that pop up in my area every day.

Since then, I’ve made other investments in this endeavor- such as rebranding, and even getting the above headshot done for my website. I’ve learned a lot about marketing my services, though still have a huge way to go in that area. But 10 months later, I’m incredibly proud of where I am. For sure, sacrifices have been made, but every shoot is still so exciting to me and through my photography I get to meet some really incredible equestrians in my area that I wouldn’t otherwise know.

I hope you guys are not absolutely fed up with all of the Photography Friday posts, because I’ve got enough in the hopper to essentially see us through the year! Thanks to all who have made suggestions, left kind comments, and in general been on this journey with me. I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings for BGD!

Britt Gillis Design, aka my side hustle, has been a big part of my life since I graduated with my Art & Design degree. It’s an entity that has produced countless t-shirts, logos, website designs, and of course photography.

As any designer knows, creating a brand for yourself is important to providing visual cues to help your audience form opinions. For instance a hand-drawn logo paired with a font like Comic Sans suggests working with children. An elegant, serif based logo can likewise suggest a bran with traditional values and a timeless offering. When I first created BGD, I didn’t know quite what I wanted to be. My logo, then, was a mix of a fun calligraphy font, a modern sans serif font, and a shape that suggested (to me) both design from both a fundamental level as well as hinting at the aperture of a camera. You’ve probably noticed this little ditty posted on all of my photography that I share on this blog every Friday.

However, in time all things change, and BGD no longer emphasizes design in all its aspects. While I won’t rule out any identity projects that come my way, my real focus is the photography that I love so much. That said, I felt like my logo was doing me no great good in suggesting either anything equestrian, nor speaking to the demographic that I typically serve. So I hired a calligrapher and went down the path of creating a new identity with her, and I am so pleased on where we landed:

The colors, the crest, and the whimsy of the design just make me giddy, and I love the subtle horseshoe nestled into the base, finally incorporating horses into BGD’s identity. My new watermark is simply my name now, and for me, marks each image with an image that relates the relaxed yet elegant style that I strive for in my work.

Have any of you gone through a rebranding exercise for yourself, or your blog? What visual components did you feel were needed to communicate who you are? What drove you to making the change in the first place? Did you outsource the rebranding project, or tackle it yourself? What would you keep today, or what do you think could be tweaked to meet your present image?