You may be wondering how brand photography is a little like Fixer Upper. Well, whether you are a fan of the HGTV phenomenon Fixer Upper or not…we can all agree to the success that they’ve seen from the hard work that the Gaines Family put into their dreams.  

And while I must say that I have been a fan…hello…I’m a Marine Corps spouse who lived in 12 houses in 27 years of marriage…and most of them were classified as “fixers”…so I LOVE a good fixer upper story!  That was my life!  Hahaha

But I also love the business genius and story that Chip and Joanna have shared over the years.  

I read a quote once from Joanna and it’s always stuck with me.  

“It’s hard to describe the feeling that comes with starting your own business. It really is so much work in the beginning that you lose yourself in it. You lose your sense of time, and you can’t believe how quickly the days go by because there’s no time to focus on much of anything else. But then you open the doors, and it’s like you’ve given birth to this new thing that didn’t exist before. Then when it starts to flourish, well, that’s just icing on the cake. To get to see it live and breathe and to know that this thing you created out of thin air can put a smile on other people’s faces is such a blessing.”

For all of us who have started a business “out of thin air” can we give that a BIG AMEN?!?!?!  Woohoo and AMEN!!! 

It’s such a blessing to watch our ideas and dreams go from our head to paper to real life to impacting the lives of others to putting a smile on their faces!  That’s what it all boils down to for me…and I know it does for so many of you! 

I think that’s why I LOVE brand photography so much. It’s because I get to work with creative business owners that have walked that exact journey. They have worked so hard at building the dream and watching it turn into reality. 

So let’s take a look at how a Brand Shoot is a little like an HGTV episode of Fixer Upper for your very own business (actually it’s now on Discovery+…but you know what I’m saying):

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How Brand Photography is a Little Like Fixer Upper

#1 

It’s best to start with a vision and a plan…as soon as I show clients the vision of where we are going…they then see the beauty in it too. 

Often times when I meet with clients, the ideas are a little like wildflowers…brilliant and beautiful but without a plan. Or they are truly stumped with where to even begin. As soon as we chat and we make a plan together, clients can see where we are headed and by mapping it out like Joanna does for her clients, the vision begins to take hold. 

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#2

There is a messy middle.

On shoot day, there are always props and wardrobe and hair and makeup and cameras and iphones and lists and computers.  Yep…we get messy.  But it’s a FUN MESS!!  And as I turn the back of the camera to my clients time and time again, they see it coming together.  Our vision for telling the story of how they serve their clients begins to come to fruition and it’s tangible.  The visual storytelling narrative is now in place and they know we are creating magic…magic that is truly THEIRS ALONE!  We don’t want our clients’ images to look like everyone else’s.  You know, he same laughing headshot with their hand in their hair or the famous laptop shot.  Yes, we may still shoot a few of those…but there’s so much more to who they are and how they serve their community. It’s our job as photographers to capture that visual story so they can share it with the world.  

“I finally believed it was actually a beautiful thing to be unique and to be different.” ~Joanna Gaines

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 #3

I need a HUGE canvas to roll apart when I reveal their images like Chip and Joanna do on reveal day!

When they see their gallery of images and I get texts and message with all the “ooohs and ahhhhs”…it’s magical.  Just like what we saw on the Fixer Upper episodes…they are thrilled and in awe of what we created together. All the hard work to get there and all the wonderful stories they now have to share and even more new ones to create because of the work we did together on their shoot is evident in those galleries of images!!! And as it is written on the wall found at Magnolia, “There is gold in every piece of your story”! It is our job as Brand Photographers to capture it and help our clients see how and where to use that gold!

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 #4

Ok…I couldn’t leave this one final thought out. The second best part to the reveal on the show is when they go back and you get to see the family in the house, living out their best lives. 

I feel the same way when I see my clients use their images in their content.  My clients have used their images in soooooo many ways:

• Sales pages
• Opt-ins
• Emails
• Social media posts
• Blogs
• Funnels
• Ads
• Workshops
• Speaking engagements
• Resumes
• Online courses
• Print materials
• Websites
• Social media profiles
• Professional organizations
• Billboards
• Political campaigns
• Business cards
• Pageant head shots
• LinkedIn
• University departments
• Community College departments

In fact, I’m giving away my Top 10 Must Have Branding Images here in this guide. It’ll be helpful if you are a photographer looking to lean into this genre more and it’ll be helpful if you are a Creative Small Business Owner when you are planning your own Brand Shoot!

I love cheering on the people that have chosen me to be part of their stories.  We get to cheer for each other. And we become part of the creative family that leans on one another and lifts one another up. 

I will forever be a Fixer Upper fan because I love a good transformation story.  And as photographers, I feel like that’s what we help our clients do…transform and beautify their brands with amazing visuals that help them serve even more people and grow their communities. And so you see, brand photography is a little like Fixer Upper.

Blessings,

Corry