Why hello there! Welcome to my BRAND NEW BLOG. With a BRAND NEW LOGO. And a BRAND NEW WEBSITE to match! Okay, too many capital letters, I know. But I can’t tell you how absolutely ecstatic I am to reveal this new look. Web presence is a huge part of making it in the photography industry, and I really feel like this is going to do a lot for me. I hope you agree!
So over the past few years it seems there has been a trend toward the “blogsite.” And I was more than happy to jump on that bandwagon, because it meant that I wouldn’t have to put forth the effort to make a “real” website, and hey, if you offer me one more thing to cross off my to-do list, I’ll take it! And for my initial growth over the past year or so, having only a blog has worked perfectly for me. I learned the perils of pouring too much of your time and resources into branding early on, because I feel like I’m only beginning to really know who I am and how I want to be represented. So my DIY attempts were just fine for awhile. But then, at WPPI this year, Jasmine Star said something in her presentation that really stood out to me: “My website is my handshake, and my blog is my voice.” And regardless of how you feel about her and her “rockstar” status, I think she made a very valid point. She said that she really didn’t want a potential bride’s first impression of her to be a post about her dog Polo, which is what might show up front and center when someone lands on the front page of her blog. And that really resonated with me. By now you know that I have a tendency to ramble on, and do I want a complete stranger and potential client’s first impression of me to be “Wow. Does she know when to shut up?!” Nope, not really. Don’t get me wrong, my blog is my voice. I want to be able to share the ins and outs of my life and my business with you in an honest and candid way. However, for a first impression, I finally came to the conclusion that I needed something with a little more…. OOMPH. A website that is easy to navigate and pretty to look at. A place where clients can easily access my contact information and portfolio samples. And I think I have found it. I present to you the brand-spankin’-new MORGANTRINKER.COM!
Go check it out, have a peek around, and let me know what you think! I’m always working to improve the client experience, so I am more than open to comments, suggestions, and concerns.
So I can’t post a reveal of all of this without giving quite a few shout outs to the key players in this brand overhaul:
Laura Condouris of Trial By Cupcakes
What can I say about Laura other than I AM IN LOVE WITH HER? When I began thinking about where I wanted the new direction of my logo to go, the only thing I wanted beyond a shadow of a doubt was something handwritten. Not a handwritten font, mind you, but a completely custom hand-drawn logo. Something that wouldn’t also be used by every other joe blow photographer out there who knows how to open up a text box in Photoshop. My search for the perfect calligrapher to do the job led me to Laura. It had never occurred to me to seek out a calligrapher, rather than just a graphic designer, to design a logo, until I saw Bonnie Tsang‘s logo designed by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. I was totally smitten. So when I stumbled randomly upon Laura’s website, I knew it had to be her. And my intuition couldn’t have been more dead on! No joke, the day I emailed her, she emailed me back with a sketch of a potential logo. Almost immediately. I couldn’t believe it. And she was all “I saw the picture of you on your blog header with that little Diana camera and I had to incorporate it.” I never would’ve thought to do that, but it works perfectly! I adore the look of my name in calligraphy, and how the camera straps become the letters. I also love that it’s kind of girly, but still with a very graphic punch. It reminds me of old-school tattoos…. LOVE. I also asked her to design some sort of seamless background to use with the logo, and she whipped up this gorgeous watercolor vintage-y floral pattern out of nowhere, using the colors I suggested. Honestly, it was all so much more than I could have ever imagined. I cannot recommend Laura enough.
Mike and Sam of KanzlerFoto
Many of you know that I have a very strong friendship with Mike and Sam, and we’ve grown so much together as people and as photographers together over the past year or so. I will miss them more than I could ever tell them when I move to Birmingham. So I asked them if they would want to do a headshots swap a few months back, and they were of course more than willing. (Remember their session we did? Loved it!) So I decided I wanted to do a styled shoot, and my vision was a big tree, out in the middle of the boons, and essentially lots of vintage-y, Southern goodness. For weeks I collected knick knacks at thrift stores and agonized over what outfits to where. Of course I dragged Jamie and Gretchen along and made them be in it too. Mike and Sam have this amazing old green door that I wanted to use as a table, so I bought a set of tacky oak-paneled filing cabinets from the DI and we sanded and painted them a canary yellow… and then sanded them again to make them match the oldness of the door. :) The day of the shoot, we all hauled out to a place Mike had stumbled upon a few weeks earlier, and it was pretty much perfect. Perfect tree, perfect weather, perfect. And by we I also mean…..
Josh Maguire (with the help of Erica!)
(He doesn’t have a site or else I would link to it.) Josh goes to church with all of us at K2, and he does a lot of shooting and editing video, so Mike and I approached him one day about doing some promo video action for us. So he and Erica also came along for the ride out to the boons, after we all shared an appropriately Southern meal of KFC fried chicken and the works, and they shot video while Mike and Sam shot stills. It was a real production, let me tell ya! I felt like we were on a movie set. I just remember thinking, in the middle of all the setting up and shooting and filming, about how lucky I am to have the talented friends that I do. As you can see, Josh did a fantastic job with the video, and whittled it down to all my specifications, and I just adore it. I’ve watched it approximately 158 times since Thursday, when I got the final version.
And finally, David Jay of ShowIt Sites
When Jasmine was giving her presentation on web presence, it was obvious that she had a major affiliation with ShowIt. After all, David Jay was the one who shot her wedding and inspired her to start a business of her own. And I have to admit that I’ve always been a little wary of anything coming from the SoCal rockstar photography scene. And David Jay is a huge part of that network. So I was very resistant to the idea of getting a ShowIt site solely out of stubbornness and some vague notion of “principle” for a long time. But then, after seeing template website after template website, I knew I needed something different. So I finally came to my senses and realized that ShowIt was the way to go. Even though there is a monthly fee, it is worth every penny. Before this software existed, to get a custom, non-template website, you would have to go through a web designer to do all of your design work and coding for you… every single time you wanted to change something. Let me tell you, that gets really expensive. What David created really does give photographers absolute freedom. With ShowIt, I can design my own website using elements that I have created in Photoshop along with a variety of widgets and functions included in the software, and then the team does all of the back-end coding for me. AMAZING. It is completely what-you-see-is-what-you-get and pretty much dummy-proof. If I can figure it out, I guarantee you can. Go check it out for sure, because I have zero regrets about going with ShowIt. And I am not a rockstar photographer making the big bucks, so my opinion is coming from a place of complete transparency. I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t believe in it. Some computer people will argue that it is all Flash-based and therefore not okay, since the whole Adobe vs. Apple war means that Flash sites aren’t viewable on iPhones or iPads. But David has recently unveiled a new aspect of the software which allows you to create a mobile-device-friendly version of your site using HTML5. I haven’t created mine yet, but I’m really excited about the possibilities as far as that goes.
So yeah…. I think that about covers it! I am just so excited about this. Seriously. I’ve also been working on redo-ing all of my packaging to match this, which some of you have gotten a sneak peek of recently. I can’t wait to slap this logo all over anything and everything I can. Because I love it. Finally…. a logo I really, truly love.
**** ONE FINAL NOTE TO FELLOW PHOTOGRAPHERS: If you are in the process of creating a website and you’re thinking about whether or not you should, I would highly recommend reading this article: “An open letter to wedding photographers regarding their websites.” Coming from a non-photographer who is in the wedding industry and has to look at TONS of photographers’ websites, I think this is one of the most helpful site critiques I’ve ever seen. It definitely kicked me in the butt and inspired me to tweak lots of things to make my web presence much more client-friendly. Some of the comments get a little ridiculous, but overall, there are lots of valid points made that I think we, as photographers, just don’t think about.
For the past few months, I’ve been hinting at the changes that are getting ready to be made here at Morgan Trinker Photography. Just a whisper here and there, really. I mentioned a promo video shoot, new head shots, a new website, new packaging, new products, new pricing….. lots of newness, basically. And I can’t WAIT to reveal all this to you. Do you realize how hard it’s been to keep all this under wraps for some 3 months now? This coming from the girl who used to get in big trouble for snooping around and opening up presents from Santa long before Christmas day. Nope, I’m not big on keeping secrets and waiting for surprises. But in this case, I’ve been determined not to reveal all the details as they’ve unfolded, because I wanted to make a really big statement. Like, hi world, this is the NEW ME.
Some of you might remember the “Brand Dolly” blog post I wrote last summer. I talked about how I was struggling to really build a brand around myself. I was pondering who I was, what I had to offer, what set me apart from the rest of the photography industry. It’s hard stuff, this whole “knowing thyself” business. Especially when you’re first getting started, and all you really want to do is be just like everyone else. But over the past year or so, and especially since I got back from WPPI this year, where my brain was bombarded with so much amazing information, I’ve done a lot of thinking. I’ve had a lot of growing pains. I’ve made many mistakes and learned plenty of lessons the hard way. But I finally feel like I’m reaching a place of knowing who I am, and having the confidence to stand on that and not be ashamed. Some things I’ve figured out pretty quickly? I’ll never have the clean and classic editing style of Jamie Delaine. I’ll never blow people’s minds with some crazy composition or lighting setup like The Image is Found consistently does. I’ll never be able to blog like Jasmine Star or Mary Marantz, and I’ll never be able to shoot an entire wedding with film and make it gorgeous like Jose Villa can. I can’t make up crazy awesome words like Bobbi, and I don’t have the dedication to tweet and facebook with the passion of the Lyons.
But guess what I can do. I can just be me. And while I might not be any of the above things, I am a lot of other things. I’m kind of messy and clumsy. I don’t like waking up before 8:30. I may not actually start working til noon. But then I’ll be working at 10 pm. (It all evens out in the end… at least I keep telling myself that.) Sometimes I forget things. But I love, and I mean love, to photograph people. I love the chaos of weddings and the intimacy of a family shoot. I like showing people how beautiful they are, and reminding them how wonderful and full of love their lives are. Aqua-colored Ball jars make my heart very happy. I rarely go a day without Starbucks. I would buy the entire Anthropologie store if I could. I love my iPhone, but sometimes I get sick of my attachment to social media and my email account. My dog’s poo is a topic of conversation between me and my husband probably entirely more often than it should be. But that’s just who I am.
And I feel like I’ve finally fallen into a stride with my workflow and editing process. I’ve done away with most of my tendencies to over-edit an image until it’s basically unrecognizable. I stopped using the Pool Party action like it’s the best thing since… well, a 1960’s pool party.
So considering all of these things, I felt like it was time to finally nail down my “look.” A look that would speak to my aesthetic and my personality. And this basically entailed a complete overhaul in all things branding for me. The first logo I had was okay, but it was WAY too much. Too trendy, too bright, too cluttered, etc. At the time, it represented who I thought I should be. But because I wasn’t that person, I grew tired of it pretty quickly. And my second logo, the one you see now, was a complete DIY attempt. And let’s just say, there’s a reason I’m not a graphic designer. Again, it’s okay, but again, it represents the second person I thought I should be…. the minimalist, the classy, elegant girl. A la Jasmine Star. And that is SO not me. And it’s a relief to finally realize that!
And I know what you’re thinking. Wow, Morgan, how many logos could you POSSIBLY go through in one year? Make up your mind already! To that I would say, yes, I get it. I strongly believe in the importance of brand consistency, using the same logo, the same fonts, the same colors, in everything related to your business in order to create a strong visual image and mental picture for the client. I totally get it. Which is why I made up my mind to settle on a logo I could really get behind and stick with for a long while. One that wasn’t a far cry from what I’ve been using in the past, but one that I could put on EVERYTHING and be okay with it. More on that later.
But a brand is so much more than a logo. It’s the feeling that people have about you and what you do and sell. It’s an experience. So the evolution of my brand wouldn’t be complete without attending to all the small details that have gone neglected for too long. I’m talking boutique-style packaging, beautiful cards and boxes and ribbons, high-end albums and prints, and a new pricing and product system to reflect where my brand is headed. So you will soon see all of these components, and I hope you agree that they all work together to communicate my brand.
Most of all, though, a brand is nothing without the face behind it. So I’m striving to constantly evolve into a better version of myself, while staying true to who I am as a person and as an artist. Thank you all for coming along for the ride! And if you need a little help figuring out your own brand, I would highly recommend starting by reading this free mini e-book called The Brand Gap.
Finally, I leave you with just the tiniest hint of what is to come:
Today is a day of big announcements. Jamie and I decided to hold off on “going public” with all of this until now because there have been a lot of things that have been rapidly changing in our lives over the past month or so, and we’ve finally come to a place where a plan is in motion…. and so are we!
As you know, about a month ago, my dad had a stroke. This was definitely a wake-up call for us. When we moved out here to Salt Lake City from Knoxville, the possibility of a family emergency never even crossed our minds. We just wanted to go on an adventure, see something different for awhile, live life on the western half of the US. But when we got that phone call, we felt an enormous shift in our priorities. As much fun as it’s been to live out here, and as much as we love the friends we’ve made, the apartment we live in, and, of course, the SNOW, we came to the realization that, for us anyway, family is Number One, and we needed to be closer to them. Living a 30-hour drive away is just not practical, not when it comes to visiting family and splitting up holidays, and definitely not when it comes to having to fly home at the drop of a hat when a family member is hospitalized.
It’s definitely no secret that the South is very close to my heart, and there are many things we have missed about it. However, we knew we didn’t want to move back to Knoxville…. just somewhere in the South. We’ve always known that we ultimately wouldn’t plant roots here in Utah, with it being so far away (no way do I want to have any babies with my mamas all the way across the country!). And while we’ve always planned to end up back in the South to eventually be able to buy a house, raise kids, etc., we just didn’t think it would be so soon. But sometimes life has different plans for you, as we’ve been quickly learning. We also were keeping in mind that my family lives in Knoxville and Jamie’s lives in Houston, so ideally we wanted to find somewhere that was somewhat convenient to both cities.
Here’s where it gets interesting. For a few months now, I’ve had Birmingham, AL on my mind as the kind of city I could see us living in on a more permanent basis. I love that it is less than four hours from Knoxville, and about ten from Houston (which for us, is a very doable drive…. we’ve been used to a lot worse!). I love that it is right smack in the middle of the South, but still is a big-ish city, with plenty of things to do. It’s also pretty convenient to several other major cities…. Atlanta, Nashville, Savannah, Charleston, and New Orleans are all within a decent drive (a far cry from living here in Utah, where the next major cities are a solid 6 to 8 hour drive away). There’s Southern culture, there’s diversity, there’s amazing food, there’s cheap real estate, and there’s a HUGE market for wedding and portrait photography- big plus for me! Oh, and there’s this thing called Alabama football…. yeah, it’s a beast in and of itself. :)
So after all this happened with my dad, we decided to try to expedite the moving process so that we could be close enough to help out my mom with my dad’s whole rehab and recovery process, which will probably last for another 4-6 months or more. Jamie began submitting his resume to different places all over the south, just to see what would happen. We honestly weren’t expecting anything to happen, especially with the job market being in shambles right now. But lo and behold, within just a few days, he had a phone interview for a job in Charleston, and two in-person interviews for jobs in Atlanta and… dun dun dun…. Birmingham. Secretly, in my mind, I was hoping the job in Birmingham would be The One, because I’ve already lived in Charleston and really don’t want to go back and live somewhere where I already have very significant memories, and because I just don’t ever want to live in Atlanta. Period. It’s basically the LA of the south… sprawling metropolis, horrible traffic… yuck. And sure enough, within a day after his interview in Birmingham, Jamie was offered and accepted the job. Hooray! He is now working for a recruiting firm for the NCAA, designing and managing the recruiters’ websites. And yes, you heard me right: work-ing. As in, he is already in Birmingham. He had to start right away, so he spent last weekend driving by himself from Salt Lake to Knoxville to see my dad to Birmingham on Sunday to be able to start his job yesterday. Which means I am still here, by myself, finishing up all my weddings and sessions before he flies back out next weekend to help me load the truck and drive back out to Birmingham. Which also means that I am solely in charge of packing the entire apartment and tying up all the loose ends that come with a cross-country move. Our second cross-country move in a little over a year.
If, by now, you’re thinking we are clinically insane…. well, you’re probably right.
But despite the utter and total chaos that is our lives right now, I assure you that my business is still my first priority, so I am working through processing these three weddings I will have shot in the span of one week in between all the packing. And I’m keeping on top of emails, so you shouldn’t have any issues getting in touch with me. I’ve rearranged all my travel plans to shoot my destination weddings for the remainder of the year, so everything should be golden. Fortunately, here in Utah, couples generally only have 4-6 month-long engagements (which I’m sure freaks out many brides across the rest of the country!), so I didn’t have any weddings booked too far in advance. All in all, working out the logistics has been relatively painless, especially because I have super awesome amazing clients who have been 100% understanding throughout all this. I’m a very lucky girl. Also, Jamie’s employer here in Utah was very understanding and flexible, and he had a fairly easy time finishing his work here so he could be able to start in Alabama.
Also, I should tell you that my official last day as a Starbucks barista was last Wednesday. After more than five years, I finally hung up my green apron, hopefully for good. Don’t get me wrong… it’s been a fantastic job. Starbucks is how I met Jamie and most of my best friends. It’s been a lot of stress and tears, and it’s been a lot of fun. Mostly, it’s been one of the best communities I’ve ever been apart of. Starbucks gave me affordable health insurance and a flexible schedule throughout college, wedding planning, and then starting and running my own business. Starbucks is where I learned how to be a leader, and for that I couldn’t be more thankful. It also created a nasty beast of an addiction in me, which could prove to be quite the problem now that I no longer have free drinks, coffee markouts, or a partner discount. :) Oh boo! But you know, this is definitely a very freeing feeling for me. I will now be able to give 100% to this business. I won’t have to schedule sessions around my shifts, worry about whether or not I will be able to ask off for holidays to visit family, work every single weekend, wake up at 4 am for opening shifts, or be drained of all my energy by having to deal with especially difficult customers or difficult situations at work. I will have more time to devote to marketing, perfecting my branding and new website (I promise it’s coming soon! I promise!), creating a better client experience, etc. etc. etc. And I will have the time and ability to travel back and forth to Knoxville whenever I can to be able to help out with my Dad. So yeah, Wednesday was definitely a bittersweet day for me. The end of another major chapter of my life, but hopefully also the beginning of something very good.
All in all, I feel that our future in Birmingham is looking very bright. Sure, I wish I could go ahead and fast forward through the madness of the next few weeks. For those of you who have ever moved across the country…. alone…. you can probably understand. But ultimately, all of this will be worth it. I’m really looking forward to having roots, to finally feeling settled. I can’t wait to really take the business to the next level with a whole new market. I dream of one day being able to buy a piece-of-crap but really cute and charming old house that we can renovate from top to bottom. I’m excited about having my own studio and office space to meet with clients. I love the idea of a fresh start. Always. And although I will so miss the friends we have made here (even though there will still be WPPI in Vegas every year, what what!), I will always have very fond memories of our time here in Utah. This has been a really big year for us. We moved across the country. I officially became a license-holding, tax-paying business. I grew a lot as a photographer thanks to my fellow photographer friends here, who have really encouraged and challenged and supported me, and thanks to the absolutely fantastic clients I have had here. Jamie and I definitely grew as individuals, and also as a married couple, thanks to the distance from the life we have always known. We learned what it really means to be independent, which has been an invaluable experience. I’ve also gotten to know the airport scene on a very intimate level. :) But I’ve loved it!
So I guess that pretty much covers what’s going on for now. As always, stay tuned for updates in our ever-changing, every-crazy lives. We love you all, and appreciate your support during yet another major life change for us.
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Kimber - J’ADORE!
Your logo is quite ah-maz-ing, and I love the site!
Carrie - Wow Morgan, just wow! It looks great!
Miss you!
Anna - I love the “new you”! Your logo and website are perfect. I love the introductory video, it made me smile just to see you and Jamie (and Gretchen) look so happy.
Tara Rhee - Amy and I just spent the past 20 minutes gushing to each other about how WONDERFULBEAUTIFULAMAZINGTALENTED you are. I thought you should know…
Erin P. - Morgan, you are such an inspiration!
Caity Shinnick - Beautiful, Morgan. This totally captures you. I can’t watch the video right now because I am work. But you better believe that when I get home, I’ll be watching it!! Congratulations…get it girl!
Aunt Heather - Morgan….You did an awesome job portraying who you are. I believe people do want to feel like that their photographer is telling their own personal story … and that is exactly what they will get when they hire you. Love the look. (Was there an aqua ball jar anywhere around?!?!)
Amanda - What an awesome representation of YOU! You never cease to amaze me with your cleverness and creativity. You may end up with more opportunities to share stories than you ever possibly dreamed of!!! :) Love you!
carly - OMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSH! I love everything about your new branding! It really is TOTALLY you, Mo! So well done! Seriously, I knew I was gonna love it, but you really put me over the edge the moment I heard those first few strums of Alexi Murdoch, who I love, love, LOOOOOOOOOVE!!! Ugh… SO much goodness, I can’t hardly handle it. :D