Many people have asked me during this process “what is rebranding” and even more so, “why rebrand”? I wanted to take a post to answer those questions!  For me, rebranding meant changing my entire online presence.  Because of the way I run my business, I don’t have a studio,  or a building or room where I meet clients.  My website, blog, facebook page…those are my storefront.  The place where people go to see my latest work, get to know me, and decide if I am someone they want to tell their story.  That is such an important question for them, and my “branding” is the physical representation of that. The images, fonts, colors, and styles that make up my business; that I have chosen to represent my business.  Louise, my designer, was so able to just see what I was describing and make it happen on my storefront, and I am so unbelievably thrilled with that she came up with!  My brand is me—Jill Gum Photography—online!

And why rebrand, the bigger question.  The easy answer that I give first is that when my clients are making a huge investment in me as their photographer, I want them to have a custom, one of a kind experience at my storefront—on my blog and website.  I paid for my previous website, and Michael and I spent hours and hours designing it, along with all of my previous branding. And I will always love it. But it never really felt like ME.  And this? This is me.  I absolutely adore what Louise and I came up with! I wanted to invest in this part of my business to give it a recognizable face, and I think we have really done that.

I also wanted to have branding that really matched where JGP is going.  I feel like my business has changed a bit in it’s 2 years, and I wanted to reflect that.  I adore all of the different genres I get to shoot, portraits and weddings.  But I know that as much as I love photographing families and newborns, and portrait sessions in general, I feel like my purpose in this business is really moving towards working with and photographing my seniors, and my weddings.  I love the photography part, yes.  But I LOVE the people part.  I will never get over the excitement and joy and anticipation and beauty in those two areas, both seniors and engaged couples celebrating the great unknown.  And while I graduated high school quite a while ago at this point, both of those huge milestones seem so fresh and clear in my mind. Getting to spend time with people at those pivotal points is so deeply exciting to me.  Don’t worry— no matter how this change may manifest in the future of my business, I will always make time for my returning JGP families— you are all SO important to me!

I hope that answers some questions associated with the process- I can’t wait to share more “behind the scenes” on the rebrand in the next few weeks!