Michelle Edgerton Photography

I must have started and re-started this post a hundred times; debating on what story to tell here.  Do I talk about how long I’ve been separated from my sister (22 years)?  Do I talk about how I struggle with a family living on two separate continents?  Here is the story I chose:

My sister is 10 years older than me and when we moved to America she stayed behind to continue her life in Israel and so for most of my life she was always the sister I knew I had somewhere in the distance and that I would see once every few years.  She wasn’t the sister I could run to and talk about boy things or parent troubles with, she was a sister in theory.  What is incredible to me, however, is the source of of inspiration she has been to me without her even knowing it.  My sister had to provide for herself, work for her survival, and survive a lot of heartache from a very young age.  She was a successful business owner and she is now an acclaimed, multi-published author.  I couldn’t ask for a better source of inspiration in what it means to be an independent, successful working woman (and now also a successful family woman).  But all of this was inspiration from a distance.

Until two years ago.

Two years ago I stayed with my sister and her family for almost 6 weeks and I got to know my amazing sister in a way I never really anticipated.  We bonded, for the first time, like sisters and I can now I can say that I have a sister, not just a sister in theory.  I also got to really know my sister’s husband and I am so happy to call him my brother-in-law.  Idan is the ying to her yang and he gives her the freedom and support she needs to continue to succeed in her career path as a writer (a quality I so cherish in Charlie).

My sister is an incredible mother and wife and I was so honored to shoot her family portraits.  So, without further ado, here is the Sorek-Zivoni clan, starting with my sister:

 

Adi, I love you so much and glad I found my sister and I hope you all fell in love with them as much as I am.

Until Next Time…

ME

 

I am a firm believer that you get out what you put in.  It is how I try to live my life.  How I work, how I love, how I pursue the things that really matter to me.  It is this belief that drove me to build a website and a consistent brand identity.  I wasn’t getting out of my business what I knew I could and I was ready to take the next step in putting my best foot forward.

This desire to push forward and in a big way led me to Heather Alkhateeb of Thea Creative.  Heather has been a Godsend in helping me focus in on my message, making sure it is cohesive, and making my vision SING to life (that’s right, not just come to life, but SING).

I wanted a website that would represent my personality, represent my clients’ personalities, and for it to be captivating.  I think we’ve achieved that.

The experience I had in building my brand identity helped me to see my strengths in a much clearer way: the way I connect with my clients, my love of marriage, my passion for what I do, and the consistency in the way I capture you organically.  I realized that I can only do what I do so well because I take such pride in getting to know my clients and put in a good amount of time in making sure that their spirit, their personality, their organic way of being with each other all shine through (remember, you get out what you put int).

This experience also made me believe in my business even more, so much more that it drove me to create very clear goals for over the next five years and how to build my business to reach those goals.  Building my website was so much more than the end result, it was truly a revolutionary way for me to look at myself, my business, my clients, and why I am pushing so hard to succeed.

Identifying your brand identity is so much more than your colors or web design, it is the message you are sending.  It is forming a feel, a client experience, an authentic way of photographing people and capturing their memories.  Your brand identity is who you are in front of your clients and who you are in every picture you take.  Your colors and your website are people’s introduction to those things and they need to feel authentic to your brand.  If you’re not a very modern photographer who uses very dramatic lighting set-ups your website should not represent that.  Explore the message you want to send to your clients.  I am a sophisticated casual photographer and every part of my branding that Heather created for me represents that.

My brand design gave me new life and set me on an amazing new beginning for my business.  Here are some stills of my website, but please click on the link at the bottom to visit it live.  I think it’s pretty incredible and I couldn’t be prouder of the work that went into it and the product that came out.

What do you think?

Visit here: www.michelle-edgerton.com then leave me a comment.  And if you are in business and need a graphic designer, I urge you to seek out Heather at Thea Creative, she can work magic.

Thanks Heather and thank you everyone for your ongoing support.

Until Next Time…

ME