Skills and Branding Audit

Skills

Overall within the last two years of my study at NUA I've developed these skills:

• Correctly using ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance 
• Setting up and using the lighting equipment within a studio
• Use a ranger kit
• Use a light reading meter to change the camera to the correct settings
• I can adjust my images confidently in Photoshop (mostly basic adjustments but I'm not a fan of heavy manipulation)
• I can (just about) use In Design
• I am fairly confident with using Premier Pro
• Composition
• DO NOT photograph in JPEG, always RAW... baring in mind I only caught on at the beginning of second year

That's a few of what I can think of... However I'm sure there's plenty more that I've learned but perhaps isn't so obvious to me at this time. As you can see I've come a long way. I wish I knew all this a lot sooner!

Nonetheless with everything that I've developed over the two years doesn't mean that I'm an outstanding photographer. I still have plenty more to learn and develop. I remember being told that no one knows everything to photography, and that it simply is something you continue to learn and develop. Just like technology how it continues to grow and become all sorts of crazy devices that you wouldn't think is possible. 

Here are some of the skills I need to develop and how I will develop them:

• Confidence in speaking to professionals about my work and assisting them: I will approach a professional wedding photographer and ask to assist a shoot
• Photoshop - learn beyond the basics
• Creativity: try new things within my work, experiment!!!!!! 
• Time management - set my deadlines working backwards from the hand in date
• Collaboration: again confidence with speaking to professionals and other students across different courses to help with work/ designs etc
• Learning: become motivated to learn new things about photography and other photographers
• Newborn photography will require training to show how to position the baby - something to add to the to-do list within the next year

Branding

I found an interest in Photography when I was about 16/17 years old. It developed mostly through Instagram when it was used by almost every body I knew. It wasn't just the case of uploading a photo you'd taken or a screenshot of a quote, it was your profile. The images you took and the presentation of your page would represent you as a person and it became a huge thing! People would upload images in order of coherency and 'themes'. I loved it though! 

As I started to take pictures on my phone I noticed how much I enjoyed taking photos. I knew for a while that I was perhaps more creative than academic because I'd always done better in Media and Textiles than I did in Science and Geography. I preferred making work, the other subjects tended to bore me and I would end up editing a photo on the crappy Instagram filters than revising. 

My family background is fairly artistic. My great grandad was an artist, he would paint buildings and landscapes using water colour. My dad's uncle took photographs as a hobby. Both my grandmothers have an interest in textiles and so did my mother. I have other members of family who dabble with sketches of cars and cartoon characters which are exceptionally good. That's just a few of them, whether or not it grows across the family tree I wouldn't know. 

My dad had a Nikon D40 which he'd bought to take photos of our trips away and general keep-sake of us kids growing up. As time went on he didn't use it so much and seeing I had developed a passion for it he handed it down for me to use. He wasn't so sure how to use it so I had to learn from scratch. 

At school there was no option for photography, however when I studied art, media and textiles sometimes I needed to photograph final pieces and inspiration to feed into my work. It wasn't until I went to college where I took it as a subject. I was expecting the college to show me how to use a camera however they never really did tell us how. I managed to get a B within my first year of college which I was thrilled about! I was told by my teachers that my research and analyses were always full on with information and from receiving positive grades and good feedback it motivated me to continue. I also got a grade A in textiles which made me take a step back before going through with the planning stages of university because I felt if I was doing better in another subject surely that was the direction I needed to go? However I still wanted to proceed with photography because either way I can incorporate textile with photography and vice versa. It was never going to leave me because I didn't continue with the subject.

When I started university and they were showing us the basics, I couldn't believe that I never knew how important ISO and shutter speed were when taking a photo. I always tampered with the aperture on the camera because that was all I knew. When I'd ask a teacher at college they never explained well enough. However I guess looking back it's something I should have researched myself.

I'd never used a studio and lighting either. We had the most bog standard studio you could imagine... one light head with a soft box and stand. The backdrop was a white board or green screen. That's why I stuck to film and photographed a lot on location. I would photograph digitally but develop the images in the dark room. It was almost always instructed to do so on our briefs.

I appreciate photography for the memories it keeps. Our memories are no good at remembering the exact moment, therefore images are great to remind us of what happened. I believe that's why I enjoy photography so much. My mother and father have hundreds of photos of my sister and I growing up, and now with my mother no longer with us I am truly grateful for those images because some memories are too young for me to remember. I also believe that is a reason why I'm most interested in documentary photography capturing weddings, newborns, family and other events. Those photos are precious because they remind you of a certain day or age, which like I've said we only remember parts of a memory and it's never precise.

What constitutes my brand?

The obvious

• Business name
• Business colour
• Website - profile 
• Logo
• Instagram - profile

What makes my brand different? ...

• I have good patience with children
• I am caring towards children and customers needs
• I am an honest person
• The clients experience will be made fun and memorable
• Bringing a more documentary style to common, traditional family photography

Where is my brand encountered by potential customers and existing clients?

My existing clients either knew me or heard about me by word of mouth. I was contacted a few times by acquaintances however they never got back in touch with me once I'd offered a price. They thought I was going to do it for free, and even so the fee was as little as £20 to cover petrol, my time and copies of the photos on either a disk of hard drive which I'd take from the asking price. Most of the time when I'm doing it for friends and family I would do it for free as I want the experience and appreciate the support. 

At the minute my brand is encountered by existing clients through social network if they follow my progress on either my Instagram or website. However potential customers can find me by word of mouth which has happened with one of my recent clients and/or social network. 

As I continue to build my profile up within the next year I will hopefully have more advertisement up such as business cards. These will be placed where relevant to my work, for example:

• Wedding venues
• Bridal shop 
• Family centres - children's indoor play area, swimming pool
• Party venues
• Clothes shop - Newborns wear

Type of Clients

My clients will go up and down the scale, however I can imagine the majority will be family orientated. Weddings, family portraiture and newborn shoots usually include adults and children of all ages. Other special occasions such as birthday's and engagement parties will give me more than likely adults. All have this concept of family, therefore I need to ensure I maintain a professional attitude when it comes to dealing with children. Sometimes younger ones get frustrated quickly as they're having to be patient whilst I'm photographing. It's happened before when I shot a friends newborn and he unsettled later on during the shoot. You have to be patient and expect that it's not going to be easy. 

Self Promotional Package

I've put together a website including work that I've completed for clients and projects set within the university. The website is part of my branding as I defines me as a photographer by the way it is presented to my potential clients. It's simple navigation makes it easy enough for everyone to use, it's straight forward. It's accessible through the computer as well as smart phones. Within my website i have created an 'about' page showing a small paragraph that I wrote about myself including education and who I am as a photographer. I want to expand on this later on.

I'm also now a member of linkedin (Leah Allard) which I've added information about my practice and education. This is suitable for those within a professional practice who may be interested in my work. As well as potential clients being families I also need to consider bigger jobs such as photographing for catalogues and advertisement that include family portraits, wedding dresses etc. Promoting my business is very important when branding myself.