Dolly Delong: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the systems and workflow magic podcast. I am your systems workflow and launching BFF and guide Dolly DeLong. And today I am so excited to have a mutual friend on the podcast today, McKenna Delaney. Now I’m going to do a little introduction for her and then we’re going to get the conversation started. So McKenna is a creative strategist and founder of McKenna Creative, and she helps businesses shine with stunning brands and websites, like underline stunning 10, 000 times. She specializes in that. So her journey began at, when she was eight years old, not launching websites. But she launched her first business selling Mardi Gras beads, which is you all just so adorable So she thrives on bringing visions to life through creativity and collaboration and that’s very true She’s always I feel like she’s always networking with somebody new and is always merging new friend groups and peer groups together, which I really Admire, and she’s a networking enthusiast and she loves connecting entrepreneurs in Nashville and beyond. So when she’s not designing, you can find her exploring new ideas and dreaming up ways to elevate brands. McKenna welcome.
Makena Delaney: Hi, everyone. Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
Dolly Delong: Of course, I’m so excited to have you on, a little personal story about me and McKenna. We met, I don’t even know how long ago. It had to have been four to five years ago, but Blaise is six
Makena Delaney: 2020.
Dolly Delong: yeah, Blaise is six. And so it had to be five years ago cause he was one year old when I met you and we met at a networking event. And I just remember thinking, this girl is so nice, and she’s very wise beyond her years. Cause if you all know, if you all get to know McKenna, she is I describe you as an old soul. And I really admire that so much about you.
Makena Delaney: Aw, thank you. I know, I think you were like my first like real friend in business that was like, you and Kristen McCall were like my first two people to meet and like what a lottery I won, so I’m super blessed by both of you.
Dolly Delong: well, thank you so much. That means a lot to me. It was, it was fun. Yeah. We, we are both McKenna and I both are, Middle Tennessee residents. So it’s, it’s been fun watching McKenna, um, grow her online presence. cause she, she like started, you started off with more like local, helping local businesses and now you’re expanding and, now you’re like the go in my mind, you’re like the go to person for website, like, I feel like every time I’m looking at. Instagram or something. There’s like a new web feature that you just designed. I’m like, McKenna is amazing. So you all are going to fall in love with McKenna. She has an eye for design and strategy. And so the reason why I have McKenna on is not just to highlight her expertise, but also She is a contributing summit speaker at the family photographer, advanced blueprint summit. And she’s going to be diving deeper into advanced brand and website design strategies, tailored specifically for family photographers, because this is a family photographer summit. I know listeners. I know I tend to talk. Very broadly about systems SOPs for everyone, because I want everyone to apply systems and workflows to the back end of their business. But this quarter, I’m like really trying to hone in on Who has been listening to me a lot and that’s family photographers and who have narrowed in their arts and narrowed in their Creativity side like, you know, you’re posing, you know, you’re editing, you know who you’re reaching out to but yet you still struggle with systems workflows SOPs marketing consistently and that even falls into the category of knowing Your brand voice and knowing your website voice, like visuals, everything. So that’s where McKenna comes in. And so today we’re going to explore how family photographers can elevate their brand and website to attract ideal clients. And yes, there’s a system for that. And, we, you are going to walk away with a lot of notes. So, McKenna, let’s start with a very basic question. Why is branding and website design so crucial for family photographers?
Makena Delaney: What a fabulous question, uh, only my favorite kind of question, so I’m gonna like take us back just a little bit in terms of like why, like I’m gonna get you to why it’s important towards the end, but just like We all know as a family photographer you have a specific style in your editing style like for example Even if you’re brand new as a family photographer, which those that are listening to this probably are not super brand new They’re probably a little more advanced, right? But you kind of develop a style like your specific editing style You’re the way you what the the not filters, but the i’m not a photographer So i’m going to use the word filters, but the way you edit your photos Is like a specific way right and like people are going to choose you based on your style Your style and your brand and your website is truly no different So for family photographers, like whenever I have branded them or just photographers in general branded photographers That is what I look at first what does your actual editing style look like and a lot of times that’s really easy to pull Just right from somebody’s instagram feed. It’s usually back to back photos and it’s pretty clear what their editing style is and so that’s really where you want to start You to know what your ideal client ultimately is going to enjoy. And then that plays into the question of like, why is branding and website design so important because those specific people that like that style of photography are the ones that are going to choose you, right? So that’s, that’s the basis for your marketing and that’s what determines your ideal client. So often when we’re newer to business, we think of an ideal client as Anyone who can pay us, right? And we know that is not the case, right? Because the key to a happy client is somebody who likes your style. That’s why I have everyone look at my portfolio before they hire me. Cause sometimes they’ll just find me off referral. But if you don’t like my design style. You’re probably not going to be the greatest fit. Now, I try to, of course, design in a style that is specific to that person’s business, but photography is not that way. Photography is a specific look, right? so why is branding and website design so crucial for that? It really tells your ideal client what your look is, and that’s what really helps you Get the people on board that are going to be happy with your outcome and be obsessed and keep coming back year after year Especially if they really love your style like they can have it, you know, the years throughout on their walls, right? And that’s gonna you know Keep them coming back and you know, the easiest client to get is one you’ve already obtained in the past, right?
Dolly Delong: Okay. So that kind of like merges into the next question and you hinted at this, actually you strongly answered this question, but how can then, why would you argue that an effective brand and website design? Can help photographers stand out in a crowded market because I will be real with listeners and listeners, you know, the struggle, you feel like everybody and their mom and their dog has a camera and is a professional photographer nowadays. And, you know, like sometimes I feel that Oh my gosh, who’s going to hire me, butI will speak to McKenna’s point that she’s making, like once you’ve honed in on your style and you, you know, your client, you know, who you want to serve. there’s all these little like wheels that are all working together in this machine, like well oiled machine. It does tend to attract your ideal client who wants to stick with you. So can you talk more, like hit more reasons why effective branding can help you stand out in a crowded market? because we’ve all heard that, but can you like go deeper into that? And, and I’m kind of putting you on the spot. Can you give like concrete examples of how you’ve seen this play out?
Makena Delaney: Oh, I think so. okay, so One of the main ways is yeah, you just nailed it with the everybody and their brother has a camera Right and we all do everyone has a pretty solid camera on their phone Not as good as what you guys use to shoot family portraits and stuff, but we can all take a good photo to some degree but where that kind of like shifts is We don’t want to be in a race to the bottom for price, right? We don’t want to be the cheapest person around. It’s not a sustainable business. Like if that’s what you’re out there doing It’s you can’t remain profitable. You’re never going to be able to hire an associate photographer or editors or have the right marketing You’re always going to be at a race to the bottom. And if that’s how you’re obtaining clients, it’s just a struggle It’s a constant struggle. And so once you’ve started to nail down that system and then you have a specific style that helps you stand out because everybody else is just mending or bending rather to whatever their client is looking for. Um, again, I only know your industry so well, but I would say like I’ve, I’ve seen a lot of discussion around like handing off the raw files. Like I know photographers don’t do that because they want their signature look on them. Your brand and your marketing is literally no different than your specific style being infused into the that you. give to a client, right? And so that contributes to your overall brand. I think so many people think of a brand and they think of a logo and some colors and some fonts, right? That is not a brand. Okay. This is my favorite analogy and it makes people laugh and it’s a little bit offensive but not an Um,
Dolly Delong: Let’s offend. I’m just kidding. Everybody, you all know I like to be silly.
Makena Delaney: so, you know when you’re like scrolling through facebook and you have that like one family member who like always posts a grainy photo And you’re like it’s 2025 How on god’s green earth do you have a grainy photo?
Dolly Delong: Yes.
Makena Delaney: Like you can think of this person in your head. I know exactly who it is in my life That’s her brand to me like she’s actually a business owner. That’s how I know her but so called out but That’s her brand like she doesn’t have a logo She doesn’t have a specific set of fonts or colors that she uses But that is her brand to me and we don’t want that for you. that is not what you that is not Good . That is not who we wanna be. So you wanna be recognized for a specific style. Like when you go post in Facebook groups, I know a lot of you guys get your business all, it’s 100% local, right? Have very hyperlocal type of business. And so when you’re posting in Facebook groups and getting tagged in things, you want to be the person that has that specific look. Instead of posting 16 different albums with 16 different styles. The same goes for your branding. Like I know I’m harping on that piece, but it pulls back into. What your brand and your website ultimately look like?
Dolly Delong: That’s so, so true. Can I share a painful story of what I read? It’s not a story. Well, it’s circumstance that I read on in a Facebook group when there was that I’m in a lot of Facebook mom groups. Cause. I’m also a mom, and so I, sometimes these mom groups are unhinged. It’s hysterical to me, but one mom was looking for a family photographer. So I was about to post my, my information cause I’m like, okay, like she hasn’t said anything about pricing or anything. So I’m just going to put my information in there. But right before that, there was somebody, some. Family photographer who posted and said, I can do it. And I will edit to suit your style, to your, like your preference. And that just stressed me out as a photographer. I was like, does this photographer even that’s stressful? Cause one person might like, I don’t know, like really grainy, like oversaturated looks really warm tones. Another person might like bright white. Like whatever, like fine art, look, but if you. I don’t know if there’s no consistency in editing. I always think, Oh my goodness. Like this person is all over the place. Do they even know their brand? Do they even know who they’re talking to or they’re just trying to get anybody to hire them?
Makena Delaney: Uh, yeah, I think they’re trying to get anyone to hire them funny enough I’m in a lot of those groups too, even though i’m not a mom But my friends are all moms. They add me to those groups and they’re quite entertaining
Dolly Delong: they are entertaining. They’re very entertaining.
Makena Delaney: but yeah, I can’t imagine like trying to bend to every single person that came my way It would be extremely stressful and you’re not honing your craft Um, but ultimately it’s just going to put you in a position of being controlled by your client and when we have a brand when we have a website that’s dictating our marketing, like that puts us in control that puts us in the seat of a driving our own business bus, if you will, whereas if the client is telling us every single little thing that we have to do, we’re not in the position of the expert
Dolly Delong: No, no,
Makena Delaney: that is not a fun thing to do.
Dolly Delong: That’s so true. And so, I guess, this next question goes along, the topic of what we were talking about. what are some common branding and website mistakes you see? and I know to reiterate, it’s one of them is not having consistency in branding, not knowing their brand voice, not having consistency, just overall reflective in their website copy and their editing style in how they are talking to their clients. And so is there anything else that you have noticed?
Makena Delaney: Definitely. So the number one thing that I’ve noticed is, that so many photographers basically just have a portfolio website, right? They just have a big long page of photos going to it’s an endless scroll of photos. That’s not necessarily what someone wants to see. In fact, a lot of times, I mean, yes, we should have albums on our site. We should have a portfolio. People need to see us. not me but shooting in different styles, right? Like I have a portfolio too. So like same thing for me I try to do it by industry, you know So you have some that are studio some that are outdoor some that are in home like there can be differences, right? but that should be on a portfolio page and then your photos need to be peppered throughout your site and displayed in a beautiful Way, right? And sometimes when we diy our website We don’t necessarily know how to display them in a beautiful way. And so the frame around our You Images. Images does, it doesn’t get, it doesn’t give the same feeling and like it doesn’t pull you in in the same way that a designer can make it pull in. Or if you take extra time to do that yourself and kind of learn, you absolutely can. so that would be the mis the first mistake that I see. The second mistake that I see is like listing a package as if it’s like you’re just ordering off a menu. We need to be like sharing how we’re solving a problem for our client. And I think so often we probably think we’re not solving a problem for our client. We’re just providing photos. Like it’s not a problem, but there is a problem. There are, there’s always a problem to get somebody to purchase something. and you know, family photos are no different. Like I know a lot of photographers, this has probably been. Most family photographers I’ve worked with, but it’s like heirloom photos, like photos you’re going to have forever. Things that are not just on your phone and, you know, things that photos that are posed with beautiful clothing that everyone’s matching in, or, you know, it’s worthy of going on your wall. That’s something to like, revel in is not the right word, but to enjoy, right? not everybody has the privilege of doing that. Why would you spend the money, time, effort, and stress to do it? Because let’s be real, if you have little kids, it’s probably gonna be stressful. And you’ve gotta get everybody in the matching outfits. Like, There is a problem to solve, right?
Dolly Delong: Yes. As a, I will agree with you, McKenna, and I am a mom with little kids and even me, who is a family photographer, like I’ve been doing this like for years now. And it’s a nightmare for my own family. And I know at first hand, I just know the nightmare that most parents feel, especially moms feel. I will share this so that everyone can laugh at me and know, like, I feel the struggle. So if you’re a family, if you’re a mom listening in and you’re like, I just want these beautiful photos of my kids, at this age, even though they are little nightmares for just, they’re so sweet, but then they are so ornery at the same time. So, um, I signed up, My family for a mini session last fall, McKenna and we had our, we just got our new dog maple and we took everyone. And I knew my husband was doing this out of his love for me. He did not want to be like, he was like, I do this because I love you. He tells me that. And I’m like, thank you. And, and then he reminds the boys we’re doing this because I love you. You love your mom. We love her. And this is what she wants. And so he’s reminding them. And then as soon as we get there, we’re like, okay, this is gonna be great. It’s only 20 minutes. Our dog takes the most giant dump of her life. Like at the session, we’re like, where did this come from? It’s not like we gave you a fake dinner, like right before, like she was like, now it’s the time. And then both of our boys went crazy. Like they, it was like. Oh, from the dog to the boys. And then my husband was like embarrassed. And so, but the pictures were still really pretty. You all like, and I happened to just like what you were saying, we are about, we just printed them off and they are a nine grid. They’re going to be like a nine grid gallery in our home. And nobody would have guessed that that was the disaster story before those photos.
Makena Delaney: Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. That’s hilarious. You brought your dog. I have such a special place in my heart for family photos. So, fun fact, like I said, I don’t have kids. I’m not married and I’m actually an only child. And I just want you all, as family photographers, to know, maybe this will help someone. It’s totally unrelated to branding, but every photo that’s a professional photo that I have of me, Up until my first brand photo shoot with you is me alone. Every photo I have Do you know what I don’t care to have when I’m 65? Only photos of me.
Dolly Delong: Oh, but you can, you have your dog.
Makena Delaney: Not in my photos when I was little. Like, I literally have studio photos. Tons of them. Tons of them. My mom sent me all the time. I’m just completely alone in all of them. No parents. No one. Anyone else. Just, just me.
Dolly Delong: McKenna.
Makena Delaney: So I love family photos. Like, I think they’re so amazing because, I mean, I won’t have them.
Dolly Delong: Yeah. But you, but you, are there any of you and your parents?
Makena Delaney: Not unless somebody like took it on, you know, like a little disposable.
Dolly Delong: Oh my goodness. McKenna.
Makena Delaney: know, how sad, right? So don’t let that happen to your only child clients.
Dolly Delong: Oh, that’s true. I, McKenna, I don’t think you know this. I’m also an only child.
Makena Delaney: Oh, I didn’t know that. Do you have
Dolly Delong: knows, nobody knows this about me. Everybody assumes I have so many siblings. It’s just me. It might be because of all my personalities. I, it’s just me. Yeah. There are so many photos of, of just me. but, they’re also like, So because of the time I grew up, I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and I also grew up in India. So there are pictures of just me with all my cousins and like I in India. So one of my favorite games to play with people is I’ll bring out my family photos from India. I’ll be like, can you guess who, who is me? And like, of course, people are like, You’re the white one, but I’m like, I bet you can’t guess which one is me. And so, so that’s usually my story with my family photos from my childhood. So
Makena Delaney: That’s amazing. But yeah, I just love family photographers. I love what y’all are doing for people
Dolly Delong: you all didn’t know where you would take a little tangent on me and McKenna’s like family photo experiences, but yeah, like just like going back to like getting back on track with like branding and website mistakes for family photographers, like McKenna, you gave. A lot of good examples. So, then let’s merge into, okay, now family photographers know what not to do, but what should they do? Like, what are some key elements of high converting websites that you have seen, you have designed, and you have actually seen a photographer go from point a to that transformation.
Makena Delaney: Yeah, so it all comes down to just the messaging I mean it comes down to there are three key elements of a website that like makes it look professional And typically like I don’t even start a project until I have all three in place One is copywriting, so all of the content on the website. One is the photos themselves. And then the third is the brand. Cause without one of those elements, it’s kind of like trying to like make a building without like lumber or plumbing or what, you know, what are, I don’t know what the key elements of building something are, but that’s what they are in my head. I need plumbing and I need walls. Okay. And electricity. you know, it’s like building without one of those three is kind of like, well, it’s not going to be great at the end. so yeah, clear messaging is a huge one though, because it is like, okay, I’m just going to say this as an overall, it’s extremely hard to do any of this for yourself. even as a professional designer, I don’t. Like to design my own stuff. I hate everything I design for myself now I love when I design for clients, obviously Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten into the industry but like I don’t love what I design for myself. So like I hired out my brand I did most of my website. I had some girls on my team work on that as well but It’s really hard to do. So that said, it’s really hard to write for yourself, too. It’s really hard to get in the mind of your ideal client, especially because you usually aren’t your ideal client, right? I work with a lot of, non tech savvy people. I am not that, right? I’m pretty savvy. So, like, to try to get in the heads of the thing, get in their heads and think of the things that they may be struggling with is really challenging. So all that to say, clear messaging is a key piece of that. so having a copywriter on deck or, you know, being Sufficient with chatGPT. You can kind of get there not quite but kind of better if you’re DIYing it’s better than not. But just being really clear on the problems that you solve and not just the feature not just that you’re gonna get 15 edited photos of your choice or like it’s like you’re gonna have pictures that are last 100 years Like that’s such more of a selling point, especially to a higher ticket clientele. because again, you’re, you’re not trying to be in that race to the bottom. You’re trying to position yourself as an expert who’s going to deliver this amazing experience and this amazing result. That’s what we’re trying to get you. So that’s what kind of I would define as clear messaging on your site, but also being clear about what you do. I think so often we try to be clever about our role and about our titles and about all that we want to just be like as clear and concise as humanly possible
Dolly Delong: Can I say something to that cleverness? I’m just gonna, people are going to be like, man, Dolly, you’re so angry. I’m not angry. It’s just, these are things that annoy me about the photography side of running a photography business. I hate fluffy words that creatives use. Like I hate is a strong word. I just. It just annoys me. instead of blog, which is something everybody knows what a blog is, photographers use the word journal. And I’m just like, this is annoying to me. this is not helpful with SEO. This is not helpful with some people are not intuitively knowing, oh, this also means blog. Another thing that annoys me, and I use this word a lot, but I try, I do not use it on my website is art. Like it, because a lot of clients don’t understand, they don’t understand that what they’re getting is essentially art to put on their walls. They think it’s like portraits. And so I try to use words that my clients are using instead of like, you are going to receive artistry, like, just like fancy, fluffy words that, oh, come on, this is not connecting with my clients. This is just being. Fluffy and cute and a little bit obnoxious sometimes, and I’m just like, or like over the top. And I, I know the, a lot of family photographers, like we are so creative that we forget, we forget. To really hone in on what our ideal clients are searching for. Like, what are they typing in? And we forget to humanize those words and forget to put that in our messaging and branding. And so I’m always like, why are, so when I look at other people’s photography websites, they’re gorgeous. They’re beautiful. But then there’s all these fancy, fluffy words. I’m like, I don’t, I don’t understand this. I. I like, love this art, like I even said art, you all, I love this picture, but then the messaging is so I don’t know, not relatable.
Makena Delaney: I totally get that and I just want to say like i’ve known you for a while And never once has it crossed my mind to think oh dolly’s angry like never in my life You’re like one of the only other people I know that always has a smile on their face. So
Dolly Delong: Oh, thank you.
Makena Delaney: I 100 percent agree with you, I, I think so often, as a photographer, you can, you can, you can go a lot of directions, you have a diverse skill set that you can kind of easily hone, you have the base skill, and then you can start to go in, like, all these different directions, but, like, really honing in on What your favorite thing is like you shouldn’t be 14 kinds of photographer, right? Like that’s a huge aspect of branding and usually what I have people like drill down on Because they want to be all of it, right and that’s great and like yes You can flex into the other spaces But you have to pick what you’re going to market the most and that’s what you have to put forward And that’s what really creates like an easy navigation on your site It’s also very helpful for SEO because it gives your website one focus. It gives Google the opportunity to know that you’re focused on this main thing and it will know that more about your site. There’s more, that, that word is repeated more. Like it just really helps, overall with, with the kind of like digital aspect of it. Like that’s not necessarily client facing. I mean, it is, but it’s not what I’m talking about, but then even, the navigation, having, you know, going on one page and having family photography, and branding photography, and studio portraits, and newborns, and first 48, and, like, all on one page. Is really hard for people to understand what the differences are So like the kind of like rule of thumb I use if somebody is insistent on that is Let’s use the messaging to just get them to the contact form and get on a discovery chat with you And then you can tell them well I think this package would be best like as long as you can just get in front of them and build a relationship That is ultimately what we’re trying to do We’re not trying to make our website sell for us until we get to a certain stage then we can that conversation changes You But I think that’s kind of like the the kind of the key elements in my mind of what Helps a website look more professional and have more professional interactivity The last thing I would say on that though is like websites are templated Like you can go buy a template you can hire a designer Would love to be hired if you’d like me to do this site for you, obviously
Dolly Delong: Everybody, after this conversation, go, go check out McKenna and hire her. I’m serious.
Makena Delaney: thank you. I always feel like I’m like, Oh, just go DIY. And I’m like, no, I’d love to be hired if you’d like to. But, it’s, it, it kind of comes down to like pulling all of the different pieces together, and making sure that it’s organized in a way that makes the most sense, right? Like that’s what you have to ultimately do. that’s the hard part to organize in your own brain because you’re in the industry, I guess is what I’m trying to get at.
Dolly Delong: Yeah. I just thought of this, but if you were to talk with a family photographer, like one to one and you were like, okay, I want to get some inspiration from you.I I’ve heard like people say, if you want inspiration, go to another, like, look at other businesses, like what inspires you don’t just look at other family photographer businesses, look at. Like maybe an adjacent business or something totally different that would inspire you. What, what would you say to, would you agree with that? What would you say to that?
Makena Delaney: Yeah, so something I did when I did my first website, and I’m going to say DIY’d it because I didn’t have the help of a copywriter.and this was when you did my very first brand photos, fun fact. they were amazing, still are amazing. that, what I did, I, I wanted to be unique, of course we all want to be unique. Nobody wants to be seen as a copier. But i’m gonna let you in on a little bit of a secret like
Dolly Delong: Oh,
Makena Delaney: know We all are very similar right a brand and a web Guess what? I give out as brand as a brand designer logos fonts and colors and business cards and brand style guys Guess what? Every other brand Brand designer gives out the same set of deliverables. And so what I did when I was building that first website as, as as promoting myself as a brand and website designer was I went through probably a hundred other people’s websites and I screenshot in their services page and I went through and I. Aggregated all of that data only to realize like pretty much everyone was the same But I was so afraid somebody was gonna go. Oh my gosh, she stole my copy, which I would never do I rewrote it all anyway, but like the list of deliverables is the same. You are going to deliver a set of photos So I don’t personally see any sort of issue with you going to your top 10 and kind of you don’t need to do 100 That was overkill but aggregating the data that you’re seeing on their website If you know that they’re successful, I always say success leaves clues You so what is what’s what’s happening that is causing their site to be successful or their business to be successful and then Make that your own, right? We’re not copying. We’re not gonna do the exact same thing. But at the end of the day, every site has testimonials. Every site has packages and, like, how you can Introducing yourself has an about section. It has a how it works section. Like, Sites have the same thing, and that’s because that’s what works. That’s how you convert. there’s a book, um, That I read really early on. Can I see it from here? Copy that sells from, can’t read his name. Um, but anyway, it’s a book that’s called Copy that Sells. it’s all formulaic, right? another analogy I have for you is, I love analogies, guys, is like in high school I wrote a thesis paper every year and like a thesis paper is very formulaic. Like you have Your thesis you have your conclusion. You have the three parts in the middle That’s part of the thesis sentence, right? I don’t know. I’m not using all the right terms anymore. I’m kind of embarrassed but
Dolly Delong: That’s okay. No judgment.
Makena Delaney: It’s all the same right like it’s all It repeats itself and that’s what a website is and that’s how you get Persuasive writing, which is what a website should be. That’s conversion writing, persuasive writing. So yeah, I don’t know. Does that answer the question? That was like a roundabout way.
Dolly Delong: No, it does. It really does. Like you can, I took from it, what was that phrase that you said? People like success.
Makena Delaney: Success leaves clues.
Dolly Delong: Success leaves clues. I love that so much. I will definitely have to use that as a pull quote for this episode. It’s so true. and there, and what you, I love how you gave that, example of how you aggregated all of that, those screenshots, and then you realized this is all the same, like pretty much, and that just comes to show that people most likely are not hiring you based off of like your packages. They might be hiring you based off of the brand personality that you’ve put forward paired with, your visuals, paired with, your website. it’s all like a cog working together, like little wheels working together.
Makena Delaney: Yes. I’m gonna give an example of two clients that I’ve done that are family photographers.
Dolly Delong: Mm hmm.
Makena Delaney: I’m not gonna remember their websites right off the top of my head because I never remember domains, but Beth Miller
Dolly Delong: I know her.
Makena Delaney: Yeah, love her. And then another one is Christine Elizabeth photography and she’s in New York I think and both of them were a joy to work with and both of them are friends Beth referred Christine to me But they have completely they both do newborns. They both do family photography They both do portraits their style if you go look them up radically different their websites Actually, both are green oriented, but radically different websites, radically, radically different photography styles, completely different looks, completely different typography, and they’re going to attract a completely different audience. I would say the person that hires Christine would never hire Beth and vice versa, right? And that is really what, that’s what branding comes down to is pulling that out in design so that your ideal client feels connected to that
Dolly Delong: Yeah. And going back to the point of if you, if you are catering to 14, 15 different ideal clients and it’s all mashed together, it’s going to confuse your viewers coming on. They’re going to be like, what am I going to get when I work with you? Well, I get this grainy look. Am I going to get a black and white portrait? Like what, what am I getting from you? And so I really. Like that you shared that example, they have the same, they, they are essentially, they’re giving you the same product in a way like newborn photography, but you’re going to have two different experiences.
Makena Delaney: completely,
Dolly Delong: I love that. I love that example. And those are, um, and I’ve actually seen your work for, I think it was Beth’s, um, website design. It was beautiful.
Makena Delaney: Thank you.
Dolly Delong: Yes. Very beautiful. Okay. As we wrap up, can you share with the family photographers listening in, how can a family photographer implement just one advanced strategy today to elevate their website that you would recommend?
Makena Delaney: one. That’s so challenging. I would say just the consistency element, like whatever, whatever that means to you, whatever that looks like, if that looks like consistently using the same three fonts in the same color and the same editing style, that is the most important. You just need to start to get people to recognize you over and over and over. So that would that would be my one key takeaway is just start pulling that across all of your platforms your facebook your instagram Your website your tiktok if you have one your stories just be consistent And i’m not even saying be consistent in posting. I’m just saying look consistent
Dolly Delong: Yes. That’s very true. and photographers and business owners who are listening in to this, I have Organized all of my branding on Canva in one folder labeled Dolly DeLong photography. And cause Dolly DeLong photography is very different from systems and workflow education. So I have two different folders on Canva. So anytime I’m designing something for the podcast. I open up systems and workflow education, but then when I’m designing something for Dolly DeLong photography, I go to my Canva, open up Dolly DeLong photography, and I have a brand kit already in there. I know my, my hex codes are already in there. My brand kit’s already in there. So I am asking you to organ, create a system of organization that it’s under one roof and you don’t have to like start from scratch every time.
Makena Delaney: Yep, I have the same thing and many many many of my clients have the exact same thing just pulling all the different elements together having Their pdfs and their social media graphics. We don’t need to recreate a social media graphic for every post
Dolly Delong: yes, give yourself permission that you don’t have to create from scratch and you are still a creative minded business center. Know that you can still be creative and use a template for like your social media graphics. That’s okay. Okay. McKenna, can you give a hint to everyone about what you’re going to be presenting on at the, Advanced summit for, photographers.
Makena Delaney: Yeah, so I’m going to talk about the five mistakes you might be making with your brand and how that is maybe repelling your ideal client. So we’re going to learn a little bit more in depth what an ideal client is and how to make sure that they are attracted to what we’re doing. We talked a lot about website today, but that’s going to be a little bit more brand focused. So, It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’ve been told it’s kind of funny, so I’ve tried to draw lots of correlations and lots of, analogies. If you liked my analogies today, I think you’ll like it then. And, yeah, I’m a fast talker. So if you like fast talkers, I’m the gal for you. Well, I’m really, really excited about learning from you. And again, thank you for agreeing to be a summit presenter. I was thrilled when you said yes. Thank you, I was thrilled to be invited.
Dolly Delong: Yes. I’m so excited for other more advanced family photographers to learn from you. and let’s say a listener is okay, I want to work with McKenna. I want to connect with her. How can people find you, work with you and connect with you?
Makena Delaney: Yeah, my website is MakennaDelaney. com M A K E N N A D E L A N E Y or you can find me at Makenna underscore Delaney on Instagram, send me a DM or you can reach me at hello at MakennaDelaney. com and we’ll get connected.
Dolly Delong: Awesome. I’ll be sure to put all the links in the show notes and I’ll also be sure I should put in that branding session that I did for you several years ago. Cause I, I really still. I really loved those photos of you. It was in a gorgeous setting, too.
Makena Delaney: Me too. Guys, I, can I just say something funny really quick?
Dolly Delong: Yeah. Oh.
Makena Delaney: Um, we did this and I was like super self conscious of my double chin at the time, which I’ve now had liposuction away, but
Dolly Delong: Oh, I didn’t know that.
Makena Delaney: Yes, but dolly was so good I told her what I was self conscious about and she like made sure not a single photo like revealed my big Self consciousness and I was like, man, do I really look like this? Like when I got those photos back I thought I was the coolest girl in the entire world, so thank you. Thank you, thank you. And just as a plug to brand photography itself, my business went like this after those photos. Like, thanks to you, really and truly. Because if you’re hesitating on investing in brand photos, don’t. It was, it was the best thing that happened to my business. So thank you, darling.
Dolly Delong: Oh, you’re welcome. And you know what? I did not even have to I don’t even use Photoshop.
Makena Delaney: Really?
Dolly Delong: No.
Makena Delaney: Well, you had me pose, and
Dolly Delong: I just
Makena Delaney: that way still. Even though I’ve had
liposuction, I still pose exactly as you taught me that day, and I think I will till the day I die. Bye.
Dolly Delong: it was so much fun. And for those who were like, Dolly, I thought you were a family photographer. Yes. I’m like, this comes to show, like going back to our conversation with McKenna, like she had mentioned, if you want to be known for something, just put that on your website. I am also, I also offer branding photography, but that’s Like it’s like a referral basis at this point and SEO. So that’s how that works for me. But mostly I market my family photography business for my photography side, of my like overarching, like umbrella business. And so, yeah, you can see. Still that is just the power of what you were saying, like referrals, local SEO, all of that works together. So thank you so much for your kindness. It was, it was a lot of fun serving you in that way, but okay, everyone, thank you so much for listening in all the way through. if you found anything helpful in today’s. Then please let MaKena and myself know what aha moments you experienced. And then don’t forget to snag your free ticket for the family photographer advanced blueprint summit. It’s absolutely free and invite other family photographers who are wanting to elevate their systems, workflows, and SOPs. Um, remember like you’ve already nailed in. You’re editing, you’ve already nailed in your posing. Now it’s time to nail in those systems. And so we want to help you do that. So go in today’s show notes, grab that free ticket. And then until then stay streamlined and magical you amazing muggle you. And I will talk to you all next week with a brand new episode. Bye.
