Erin Cobb.

I‘ve been a person for 30 years. A mama for five. A blogger for four.  A professional photographer for three.

I’m not sure how I got it into my head that those four things demanded to be separated, but somehow I did.

See, when I first started Erin Cobb Photography I already had a modest following on my personal blog due in part to our experience winning the baby Gap Casting Call in 2006. I wrote (almost) daily about my experience as a young mother to one child, and then to two. Many of my blog readers became my first clients or referred my first clients to me. I was happy to share my new business (and business blog) with my personal blog readers but I was hesitant about working it the other way around.

For the first two years I didn’t whisper a word to my clients about my personal blog or the life that I wrote about there. When I would host ordering consultations in my home my husband and I scrubbed and polished furiously to ensure that any trace of peanut butter and childhood was wiped clean. The children were tucked silently into their beds by my husband and if he heard so much as a peep he would rush in to instantly quiet them. Mommy has clients! Shhh! I was determined to be “professional” at all cost.

But then a funny thing happened. A client sheepishly mentioned that when she googled “Erin Cobb” my personal blog had appeared. And she had (gasp!) read it. And enjoyed it. And was still reading. Was that okay? Of course it was, I assured her. After all, I wouldn’t be blogging publicly if I didn’t want people to read it.

After that same scene replayed itself about a dozen times in my living room during one ordering consultation or another the lightbulb finally came on (I’ve never claimed to be quick): I am my brand.

And that’s what I want to share with you today.

See, three and a half years ago I made the false assumption that when I opened my doors I would be offering a tangible product – beautiful, custom family portraits. And that’s simply not true. I now know that I’m offering beautiful, custom family portraits by Erin Cobb. And therein lies the difference. What I’m offering is as much the process as it is the product- and I am the vessel for that process. I can no more separate myself (the whole of myself) from what I do than I can separate the strands of hair on my oldest child’s tangled head.

So instead of hiding and trying to keep separate and desperately chasing that elusive “professionalism” I’ve done something that has  proved to be even better for my business. I’ve thrown open the doors of self and invited my clients in. I posted a permanent link in the sidebar of my business blog leading to my personal blog (I do still maintain two distinct sites so that only those who wish to read both can). I stopped trying to hush the children every evening at 7:00 when a client showed up at my door and instead I allowed the little munchkins to pad in in their footie jammies and whisper, “Hi cwients…” before heading off to bed. And while I do still scrub the peanut butter off the tables before clients arrive I don’t try to erase all evidence that children live there – after all I am a children’s photographer. My clients understand what it means to live with little people.

When I sat down and thought about who I was as a person and who I was as a photographer I realized that I didn’t have to look any further to discover my brand identity. It was all inside of me. My brand is a direct reflection of who I am. The art I produce is (has to be) created through my lens. Not the lens on my camera but the personal filter that dictates how I see the world. And after really considering that I realized the three key components of my brand  - fresh, clean, and fun. And those three little words don’t just describe the product. They also describe the process. Because I am my brand. And when I fully embraced that and starting allowing my clients to experience the entirety of that fresh, clean and fun brand through their interactions with me as well as through the product that I offered, that was when I really won.

So what does that mean for you? Well first it means that you need to stop looking at your photographs to help you define your brand. Your photographs are symptoms. The diagnosis, if you will, is in you. How do you see the world? How do you interact with other people? What do you bring to the table in a crowded room? Are you witty? Charming? Shy? Moody? Bright? Funny? Quirky? Good. Now share that with you clients. And not just in the product that you offer but in the process that you offer. Whether that be through blogging or on Facebook or Twitter or simply through a telephone call or genuine personal interactions. In the end you’ll end up with clients who are knocking on your door not because they want portraits but because they want portraits by you.

For me it only feels right to let my clients in. Afterall, that’s exactly what I’m asking them to do when I show up, camera in hand, during the most authentic and intimate moments of their lives. Being in the front of the camera can leave even the most confident adult feeling raw and exposed. (Not true for most children). I need my clients to let me into their hearts so that I can dig around a bit and see what I come up with. That’s what they want recorded. So I have to open myself up in return. I’ll admit that it can be unnerving to arrive at a session where the client smiles a knowing smile and says “this is so weird…I feel like I already know you!” (because they read my blog). But inevitably they are at ease. They know me. They get me. They called me because even before we met they decided they liked me. Win for me. Win for them.

Now how ’bout we make it a win for you? You are your brand.
Embrace that and allow your clients to do the same.

Erin has been a mama for five years, a blogger for four, and a professional photographer for 3. She hopes to be all of those things for at least another 50. She’s pretty passionate about her family, her friends, bright colors and shooting jpeg (what?!). Erin makes her home and runs her business in Huntsville, Alabama but has been known to travel wherever the wind will carry her. Her must-have equipment includes her gray card and ponytail holders.

Website:
www.erincobb.com

Personal blog:
www.erincobb.com/thepigbear

Business blog:
www.erincobb.com/blog

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/thepigbear

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/#!/Erincobbphotography?ref=ts