Kent – Branding Bee

My Allergy Kitchen … meet the powerhouse behind the blog …

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Sam in Personal branding photography

People have a story to tell. But not everyone self-publishes a book. A book about which they are extremely passionate and knowledgeable and is close to their heart and then becomes an Amazon best seller!

Meet Zoe, the powerhouse behind My Allergy Kitchen and author of The Busy Parent’s Guide to Food Allergies

We spent time making images that Zoe will be able to use on her instagram and social media pages and it was interesting for me to hear her story and how she is helping other parents to understand how and why allergies occur and what actions can be taken to alleviate symptoms.

You can find Zoe on social media here

P.S. You might like to take a look at some of her recipes:

These were particularly delicious … coconut energy balls

No Nonsense Nutrition from Julie Clark

Posted on August 2, 2019July 31, 2019 by Sam in Personal branding photography

I was delighted when Julie from Julie Clark Nutrition stepped up to take the opportunity to have a session in front of my lens. I’ve known Julie for a few years now and her husband, Iain, possibly longer (he’s a DJ www.iainbakerweddingdj.co.ukand we met around 10 years ago on a wedding photoshoot). It’s strange where fate takes you sometimes!

Julie has an extremely open approach in telling her journey to this point. She struggled with health issues and sought the help of a nutritionist in her early 20’s. It was a pivotal moment and, as Julie says:

“The advice the Nutritionist gave me was life changing for me, so much so nutrition became my vocation.”

We started in the kitchen, the focal point of their home, and took some headshots of Julie looking relaxed and friendly.

We chatted about the images that Julie felt were missing from her set of “stock” photography and so worked out a plan to fill those gaps. Having an allotment in their back garden and keeping chickens was a great place for us to start.

As you can see from the small hands in the images above, help was on hand from Julie and Iain’s two children who were so excited at being part of the photoshoot. They chatted away, picking fruit, shooing away the hens and then indulged in a health snack of home made raspberry ice lollies.

I was delighted to see that Julie has used this image to illustrate her most recent blog post, Snack Your Kids Happy.

Julie’s site is full of helpful hints and tips and she writes from the heart and draws from her own experiences. One of the images that she wanted to get was of her meditating … we got there in the end but with two children jumping around the garden, it rather put Julie off!

Julie also mentioned that she has never managed to get an image of her and her husband cooking together. So this seemed like the perfect time.

You might like to take a look at her blog post about giving up sugar which you can find here and there’s also a link on that post to a fabulous feedback video from her children. You should watch it!

If you are looking for ways to educate both yourself and your children about healthy alternatives and cooking from scratch, please do pop over to Julie’s website and take a look. There are lots of recipes and despite not being a great cook myself, I really fancy the roasted pepper and tomato soup although if you know me, I’d have to leave out the beans.

If you have a business which is crying out for high quality images to tell your story, please do feel free to get in touch. We can discuss the best way to “fill the gaps” and provide you with a great personalised stock library for use on Instagram, Facebook and your website.

Thanks to Julie and her family for making me feel so very welcome and the loganberries were delicious!

Lorraine from House of Colour … adding the magic touch!

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Sam in Personal branding photography

I first met Lorraine at a networking event and was lucky enough to hear her present about her role at House of Colour. Lorraine was introduced to the concept by a colleague and joined the company just over seven years ago. At her presentation, Lorraine basically started off fully “dressed” and then proceeded to strip back, by taking off jewellery, lipstick, scarf, jacket, belt (although she didn’t take off her make-up) to reveal the difference. It was quite amazing – I’ve always seen Lorraine as very stylish and when she enters a room, she just looks “right”. And I was amazed to see just how much difference the right colour lipstick can make.

So we hatched a plan to strip it right back to basics, so that I could take images that showed the building up of the look. Lorraine wasn’t too happy about being photographed with no make-up on at all … indeed, that morning on the school run, she told me that she hid behind big sunglasses!

But she wanted to “take one for the team” and to really show how the expertise and knowledge of a great stylist can really take you from … well, top left to bottom right!

There are four seasons at House of Colour, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Once your season has been established, you then know your colours and also the colour and style of jewellery that best suits you. You can see the difference in the top right image below of silver and gold jewellery against differing colour swatches.

Walking into Lorraine’s studio, it’s a riot of colour … and her skills will work out just which colour suits you!

I really enjoyed capturing the progression and getting some great images which Lorraine can use in promoting her style sessions. In Lorraine’s words:

“As a consultant I have the opportunity to combine my love of fashion with helping others on their own personal journeys into the world of colour and watch first hand their transformations. I get to see their confidence grow and hear about all the positive changes they have experienced along the way.”

You can find Lorraine here: Lorraine at House of Colour. She covers Rainham (Kent), Sittingbourne, Faversham and local towns.

If you are considering booking a personal branding session and if you haven’t had your “colours done”, I’d highly recommend it. You will feel confident that you look your absolute best and also, by having the wallet with your season colours, shopping will be so much easier and also more cost effective.

Do let me know how you get on!

Website branding for Kerry at For the Love of Live Music

Posted on June 12, 2019June 12, 2019 by Sam in Personal branding photography

I met Kerry through the Kent Wedding Circle which is a fabulous group of people who work together to promote the very best in wedding suppliers. I then met up with her again at the opening of the new Winston Suite at the Dover Marina Hotel where she was performing live for the esteemed guests. Kerry had asked to photograph her in situ for some new images for her website and it was my pleasure to help.

You can find out more about Kerry on her website here. Although she’s petite, her singing certainly packs a punch.

She can create bespoke packages for your event and has great experience working in hotels and on cruise ships. She’s funny and quirky and has a slight Irish lilt to her accent although she actually hails from Leicester.

You might also like to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Personal branding photography for bookkeeper, Kate at Crystal Books Limited

Posted on May 10, 2019May 10, 2019 by Sam in Personal branding photography

I have known Kate for a long time. We used to work in London together and have stayed friends ever since. In fact, one of her sons is my godson so we have a wonderful connection and every good reason to stay in touch.

Kate has recently trained and qualified as a bookkeeper and has launched her business www.crystalbooks.co.uk. She is based in Rayleigh, Essex and is looking to work with local companies who she can meet up with in person and to help them through the often confusing financial maze.

Kate has worked hard on her website but wanted to get some new images so that she can use them on LinkedIn and other social media sites. And I was more than happy to oblige …

This is only a few of the images that we managed to achieve. Despite having to dodge the deluges of rain, we were also able to get outside so that Kate has a good selection of images to use going forward.

If I can help you tell your business story, using excellent quality, professional images, why not get in touch. You could also give me a call and my number is listed on my site.

Good luck in your new business Kate and I look forward to seeing you again in the future xxx

Personal branding photography for Lisa Honiball of Honey Interior Designs

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Sam in Personal branding photography

I have known Lisa for many years now, we met at a networking group and have kept in touch. You can see Lisa’s site here: www.honeyinteriordesign.co.uk. She has an amazing eye, especially with the use of colours, and it has been wonderful to work with her over the years. Slightly fearful of being behind the camera herself, I was delighted that she also asked me to do some headshots and “behind the scene” images for her at her studio in Hythe.

Personal branding photography is about telling the story behind the person. Their inspiration, their ethos, their skill, their creativity. I’m so pleased that Lisa’s website is full of amazing images that we created together. Lisa wrote out a plan, we worked to a schedule and produced some excellent, high quality images that really speak to her future clients.