Meet Lindsey Boluyt, Colorado based destination wedding & portrait photographer who’s been shooting weddings since high school. Now, with over 31k followers on her Instagram, we believe she is truly nailing her personal branding. See for yourself and check out her photography IG (@lindseyboluyt), personal IG (@lindseyannboluyt) and her website here: http://www.lindseyboluytphotog.com/
Whether you’re a photographer or not, Lindsey’s advice applies to all fields and we promise it’s worth a read.
How did you find your colour palette?
Jordan Voth has always been my biggest inspiration since day one. I was always attracted to how he made photos look so timeless & warm. So, I went from there. I knew I wanted my photos to be timeless, I want my clients to be able to look back at their wedding photos in five years.. even 10 years, & still be in love with their photos. & warmth... making things cozy & warm has always been my thing. My home, my style, my photos, etc.
Your photography has a very consistent look and feel. Was there a reason behind your tonal choices?
Consistency has always been key for me. Maybe because I'm the biggest perfectionist in the world, haha. I use one preset on all my photos & tweak it as needed for each scenario & landscape. Throughout the years I've always used the same preset & then added different settings to it year after year.
Tell us a bit about your logo. Has it changed/evolved? Did you create it/have someone else do it? How did you decide on the design?
Oh man, yes it has changed... a lot. My first logo was by a random friend who was trying to get into design work. It was basically all just font work. Now I had a local henna/tattoo artist do some floral work for me. Most of my photos are shot in nature, especially in Colorado. I knew I wanted to incorporate Colorado wild flowers in it. I gave her one inspo photo & she rocked it! Having a logo that represents your brand is very important.
How important is it to have a website nowadays when Instagram seems to be taking over?
It is definitely still important. I do treat my IG as my portfolio & have since day one. I'd say 90% of my clients come from Instagram & the remaining 10% are word of mouth. You can find info about me, my love for photography, how I got started, testimonials, & past clients talking about what it was like to work with me on my website. And then my starting prices on contact forms for them to get in touch with me! This process has worked really well for me. IG is also an amazing platform to share a little bit about your life, so potential clients feel more connected to you & relate to you more.
Check out Lindsey's website here: http://www.lindseyboluytphotog.com/
Is it worth having your own domain?
100%. For me, when someone reaches out on IG to book me I redirect them to my website/contact form. It keeps me more organized to have everything in one spot. So then I can refer to emails & not have to dig through DM's.
Do you find you get more leads from website or Instagram nowadays?
Instagram!
Your wording on your website is super conversational. Sometimes creatives like to have content written about them in third person - what made you take the colloquial approach?
It's just who I am! I want to be 100% me from start to finish. Being a wedding photographer, we are there for someones most important day of their life. I think there are certain areas to be professional in & certain areas to be yourself in. I want my clients to connect with me on a personal level & not feel like this is some type of business deal, like every other vendor in the industry. & that’s why it leads me to being lifelong friends with most of my clients.
What are your thoughts on the importance of social media as a personal brand? Should your personal account (if separate to business) be on private?
Ok... I have a lot to say about this but I will keep it short. I was always so so so against having a personal page. I wanted my clients to see my life & my work life all at once. Again, so they could connect with me on a personal level. But as soon as iPhones started having amazing cameras & I started traveling more for personal trips, I got to a point where I wanted to be able to throw something on the gram & not have to worry about it fitting my feed & being a super nice photo. I also started working with a lot of clothing brands that'd give me free clothes in exchange for posting about it. In a dream world, i'd love for my personal page to take off & make money off of it. Best of both worlds right?! I'm still very attentive to both accounts with sharing my day to day life. & after some recent life mishaps.. I started posting more heartfelt posts on my stories (quotes, what’s going on in my heart, my healing process, etc) & it's given me a chance to connect with people all around the world who have gone through the same thing or who are going through the same thing. Now that’s a pretty cool feeling knowing you're not alone & can connect with people all over... shed some light on their situations & be that positive voice that SOMEONE needs to hear that day.
How conscious are your wardrobe decisions when meeting with a client? How do you reflect your brand through your style?
Again, being myself is number one. Obviously wouldn't wear something I'd wear to a festival or night out with my girls, but I like to stick true to my brand in every aspect of my life. Chances are yes, I am going to wear a pair of Red Wing boots to your wedding. Especially if it's in the mountains. Comfy & cute is my thang!
How important is networking to growing your online presence?
Very! I think now that i'm at a steady spot with my business & online presence I've backed down a little from letting my life revolve around a silly app. But I still like to keep up with sharing my day to day, travels, style, etc with my followers! It, selfishly, makes me feel good that people want to know what I'm up to & want to know about my travels. & I am more than happy to share with everyone!
If you could go back to when you first started your personal business, what advice would you give yourself?
DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO EVERY SINGLE PHOTOGRAPHER! It's hard not to get on Instagram & scroll through your feed & compare yourself to every single photographer. Because I promise you those people you're comparing yourself to, are doing it as well! Be yourself, be unique, be authentic. That'll shine through more than anything.
What would your top 5 tips to anyone either starting out or reviewing their personal branding be?
- Be yourself!
- Share your personal life, people love it.
- Be professional where you need to be
- Make it apart of your everyday life
- Don't compare yourself to everyone else on IG
That's all from Lindsey! Who else is feeling inspired?
Learn how to ace your own Personal Branding by joining us at our upcoming workshop. Find out more below:
Melbourne: Personal Branding Workshop
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