On a beautiful Saturday in January, Christine Martin threw a brunch party to celebrate the launch of her blog Amidst the Chaos, and let me say that Christine and her husband throw a mean party; from the amazing Eggs Benedict breakfast down to the very details that adorn the table.

This was one of my first projects in 2015. A labour of love, Christine talked about how she wanted to have a platform to share her home decorating ideas, recipes for a happy and healthy family, but right alongside those topics, she wanted to share her challenges as she moved into her role as a stay-at-home mom with three kids under four years old after being in the workforce for over 10 years. I helped her with looking for a beautiful WordPress template, installed plugins for social sharing, designed her logo and got her on her way. We planned her blog launch by creating a countdown on the splash page, and revealing only on her launch date. The result was over 500 visitors on the first day!

The launch party was a celebration of so many things, and it is so meaningful to have it captured. Now, Christine can take advantage of these images to show her audience a real example of what she is capable of. She was giving them a glimpse into a moment of her life, with which people were able to connect, and generated a healthy amount of discussion!

I encourage my clients to make sure they have great images to share on their websites and print projects. Choosing great stock images is one option, but there is nothing like your very own images. Your audience knows when it’s an overly polished stock image because it feels generic. But when it’s your very own image, people are able to engage with it and are able to actually connect with your message that much better. So, when possible, plan for your own photography. Keep this in mind for your next project and give your graphic designer something great to work with!

Photography by Kathy Jimenez