I’ve fielded a fair number of “why are you changing the name?” questions over the last week, so it felt wise to address it here on the blog. Plus, I have every intention of trying to blog more often again, and this seems like a good way to kick things off!
Back in 2011 when I was dreaming up this business, I absolutely, positively did not want to just be “Helen Ransom Photography”. I wanted to be unique. I wanted to stand out in the sea of Your Name Photography businesses. I wanted to set a neutral foundation so that should this little Kansas City photography business grow and grow, I would have the option to easily sell it when I decided it was time to retire.
When I announced the Faces You Love Photography name back in June of 2011, people LOVED it, and I don’t think they were just saying that to build me up. Over the years I’ve heard so many positive comments and compliments regarding my business name! “Oh, I love your name so much!” or “What a great name for a photographer!”
Know what else I’ve heard?
I’ve heard it called “Faces of Love”. And “Faces I Love”. And “Faces to Love”.
So even though I tried to make it easy, it clearly could still be messed up!
For the last several years I have been working on “networking” more. I needed to meet people in various stages of life, and had a deep desire to connect with more women in business especially (surround yourself with people you want to be like, and all that!). The more folks I met, the weirder I realized I felt introducing myself AND saying my business name. I realized this past summer that nearly every person I met through networking events just knew me by my real name, not my business name. Shouldn’t I make it easy for them to refer me to others? (Obviously the correct answer here is “yes!”.)
One other thought that came into play for me… Over the last 6 years, I’ve had headshots and branding sessions become a larger percentage of my work. Last year, headshot sessions and branding sessions made up 20% of my work, and some years it makes up close to 35% of my work. I’ve always felt the Faces You Love name (and the lamb in my logo) was a little cutesy for the professional headshots line of my work. Awesome for babies and families, but a little bit of a mismatch for the other side of my business!
So there you have it… I’m excited to see how this re-brand goes for me, and hope this will make it easier for you to recommend me to others who would need and love my photography services! All of my social media handles have been changed to reflect the new Helen Ransom Photography name, and I’m ready to wow you, whether you are looking for photos in Kansas City or anywhere else around the country you want me to travel to!
Final note? My new logo was made by one of my boys, Tyler! He’s been taking graphic design classes in high school these last two years and plans to study that in college next year (the where is still TBD, because he’s also trying to find his baseball fit). I was thrilled when he said “yes” to creating a new logo for me, and he also was nice enough to weigh in on my website design as I was working on it!
