If you are not familiar, Lucky Little Learners is a curriculum designing company for elementary school teachers. Their goal is to empower teachers with quality curriculum so they can free up their nights and weekends to rest, recharge and spend time with family and friends. Angie’s curriculum designer brand photography session took place at the Amber Langerud Photography studio. We used a mixture of studio props (such as the desk and other furniture) alongside tons of bright and colorful elements Angie brought along.
My Homework – Learning What a Curriculum Designer Even Does
When Angie first reached out to me I was excited to learn such a business existed in our little town of Detroit Lakes, MN. It was cool to see a local company making such a huge impact on teachers across the country. Having never worked with a curriculum designer on a brand photography session prior to meeting Angie, I had a considerable amount of homework to do. Learning things like what it even is a curriculum designer sells and what visual elements are relatable and attractive to elementary teachers.
While I still cannot recite the rainbow order of colors, I have learned a lot. This was my second session with Angie. For this round, we focused on creating bright, inviting images with lots of space for her to overlay text and product images.
To help make sure the images for Lucky Little Learners are usable year-round, we photographed a lot of blank surfaces. This allows Angie’s graphic designer to photoshop different curricula onto the various surfaces, rather than being stuck with a specific product.
Creating Relatable Images for Teachers
A big factor in ‘brand photography that sells’ is creating images that feel relatable and attractive to your ideal client. It was important for Angie to wear outfits that her teacher clients can see themselves wearing. (Learn more about planning outfits on my what to wear blog post). We also focused on props they either love and use or dream of adding to their classroom someday.
I joked about rainbow order a couple of paragraphs up, but I learned bright colors are prolific in classrooms. The rainbow order is appealing to the eye. Therefore, it was important for me to pay attention to how the colors are presented and ordered.
Planning the Brand Photos for Final Photo Usage
The image above probably looks a little silly by itself, but that is ok. We talk quite a bit about image usage on our discovery calls. On Angie’s call, I learned they use ‘pointing’ images often to bring emphasis to a product or promotion. Simple images like this make it easy for a graphic designer to add text. Angie can also be removed from the background and added to a separate graphic.
Images like this, with the sticky note, are also useful. Angie’s graphic designer can superimpose text on top and customize the image for their specific needs at the time.
Now that we have a little intro into Lucky Little Learners and some of the behind-the-scenes planning, let’s hear from Angie on what she thought of the session and how it impacted her business.
What was your favorite part about planning the branding session?
My favorite part about planning the branding session was the phone call with Amber along with the office visit. The questions she had for me brought a lot of clarity in how we could best showcase my brand through her photos. I love that Amber took the time to understand my company, what we sold, who we serve, etc. Putting the Pinterest board together was also helpful.
Amber here, adding some comments from the great beyond. This is what makes a branding session extra special and separates it from headshots. It is all about planning and digging into not only the industry but also your specific company and what makes what you do different. Once we have this information we are able to create truly remarkable images that feel right at home with your brand.
What is your favorite part of your new brand photos?
I absolutely love how my brand photos turned out. Amber did a nice job showcasing the look and feel of what our customers would connect with when they saw our photos. I’m not very comfortable having my photos taken but she has a special way of making me feel comfortable and I feel like that showed through the final product of the photos.
How have these brand photos impacted your business?
We have been able to use these brand photos for sale images and other promotional content that we share on Instagram and Facebook. We’ve also used these photos on landing pages and our online storefront. I feel they positively impact our business because they look professional and cohesive.
Did we successfully accomplish your brand photography visual/photo goals? What was your favorite part about working together?
I definitely think we accomplished my photo goals with our brand photoshoot. Usually, when I have my photo taken, I don’t love what they look like but this session was an exception. I love all the photos I got back from her!
Overall what do you have to say about the branding photography experience?
I highly recommend Amber to any business owner who needs quality brand photos for their company. She does a great job from beginning to end. It started with an extensive planning conversation and ended with beautiful photos that we could use everywhere. If you are apprehensive to have your photo taken, don’t be! Amber will do a great job of making you feel comfortable and she knows how to position you so that the end product is flattering.
Angie is truly one of the kindest people I have met. I have loved getting to know her and her business over the last couple of years. Creating these long-term relationships with fellow business owners is one of my favorite elements of Brand Photography. If you are reading this and happen to be an elementary school teacher or would love to see some more of Angie’s work with Lucky Little Learners, be sure to check them out at the links below.
Website: luckylittlelearners.com
Instagram: @luckylittlelearners
Facebook: facebook.com/mrsolsonluckylittlelearners
Here are a few more of my favorites from our time together at Angie’s curriculum designer brand photography session:
