Ever felt like your online presence just doesn’t reflect your elevated brand anymore? You’re not alone. Many business owners find themselves in the same boat. Often, your brand evolves faster than your website can keep up!
Today, I’m sharing a case study that highlights how luxury wedding photographer Vanessa Joy transformed her outdated website. We turned it into an elevated brand that perfectly mirrors her unique blend of sophistication, authority, and down-to-earth charm…with only one hour of her time!
Ready to see what a strategic copy overhaul can do without needing a rebrand? This case study demonstrates how a luxury wedding photographer transformed her online presence to combine 3 different elements. One, to reflect the elegance and sophistication her luxury clients desire. Two, while demonstrating her authority and expertise in the industry. Three, incorporating her down-to-earth and fun personality along with it.
Seem like an impossible task? Let me show you how we did it.
What Does An Elevated Brand Mean?
An elevated brand means presenting a refined, polished, and cohesive identity that exudes sophistication, quality, and authority. It’s about creating a strong and consistent visual and verbal presence. An online presence that not only reflects the brand’s core values but also resonates deeply with its target audience.
An elevated brand often emphasizes attention to detail, exceptional client experiences, and a sense of exclusivity or luxury. It sets itself apart in the market by embodying a higher standard of excellence in every interaction and touchpoint.
Background On Our Client, Vanessa Joy Photography
That is exactly the experience that Vanessa Joy offers with her photography. She is renowned for her vast photography expertise, personalized client experiences, and fast turnaround times without compromising quality. Vanessa Joy is a master of her craft with over 20 years of award-winning experience in wedding photography.
She is also a mentor and educator in the wedding photography community. Through her books, workshops, courses, and speaking engagements, she shares her wealth of knowledge and experience internationally. She’s been commissioned by Fortune 500 companies like Hilton and esteemed photography brands like Profoto. Vanessa is also named one of the top 5 wedding photographers in the country by Canon USA, and given the highly esteemed title Explorer of Light.
Now, it was time for her website to reflect that. Her goal was to showcase her elevated brand presence and set a standard of excellence in luxury wedding photography.
This Photographer’s Instagram is Full of Fun, But Her Luxury Website Didn’t Reflect It—Here’s How We Fixed That.
Look at Vanessa Joy’s Instagram and YouTube and you’ll see over 100,000 subscribers on each platform experience her as fun, engaging, humorous, and full of personality. But her website? It didn’t quite hit the same notes. Despite her luxury brand’s focus on elegance and sophistication, her outdated website wasn’t capturing the vibrant energy or the high-end experience she offers her clients.
Her website was not on par with other luxury wedding photographers that charge in her price range. It was time for her online presence to reflect the quality of care and service that she offers.
We set out to create an elevated brand presence that would not only reflect Vanessa’s expertise and authority as a top-tier photographer but also seamlessly integrate her warm, approachable personality. We knew that the key to aligning her brand was in the messaging—starting with a full overhaul of her website copy.
How We Elevated Brand Messaging From Outdated to Outstanding
Vanessa’s vision was clear: she wanted a sophisticated, luxury feel that was classic and elegant, but not overly traditional. Her goal was to highlight her vast expertise without appearing “old.” She also wanted to establish her authority as a leader in photography, lighting, and business education. And let’s not forget, she wanted her client experience to shine through with custom everything, thoughtful gifting, and quick turnaround times that never compromised on quality.
With that in mind, we got to work, transforming her website copy to not only showcase her skills and services but also to create a deeper emotional connection with her audience. By blending her fun, down-to-earth voice with the luxury aesthetic she desired, we helped Vanessa bridge the gap between professionalism and heartfelt storytelling—ultimately aligning her online presence with her elevated brand and attracting the high-end clients she was meant to serve.
The result? A website that demonstrates her expertise as a photographer, authority in the industry, and aligns with the price point she charges.
How We Matched Her Authentic Voice with an Elevated Brand Presence
Offering luxury isn’t enough. Your brand needs personality to stand out. A strong brand identity doesn’t need to be loud or flashy—it needs to reflect YOU.
One of the challenges we encountered was that over 120k followers on Instagram and 120k subscribers on YouTube know Vanessa’s friendly tone and fun personality (while still being professional and authoritative). Her authentic voice stood in sharp contrast to the understated elegance she envisioned for her luxury website. It also differed from the “serious and moody” high-end websites she shared as examples.
How We Elevated Brand Messaging
We understood that to truly elevate Vanessa’s brand, we needed to marry her authentic voice with the sophisticated, luxurious feel she desired. We took inspiration from other prominent photographers whose websites she admired, and then we crafted a unique solution. We seamlessly blended the luxurious website aesthetic with elements that highlighted Vanessa’s playful and approachable personality.
By integrating subtle yet impactful touches—like carefully selected pull-out quotes that reflected her fun side—into the luxury framework, we created a cohesive and elevated brand presence. This approach ensured that her website wasn’t just a reflection of high-end elegance. Her website also became a true representation of her personal brand.
The result? An online presence that not only exudes sophistication but also feels genuine and uniquely Vanessa.
The Key To An Elevated Brand Is A Matter Of Perspective
When crafting an elevated brand, it’s crucial to step into the shoes of your ideal client. My client was seeing things as the photographer that she is. We were able to provide the perspective of her ideal client: a bride.
For example, Vanessa initially considered categorizing her portfolio with creative labels like “bright and whimsical” or “dark and romantic.” She saw these categories as showcasing her versatility as a photographer. However, they might have added complexity for visitors who weren’t as familiar with photography jargon.
How We Elevated Brand Messaging
We shifted the perspective to that of a bride. She might not know exactly what style she’s looking for or might feel overwhelmed by too many choices. By keeping traditional categories like “weddings” and “engagements,” and then highlighting her diverse styles within these sections, that would reduce the amount of clicking and decision-making so that it’s more user friendly.
This approach not only showcased Vanessa’s versatility but also made it easier for potential clients to navigate her portfolio and connect with her elevated brand.
In essence, aligning the website with the bride’s perspective helped bridge the gap between Vanessa’s professional expertise and the client’s journey, making her brand both sophisticated and approachable.
Behind the Scenes: How To Work With A Copywriter To Create An Elevated Brand
Working with a copywriter can be a smooth, streamlined process if approached the right way. For Vanessa’s project, we embraced asynchronous communication using tools like Google Docs and Loom video so that this project could be taken care of while she was traveling to photograph for Hilton and speak at photography conferences throughout the USA.
They also allowed for continuous feedback loops to ensure every aspect of the brand copywriting transformation aligned with Vanessa’s vision of an elevated brand presence. We worked in a way that allowed her to work in the margins of her full days of photoshoots and speaking at conferences and between travels for it all.
As the copywriter, I had as much as possible prepared in advance so that none of her time was wasted. The whole project required about one hour of input total from her (from initial vision, to content questions, to revisions).
We executed the project by:
- Researching her voice through diving into her social media, watching her IG stories, and YouTube videos.
- Scouring other luxury wedding photographer websites at her price point to capture the sophisticated luxury feel she desired.
- Asking strategic questions to get the content and clarifications needed to write the website copy.
- Writing the copy on a Google Doc wire frame—and included some notes for design.
- Revisions were completed and the copy was handed off to the designer! I remained available for any questions or clarifications from the designer.
This is a similar process to how Micala Quinn outsources her copywriting (and, as a result, tripled her teaching income as a work-from-home mom of 4 littles!). This process works because 1) it gets results and 2) you can retain a copywriter for years instead of having to hire and re-train someone to learn your voice. Growing together is so much easier. Micala has now been with her copywriter for over 6 years, and I’ve been doing projects with Vanessa for about 2 years now.
If you are wondering if it’s the right time to hire a pro copywriter, this blog can help you determine when it makes sense to outsource and when doing it yourself could be a better option.
Results Achieved
Vanessa’s revamped website and social media profiles successfully captured the essence of her elevated brand presence.
In her own words:
“Seriously love what you’ve done. I feel like you’ve pulled the words out of my head that I’ve always wanted to say but never knew how.”
The elevated copywriting, sophisticated imagery, and cohesive design resonated with her target audience. That is attracting high-end clients seeking a luxury wedding photography experience.
To conclude, Vanessa Joy’s journey to an elevated brand presence serves as a testament to the power of strategic copywriting. This website copy overhaul aligned her online presence by positioning herself as the leader in the luxury wedding photography that she is.
For those seeking an elevated brand presence, check out my services guide for more information.
