Creative Coaching: Trace Thomas

Late last spring I began Creative Coaching with Oklahoma City-based photographer Trace Thomas . Trace had initially applied for membership with Wonderful Machine and received the feedback that although he had some strong portrait work on his website he wasn’t quite ready yet for membership. The membership team recommended Creative Coaching as a way to develop his portfolio and put the two of us in touch.

Every Creative Coaching experience is a little different. So much of the process is driven by the personality of each photographer and what motivates him to work on. It was clear from the start that Trace, although deceptively laid-back and casual in conversation, was going to be diligent and hard-charging about the process. We agreed to start with a general assessment of his website design, navigation, and branding before moving onto the editing and organization of his images.

Trace’s site was clean and direct but did not have a strong visual impact. We discussed ways that he could rework his assets to create more branded and immersive experience for visitors to his site. He had a great logo, but it needed to be enlarged and utilized more effectively in the navigation of the site. We also talked about the ways in which font choices can reinforce branding and further enhance the aesthetics of the site. Quite impressively, Trace was always quick to absorb feedback and routinely make adjustments to his site. From there, it was on to the image edit and presentation of Trace’s portfolio.

One of the most important things that we tackled together was the introduction of a project section of the site. Trace had a nice selection of portraits on his site but needed to demonstrate his breadth of talents. After reviewing some additional work that Trace shared with me, including some brand narrative work for a local designer William & Lauren and a few other projects, it was clear to me that Trace was capable of doing a lot more than just portraiture. His current portfolio did not express his capabilities as a photographer or the full range of what he can do for clients.

Although portraiture was at the center of things, Trace needed to show his ability to tell stories and capture experiences. Showcasing individual projects is a great way to communicate this. Specialty galleries can often feel limiting and don’t offer as many opportunities to blend diverse imagery together. By adding a project section to Trace’s site we were able to create a more sophisticated presentation of his work, and to flesh out his portfolio to show more than just portraiture.

With Trace’s focused attention on reworking both the site design and portfolio with me, he very quickly developed a new site that had a stronger visual impact, clean design, and a portfolio with more depth. It was clear that his hard work had paid off and his presentation had evolved significantly.

Over the last year I spoke with a marketer, a high end photographer, and an editor who all said I need to work on my web presentation. I had already taken some of what they advised and applied it to my portfolio, but I was still having a difficult time showing off all my skill sets. Working with Honore is what really helped me put it all together. My site was alright, but she was able to help me curate some of my images into a project section to show off my branding work. She also helped me remove some images from my portfolio that weren’t as strong.

Looking for Creative Coaching or photo editing help? Feel free to reach out!