The last time we wrote about Hillary Maybery, we’d designed her a new Wordmark and some killer business cards. Hillary had decided to make the jump from wedding to commercial photography, so now that we had her logo sorted out, it was time to get her commercial portfolio up and running on a new site. Hillary signed on with us for a Web Template Customization and for a Web Edit with Sean Stone.
We decided that PhotoFolio’s Design X template would be a nice choice for Hillary’s new site, and while we waited on the edit from Sean, we got to work bringing her brand to life. We implemented her secondary “hi” mark as the splash page intro and the favicon since it works as the perfect greeting and sets the tone for her whole site.
Meanwhile, Sean worked his magic with Hillary’s images. Here is some insight from him about our history with Hillary and his approach to her Web Edit:
We first began working with Hillary more than a year ago. She approached our photo editors about revamping her brand to move away from weddings and family portraits. We encouraged her to begin doing test shoots, bringing her skills honed from years of retail work to bear on lifestyle, fashion and kids. Hillary blew us away with the volume of quality work that she created on her own in the next year. She came back to me with hundreds of great pictures, which I shaped into her new edit. I emphasized those three areas: lifestyle, fashion and kids, which speak to both her strengths as a photographer, as well as her marketing goals.
Once we had Hillary’s final edit from Sean (who did a phenomenal job by the way), we made sure the images could be as large and impactful as possible while still allowing for some breathing room around the edges. It’s a tricky balance, but not having enough space between your images, navigation elements, and the edges of the browser can really put a damper on the mood of your site, so it’s definitely one of those details that deserves attention.
From the active and hover colors in Hillary’s navigation and scrollbar to the spacing and mosaic tiling of her thumbnails, every detail counts.
The intricacies and tone of Sean’s edit, Hillary’s images, and her branding all work together for a warm, inviting, and cohesive web experience. Not to mention, we just love this first image from Hillary’s kids gallery:
Rounding out Hillary’s site is her simple but sleek About and Contact pages. They’re nothing fancy, but little things like the color of her links and her personal sign-off on the About page make this site feel personal and tailored.
Hillary also has a really interesting career history and decided to work with our senior publicist, Liz Ream, to come up with a Photographer Bio that really did her justice. Here’s a bit from Liz about creating a unique write-up for Hillary:
Working with Hillary was a breeze, mainly because she’s so positive and interesting. She was not only one of the first women professional snowboarders, she’s also an equestrian rider, mother, avid traveler and free spirit. She came to me with a rough bio, which she needed help refining to make her commercial site as strong as possible. After she answered a short questionnaire I worked something up and she was extremely happy with the first draft. We made a few minor corrections and then got it up on her site. Dream client, to say the least!
Hillary’s site and brand have been especially fun to work on because both she and her images have so much personality. She also put a lot of trust and confidence in our team here at WM, and we truly think it paid off. Hillary was very pleased with our efforts and had this to say about our work together:
I have been a successful wedding photographer for 10 years and now I’m ready to move into the world of commercial photography. My new site and the images are mostly test shoots to build my website portfolio here in Sun Valley, ID. Working with Sean, Melissa and Liz was an easy and FUN process. They’re no bullshit, with honest feedback, quick turnaround and want you to succeed! Honestly, this is scary and a huge investment to change my image and brand, give up some control and trust letting the experts at WM do their thing…. THEY ARE THE BEST! I am 100% confident in my future with my photography and working with new clients. I LOVE my website. It’s so me!
Since we launched Hillary’s new site, she has joined Wonderful Machine as a member photographer and we couldn’t be happier to have her!
See Hillary’s new commercial website for yourselves right here.
Need help revamping a web template customization, web edit, and photographer bio? Reach out!