A long time coming!

Well, hello everyone! Long time, no speak and I feel super weird typing this as it's bringing me back to my old days as a blogger. Not a career move I talk about a lot but it is the reason why I am here launching a WEBSITE! It's crazy! I've had 'build a website' written in my to do list for a good 9 months and I am finally letting the world see it today and I'm so excited.

I guess I procrastinated for a long time to avoid doing a website. I'm not too sure why but I guess it's a serious move, sharing your business to the wider world and actually taking a few steps in the 'serious' direction. It's still hard for me some days to believe that this is my job and after quite a few months (more like 2022 thus far) of suffering from major creative burnout and losing myself in the process, I finally feel (somewhat) back to my old self - someone who just wants to create and be creative... hence me finally launching this website.

Creating this website definitely was a slight whirlwind and a bigger struggle than I'd like to admit. For a start, I wouldn't say that I particularly have a way with words. Sounding 'sales-y' just isn't really something I'm super comfortable with as well as trying to sell myself and who I am just isn't something I've ever really done before. I've also done this entire website on my own. Yes it was by choice because I love a good challenge, but building a website isn't anywhere as easy as it sounds. Learning (some) code, deciding layouts, fonts, making everything fit and look pretty, as well as being easy to use and coordinate really was a struggle. And little, indecisive, old me sat here for a few days contemplating the shape and colours of the buttons I'd like, whether I wanted them all the same and whether I should capitalise the text in the buttons (sounds fun I know). But I guess that was more of a personal battle, and yes, I will most likely change a lot of this website and wording with time, and it won't be the most professional thing you've ever seen, and it might have elements of it that don't work properly, but at least you can all know that every piece of this website was decided, written and pieced together by me. So although the website took a lot longer than expected, what this whole piecing together process has taught me is just how lucky I am. Going through images to select for my portfolio page, and reading all of the client reactions and testimonials - it all brought me to near tears (and I'm not a crier!). Looking back at how far I've come and all the amazing brands I've been lucky enough to work with just made me realise how lucky I am to call this my job and to love what I do every single day. Yes, I've had some rocky months and haven't been on my top form (we're still getting there today), but this website and the build up to today has given me a new lease of life when it comes to SalisStudio and I'm so ready for this next stage.

So that's my little ramble over, so now onto the more informative elements of chatting about my website...

What's changed?

Nothing in the grand scheme of things has changed. It's still me (Grace) running everything in this business but I guess this website is a place where you can find everything about SalisStudio all in one place.

It also establishes a bigger platform for us online (scary), but this blog is one of the things I'm most excited for. Back in 2013, I was a little (and very young) beauty blogger who just enjoyed talking to herself and reviewing make up, the photos were all taken by me too which is why I link it so close to my product photography business now. Although I stopped beauty blogging back in 2020, writing and just having a bit of a ramble is something I've missed and craved so much. I now finally feel like I have my little safe space back for me to talk about all things SalisStudio and what I'm up to. I can't wait! So although I have no set schedule and crazy plans with this blog, I guess on this page, you will just find me writing about anything from my latest prop haul, to recent client love, to some lessons I've learnt a long the way.

Secondly, you will notice that we are now moving to a service which is completely customisable. This means that rather than packages for your product photos, you will now be custom quoted based off of exactly what you need and when you need it. I've been meaning to make this move for a long time and I finally feel like I have both the knowledge and confidence to make this step. I not only want to ensure you get the quote and price for your own project and your own needs, but I always hope to educate you, as a potential client, with what goes into a shoot. So with this custom quote, you will receive more of an insight into how I work, the time a shoot takes, and everything that comes with what I deliver to you as a photographer.

You will also notice that our contact page is a little more professional and much easier for you to use as a potential client. Now you will have three ways of enquiring with us - emailing me directly, booking in a call or completing an enquiry form straight away to receive a custom quote for your project. This way, you can choose which way works best for you and I can get to know you in the best and most informative way. I'm really excited for this part and I can't wait to start receiving you're enquiries.

Finally, I guess the last major addition that comes with this website is a new service. With every shoot we do now, we will now be offering you the chance to purchase some additional behind the scenes content of your shoot. I personally love a good BTS and I know you all do to, so launching this service was an easy decision to make when I started making this website. So whether you want the content to share on your Insta, Tiktok, or you just want to keep it for the memories, I think you are all going to really love this service for your next shoot.

I think I have been typing this a little too long now so I am going to leave it there, but hopefully this post (the first of many) is going to help give you a little insight into what I've been up to lately and what we can now look forward to together. So thank you if you did get to the end of this post, I'm very grateful that you're here and I will hopefully hear from some of you soon.

Grace xx