Case Study - Little Birdy Photography
“From the first conversation, the team at GippsTech made the process easy for me and understood that my page needed to reflect my style and personality, so that I could attract the right clients for my business. They saw me and my business as unique, and were committed to building a site for me that was authentic, different, and spoke from the heart.”
- Sharon Slocum, founder of Little Birdy Photography
The Project
Sharon Slocum is an incredibly talented photographer, who has built a thriving practice across Gippsland as Little Birdy Photography, largely thanks to word-of-mouth and her engaging social media presence. She needed a website to tie it all together, and create a comprehensive touchpoint for her clients. It needed to be a permanent showcase for her work, beyond the often fleeting world of social media, and it needed to outline her services and provide a singular point of potential client contact.
The Challenge
Sharon’s work is incredibly personal and unique for the region. She needed a website that spoke to the artistic quality of her work, but was also appropriate for her core audiences. Newborn and Family photography make up the majority of Sharon’s commercial work, so the site needed to showcase her warmth and the accessibility of her services. We were also tasked with expanding the visual language of her existing brand identity.
The Solution
We realised early on in the process that Little Birdy needed a custom design. Photography websites can quickly start to blend in to one another. There wasn’t really a blueprint for what we were trying to achieve -- a site that showcased Sharon’s images and her personality in a way that felt premium, but also approachable. So we designed and developed a user experience that played with themes around memory, temporality, impression and perception, to create an overall effect where visitors to the site weren’t just looking at Sharon’s photos, but seeing the world through her eyes.
Disciplines
Digital Strategy, User Experience Design, Content Development, Web Development, WordPress Development
“I reached out to Rob [Ruminski, GippsTech’s Head of Digital Strategy and Engagement] when I was at my wits end wondering how to create my webpage. After the initial conversation, he had me sold. ‘You’ve got a real chance here to portray yourself as being connected to your work and your subjects in a way that’s more profound than the competition’, he said. Rob immediately understood my business, my brand, and the level of emotion I bring to my work, and this is what would be showcased through my new website”, said Sharon.
Sharon’s website needed to be warm, approachable, and create an immediate connection with the user. It wasn’t just about the glitz and glamour of a wedding, or a cute baby in a little outfit. It was about capturing the feelings that are present in that very moment, and giving viewers a chance to see the world through Sharon’s lens. We didn’t want to create a website with long walls of text. The images were at the forefront of the site, and the text provided an opportunity to engage with potential clients, while complimenting the work. We also wanted to make client testimonials central to the experience, because people have a lot of amazing things to say about working with Sharon.
“The key outcome of the project was to provide enough information that would be useful to website visitors, while showcasing the amazing and stunning photographs which are works of art in their own right”, said Cindy Siew, GippsTech’s Project Manager. “In this instance, the photographs and images were the core of the website and we wanted to ensure we did them justice.”
This website was about capturing the feelings that are present in that very moment, and giving viewers a chance to see the world through Sharon’s lens
Because the design element of the site was so important, we needed a platform which would allow us to have full control over the styling and key elements of the site, beyond the capabilities of a traditional drag and drop website platform. This is why we chose to build the website on WordPress. “The website design was chosen to reflect the rolling hills of Gippsland, the home of Little Birdy Photography. We chose the colour scheme based on the existing logo to expand on the current identity of the brand, and thought the overall design was a nice sentiment to a little bird flying above the hills”, said Cindy. “The website was also optimised for mobile and tablet, to ensure a positive viewing experience for all users and visitors of the site.”
Sharon’s work captures so much emotion and humanity, so we needed to find ways to let that shine through, and guide us. “We spent a lot of time with Sharon to really capture the essence of Little Birdy Photography and how it feels as a client to work with her”, said Zoe Hyde, GippsTech’s Copywriter. “It was important to avoid any cliche’ language which is traditionally found on photography websites, and instead created copy which spoke to the audience, the entire experience, and the beautiful works of art created as a result. Given that the imagery was the highlight of the website, we didn’t want to crowd the pages with too much wording, so we had to ensure we captured what mattered, in as few words as possible. We then encouraged viewers to contact Sharon via the contact buttons, strategically placed throughout the website, to find out more.”
Given that the imagery was the highlight of the website, we didn’t want to crowd the pages with too much wording, so we had to ensure we captured what mattered
Since launching her new website, Sharon has received numerous enquiries from potential clients and wonderful feedback from her loyal followers and friends. “Your work speaks for itself, and your website showcases your portfolio beautifully”, said one client. “Congratulations Sharon and GippsTech on a great website. Fine Gippsland talent on display once again”, said another.
