Caterpillar Cross Stitch – Personal Branding session

I recently had an enjoyable Personal Branding photo session with Sally Wilson, the founder of CaterpillarCrossStitch.com and LoveItStitchIt.com.  She designs and manufactures modern cross stitch kits sold online and in person at events.

I'd actually met Sally a few months after having my little boy at a postnatal buggy fit group in Warwick and have had the pleasure of photographing her family many times,  including a maternity and newborn shoot when her youngest child was born.

Sally is super talented and is one of those people that manages to cram so much into her day that you wonder if she has the ability to stop time!  She is naturally creative - her birthday cake designs are incredible - but also has a wonderful business mind so when she set up Caterpillar Cross Stitch I knew it would be nothing more than a success.

Now, four years on she has created an online community of over 12,000 Instagram followers and 5,300 followers in her Stitch-Along-Group on Facebook.  She engages the creative community around the world with her design Stitch Alongs (SALS) when hundreds of stitchers join in stitching the same pattern simultaneously and the full design is revealed in stages over 12 months.  All her hard work saw her recognised at the British Craft Awards 2019 winning Stitch Designer of the Year.

When Sally asked me to help her with some personal brand photography I was thrilled.  Each business is unique so I offer free consultations to all business owners to help map out a bespoke plan for their images.

I love the bright brand colours of Caterpillar Cross Stitch (because they are similar to Offspring!) and knew that it would be great to capture some behind the scenes photos of her in action.  Her home studio is in a lovely bright room with a huge window so we had lots of natural light.  Sally had a couple of outfit changes which was great to add some diversity through her gallery which means that she now has a library of images that can be used periodically in her social media and website and her offline marketing activities.

After our session, I asked Sally to answer a few questions about her experience of our headshot and personal branding photo shoot.

How valuable is having good photography to your business?

Invaluable! Most of my traffic comes from Facebook and Instagram so imagery is incredibly important. Once a visitor arrives on my website, I need to communicate our products, USP and culture quickly and effectively through the use of copy but most importantly, the photography used.

Why did you feel you needed to invest in photos of yourself for your business?

I wanted to invest in these photos to give me a wide range of shots for social media over the coming year, to update the website and give it a fresh new look and to help reach a wider audience by showing them some behind the scenes shots!

What, if any, reservations did you have before your session?

What I looked like, lighting, what I should wear, what was in the background - all of these issues were quickly dealt with by Bailey!

What did you think of your session? How painful was it?

Not painful at all! We had the radio on, it was very relaxed and enjoyable.

How are you using the photos from your Offspring session?

All social media platforms, in email marketing, on the website and in blogs. I am also sending out headshots when my work is featured in magazines.

What would you say to other business considering headshot or personal branding photography with Offspring?

I can absolutely recommend Bailey and her work. She's friendly, calming and professional. Her work is outstanding and would be a wonderful asset to any business or brand.