April 1st began a series that will allow me to be transparent about the people that have influenced my personal and professional growth.  When I look at where I have achieved success, I can honestly say that I never did it alone.  There was always someone there that believed in me, motivated me, encouraged me, or pushed me to continue.  This series is dedicated to those people!

“If you admire somebody, you should go ahead and tell them. People never get the flowers while they can still smell them.” ― Kanye West

DAY 7: LEROY WALKER JR. (WALKER PHOTOGRAPHY) 

Photo Credit: Tory Bass from Artistic Works Photography

Day 7 is dedicated to my buddy Leroy Walker, Jr. of Walker Photography.  I met Leroy early on in this journey and he has always given me honest feedback about my work and my progress.  Leroy invited me to his home one afternoon when I was visiting my family in North Carolina and he pointed out areas on my website that needed work and images that were not the best display of my work.  After building my portfolio a little more, I followed Leroy’s advice of showcasing my best work in order to attract the clients that I desired to work with and I did a complete rebrand to the website that exist now. I worked to correct the areas that were lacking and I studied lighting and composition so that I could create more flattering images.  I also changed the name of my company based on his recommendation.  I used to design websites, so I decided to keep the same name – Expressive Elements- and just add Expressive Elements Photography!  Voila! It made sense to me and I was able to keep the same domain name.  Leroy once asked me 3 times what the name of my company was and I responded “www dot expressive dash elements dot com”! He asked what does that mean and I told him that was the name of my web design company and I just added photography to the ending. It had no real meaning.   He told me people would not remember it and I should keep it simple and use my name so that people could associate me with my business.  It was simple advice but it worked and hence – Terri Baskin Photography.  Leroy also shared with me his contact for logo design who helped me come up with the ‘tb’ that you see on all of my branding materials.  I realize that with my name being tied to my business I have a greater sense of responsibility to my clients to show up and do an awesome job.   It’s so interesting that we had this conversation because even today when I meet photographers, I can usually remember their name but if their business name isn’t some variation of their name I struggle.

I remember another visit to NC and I stopped by Leroy’s house, he walked me thru editing and introduced me to Lightroom!  OMG!  That has been the biggest time saver in my business.  I love being able to turn around photos to my clients quickly and I know at some point I would have found Lightroom, but Leroy gets the credit for first introducing me to my favorite tool for editing!  Usually when I am talking to a newer photographer, this is also one of the first things that I share.

Leroy and I have had the opportunity to shoot a few weddings together and we’ve referred weddings back and forth to one another.  One of the most important things for me when it comes to referrals is will this person take great care of the client, and I know that Leroy and a few other photographer friends will do just that.  Also, being nice is an easy way for me to remember people when referrals take place.  Both Leroy and I seem to keep busy schedules these days, but when we do catch up we discuss life and business and he still maintains a genuine interest in my growth.

Leroy, thanks for the honest feedback and offering solutions to what you thought wasn’t working well for my brand and my business!!! Lastly, THANK YOU for encouraging me to start a Facebook page for my business when I lacked the confidence or didn’t think anyone would care about anything I had to post.  I’ve met so many awesome people thru my business and I pray that I continue to connect with people daily!!

Watermarks on my Soul Series:

• Watermarks on my Soul : The Why
• Watermarks on my Soul : Day 1 – My Parents
• Watermarks on my Soul : Day 2- Rae Images
• Watermarks on my Soul : Day 3 – Quad and Keisha Smith
• Watermarks on my Soul: Day 4- Laura Huntley Photography
• Watermarks on my Soul: Day 5- Mark Baskin
• Watermarks on my Soul: Day 6 – Andre Dalton