A Story. A Purpose. A Mission.

"Our town is going to make jeans again."
A story to contemplate...

While reading the book, Fortune Cookie Principle," I was stopped cold on this particular chapter on page 29!

As fine art portrait photographers running a boutique studio, we are the Hiut Denim Company! Our paths are parallel.

Here's their story in a nutshell: A large company that made jeans decided to move their factories to another country where labor was cheap (therefore jeans could sell cheaper), putting over 3500 people out of work overnight in a small town.

Two local entrepreneurs decided NOT to let that happen and lose all of the amazing skill in their small community (the skill on their doorstep) so they took a risk that there were still enough consumers left who cared enough to pay top dollar for jeans that would last for years!

Their stated purpose, "We aren't out to persuade the guy who buys $30.00 jeans from a chain store and who thinks that paying $350.00 to wait for six weeks for a pair of jeans is madness." 

No, instead, they simply wanted to make the BEST jeans! And that's not all-they add value too. The company attaches a unique History Tag to each pair of jeans and the tag's code is used to tell the story of each pair in the form of images and updates that can be saved by the wearer on a private page at HistoryTag.com. The owners wanted to make sure that the memories made in their jeans were never forgotten

How cool is that?

Now, how does this story relate to us as photographers?

1. Purpose

An amazing way to differentiate from our competitors is to have great purpose in what we do (as this jean company did) and to communicate it well. Products may be similar, but our purpose should not. Each of us should be able to state our purpose. 

Our mission statement is our purpose.

"To create what only the heart can see with the quality only a few can produce."

It has been our statement for twenty years and is still our mission! We are photographers of the heart. We need our clients to believe our purpose and in what we do, but more than that, our job is to matter to them, to let them know we hear them, see them and they are important to us in more ways than our bank account.

Building on purpose, our work must be excellent and not a facade. We cannot charge what we charge and deliver a poor product.

2. Help clients tell their stories.

Photography is the perfect venue/business to help clients express who they are and tell their stories. Our photography can become part of their story and their memories.

However, you must know their story in order to capture it in the camera room (or wherever you do your sessions). 

We do this in our "Design Appointment" where we talk about things other photographers may never mention. Our favorite question is, "If this portrait were a chapter in your life, what would the headline be?" 

This simplfies what we are after...their story at this time in their lives. 

Tim always says, "I don't know how it changes me as a photographer when I learn the story, but it does!"

Anyone can capture a decent snapshot, even with a phone and especially as iPhone lenses get more sophisticated, so we must do more as professionals to set ourselves apart. 

How? Story sets us apart!

 | WE DO MATTER! | WHAT WE DO IS IMPORTANT |

As the chapter ends, it says," You can shape culture, communicate beauty, stimulate thought and inspire action. You don't have to be in business just to sell a pile of stuff."

Note from Bev: I hope you are as inspired as I was when I read this chapter and in truth, the entire book.  

We believe there are still enough people out there with whom we can share our vision, our mission and our purpose who will purchase our work, appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into each piece and value it as highly as we do.