Isabel Gomes & Lawrence Gund
Isabel Lawrence Photographers - Sherman Oaks, Calif.
www.IsabelLawrence.com

Websites, especially photography websites, are ephemeral. They are constantly changing, flowing, being added to and deleted from, or at least they should be. When those changes halt, websites run the risk of not reflecting the businesses or people they are supposed to represent. That’s what happened to Isabel Gomes and Lawrence Gund of Isabel Lawrence Photographers…until they recreated their website with such smashing success that it won the 2009 AN-NE Marketing Award for Best Website.

Making the Change
Back in the late ‘90s, Gomes and Gund created their first website, which was very successful at the time. “The problem was that it brought us lots of business,” they admit ruefully. “How was that a problem? Well, we neglected to change the site over the years to reflect how we were evolving as artists.”

In the words of their friends, their web presence was “too modest and not boastful enough.” That revelation helped them look at the site with new eyes and realize it didn’t mention anything that made Isabel Lawrence Photographers unique (gift registry, gift donations, alternative cameras, etc.). What made the site’s ineffectiveness even more real was that bookings had dropped.

“We had foolishly believed that just mentioning these [unique] things to our prospective brides was enough,” says Gomes. “Now, with the new website, our philosophy is evident everywhere.”

It was the perfect time to rebuild, and their new site shows and says it all. Of course, they feature their image galleries, an impressive client list and testimonials. The site also strongly features and explains their use of vintage cameras, techniques and film, showing the endless possibilities. The handcrafted nature of their products is illustrated both with the design of the site and with the images of handmade presentation albums and folios. There are even downloadable press kits for the media to learn more about them!

“We no longer assume that our clients will ‘magically’ know what to expect when they book us,” Gomes adds. “Everything from the publications we have been featured in to the cappuccinos they will enjoy when they visit our studio is mentioned on the site.”

Gomes and Gund’s new policy to show all, tell all has even helped their gift registry, which they have offered for almost thirteen years with marginal success. The new website made the registry system very user friendly, and they have even seen decent revenue from it.

Finding the Look
All these different content items—from gift registry to vintage cameras—are tied together with the new design. To better illustrate the handcrafted, artistic feel of Gomes and Gund’s work, the design actually makes the website resemble an old-fashioned sketchbook. This look—based on her own photo/sketchbook—was something Gomes had always wanted to translate to their wedding work, but she never knew how to do so until she met Joel Adamich of Private Revolution, their new graphic designer.

“First of all, I think all serious photographers should employ a graphic designer…if not for their websites, then for any advertising or business collateral,” Gomes states. “Yes, it will be more expensive than using a template program, but you can be sure your items will be completely original. And being original is one key to succeeding.”

While hiring a designer is important, it’s even more important to hire the right one. Along with looking at lots of work and asking lots of questions, you need to find someone that “gets” you and your sensibilities, as Gomes and Gund say.

“Find out about [the designer’s] personal interests, too, and see if you have any common ground that you can build a visual vocabulary on,” they explain. “It goes beyond having a website that looks ‘cool.’ It’s about finding a designer who can help you mesh the site with your personality and the type of work that you do.”

Having a graphic designer, though, doesn’t mean that you, as the business owner, should be left out of the creative process. “While Joel did the heavy lifting with the design work, he understood that our fingerprints had to be all over the site. He really respected our input,” say Gomes and Gund, who
stayed very involved, from organizing galleries and the rest of the elements to photographing their presentation products and press coverage.

Loving the Results
After their site was recreated, Gomes and Gund focused on web-related marketing, getting their website (and images) in front of the big wedding blogs like The Bride’s Café and The Wedding Channel. Those blogs actually approached them, thanks to their connections (they had photographed one of The Wedding Channel’s executive’s weddings, and The Bride’s Café heard about them via other vendors). You never know where those relationships will lead!

Overall, though, Gomes and Gund know their site is working based on their clients’ reactions.

“The clients we are attracting now really get us. They love film, they want something unusual and they are pretty much sold on our services before they even meet us. We no longer have to educate them about what makes us special,” explains Gomes. “In fact, since the new site launched, we have booked more weddings over the phone than we ever have in the past.”