Behind the Shoot: A Studio Rebrand Session for Sophia Marie Photography

Sophia DelCiappo of Sophia Marie Photography LLC came to us in the middle of a rebrand. Her wedding photography business, based in Akron and serving couples across Northeast Ohio, was evolving. She'd started taking on more mentoring work alongside her wedding photography, her website had just been refreshed, and her business was heading in a more elevated direction. The problem was, her current photos weren't keeping up. They didn't speak to where she was now or where she was headed next.

The Brief

Sophia's biggest concern going in was one a lot of business owners share: she wanted to level up without losing herself in the process. She wanted photos that felt more elevated and could attract the type of clients she's aiming for, couples who care about emotion and connection over a highly produced experience, while still appreciating good aesthetics. At the same time, she didn't want anything that felt overly complicated or sterile. Whatever we created needed to still feel like her.

Building the Brand Foundation

Before the camera came out, we worked through a full brand planning questionnaire with Sophia to get specific about what "her" actually looks like in photos. She landed on soft, calm, romantic, timeless, fun, professional, and genuine as the words she wanted her images to communicate, with calm, timeless, and genuine rising to the top as her core three.

Her color world centers on warm neutrals: off-whites and creams balanced against a deep off-black, with soft touches of magenta and light pink worked in. Yellows and oranges were an easy no (with red hair, she's careful about what's competing with it). Linen and marble came up as the textures that felt most like her brand, and she shared a Pinterest board she'd been building for reference. What she kept pointing to across those images was black-and-white photography, detail shots, clean backgrounds, simple wardrobe, and an overall sense of warmth, all things we carried into the plan for her session. Polaroids are also a signature piece of her own client experience (she surprises her wedding couples with a polaroid album afterward), and that same nostalgic, tactile feeling shaped the mood we were going for.

Getting the Wardrobe Right

Wardrobe had been a pain point for Sophia in the past. At her last branding shoot, she'd picked her own outfits without much guidance, brought six options, and didn't end up loving any of them. This time, wardrobe support was built into the plan from the start. We landed on two looks: an elevated business casual outfit for the first (not jeans, not a pencil skirt and heels, something in between) and a more relaxed, dressed-down version of that for the second. Knowing she feels most comfortable in pants but is open to dresses, and that she naturally gravitates toward neutrals like black, gray, tan, and dark green, made it easy to pull looks that felt authentically hers rather than like a costume.

Shoot Day

We shot Sophia's session as a one-hour studio day. Like a lot of people on the other side of the camera for once, she was nervous. As a wedding photographer, she's used to directing others, not being directed herself, and she wasn't sure how to "act natural" in a one-on-one studio setting. We kept direction simple and collaborative throughout, and made sure to prioritize the things she wanted to stand out most: her hair and her smile.

The Package

Sophia booked our One Hour Studio Session collection, which included two outfits, a full brand planning questionnaire, wardrobe guidance, 40-plus edited images, and a commercial usage license for her website and marketing.

The Result

What came out of the session was a gallery that feels exactly like the words Sophia chose at the start: soft, calm, romantic, timeless, and genuine. It gives her a set of images that can support her rebrand, round out her freshly updated website, and represent both sides of her growing business, her wedding photography and her mentoring work, without losing the warmth that makes her, her.

If your business is evolving and your photos haven't caught up, this is exactly the kind of session we love building. Reach out to Beck Brand Studio to talk through what a rebrand session could look like for you.