Darden Creative 2022 Recap
What A Year!
It’s almost 2023 and quite frankly, I can still remember Dec 2021/Jan 2022. And while I feel like time has flown by, I’m incredibly thankful for all that has happened this year.
Here is a breakdown of what I’m grateful for this year (in no particular order)
Truly Committing to an Agency Model Instead of me doing all the roles, I wanted to step into the Creative Director/Photographer role & hire people who were skilled in their craft/profession, who I could bring together to produce quality lifestyle product photography for the brands that hired Darden Creative. I found that not only did I step more into that role, but I also worked with amazing teams to create lifestyle product & beauty photography for some awesome brands.
Amazing Brand Partners This year was an opportunity to build strong relationships with brand partners. Over 90% of revenue this year came from repeat clients. Teleflora has been a brand partner since 2020 (!) and Darden Creative is responsible for creating their product photography for their e-commerce platform. Another amazing brand partner is Framebridge! Framebridge offers custom picture frame & design services. It was great working with the creative team for their Mother’s Day Campaign, Multi Photo Frames Campaign, The Arlington Launch and Large Frame Campaign. I wanted to work with more beauty brands and Darden Creative worked with KINLÓ by Naomi Osaka skincare line! I partnered with the A-Frame Team to Oversee and Creative Direct 2 Campaigns for KINLÓ: Their DTC & Walmart Launch and Shopify Rebrand. Last but certainly not least, I was able to create lifestyle photography content for Madewell, for their Hometown Heroes Shop featuring Merchant Rayo + Honey! I was incredibly honored to work with Roachelle of Rayo + Honey to bring this project to life.
Less Marketing Efforts on Instagram This year a huge % of my revenue came from repeat clients. The average project budget was around $13,000 this year. As a result, I took advantage and stepped away from social media marketing. In Sept of this year, I paused efforts with Pinterest. While it provided great reach, it was not attracting the clientele I desired. The same with Instagram Reels. I think reels can be a great tool for brand awareness and exposure, but depending on your audience/clientele, not for conversion. It doesn’t matter if you get a lot of views on a reel if it doesn’t convert to clients. But again, that is my opinion! Take it with a grain of salt! Lastly it’s a duplication of a platform that has figured it out… so if I’m going to invest any time in short form video content, why not on TikTok? I found that I truly prefer building relationships directly with decision makers: producers, creative directors or art directors. I’ll be continuing to flush out this strategy for 2023 and going forward.
The Studio Effect… Or Nah In February I signed a lease for a lovely studio space! It was a huge learning experience to say the least. For one, I had to really reflect on why I signed a lease for the studio. To be quite frank, I didn’t need it this year. Here’s the thing about a studio for me, a studio was never a part of my “mama I made it story.” It’s not that I don’t dream big for myself. The total opposite. But having a studio, or as I saw it, additional overhead, was simply never a part of the vision. I used the studio for more personal projects than booked work. Out of 16 contracted projects, 4 were done inside the studio (not including headshot sessions, which were once a month for 3 months). Lastly, although I earned more $$$ this year, I spent more $$$. My expenses increased about 30% and so did my gross revenue. In other words, it was a wash. People always say “it takes money to make money” but only to a point. Eventually what’s more important is how much money you keep. I will more than likely not renew my lease for the studio; however, I will plan to have access to it on occasion.
“Girls That Invest” It’s more likely that I’ll live to see retirement before the rapture/apocalypse happens and so this was the year I started saving for retirement. Thinking about what vehicles to select and how was intimidating; however, what made it easier for me was reading Girls That Invest by Simran Kaur. Not only did I open a retirement account, I also started investing in the stock market! I feel super confident. Saving for retirement is peak “life is a marathon, not a sprint.” I’m super proud of myself for making this commitment to myself.
Stress? I don’t know her. Compared to previous years, I didn’t experience existential dread THAT MUCH (blame my Virgo moon) or frustration. Aside from April & May, work felt easily managed and balanced. After 6 years, I’ve recognized the ebbs + flows of my business and I’m looking to continue flowing with those seasons going forward. I know a huge factor was truly leaning into the agency model and hiring out to creative individuals when needed. It confirmed that I’ve happily built a people over profits business. So, a special thank you to the prop stylists, makeup artists, models and manicurists that I’ve worked with this year. I cannot wait to see what next year has in store for us!
More Time for Personal Projects When you think of Darden Creative’s product photography it’s crisp, clean, bright and modern. I certainly want to continue booking more commercial projects and expanding my reach in an industry that is slow to change when trusting Black women photographers with a big creative budget. But it’s not impossible. It’s only a matter of time until I’m managing a $100,000 budget [This year I managed a $35,000 budget for one project]. I appreciated finding the time to create more product photography work to practice a few skills AND more beauty/model projects. Lastly, I’m looking forward to create fun short form video content so be on the lookout for that in 2023! Here are a few of my favorite personal lifestyle product photography projects from this year: HAAN Sanitizer, Beauty Favorites, Flowers in the Springtime, My Sister’s Keeper, Pink Dreams [Oct ‘21]
The Zoom In Podcast The Zoom In Podcast highlights the stories & experiences of Black women photographers. The first episode releases Tuesday, January 10th with Rhea Whitney! The podcast is available of Apple + Spotify, please subscribe or follow! This was something I wish existed when I first started and I’m incredibly excited to share more Black women’s stories with others. At this point the Zoom in Podcast is a personal project. I have no monetization strategy. Sometimes we tend not to want to invest time + energy in activities because it’s not monetized. Just because you don’t have a strategy to monetize something, doesn’t mean what you want to create doesn’t have value. Remember that.
Traveling/Spending Time with Family + Friends I’m thankful that the beginning and end of my year, was bookended with a trip to the beach. In 2020, I decided to change the narrative of the holidays for me. Instead of sulking in December, I decided to make an effort to travel to a place I really love for some Vitamin D. After working with a lot of photography clients & personalities, it’s something I look forward to at the end of the year. Also, because I had more space this year, I was able to commit to visiting friends + family. I’m someone who thrives after soul filling conversations and this year did not disappoint. I certainly want to continue this practice next year and make sure it spills into my romantic life… it’s currently nonexistent LOL.
What Am I Looking Forward to in 2023?
I want to step more into a Creative Direction role in my company. It’s great to be able to manage a team, and step into the Creative Director/Photographer role without feeling overwhelmed. I’d love to be hired to creative direct, for stills or short form video content. Please hire ya girl’s company!
My goal for the Zoom In Podcast is to produce 2 seasons for 2023. There will be 8-10 episodes per season, released on a bi-weekly schedule. I cannot wait for you to hear these episodes! The ladies brought it!
Lastly, I want to increase my net worth [across personal savings, retirement & stock investments]. I just have to remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Overall, I honestly don’t like doing 5 year + 10 year plans because I don’t want the pressure of hitting 5 years goals that can be arbitrary. Plus, I like the ability to pivot and change. Some things next year are going to shuffle and I’m looking to anticipate that shuffle as best as I can. I’ve always envisioned how I want to feel in my life + business and that has always been a guiding light for how I move forward. Cheers to a great 2022 and to an even better 2023!
What I’m Loving This Month
London Wick Candles. I love a smell good and these candles DO NOT disappoint. I was introduced to this local business via Unique Markets in Spring 2022. I’ve been a fan ever since! My favorite scent is NOIR (also her best seller). It’s a warm, unisex scent. Shop Here.
Niki Dionne. Beautiful mixed media/texture artwork. Check out her IG here: @Actualfootageofme
Jessica Cage’s Instagram. I found this author via an IG reel. Jessica is a USA Today Bestselling Author of PNR & Urban Fantasy novels featuring characters of color. In her reels, she types a short story inspired by the pop culture videos. It’s both creative and clever! Here is the reel that drew me in.
The Diary of a CEO Podcast by Steven Bartlett. When I thought about the structure of the Zoom In Podcast, The Diary of a CEO came to mind. I really love how Steven is able to make his guests incredibly comfortable enough to share some really insightful and sometimes intense discoveries. I’ve found myself listening to many of the episodes in its entirety, where many episodes average around 1 hour and 20 minutes. If I had to start somewhere, I’d start with this one.
Ashley Johnson. For the longest time, I thought Ashley’s name was Hiaj, which is simply her Instagram handle [HI, AJ]. insert face palm Ashley is a multi hyphenate artist. She is a photographer, amazing chef and maker. I appreciate how she comfortably shares her process with her audience, while maintaining her boundaries. For me it’s a masterclass on being unapologetically yourself. Follow her, you won’t regret it.