Janie Maki and I worked together years ago on her branding and website for her Twin Cities photography business. And recently she came back, ready for a full photography website design refresh. Plus something new this time around: brand messaging and copywriting.
Who Is Janie Maki Photography?
Janie is a Twin Cities, MN based photographer specializing in Catholic weddings, family sessions, and newborns. She has over 10 years of experience and hundreds of weddings under her belt. But what makes her truly special is the energy she brings to every single shoot.
Joyful. Down-to-earth. Goofy in the best way. The kind of photographer who calms your nerves when it rains on your wedding day and somehow still gets you the most gorgeous photos anyway.
She describes the feelings she wants her brand to convey as: authentic, joyful, uplifting, adaptable, confident, welcoming, and a little goofy. And if you spend five minutes on her new site, you feel every single one of those words.
Why She Came Back for a Photography Website Design Refresh
Janie’s original branding and website were built right here at Palme Design Co. Her bones were good. Her colors, her fonts, her overall visual identity, still strong. But a few years in, her business had grown and evolved, and her website wasn’t keeping up.
She wanted more color. More personality. More refined typography. A site that felt fun and easy to navigate whether someone was landing there for weddings or family sessions. She also wanted two audiences to feel equally seen and clearly directed. Because a Catholic wedding couple and a family booking minis are not the same person, and her website needed to speak to both without feeling scattered.
And she didn’t just want a new website. She wanted the words and positioning to match, too.
Before the Photography Website Design: We Started With Brand Messaging and Copywriting
Before we touched a single design element, we worked through Janie’s brand messaging and copy together. Laying this foundation work changes everything.
Because here’s the thing: you can have the most beautiful photography website design in the world and still lose dream clients if the words aren’t doing their job. Copy is strategy. It’s not just filler text between the pretty photos.
We took Janie’s thoughts, her notes, her ideas, her heart for her clients, and shaped them into something polished, intentional, and completely her. Every headline, every paragraph, every little micro-moment of copy on that site was written to connect with the right person and move them toward booking.
Here’s what Janie had to say about that part of the process:
“I loved working with Palme Design Co. on my brand messaging and website copy. They took my thoughts and notes and ideas and wrote out the most concise and perfectly worded pieces for me and my brand! Every time I had feedback I got a quick and excellent response. I could not have done any of it by myself and am so grateful for their brilliant minds!!”
What We Built for Her Photography Website Design
Once the brand messaging and copy was locked in, we moved into the full website design refresh on Showit. Here’s what the new site includes:
A homepage that immediately communicates warmth, joy, and professionalism. Big bold typography, colorful imagery, and a layout that makes you want to keep scrolling. Dream clients for weddings and families both land here and know instantly they’re in the right place.
Clear pathways for two audiences. One of Janie’s biggest goals was making it obvious where wedding couples should go and where families should go. We did exactly that: intentional navigation and page structure that guides each visitor without any confusion.
An about page that feels personal and real. You get Janie, her heart, her humor, her servant-hearted approach to every session. Not a generic bio. A real introduction to the human behind the camera and how she serves her clients.
Dedicated wedding and family pages that each feel tailored to their audience while still feeling cohesive as one brand. Families even get a highlight of minis, which was a specific request and a smart move for that side of her business.
A gallery page, blog, and contact page all designed with the same intentionality: clean, clear, and built to convert the right people.
And across every page, the updated typography direction Janie had been dreaming about. Bigger. Bolder. More personality. The kind of design that makes you stop scrolling and actually read.
What Janie Said About Her New Photography Website Design
When Janie submitted her final review, she said this about the website:
“Truly a dream come true! This is my second time working with Kara and she truly is magical! She takes a rough vision and makes it into a gorgeous website! She took all my ideas and branding and inspiration and created exactly what I was hoping for!! She took all my feedback and ideas and shaped a website of my dreams!! About to hit publish and can’t wait to share with the world!”
Second time working together. Dream come true. This is exactly why I do what I do!!
What a Photography Website Design Refresh Can Do for Your Business
Janie’s story is a good reminder that your first website doesn’t have to be your forever website. Businesses grow. Brands evolve. The version of you who built your site two or three years ago is not the same photographer you are today.
And if your website is still living in that old version of you, your dream clients can feel it.
A strategic photography website design refresh isn’t just about making things prettier. It’s about making sure your site is working as hard as you are, attracting the right people, telling the right story, and converting the right leads.
That’s what we did for Janie. And that’s what I help photographers do inside Booked & Branded, my 2-Day Intensive where we build your brand and website together in just two days.
Let’s chat. Book a free Clarity Call, a 20-minute conversation where we’ll talk through your goals and see if Booked & Branded is the right fit for where you’re headed.
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