by Emma Nally | Feb 8, 2022 | Graphic Design, Uncategorized
So that’s how it goes right? 10 years in business and then you go into business burnout!
Truth is at the end of 2019 I started working for Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health service as their graphic designer. It’s been such a great job to transition back into the corporate life. I really found it hard managing marketing, sales, designs and bookwork while doing the single mum gig. Two years on I am still working for SCHHS and I now do limited amount of design work that I can handle and really feel called to do. It’s a much nicer space to be in and I have really been enjoying the projects over that time.
In Septemer 2021, I went to Double Island Point and captured this little precious jelly… Cute right. Below are some more projects that have been created this year in Graphic Design Sunshine Coast.
Make sure you are following me on Instagram @emepicgraphicdesign
by Emma Nally | Jan 10, 2020 | Event Photography, Graphic Design, Portrait Photography, Uncategorized
Wooah where did that time go seriously…?
As celebration for my 10th Birthday I will be doing a round of promos one a month for 10 months! Every month there will be something different. So keep your eyes open and ready as there will also be limited spaces!
Today only [Until 12pm 11th Jan] 50% off services with the bonus of 10% of sales for today going to Celeste Barber’s bushfire appeal.
This month’s promo is a 11% off all services, spaces limited book before 31 Jan.
It’s taken me a while to find the right words to say about my business turning 10. January 10, 2010. I spontaneously went right that’s it let’s do this and ask my family for help to set up my ABN. I remember sitting in bed that night with my partner at the time as we brainstormed the names for my business… I had a few. After hours of debate I really liked the word Epic and I kept playing around with the word Em and so merged together Emepic was born.
Check out the baby face on that one… Ha ha!
At the time I was working for a local magazine company in Gladstone Qld, where I was feeling a little undervalued and I knew I had more to offer than the constraints layout design. I had picked up a camera 5 years before this and it was a strong passion building within me. My first camera experience was with a Minolta film camera walking around Melbourne CBD. After getting the photos developed, I realised I had a keen eye for lines, textures and light.
My passion and love for photography was ignited when I was 16 I worked at a Mexican restaurant called Cactus Jacks in Gladstone, QLD it was here where I fell in love with Mexican food… I used to work that floor every night after school and weekends, every month some businessmen used to come and get their regular table and regular orders over the coming months I was to experience an encounter that would change me. One particular man named David was at the table and he took a likeness to me and my passion for life in general. He saw something in me which I hadn’t even really seen nor allowed myself to feel.
I told David how I had an interest in photography and that I took some shots in Melbourne while visiting family, turns out David was a professional photographer and late one night he stayed until close and showed me a series of photographs from a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. These photos are etched into my mind and I could probably draw them and tell you the very detail of each one. The thrill and the life that ran through me in that moment was pivotal for me. It allowed me to take a deeper belief in something I knew I wanted to do.
I remember the first year in my business being so exciting, the work and the bookings for photoshoots flowed in. Friends and family all had their fair share of an Emepic shoot. I was the business that was everything to everyone. I was doing business cards for builders, musicians and beauty therapists while also doing maternity and newborn photography on top of taking my first wedding bookings!! Three years in I started to realise that being the all-rounder I had been wasn’t really serving me or the way I did business. In 2011 I booked myself out for weddings, and I was also doing graphic design for a lot of medium and large companies within Gladstone by the end of that year I was moving into burnout faster than my shutter speed. In October 2011 I found out I was pregnant, so my passions and my priorities had to take a shift.
I started to really learn about what sort of jobs I actually wanted to do. I took this downtime as a time to really reinvent and refine the work and services I was offering. It was then when I started to learn about niche marketing and how focusing on one service is better than trying to be everything to everyone.
I moved to Brisbane with my family in 2015 where once again I felt like I had to reinvent myself to fit the new crowd down there, it’s a very different vibe to the Gladstone I knew. I was lucky enough my graphic design clients kept sending me work from Gladstone and sometimes still do. The perks of technology! In 2016 I started contracting to Deliveroo taking photos of FOOD yum [that job had perks] and LOUENHIDE an international handbag company where I was able to really grow and learn about another industry environment. It was a great opportunity where I produced some great work.
It was also in Brisbane where I found the entrepreneurial woman… more and more I was attracting them. More and more I was loving the work and the connections.
2017 we moved to the Sunshine Coast! What a dream! Living by the beach, it was a relief to be back in a community that shares and cares. And here where I really grew into the services I now offer Logo Design, Business Branding, Websites and Brand Photography. 2
2016-2017 was my highest earning year in my business where I almost hit the 6 figure mark. I am proud of myself for that achievement considering I do it all the things myself. And considering 80% of my work is repeat clients I must be doing something right.
2018 and 2019 have by far been the hardest years for me personally and professionally with lots of personal changes as well as a change in focus for small business in the general economy. With that in mind I have had a reshuffle of my prices and packages. You can see the new price list here.
On location photography session at Wappa Dam, Sunshine Coast with Amanda from Motherhood By Design.
In October 2019 I started working for the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service where I am in a share role as the Publishing Officer providing design and photography! It’s been such a blessing for me allowing me the freedom to fill the gaps financially and still have things moving for my business.
This year for me I am focusing more on quality of work rather than quantity. Having the great opportunity working for the Hospital Service will allow me to again build on my skills as a graphic designer and photographer but also keep me fresh! I will also be studying some new skills soon which I will share with you in time. I am excited for what’s to come!
As celebration for my 10th Birthday I will be doing a round of promos one a month for 10 months! Every month there will be something different. So keep your eyes open and ready as there will also be limited spaces! This month’s promo is a 11% off all services, spaces limited book before 31 Jan.
Today only [10th Jan 2020] 50% off services with the bonus of 10% of sales for today going to Celeste Barber’s bushfire appeal.
If you got this far thank you for reading my waffle I hope we can connect, share and co-create! So much love! 💕 Em
by Emma Nally | Aug 6, 2018 | Logos and Branding, Uncategorized
In a day as a graphic designer and photographer, I work with many different file types from JPGs to Illustrator files. Because I spend most of my days engrossed in a world of graphics, drawings, photos and different applications, I often forget that all of these different types of file formats can be quite overwhelming and confusing for some of my clients who have little to no computer skills or experience.
Unless you are a graphic designer, chances are you’ve never needed to understand things like what the difference between a TIF from a PDF or a PSD is. While the large variety of file formats may seem overwhelming, there is a method to the many forms! Here is a link download the sheet where it explains it all for you!
File formats and their uses
by Emma Nally | Mar 30, 2016 | Event Photography, Uncategorized
So by now you must know I’m passionate about photography and business branding but you might not know why? What’s the story behind why I actually became a photographer.
Well since I was a kid my Nan actually used to run around with her film camera weather it was her proper one or a cheap ‘ol Kodak disposable and she was always snapping away at this and that, mostly me actually. I remember family members saying ‘Oh not another photo please!’ After that I remember grabbing the camera myself I started snapping around the age of four or five. After that I do also remember really wanting to become a cartoonist, always drawing my own characters and little comics.
When I was 16 I worked at a restaurant ‘Cactus Jacks’ while there on shift a guy called David used to come in once every two weeks with his colleagues and have dinner over a few months we chatted and got more involved in conversation; he happened to be a photographer based in Sydney. One night he stayed back to show me prints of his recent trip to Cambodia along with the stories of the journey. It really was then when I first became impacted by an image deep inside somewhere that made me want to be able to do the same. The next time he saw me he gave me this book the 35mm Handbook! A good read with great facts if anyone is interested!
After that I moved to live in Melbourne with my Aunt who gave me my first 35mm film camera and off I went snapping around Melbourne at anything that caught my eye, and I suppose as they say the rest is history and here I am now 10 years on with my own business spreading love and captured memories to every client I meet! <3
Here is a snippet of a couple of my first shots.. there pretty good yeah?
Taken at the ripe age of 4.
My first roll of film, Melbourne Collins St. Still one of my favorite shots today.
A not so great ‘Technically’ night shot of the stars. 2009.
PARIS 2013
Vintage Style Wedding 2015
2016 Engagement Shoot
2016 Brisbane City Photography
So as they say… 10 years of practice makes perfect!
