background
Hawthorne Learning Solutions is a tutoring service in Bellingham owned by my brother, Matt, and his wife, Emma. They are more than just tutors. They are incredible educators and advocates for students, but they also become partners to parents.
I built a new website for their growing business in 2018 and I didn’t want to use stock photos like every other tutoring site—I really wanted their authenticity and approachability to shine through the creative content on the website. I decided to interview parents for a short video because parents using their own words to describe their impact is more powerful than anything we could have written ourselves.
scope
- Photography
- Filmed all footage
- Post-production video editing
The photos on our website really do a great job of conveying our personality and get to the core of our business. They not only convey the services we offer, but more importantly, show the personalized, relationship-based approach of our company.
photography
challenging setting
Since I was shooting photos during actual tutoring sessions, my primary goal was to be as unobtrusive as possible. In addition to the challenge of trying to capture excitement while a student is learning, lighting and drab settings were also difficult. Ultimately, I chose to use only black and white photos and duotone images on the website.
videography
building trust
Investing time and money and finding a tutor to trust can be daunting for parents so I recommended we create a video to help build confidence with prospective clients. Instead of Matt and Emma talking about their business, I interviewed parents to convey the impact Matt and Emma have had on their children’s lives.
I've spoken with so many new clients who say that the video was really what convinced them to pick up the phone and call us. Carrie's selection of quotes and editing of images created the story of our services—helping families navigate the school system and taking stress off of parents and students.
