BRIMdesign

04/09/2025

Client: "Can you give this a more modern aesthetic?"

Us: "Say no more."

04/08/2025

Hey there! 👋

We have had some fun new growth around here this month so I wanted to introduce myself again.

My name is Billy Rae, owner and creative director of BRIM DESIGN, mother of 2 incredible kids, community builder, avid consumer of sweet tea, lover of all things water related, and first and foremost a daughter of the King.

Personally speaking, I am a student for life. I love heritage, discovery, and adventure and if I'm not working in the biz, you will likely find me at the lake with my kiddos, hanging with friends and family, exploring abandoned buildings, or discovering the hidden treasures of small town USA.

I am a big believer in lifelong learning and doing meaningful work. I started this biz in my teens and have been so blessed to grow and thrive within the same community that helped me launch my dream. Today that community has grown giving me and my team the opportunity to serve people all over the united states.

Being a small biz owner is my favorite because of the people. I cant imagine a greater privilage than to be trusted to step into someone's story and translate their vision and mission to the digital world... that's what we get to do.

To date we have worked with literally thousands of business and organizations of all sizes and industries. We never get over coming along side dreamers and doers to help them bring their vision to the next level and create a flexible and meaningful lifestyle.

If you're looking for a digital agency to partner with long term that is rooted in faith, family, friends, and freedom... than you've landed in the right spot.

Reach out to us. It would be our privilage to serve you, and my privilage to once again step into the incredible stories that make our community so amazing. ✉️ 📞

03/20/2025

A few behind the scenes of our most recent senior session (tis the season) 😉. Also featuring the reality of what a privilage it is to do life and business with family and community. And there was this cool part of the session involving a Dr. Pepper that I'll have to share later 😄 how cute is she?

If you have a senior that needs portraits and maybe even some prom photos, DM or call me to claim a slot.

Call now to connect with business.

03/20/2025

Sometimes the most catching shots for a brand session are the ones that you get while just observing a professional in "their element". a because he knew them all.

As the session went on...the more familiar faces he ran into, the more confident his body language was, and the more natural and catching the image was.

His town, his people, his business. Branding photography is about bringing out those characteristics in the details.

03/13/2025

"If you work with your mind - sabbath with your hands. If you work with your hands - sabbath with your mind"

Work/life balance has always been important to me. Since I'm heavy on the "mind work" 😉, I like to sabbath with my hands and through physical activity.

I grew up in a home where everything was a hustle (and don't get me wrong I enjoy working my butt off at times). But I very quickly realized the "WHY" of all that work wasn't especially present in my upbringing.

Working for worksake isn't especially nobile despite curent cultural narratives, however I am also not quite on the "to heck with the hustle" train either. Like everything else in life, balance is necessary. I find that meaningful work has less to do with what you are doing and more to do with how you are doing it and who you are doing it for.

My personal belief is that no matter where you find yourself, you do things in excellence. And that includes both work and rest. Our brains and body's need both. And even still beyond that, our work and home life need us to effectively exercise both.

What good is it to have your own business if your family is still getting the very worst parts of you? What good is it to your clients if you don't consider their time and resources something to be respectful of? What good is the money if you have no time for discovery? And while money tends to be the primary motivator for work in general, we easily miss the point of purpose rather than pay.

Today I ventured out to the lake to get the kiddos used to the paddleboard before we venture out on a more serious excursion. It was a much needed break but also just what we needed to reinforce our productivity. They are my biggest motivator and reward.

Purposeful work, purposeful rest...but the WHY is what holds it together.

08/15/2023

Thrilled to be featured in "Goal Setters".

Check out the link to read about our process for creating and reaching our goals as a small business.

https://www.goalsetters.net/unleashing-success-billy-whittaker-s-journey-as-a-visionary-entrepreneur

11/23/2022

The mark of a great photographer is not their ability to closely mimic the styles and poses of those who have come before them...but rather in their ability to express creative intelligence by making something new while simultaneously keeping something timeless.

09/20/2022

This article was a neat one to interview for. It was really exciting to touch on a few key focuses of the BRIM DESIGN story.

Homeschool and its positive impact, the drive behind our business, and how we encourage client retention and brand loyalty (both to the client and from the client 😉).

What I know is that we were built and are maintained by an incredibly supportive community. Not every small business can say that. But we know just how blessed we are.

Thank you!

Check out the article here:

We recently connected with Billy Whittaker and have shared our conversation below. Billy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned in school and why that lesson is important to you? Growing up, my mom and dad had decided, ju...

06/22/2022

06/20/2022

This was taken a year ago and I thought it a fitting photo for today's caption.

This time last year I was continuing to adjust our services and my role in my business specifically.

My goal was to have more time to focus on my son and bring knowledge and opportunity to his little life. I wanted to hand off as much as I could to the team and keep a few key projects that could be done off-hours (when Lil G wouldn't need me) for myself.

The thing about being a high-performance person is that slow seasons and breaks don't come naturally to you. In a literal sense, slowing down takes a lot of effort haha.

I was talking to a client and fellow business owner who is going through the same thing. "It's so hard", we joked.

Not that we aren't absolutely grateful to have the opportunity to choose this...but it's hard to quiet your brain, to delegate big and important things, to turn over one of your babies (the business) so you can intentionally serve your other, more important, babies (your precious child or children).

One thing that has encouraged me throughout the years is that so many small business owners are family-first kind of people. As long as you serve them to the best of your ability, they understand that your priority is family. Theirs is too a lot of times.

So the next time you're like me and the slowness creeps inside your mind and you are tempted to think "I should be doing more right now". Stop, look at your family, and soak up that your greatest opportunity is right there in front of you.

There will be time again for headlines, gold trophies, speeches, and all of those other things. But remember, there will never be another now with your people.

06/14/2022

And so begins this year's round of awards.

We kicked them off with a gold Viddy award for a video project completed for a luxury developer who serves the Raleigh area.

Not only does this remind our team why the details of a project are so important when creating with excellence but it reminds our clients that we try to make sure every single project is unique and powerful enough to bring home a trophy, and better yet, help them capture the clients their business will need to thrive for year's to come.

Congrats to our team!

06/13/2022

I can geek out over some good brand images now. Love the way these photos feel (yes feel). You can experience right through these photos.

Have you ever thought of just getting a session done of your space? If you're personally camera shy, this is an excellent solution for building out your digital assets without having to take classic headshots (although those are extremely important).

These types of images make great filler content. It allows your community to get a sense of where you do your work, where the magic happens, what kind of atmosphere your space creates, and last but not least how it will feel when they come work, buy, or use a service in your business.