This personal branding photography was for the super talented Merrie Haig of Merrie & Bright. I’ve been a fan of her beautiful calligraphy and stationery for quite a while so I was thrilled to help her develop her brand further.
Merrie is launching a new website and wanted to refresh her brand imagery. As a wedding photographer, I am fortunate to have control over the images that I use to promote my own work but lots of other wedding suppliers are reliant on whoever happens to be shooting the wedding that they are suppling to. Whilst it’s possible to get some stunning photographs this way, it’s impossible to maintain a consistent look and feel, which is not only essential for a website, but also for social media where clients are quick to make judgements about whether a supplier is a match for them.
I was really interested to hear about the particular needs of calligraphers and stationers from their images. Whilst I shoot my weddings in a Fine Art Style, which has a defined aesthetic, the soft tones and airy feel isn’t always the ideal way of showing every product on an e-commerce site. In my personal branding photography, I’m careful therefore to match colours to the products and to try to show the surfaces and textures of materials accurately.
Merrie needed overhead flatlay shots of her stationery suites but also photographs of the same products at various angles so that she can show the same items, multiple times. This is a great way to maximise the images from a shoot, for consistent branding photography. I always encourage my clients to think about having a bank of images that they can continue to use for social media planning for months ahead (this blog post only represents a sample of the images from this shoot).
As stationery is such a tactile item, and because Merrie offers both bespoke and templated suites, we felt it was important to depict the making process, not only to link Merrie to her brand but also to emphasise the luxury, hand-made element of her work. I included lots of shots of Merrie working from a distance and also close ups of her hands, and some of her tools. Some particular favourite images of mine are those showing the gorgeous gold leaf. Who wouldn’t love to have pretty gold flakes scattered around their work space!
The styling of this shoot (styling assistance from Louise Beukes at B.Loved Hive) was entirely pared back, to focus on the beautiful intricate nature of Merrie’s work. The white workspace makes sure there are no distractions in the images, and the various colours of the stationery (matched to Merrie’s outfits), stand out to draw the client in to her products.
To learn more about how personal branding photography can help you refresh your brand imagery and give you lots of consistent images to promote your products, book a free discovery call.
Stationery: Merrie & Bright
Jewellery: Victoria Fergusson Accessories
Makeup: Maxine Wilson
Venue and Styling Assistance; B.Loved Hive