Journal

Petal and Clay- Portland Creative Brand Photography and Look book

If you always do what you’ve always done
you will always get what you’ve always got.

Owning the brand photography process from concept to execution was new for me, but I knew I wanted to push myself to grow. I'll walk you through my creative process from start to finish.


Step #1 Concept
 

Rose, the owner of Petal and Clay, came to me knowing she wanted to do something more creative with her photography than she had tried to do previously. We started the ideation process by looking at her brand values:

  • Quality

  • Fun/quirkiness

  • Inclusivity

  • Creativity

  • Sustainability
  • Nature Loving



We decided the shoot should be fashionable yet approachable. It would be fun and not stuffy. We wanted the finished product to inspire and empower the viewer. I came up with this concept and mood board to illustrate the big idea:

From there we decided that bringing a massive amount of wild florals into an industrial studio would lend itself to the concept of her jewelry.  

At this point, I brought in a friend and talented creative Alex Lianopolis to help produce the shoot and Art Direct on set.

We knew, because Rose's pieces were so creative, we didn't want to see any visuals that had been done before. The concepts had to be unexpected, natural, and not-cliche.


Step #2 Production


We got to work planning out an ambitious shoot day of 10 hours with five models and seven set-ups. We had to be extremely thorough in our details. Alex is well connected in the Portland creative community. She brought in collaborators and models that made the shoot spectacular. 

Collaborators:

  • Florals - Heather from Workshop PDX. Her floral work is stunning and she brought creativity and uniqueness to the set. 
  • Location - The Portland Studio, a beautiful industrial studio with natural light to die for! 
  • Hair and Makeup - Lana of Faces by Lana to provide us with a natural and dewey look
  • Talent - a list of diverse and stunning individuals - @Gabriellasall @AutumnJohnsonModel @_FionaRed @VanteFrank @Jayleenchristie
  • Production assistance: Alisha Jucevic

After talking with Rose on exact needs I made a few page spreadsheet detailing the shot list and schedule. Then I broke the shoot out into each concept with its own mood board and more details on the shots we wanted to get.


Step #3 Shoot Day
 

After flying to Portland I met with Alex and Rose for a pre-pro (over wine and apps) it was time to shoot. Timing was tight but everyone was all in so we made it work. Everyone had their specific job and helped with others when they had extra time. Here's how the day went: 

Scenario 1- First up was Fiona and Travante doing Ecomm and wedding photos in beautiful morning light. 
 

Scenario 2 - Reflections of pink

 
 

Scenario 3 - Wave of Flowers

Scenario 4 - Oversized Flowers

Scenario 5 - Climbing flowers

 
 

Scenario 6 - Bathing in Petals

Scenario 7 - Flowers and objects

 
 

Step 4 - Post Production

Alex and I made selects together and got approval from Rose. Then I went through and lightly edited each one using Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop. Once finalized, I laid the images out for Rose in a custom designed Look Book. She has used the images on social, on her website, on Etsy, in her emails, in her B2B line sheets, and in-person at markets. 

The schoot was not only sucessful for Rose's business but also everyone involved had a lot of fun togehter. Here's proof in a few behind-the-scenes shots from Alisha Jucevic. 

Kind Words

The whole process of working with Myray felt professional, very well organized and fun! Myray listened to what I was envisioning for brand photos and helped to make it come to life with an extra polished and professional edge.

Having these beautiful images has helped me to feel confident. My brand identity is now a compilation of everything I love about my business and hope it to be. It was well worth the investment!
— Rose Otter, Owner of Petal and Clay
Myray ReamesComment