photography

Visual storytelling: MuLondon

Over a year ago MuLondon contacted me to see if I’d be interested in creating a range of images for their rebrand, and I’m thrilled to finally show you some of the images I created for them. I love working with ethical brands passionate about their values and products quality, so I was delighted to be part of this collaboration.

Boris, the founder, is a modern apothecary who cares about using pure, organic natural ingredients for all MuLondon moisturisers and cleansers, which are also free of any artificial preservatives, fragrances or emulsifiers.
Pure essential oils and herbal remedies naturally scent and preserve the products, and the company doesn’t test on animals – which is very important to me.

 

I was excited to work on this project: the products are excellent quality and ethical, flowers and plants are my favourite photography subjects, and my artistic vision was in line with MuLondon’s – a dream collaboration!

Effective visual storytelling takes time and thought, and this is especially true when you want to create a series of images that tell the same story.
Each image needs to constantly communicate the same message, albeit with different nuances. This means having a clear understanding of the brief, brainstorming ideas to best represent the message, and also creating one or more mood boards to have a visual reference for the desired feel and look of the images.

In MuLondon’s case, all photographs need to translate the overall keywords of the brand, obviously, but each skincare range has its own specific set of keywords too, mostly based on the ingredients used, type of skin they’re aimed at, and feel and scent of the product.

This meant creating a visual story for each product, based on the specific keywords, that nevertheless would harmoniously fit within the main story of the brand.

After the brainstorming phase, we used Pinterest to share images that reflected each keyword, and the result was a massive moodboard which included textures, colours, materials, and props.

I painted a backdrop for the images, using mostly off-whites to create a light texture, and chose props with simple shapes and natural textures, such as ceramic, wood, and slate.

The mortar and pestle, boards, bottles, bowls, and spoons, all hint at the handmade nature of the skincare. Together with the botanical prints, they evoke the idea of an apothecary using natural herbal ingredients, but with a modern, fresh look in line with the rebranding.

It was great fun to use all the natural ingredients as props – I’d never seen a cocoa pod up close, they’re beautiful!
I enjoyed working with such a variety of colours and textures – a wonderful mix of simple and exotic that I found really inspiring.

Styling each product was a pleasant, soothing, and beautifully scented experience – what with the lavender, chamomile, vanilla, and rose petals, just to name a few! A true multi-sensory experience :)

The White Chocolate Truffle moisturiser is so decadent, and smells so delicious, like having some white chocolate vanilla mousse right under your nose…I had to restrain myself not to taste it!

It’s been a real pleasure working with MuLondon. Head over to their new beautiful website to see all the images and learn more about their ethos and wonderful skincare.

Still life: behind the scenes

During my workshops and e-courses, I often come across students who are afraid that they won’t be able to create beautiful images unless they have a dedicated room for taking photos, or a gorgeous home, or a beautiful garden, or all of the above. This is absolutely NOT true, and today I want to show you where I create my images, and give you a few tips about setting up a space for your still life photography.

In an ideal world, I’d love to have my own studio: a light-filled space, with lots of room to work and create different types of images. This dream studio would be in the garden, close to a small greenhouse and potting shed, and a patch to grow flowers…in the dream, there’s also a house with wooden floors, airy rooms, a fireplace, and a beautiful view over fields and woodland…

The reality is quite different though. We are renting, so we’re stuck with beige carpet and slate flagstones, no fireplace, a small garden paved with ugly concrete slabs, large radiators in inopportune places, and views of a small court cramped with houses and cars…it’s a nice, comfortable house to live in, and I’m grateful for it, but alas it has no photogenic areas that are Instagram-worthy.

I have lots of ideas for images that I’d like to include in my visual storytelling, like larger still lives, and garden scenes too, but at the moment I can only work on a very small scale…and yet, that doesn’t prevent me from creating. Other things sometimes do, but that’s for another day and another post ;)

I thought I’d share with you where I work, to show you that you can indeed practice still life photography even in small spaces.

I shoot in my dining room by the glass door leading into the back garden, and my set up consists of a small folding table, my painted wooden backdrops, and a small selection of vases, teacups, and other props.

Every time I shoot I need to move the table and chairs, to have enough room for moving around, and when I finish taking photos I always need to move the furniture back and tidy up…and believe me, there’s usually quite a mess to clear up!

Sometimes I find the thought of putting everything back a bit annoying, but overall I don’t mind it too much.

Let’s have a look at the set up for a simple, classical floral still life: I leaned my painted backdrop on the wall (well, on the radiator!) by the window, and placed a wooden tray on a wicker box to create my “table”. I then arranged the flowers and fabric, and took the photo.

When I edited the image, I cropped it square as that’s my favourite format.

In this other image, I propped one backdrop on the wall, and placed another backdrop on the folding table.

After editing I cropped the image square, as usual.

When I set up a flatlay, I place the backdrop directly on the floor. Some people work on a table, but I prefer to work on the floor, even if that means doing a lot of crouching, because I suffer from vertigoes and I don’t want to stand on a chair to photograph my work.

I don’t use a tripod when I take photos with my iPhone, but I do use it for my DSLR. I also always use a white reflector to bounce off the light from the window, and soften the shadows.

See, I wasn’t joking about the radiator – definitely not photograph material!

 

If, like me, you want to shoot with natural light, the most important thing is to find a spot in your home that has the best light for your style of photography.

A north-facing window will provide you with soft diffused light that won’t change much during the day, but if your only option is a south-facing window don’t despair: just use some white cloth, like a sheet or curtain, to cover the window and diffuse the light.

If you don’t have enough natural light, use a lamp with a daylight bulb, to avoid colour casts, or perhaps practice low-key photography a.k.a. dark and moody. In this type of photography, even a small amount of light will allow you to create beautiful, dramatic still life images.

 

A small table, a portion of the floor by a window, even a windowsill can all be suitable for still life photography. Granted, you will have to work on a small scale, like I do, but limitations are actually a great way to stimulate creativity and improve your work.

Try different windows, and different set ups, until you find one that works for you and your style, and then keep practising and have fun!

So where do you take your photos? I’d love to know :)