Behind the Scenes of a Luxury Product Branding Photoshoot
A Boston Branding Photographer’s Process Blog
When Don Ruperto Cigars approached me for a social media library of images, I was extremely excited to hear what direction they had in mind to take their brand. Cigars are known to be a luxury product with old world charm. They also convey relaxation, loosened ties, and friendship. Here’s how I crafted a look for their sales catalogue.
Connecting with the founders on Zoom and later on in-person in my Boston Studio, allowed this project to shine. We took a look at existing visuals, color schemes, and messaging. I like to use the concept of an ideal/quintessential client is. We mapped out that theoretical person, whom the company can instantly describe, because they have intimate knowledge of their core fan base. For Don Ruperto, we were inspired by: Aganorsa Leaf, and Fratello. Both beautifully branded with a combination of lifestyle photography, product information, and graphics that highlighted the old-world charm.
We clarified the message to three points: communicating luxury, old world craftsmanship, and the shared pleasure of smoking a cigar. For the Don Ruperto brand, I wanted to stick to the blues, and burnt oranges that had already been established. I also wanted to show the cigars in lifestyle shots so that the products would pop on social media and establish a brand voice. Seeing another person enjoying your product with their own two hands, in their own home is more compelling than all the print you could write.
In the shoot, we took a combination of detail shots and full-body shots with our model. I designed the images to have blank space where they could border text overlay for social media. You might already know this, but for those using this blog as a reference, It is important to communicate formats and final print types to your photographer because landscape vs. vertical can mean different set-ups of your products. Another reason to communicate this is that a full-service photographer will deliver your images with all of the dimensions and aspect ratios you need.
After a successful shoot of 2-3 hours where we lit cigars, pointed spotlights on backdrops, and strategized on poses I got to view and narrow down the best 20 or so photos of hundreds. I color correct, do background extensions to fit hero shot (website entry banner) dimensions, and do hundreds of touch-ups by hand in photoshop to create the polished final images. Final images are then published in a professional online gallery, where the client can mark favorites, and share with marketing teams and social media managers. etc. The final catalog and imagery are available on the website designed by Paul Falcone.
