Embarking on my journey within a Private Equity firm, I was presented with a riveting challenge - restructuring the branding of Jane Cosmetics, a company in desperate need of a creative revival. With my primary tasks involving website redesign and photography, it was evident that there were significant gaps in the previous branding approach, notably in the product photography that was essentially limited to iPhone shots.
Despite the talented designers at Jane Cosmetics wearing multiple hats in a distressed company, the necessity for a professional touch in capturing product imagery was evident. With the industry-standard requirement for precise product representation, especially in the realm of makeup, this was a task I approached with a blend of anticipation and determination.
Armed with my personal Hasselblad H5d 50, I constructed a light box to accurately capture the nuanced details of each product. Integrating stack focusing software, specifically Helicon Focus, I leveraged daylight-calibrated professional lighting to enhance each shot's clarity and authenticity.
The key to product photography, especially in cosmetics, is consistency. But consistency should not mean sacrificing authenticity. Brands often resort to using adjustment layers to simulate color variations in their products, but this is a deceptive practice that I aimed to avoid. My commitment was to ensure that each product was accurately represented, embracing its unique color and texture.
To achieve this, I crafted a Photoshop build to maintain the product packaging's uniformity, while ensuring the true color and texture of each product were perfectly captured. By employing frequency separation techniques, I retained the natural texture and shape of each product while sandwiching the genuine product in the middle of the frequency operation layers.
Through this meticulous process, I was able to create a catalog of product images that truly embodied the essence of Jane Cosmetics - each product showcased in its authentic glory, ensuring that customers know exactly what they're purchasing. This project was a remarkable testament to the transformative power of professional product photography in revitalizing a brand's image.
