      Victoria Rose Ball is an illustrator based in Edinburgh, creator of a beautiful range of Scottish prints and gifts. I loved this shoot as it was for such a variety of products across Victoria's main collections: Scotland, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. The brief was to photograph prints, enamel pins, tote bags, bookmarks, postcards and more with styling and props in shades of teal and turquoise, hints of mustard and pink. Victoria sent over a wide range of props - it's wonderful when clients do this as it feels like a real collaborative effort in the way that it all comes together. The styling was a mix of bold and playful but in quite a clean way. The pins were a joy to photograph - the details really shone and worked so well with the texture of the fabric background. If you would like to book a photoshoot you can do so here. 
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 Lifestyle candle tin collection shot for The Tartan Wick Candle photography is definitely one of my favourites. I love styling cosy scenes and capturing the comforting ritual of lighting a candle. As a product photographer, I thought I would share my must have shots for giving your candles a *glow* up. There are so many ways you could shoot and style a candle, but these are six I’d recommend to get started with. Having your candle shown in a variety of set ups and from different angles will really help your customer see what they’re ordering and why it’s the candle they have to buy. The shots listed below also double up as easy social content, just be sure to snap a range of square, 16:9 and banner size to keep your options open. 6 Key Shots to Give Your Candle Photography a Glow Up1. Simple Lifestyle Scene Simple lifestyle shot for The Edinburgh Candlemaker Co Does what it says on the tin (heh heh). Set in a simple homely lifestyle scene to suit your brand story, ideally with the lid off and lit for that cosy glow. The aesthetic should have your ideal customer in mind - use interior props which help communicate that your brand is luxury/eco/cutesy. Show your brand personality and use colours to complement your packaging. 2. Add a Human Element Hand going to light candle for The Summergate Candle Company In other words, figure out how to include your hands in the scene. This could be lighting it with a match, or holding the lit candle with cosy jumper sleeves in shot. You want to help your customer imagine having it in their own hands, and how it would make them feel to own such beautiful product. It also helps show the size of your candle more than a description (plus, we all know people don't read the descriptions). 3. Bring the Scent to Life Figs and magnolias are used as props to show the scent of this candle for The Candle Bothy Get styling with props to represent the scent. If your candle is a scent which can be visually described this is a must! Sadly, customers can’t smell those gorgeous essential oils through their screen so this is the next best thing. If your scent is something more conceptual like "summer rain" then you can have fun capturing an image which has that feel about it too. 4. Group Shot! Wild Pumpkin scent group shot for Wildbells If this is part of a collection, comes in different sizes, or has a matching room spray, then shooting them together is a brilliant way to boost sales. If you offer them together as a gift set then take a photo of that too. Your customer has discovered their new favourite scented candle, they’ve come back to your online shop to buy another - then they spot they can buy a diffuser and wax melts too - all because you added a lovely new group shot to the product listing. Makes upselling much easier! 5. Seasonal Scene Autumn styling as part of a seasonal shoot for Scents of the Wild Seasonal shots make seasonal marketing super easy. Have fun with textures; how about a chunky knit blanket, a cup of coffee and an open book for an autumn mood? You can make your candles work all year round with a bank of styled shots to keep customers interested. To get the most out of them:
6. White Background White cut out with packaging for Myariella Candles I’m ending on a boring but very useful shot. A well lit, sharp studio cut out image is a must if you’re looking for press features (be sure to join Press Loft or similar). They’re also great for wholesale catalogues alongside your gorgeous lifestyle images. Some e-commerce sites require white cut outs too. Final ThoughtsWorking on improving your candle photography offers endless opportunities to highlight the beauty of your products, scents, and story behind your brand. By incorporating lifestyle scenes, seasonal touches, and thoughtful product groupings to your shop listings, you can level up your candle images and attract more customers. If you’d prefer to focus on your business while leaving the photography to a professional, you can book me as your photographer. Together, we can create stunning images that make your candles glow. I offer a post and shoot service, working with clients from across the UK. You can see my photography packages here and book here. I hope you found these tips for levelling up your candle photography helpful for your next shoot! I’d love to see your efforts too, tag @jillyjillystudio on Instagram. If you'd like to see a key shot guide for a different product type, let me know in the comments below! 
Rosie Hay Ceramics beautiful pieces weren't being shown off in her existing DIY photography, so I was delighted to be given the chance to bring her products to life in this shoot. Rosie has kindly let me share one of her photographs above to illustrate the difference that professional photography can make. Her beautiful mugs become the aspirational product they deserve to be with a photo you'd find in a glossy magazine. This photoshoot was a lovely mix of warm, tactile, neutral styling which speaks to the natural tones of the glazes and clay. With linens, wood, and dried foliage, the products are kept centre stage but the images have a warm and inviting depth to them. I’ve never had professional photos done for my small business Rosie Hay Ceramics before and so when I contacted Jilly to enquire if she could take some shots, it was a seamless experience from start to finish, with amazing photos taken for me of some of my work, to confidently share and use on my social media, for applications for exhibitions and some PR. The difference some great photos can make to a small business is priceless. Thank you Jilly, am recommending you to all my small business pals." If you would like to book a photoshoot you can do so here.  If you run a service based business a brand photoshoot is a fantastic way to create consistent visuals which help build trust and make your brand stand out. That could be in the form of a personal brand shoot which helps tell your story and share the face behind the business, or a product photography style shoot where we create a bank of images in the studio that align with your offerings.
If you'd like to book a brand photoshoot, you can do so here. 
It’s been two weeks since we finished our two week bathroom makeover and I’ve finally found the time to share the reveal! I can’t get over how much brighter the space feels after years of it being black and white! It’s certainly a more cheerful place to get ready in the mornings. This project has been a long time coming as we've been planning and ordering the materials gradually over the last year. Initially, I used procreate to trace the existing bathroom so I could add layers of colour and pattern to work out the design. I made a moodboard alongside this to keep on my phone for shopping for accessories to check they would match the scheme. We wanted the feel of an eclectic boutique hotel, for leisurely baths and relaxing skincare routines. Once we knew what we were looking for we set up price alerts to get the best prices for the tiles which saved us a lot of money. The other big money saver was keeping what we could, and doing absolutely everything ourselves - David basically became a plumber and electrician with the help of YouTube (don't worry we've since had it checked over by qualified professionals!). We ripped out the old bathroom, kept the toilet and sink, then started to build it all back. The process took the two of us 10 long days but I'm so glad we did it that way! It's definitely our biggest project to date and the most satisfying because of it. I'll pop a list of our purchases below, if I've missed anything your curious about just drop me a message. Floor Tiles / pink carnaby / @porcelainsuperstore Blue Panelling Paint / dusky blue / @ronseal.uk Pink Wall Paint / fairy’s tutu / @valsparpaintuk Blind @laredoute_uk Fresh as a daisy print @ohsodaisy.shop Wild flowers print @mellow_prints Rug @primark.home Lights @dunelmuk Bin @sostrenegrene Green Cabinet Paint @littlegreenepaintcompany garden Radio @robertsradio revival petite Soap dish & plant pot @rosiehayceramics I've already used the bathroom for a couple of photography set ups! It's so great to have a space which flows with the rest of our colourful home.     We've had another kitchen update! If you've been around here a while, you'll maybe remember we had a mini kitchen makeover a few years ago. It involved tile decal stickers and painting the cupboards pink. Well, the pink cupboards have stayed, but we now have some beautiful new tiles - plus a few other changes!
I spent quite a while gathering tile samples; I initially did want something patterned or a classic metro style. In the end I couldn't choose a colour so decided to go for a patchwork of pastels and a darker grout for a fresh and fun vibe. The tiling was a big job which grew arms and legs and resulted in replastering the walls, so naturally we had to repaint the kitchen as well. I didn't want anything which would distract from the tiles too much so went for a soft green which suited existing appliances and the pink units. Since the old shelves had to come down during the process I thought now was the time to treat ourselves to some rustic new ones for added cosiness. We ordered some made to measure, and I found pink brackets to go with them. One of the slightly complicated jobs was switching over all the sockets to cute pink ones - we also added a couple of double sockets as our kitchen has always been lacking plugs. This has given us so much more flexibility with the layout of our appliances, and the pink makes a feature of them which I love. Finally, we updated the lighting by adding stylish green wall lights which stop the need for big light brightness when pottering in the evening. These are actually not wired in because we only decided on them after tiling! But, we did find rechargeable usb bulbs which mean they work wirelessly. I've made a list of kitchen purchases below, but if I've missed anything you're interested in, let me know.
Next on our home DIY list is the bathroom, our biggest project to date!       Stacey of SD Studios got in touch after being recommended me by the lovely Ceramic Button. She explained that they were launching their online shop and were in need of a collection of lifestyle images to capture the mood of their product range. These would be used on socials as well as the new ecommerce site. The main products I was to focus on for this initial shoot were the Be Kind cards which come in four varieties - original, love, grief and business. Stacey went me details on the styling varieties for each but I wanted to make sure the images would have enough similarities to keep the brand visuals cohesive. I chose natural wood as the main background for a homely feel since the lifestyle aspect was important. The wall and other backgrounds was mainly blue to suit their branding. The scene changes from collection to collection but there are some props which intentionally feature throughout to help the images flow - notebooks, scalloped tray and candle. Here's what Stacey had to say about the photoshoot: We are thrilled with the product photoshoot from JillyJilly Studio. They’re exactly what we had wished for, and really do bring our products and personality to life in our new gift shop. The photography really captures the essence of what our products are about, and elevates them to a new level. They have brought a much needed freshness to the collection. We cannot express enough how pleased we are with them, and cannot wait to hear what our customers, friends & family think of the new look. As well as the outcome being perfect, the communication from booking the shoot to the delivery of the photographs was clear, enjoyable and professional. Thanks Jilly!" SD Studios launch their online shop this week so check it out to see more of the product images and browse their fab products. https://shop.sd-studios.co.uk/collections/all If you would like to book a photoshoot you can do so here.  1. Professional photos make a world of difference when putting together a wholesale catalogue. As well as a stand-out cover, you can really share your brand vibe with potential stockists. White cut-out pics are perfect for making an easy-to-use line sheet to help with ordering too. 2. If you’re taking part in a trade show you’ll want to make the most of your stand display - it’s cost you a lot to be there! Hanging large-scale prints of your favourite images is a great addition for catching passers-by at a busy event. Showing your best lifestyle shots can really show potential stockists what your brand is about and help them tell if you’re the right fit for their shop. 3. When setting up your profile for a trade show you can usually supply a handful of images - organisers are always on the look-out for images they can use on their website home page and socials to promote the event so make sure yours are irresistible. 4. Selling on Faire? The same applies, the better your images are the more likely you are to pop up on their featured suppliers. 5. Having beautiful images also makes life easier for your stockists as your products are easy for them to add to their website and promote to their customers. The more they sell, the more they’ll order from you. Summer Autumn Winter Since our first shoot at the start of the year, I've loved working with The Ceramic Button on a range of seasonal shoots. Claire has such a variety of ceramic 'buttons', tags and decor that it's been fun working out how to set up different themed scenes to suit. For summer we had a garden party/afternoon tea theme with cocktails, scones, fresh flowers and berries. In autumn, I sourced some early pumpkins and added cosy candles - Claire sent some acorns and conkers she managed to find too. Finally, for winter we had a couple of different scenes, more traditional cosy Christmas tea with reds and greens, and a baking set up to suit the other products. I kept the wooden background and bokeh lights for consistency. If you'd like to book a seasonal photoshoot you can do so here. I'm currently booking for February/March 2023.     Rachel from Scents of the Wild booked a mini shoot so I could update her Christmas candle photos to work with the images I shot earlier in the year. I used many of the same props and set ups for consistency but with a few subtle differences to add a festive twist. Red twine, holly, fairy lights and striped pegs were in keeping with the apothecary theme but definitely give the photos a Christmassy edge. A mini shoot is perfect for updating seasonal images - it's also super handy having some extra content to share on socials at this busy time of year! If you'd like to book a photoshoot you can do so here. |
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