When Hannah Bangs, proprietor and Chief Plant Lady of Idyll Mercantile reached out to me for product photos I knew I was in for a fun collaboration. Idyll Mercantile is a wonderful plant and gift shop in the heart of Santa Barbara where shoppers are greeted by an impeccably curated little world of art, artisan goods + gifts, books and of course plants! To share this experience with those who can’t visit the brick & mortar shop, we needed beautiful product photos for Idyll’s e-commerce website.
Our on-location temporary “studio” at Idyll Mercantile.
We wanted a fun, modern, colorful and graphic visual style for the photos. “People buy based on emotion, it’s about how the product makes you feel.” says Hannah. The art direction relied heavily on bold colors, backdrop papers/fabrics, minimal props and product risers to achieve the “look” we wanted.
We used the shop as our studio space for easy access to the inventory… plants are not always easy to travel with! There were a lot of products to photograph so Hannah compiled a shot list and we put together a vision board of styling ideas and concepts so we could efficiently work through the day. After about 5 hours of shooting we were both happy to be done with the shot list!
Beer Caddy - available from Idyll Mercantile in Santa Barbara, CA
Less than a week after the shoot, I delivered the retouched images, “the images are jaw dropping” enthused Hannah.
I’m stoked with how these playful photos turned out…. and the client was happy too, which is the most important thing! Scroll for a couple more images from the shoot!
Plantopedia
Monstera Albo at Idyll Mercantile
Idyll Mercantile is located at 703 Chapala St. Santa Barbara, California 93101
If you would like to setup a meeting or schedule a shoot please don’t hesitate to reach out!