Ooooweeee. Since moving back to Torquay, I’ve been blown away by how much my home town has changed. I know it’s always been a hub for those loving the outdoors and art, but it seems that we have so many locals taking the leap into running their art businesses full-time. Taking a side-hustle and turning it into a full-time business is no small feat!

Erin Reinboth and Penny Byrne are two Torquay-based artists and friends. Both of them have gallery representation with the career-launching Julia of Greenhouse Interiors and both paint art that lifts your mood! Penny uses calm, harmonious tones and paints tropical landscapes that transport you to that holiday you really wish you were on.

Erin’s pieces to me are pure abstract expressionist joy dancing across the canvas. I want to eat her colours. They make me think of childhood, summer, and fruity gelato. She mentioned recently that an art teacher in high school once told her that she couldn’t just paint happy art for a living. Thankfully, she’s doing it anyway!

Brand photography for artists and creatives

The photos of Erin aren’t from a proper custom brand session, but rather I popped into her live painting session for the debut of her collection at Greenhouse Interiors and took a few quick photographs to document the occasion. Look at her, making this magic with an audience. What a pro.

Penny’s photos are from a custom brand session we did together. She’s such a talented stylist, and had thought of everything, from her space to her props and outfits! Her colour palette naturally came through because her beautiful studio and pieces carry these colours throughout.

How we plan a brand photo session

I adore these sessions, because working with artists who have such a clear vision for their aesthetic and a direction of where their website is heading means we can grab a coffee together and plan out All the Important Things: brand colours, her business values, the exact shot types for maximum variety and longevity of images, even outfit ideas to give variety and incorporate those brand colours (and make it trans-seasonal, so not all shots look like they’re from one photoshoot!). The way I approach a brand photography session is completely different from a family or newborn shoot. The bulk of the work is in the pre-production phrase. It’s far more collaborative with the client, and we develop a shot list and storylines so that we can get the most out of our time together. A family session, on the other hand, is very free-flowing and responsive to the needs of the little ones. Both types of sessions are so much fun in their own way, and use different parts of my brain!

How to know when it’s time to update your brand imagery

For any artist or creative small business owner here in on the Surf Coast, updating your brand imagery might be in the pipeline for you this year. We all know what it feels like to land on a website where it looks like the products are nice, but the photos were clearly taken on a phone. It feels a bit unprofessional, right? Great for the candid updates on social media, but a website needs professional imagery that is custom to your brand, intentionally created and will stop your reader from scrolling on by.

If you are curious about what we could create for your creative business, I’d love for you to reach out below. I have packages to suit different budgets and even if you’re in the early stages of your business, please reach out because a few times a year I offer mini sessions to help you get that first website launched.

Please reach out here to say hello and chat about your own brand photo ideas with Kristen (that’s me!).

To see more of Penny Byrne’s art, throw on your sunhat and head here.

To see (not eat, sorry) more of Erin’s work, dance your way over here!

Thanks for reading, rascals! It’s always lovely to have friends over here in this corner of the internet. xx