We’ve called on Rhona many times to help us help our clients tell compelling stories through photography. We caught up following a recent shoot for land&water @packethousefalmouth to find out what drives her creative process, why collaboration matters, and the value of natural light.

Collaboration.

A brand photoshoot for me is always a team effort. The results simply couldn’t be achieved without the contribution of many great creative minds at work. A–Side have created brilliant art direction, organised pre-production and been on location with me to assist on many brand photoshoots. Making sure the whole team is happy on a shoot day is something I think about a lot. This involves making sure everyone has enough food/water to keep the creative energy high, taking breaks to ensure the team doesn’t burn out over the day and bringing any necessary items like warm coats, flasks of tea and changing robes.

Working process.

A typical project for me starts with a discovery call or email where a brand would communicate what they need and why they need it. I like to ask a few questions and dig a little deeper to discover the essence of the brand and how I might capture this. When working with A–Side this often comes in the form of a detailed brief, complete with art direction and a shot list. Next we have the shoot day, this is when all of the planning comes together and the vision becomes reality. I shoot in a fairly opportunistic fashion, dancing with the natural light, whilst working through the shot list. Finally it’s time for post-production, I make some adjustments to the light, colours and tidy up any distracting elements like plug sockets, smudges and pimples. A final edit then gets sent to the client for review and we have a round of further retouching if required.

Point of difference.

I think the way I work with natural light distinguishes my content from the rest. I often shoot at sunrise or sunset to achieve a warm, sun-dappled aesthetic. The way I set up a shot e.g direct models, curate props, place products plays a big part in my creative process. I like my photographs to look candid, relaxed and lived-in, even though we may have spent hours setting it up.

Inspiration.

I find inspiration from as many places as possible. I have a very curated and strict policy when it comes to what content I consume, because I believe that what we are surrounded by plays a big part in what we produce. I listen to podcasts, read journals, travel and of course follow a bunch of amazing creatives on Instagram. But I won’t look at anything that I deem to be low vibrational content e.g gossip, unattainable beauty standards, narrow-minded rhetoric.

Dream project.

A dream project of mine would involve a super star team; an art director, set designer, stylist, model, make-up artist and lighting assistant. I want to work on photoshoots with a high production value so that I can actualise some of my more extravagant and ambitious ideas.

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