In 2015 Mobelux was working with iHome on a newly redesigned website platform, and in a client call someone finally broached the subject, 'With this new site, it really would be great to improve the visuals to match.' Up until that point, most of the brand visuals were a combination of product renders & stock photography. While not always the highest quality, it certainly was cheap, fast, and easy, and told an infinite amount of stories. These were my top challenges when I agreed to try our hand at producing custom product photography.

Of the hundreds they'd launch in a year, I became responsible for producing photography for the 30 key products each year. We'd tackle their studio photography, 8-10 standardized angles on a white background, and the lifestyle images, a handful of truly compelling images that would represent the product in its best light.

The first challenge in working with iHome was to define a style. When competing against stock photography, where the limits are literally endless to where a product could go, it was a daunting task. But I set out to define a style that was clean, aspirational, and descriptive, and yet the user was still drawn into the image. The product was placed exaggeratedly close to the camera, creating a forced perspective where it literally was larger than life. The models remained in the background, their lives enhanced by their existence. I also worked hard to devise realistic scenes that broke the traditional stories they had been telling. Sure a lot of people still end up drinking coffee around their products, but who doesn't drink coffee constantly while enjoying high-quality audio?

Over the years as the hunger for content grew, so did the requests including expanded studio angles, simulated environmental shoots, luxurious product details and surfaces, 360 Product Views (not recommended), and videos for retail partners. Beyond social media, our images appeared on Amazon, larger than life at CES, on Costco packaging, in Bed Bath & Beyond windows on 6th Ave, NYC, in Women's Health advertisements, and more. Not too bad for shoots accomplished using local Richmond talent, locations, and a conservative budget.