One of my favourite things about being a branding photographer is getting a behind-the-scenes look at how other creative business owners work.
And my recent branding shoot with Kelly Twigg, the talented jewellery designer behind Willow & Twigg, was a particularly lovely one!
Kelly creates beautiful, handcrafted jewellery using sea glass that she collects from beaches. So when she got in touch about having some professional photographs taken for her upcoming book, I knew we needed to capture more than just some lovely portraits.
We wanted to tell the story of her work, from the beach where she finds her materials to the jewellery studio where she transforms them into something beautiful.
Behind the scenes in Kelly’s jewellery studio
We started our shoot in Kelly’s jewellery workshop, which was full of interesting tools, colourful details and all the little things that make a creative workspace so personal.
I love photographing people in their own working environments. There’s something special about capturing someone in a space where they feel completely at home, surrounded by the things they use every day.
For Kelly, that meant photographing her at her workbench, using her jewellery-making tools and showing some of the processes involved in creating her pieces.
Of course, we also made time for plenty of relaxed portraits, including a few with her gorgeous cat!
One of the things I always aim for with my branding photography is a mixture of images. Yes, you need lovely photographs of yourself looking at the camera, but the images that show what you actually do are often just as valuable.
They’re the ones that help people understand the person and the work behind a business.
Taking our branding shoot to the park and the beach
After spending time in Kelly’s studio, we headed down to the park and the beach. 
Sea glass is at the heart of Kelly’s jewellery, so it was important to capture her in the place where so much of her creative process begins.
We photographed her walking along the shoreline, searching amongst the pebbles for pieces of sea glass and enjoying some time by the water.
I loved this part of the shoot!
Not only did it give us a completely different backdrop from the studio, but it also helped tell a much fuller story about Kelly and her business.
We also captured some more relaxed portraits by the sea, giving Kelly a lovely variety of photographs to use.
And that’s one of the things I love about longer branding shoots. Having the time to visit different locations, change outfits and capture different sides of someone’s personality and business means we can create a gallery of images that feels varied but still tells one connected story.
Creating photographs for Kelly’s new book
What made this shoot even more exciting was that the photographs were being taken for Kelly’s first book!
Making Sea Glass Jewellery is being published in May 2027, and Kelly needed photos of her to include in the book. It was such a pleasure to be involved in this exciting project, and I can’t wait to see the finished book.
Kelly was also kind enough to share these lovely words after our shoot:
“I enlisted Vicki’s help to get all the additional images for my book that I’m not able to capture myself, and I’m so thrilled with everything she has produced!
Not only is Vicki a really lovely person to work with, but she immediately put me at ease and was brilliant in making sure we got everything I needed.”
Branding photography that tells your business story
I think Kelly’s shoot is a great example of how branding photography can go beyond traditional headshots.
For creative business owners especially, there’s often so much more to your story than the finished products or services you offer.
There’s the process, the inspiration, the environment you work in and, of course, the person behind it all.
And those are the things I love capturing.
Whether you’re a jewellery designer, artist, author, coach or another type of creative entrepreneur, having photographs that show different aspects of your work can help your audience get to know you and understand what makes your business special.
A huge thank you to Kelly for inviting me into her creative world and trusting me to capture these photographs for her book.
Thinking about your own branding shoot?
If you’d love a collection of photographs that captures you, your personality and the story behind your business, I’d love to hear from you.
I offer personal branding photography in Surrey, Hampshire, Sussex, London and beyond, with shoots planned around you and your business.
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