Photographing a brand built on kindness, community and conscious living
PURPOSE-LED BRAND · FOUNDERS · CONSCIOUS RETAIL · COMMUNITY · BROADSTAIRS
Kinder Collective is founded by Rebecca Gonsalves and Francesca Fox. It is an independent children’s store in Broadstairs, bringing together toys, books and clothing, as well as gifts. All of which have a strong focus on thoughtful choices, sustainability and community. As they prepared to launch their new website, they wanted a library of brand photography that felt as considered as the brand itself.
Warm, joyful, natural, full of personality, and unmistakably Kinder Collective.
Finding the feeling of the brand
The storytelling blended product and interiors photography, as well as film to share what it feels like to step through the door.
This includes Rebecca and Fran with their customers, having conversations and children exploring the spaces with moments of play. As well as all the details they’ve carefully curated. Natural portraits of the people behind the business and the interactions that create its atmosphere.
I worked with them to develop a brand photography shoot plan around the natural flow of a day in the life of the Broadstairs shop, looking for the connections and details that already existed.
The resulting photography brings together founder portraits, lifestyle imagery, customer interactions and products. As well as the wider environment, all into one cohesive visual story.
Putting people behind the purpose
Rebecca and Fran are an important part of what makes Kinder Collective feel like it does. Therefore, founder photography formed an important part of the shoot.
By creating images of them together, as well as individually, within the space they’ve created, the portraits feel connected to their wider story.
Rebecca and Fran also wanted to record a short story about their ‘why’ and how Kinder Collective came to be. They’re two amazing souls who are the heart of the community in Broadstairs, and this added another layer to the visual brand photography library. Their voices, personalities and the thinking behind the business alongside the still imagery that shows it in action.
Photo and video working together
The project brought together two different ways of experiencing the same brand. Together, they create a richer picture of both the brand and the humans behind it.
brand photography
Creating a cohesive visual library that can work throughout a website and across wider brand communications.
purpose-led brands
Understanding the values behind a business and allowing them to shape the way its story is photographed.
founder storytelling
Natural portraits and video that also bring the people behind the business into the visual identity.
Brand film
Rebecca and Fran share the story and thinking behind Kinder Collective
Reflections
What I love most about projects like this is that the values already exist. They’re in the decisions Rebecca and Fran make about what they stock. As well as the space they’ve created, the way they interact with customers and the community gathering around the business.
The visual storytelling comes from noticing those things and in doing so, giving them somewhere to be seen.
And when that becomes part of the fabric of a website and social media storytelling, people can begin to get a sense of the business before they’ve ever stepped through its door.
Does your visual story feel like your business?
I create photo and video for founders and purpose-led brands, building visual libraries around the people, values, details and experiences that make a business distinctive.