A Behind-the-Scenes Look at My Latest Photoshoot - Clean Nutrition

As a full-time photographer, I work with a plethora of clients each with wild and wonderful unique briefs... which for the most part just click (no pun intended).

However, every so often you get scouted and given a brief that makes your heart SING! This was one of those briefs.
In all my shoots, my goal is to create and tell a unique story.

Recently, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Clean Nutrition, a brand dedicated to premium, clean, and effective nutrition products, which for this gym lover was a dream!

My task? To bring their new products to life through both product and lifestyle imagery - a challenge I was more than excited to take on!

BUT, how does it all work?

The Planning & Preparation

A successful shoot starts long before my camera even rears its wee face out of my bag. For this project, Clean Nutrition provided a comprehensive brief and mood board, which became my blueprint for the shoot. We then worked together to define:

How we can utilise the brand’s visual identity—clean, fresh, and modern.
The balance between product-focused imagery and lifestyle shots to tell a story.
​
From this, I designed a shot list that aligned with their marketing goals. This preparation was the next key element in ensuring that the final images matched Clean Nutrition’s aesthetic and brand messaging perfectly.

This is when a variety of colour-matched spray paint from Bunnings came in VERY handy!

This project was captured over 2 days – 1 for the product and 1 for the lifestyle to really make sure my time was spent effectively on both.

On the first shoot day, I focused on capturing crisp product shots and on the second -creating lifestyle imagery that showcased Clean Nutrition’s products in action.

Product Photography:

Before the shoot day, my goal was to acquire props that aligned with the branding colours, creating specifically coloured props as well as collecting all other ingredients that would feature in situ of each product.

I then carefully styled and arranged each product to highlight its packaging and premium quality.

Lighting was crucial—I opted for a balance of soft shadows and highlights to enhance textures and give the images depth.
​
The colour palette was kept fresh, bold and colourful to align with the brand’s clean and natural feel.

Lifestyle Imagery:

A large focus for this project was to capture the product in action and in a kitchen that is big, bright and beautiful. I scouted the perfect location and from there I worked with a variety of setups, integrating Clean Nutrition’s products into everyday active lifestyles… with me as the model.

I really wanted to focus on movement and authenticity in this second shoot to make the images feel dynamic and relatable.
​
These moments created aspirational yet achievable shots that I believe would resonate with the brand’s key audience.

Every shoot has its challenges, and this one was no exception.

Working with artificial lighting instead of natural light in the studio is always an interesting challenge, but it allowed for precise control over the final look. Finding the perfect balance between product clarity and lifestyle authenticity was another key focus, ensuring the images felt engaging but not overly staged.

One of the biggest wins? The final shots exceeded expectations - the Clean Nutrition team was thrilled with how the images embodied their brand’s ethos. Seeing the content now live on their website and marketing materials is such a rewarding experience!

In every project I take on, the power of strong pre-production planning and how much storytelling matters in food and product photography is vital.

It also reminded me of the importance of adapting on set to bring out the best in every shot.

I couldn’t be happier with the results and am excited to see how Clean Nutrition uses these images to elevate its brand.

​Want to see more behind-the-scenes content?
​
Make sure to give me a follow on Insta: @allymcfarlanephotography and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me -  [email protected]