Danica Heirloom Photo Styling Guide
A brand driven by tabletop and ceramics, accented by kitchen and table linens. With a focus on textures, special finishes and all things tactile, capturing this allure is key.
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Mindful Living
We are returning to our roots in Heirloom this season, placing focus on items, materials and techniques that celebrate craftsmanship and authenticity. A new focus is to gently reorganize the brand into curated sections; these will in turn be translated into chapters in the catalogues and distinct stories in showrooms, while still conveying a sense of cohesion. A store should be able to feature all the looks in their space. A consumer should be able to set their table with one style, and accent with another.
New Sections
Danica Heirloom Chapters
Each new Heirloom chapter will be introduced with a defining image in the catalogue, capturing the mood, the location and the environment of the story. We’d like to have a specific region in mind for each chapter, something aspirational for ourselves, our customers, and our consumers.
Chapter 1
Artisanal Influence
Aspirational location story: A vibrant tiled patio in Marrakesh.
Handmade, authentic products with global reach. Rich colours, tactile textures, decorative details and embellishments. Heritage techniques.
Chapter 2
Organic Minimalism
Aspirational location story: A contemporary French country kitchen in Provence
Trusted materials, essential shapes and timeless appeal. Craftsmanship, natural glazes, inviting textures and limited patterning. Neutral colour palettes.
Chapter 3
Indigo
Aspirational location story: A small fishing village cottage in Portugal
Rich blues offset with off white and ecru neutrals. Traditional handmade indigo sit alongside indigo inspired items.
Chapter 4
Medley
Aspirational location story: An eclectic food and home decor market in Barcelona.
The final chapter of Heirloom, Medley showcases reinvented classics in kitchen textiles and some tabletop—predominantly aprons, mitts, potholders, knitted ph, chambray napkins and select towels. Medley gives the customer and consumer the chance to layer and connect all the looks in Heirloom.
Artisanal Influence
A celebration of artisanal, handmade, authentic products with global influence. Statement pieces featuring thoughtful decorative details, embellishment and tactile textures elevate the brand. Serving pieces are integral here rather than day to day dining ware. The palette is rich and often colorful to celebrate the global influences of the story. One of a kind, heritage techniques.
Location Story
Location Story
Organic Minimalism
A functional yet elevated look, featuring trusted materials, essential shapes and timeless appeal. This story encourage customers to pause and appreciate craftsmanship and techniques through touch and texture. Natural glazes, stone and organic presenting materials anchor this look. Patterning is limited, or quite subtle. Texture is inviting. Colour palettes can be elevated and more neutral, with accents of richer natural colours.
Location Story
Location Story
Indigo
Rich blues offset with off white and ecru neutrals. A celebration of the ways Indigo is used around the world in dyeing, printing, painting and varying forms of cultural expression.Traditional handmade indigo will sit alongside indigo inspired items, bringing the historically accurate next to the modern interpretation.
Location Story
Location Story
Medley
Reinvented classics in kitchen textiles and some tabletop – predominantly aprons, mitts, potholders, knitted ph, chambray
napkins and select towels. The kitchen linens are intended to be Heirloom planogrammed or gridded for functional merchandising. Medley gives the customer and consumer the chance to layer and connect all the looks in Heirloom.
Location Story
Location Story
Spotlight Category
Candleholders
Spotlight Category
Glassware
Spotlight Category
Handmade
Categories Phasing Out
Props to Avoid
Please avoid using the following product categories as props in your shots. Although they are still available this season, they will be phased out soon:
- Abode Dishtowels
- Aster Mini Spout Bowls
- Cloudbursts Mugs
- Dune Mugs
- Pulse Tabletop Collection
- Sonora Berry Bowl
- Shadow Tint Mug
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Photo Styling
Look & Feel
- Modern
- Minimal
- Staged
- Simple, Rustic
- Moody
- Wabi Sabi
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Photo Styling
Backdrops
- Mosaic tiles
- Fresco
- Concrete
- Brick walls
- Marble
- Rustic wood surfaces
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Photo Styling
Layouts
- Clean, simple, focused
- Monochromatic
- Moody lighting
- Beams of light
- Stacks and multiples.
- Mix of product shots and in situ
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Photo Styling
Chapter Props & Backdrops
- Each chapter will have a few key props that can get used in multiple setups
- New backdrops will be created that ties into the new chapters
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Photo Styling
Styling Effects
- Simple draping and stacking shows off texture well and sets the mood
- Use natural lighting to capture texture, wrinkles and imperfections
- Plenty of compositional breathing room lets the product shine
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Photo Styling
Themes & Stories
- Tell the aspirational location story for each chapter in your scene
- Keep props to a minimal, favouring coordinating products as support instead
- Store display set-ups are great for some collections
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Photo Styling
Scaling
- Get up nice and close to show motifs and techniques
- Use hands, other products, and food props to show the scale of the product
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Photo Styling
Settings
- Style with the assortment chapter in mind
- Locations that fit the stories we're telling will be booked
- Embrace the eclectic nature of the brand with lively mixing and matching
- Some categories are helped by showing products in use
- Farmhouse home settings work well for Organic Minimalism
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Danica Heirloom Models
Look & Feel
- Diverse
- Sophisticated
- Inconspicuous
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Danica Heirloom Models
Wardrobe
- Linen, canvas and other natural materials.
- Neutral and white tones.
- Solid colors with some texture.
- Avoid leather or jeans.
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Danica Heirloom Models
Makeup & Hair
- Light, soft and everyday
- No strong colors or bold lips or nails
- Avoid or hide tattoos.
- Hair in loose, simple styles
and cuts
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Danica Heirloom Models
Posing
- Natural, un-posed
- Off to the side, obscured or partly cropped out
- No direct camera eye-contact – look at product, away or beyond
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Additional PhotographyMind the Gap
Evaluating existing shots and creating images that fill in information gaps for the viewer is key. The outcome should be converting customers to purchase through a seamless and user friendly buying experience.
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Additional PhotographyFunctionality
The first styling goal in most cases will be to show the product's funcionality. Simple 'hot item on trivet' shots are key here. Showing items in use with models will often be a nice solution.
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Additional PhotographyScale
For many items, contextualizing its scale will be an important objective. Everyday kitchen items and models play an important role here. Often you can cover both scale and functionality in the same shot.
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Additional PhotographyUnique Selling Point
For products with more unique characteristics, it will be important to clarify their intended use. For instance, show items nested, from multiple angles or gift packaged. Featuring alternate uses can be effective as well..
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Additional Photography
Number of Images
One additional image per product is currently the minimum goal, but fitting in secondary images when possible should be a focus. Closeups to show texture and details will be a good way to bump up the shot numbers here.
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Additional Photography
Collection Props & Packaging
Featuring other items from the same collection as the main product is encouraged if it makes sense in the setup. Gift box packaging can be used as a prop or riser of sorts as well, but packaging focused photography will be done separately.
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Additional Photography
Image Requirements
- Aspect ratio 1:1 (square)
- Recommended resolution: 3000x3000 px
- PPI 300 dpi
- Color mode: RGB
- File format: JPEG, JPG, PNG
- Max file size: 2 mb
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Additional Photography
Image Guidelines
Show the product with other objects to give context or show how people would use the product in real life.
The product should be the main focus, ensure the props/models do not draw the attention away from the actual product.
What Not To Do
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Danica Heirloom Don'tsBusy & Scattered scenes
Avoid scattered and 'spilled' props, keep layouts neat and sparse.
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Danica Heirloom Don'tsBouquets & Flowers
Stay away from colorful bouquets, and leafy plants, favoring dried flowers, succulents and cacti.
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Danica Heirloom Don'tsTattoos
Cover tattoos up or avoid putting them in the spotlight. Use natural material clothing instead.
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Danica Heirloom Don'tsJuvenile
Avoid super colorful or humorous themes. Don't prop with candy.
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Danica Heirloom Don'tsRedundant Images
Don’t shoot a lifestyle image just to add another image to the product page, ensure it serves a purpose and features a different selling point than existing images.
