This photo session in Stockholm last September was such a wonderful collaboration with writer Alexandra Mateus. I wanted to share how we planned this photo shoot based on her stories and brand – from our locations, to outfit choice and hair and makeup.

Alexandra’s session felt more like play than work (actually, I get that feeling quite often on my shoots). She has an IT background and writes about slow travels, slow living and contemporary culture. A woman of my own heart.

Throughout the planning process, one word kept coming to mind:

CONTRAST

I just knew that this was going to be a creative session. I could picture the types of locations I wanted straight away. The trick was working together to work out where we could find these places with the right look and feel, and plan a day that flowed and didn’t mean that we were spending unnecessary time travelling.

a photo shoot location in Stockholm with writer Alexandra Mateus taking photos

Client:

Alexandra Mateus, writer (Visit her website / Follow her on Instagram)

Session type:

Brand Boost (plus styling and hair/makeup)

Season:

early autumn (I wanted to include the colours of nature, but more of a palette of greens and grey, rather than letting the bright reds and oranges of autumn to take over.

playful photos from a writer's photo shoot in Stockholm

Stories & approach:

When we planned her photos, the stories Alexandra mentioned were:

  • Slow travels
  • Hiking
  • Exploring
  • Slow living
  • Savvy culture
  • Digital detox
  • Tech
  • Contemporary culture

“In a world full of digital overload, I need to share my highest potential to support and inspire people to achieve a better quality of life. I need to create a brand image aligned with my brand values so the audience can feel inspired to be proactive and improve their way of living and mindset. That would support me to stand out, create empathy and increase credibility and positive change in the community.”

In the images, we wanted to capture a sense of calm, mindfulness and slowing down, while also incorporating a playful, creative energy, combined with touches of the digital.

a black and white personal brand photo of writer Alexandra Mateus in a concrete tube

How we chose the photo shoot locations

When we chose the locations, I felt that I wanted to illustrate the contrast between:

  • the hard and soft
  • muted, neutral colours with the colourful
  • modern and digital mixed with the analogue

We ended up choosing a range of locations in Stockholm from the soft, mossy forest of Judarskogen to the gorgeous concrete, bursts of colour and structural details at Urban Playground at Tranebergsbron. To include the water and the contrast between the clean lines of the timber walkways and the soft hanging branches of the willows, we went to Alvik Strand. We finished at a fabulous boutique hotel in the city.

a collage of personal brand photos from a photo shoot location in Stockholm

Planning what to wear

Alexandra met Carolina Henning (Private Shopper Stockholm) for a style consultation and personal shopping. The outfits were completely aligned with our vision for the session and Carolina has such a talent for selecting colours, textures and styles that suit my clients’ own skin and hair colour, while keeping in mind their brand colours and our photo shoot locations. More than anything, I can really see that my clients walk away with outfits that suit their personality and needs.

relaxed environmental portraits of writer Alexandra Mateus in Judarskogen in Stockholm

Hair and makeup

I just love it when my clients get to start their day with Mia. She really sets the right tone for the day and I can see that she gives them the space to relax before we get started. For Alexandra it was important that her hair and makeup enhanced her natural look, without being too ‘put together’, and the results were just perfect.

a calm photo of a woman writing in a notebook while sitting in a mossy forest in Stockholm

Ready to book your own personal brand photo shoot?

March is already quite full, but I still have a few spots available in February. If you’re ready for a photo shoot of your own, get in touch.

a collage of photos of a writer from Judarskogen in Stockholm photos of writer Alexandra Mateus running in the forest and tying her shoelaces a collage of personal branding photos of writer Alexandra Mateus at one of our photo shoot locations Stockholm