Sticky Spoons Jam is a local, small business that sells over 25 different handmade jams, preserves, and jellies. It is run by Aiyenede Akhigbe, who asked me to do some product photography to help with the marketing for a few new jam combo boxes. Aiye is an inspirational business owner whom I have had the pleasure of working with a few times, so I was happy to help.
Preparation Only Goes So Far
I don’t typically do much product photography, but I love taking pictures and was excited to try my new 50mm f1.4 lens for this kind of project. I brought a white backdrop and some lights, and I had done a little research on what kind of lighting setup to use for small, round, shiny objects. Everything was going smoothly when, about halfway through the shoot, the power went out.
It was a really windy day, so we figured this might happen, and we were lucky that Aiye didn’t have a batch of jam cooking at the time. They have a generator, but it didn’t kick in right away, so we got to sit and chat for a few minutes. We talked about Aiye’s vacation plans, my wedding plans, and we complained about getting too many spam emails as business owners. The generator came on, we finished up the shoot, and I went home to edit the photos.
Good Clients Make the Work Worth It
In hindsight, I can see how a power outage could have totally derailed the shoot, and I have worked at places where it would have been a much bigger problem. But we had an interesting conversation in the dark and still got some great photos at the end of the day. The best clients are the ones who help turn a potential setback into a nice conversation and remind me that the best part of my work is the connections.
Go Get Some Jam!
Check out Sticky Spoons Jam to get some handmade jams! My favorite one is the Blueberry Lavender Preserve, and I am currently tearing through a jar of Peach Mango Serrano Jam. If you need marketing help to move more product out the door, let’s work together to make sure more people know about it.
