Lost in the Trees, a Lowell Farms Brand Campaign
For a long time, the presumption has been that only certain kinds of people that smoke cannabis are worthy of fair treatment, that only the right kind of people deserved the peace that comes from the plant. The purpose of this shoot is to highlight the freedom that comes with cannabis and that the “RIGHT” kind of people are “ALL” people. We want to highlight that people of all backgrounds, of different experiences, can come together and share the gift that nature has given us all, the cannabis plant.
This project was co-created by Jahns Chavez @JahnsChavez & Myself @YogitheShooter, as an attempt to capture the mood and essence of the imagery we love to capture, imagery that is heavily story-based while also being clean and fashionable. Stylistically, we were able to instantly agree on all aspects of the shoot, the only question was, which brand?
I, as some of you may know, have created content with the Lowell Farms CBD product in the past and thought they would possibly be the perfect brand to align with our vision. Every from Lowell’s branding, to their packaging, to their brand ethos fit within the concept that we constructed for ‘Lost in the Trees’. To be clear, THE CONCEPT CAME FIRST. We wanted to bring a brand into our worlds organically, rather than forcing an idea that we didn’t feel. And with my legal history in dealing with cannabis, visually shifting narratives about the consumption of cannabis amongst non-white communities is a cause that I truly hope to be attached to.
The mood board always sets the tone for the shoot.
Jahns Chavez & Myself crafted the look for this shoot from scratch.
As I mentioned, the story of the shoot was important to us both. In fact, if you look at our work, the main focus for us both is what the subjects are conveying and the way they deliver those emotions. But with a story, details matter most. The props that were featured were intentional; the fruit baskets, the flowers, the sparkling wine & the details on the baskets and bags all help tie together the larger story.
Choosing models that we felt confident to bring out the story was just as important. Much love to Mintyce Sarae (@mintyce) of Kingsley Model&Talent & Monet Parker (@monetparker) of BICOASTAL MGMT for absolutely conveying the message of the concept. They were both great on set and true professionals when the cameras were rolling.
Originally this shoot was planned for peak Summer; a backdrop of lush trees, sand glowing from Golden Hour and a warmth to the sky creating the perfect tonal range for a picnic concept. But with Covid providing it’s own inherent issues, working with the schedules of 2 agency models and both myself & Jahns being professional shooters, timing was difficult to coordinate. In the end, Jahns gave me the greenlight to capture this gem without him.
Moving the original shoot day from Summer to peak Fall ended up being perfect! I loved the dead leaves on the ground, adding a more neutral-toned palette in pairing with the cool temperature tones of a slightly overcast day. What was dope about that is that the styling choices we made were colors selected to compliment nature but with the color temp being cooler than expected, the colors we chose popped off the backgrounds vibrantly. As we moved to the rocks, the cool temp also added some allure to the beauty of nature all around us, not to mention, providing us a park all to ourselves. The photography gods were definitely looking out for us on this one.
If you enjoyed this concept & story. Please tap in below in the comments & SHARE with people that you think would also appreciate it. The more people that see our art, the better for us as artists. So every eye counts
~Life & Love