Photography & art direction · draft for Devin, Eileen, Mike

Real things, beautifully lit

AI restyles read as AI because everything in them is equally perfect. The brands we admire do the opposite: they photograph real objects, real plants and real hands, then hold the frame with restraint. XO already owns the ingredients, the bottles and the maker. The direction below costs little more than time.

The one rule AI may retouch (dust, stray hairs, extending a background, upscaling). It never invents the product, the label, the fill level or the texture. What a customer sees is what arrives.
What the brands we admire do

Five lessons, and what XO takes from each

Officine Universelle Buly Apothecary history as the brand: engraved illustration, gilt tops, 18th century display cabinets. Illustration does the work photography usually does. XO takes: the XO knot and gold lids already speak this language. Botanical plates beside the bottles, not instead of them.
Vintner’s Daughter A founder story and one hero product, presented with restraint: clean grounds, whole-plant language, “forever products” rather than a long catalog. XO takes: the Ritual as the hero, Eileen as the founder, and fewer, better images per product.
Origins and Tatcha Origins zooms into product textures; Tatcha shoots soft, hazy light in its own brand colors and shows skin types as a grid of textures. XO takes: macro texture shots. The new Solstice Butter, deep orange from sea buckthorn, is a texture photograph waiting to happen.
Fresh Shows ingredients as artful collections instead of describing them in text. XO takes: the Botanical Index gets a real specimen for every plant: rose, lavender, geranium, neroli, mandarin, ylang ylang, sea buckthorn, pomegranate.
Every good skincare shoot Working beauty photographers mix packshots, opened product, styled still lifes and product in use, so a customer understands how it works before buying. XO takes: four image types per product, listed in the shot list below.
Proof it works

XO’s best images are already real

These two, from the current site, beat both AI restyles: real blossoms, real reflections, a little imperfection. The new shoot continues them.

XO Facial Serum box with gold knot among pink blossoms
Serum box in blossoms: real flowers, shallow focus, the gold knot catching light.
XO Elements bottles on a mirrored surface with boxes behind
The Elements on glass: real reflections and true serum color, which no generator matches exactly.
The homepage floral hero
Eileen’s hero. Idea: print it large on matte paper and shoot the real bottles in front of it. Product and hero become one world.
The direction

Three bodies of work that fit together

I · The Herbarium Specimens of what goes in the bottle Fresh or pressed botanicals laid on a flatbed scanner: rose petals, a lavender stem, rose geranium leaves, orange blossom, mandarin peel, a sea buckthorn sprig, a split pomegranate. Scanned at high resolution on black velvet or cream paper. Feeds: the Botanical Index, the Encyclopedia, product page ingredient panels, email headers. Why it reads as real: scanners record every vein and bruise. Nothing looks generated because nothing is.
II · Window still life One bottle, one window, one botanical Each product shot by a single north-facing window, on one of three grounds: dark slate, warm limestone, or raw linen. One real prop per product, chosen from its scent: geranium leaves beside the Cleansing Oil, a rose beside the Hydrosol. Feeds: product pages, the collection grid, the Ritual trio. Kit: a recent phone in its main camera mode, a white foam board as a bounce card, a cheap tripod. Shoot mid-morning.
III · Texture & making Proof of small batch Macros of the products themselves: the orange swirl of the new Solstice Butter, a single serum drop on glass, hydrosol mist backlit against a dark wall. And Eileen’s hands at the bench: weighing, pouring, labeling. Hands only, if she prefers. Feeds: the story section, Instagram, the Solstice letter, “how to use” panels. Why it matters: handmade is XO’s claim. This is the evidence.
Shot list

Four images per product, one afternoon

For each: a clean packshot on cream (for the store grid), a window still life, an opened or texture shot, and the product in use.

Cleansing OilProp: rose geranium leaves · Ground: limestoneTexture: oil pooled in a palm, catching light
HydrosolProp: a single garden rose · Ground: linenTexture: mist backlit against a dark wall
Facial SerumProp: jasmine sprig · Ground: dark slateTexture: one drop on glass, amber glow
The RitualThe three bottles in step order, in front of the printed heroIn use: three steps as a hands-only sequence
Solstice ButterProp: sea buckthorn sprig or dried berries · Ground: slateTexture: lid off, a fingertip swirl showing the orange
Pomegranate Repair SerumProp: a split pomegranate · Ground: limestoneTexture: seeds and serum drop side by side
Snowfall BalmProp: evergreen and a candle · Ground: dark slate, dusk lightTexture: balm surface with the gold lid set aside
Where AI still earns its place

After the shutter, not instead of it

Cleanup. Remove dust, fingerprints and stray reflections from real photographs.

Extension. Widen a vertical phone shot into a banner by extending the backdrop only.

Consistency. Match color and white balance across a whole set so the grid feels like one shoot.

Upscaling. Bring the old 1024px packshots up for retina screens until the new ones exist.