Brand Storytelling Through Photography: The Long Way North

When I planned The Long Way North, I wasn’t really thinking about individual photographs. I was thinking about the journey as a whole, the coffee stops, the changing landscapes as we travelled north through Sweden and into Norway. The places we stayed, the people we met and the ridiculous amount of rain. And, of course, all the times I made everyone stop because the light was too good to drive past. Those smaller moments became just as important to me as the big moments, because together, they tell the story of what the journey was actually like, and it made me think a lot about the way I approach commercial and brand photography too. Brand photography should tell a bigger story, when a brand books a photoshoot, it can be tempting to think in terms of individual images, A photograph of the product, A lifestyle image, A close-up, Something for the website. Something for Instagram. But I think the strongest brand photography happens when you stop thinking about photographs individually and start thinking about the world they belong to. Where would someone drink this coffee? Who is sitting across the table? What happened five minutes before the photograph was taken? What does the light look like? What is happening in the background? What little details make the scene believable?Because those details are what turn a photograph of a product into a story, and when someone looking at your images can imagine themselves sitting at that table, drinking that coffee, staying in that hotel or packing that bag for a road trip, your product becomes part of something bigger.

BMW & Arctic Bath Hotel.

For The Long Way North, BMW Sweden kindly provided me with accessories to take with us on the journey. Rather than photographing everything separately, I wanted the BMW to simply become part of the story, because that is exactly what it was. It carried us, the children, the dog, cameras, film, bags and what felt like half the contents of our house thousands of kilometres through Sweden and Norway. It was there for the early starts, coffee stops, endless unpacking and repacking and those spontaneous moments when we pulled over somewhere simply because it was beautiful. I photographed it in the same way I photographed everything else on the trip — as part of what was happening rather than something separate from it.

The first stop: Arctic Bath.

Our first stop on The Long Way North was Arctic Bath in Harads, Swedish Lapland. This place is Incredible! Surrounded by forest and sitting on the Lule River, its architecture and the landscape around it gave me exactly the kind of setting I had hoped for. And then the evening light arrived and I couldn’t have imagined a better place to photograph the BMW.Rather than creating one perfectly controlled hero photograph, I wanted to show the car within the experience of being there, arriving, unpacking, exploring and continuing the journey north. That is the difference, for me, between simply showing a product and creating a story around it.

BMW parked outside the Arctic Bath Hotel, Land cabin.

We see an enormous number of images every day, beautiful photography alone isn’t always enough to make someone stop anymore. People want context, Personality, Something that feels believable. If every photograph is perfectly polished and completely disconnected from the way a product is actually used, it can be difficult for the person looking at it to imagine where that product fits into their own life. That is exactly why I love creating collections of images rather than relying on one hero shot. A wide photograph might establish the location. A close-up shows the product. Another photograph captures someone reaching for it. There might be a half-finished coffee on the roof box, or bags being pulled out of the back of the car, individually, they are photographs, together, they build a world around the brand.

BMW roof box, Arctic Bath Hotel, Sweden.

As the journey continued, I found myself photographing in exactly the same way, whether I was shooting The Mallows in Lofoten, a chocolate muffin at the Ramberg Resort, or stopping on the side of the road with a coffee in hand because the light was incredible. None of those photographs were carefully planned weeks in advance. They happened because I was immersed in the experience, and that authenticity is something you simply can't fake.

BMW at Arctic Bath, Sweden

I think that's why storytelling works so well. It's not about making every image look perfect, it's about making people believe it. When someone looks at a photograph and can imagine themselves pulling over for that coffee, checking into that hotel or packing the car for their own adventure, they have already started connecting with the brand.

That's the approach I bring to every commercial shoot, whether it's for a café, a drinks brand, a hotel or a restaurant. Before I even pick up my camera, I'm thinking about the story I want to tell. Not just what the product looks like, but how it fits into someone's day, the memories it might become part of and the feeling we want people to leave with.

Because long after someone has forgotten the advert itself, they'll remember how it made them feel. And that's what great brand storytelling is really about.

Coffee with a view…

Brand photography across Sweden and Scandinavia

This is the approach I bring to my commercial photography work with food, drink, hospitality and lifestyle brands across Sweden and Scandinavia. Sometimes that means working in my studio and building the story from scratch. Sometimes it means photographing inside a busy café or restaurant. And sometimes it means putting everything in the car and driving north through Sweden and Norway with several cameras and far too much coffee. The location changes, but the idea behind it doesn’t. Before I photograph anything, I want to understand the brand, who the images need to speak to and what kind of world we want to invite them into. Because great brand photography shouldn’t just show people what you sell, It should give them a reason to want to be part of the story.

BMW outside Arctic Bath Hotel, Sweden.

Want To read about more of my Brand Stories? Head over to my Brand Stories Page