Are you a lifestyle brand? A beach shoot in Wales may suit your business perfectly.
This beach shoot in Wales nearly didn’t happen, four times!
Extreme high winds were forecast. And a week heavy with rain fall.
Becky is a successful female entrepreneur, a sales trainer and advocates lifestyle as a high part of her brand. We always factor a beach shoot into her branding photos. And she lives in Wales and so it grounds her on home territory. A Lifestyle photo shoot is always a main contender and key factor of her branding photography.
There's a reason...
There's a reason this branding shoot went ahead despite all odds.
Beki Eakins was spending her final weeks in a place and location that had been pivotal.
Pivotal with meaning for her own personal growth.
Pivotal for the next stage of her life.
Pivotal for the next level up of an already successful female global business.
Beki was soon to pack and leave for three months in Australia, working and a new home business style, life and location. She would then return back to the UK and Wales, but return home and location unknown.. Wales is in her blood. Whenever I meet up with her she always feels part of the landscape and why her business photographs always feature a beach shoot in Wales, somewhere.
Beki can work from anywhere in the world like many business entrepreneurs who rule the 'service provider' sector. Her branding photos are wherever she is.
This successful female business leader and executive had spent three significant months living down by the estuary, daily walking the Vardre backdrop and ‘hump’ hills of Conwy, the forests and beach life whilst growing her global marketing and sales business aimed at OT's and other female- led businesses online.
So the reason I hesitated over the weather? And didn't just call it off?
I sensed this time and place was important to her; in her life, her business and personal growth. She had only spent three months in Conwy and in this particular house but it was significant to her.
And she never quite shut down the conversation surrounding our shoot. So neither did I.
But the weather forecast was appalling. Weeks of high winds and/ or rain. I kept sending her the online forecasts and Beki, she kept sending me videos, by return, proving that the weather forecast was inaccurate. We finally had one week left or it just wouldn’t happen.
This Welsh estuary brings different weather fronts to those predictions of The Met Office. I was conflicted because the drive would take me over the North West Coastal road, around the very top and outline of Wales, the sea on one side for miles and I was afraid of high impact side winds.
Could I even make it there?
What If I was blown off the coast road?
If I did arrive in one piece, could I supply a strong female business founder the branding shots that she deserved down on the beach?
To drive for 4 hours and find that the weather wasn’t good enough and then have to drive back having photographed NOTHING?
Would the weather be good enough for lifestyle beach photos even if it was dry?
In a final moment of dismay we called it off. There was just too much of a risk.
This Conwy business photo shoot would not go ahead.
This beach shoot in Wales was over before it had even began.
Then on the morning we had originally scheduled for the shoot, Beki sent me a video. The beach was calm, a quiet landscape with just a gentle breeze.
I am getting in the car right now. I can be with you by 12!
We had never quite shut it down, right up to the last minute. I had my car packed ready just in case. I knew I could just grab my keys and drive…
And we were right. Otherwise she would never have had this pivotal time captured in images. For all time. To mark this time and place as part of her incredible journey. One that she would look back on.
So I arrived at 12 and yes it was a little breezy but we worked a branding shoot around her house, down on the beach in Conwy.