how we did “faces of cleo”
Four girls, two hours, 12 outfits, one studio. faces of cleo is the kickoff collection for our brand. We wanted to curate the perfect shoot that resulted in business-professional photos, but that did not forget the qualities and traits that make us who we are. Read on to learn exactly how we planned and executed it.
It started with the idea. We knew we wanted to get headshots of each member to use for professional purposes, but we realized that the characteristics that make us who we are have nothing to do with blazers and picture-perfect smiles. We wanted to dive deeper, to capture what we love, what we wear, who we are. Straight from the planning document created in a Panera over some extremely caffeinated lemonade, here is the original brainstorm of the shoot:
Business intro- (blazers w glitter stars) digis and headshots for
Puja, Aundrea, Eve, Marhama
Location: studio
Shoot date: June 10, 11, 13
Concept: businessy but also showcases personality. Ex) blazers with glitter on the
face, fun makeup, elements that also make you feel like you
Also, bring props and outfits you feel the most you in!
Let’s do 3 slides per person + the business outfit
Everyone needs blazer/slay bus outfit
Ex) Eve brings violin, camera, very Eve outfit
We liked the idea of each person bringing three outfits: one business-professional, one based on their hobby, and one based on what they feel the most themselves in. Because of this, styling was pretty easy as each person was in charge of themselves.
The four of us have never shot in a studio before, but Aundrea proposed the idea and we figured it was the perfect time to try. Otherwise, we would have been in someone’s living room, scrambling for space and losing precious time. We booked two hours at Afternoons Studio, a beautiful space in Phoenix with multiple sets and amenities at our disposal. Shoutout to Eric for helping us out! See the polaroids of the set and our outfits below.
The biggest piece of the puzzle was the schedule. With twelve looks total across three people, it was a bit chaotic. Eve and Puja were both shooting, so we knew we had to optimize the day. Eve created a slide deck that mapped out the whole shoot. She included inspiration shots from Pinterest, a “what you need” list, and last but not least a schedule! Crafted with the help of ChatGPT, Eve planned out a way for both her and Puja to shoot at the same time, resulting in as little downtime as possible. With Aundrea and Marhama both on deck to help out wherever needed, it looked like it was feasible. See the original slide deck below!
Then came the actual shoot day. Marhama, Puja, and Aundrea met at Eve’s apartment at 10:00 AM to start getting ready. With music playing and clothes and makeup strewn across the rooms, it was the perfect environment to prep. We helped each other with outfits, planning jewelry and final details, makeup, and packing everything we needed. Once we were all ready, we conducted interviews in which we asked each other questions about our thoughts on cleo. Watch the vlog to hear our responses!
With a quick, but necessary, pitstop at Salad & Go, we were off to the studio. 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm were filled with creative magic, with each of us in our element. Eve and Puja were taking photos galore with Marhama’s directive eye giving advice, Aundrea was capturing the whole affair on video, and all of us felt that same, magic feeling we experienced four years ago. Scroll through this gallery to see the behind the scenes Polaroids and digital pictures.
For the post-production process, Eve and Puja each handled the culling and editing of their own photos. They both used Lightroom to edit, and Eve uses Narrative Select to help cull. All videos were sent to Aundrea, who worked on creating vertical and short form content on AdobeRush and iMovie. Follow our TikTok and YouTube to watch! When all was said and done, we ended up with 500+ beautiful photos. Click below to view the whole collection.
This collection, being the first shoot the four of us have done together in years, got us excited for everything to come. faces of cleo is meant to be an introduction to who we are and what we do, and we can’t wait to continue creating with each other and sharing our journey with you.
xoxo,
cleo
