Valentino Beauty, RHODE, Philosophy, and MERIT: Four Ways to Shoot a Product Like It Belongs Somewhere

Valentino's got two studded perfumes living on a stack of bound books under a green desk lamp, and that's the kind of still life that makes a product shot work. Here's how four beauty brands are handling their photography right now, what's working, and what I'd actually buy based on the shots alone.

Valentino Beauty's Rendez-Vous lipstick: a library still life

Valentino Beauty (@valentino.beauty), Rendez-Vous Ivory Edition. I love when a product gets a place to live in a photo. This one lives in a library. Two studded perfume bottles sit on a stack of bound books under a green desk lamp, shelves of books behind them. In the second photo the lipstick stands open with its cap beside it and the cushion compact leaning close, so the case and the bullet read at once. The studs catch the light in both shots. Nothing here is forced. I would buy it.

Rhode's strawberry Spotwear: patches worth showing off

RHODE (@rhode) shoots the strawberry Spotwear, the newest shape in its Spotwear line, like makeup. That's the whole idea. They launched it with a couple of clean e-com shots on white and a few model shots showing the patches worn. Strawberry is the first new Spotwear shape since the April launch. In image 1 the model wears two strawberry patches in profile and holds a third at her fingertip, so the patch reads as something you put on, not something you hide. Image 2 is the macro shot: one patch on a cheek, close enough to see the edge sit on real skin. Nice bit of skincare macro work there.

I love how bright and simple the light stays across the set. What I like most is that even the simple white e-com shots read on brand, same clean Rhode look. Hailey Bieber says she starts with the product and builds editorial storytelling around it. It shows. Clean, minimalist skincare photography done right. This is treatment people wear out on purpose. I would buy it.

Philosophy shower gel: lather texture that feels tactile

This is exactly how you sell a body wash. In image 1, the model holds the bottle against a shoulder covered in suds, so you feel the lather before you read a word. In image 2, the bottle is pressed between her arm and her legs and the full label stays readable while the foam does the talking.

Skin texture stays real here. Nothing's overworked. It's warm, simple, and it makes the cozy claim believable for Philosophy (@lovephilosophy)'s Warm Cashmere Hydrating Shower Gel. The scent is tangerine, cashmere wood and vanilla bean. Solid lather texture work. I'd buy it.

MERIT's New Wave: Minimalist perfume photography on reflective black

MERIT, @merit, shoots perfume like art. The first photo is a simple cut-out of the New Wave bottle on black. The second photo lines up the collection, New Wave next to Retrospect, both reflected on a dark ledge. Nothing here is plain. Their fragrance photos always feel real and interesting, very conceptual. The bottles do the work, and so do the light and the color. The concept started at the Musée Picasso. The bottle is a surrealist wave.

New Wave launches October 22 and is the brand's second fragrance after Retrospect. Made with Dominique Ropion. Clean, quiet, easy to remember. I'd buy it for the bottle alone.

Elina is a Ukrainian-Canadian commercial photographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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