Case Study: Aia Oil
Campaign Photography · Visual System · Creative Direction
The Client
AiaOil is a small-batch body oil brand made in Santa Barbara, California. Simple ingredients, intentional formulation. The founder was the brand before it launched — someone who lives at the intersection of nature and refinement, regularly at the beach, hiking, in the elements, with a personal aesthetic that was already exactly what the brand needed to be. She needed imagery that could do everything while communicating the ritual and ease of a self-care practice that doesn't feel performative. She needed to look like an established brand from day one.
The Brief
She came in with no existing visual identity. The imagery had to build the brand and power its marketing simultaneously — a complete library from a single shoot.
The Approach
We approached this the way we'd approach a story about someone's actual life, not a brand shoot. We shot entirely in her home, which is itself a reflection of the brand: natural light, organic textures, no excess.
She wore three different looks, each unlocking a different content category and mood:
The post-shower moment — hard flash, bathroom, editorial and direct. Built for magazine features and PR placements where the image needs to hold up in print.
The lounging founder — soft light, bedroom, black silk shorts and tank. Warm, intimate, aspirational without being unreachable.
The slow morning — wool sweater, boy shorts, natural fiber softness. The oil as a natural part of getting dressed, not a beauty step.
One technical decision ran through the entire shoot:
Shot slightly underexposed throughout, so the amber gold of the oil became the brightest thing in every frame. The product unmissable without a single spotlight on it.
The Outcome
AiaOil launched with a complete asset library across enough looks and lighting treatments to feed a website, an ad account, and a PR campaign simultaneously. The brand felt established from its first post.
