Creek & Coast

Creek and Coast Outfitters is an outdoor apparel store in Statesboro, GA that needed more men’s lifestyle content for its Instagram. The goal was not to create a traditional product shoot, instead I wanted the clothes to feel like a part of the moment. Creek and Coast’s audience includes a lot of Georgia Southern students, particularly those interested in fishing and the outdoors. For this reason, the shoot took place at nearby Hilton Head Island, a popular nearby fishing destination. The shoot was designed to allow for the brand to make several posts over the next few months, as opposed to using all the pictures at once.

I used a Canon R50 with a 50mm prime lens, which forced me to be creative in my framing. Since I was working with a fixed lens, I had to physically move around the subject to create variety instead of relying on a zoom. I focused on a mix of establishing shots, action shots, close details, and candid-looking moments so the final set would feel more like a lifestyle sequence than a catalog shoot.


The main creative direction was to make the shoot feel like fishing first and product second. The model already knew how to fly fish, so I kept him moving and photographed the casting naturally. Because it was a real beach, there were additional challenges, including wind, other people, and saltwater, but they also helped the images feel more real. After the shoot, I narrowed the set down to 38 edited images and kept the color natural, warm, and consistent with the golden-hour setting.

So far, Creek & Coast used three of the final images in an Instagram carousel on their main account, giving the shoot a real use beyond my portfolio. The post received 96 likes, which is above their usual engagement range and makes it their most-liked post since March 23, at the time of review.

The project was an opportunity for me to capture content that doesn’t necessarily feel corporate, but still has commercial value. I feel that the shoot was successful because the apparel was visible, but the focus stayed on the fishing and the experience. As more brands continue to use lifestyle content as their primary advertising tools, I feel more comfortable capturing images that walk the line between candid and posed.