Hermès Rouge

Hermès Rouge lipstick photography showcasing metallic finishes and brand details

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- about this project

The Subject:

Why Hermès Rouge sits at the intersection of cosmetic and collectible design

I chose Hermès Rouge as a creative subject because it sits at a fascinating crossroads: it's both a cosmetic and a designed object. Most beauty brands lean hard into trend, color pop, or influencer gloss. Hermès walks a different line. Lacquered metal cases, Pierre Hardy industrial design, shades pulled from 900 archived leathers. That restraint interested me. As a luxury beauty photographer working from Vancouver, I wanted to explore how minimal composition and controlled lighting could make a single lipstick feel monumental without sacrificing the material detail that separates a luxury house from premium cosmetics. This is a personal project, not client work, but it let me test an approach I believe would serve brands operating at this level.

The Challenge:

How do you photograph an 80 dollar lipstick as both e-commerce asset and campaign monument

If a brand like Hermès needed to launch a beauty line that felt like an extension of its leather goods and silk métiers, not a cosmetics spin-off, the visual brief would center on one tension: how do you communicate shade accuracy and finish performance while also making the product read as collectible design? The business challenge is real. An 80 dollar lipstick competes with Chanel and Dior, but it also competes with the brand's own handbags and scarves for shelf space in the customer's mind. The images have to work as both campaign material and e-commerce infrastructure. They need to feel like Hermès, precise, permanent, craft-first, while still answering the practical question every shopper asks: what does this shade actually look like?

The Execution:

High key lighting and architectural framing that borrows from jewelry photography

I built the lighting around high-key setups designed to hold detail across reflective lacquer, brushed metal edges, and the gold-stamped logo. The goal was to create specular highlights that revealed material depth without flare or distracting bounce. I used careful flagging to control reflections on the case, because lacquered metal shows every micro-scratch and dust particle under studio lights. The compositions are deliberately spare: upright lipstick, austere negative space, brand colors integrated as flat planes rather than decorative props. That vertical, centered framing borrows from how luxury watch and jewelry photography treats small objects, giving them architectural presence. I alternated between deep black grounds for timeless gravitas and refined gradient backdrops for a softer, more contemporary feel. Both directions expand use cases without breaking visual coherence.

Macro texture photography as trust signal

The macro work focused on three things: the embossed logo, the lacquer surface texture, and the pigment itself. I wanted each element legible at close range so the photos could function as modular tiles for product detail pages, retail screens, or press kits. For the lipstick bullet, I kept depth of field restrained but not so shallow that the form dissolved. The lighting swept across the creamy pigment to define texture without making it look wet or plastic. That's the line high-end lipstick photography has to walk: enough dimension to communicate finish (matte, satin, shine), but not so much sheen that it reads as cheap gloss. I incorporated Hermès orange alongside the cosmetic tones because that color is brand DNA. It anchors the product visually and signals heritage without needing a logo in every frame.

The System:

One visual language that scales from campaign launch to product detail page

This collection includes images designed for multiple uses. The upright main shots on black work well for campaign launch imagery and print placements where the brand needs maximum authority. The gradient-backdrop variations feel lighter and more social-first, suitable for digital carousels or e-commerce homepage features. The macro detail photos (logo stamps, case close-ups, pigment swatches) could serve as educational content that explains why the product costs what it costs without turning instructional. The product photos with even rim highlights and controlled reflections provide clean, repeatable e-commerce foundations that hold up across regional site templates and different formats. As a reminder, this approach is speculative. I set the brief for myself to explore what a luxury beauty launch might demand, but the system demonstrates how a photographer can deliver both sculptural campaign work and practical photo collections within one coherent visual language.

The Takeaway:

Technical discipline meets brand codes in a photographer who understands luxury beauty operates as material culture

What this project proves is that I can handle the dual demands luxury beauty brands face: make the product feel like an objet d'art while still serving the practical needs of e-commerce, social media, retail, and PR. The technical discipline (reflection control, color accuracy, macro sharpness, modular framing) translates directly to paid work where approval cycles are tight and brand codes are non-negotiable. If your brand operates at this level and needs a photographer who understands that a lipstick isn't just makeup, it's material culture, let's talk about your next launch.

Does your beauty brand need campaign imagery that doubles as e-commerce infrastructure without losing sculptural authority?

get in touch

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