The Brand:
Why OUAI became the subject for this detox shampoo photography project
I chose OUAI as the subject for this project because they've built something rare in beauty. A brand that feels like a fragrance house but solves real hair problems. Most prestige haircare leans either clinical or overly styled. OUAI sits in between, and that tension interested me. Their Detox Shampoo promised clarifying power without stripping hair, and I wanted to see if I could translate that balance visually. Working from Vancouver, I'm drawn to brands that ask for polish and performance in the same frame.
This is a personal creative exploration, not a client commission. The brief I set for myself was to make detox feel premium instead of harsh. Most clarifying shampoo imagery defaults to foam, shower tiles, or overly clinical setups that kill aspiration. I wanted to show purification through clarity and motion. Water as a character, not chaos. If a brand like OUAI needed campaign imagery that worked across paid social, e-commerce, and PR without feeling disjointed, this approach would deliver that consistency.
The Concept:
Making an invisible benefit tangible through motion and clarity
The challenge was making an abstract benefit visible and tactile. Removing hard-water buildup. Detox doesn't photograph the way shine or volume does. I decided to frame it through dynamic water. A mid-air splash arc would imply renewal and freshness without text. The bottle needed to stay the anchor, so I built the composition around it. Water became the visual proof of clarifying action, frozen at the moment it suggests transformation.
I worked with high-speed capture to freeze the splash forms crisply. Flash sync timing let me control the shape of the water so it read as intentional, not random. I lit the bottle to reveal its translucence. Enough to see the product inside without blowing out the label. The brandmark stayed legible, and highlights remained controlled. This matters because beauty art directors need to see both the product and the performance cue in one frame. A splash that obscures the bottle or turns the label into glare doesn't work for e-commerce or paid media.
The Execution:
Controlled lighting and composition for multi-channel consistency
The lighting setup focused on maintaining a clean, minimal aesthetic. I used a neutral ground to isolate the product and elevate perceived quality. Directional light carved out the bottle's form and gave the water dimension without introducing unnecessary color shifts. The water arcs became leading lines that pull the eye back to the OUAI logo. I shot close enough to emphasize texture. The droplets, the liquid weight. But pulled back enough to keep the composition breathable. The goal was to make detox look like an elevated ritual, not a corrective treatment.
These images work well as campaign photos, clean product visuals for product detail pages, and texture-driven cutdowns for vertical social formats. The water motion gives social content a natural way to stand out without requiring animation. The controlled splash language could function across a seasonal launch. Stills, detail macros, and modular crops that share the same visual DNA. For a brand balancing prestige polish with approachable simplicity, this approach avoids the stiff, department-store beauty look while still reading as premium.
Strategic versatility built into every frame
The collection includes images designed for multiple uses. A single frame ladders into tight crops for paid ads, wider compositions for email headers, and macro textures for ingredient storytelling. The system reduces the patchwork problem beauty teams face when photo collections come from different shoots with inconsistent lighting or color. Everything shares the same tonal foundation, so a brand could adapt pieces without the creative feeling disjointed. As a Vancouver product photographer, this approach would support the fast timelines and multi-channel needs that come with community-driven product launches.
The Outcome:
Technical discipline that scales across formats and deadlines
What this demonstrates is my ability to solve strategic visual problems without sacrificing craft. Beauty product photography for haircare has to balance proof and aspiration. Too clinical, and it undermines the lifestyle positioning. Too vague, and it doesn't convert. I focused on making clarifying power tangible through motion and clarity. Visible freshness instead of foam or lab textures. The technical discipline kept highlights clean, labels legible, and reflections controlled. This ensures the work scales across different channels without falling apart under different crops or formats.
If your brand needs cosmetic still life photography that holds up under pressure, tight deadlines, strict retailer specs, or high-volume SKU launches, this is the kind of thinking I bring to every project. Reach out, and let's build a visual system that works as hard as your product does.
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- other recent projects
Byoma hydrating serum photography showing dropper mechanics and micro-bubble texture clarity
Rhode skincare photography highlighting texture and gloss with directional lighting
Kibon Beauty sheet mask photography for e-commerce and social media campaigns
Everlucid serum photography using practical gradient lighting techniques
Dfinite foundation swatch photography comparing lighter and deeper shade formulas side by side
B-YNG Boutique Spa skincare product photography with metallic gradient details and natural elements
