Laura Chase de Formigny
Who printed it?
The postcards were printed by Moo and the box was printed by Packlane.
Who designed it?
Nicole A. Yang designed the postcards and the box. She did my logo and branding several years ago, so I knew she’d be able to keep things on-brand for me. She’s fabulous and so professional. I’ve already booked her again for my next promo and I don’t even know what I’m shooting yet! I just know that it won’t shine as bring without Nicole’s keen design sense, so I made sure to get on her calendar early!
I creative directed what I wanted the box to look like. I knew I wanted an orange box so that it would be eye-catching, but also evoke the clementine vibe right off the bat. I picked out products to include in the box that was part of the custom cocktail recipe James Beard Award winning cocktail writer M. Carrie Allan created for the project. It was a no-brainer to include the Clementina San Pellegrino, but I did a lot of research on tea before I settled on Tea Forte to include in the promo. Their packaging is so beautiful and also I appreciated the individual packaging of tea bags during covid times. And of course, the tea is delicious and made the promo box smell wonderful!
Tell me about the photos:
I spent an enormous amount of time researching and conceiving my shot list. I also used this time to really hone in on what kind of lighting I wanted to cast. I’m often lighting things based on what my client’s needs are, but this was a chance to define what I want my photographic voice to look like. I settled on the word “punchy” to evoke the kind of lighting and mood I wanted the photos to give off. To me, punchy photos have crisp shadows, vibrant colors, and plenty of fill. The light is contrasty, but not necessarily high key. It also means that every little detail matters because sometimes it’s the littlest thing that makes a photo pop.
I wanted to show clients that I can produce food lifestyle work and produce it at a high level. I felt like my portfolio had been missing the lifestyle side of food work, so I wanted to send out a promo with images showing I can do the lifestyle side of cookbooks, in addition to just food and beverage. Readers connect to cookbook authors through lifestyle imagery in their cookbooks and on social media. These lifestyle moments are critical to set the tone of an author’s book and overall brand. I couldn’t be more proud of how these images turned out.
We photographed 10 sets and Photo Editor Stacy Swiderski chose 8 images for the final edit. Every set was photographed with the cocktail in both an elegant cocktail glass and in the custom Laura Chase de Formigny Photography Tervis Tumbler I had made and included in the promo box. It definitely took extra time to shoot everything twice, but I’m glad we did! I ended up not publishing any of the images with the tumbler because the edit looks so much more elevated shot with the beautiful glassware prop stylist Giulietta Pinna selected.
I ordered 65 boxes and 60 Tervis Tumblers. I wanted room for error if boxes got returned, which is why I ordered a few extra. I ended up mailing 50 promos in total. It was a difficult undertaking because of covid. Since most of the country was working from home at the time, I had to pre-email everyone on my list and ask if they felt comfortable sharing a personal address that I could mail the promo to. This is my first promo ever, so very few of these people knew who I was! I did end up sending several boxes to office addresses with the hope that one day the recipient will return to their desk and find a lovely surprise. This also happens to be the biggest reason I did not include perishable items, like a clementine, in the promo box. That would be a very unhappy package to come back to after months or even years away from the office!
As I mentioned, this was my first promo. Go big or go home, right?! I’m planning to continue doing print promos biannually. Definitely nothing to the scale of Clementine Skies, just a postcard a couple of times a year. I just thought I’d kick off my marketing with a bang!
I’m honestly not sure if print promos are effective marketing anymore. What I do know is that most creatives have a bulletin board of inspiration and I want my photo to be on it, so all I can do is try, right?
This project was conceived while I was pregnant with my daughter, Frances Clémentine. I executed the project only a few months after her birth because I want creatives to know that there are badass female commercial photographers out there producing exceptional work while balancing a family. I want my kids to watch me chase my dreams so that someday they do the same. More on this in the behind-the-scenes video on my website.
I was very clear with the recipe writer that I wanted the recipe to be non-alcoholic. I wanted the drink to be family-friendly and accessible to all recipients. You never know what someone else is going through, so I didn’t want to send somebody an alcoholic recipe if that could be potentially triggering for them. Also, since the inspiration for this project was a baby, it just seemed more appropriate to keep it kid-friendly.
I was very, very detail-oriented while sourcing for this promo. I color matched the model’s nail polish and lipstick to my business card. I also bought a real, live clementine tree to have on set to cast shadows in the background of one of the images. I wanted everything to feel super authentic so I didn’t cut any corners and I’m glad I didn’t! Food stylist Nichole Bryant ended up using some of the leaves from the clementine tree by gluing them to actual clementines on set! Chance favors the prepared, indeed.
