Owner in a white Be tee holding a hair dryer in her beauty studio, her long hair flying in front of a red brick wall

This branding shoot at a beauty studio filled one afternoon in May. I photographed the owner and her team at work, from hair color to a permanent make-up pen. The photos were for their website and social media.

The window sign reads Garage, beauty & art studio, and the place is truly both. A busy studio with real clients and daylight from the street is a natural setting for my photoshoots in Haarlem. I worked with what was already there: the light, the walls and the people.

Where
Beauty Garage, Haarlem
When
May, in the afternoon
Session
Branding Photoshoot
Light
Daylight from the window, warm bulbs inside

A Beauty Studio With a Brick Wall

The studio feels half salon, half gallery. Paintings of flamingos, a sea turtle and a peacock hang on chains next to a wall of red brick. Even the team’s white tees carry a message: Be good to yourself, inspire others.

Stylist in a leather apron painting color onto a client's hair by a red brick wall, paintings and a mirror beside them
The color station by the brick wall, just after two

On a branding shoot at a beauty studio, the place sells as much as the people. So I wanted both in every wide frame.

I started where the work was. At the brick wall, a stylist in a leather apron painted color onto a client’s hair. Her client watched it all in the mirror. Then I came in close for the brush and the strands, because that detail shows the craft.

Gloved hands painting lightener onto long strands of hair with a purple brush during a balayage color treatment

Color, Wash and Blow-Dry

Next came the basin, where purple foam ran through dark hair. After that, a stylist brushed out wet hair and dried it in front of the mirror. I stayed out of the way, so every client could simply relax. Mirrors are a gift in a salon: they show the stylist and the client’s face in one frame, without anyone turning around.

Client leaning back at the wash basin with purple foam in her dark hair, a gloved hand working it through
Stylist in a white Be tee brushing out a client's wet hair with a blue brush, warm bulbs glowing in a mirror behind
Stylist drying a client's hair in front of a mirror that shows paintings of flamingos and a sea turtle in the beauty studio
A blow-dry in front of the paintings, mid-afternoon

Each step of a color appointment shows new clients what to expect. That builds trust long before they book.

Small Tools and Rituals

A branding shoot at a beauty studio is also about tools and small rituals. At Beauty Garage, the permanent make-up artist held up her pen in profile, a clean frame for her services. Meanwhile, coffee waited in a cat cup on a gold side table.

Permanent make-up artist in profile holding up her pen against a pale wall, a simple frame from the branding shoot
Coffee in a white cup with a smiling cat face and a gold handle, standing on a small gold side table by the chairs

Finally, the tools went on a table with a blue epoxy river: scissors, a dryer, a straightener and a row of products. A flat lay like this works well on a website, and details like these give a feed some rest between portraits.

Flat lay of purple scissors, a hair dryer, a straightener and hair products on a wooden table with a blue epoxy river
Tools of the trade on a table with a blue epoxy river

Last Frames of the Branding Shoot

Late in the afternoon, after hours of working side by side, the owner was fully at ease. She held her scissors to her nose and pretended to cut her own long hair. Then she sat down by an orange graffiti wall.

Owner holding purple scissors against her nose with a playful look, a close portrait from the branding shoot
Owner in a Be tee pretending to cut her own long hair with scissors, mouth open in mock surprise against a white wall
Owner sitting on a bar stool in front of an orange graffiti wall in her beauty studio, smiling in a white Be tee

A man in a green shirt joined her there for a portrait for two. She also waved at me from behind the window sign. For the frame that opens this story, she stood with a hair dryer in her hand, her hair flying. That is how this branding shoot at a beauty studio felt: warm, a little wild and fully her own.

Owner in a white tee and a man in a green shirt laughing together in front of the orange graffiti wall
Owner waving from behind the Garage beauty & art studio window sign, the street outside reflected in the glass

Want photos like these of your own studio? Discover how my photoshoots in Haarlem work.