THE IMBRIUM CAMPAIGN
01.JULY.2024, by Fin Matson
California's unique vibe inspired our first Yoreh campaign, where we faced challenges, learned valuable lessons, and created something truly special...
I love living in Bali. We're surrounded by many great places to create, and the number of creatives such as videographers and models is very special. So why not just shoot here instead of flying around the world?
Well, everyone who knows me knows how much I love California. I've been there multiple times over the past few years for personal projects, and some of my favourite images I've ever taken are from there. It has a special place in my heart, as I really started to dream about making Yoreh a reality when I was there earlier last year. So, when it came time to shoot our first campaign for Yoreh, I knew that LA would definitely be one of the locations, and I needed those unique locations and people to fully convey what I felt about the Imbrium series.
Looking back today, I feel like we rushed a bit too much, for a few reasons. I was extremely excited. It was a dream come true in many aspects.
First of all, having full creative freedom for a commercial shoot doesn't happen very often, and it was always a dream of mine to shoot for my own brand. Sharing this experience with my two close friends, Chris and Elliot, as videographers and helping hands, made it even more special. Another reason was that we had quite a bit of time pressure, as we wanted to launch in October to be up and running before Christmas (it was mid-September).
You have to know, I had never fully produced a commercial shoot by myself... Usually, when I shoot commercially as a photographer, everything is taken care of by a production company or producer. Obviously, we didn’t have the budget for any of that, so organising everything—from models, locations, props, permits, transport, food, accommodation, and so on—while also being creative and trying to get the shots we needed to launch was a massive and, at times, overwhelming job.
Watch the video below:
I only had a week to plan and organise everything. We had a few changes made to our jewelry samples, and I was supposed to get them back literally the night before we flew out. Let me tell you, the pieces were terrible! The color of the gold was completely wrong, the silver pieces looked far from what we initially designed, and some of the moon rocks were broken inside the jewelry. Matt and I met that night to discuss what to do, and we were super close to canceling the entire trip and going back to the drawing board...
Well, we decided to go ahead, and I'm glad we did. Even though we had big issues with our designs, there were a few pieces (by far not the entire collection) that were usable to shoot, and since we had already booked everything, it would have been such a shame to cancel. And I guess, like with every big project that you start, whether it's a brand or anything else, things will go wrong, and it's all about making it work somehow.
The next day, we flew to Los Angeles. We had a day together to discuss everything before we started shooting. From Venice Beach in a Range Rover, downtown LA skateboarding, to the Malibu coastline in a Porsche 911 and the desert with motorcycles, we tried to squeeze it all in. It was a super busy week—multiple models and locations per day, a lot of driving, not much sleep in cheap motels, and unhealthy junk food.
But damn, I was loving life! Seeing everything come together, connecting with amazing people that align with the brand, and creating for Yoreh was one of the best experiences of my life and something I had dreamed about for many years.
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And to be honest, most of the time I had no idea what I was doing creatively. I felt quite stressed and pressured to make sure I captured everything we needed for the launch. From capturing video to photo, lifestyle and product shots, different models, and different jewelry pieces, all at the same time—quite a lot to get my head around. So I felt very lost at times but I was absolutely loving it at the same time too. Most of the pressure and stress were definitely self-imposed, which can be good sometimes, I guess... especially for people like me, who work better under pressure or a deadline. And even though there would be 1,000 things that I could have done better, I'm pretty stoked about how our first Yoreh Campaign came together.
Our intention was to tell the story of what we feel when we wear our jewelry pieces. And even with all the planning in the world, sometimes all it needs is a few people who are passionate about what they’re doing, and everything else will fall into place. And that’s exactly what happened on that trip. That’s exactly what Yoreh is about. The art of intent.
With lots of lessons learned, I genuinely can't wait for the next one!
Fin
