Evolving a Brand Over 5 Years: Creative Concept BRANDING Photography with Pearly Sprinkles form Zumbos just desserts
When your brand is built on sugar, vibrant colors, and unapologetic creativity, a boring, stiff corporate headshot simply won’t cut it. Your visual identity needs to be as sweet, loud, and irresistible as the art you create.
For the past five years, Life Portraits has had the absolute privilege of being the official branding photography team for the incredible Pearly Sprinkles.
You might first recognize her as the wildly talented dessert queen from the hit TV show Zumbo’s Just Desserts. But over the last half-decade, we’ve watched (and documented!) her evolve into so much more: a mixed-media artist, illustrator, author, and a passionate advocate for breaking down mental health stigmas... deliciously!
The Brief: Documenting the "Neurodivergent Unicorn"
When Pearly first stepped in front of our lenses, the vision was clear: we needed to capture the chaotic, colorful, and joyful energy of her brand. Pearly describes herself as an "overly-loud, anxious, neurodivergent unicorn," and her brand photography needed to reflect exactly that.
Over the course of 5 years and multiple creative shoots, we have completely thrown the traditional "business photoshoot" rulebook out the window.
A 5-Year Visual Evolution
This is the true power of finding a commercial photographer who gets you.
Over five years, a business—and the founder behind it—changes drastically. Not only did we document Pearly's professional pivot from making cakes to launching her incredible debut book, Emotional Support Cookie, and her fondant affirmation card decks, but we also captured her most beautiful personal milestones.
Because personal branding is so deeply tied to the woman behind the business, we documented Pearly's journey into motherhood through a stunning, creative milk bath series. Capturing her pre-pregnancy, glowing during her pregnancy, and radiantly post-partum with her newborn allowed us to show the beautiful, raw evolution of the artist alongside her brand.
More Than Just Photography: A Creative Friendship
When you build a 5-year visual partnership with a client, the relationship goes far beyond simply showing up with a camera. It becomes a true, collaborative friendship.
Pearly recently launched her new website, and we were absolutely blown away and humbled to see that she dedicated an entire gallery page to our work together, writing the below.
Seeing our vibrant imagery—from the pink swimsuit and fairy floss era to the black-balloon cake smash—displayed so beautifully on her site is exactly why we do what we do. It proves that when you fully trust your photographer to execute a wild, out-of-the-box vision, you create visual magic that lasts for years.
Behind the scenes with Pearly and I on a creative branding photoshoot before Zumbos Just Desserts.
“One of my greatest collabative and creative achievements are the many times I have worked with Life Portraits Photography. Emily, you continue to amaze me as a professional, a creative and a friend”
Bringing the Creative Concept to Life
Creative concept photography is our absolute jam. For Pearly, we didn't just want her standing in a kitchen; we wanted to build a visual world around her art.
Throughout our shoots, we heavily utilised:
Bold, contrasting studio backdrops to make her colorful hair, outfits, and fondant creations pop.
Dynamic, unapologetic posing that perfectly reflects her quirky, lovable, and highly energetic personality.
Expert lighting to ensure the textures of her sugar art looked high-end, professional, and ready for publication.
By expertly directing her through every movement, we ensured she looked confident, powerful, and completely in her element as a creative founder.
Pearly’s about section on her website featuring our feature image.
Why You Need a Long-Term Visual Partner
Pearly’s success is the perfect example of why treating your branding photography as a long-term investment pays off.
Your business is going to grow, pivot, and launch new things. Having a trusted photography team who understands your brand’s DNA means that every time you launch a new product, write a book, or rebrand, your visual marketing is guaranteed to hit the mark effortlessly.
Are you a creative founder ready to build a visual world that actually looks and feels like you? Stop settling for standard headshots.
Building Trust Through the Lens: Personal Branding for Health & Nutrition Coach Emily Hearn
When you are a health, fitness, or nutrition coach, your business is deeply personal. You are asking clients to trust you with their bodies, their habits, and their vulnerabilities.
Before a potential client ever books a consultation or downloads your program, they look at your website and social media to answer one subconscious question: "Can I trust this person?" If your marketing imagery consists of stiff, outdated corporate headshots or low-quality iPhone selfies, you are making it harder for your ideal clients to connect with you. You need visuals that radiate both professional authority and approachable warmth.
No one understands this better than the incredible Emily Hearn, a prolific Health and Nutrition Coach and one of our long-term Life Portraits clients!
The Power of a Long-Term Visual Partnership
At Life Portraits, we specialise in the health, fitness, and wellness industries. We know that as a coach, your business doesn't stay stagnant—it evolves. You launch new coaching programs, you write e-books, you start podcasts, and your messaging refines over time.
That is exactly why we love building long-term relationships with our clients. We have had the absolute privilege of working with Emily Hearn across multiple shoots over the years. Because we have built that creative trust, she never has to start from scratch when she steps into the studio. We already know her best angles, her brand's aesthetic, and her core messaging.
For her latest personal branding session, the goal was to capture the next elevated era of her coaching business: refined, deeply knowledgeable, yet incredibly welcoming.
3 Things Every Health & Wellness Brand Shoot Needs
When we conceptualize a shoot for a health and nutrition specialist like Emily, we don't just take pretty photos. We strategically build a versatile content library.
If you are a wellness professional planning your next shoot, here are three essential visual pillars you need to capture:
1. The "Consultation" Vibe (Lifestyle Imagery) Your clients need to visualize what it feels like to work with you. We expertly direct our coaches through mock-consultation setups—laughing with a coffee cup, writing in a journal, or working on a laptop. This breaks down the clinical barrier and makes you look highly approachable.
2. The "Elements of the Trade" (Dynamic Props) We always encourage our wellness clients to bring props that tell their story. For Emily, this meant incorporating fresh, vibrant foods, recipe books, and her coaching tools. These detailed shots are perfect for website banners, Instagram carousels, and blog graphics.
3. The Authority Headshot Forget the grey backdrop and the crossed arms. A modern authority headshot uses beautiful, natural-looking light and relaxed posing to establish you as the premium expert in your specific fitness or nutrition niche.
Expert Direction for Even the most Camera-Shy Coach
Most health professionals feel completely confident in a gym or a clinic, but freeze the second a professional camera is pointed at them. This is completely normal.
Our job as your Confidence Partner and Director is to handle the heavy lifting. During Emily’s shoot, we managed the lighting, the studio sets, and the posing direction so she could simply step into her CEO energy and enjoy the process. When you feel relaxed and hyped up behind the scenes, it immediately translates into authentic, powerful imagery on screen.
Ready to Elevate Your Wellness Brand?
Your expertise deserves to be seen. If you are a PT, nutritionist, or wellness coach relying on disjointed iPhone photos, it is time to build a visual world that actually reflects the premium quality of your coaching.
Whether you need a full rebrand or a massive content library to fuel your social media for months, we are your strategic partners.
“Coached By Emily was going through a complete restructure of the business and as a result, we needed an entire website refresh as we were going in a slightly different direction.
I’ve worked with Life Portraits in my business projects for over 3 years now and I will never work with any other photography company. They actually did my commercial shoot for the first relaunch of my website and now for my second. The quality of their work is absolutely IMPECCABLE and I cannot recommend them higher.
Life Portraits isn’t just a photography company... they’re so so so much more than that. They EMPOWER every single individual that engages in their services no matter what they’re wanting and allow them to express exactly what they’re trying to through a lense. They allow us to have a voice and share a story or purpose through imagery and for that I am forever grateful!””