March 04, 2019

Noel Herbal Skincare | Somerville Small Business | Creative Entrepreneur Lifestyle Portrait & Product Photography

March 04, 2019/ Lorna Stell

Noel Herbal Skincare, based in Somerville, MA, was founded by Shannon Curtis who has been an esthetician for over 15 years! Shannon and I first connected through a Facebook group where she shared that she had some big dreams for her business, and she was working on learning how to brand and promote her work. I have always been fascinated by branding, and Shannon and I connected over the value of visual imagery when it comes to upleveling the overall perception of small businesses.

This environmental portrait session we did together created the perfect imagery for Shannon’s website, Instagram, online shop, emails, and more. Anywhere you market yourself, you can use your custom photography!

June 06, 2016

Somerville Small Business Product and Lifestyle Handmade Jewelry Photography | Linkouture

June 06, 2016/ Lorna Stell

Whenever I get to work with fellow entrepreneurs and creatives and see their success, I feel like such a proud mama! When you own your own business AND you’re a solopreneur, sometimes it feels like it takes forever for all the pieces to fall into place and for everything to work together seamlessly for you to achieve your goals. As a photographer and someone who does their fair share of shopping online, I can say that cohesive visual elements and imagery make a huuuge difference in the perception of a product! Having seen the “before and after” of Linkouture’s imagery, I can say that Bev's new photography for her business works wonders for showing off the quality she’s capable of creating!

November 30, 2015

Arlington Autumn Small Business Portrait Photography | Musician and Composer Ruth Shyu

November 30, 2015/ Lorna Stell

I've created portraits for several entrepreneurs, professionals and musicians lately, and usually they're about my age in their 20s or 30s. Often, their careers or new businesses are still fairly young and they're trying lots of new things and dreaming big. Everything is new and exciting (and often scary)! Working with Ruth was different in a very cool way because she's so full of experiences, having moved across the country and put in years of hard work honing her craft, building her skills, and being her own boss. She's faced and overcome some significant obstacles over the years, so I really cherished my time with her and the opportunity to hear her stories, while talking about what it means to be creative for a living.

This was just another example for me of why it's SO important as a creative person and/or entrepreneur to be in community with other creatives and entrepreneurs! The support we can offer each other and the special ways we can lift each other up are priceless.

November 16, 2015

Collaboration with City Sports

November 16, 2015/ Lorna Stell

If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember that I've posted a few photos here and there in reference to my work with City Sports. And, if you've been following the brand in the news lately, you might also know that the company and all of its stores (spanning 6 states) are being liquidated as of just 11 days ago.

I have to say that this whole chapter of my life has come as a pleasant surprise that I'm now very grateful for. I never thought I would ever do product photography, much less for an athletic company (I care about being healthy, but I doubt I could ever call myself athletic—I'm a yoga 1-2 times per week kinda girl). Little did I know that product lay downs could be done creatively and tastefully! Thanks to the help of the apparel buyers, graphic designers and merchandisers in the corporate office, I got to do some unique product photography for some of the City Sports emails, social media posts and store signage. I love that it was always a collaborative effort that brought in many people's visual perspectives. Today, I want to share a lineup of some of my favorite images I took for City Sports, partly as a way to bid farewell to this chapter of life and work.

November 09, 2015

Charles River Esplanade Professional Portrait Photography | Andrea Schroll

November 09, 2015/ Lorna Stell

Let me first open this post by saying social media is really cool, but for reasons that have recently surprised me! It can be too easy to get sucked into aimlessly scrolling through Facebook's or Instagram's feeds (speaking for myself here!), but with intention, the power of social media can totally be put to greater use!

I discovered this firsthand recently when Andrea and I connected in a Facebook group. I had put out an "open call" to other entrepreneurs and small business owners, just looking to make some friendly connections with other people who share similar values in life and business. Andrea responded to my post online, and we ended up chatting over coffee for a couple hours soon after! It was so exciting to meet another woman at a similar place in her business, and get to talk about business and life in general with her! I didn't expect to book any photo sessions from a little Facebook post, but as we sat talking, Andrea told me she wanted new professional photography to use for her business. I couldn't wait to plan this session for her and bring fresh, personalized imagery to her brand!

August 24, 2015

Boston Summer Lifestyle + Professional Portrait Photography | Mary Casiello

August 24, 2015/ Lorna Stell

Today, I'll be honest, I'm pretty psyched to share this portrait session with you. Partly because my portrait subject, Mary, and I both love how the photos turned out, and partly because this day was a really awesome one.

It all started two months after Mary's Day In The Life session with her family, when she got in touch with me again to say she was looking to get some updated photography for her website, and for posters advertising her musical performances. Let's just say I was totally thrilled to hear that!

Mary was a TOTAL trooper on this hot and sweaty August morning! We enjoyed our time taking a stroll around Larz Anderson Park and stopping where the scenery and the light looked inviting, and it made a great opportunity to catch up too!

January 19, 2015

Somerville Small Business | Inkwell

January 19, 2015/ Lorna Stell

This is Becka Schuelke, the craftslady behind the loveliness that is Inkwell's hand painted wooden signs. She scours the earth for wood planks and gives them new life in the form of adorable home goods, and is darn good at it. Becka is also a brilliant graphic designer (who made my wedding invitations and programs)!