Milam & greene

THE BRIEF

I developed this personal project as a full creative exercise, from initial concept through final delivery, with the goal of expanding my drinks portfolio beyond traditional product imagery into richer lifestyle and brand-driven visuals.

As brands push back against an oversaturated field of AI-generated imagery, they’re placing renewed value on realism, craft, and intentional storytelling. That shift mirrors how I approach my work. I focus on creating images that feel tactile, considered, and grounded in reality rather than manufactured or generic.

For this project, I developed the creative direction, assembled the team, and led the production from start to finish. I collaborated with a prop stylist to build layered, believable environments, cast models, booked the studio, and produced the shoot over two full days. I directed art, lighting, stills, and motion throughout, treating the project exactly as I would a commissioned brand campaign.

THE PLAN

The core of my process is identifying what makes a brand distinct and translating that into a visual language that feels authentic. Because Milam & Greene is a woman-owned and woman-run distillery, I recognized an opportunity to move away from the gritty, hyper-masculine clichés that dominate whiskey marketing and instead explore a more natural, grounded femininity.

I let the distillery’s Texas Hill Country roots guide every creative choice. I grounded the sets in rustic materials like unfinished wood, weathered copper trays, cowhide, and leather, then softened them with floral wallpaper, mid-century-inspired props, and substantial glassware. I applied the same thinking to wardrobe, choosing tactile, wearable fabrics like silk, chambray, and denim, styled with restraint to keep the focus on the product.

I designed the lighting to feel natural and location-specific, while carefully shaping the bottle light to highlight the whiskey’s depth, clarity, and warmth. Once the lighting was set, I incorporated intentional camera movement and fractal photography in select frames to introduce moments of unexpected visual interest. The sets evolved from bottle-forward hero images to broader lifestyle scenes centered on connection, hospitality, and shared experience, culminating in a game of dominos rather than the expected poker table.

To extend the story beyond still imagery, I created a 15-second video built around the hero bottle. I used restrained movement and light to reinforce the same warmth, approachability, and drinkability established throughout the stills.

THE RESULTS