Modern Picnic Lifestyle Product Photography

Portraits

May 22, 2023

Last Updated on March 18, 2025 by Erin Donahue

Lifestyle product photography is the ability to showcase a brand’s identity in a realistic, yet styled, scene. As one of my recurring brand clients, I’ve now had the pleasure of working with Modern Picnic three times now. It’s an easy gig because I get to work with both people and products! Usually, when I work with brands, it’s in a static environment like my home studio.

The ambassadors are everyday people, not models or influencers, so I make sure to hype up my subjects like when I photograph my portrait clients because I want them to feel comfortable in front of the camera.

I got connected with Modern Picnic because they were a referral from another New York City commercial photographer that I occasionally assisted in the past. One of my main goals since quitting my 9-5 was to network in this new industry and get exposure as much as possible. Funny enough, the first time we worked together I thought it would be a one-and-done type deal, but surprisingly, the brand’s community manager has come back each year since 2021 now. Not only that, the CEO has also referred me to her friends for their surprise proposals which only goes to show how important it is to keep putting your work out there!

Photoshoot Day

It’s always best to do photoshoots like these early in the morning before the rest of the city wakes up. This way the area is pretty empty, and there will be fewer people to edit out of the pictures. The day we did this photoshoot it was cloudy, and while most people would think that’s a bummer, that’s a photographer’s favorite lighting situation (besides golden hour). The clouds provide natural diffused light and as long as it doesn’t rain, it’s a perfect day!