Soft Current is a new coconut soy candle brand. They came to me with four debut scents, a launch date, and the oldest problem in home fragrance: nobody can smell a candle through a screen.
Their brand guidelines and shot list were thoughtful and specific. They wanted imagery that felt elevated but warm, nostalgic without tipping into cute, and different enough that each scent read as its own world, while the whole collection still looked like one brand.
Candle brand launch photography, styling, and creative direction for Soft Current. Four scents,
built so you can almost smell them.
Soft Current — Candle & Home Fragrance Product Photography
THE STORY:
I approached the scent notes the way a food stylist approaches a recipe. Every candle came with a top, heart, and base note, plus its own signature color, and every set was built from both. It was important to keep every ingredient real and fresh, and lean into the messy elements.
Aperitivo Hour (clementine, basil, tomato leaf) became a golden-hour spritz table in sun-washed orange, with a live pour splashing over the stacked jars.
Fairgrounds (baked apple, brown sugar, cardamom, honey) became an apple pie someone had couldn't wait for, with crust crumbled across a deep red set.
Pearfection (pear, cinnamon, mascarpone, baked pastry) got a warm olive/sage still life, a pile of puff pastry, and a struck match. Whipped mascarpone was layered tying the whole scene together.
Petal Promenade (Bulgarian rose, white orchid, vanilla) went soft and dreamy: blush linen, satin ribbon, pearls, and roses blurred in camera.
Production Scope:
Creative direction · Set design · Prop sourcing · Food styling · Lighting · Product photography · Short-form video · Post-production and delivery
I handled this one start to finish: set design, prop sourcing, food styling, lighting, photography, video, and editing, over two shoot days in my San Diego studio.
E-commerce: Clean, consistent hero shots on a warm neutral backdrop, each styled with that scent’s key ingredients. Built for the homepage, product pages, and line sheets.
Editorial: Moodier still life with shadow and directional light, for the moments when the brand wants to slow you down and pull you in.
World-building: Full-color campaign sets, using food styling, props, motion, and liquid to turn each fragrance into a place you’d want to be.
Video: Timelapse, motion clips, and UGC-style short-form content, plus vertical 9x16 crops for social.
That range was the point. Two days in the studio gave a brand-new company everything it needed to launch: clean product pages and line sheets, an editorial point of view for the brand story, and scroll-stopping color for social.
Three ways to see each scent:
USAGE:
Website, product pages, social, short-form video, and wholesale line sheets.
Launching a candle, home fragrance, or food brand and want people to practically smell it through the screen?
send an inquiry here
Client: Soft Current
Photography, Creative Direction & Set Design: Chelsea Loren
Prop & Food Styling: Chelsea Loren
Video: Chelsea Loren
Location: Studio - San Diego, California