When the place you call home doesn’t feel like the home for your brand, you jet-set to somewhere that does.

For Hannah McGinty and Modern Memoir, it was San Francisco, CA.

This brand shoot came in the midst of a shift in Hannah’s world as a biz owner. From solely a filmmaker → to an educator for filmmakers. Her Dallas home didn’t quite have the grand architecture and scenery shifts that would catch your gaze upward in awe of your surroundings as she envisioned. So, a destination shoot was in order.

She is a talented wedding filmmaker for brides in Dallas and across the world. And she was also about to launch Booked by Strategy—her education brand built to help filmmakers move from talented freelancer to confident business owner.

Thus, the imagery we were designing had to do a very specific job.

It needed to feel aspirational and refined enough to sit comfortably beside her luxury wedding films. But it also had to signal something different from the typical videography educator space—the macho, gear-heavy, YouTube-style authority that dominates the industry.

We wanted to avoid that vibe at all costs.

The goal was something much cooler. Minimal. Almost dark academia, we called it. Editorial with a modern twist. Vintage influence in the styling, like 1920s France, maybe? But with clean lines. Negative space. Main character energy, I guess, would be the right term.

The kind of visual world that draws in the dreamers and the artists who also want sustainable and scalable businesses without losing that artistry (or burning out).

That vision for the creative direction led everything.

Which meant her outfits got to lean structured and aspirational, with a classic, vintage-yet-modern feel. The locations had height, beauty, and geometry. Even the way we framed her—often singular in the scene, grounded and composed—was intentional. We wanted her to feel like the through line, whether she was filming a wedding in Europe or coaching a student over coffee.

The imagery had to bridge both worlds. This called for a two-day shoot to make sure we created the aspirational, destination-focused imagery she envisioned as well as the in-studio imagery that would be practical for the course launch.

Day one was spent around the city. Our first stop was a coffee shop I’d found on IG for some on-the-go working photos in a gorgeous space. They had these stunning built-in booths and the cutest tile, which fit right with Hannah’s vision for outfits.

Second stop, and our main event for the day, was City Hall in downtown San Francisco. It’s an iconic spot with that 1920s feel and easily gave the grandness we were hoping for.

From there, we moved into a second coffee shop where the education brand would feel at home. We staged a coaching session so future students can literally see themselves across from her.

We ended day one at a black rock beach just outside the city at sunset. Now, I will warn you that when you decide to hike down to a beach on the island across the Golden Gate, you definitely need to be aware of what time the sunset is and which side of the island the beach is on. We did check that out, but in the scurry of the day we forgot.

Which meant that we were hiking very quickly down the steep trail to get about 20 minutes on the beach right as the sun plunged beneath the horizon. I will say, though, those images were still so fun, and the light made for some super cool silhouettes that are easy to throw text over because of the contrast.

Day two took us inside a studio in one of those iconic San Francisco row houses near the Painted Ladies. This is where we built the backbone of Booked by Strategy.

The owner of the flat we were shooting in was the absolute kindest and coolest. She has worked in advertising for decades and has curated a beautiful space where she works regularly on shoots for different clients she’s had.

The other bonus of that reality is that she had some light stands and soft-boxes on hand for me to borrow. Because on our way to San Fran, we hit 80 mph winds, which made for lots of cancelled flights (like my connection), and the airport became pandemonium. Thankfully, we made it safely to California. But my big bag of light modifiers took its own trip around the Dallas airport for the 3 days we were in San Fran. Normally, when this happens, I’d have to stop by a local rental shop to pick up the gear that didn’t make it there, so I’d have it on shoot day. But in this case, our gracious host provided everything we needed and more to make our in-studio day happen.

I’m super proud of this gallery. Our two days were very full, but in the best way. And now the final gallery lives across Hannah’s business ecosystem for Booked by Strategy and Modern Memoir—course modules, sales pages, speaker bios, email campaigns, and website refresh. She also just launched her rebrand of Modern Memoir, and it is stunning. You should totally check it out and see how her web designer blended her brand photos into this new design, even 2 years later.