Meet the Client: janegee | Clean skincare and beauty | Visit Portsmouth, NH
If you’ve been let down by expensive skincare and beauty products in the past, allow me to introduce janegee.
I’m not just saying this because janegee (yes, lowercase) has been a long-term AG subscription client; I’m saying this because janegee’s products work.
It was a happy day in my home office when janegee reached out about a trial subscription back in… 2018? I’d heard only glowing reviews of their skincare serums, self-care line of bath salts and shower bombs, and low-to-non-toxic nail salon—but I hadn’t experienced any of it for myself yet.
Years later, I’m a die-hard fan of their Deep Cleanser No. 2, Green Clay Face Mask, “Elixir” face serum, and Nourishing Antioxidant Vitamin Creme. Nothing can make me turn back the clock five years overnight than a janegee facial regimen!
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Who are the faces behind this brand, and what did they want with a photo subscription?
Jane Gee (pronounced “jee”) is an Australian clean-living expert who came to the United States long ago and found, at that time, the mainstream skincare products in her new country were loaded with unnatural chemicals.
Today many of us know that chemicals like this can be harsh on the skin, negatively affect fertility, and invite other toxins in that cause the body to have to work exhaustively to keep skin healthy; but at that time, the community who was knowledgable and rigorous about true, clean skincare was small.
Gee was having none of it.
At first, Gee was a problem-solver for individuals—people who came to her one by one with maladies like perpetually chapped and blistering lips. She would create a treatment, like a customized lip balm, and send them on their way… and they’d report back that her creations were nothing short of miraculous!
After Gee proved her credibility, two of her friends invested in opening a janegee storefront—what Gee lovingly called her apothecary—so that she could serve the Portsmouth, NH masses.
As more and more of the population discovered janegee’s natural remedies and spa-like offerings, janegee moved from an alleyway location to a Main Street location, and today has expanded from mostly remedies to offering nail treatments, clean candles, luxurious linens, jewelry, deodorants, sunscreen, and more.
It was as janegee’s success was hitting an all-time high—no doubt in large part to the onboarding of Gee’s daughter, Sophie, who majored in business at UNH—that the company reached out to me about getting content to update their website and spruce up their social channels.
Now, when I first walked into janegee to meet with Jane and Sophie Gee to see if we were a good fit, I felt like I understood the brand perfectly: It was for the woman of grace, who didn’t want much but wanted what she had to be lovely, who hoped to add a little beauty and joy to the lives around her, and to leave the earth a bit better than she came into it.
While all this was true, some of it was even truer than I even realized—which created a learning curve in taking photos for this brand.
I’ve discovered I cannot ever go too minimal with janegee’s photography. The feedback I got month over month in the early days was, “This is good, but we can go even simpler.” I over-complicated the styling process by adding in too much dimension, too many props. Even plants, it turned out, were often unwelcome additions—and who doesn’t love a little pop of green in a clean-living shot?!
Over the years we’ve hit a signature style specific to Gee’s brand. We’ve done shoots with and without models, in luxury bathrooms and with faux surfaces made to look like tile and marble and wood, and in all situations can draw out that janegee aesthetic.
This clean-living brand has used their subscription images for Instagram posts, anniversary events, website updates, Facebook ads, Instagram stories, and more—they understand that visual content helps them connect with new customers and reconnect with those who need a little reminder!
Are you considering outsourcing your brand’s content photography? Learn more about subscription photography with Alexis The Greek! Subscriptions are perfect for businesses that understand their audience and want to remain in the driver’s seat on their social platforms, but struggle to keep up with content generation.
You can also learn about how to make the most of your next photo session in posts like these over on the AG Journal:
7 Ways to Get Out in Front of the Camera for the Shy & Self-Conscious
7 Reasons You Don’t Like Yourself in Photos (& How to Change That!)
Also be sure to get the FREE Profitable Photo Guide by popping in your best email below! Can’t wait to embark on this journey with you…
