Behind the Scenes of a Beauty & Product Photographer

Jill C Smith
1 day ago
5 min read

What I Learned Talking With Beauty and Product Photographer Hayley Fisk

There are a lot of ways to be a photographer. Most of us only ever see the lane we are in.

If you photograph families, weddings, seniors, schools, or personal brands, it is easy to assume the rest of the photography world is basically the same thing with different outfits. Then you talk to someone like Hayley Fisk and you realize, oh. There is an entire other universe over here.

Hayley is an LA based beauty and product photographer and videographer. She is also a business mindset coach for photographers, the founder of The Anxious Photog, and she is represented by Rebel Brand Management.

In our conversation, we got into the nuts and bolts of commercial work, but also the part nobody wants to admit matters.

Your nervous system.

Her origin story started in art school, not client work

Hayley went to Illinois State University planning to study painting and drawing. She originally wanted to illustrate books. Early in the program, she had a moment of clarity. She liked painting, but she did not feel like it was the medium where she could compete or thrive.

Her parents suggested photography. She resisted at first because her mental image of photography was family portraits and school photos, which did not interest her at the time. Then she took one photo class and immediately switched her major.

That part stood out to me because it is a reminder that most career paths are not clean. They are responsive. You try something, you learn who you are inside of it, and you pivot.

Retouching was not a detour, it was leverage

After graduation, Hayley landed an internship in LA and then fell into retouching. She trained under working retouchers and learned everything from billboard level composites to editorial work.

This mattered later.

When she eventually picked up a camera again, she wanted her business to be an all in one model where she could shoot and also finish the work at a high level. That is not just a skill, it is leverage. It can mean tighter creative control, more consistency, and better margins.

The pivot that changed everything happened right before the pandemic

Hayley had been building a fashion leaning portfolio and working with brands. Then, one by one, her clients started leaving. They moved work in house or found cheaper options.

That is the part so many photographers experience and internalize as personal failure.

What I appreciated is that she did not romanticize it. It was painful. It felt like the rug got pulled out from under her.

Then her husband suggested turning a spare bedroom into a studio.

That decision became the foundation for the business model she is known for now. When the pandemic hit and remote work became the only option, she had a studio. Brands could ship products to her. She could shoot at home. She could collaborate remotely. She could keep producing.

Sometimes the pivot that saves your career is not glamorous. It is practical.

Remote commercial photography can work outside a major city

I asked the question I know a lot of photographers wonder about.

Can you do this outside LA, New York, or a major market?

Hayley’s answer was basically yes, with a caveat.

If you are only photographing products with no on figure talent, you can do it almost anywhere once you have systems, consistency, and the ability to earn trust.

If you need models, stylists, or specific locations, you can still do it outside a major city, but you need access to resources. Either through proximity, travel, or strong production partners.

The common denominator is not geography. It is process.

Commercial budgets disappear fast and photographers need to know their numbers

One of the most valuable parts of this conversation was her realism about budgets.

A brand can say they have $5,000 and it can sound huge, especially if your normal client work is priced in the hundreds or low thousands. But in commercial work, that budget can evaporate the second you add:

Models
Assistants
Stylists
Hair and makeup
Studio rental
Props and wardrobe
Production support

Hayley works with her agent and production partners to build budgets in advance so she knows her bottom line. That way, she is not saying yes and hoping it works out.

That point applies to every niche.

If you do not know your bottom line, you are always one surprise away from resentment.

Presence is part of the product

Hayley said something that should be printed and taped to a monitor.

Brands are not only paying for images. They are paying for the experience of working with you.

When budgets get into five figures or six figures, the brand is watching for weaknesses. They want to know:

Will this person be calm under pressure?
Can they lead a set?
Can they collaborate with producers and strategists?
Will they keep the energy grounded so the team performs well?

Hayley shared a grounding exercise she uses before shoots. She visualizes the day going well, the content looking great, and the feeling of walking away proud of what was created.

I loved that because it ties back to her earlier point.

She built her career by behaving like the person she was becoming.

Mindset is not fluff when it affects marketing

Hayley is pragmatic. She is also deeply honest about anxiety and how it shows up in business.

She shared that when she is in a scarcity mindset, she does not do outreach. She focuses on getting her mindset stable first because fear based marketing has a cost.

Her alternative is creating spec work that attracts the kind of clients she wants. It is a softer entry point when she feels overwhelmed because the question becomes:

What can I create that would make my ideal client want to work with me?

That is a marketing strategy. It is also a mental health strategy.

And it ties directly into one of the most common coaching problems she sees.

Photographers pitch themselves without an aligned portfolio. Their website is outdated, their work does not match the clients they want, and they are trying to run before they crawl.