Behind the scenes: Loop Iridescent photo shoot
With our latest limited-edition release – Loop Iridescent – we’re going deeper and thinking bigger. Mining the full spectrum of sound and color to produce showstopping Iridescent visuals.
And this time, we teamed up with world-renowned fashion photographer Stig de Block.
It's no surprise Loop’s attracting top talent. Our reputation as a creative powerhouse is growing. Thanks to our product designers’ limitless imagination, and our in-house Studio’s ability to tell powerful visual stories.
The Studio is made up of top designers and creatives. Together they develop concepts and shoot campaigns that deliver on Loop’s promise: to change the way the world thinks about sound. Through innovative earplugs that look and feel good.
Welcome to your glow-up era.
Laying bold, Iridescent foundations
An ambitious photo shoot like Iridescent requires months of planning. First, the Studio team forms the creative concept. They then assemble a production team, cast models and secure a location for the shoot.
For Iridescent, Loop’s Art Director, Nina Hagen, kicked things off with a mood board inspired by the campaign’s high-level concept.
“When it came to inspiration for the shoot, we drew from a bunch of different sources,” Nina explains. “Iridescent comes from the Latin for ‘rainbow’ – so we knew color was key.”
“But we also needed to capture the bold play of color and light in a way that would feel especially empowering for Loop’s passionate community of users. We needed to do something no one had seen before.”
Delivering an ambitious concept
Loop’s millions of users are incredibly diverse – just like the team of creatives who came together to bring Iridescent’s visual storytelling to life.
Once Nina’s mood board was finalized, the team started pitching styling ideas, developing a shot list and thinking through every aspect of the shoot. They compiled a storyboard to account for each and every shot.
The Studio’s content creator, Pauline de Naeyer, also looked for ways to translate key elements of the photo shoot into video content for use across Loop’s social channels. She worked with Loop’s Social Media Specialist Monica Ho to make sure they hit all the right notes.
“Shoot day is exciting – and incredibly busy,” Pauline says. “It’s all about staying ready, so when those magic moments present themselves, we’re ready to capture them to share with the world.”
How do they make sure they’re able to stay ready in the moment?
“It’s not easy,” Monica smiles, “but it starts with lots and lots of checklists!”
Studio pro tip: Thorough prep before the shoot helps everyone stay ready to get the most out of shoot day. This applies to photo shoots – and any complex collaboration.
Working with fashion photographer Stig De Block
Iridescent’s visual language is central to communicating the campaign vision to the world. That’s why Loop’s Studio called in the big guns: Belgian-born fashion photographer Stig De Block – whose clients include Louis Vuitton, Dries Van Noten and Christian Wijnants.
De Block applied his genre-defying eye and bold use of color to produce campaign imagery that pops. And gets to the heart of what Loop’s all about: bold self-expression and individual empowerment.
As Nina put it, “capturing the full power of the Iridescent story was as much about what was going on behind the camera as what was happening in front of it. Our team worked with the models to make sure the imagery would feel daring and empowering.”
Lights. Camera. Glow-up!
The Iridescent shoot took place at Studio Stories – a creative studio in Ghent, Belgium.
On the day of the shoot, the team got to work dressing the set using bold, reflective acrylic panels. These evoked the striking interplay of color and light that sets Iridescent earplugs apart. But the panels did present their share of challenges.
“They reflected everything!” Nina laughs. “We had to make sure nobody accidentally ended up in the shots.”
Thankfully, the models rose to the occasion. They understood the brief, and worked together with Nina, Stig and the rest of the team worked to embody the confidence, color and daring of the limited-edition release.
Rounding out the spectrum
On a campaign like Iridescent – defined by dramatic, eye-catching visuals – some of the most important work happens in post-production.
“It’s nice to have all the options in view,” Nina says. “That’s when you begin to single out the moments that are truly magical. Which is what this campaign demanded.”
And it’s thanks to the team’s quick thinking and thorough preparation that these moments were possible. “Iridescent is going to be one of our best campaigns ever – and it’s all thanks to the talent we had in the room, and our ability to think on our feet,” Monica says.
For Pauline, it was in the editing chair that she realized just how strong the visual content for Iridescent would be. “We’ve never told a story like this before at Loop,” she says with a smile.
Loop’s limited-edition Iridescent release will drop on 22 February. Get ready to go deep and explore the full spectrum of sound and color. In the meantime, check here for Iridescent updates.
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