RETRO REVIVAL: A BTS OF CREATIVE PROCESSES

Cher James
Nov 19, 2025
3 min read

This month I thought I would invite you behind the scenes to see exactly how my ideas evolve from spark to masterpiece.

Whether it’s a personal project or a paid gig, I approach every shoot with the same passion & my secret weapon? Everyday people make the best collaborator: they’re my clients, my muses, & my inspiration. .

The Creative Spark

Being born in the early ’90s, I grew up in a whirlwind of pop culture: singing into my impulse perfume or hairbrush like I was Britney Spears, rocking denim-on-denim, & soaking up the music, fashion, & energy to the turn of the millennium.

These formative years shaped my creative DNA, & now I love bringing that nostalgia into 2025 with my own colourful twist.

Through my work, I experiment with colour, energy, & style, blending 90s/2000s vibes with a modern touch & of course, having a blast doing it.

Mood Boards & Concept Development

I live for mood boards! Seriously, they’re my visual playground. Pre-visualising ideas is essential for me & for you to see the vision come to life.

My mood boards include:

- Colour palettes & textures

-Props & equipment lists

-Lighting setups & location ideas

-Hair & makeup inspiration

- Poses & vibes

Here’s a sneak peek at the mood board for this shoot, showing how I brainstorm & refine my concepts:

Playlist Vibes

Every shoot has a soundtrack & this one was no exception. The playlist fuelled the energy, mood, & rhythm of the shoot.

Confession time though, these songs are still a part of my personal music library on y phone to this day!

Location Scouting: Studio vs. Laundromat

Studio shoots are perfect for precision: controlled lighting, setups,& perfect conditions. But real-life locations? That’s my playground. Natural light, unexpected textures, & a bit of chaos always inspire me. For this shoot, I combined both a studio setup for controlled shots & a laundromat location for that raw, authentic vibe.

Styling & Props

Ah, the late 90s and early 2000: think butterfly clips, bold blue eyeshadow, discmans, disposable cameras, & yes, double denim!

For this shoot, I played with two distinct vibes: an Urban Street look & a Playful Pop look. The Urban Street vibe kept natural makeup with soft browns & golds, paired with a red bandanna & classic hoop earrings for that city-ready edge.

The Petite Pop Look went all out on bold colours, crimped hair, & of course, iconic butterfly clips that capture the playful, nostalgic energy.

Tracking down props was half the fun! Temu helped with accessories, my mom’s storage unearthed some vintage headphones, & the discman? A glorious tip-shop treasure that perfectly completed the retro feel.

Shooting Process

Being in front of the camera isn’t always easy, especially if you’ve never modelled. My focus is on comfort, energy, & fun.

Technical prep is just as important: I attempt to nail settings in-camera so that editing becomes a breeze & the final images pop.

Post-Production & Editing

Editing is where the magic truly happen. It’s the photographer’s signature. For this shoot, I aimed for a retro yet vibrant aesthetic: bold contrasts, sharp lines, & rich saturation.

The goal was to capture the essence of the era while keeping every image crisp, colourful, & alive.

For any shoot I do, I love to create individually personalised presets for my clients to make them unique to them. Sometimes I will purchase or just use presets already in either Photoshop or Lightroom & adjust accordingly but I prefer to create ones specified to that particular client or session.

Presets then get saved & used across images in a gallery with minor tweaks where required.

The images for this shoot were completed in Photoshop which is my preferred editing suite for most sessions.