How creator Effie balances family life and big brand campaigns

Juggling two growing sons and a career as a professional brand photographer keeps Effie Gurmeza busy, but she’s mastered the art of balance. For Effie, staying creative while managing family life is made easier through platforms like Creatively Squared, where she can focus on the content itself while we handle the rest. This flexibility lets her spend more time outdoors with her family, exploring her home in the Pacific Northwest, all while building an impressive portfolio with global brands.

Effie’s love of natural light defines her bright, minimalist aesthetic, always putting the brand front and centre with our customers love. Her portraits and lifestyle content feel effortless and authentic, reflecting her ability to put subjects at ease.

Over the years, Effie has showcased her versatility through nearly 60 projects with us for brands like Lindt, Jack Daniel’s, Nexxus, Cottonelle, and Huggies. From beverages and chocolates to shampoos and toddler nutrition, she effortlessly adapts to every brief. She’s generous with behind the scenes insights for the community and is even exploring UGC, proving there’s very little she can’t do.

We caught up with Effie to hear about her creative journey and discover what’s next on her horizon.

Let’s chat with Effie

Hi everyone, My name is Effie. I've always been into photography for as long as I can remember but after almost 10 years of running a more general photography business, I discovered that I had a knack for product photography, pivoting my business about 6 years ago to work solely with brands.

My unique blend of creativity and organization allows me to create stunning visuals that not only look great but also drive results. For fun, I like to do anything creative that I can get my hands on, sourdough baking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest with my boys.

Effie and her boys. Source: @effiegurmeza

I would describe my personal aesthetic as minimalist! I've been really into scandi design and culture in recent years.

My favourite brands to shoot are the ones with beautiful labels. I love working with products that make our everyday lives better - from a sweet smelling candle to a delicious wine to earth-friendly organization products that bring order to our homes.

Journey with Creatively Squared

I discovered Creatively Squared after Yna, an account manager, reached out to me after she found me on Instagram. She introduced me to the platform and it seemed like a great opportunity. I'm so glad that I took the leap because it's been a great way to work with larger brands than I may get connected with on my own.

The most enjoyable project I had is basically any project having to do with wine or chocolate. haha. More recently, I've worked with Lindt a lot and they are always fun because I love their brand aesthetic, but also, who doesn't love free chocolate?

Tools of the trade

I use my trusty Canon R5 (Mirrorless) with versatile 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is all I shoot on these days.

My studio is probably my favorite location to work in right now, especially while using the Replica Surfaces tripod stand with their beautiful snap-together backdrops for small product shoots.

Sometimes I shoot on location at a nearby park, carpark or cabin if the brief calls for it.

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Effie’s creative process

I work best with a plan. I typically write out a detailed shot list and sometimes find additional inspo images to go with it. When I have the time or feel like I need the additional organization I even put those things together on a nice little Canva document of my own to work from during the shoot.

I am mostly a one-woman team, but I do have an amazing community around me who are always willing to model for my shoots. My sister-in-law is often my first call, and she is always down for even the most random modeling gigs (hello, Poise 😅)

The preplanning process is huge for me to overcome creative block because if I walk into the shoot with a plan then I can just let the creative side of my brain take over for the actual styling of each image. Getting started can be the hardest part, but once I do, I usually get in the flow of creating pretty naturally.

Finding Inspiration

Believe it or not, I've actually been trying to stay off of Instagram lately. I gather most of my inspiration either from Pinterest or physical books and magazines at the moment. A hard copy of Magnolia Journal is one of my go-tos for fresh inspiration.

Top creative tips

Find good natural light and then simplify the scene so that you keep the product the main thing.

What's next?

Stepping outside of my creator comfort zone into more colorful imagery with artificial lighting (I know, I know, I just said my top tip was to find good natural light. haha), because it's a trend right now, and I want to hone my skills to be as helpful as I can be for the current industry standards.

Thank you Effie for sharing a little of yourself with us. You can follow along with Effie's creative journey on Instagram at her account @effiegurmeza