Fashion Photography Sydney for a Contemporary Jewellery Brand
Fairina Cheng Jewellery
Client
Fashion Editorial Photography
Service:
Project Overview
Picture this: a pink tourmaline ring speared between two olives, dangling from a cocktail pick, submerged in a martini about to be bitten into by a model in a salmon pink suit.
That was the seed of ‘Weird Soup: The Shoot’. It wasn’t a client request, but a concept Heist’s Creative Director, Nikki, pitched to jewellery designer and previous client, Fairina Cheng, who fittingly, has built her brand on “breaking the rules.”
Fairina leaned in because sometimes the best collaborations don’t come from a safe idea everyone’s seen before. They come from asking, 'What if we paired high‑fashion styling with food so peculiar it borders on absurd?'
- Three‑course editorial concept blending fashion, food styling, and fine jewellery
- A pink tourmaline martini, a sapphire dangling from a cherry stem, and a tin of Spam (yes, really)
- Full production including concepting, studio, styling, shooting and crew
- Final gallery of scroll‑stopping editorial assets for Fairina Cheng Jeweller, rule‑breaker extraordinaire
What We Did
- Course One: Khaki backdrop, salmon suit, pink tourmaline martini. Heirloom tomatoes for garnish, because nothing says “high fashion” like a dewy tomato dripping next to a cocktail.
- Course Two: Cream backdrop, green tourmaline, a riot of produce we called “bountiful” with celery cuddled like a baby, and Dutch carrots, fennel, bitter melon. (We almost called this project ‘Harvest’, but ‘Weird Soup' stuck.)
- Course Three: Crimson backdrop, wide‑leg trousers, sapphire ring dangling from a cherry stem. Carbs as supporting cast: a baguette hoisted like a sceptre, butter slabs stuffed with jewels, and a tin of Spam for comedic effect.
Project Particulars
This wasn’t the kind of shoot where you show up with a safe shot list and leave on schedule.
It was messy, unexpected, and just the right amount of unhinged. But with moodboards, colour palettes, prop lists, and a plan, the revelry became a feast for the eyes instead of a disaster for the edit.
On set, Fairina kept grinning: “I’d never have paired these things, but the colours just work.” Proof that the right creative risks, handled with intent, don’t look risky at all - they look inevitable.
The final gallery was bold, surprising, and impossible to scroll past. For Fairina, it cemented her rule‑breaking positioning with imagery no other jewellery designer could replicate.
The shoot’s success wasn’t just in the aesthetics; it was in the reaction. Audiences stopped, looked twice, and remembered. And for a jeweller who designs for rule breakers and story makers, that’s the win.
Outcomes
Because jewellery shoots can so easily fall into beige sameness - safe, polished, forgettable. ‘Weird Soup’ was none of those.
By marrying bold concepting with meticulous execution, Heist delivered assets that made Fairina’s brand feel iconic. It worked because we gave ourselves (and our client) permission to get strange. And sometimes, the best way to stand out is to pair heirloom jewels with heirloom tomatoes for the sake of art.
Why It Worked
