Oh the power of social media. On a typical late night session trolling Instagram, I discovered a brand called Society Nine. Society Nine makes gear and apparel for women who participate in combat sports (boxing, muay thai, krav maga). Although the brand is not speaking directly to me, I appreciated the grittiness in their social media images. As I researched the brand a bit more, I discovered that the founder Lynn Le was a Portland resident, and the brand is a startup based out of Portland. Well Portland is a small city and eventually Lynn and I crossed paths and I was able to tell her in person how much I respected the brand she is building and her entrepreneurial hustle. This of course lead to Lynn and I following each other on Instagram. Once the connection was made, the DM (direct message) was sent. I let Lynn know that if the opportunity were to arise I would be interested in shooting images for her brand.

The opportunity arose in late June. Lynn and I exchanged emails and hoped on a call. She shared her vision for what she felt the brand needed with this content, who it was targeted at, what kind of emotions she was trying to inspire with the photos, etc. The three points of direction that stood out to me were: accessible, aspirational, real, and texture. She sent me a few inspirational samples, set a time line, and confirmed the date and location.

Below are a few of my favorite photos from the shoot. Be sure to check out the Society Nine social media channels to see more of the photos.

Shout out to athlete/model/trainer Denali Pontvianne Toledo. It was a privilege to work with her and capture a mean left hook in action.

As always hit me with some feedback!

//Jesse