Photographer

Swig Life • Richmond, VA

13d • $70,000 - $85,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Photographer leads the creation of distinctive, consistent product and lifestyle imagery that elevates the Swig Life brand and drives customer engagement. This role combines hands-on photography and retouching with creative leadership, workflow management, and digital asset oversight. You’ll guide photography from ideation and preproduction through shooting, editing, and final delivery while ensuring assets meet the needs of retail, wholesale, ecommerce, print, and product launches.

Requirements

• A creative and experienced commercial, product, or lifestyle photographer with a strong portfolio demonstrating original thinking and technical excellence.
• Highly skilled in studio and location photography, lighting, composition, color, camera systems, image processing, editing, and advanced retouching.
• Proficient with professional photography equipment and industry-standard editing software, including Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.
• Able to understand the purpose behind creative requests and translate brand strategy, creative briefs, customer needs, and business objectives into distinctive visual content.
• A proactive self-starter who takes ownership of projects, works efficiently, and maintains momentum in a fast-paced, high-volume creative environment.
• Highly organized and process-oriented, with the ability to plan shoots, manage competing priorities, meet deadlines, and identify opportunities to improve workflows.
• Experienced with digital asset-management systems; familiarity with Bynder or a comparable platform is preferred.
• A clear and confident communicator who can navigate ambiguity, contribute ideas, explain creative decisions, and collaborate effectively with stylists and cross-functional partners.
• Detail-oriented, receptive to constructive feedback, and committed to maintaining consistent quality while continuously improving the work.
• Comfortable serving as a senior creative and technical resource, mentoring others, and taking on increased team-leadership or people-management responsibilities as the Photography function evolves.
• Able to occasionally work outside standard business hours, including nights, weekends, or holidays, when required by production schedules.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with Bynder or a comparable platform is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Creative team and cross-functional partners to plan and execute product and lifestyle photography across retail, wholesale, ecommerce, print, and other marketing channels.
• Translate creative direction, shot lists, brand strategy, and business objectives into distinctive, high-quality imagery that supports product launches and campaigns.
• Lead the shooting, processing, editing, color correction, and retouching of photography, ensuring final assets meet brand standards and are optimized for web or print.
• Contribute photography expertise during ideation and preproduction, partnering with stylists and content teams to develop executable shoot plans and provide recommendations on styling, lighting, composition, equipment, and execution.
• Drive the photography approval process with leadership and cross-functional partners through pre- and post-production meetings, reviews, and established approval milestones.
• Manage photography calendars and production logistics, including shoot priorities, locations, permits, equipment, shot volume, and studio and location-shoot needs.
• Maintain an average production volume of 15–30 approved final images per week and deliver contact sheets, selects, and final assets according to photography calendar, prebook, product-launch, and campaign deadlines.
• Maintain organized photography files and manage assets in Bynder, including naming conventions, taxonomy updates, uploads, storage, organization, and timely stakeholder access.
• Oversee product check-in and checkout, maintain accurate SKU information, and ensure all required primary and supporting product imagery is completed by established deadlines.
• Oversee day-to-day studio operations, ensuring photography equipment, lighting, props, and workspaces are maintained and operated safely and efficiently.
• Help strengthen photography standards, lighting approaches, asset-management processes, and studio workflows while providing guidance and training to team members and cross-functional partners.
• Assist with photography budget planning and expense tracking and serve as the company’s primary point of contact for its relationship with Bynder.

Benefits

• 15 days Paid Time Off your first year, and an additional day each year thereafter (up to 25 days)
• Company paid holidays
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as additional voluntary benefits
• Parental leave options
• Annual bonus payouts for all salaried employees
• Up to a 5% 401k match with no vesting period

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed