Crying at the Climbing Gym
Info
A promotional photo series for Toronto-based bedroom pop artist Fiona, shot on location at Grand River Rocks in Kitchener to support the release of her single of the same name. Fiona is a climber herself — the gym was not a prop but a real part of her world, and the shoot needed to feel like it. The resulting images generated 300,000 views on a single Instagram post.
Year
2024
Client
Fio
Services
Creative Direction, Photography
The creative direction was developed entirely by me with no formal brief — just an artist, a climbing gym, and a song about vulnerability in a very specific place. I chose to shoot with a fisheye lens to capture the full scale and texture of the gym environment, giving the images a sense of immersion that a standard lens would have flattened. That was balanced with close, intimate portraits of Fiona mid-climb and at rest — images that sit close enough to feel like you are cheering on a friend rather than looking at a promotional asset. The goal was to make the photos feel emotionally honest rather than staged, matching the confessional tone of Fiona's music. 40+ images were delivered, giving Fiona a complete content library to draw from across her release campaign.
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