Campaign Story #02 - RAMIREZ
Social Media CampaignPorto2026
Client
RAMIREZ
Agency
Opal
Location
Porto
Industry
Food
Deliverables
40 images · 10 videos
Usage
Website · Social
9:52 AM, December 23rd 2025: I was quietly having breakfast and getting ready for the holidays (and my birthday, which is on the 24th), when I got a notification on my phone. It was an e-mail from Opal, an agency from Portugal.
They were already working with this client — the oldest canned goods company in the country, Ramirez — but they wanted to create more content for their Social Media. And that’s where I would come in.
The campaign needed to speak simultaneously to a younger, active audience and to Ramirez's established heritage. I used hard sunlight, saturated color and graphic compositions for the first group, while keeping the factory portraits and more traditional product imagery softer and more documentary.
The Brief
The images were done with social media in mind, so we had to cater to different audiences. We could split them in two categories:
Bold and colorful images/sports related images for the younger audience. The idea was to focus on the health benefits of sports when combined with a balanced diet (with Ramirez products, of course!). The aesthetic would be very colorful, with clean lines and sharp shadows — just my cup of tea.
More traditional shots done with a softer lighting as well as the portraits of the workers inside the factory. Ramirez has been around since 1853 and one thing has remained constant: the people. Both the ones who work there and also the families that buy their products.
I already had a relationship with the agency and really liked the concept, so I said yes and sent in my initial estimate.
The client agreed and we decided it would be better to split the shoot in two half-days instead of a full day. The reasoning behind it was the two different locations we intended to shoot at: the company factory and a Padel court a few km away.
The Challenge
Constraints
40 images + 10 short videos
2 different locations
Creating different sets somewhere inside the factory
Going inside the production line with no idea what to expect
Timing
January 26th | 8h30 - 15h30 (1h break for lunch) | 15 product images + 15 images inside factory + 8 short videos
January 28th | 9h00 - 11h00 | 10 images + 2 short videos
Delivery in two weeks
Produce campaign imagery that could appeal to two different kinds of audience across different platforms
The Production
Adapt and overcome
DAY 1
This was the biggest day by far, with 38 deliverables planned to be done in 6h, so we knew we had to hit the ground running.
The first order of business was to do the product images. And since we didn’t have a lot of time available, it was important to be quick and versatile.
We quickly scanned the room that was made available for us and decided to use the big table for some shots and do the rest on the floor with the backgrounds we had brought.
From a technical standpoint, I knew exactly what to do: keep the brand products recognizable, but give them a visual identity that relates to a younger audience and the Portuguese sun.
And then add some softer, more traditional images, to make sure we were delivering on that end of the spectrum as well. After all, that’s what the client had asked for.
After these first images and a couple of short videos, we took our much needed lunch break.
When we came back to the factory, we were greeted by the person who would take us inside to the production line. At this point in time, we had absolutely no idea of what we would find inside, so the only chance we really had was to go in blind and adapt to the circumstances. I took one camera, one tripod and a couple of lenses. No lights.
The idea was to get some quick portraits of the workers as well as video of them doing their jobs. All without getting in the way, of course!
We were very well received by the factory workers, which made the whole process so much easier! I could walk around freely with my camera and tripod, shooting all the videos and photographs we needed.
Since all the video footage was intended for Social Media, it was captured vertically. Nevertheless, I ended up using some of the clips to create a longer, more documentary-style video:
At the end of Day 1, all our clothes and gear smelled like fish (who would have thought that a fish factory smells like fish, huh?) but we were quite happy with the results.
DAY 2
On Day 2, we only had the Padel court for 2 hours.
According to our planning, we were supposed to get 10 still images and 2 short videos during this time, but we ended up delivering 14 still images and 3 videos.
The energy was quite high because of the amount of deliverables, but everyone knew what to do. Tiago, my assistant, was crucial especially on this day, making sure we always had the lights well positioned. And he even managed to get some behind-the-scenes footage!
There was one particular image I ended up doing from a lower angle than we originally expected. We all agreed that it worked better that way, but then it posed a problem: the Padel court was indoors and we could see the ceiling and walls. Since we were going for a sunny/summer vibe, that made no sense.
At that point, I knew the only reasonable option would be to change the background in post-production — which I did!
Finally, I’ll leave you with a quick BTS video I edited from Tiago’s footage.
There’s images from both days, but unfortunately there’s nothing from inside the production line as we were unable to film there.
Outcome
The files were delivered on time and used throughout Ramirez’s Social Media. We actually over-delivered and the client ended up with 48 images and 12 short videos.
WonderfulMachine wrote an article about it, which made me very proud.
Five of the images were also awarded an Honorable Mention at the International Photography Awards, which is was a huge honor for me.
It was an amazingly fun project to work at and goes to show what can be achieved with a trustworthy team, even on short timings.
Credits
Agency: Opal
Art Director: Rodrigo Guimarães
Photography + Post-Production: Diego Veríssimo
Photography Assistant + BTS footage: Tiago Braga
Innovation & Digital Marketing Director: Mariana Falcão
Digital Brand Manager: Raquel Lemos
Copywriter: Miguel Ferreira
Locations: Ramirez Factory; Top Padel Maia Center