The United Assembly

09/17/2026

Sometimes the most relatable character in an ad isn’t a person.

Animals can give lifestyle advertising an immediate sense of personality without asking the viewer to see themselves in a specific age, identity or life stage. We don’t need much context to understand what’s happening here: dog, open trunk, muddy road, adventure underway.

Shayd Johnson uses that simplicity to turn an automotive image into a story about getting outside, bringing your favourite companion and having a vehicle that can keep up.

The product is still central, but the dog gives us the reason for it.

📸 Shayd Johnson

09/16/2026

A portrait can tell you a lot about someone before you know anything about them.

Suech and Beck photographed Remi Brixton, VP of Marketing at Saie, in Los Angeles, using the spaces around her as part of the story. From soft natural light outdoors to a more direct, flash-driven interior portrait, the series feels personal, creative and distinctly removed from the traditional executive headshot.

A great example of environmental portraiture giving us a little more than just the person in front of the camera.

📸 Suech and Beck
📍 Los Angeles

09/15/2026

Who gets to use an image in the age of AI?

It sounds like a simple copyright question. It isn’t anymore.

An original photograph, the use of that photograph to train an AI model, and the image that model eventually generates can all involve different questions around ownership, permission, compensation and responsibility. And the rules aren’t necessarily the same across platforms or countries.

Our latest UA blog post breaks down what photographers, brands and creative teams should understand as AI becomes a bigger part of how imagery is created, edited and used commercially.

Read AI Copyright & Photography: Who Gets to Use the Image? Live on the blog now.

A guide to AI copyright, stock photography, regulation and ethics, and what changing rules mean for photographers and commercial image use.

09/10/2026

How do you photograph something you can’t actually see?

For Wealthsimple, Chloe Lukas brings investing into the everyday. Instead of the traditional visual language of finance, offices, charts and suits, the product lives exactly where the customer does: on the couch, phone in hand, cat included.

It’s warm, relatable and still incredibly product-forward. The screen tells you what Wealthsimple does; the environment tells you how it fits into your life.

It’s also the kind of brief we love at United Assembly: pairing the right photographer with the right visual language to make complex products feel human, approachable and culturally relevant.

📸 Chloe Lukas for Wealthsimple

09/09/2026

This photo for Mercedes-Benz has a strong strategic story because it uses a very recognizable piece of automotive advertising language: the hero car shot. It shifts what the viewer is being sold. The landscape is almost as important as the vehicle.

Sometimes the best way to sell the product is to sell the possibility around it.

📸 Shayd Johnson for Mercedes-Benz

09/05/2026

Commercial still life is getting a little less polished, at least on the surface.

Rather than perfect placement and pristine environments, we’re seeing more imagery built around the traces of real life: a drink left behind, a newspaper folded on a chair, the suggestion that someone was just there.

Suech and Beck bring that approach together with directional light, saturated colour and a distinctly nostalgic interior. The result feels spontaneous, while every element of the frame is doing a job.

📸 Suech and Beck

09/04/2026

There’s a quietness to these portraits that were done for Ariela Gittlen, a New York designer and writer, that we love.

Natural light, familiar spaces and a relaxed approach give the images an intimacy that feels less like a formal portrait sitting and more like stepping into someone’s world for a moment.

Beautiful, understated portraiture by Landon Speers.

📸 Landon Speers

08/27/2026

Why choose one colour when Portugal gives you the whole palette? 🎨🇵🇹☀️ A colourful little love letter to everyday life, through the lens of S H A Y D

StreetPhotography VisualStorytelling EditorialPhotography

08/26/2026

Same Truly. Very different plans. 🍹✨

From the hangout that turns into an actual hangout, to backyard games and nights with friends, this series by Suech & Beck for Truly captures three different occasions with one thing in common: the product feels like it belongs in the moment.

We love how each spot has its own personality while still feeling unmistakably part of the same campaign—loose, social and genuinely fun.

Which Truly moment are you choosing: hangout, backyard or night in? 👇

📸 Suech and Beck for Truly Truly Hard Seltzer

08/23/2026

A little slice of France on Gerrard East. 🇫🇷🍷✨

Chef Pascal Geffroy has been at the helm of Batifole since 2013, and this neighbourhood bistro was recently named one of Canada’s 12 Beloved Local Restaurants. Chloe Lukas takes us inside, capturing all the warmth, character and tiny details that make a local favourite feel like your local favourite. ❤️

📸 Chloe Lukas
Visuals Editor: Sarah Palmer

GerrardEast FrenchBistro RestaurantPhotography FoodPhotography EditorialPhotography VisualStorytelling TorontoCreatives