Assistant Art Director, Studio Photography

PHOENIX Retail, LLC is a retail platform operating the Express and Bonobos brands worldwide. Express is a multichannel apparel brand dedicated to a design philosophy rooted in modern, confident and effortless style whether dressing for work, everyday or special occasions. Bonobos is a menswear brand known for being pioneers of exceptional fit and a personalized, innovative retail model. Customers can experience our brands in over 400 Express retail and Express Factory Outlet stores, 50 Bonobos Guideshops, and online at www.express.com and www.bonobos.com.

About Express

Responsibilities:

The Assistant Art Director, Studio Photography is a hands-on creative role responsible for helping shape and maintain the look and feel of ecommerce product photography across Express and Bonobos. Reporting to the Senior Art Director, Photo Studio & Photography, this role partners closely with brand creative leads, photography, styling, retouching, merchandising, and ecommerce teams to ensure studio imagery is visually compelling, brand-right, and optimized to support commercial performance.

This role helps set and uphold the visual direction for product-level photography across both brands, ensuring assets align with each brand’s creative standards, channel needs, and business goals. The Assistant Art Director plays a critical role on set and in post-production, guiding visual consistency, reviewing imagery, editing selects, and helping ensure final assets balance creative integrity with clarity, accuracy, and conversion-minded execution.

This is a highly cross-functional role requiring strong creative judgment, a sharp eye for photography and styling, and the ability to partner effectively across teams in a fast-paced, high-volume studio environment.

• Support the creative direction of ecommerce product photography for Express and Bonobos, ensuring imagery aligns with each brand’s standards, aesthetic, and commercial goals
• Partner with the Senior Art Director, Photo Studio & Photography and brand creative leads to help define and execute the visual direction for studio photography across both brands
• Provide hands-on art direction on set for product photography, ensuring composition, styling, product presentation, and overall image quality meet brand and business expectations
• Review daily studio output and edit best selects for product-level assets, ensuring final imagery is strong, consistent, and effective across ecommerce and related marketing channels
• Partner closely with photographers, stylists, retouches, and studio production teams to ensure assets are executed with creative consistency and operational efficiency
• Help guide shot flow and on-set decision-making to support productivity, quality, and adherence to seasonal priorities and shot lists
• Collaborate with ecommerce, merchandising, and creative partners to understand product storytelling needs, channel requirements, and key business priorities
• Ensure product imagery reflects accurate styling, fit, silhouette, color, and product details while maintaining a polished and elevated visual point of view
• Support image review and post-production workflows, including select rounds, feedback, retouching direction, and final asset approval
• Help maintain and evolve photography guidelines, studio standards, and visual references to ensure consistency across categories, brands, and customer touchpoints
• Participate in pre-production planning and partner with cross-functional teams on shot priorities, product focus, seasonal storytelling, and studio readiness
• Contribute to ongoing improvements in studio process, image consistency, and creative workflow
• Stay current on fashion, photography, ecommerce, and visual trends, bringing fresh perspective and ideas that help keep both brands relevant and visually compelling

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Photography, Art Direction, Design, Visual Communications, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 2–3 years of experience in art direction, studio photography, ecommerce creative, or a related field
• Experience working in a fashion, retail, ecommerce, or consumer brand environment
• Strong visual eye and creative judgment, with an understanding of composition, lighting, styling, and brand-right product presentation
• Experience supporting or directing on-set photography in a studio environment
• Strong understanding of ecommerce photography workflows and how imagery functions across digital commerce and marketing channels
• Experience reviewing and editing image selects, with a strong sense of what makes imagery both visually strong and commercially effective
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Capture One, Keynote, and related creative tools preferred, reflecting similar requirements commonly listed in peer studio and art direction roles.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and collaborate effectively across teams
• High attention to detail and ability to maintain consistency in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting product photography for multiple categories or brands
• Familiarity with post-production workflows, retouching feedback, and final asset approvals
• Experience partnering with photographers, stylists, and merchandisers in a studio setting
• Strong understanding of customer-facing digital imagery and its role in supporting conversion and brand perception
• Passion for fashion, visual culture, and evolving digital content trends

• Strong creative eye and high taste level
• Commercially minded with an understanding of conversion-driving imagery
• Collaborative and clear communicator
• Detail-oriented and highly organized
• Hands-on, proactive, and solutions-oriented
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced studio environment
• Able to balance creative integrity with business needs
• Curious, adaptable, and eager to contribute to continuous improvement

Closing: