capturing an artist at work—my photoshoot with zoe from zoe can patch it

Back in June 2025, I had the privilege of photographing the amazing Zoe Zou hard at work at her thriving small business, Zoe Can Patch It, here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Zoe is an incredibly talented seamstress who specializes in repairing outdoor clothing and gear—but she’s so good at what she does that she can basically fix to perfection anything that uses fabric, always incorporating her unique and colorful style to her patchwork. If you haven’t checked out her Instagram page (@zoepatches), you’re missing out, and you should join the 40,000+ others who already follow her there, where she posts tons of polished behind the scenes footage showcasing her incredible talent.

For our shoot, Zoe wanted to me to capture a sort of candid “day in the life” of her business, where she goes to her shop, makes tea, turns on relaxing French music, plays with her super cute cat Tumbleweed. and then gets to work repairing clothing and gear sent in from customers all over the world. We had a blast during this shoot, which took only about an hour, getting candid portraits and detail shots of Zoe at work. Inspired by her vintage French music, I used Fujifilm equipment and went for a more filmic look here, with muted pastel colors, a faded black point, and a touch of film grain, and to overpower the fluorescent lighting, I used off-camera flash. Shooting with Zoe was so much fun, and I think we were really able to capture her personality and her brand.

If you’re looking for portraits and candid shots highlighting your unique branding, your space, and the amazing work that you do at your small business, please reach out any time at ben@bensnaps-photo.com! I’d love to work with you, and I’m available across New Mexico, the Southwest, and beyond.

Cheers!

-Ben