Lock Stock Sporting
Murray knows his subject deeply. Lock Stock Sporting is built around premium photography and shooting coaching in East Lothian — capturing rural life and field sports with the kind of authenticity that comes from genuine knowledge of and affection for that world. The images aren't staged. The coaching isn't packaged. It's a business rooted in real expertise and a specific cultural landscape.
That authenticity needed to come through in the brand. A photographer of this calibre, working in a niche where credibility matters enormously, couldn't afford an identity that felt generic or borrowed from the broader sporting market. The brand had to reflect the quality of the work and the character of the person behind it.
The identity
Field sports branding has its visual conventions — and most of them are worth avoiding if you want to stand apart. Gun motifs, heavy serif typography, worn leather textures. They communicate the right territory but they don't communicate distinction.
The brief pointed towards something cleaner and more contemporary while remaining firmly grounded in place. The resulting logo mark draws on a subtle crosshair reference — connecting photography and shooting in a single, restrained gesture without leaning on either too heavily. It's the kind of mark that makes sense immediately once you see it, without announcing itself.
The palette was drawn from the East Lothian landscape itself: natural tones that feel entirely appropriate to the subject matter without being literal about it. Together, the mark and palette create an identity that reads as premium and considered — the visual equivalent of someone who knows exactly what they're doing and doesn't need to prove it loudly.
Words from the client
“Sarah was a hugely calming and professional source to take us through the minefield of the online world. She was very experienced and patient with us, and guided us through each relevant aspect of the build. An extremely personable expert, we can’t recommend her highly enough.”
The website
The digital brief had several distinct requirements that needed to coexist within a single, coherent platform.
Ecommerce functionality for photography sales. Secure private client galleries — accessible to individual clients without being publicly visible. A flexible content structure that Murray could manage and expand independently over time. And throughout all of that, a design that showcased the photography itself without competing with it.
That last point shaped many of the design decisions. A photographer's website has to let the work breathe. Heavy layout elements, busy backgrounds or overcrowded pages work against the images rather than for them. The site was designed with generous space and a restrained visual approach that keeps the focus where it belongs.
The technical architecture — the ecommerce integration, the gallery access system, the content management structure — was built with future-proofing as an explicit priority. Murray needed a platform he could grow into, not one he'd outgrow. The flexibility built into the site from the outset means new services, new content and new functionality can be added without requiring a rebuild.
Since launch
The platform has supported significant business growth across both the photography and coaching arms of the business. That outcome is worth noting not as a performance claim but as a reflection of what a well-built digital presence can do when it's properly aligned with how a business actually operates and where it's headed.
For a sole operator building a premium service business, a website that works hard behind the scenes — handling sales, managing client access, presenting work at its best — frees up time and energy to focus on the work itself. That's what the Lock Stock Sporting platform was built to do.
What the project required
Brand identity and logo development. Natural landscape-inspired colour palette and typography. Custom website design and build. Ecommerce integration for print and digital photography sales. Secure private client gallery system. CMS setup with independent content management. Post-launch support and onboarding.
Looking for both a brand and a website? We’d love to discuss your requirements.
