A photographer has decided to give back to local businesses by starting a free scheme due to the impact of the cost of living crisis.

Gina Smith, from Maidstone, offered an initiative called Secret Shop Brand Shoot as part of her company Photognic, to businesses in the county.

The 46-year-old moved to the UK from South Africa in 1999 and has been living in Kent for the last 12 years.

She said: "I got my first proper camera in the 90s and around 10 years ago I really wanted to start taking pictures of people naturally.

"Whether it's a wedding or a live gig, I love capturing a moment in time that you can keep forever.

"Because of Covid, I wanted to break out into the brand side of the business, as everything just came to a halt.

"I've now been able to work with lots of local and international businesses over the last year."

It was in July when Gina had the idea for her scheme, Secret Shop Brand Shoot – which would involve three lucky companies in Kent being treated to a £895 photoshoot.

"Something like 30,000 new business were formed in the first year of Covid," she explained. "The big brands continue to have all the money, marketing and social media."

"It's about helping start-ups, creatives, online entrepreneurs and female business owners – all that are more on the smaller scale."

On July 27, Gina created a submissions page on her website where businesses in the county could sign-up for a chance to win.

She was calling out to people in the Maidstone, West Malling and Rochester area, as well as reaching out personally to places she liked.

In the end, 30 businesses applied – that were whittled down to the lucky three.

One of the winners was Gladness Katega, from Maidstone, who is a motivational speaker, business coach and founder of UYG Social Enterprise.

Gina shot her images at The Swan in West Malling. She said: "I told her to meet there for a chat and sprung it on her that I would be shooting.

"We re-enacted her working, at her desk, on the phone and behind the scenes."

The others included West Malling Flowers and E-lope Kent – a niche Folkestone wedding company made up of a photographer, florist, wedding planner and cake maker.

Gina added: "They applied and were a bit outside my patch, but they had such an interesting business that I just thought it would be a great.

"I went along to one of the weddings they were at and got some pictures of behind the scenes of them setting it up.

"Overall I really chose three amazing companies and people to work with, and we had so much fun."

With the cost of living crisis, inflation and rising energy bills, many independent traders are struggling to stay running.

The photographer said: "It's going to be difficult for a lot of businesses.

"People will start cutting back on things that aren't important for their business. Photography may be one of them.

"There's a lot of uncertainty at the moment, and it's a catch-22. A lot of companies use stock images that are free.

"They spend 45 minutes searching for the perfect stock image, and the time they waste looking for the picture, they could have spent some money on a group of images that they can have at their fingertips.

"I just wanted to offer something back to the local community – times are tough at the moment and people don't have the money to put towards marketing and social media."