3-DAY LONDON FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY AND FOOD STYLING WORKSHOP WITH TWIGG STUDIOS
It was probably around this time last year that Aimee from Twigg Studios asked me to run a food styling and food photography workshop with her in what seemed the unbelievably distant future (March 2017!). Without hesitation I said yes and man, am I glad that I did. Though Aimee and I are VERY different people, us working together always kinda sorta really goes! And, I feel our lovely work connection shone through in this weekend's 3-day food photography and food styling workshop which was held at my humble, cosy home 'studio' in South East London. We only took 4 students each day to allow for lots of 1-2-1 attention and were over the moon that the workshop was sold out :).
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP- DAY 1
After tea, cake and introductions we quickly got started with Day 1 which we broke into four sections:
1 - In the morning we looked at getting to grips with camera basics from shutter speed, ISO and aperture to discussions on light and how it moves through the camera. We spoke about how to compose a breakfast scene asking participants to think about composition, props and backdrops as well as the message they wanted to convey to their audience through their imagery. Aimee and I then set out to stage a breakfast scene demonstrating in practice the morning's learning. Thereafter, the students worked in 2s to set up and photograph their own breakfast scenes.
2 - During the second half of the morning we looked at how to use the principles of composition etc. to photograph 'difficult food'. In our case we examined gloopy brown beans and the students were given little tricks and tips on how to make it look delicious. The students had a chance to style the shot in various different ways, thinking about what type of styling their target audience would enjoy most.
Following our busy morning we went to a nearby sourdough pizza parlour where we all tucked into some seriously delicious food!
3 - With our bellies full and happy we moved into our afternoon teaching slot which was all about decorating, styling and photographing one of Aimee's signature cakes. After Aimee talked us through her styling process the students were again given free reign over the set up of the shoot. You can see my captures of the different styling options here :)
The day ended with a chance to taste Aimee's creation which she made glutenfree and vegan (thank you Aimee!), to exchange contact details and to take home a beautiful goody bag.
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP - DAY 2
1 - Though the workshop days could be attended as individual stand alone days, we did build each day on the next to allow those who wanted to come to all 3 days to learn and experience something new each day. Hence we felt that Day 2 needed to be about visual story telling and putting together a kick-ass, thoughtful and beautiful blog post, using the teachings of the previous day and taking it a step further. As this is my 'thing' I led the session in the morning, with LOTS of help from one of our attendees and my dear friend Silvia from Salvia+Limone. We decided to make a vegan caramelised onion and rocket focaccia, the recipe of which (as well as the photos) will be on the blog on Monday the 3rd of April ;).
I shared all that I know about putting together a great, visually striking blog post so as to be able to tell a cohert story through visual imagery. We then joinly wrote down the storyline we wanted to create and set off to work.
This took us all morning, after which we attended a local Indian restaurant where we enjoyed a gourmet 2-course meal (SO GOOD!).
2 - During the afternoon session Aimee showed us how to turn a good image into a great image using lightroom and photoshop. Students had a chance to tinker with their images and ask for 1-2-1 support, exploring functions in their editing programs they'd never dared to explore before.
Day 2 also ended with a goody bag which was filled to the brim with delicious things.
Photo of me shot by Caroline of Suppers In Season
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP - DAY 3
1 - Our Day 3 was entitled 'Dark and Moody' during which we took elements of what the students had learned during the previous two days and used it to take still life images, food photos and portraits. As teachers we shared what we knew after which students were given the chance to take what they'd learned and put it into practice, styling their own moody shots. You can see the results here.
2 - We hopped out for lunch again and when we returned in the afternoon we jumped into our final session of the day during which we spoke at length about how to make a living off blogging, food photography and food styling. We ended the day with yet another goody bag and lots of hugs :).
Though we were exhausted by the end of it, Aimee and I loved every single minute of the workshop. So much so we're planning on doing it all again, tweeking the schedule to iron our what needs ironing out so as to make the next workshop even better :) (see more details below).
Image of Caroline from Suppers in Season and Image of Yasmin from Fenneltoast
Before I leave you with my teaching schedule and information about a new on-line course I'll be starting in May, I just wanted to say the biggest ever thank you to our wonderful, kind, inspiring and sweet students Maxine from 9_teacups, Anna from Anna Banana, Yasmin from Fenneltoast, Caroline from Suppers in Season, Karla from Mexican Food Memories and Jo from Jojoromancer. A VERY special thank you to Silvia from Salvia+Limone who was as much participant as she was a teacher.
I'd also like to thank our amazing sponsors Honey&Date - Daily Cultures - Primrose's Kitchen - Facture Goods - Jing Tea - Tofoo Company - Ceiba Drinks - Nom Living - Of The Earth Superfoods - TRIBE.
From May onwards there will be a few different teaching opportunities you can take advantage of.
1. 1-2-1 on-line Instagram and Business mentoring sessions.
2. 1-2-1 in person food styling and food photography workshops at my home studio in South East London.
Thanks for stopping by everyone. See you all on Monday :).
