Posts in Creative business
5 REASONS I SWITCHED TO FLODESK (AND WHY EVERY CREATIVE SHOULD TOO!)
5 REASONS I SWITCHED TO FLODESK (AND WHY EVERY CREATIVE SHOULD TOO!)

My biggest regret as a food photography teacher and creative business owner is that I didn’t start a mailing list sooner! I SO wish I had. That’s because having a mailing list is empowering, financially rewarding and the best way to communicate with your most loyal, awesomest community members, establishing an intimate connection in the process. Your newsletter is also the place where you can offer the most valuable content, kinda like a secret insiders club. And having a mailing list means you’re less dependent on the ebbs and flows of social media algorithms. In short, mailing lists are simply FAB!

Now, I know what you’re thinking, starting a mailing list feels daunting and complicated and where does one even start? It’s also so time consuming, right? Wrong!

Read More
creativity, food blogging, food photography, goal setting, branding, Creative businessK J Espinel
GIFT GUIDE FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHERS AND FOOD BLOGGERS
GIFT GUIDE FOR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHERS AND FOOD BLOGGERS

Whether you’re looking to buy a gift for yourself (#selflove) or for someone you adore who is obsessed with food photography and food styling, I’ve got you covered with my 2020/2021 gift guide! I’ve tried to focus mainly on smaller businesses, gifts that will enhance any food photo and Instagram gallery, as well as items that support creativity as well as productivity and business growth. It’s been a joy putting this guide together for all you food photographers and content creators, and I hope you find something here that feels just right this season!

Read More
Creative Food Photography, creativity, food blogging, food photography, food styling, goal setting, Creative businessK J Espinel
ANNOUNCEMENT: CREATIVE FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK READY FOR PRE-ORDER!
ANNOUNCEMENT: CREATIVE FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK READY FOR PRE-ORDER!

I’m beyond excited you’re here because today I can FINALLY reveal the cover and title of my first book:

CREATIVE FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

How to capture exceptional images of food

There, I said it and it feels great ;)! Now I’d love to use this space to tell you what the book is all about and what special BONUS I’ve prepared for you as a thank you for your support and for pre-ordering the book today.

Read More
goal setting, food photography, food styling, self publishing, Creative Food Photography, creativity, Creative businessK J Espinel
CREATIVE BUSINESSES, SELLING ONLINE AND INFLUENCER MARKETING IN 2020
CREATIVE BUSINESSES, SELLING ONLINE AND INFLUENCER MARKETING IN 2020

NOTE: This blog post is part 24 of my INSTAGRAM SERIES - content all about helping YOU manage your way around instagram. In the INSTAGRAM SERIES I've touched on subjects such as how much money should bloggers and influencers earn, how the instagram algorithms really work and is your instagram account worth following. Just click here to find all the other parts in the series. Now on with today's post...


As I write these lines we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and though our primary focus is most certainly (and rightly!) on people’s and the planet’s well-being, the reality for most of us is that we still need to pay our bills and provide for ourselves and our loved ones. The question is, how can content creators, food photographers, recipe developers and influencers like us whose industry has been turned upside down, weather these uncertain times and come out of this period with our income streams (and sanity) still in tact? I don’t want to pretend that I have all the answers, but would love to share some ideas and thoughts that might help you manoeuvre through these choppy waters…

Read More
instagram tricks, creativity, food blogging, food photography, food styling, goal setting, Creative businessK J Espinel
THE COST OF SELF PUBLISHING VERSUS TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
THE COST OF SELF PUBLISHING VERSUS TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.

Hey everyone, I’m back with an update on my book writing saga and with lots of information about the financial implications of self publishing. As many of you know, not least from this blog post, these podcast episodes (1) (2) (3) and my writing diary highlights on instagram, I’m writing a book on food styling and food photography. For a variety of reasons I’m self publishing and sharing the lessons I’ve learned on the way with YOU in the hope they will help you on your book journey!

Today, I wanted to break down the financial implications of self publishing compared to tradition book publishing and also outline the various routes available to you. I’m still learning as I go along, but here’s what I’ve discovered so far.

Read More
goal setting, food photography, food styling, food blogging, self publishing, Creative business, Creative Food PhotographyK J Espinel
LONDON CAKE STYLING WORKSHOP BEHIND THE SCENES - A SUMMER'S BOUNTY
LONDON CAKE STYLING WORKSHOP BEHIND THE SCENES - A SUMMER'S BOUNTY

There’s the romance of being a creative/photographer/stylist and then there’s the very grounding reality - how do we stay inspired, how do we keep pushing ourselves to do better and how do we avoid repeating the same tried and tested formula, making way for new forms of creative expression instead?

Though attending food styling workshops like the one Silvia and I taught late last month isn’t the answer to every creative stumbling block a budding food blogger or food photographer might come across, it IS indescribably nourishing and creatively stimulating to see the world of food through someone else’s lens.

Read More
food photography, food photography workshop, food styling, creativity, Creative business, food bloggingK J Espinel
ARE INSTAGRAM ADS WORTH IT FOR BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS?
ARE INSTAGRAM ADS WORTH IT FOR BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS?

NOTE: This blog post is part 23 of my INSTAGRAM SERIES - content all about helping YOU manage your way around instagram. In the INSTAGRAM SERIES I've touched on subjects such as how much money should bloggers and influencers earn, how the algorithms really work and is your instagram account worth following. Just click here to find all the other parts in the series. Now on with today's post...

INSTAGRAM ALGORITHMS ARE AWESOME! Said no one ever! Or did they? Well, you may be surprised to learn that when I was researching the instagram algorithms for one of my INSTAGRAM SERIES posts last year I came across this guy on twitter who was raving about how awesome the algorithms are and how his blog traffic and business had exploded since they were introduced. WHAT!? I thought - as did a number of perplexed tweeters. HOW? He explained that he used instagram ads and promoted posts and noted that IG algorithms’ ability to target the right audience for his blog was incredible!

That different take on the algorithm stuck with me, so much so that when I heard THE social media expert Gary Vee REPEATEDLY say that entrepreneurs/business owners/probloggers who don’t use ads, are making a MASSIVE mistake, I took serious note. Was I playing it small by not going down the paid instagram route?

Read More
instagram tricks, Creative business, food bloggingK J Espinel
LONDON FOOD STYLING AND INSTAGRAM WORKSHOP / BEHIND THE SCENES
LONDON FOOD STYLING AND INSTAGRAM WORKSHOP / BEHIND THE SCENES

In the lead up to every food photography and food styling workshop I host right here in London, I’m always frantically running around till the 11th hour, sourcing the most photogenic food, getting the right food photography props and scouting the perfect lunch locations, whilst wondering if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. But then, when students come from near and far, I realise it is all worth it and that I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

As I had such a wonderful time this March teaching the 3-day London workshop, I thought perhaps you'd like to see what happened over the course of those days, what the final shots taken during the workshop looked like and basically, what exactly went down. Ready to take a look behind the scenes? Awesome, then please scroll down and read on … 

Read More
branding, food photography, food blogging, Creative business, creativity, food photography workshop, food stylingK J Espinel
MANIFESTING MY GOALS, WISHES AND INTENTION FOR 2019...
MANIFESTING MY GOALS, WISHES AND INTENTION FOR 2019...

Do you get a bit reflective towards the end of a calendar year?  I do, big time! In part because it’s always incredibly sobering to think that yet another year has passed, but also because it’s so helpful for me to analyse what worked, what didn’t work and what to focus on during the new year.

When I started blogging I had a practice where I shared my food blogger wish list for the year ahead. I did it for the year 2015 and 2016 and then fell out of this practice, settling instead for quietly writing the new year’s wish list in my journal. I call BS on that because sharing the list publicly makes me work harder, gives the wish list more power to manifest itself and provides me with a sense of accountability.

Hence here it is, my wish list for 2019. You ready?

Read More
branding, food blogging, goal setting, Creative businessK J Espinel