I love images involving around star-shaped foods and finding ways to incorporate star patterns and textures in food photography. Cutting watermelon slices with a star cookie cutter, using sliced star fruit in beverages, or cutting out little star shapes in apple slices to top onto a drink. I saw a cocktail photo that used Star Fruit and I was hooked! They’re a fun way to jazz up a classic cocktail⁠.  If you look hard enough you can find star shapes like Star Anise or Maple leaves in everyday textures and ingredients around us. Have you ever seen star shapes in food? Leave me a comment if ..read more

Creating and adding eye-catching garnishes such as a slice of fruit to the top of a cocktail or baked treat can be a lovely way to add texture and dimension to your photos. I shot this Bourbon Brûlé cocktail and decided to do this by alternating complementary colours of blue and orange for a dark and light version. Even though these are using the same colours, they bring such different feelings and moods. For the Blood Orange & Gin Soda, by rotating the glass and positioning the ice cube at the back, it invites the viewer further into the scene and we start to see the lovely shine on top ..read more

Early in my photography journey, I realised that adding flowers to my photos made my photos prettier. Even when my photo had poor composition or lighting.⁠⁠ I didn't want to rely on pretty things as a crutch to make my photos look good. ⁠⁠ I wanted to master each food for what it is. So I told myself I couldn't use flowers in my work.⁠⁠ This limiting belief about my work was no longer serving me. This shoot was to help me see a different way to think about how I use florals in my work. I love how these lilac flowers have white edges. It's so visually interesting. Not long after the⁠ Blueberr ..read more

I made these wontons from scratch after reading the Food Styling Chapter in Joanie Simon book ‘Picture Perfect Food’.  I've been implementing Joanie's tips for styling soup. She recommends, to avoid those pesky soup lines, to only fill a small of liquid into the bowl before you move it to set. Once you’re happy with the styling and placement, add the remaining liquid. No soup lines to distract the viewer. The soup will look freshly poured.  You’re in for a real treat if you pick up a copy ..read more

How did my love affair with cocktail and drink photography start?⁠⁠ I fell in love with drink photography early on, but I didn't have the skills to make a simple cocktail impactful. After much practice what I found is that making cocktails is an art form. The attention to detail and technique is unforgivable.  It reminded me so much of photography. It takes a lot of little things, done well, all coming together.⁠⁠ When you create from the heart, it shows. I'm so grateful that brands and clients now reach out to me about creating more beverage content.⁠⁠ So my message for you today ..read more

I love tweaking my cocktail photography. Typically, my style is high impact, high contrast. Which I achieve through strategic lighting.  I decided to challenge myself with a clear liquid, for the gin martinis, rather than relying on colour, to ensure I focused on light.⁠  The goal was to photograph drinks in a beautiful, bold and interesting lighting.  The challenge for me here was to have low contrast and soft light, but still, have that powerful light I'm drawn to. I like to elevate my cocktail photos by using my secret weapon...garnishes! They are a simple way to add i ..read more

It’s true what they say, we can’t expect different results by doing the same thing.  I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, OR out of my zone altogether. So I took my set up into my living room. Shot an angle I don't normally shoot, with a pairing of props I hadn't used before.⁠ Now, I was able to see something I haven't seen before. A glimpse of the 'heart and soul' I am seeking for my new work.⁠⁠ So put it on your to-do list: Get out of your normal comfort zone and seek a new insight. I love that white on white glow ..read more

In this post I wanted to share some of my experiences in my quest for movement. Movement is a really easy way to bring interest and life to a food photo. It doesn’t have to be complex, very simple actions we take in real life when preparing food is best. A simple wave of icing sugar over a cake can help bring a feeling of winter to the photo. When looking at a French Onion Soup, you might think it’s not the prettiest of foods. How do you make brown onion water with bread and cheese interesting with just one serving?⁠ What can help create interest in food like this is the use of an interestin ..read more

Have you ever tried a minimalist food photoshoot? Just one subject, when done right, man...it can pack a punch! To me, minimalist images mean to create without excess. The food is the hero and doesn’t require any assistance from props in order to really shine. The key to creating my knockout minimalist images is that I break the scene into two levels.  Macro, being the large-scale environment, meaning the image in its entirety, and micro, being the smaller-scale environments that make up parts of the image, environments and focus on compositional principles within those areas. Composi ..read more

Did you know, I once turned down a client job because I couldn't make meringue. True story!⁠  About 5 years ago, when I was asked to be the stylist for a Christmas pavlova shoot. At that time, I couldn't make meringue to save my life. (Let alone ask someone to pay me to do it).⁠  I don’t regret turning the job down, however, it was instrumental in my decision to master the skill. So when I moved to Canada 3 years ago, I spent my entire first winter making meringue after meringue after meringue.⁠ I now find whipping egg whites therapeutic! It can be hard to evolve your style, espe ..read more