Personal Projects | Food Photography | Madeleines

February 22, 2016 in Food Photography, Personal Work

Who doesn't love something sweet?

My latest food photography project is all about Madeleines.

Madeleines are very small cakes, similar to a sponge cake, with a distinctive shell-like shape acquired from being baked in pans with shell-shaped depressions.

These are tasty little morsels.

My super-fabulous chef and stylist Muriel baked two varieties: one plain with a hint of lemon zest and the other chocolate with lots of dark, rich cocoa powder.

Madeleines dusted with powdered sugar....minus one.

This are tricky little things to bake. All ovens are different so we baked several batches and adjusted the times. The exact time listed in the recipe yielded some that were too dark. We tweaked the times by minutes. One minute less each time until we got the perfect batch. But as it turned out in the photo above, I loved the mixed and match dark and light look.

Madeleines coated in dark chocolate and crushed walnuts.

We had so much fun with this photo shoot. The kitchen was a mess. And of course we sampled all the ones that didn't turn out perfect...and maybe a few more.

Chocolate, both dark and white, was drizzled everywhere.

My favorite by far was the dark chocolate/white chocolate with crushed macadamia nuts. These were simply perfect.

Chocolate Madeleines with white chocolate, crushed macadamia nuts and dusted with cocoa.

After we were done playing and drizzling chocolate everywhere, it was time to keep things very simple with a few collages. In the photo below, I used a wooden skewer to keep the stack from tumbling over.

I love the clean look and the simplicity of arrangement in the bowl.

After our photo shoot was over, Muriel took a batch home to her husband and I boxed the rest of them up and took them to my other family at my yoga studio. After an afternoon of eating these all day long, I needed to work off the calories. I brought them to class and they were devoured in less than 15 minutes.

Personal Projects | Food Photography | Italian

January 31, 2016 in Food Photography, Personal Work

Who doesn't love Italian food?

I honestly cannot think of one single person who does not love at least a good slice of pizza.

There's so much I want to photograph when it comes to food. It was time to make it happen.

I contacted one of Arkansas' premier food stylists and we collaborated back in October on the first of what will be a series of some of my favorite things in the world of food.

Muriel and I spent a wonderful and fun afternoon in my kitchen designing, styling and photographing a series of some SERIOUSLY tasty treats. Just about everything that was photographed was promptly devoured. I was fascinated as I watched her work. I wanted to learn. And learn I did.

I knew it was time-consuming to properly style just one photograph, but I was a but thrown off that it took almost two hours for just one image. We went back and forth, moving things around, shooting a photo and then trying something different.

I am beyond thrilled with how these turned out. It was well worth every red cent I invested in the food, props and the fabulous stylist. I have several more shoots planned in my head so my goal is to tackle one a month. Check back to see what we shot next!

A Taste of the Garden: Thanksgiving Food Photo Shoot | Little Rock Arkansas Commercial and Advertising Photographer

January 06, 2016 in Behind the Scenes, Food Photography

Did you give Thanks(giving)?

Back in October, I teamed up with the fabulous team at P. Allen Smith, partnering with Bonnie Plants for the last photo shoot of 2015: A Taste of the Garden: Thanksgiving.

I was on vacation for nearly a month when this issue published in mid-November so I'm just now able to get this wonderful publication and photos to you.

As you know, this issue was themed all around Thanksgiving. For most of each, Thanksgiving means something different. But we all have one thing in common when it comes to how we celebrate: FOOD! And lots of it.

I myself was thrilled to see a salad recipe among the mix because I am a big salad fan. And I always work a salad into my Thanksgiving plate at some point. I encourage you all to try to recipe of the salad above. It's fresh, clean and absolutely wonderful. The tartness of the apples paired with the sweetness of the dried cranberries plus the tang of the goat cheese is a lovely combination.

You don't need Cream of Mushroom soup to slather all over fresh green beans to make a green bean casserole. There are much better, and healthier ways, do make this Thanksgiving favorite.

These two sweet potato recipes are nothing short of amazing. And you can make these for any Sunday dinner, or even a weeknight dinner. The recipe at left, the Sweet Potato Gratin is nothing short of decadent. Try it and you'll taste why.

If you don't have time to make with your sweet potatoes, why not offer a sweet potato bar? Just bake them, offer a variety of sides and let your family create their own combinations.

And peas....and bacon....Mmmmmmm. A perfect combination (for me at least).

Desert is just about everyone's favorite of Thanksgiving dinner...or any dinner. Try this pie above for your next gathering. Or you can make Pumpkin Ice Cream and Gingersnap Cookies. This one was my personal favorite. And that of the cutie pie at right eating the ice cream sandwich.

Here are some of my favorites from the photo shoot. In some of the photos below, the Thanksgiving table setting, designed and styled by Laura Grimes and Mandy Shoptaw, featured warm and inviting fall colors in hues of purple, green and orange. I also have to give a shout-out to Victoria Gross and her fabulous cooking skills.

Food photography is easily one of my favorite things to photograph. I just love the challenges it brings. I am overwhelmingly pleased with the photos and based on the feedback I've heard, so are my clients.

I want to thank P. Allen Smith partnering with Bonnie Plants for a wonderful 2015 of fun and creative year of food photography. I can't wait to see what 2016 brings!