Over the past year I've been getting a bit more into food photography, which has been really cool! As someone who owns a camera, of course I've photographed food before, but this year has seen me take it on for a few clients and really get into the styling aspect of it as well.
First up: Trippy Taco. I love working for Trippy Taco. I've done some sign lettering and graphic design for them over the past couple of years (including the recent redesign of their website), and then Simon asked if I could help get some photographs of their food for social media and general promotion. I went for an overall bright, colourful feel to complement the fresh vegetarian fare that Trippy's serves up. We had a fun shoot in Simon's back yard, and I ate far too much chargrilled tofu that afternoon!
The next photoset I'd like to share was done for my good friend Marion, whom I've written about on my blog before. She runs a catering business and mobile crêperie called Les Crepes de Marion here in Melbourne, making sweet and savoury authentic Breton crêpes and galettes at parties, markets and school fetes. Everything she does is home made, including her salted caramel, chocolate ganache, and fruit jams, so for her shoot we went with more of a rustic feel: weathered wooden tabletop, soft lighting, and subdued colours.
The most recent bit of food photography I've taken on has been a few sessions for Hammer & Tong, a modern cafe in Fitzroy who do a unique blend of Australian and Asian flavours, and really do it well. They've just released a new spring menu, and it boasts things like Breakfast Ramen and Kangaroo Bao. Every dish is so beautifully presented so it was pretty fun to shoot.
I've been really enjoying experimenting with food photography and I really hope to do a bunch more in the next year. I really love portraiture, but it's always good to go outside of your comfort zone. Once I have built up a larger volume of work, I reckon I'll put a section in my portfolio just for food.
It's been a while since I've done any fashion/editorial style work, and I was craving it this month. I've been shooting a lot of corporate events and keeping busy with my Awkward Portraits side project, neither of which are really all that blog-worthy (I've written about Awkward Portraits a few times in the past). But the other week I was feeling like I needed a change of pace, so I contacted my friend Leah at The Aquarium Vintage & Costume in Northcote to see if she had any items that she needed photographed for her online store. Leah hooks me up with all sorts of awesome clothing for Awkward Portraits, and even hosted us in May for a day of Awkward "Pet-raits," so I felt like giving back.
Leah told me she was looking for something "colourful and fun" so I grabbed a bag of some cute 80s apparel off her and headed home. My friend Jacquie agreed to be my model for the day, so I slapped on my 50mm and we went for a wander. Here are some of the colourful and fun snaps captured that day.
What a busy year it's been! In between video projects for These Vices and Apparition Media, Awkward Portraits sessions, and a whole heap of food photography & web design for Trippy Taco, I scored a few gems such as this headshot session with Stefanie.
I've said it before: I LOVE to photograph musicians. Stefanie Dingnis is a freelance Mezzo Soprano, violinist and voice teacher and such a lovely gal. We were put in touch by our mutual friend Evan of Forest Collective, and we met by the Yarra on one of the first hot days of summer for an hour of wandering around and shooting.
I just wanted to share a few of the portraits we created on that day. Enjoy!
I love to photograph musicians. Especially when said musicians are my friends. It’s been about a month since this photo shoot happened, and I’ve been looking forward to sharing these photographs since.
The thing about photographing musicians is, usually they have something in mind. Usually it’s a base concept, idea, or a style, and there’s nothing more fun than collaborating with a fellow creative, brainstorming and building upon an initial concept up to a finished product.
Turtle Jones is the alter ego of Jules Gregory, a very good friend of mine. He’s a super talented musician, MC, producer, and all around nice guy. He came to me wanting some promo shots, and starting with a pretty broad idea we workshopped it down to these moody portraits. I especially love the one with the pirate ship. Thanks for the opportunity to get creative and take some great photos Turtle!
About a month ago I met a really rad dude - Michael Panozzo from These Vices. We were collaborating to help a mutual friend, Chuck Mayfield, make a short video clip for his latest art gallery opening on Smith St in Collingwood. I've done some videography in the past, but it had been a while and I was actually really looking forward to getting back into it. I've been putting all of my energy into Awkward Portraits recently and I was feeling like I needed a bit of a change and a creative challenge.
After shooting some footage and exchanging details, Michael asked me if I'd be keen to help him with a few more projects in the future. He put me in touch with the guys from Apparition Media, and I spent a week filming the progress of a wall mural at Melbourne Central for Vans Shoes.
Check out the videos below. All of the editing was done by Mike at These Vices, and he did a great job. Really looking forward to a few more collaborations in the future!
Huge thanks to These Vices for making this awesome video of the set up and opening night of our show. Also Karin Locke for her camera skills and Dj Sizzle for the soundtrack of the video and the exhibition opening. If you're not based in Melbourne and you were hoping to check out the art, this is for you :)Thanks to everyone for the support on this little journey. We're already moving on to our next project, we'll let you know what it is later this week! - Chuck & Júlia
