As a portrait photographer in Phoenix, Arizona, I’m so grateful to announce that stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking on a food photography project for Phoenix Magazine recently paid off in a huge way.
It had been a minute since I’d worked with Phoenix Magazine, but when Mirelle Inglefield, the magazine’s art director, called me and asked if I’d be up for shooting some food and beverage photography for their upcoming issue, my answer was a quick yes.
This shoot was for Phoenix Magazine’s Top 100 Dishes of Arizona and I was tasked with shooting eight different restaurant meals throughout the Valley. But it wasn’t just simple food photography–as a solo project, I’d need to get in touch with my creative side and conceptualize how to style each dish. Add “Food Stylist” to my resume, stat.
For this shoot at Pa’La, I created a background and place setting out of a giant stack of wood that the restaurant used for its aesthetic.
While I’m mostly known as an Arizona portrait photographer, food and bev is something I love to shoot. It’s a fun opportunity to make every dish look unique, and the speed and cadence of these shoots is so different from my usual work. I get to work slower, more deliberately. After all, as a portrait photographer, I’m dealing with actual humans–this time, it was all about finding delicious perfection in each food shot.
Which is sometimes easier said than done. In food photography, and particularly going to so many different restaurants like in this assignment, I don’t have prior knowledge of what the restaurant will look like, what the dish will look like, or if the chef will include any complementary components to the meal. With so many unknowns, I need to bring an open mindset that’s ready to create.
Peppermill is a dimly lit restaurant with dark tables, so for this pot pie in a cast iron pan, I knew I should lean into that aesthetic and be mindful not to overlight it. I wanted it to be moody and dark, so I used a gritted light and a handheld smoke machine to create the right ambience.
But that wasn’t the only exciting part of this shoot. For this feature, one photo out of 100 would be chosen for the cover. While it added a bit of pressure to each shot, it also inspired me to make sure that every single shot had an excellence to it.
When I got this shot for Thai Recipe, I knew it was the winner out of everything I was submitting to Phoenix Magazine. The dish looked amazing on its own, the natural light worked perfectly, and I only needed to add a little bit of kicker light to punch it up. Any angle I shot this dish at, I liked. But there was this one shot–the shot–where I had it backlit by the restaurant door, and filled in with foam board to front light it. I took a shallow depth-of-field shot to make this dish look larger than life.
Phoenix Magazine hosted a cover vote on their social media, and I saw that this shot made it into the choices. Cool! They liked it too! …But then I saw the other shots up for consideration. Let’s just say, intimidation creeped in. There were some really good shots in the group. And there should be: This was a huge assignment with multiple photographers and literally 100 shots.
Then I saw the selection: It was mine. And a part of me was in disbelief. There are some areas that I’m confident in. If I’m shooting for a fitness magazine and I don’t get the cover, then in my mind, something went wrong. I’ve done hundreds of those and I know what it takes. Food photography is different. It doesn’t make up the majority of my work. And maybe that’s why I had so much fun doing this shoot–it felt novel, in a way. At the end of the day, any one of the amazing options for Phoenix Magazine’s cover would have been an excellent choice–they were all bangers. I feel shocked, relieved, and totally grateful that it happened to be mine.
Photography in Phoenix, Arizona
Whether you’re looking for mouthwatering food photography, vibrant portraits, polished corporate headshots, or fresh images to elevate your brand, I’m here to help. My photography services in Phoenix, Arizona are all about capturing what makes you or your business unique, and bringing that vision to life in a way that feels personal and authentic. Let’s work together to create something amazing! Please don’t hesitate to contact me today.
