It's hard to believe that a whole week has passed since I returned from Los Angeles. Is
2009 a blur for everyone or is it just me? I've found myself too busy to read blogs, let alone update my own.
Regardless, I've been looking forward to posting my experience from the
Master Food Styling Workshop I attended last week and as I've finished editing the photos, I thought I'd better share them with you
now before I'm whisked away to my next task.
First, it was
so nice to have 4 1/2 hours in the car (
alone) as I drove to California. I blasted music, sang at the top of my lungs, and drove a little faster than I should have. I pulled into Venice Beach with my ears ringing and my tail on fire. Thankfully, my good friend Ali, and her boyfriend, Mike (go check out his
new hockey blog,) graciously put me up in their cute bungalow and took me (and my friend, Jessica) out to eat at lovely, local restaurants.
Sigh... I wish we had those here in Vegas.
Now if you thought I was going into this weekend fearless and all-knowing,
think again. I was terrified and didn't eat or sleep for like 3 days straight. My fears were not calmed when I walked into the Hollywood studio and saw that the emphasis of the workshop would be
cooking, as well as
styling the food. I clearly had no idea what a food stylist's job entailed!
The entire first day, I was a big ball of nerves. Most everyone there was a food stylist or involved in some aspect of the food world, where I'm just a photographer who can make
tasty, but not necessarily
pretty food. The combination of the two, combined with me trying to take photos all while my favorite food photographer,
Matt Armendariz, was watching me -- was intimidating to say the least.
But Matt was just as nice as I expected him to be. He answered all of my questions, gave me loads of great advice and offered (again) to have me visit him in his studio (which I will be taking him up on.) I can tell that he's one of those people that deserves every bit of good fortune that comes his way. Sadly, it didn't even dawn on me to get a photo with him. He was only there on the first day, which was a shame because I was
much more relaxed on the second, when I finally realized that it didn't matter what my food styling skills were. The bottom line is,
I'm a photographer, not a food stylist. I went into class on Sunday with a totally different attitude --
I was just going to have fun and not take it so seriously.
Food styling is so much more involved than you could ever imagine! More often than not, the stylists are given the ingredients, make or cook the product and then style it to look its prettiest. Our teachers,
Denise and Cindie have worked with every big name in the food industry and they've clearly been doing this for years and have it down to a science! They were just a blast and I was blown away watching them work.
{ How do you like my faux magazine layouts? ;) }
Now I don't want to give away too many secrets, but let me just say that
nothing is as it seems! We used everything from Scotch Guard to cotton balls, make-up sponges, Vaseline and Windex in ways that you never imagined would come close to a food product. One huge distinction they made was that you
cook with the freshest, most natural ingredients but you
style with the most unnatural, preservative-laden products you can find! Here Denise demonstrated how to make and style a fake soufflé.
Next, we have one of my classmates who is a professional food stylist in Thailand. She was really sweet and talented. She showed up with a huge stack of magazines showcasing her work.
I had to sit next to this guy and his girlfriend, both foodies from Vienna. His girlfriend, in her nice Austrian accent, told me at the end of the first day and I quote, "
Maybe you have the right idea. You know, you just do it. You don't even think about it." AHHH...you gotta laugh! They were actually really helpful, plus clearly talented. I mean, check this out... I don't even know what it is, but it sure looks pretty.
At the end of the workshop, my head was spinning with all of the information I learned. While the focus wasn't exactly on photography, I still managed to amass many valuable tips (in addition to what Matt told me) that will definitely be useful in the future. There's no question that I will implement some of these styling methods into my own food photography. I also met some really nice people and made some great contacts. And if nothing else, I now have a
huge respect for food stylists. It requires a lot of patience, perfection and planning to do their job. I think I'll stick to photography for now, but I did catch myself trying to make prettier pancakes earlier today.
I owe a big thank you to Matt Armendariz, Menu for Hope and Denise Vivaldo & Cindie Flannigan of Food Fanatics for providing me with this wonderful opportunity! THANK YOU.
For the entire series of photos and to see my stunning culinary creations (ahem!) click here.
Tonight, as millions of people watched the Oscar's, a different type of award was conjointly being handed out by the affable folks down at Technofarti... 
