18 May 2018 / 4 Comments

Why I didn’t want ‘The art of food stories’ WORKSHOP in London to ever end?RECAP.

1. BECAUSE OF THE INSPIRING BUNCH OF PEOPLE I HAD A CHANCE TO WORK WITH. 

There is something truly *MAGICAL* about a photographer on a learning mission- the curiosity, playful spirit and the uplifting energy that fills the room. There is nothing else like it.

There is something sooooo INCREDIBLY SPECIAL about the in-person workshops- the *real* connection you have with another creative- the connection that even 100s conversations online won’t be able to top. That’s the reason why I LOVE teaching at Workshops SO MUCH but also it’s a reason why I decided that I want to attend creative workshop soon too.

‘The art of food stories’ was a magical event thanks to the incredible photographers who flew from all over the world to join me and Rachel Korinek at the beautiful RYE studio in London. They left me all so inspired!

I am SO GRATEFUL I could meet you all lovely people❤

@claudiagoedke @supergolden88 @_kitchenstory_ @saltandserenity @aniasvibrantkitchen @maria.panzer@shecooksandclicks @leiliane @fotografsara @instaproperfoodie

THANK YOU for your infectious positive energy

Photo taken by @jonathanthomsonphotography/ Edited by me

It was such an honoured to teach this Workshop with my incredible friend who flew all the way from Vancouver to make it happen. It was a dream come true.

Those of you who’ve been following my journey for a while probably know that Rachel Korinek and I planned a workshop together before. To be more precise – it was last year,in New York. We have known each other for over 4 years online, and our friendship that started from one shy email that went something like ‘Hi, I love your work’, flourished into heart to heart conversations. Having lived in two opposite corners of the world, we always dreamt of working together…..one day. After 4 month of planning a New York workshop, that one day was going to become reality in August 2017. Then something unpredictable happened…something none of us could have ever expected….exactly a week before my dream flight to the Big Apple I’d sat in my doctors office to hear the heartbreaking news: I had to have an urgent surgery and there was no way I could fly anywhere. The New York workshop took place as we planned and was a great success but very sadly I could not be part of it.

BUT GUESS WHAT? 🙂 We are stubborn! If the dreams that we work so hard on, are not turned into reality, WE TRY AGAIN. And this time the DREAM CAME TRUE….we made it come true…..in London.

                                                                                                                                              Image by @twolovesstudio

                                                 image by @twolovesstudio

2. Because the conversations about the magic of light ARE SO DAMN INSPIRING.

A very ‘typical’ English morning welcomed out attendees, who travelled from all different parts of the world –  England, Germany, Norway, Austria and even from San Francisco. As it was a very cold and grey day, we gathered around with cups of warm rose tea in our hands (THANK YOU @jeangtea!) and started the workshop with an introduction of what brought us all together. Here we were, connected by this deep passion for food and photography, a moment that felt so right, like it was all meant to be.

The first part of the Workshop was dedicated to the magic of natural light.

Because….the magic really happens the moment you stop taking pictures of your dishes and start taking pictures of light.

Rachel explained the fascinating details of dynamics of light, ‘the sweet spot’ to shoot in and best methods to harness the beautiful light in food images. When you look at Rachel’s work, the first thing you notice is the way she captures the light and it was so captivating to listen to how she creates that magic in her images. I covered – my absolute favourite – storytelling part and showed everyone how to use different light to evoke different emotions, how it helps to create different moods and grab your viewer’s attention. To me, a great photograph is always the one that your viewer can connect with, the one that your viewer can ‘feel’ rather than just see.

Our mission was to inspire everyone to play around and experiment with different types of light, and so after the inspirational conversation we jumped into practical exercises.

We  both believe that to harness the light in your images, you need to learn to ‘see’and ‘experience’ it first.

image by @claudiagoedke
 image by @twolovesstudio/                image by @supergoldenbakes88   

both images by @aniasvibrantkitchen

3. Because our taste buds were spoiled rotted during lunch time

Our dear friend, and a chef extraordinaire Debbie joined us during the day to cook a storm in the studio’s kitchen. There is no words really that would describe how INCREDIBLE this woman is, not only has she got extraordinary cooking skills, she also is one of the sweetest and most humble people you can meet. It was so special to have her at the studio with us.

Debbie prepared a gorgeous cheeseboard, the farmers market green salad with lemon and poppy seed dressing, roasted onion and asparagus tart with buratta, slow cooked beef and 4 cheese lasagna (with a phenomenal secret ingredient – cinnamon!!!) as well as the mouthwatering desserts: salted chocolate tart, farmhouse buttermilk strawberry & rhubarb tart aaaaaaand brown butter and orange blossoms short breads.

IT WAS HEAVEN!

To give you a gimps, here are two recipes you can find on Debbie’s blog – Salted Mint – roasted onion and asparagus tart with buratta  and farmhouse buttermilk strawberry and rhubarb tart. I can assure you,they will make you addicted to hers blog – I have been for years!

                                                                       image by @twolovesstudio

4. Because compositional tools are such a game-changer. 

The second  part of the day was all about the magic of COMPOSITION and how to create breathtaking food stories.
Rachel walked everyone through her favourite compositional tools and how she creates a WOW effect with her minimal style. And she knows how to do it! It was fascinating to listen to how she breaks down every image and how she chooses every element of her story with intention, so that the image doesn’t look forced. She mastered an art of observation and generously shared how everyone can do the same.
I took everyone on a storytelling  journey.I shared how I bring my images to life and which compositional tools I choose to create that 3D effect in photographs that are 2D by nature. I talked about small details that are often overlooked but are essential to creating eye-catching images without them looking flat and staged.I was so excited to also share how I see the colours and explained why it’s so important in creating emotions, and how to pair colours for eye-pleasing images. We also chatted about a topic that makes every food photographer’s heart beat faster- props!And here I shared all my secrets away of what’s the best way to build a minimal but very powerful capsule prop cupboard, without breaking the bank.

5. Because I could style and shoot with like minded creatives all day every day.

After a buzzing conversation we all jumped into live demos. Rachel showed everyone how she approaches styling, how mindful she is about choosing colours and how she looks at shapes as she worked with these gorgeous veg bowls in the picture below.

The difference between a good photograph and a great one is all in the details guys!

Choosing my yogurt raspberry cake as an example,I shared a step by step of how I create a scene from picking the backdrops and props that will enhance the food rather than distract from it, to how I add depth to my images, how I pair colours to create a certain mood.

It was so amazing to watch everyone jumping in with their cameras and taking different angles of the same dish as we would encourage everyone not to stop until they exhaust every possible angle.

image by @claudiagoedke

all images by @twolovesstudio

6. Because no one would judge you if you climbed the window sill to take a picture 🙂

image by @claudiagoedke

Anything for a good photo! No one was even surprised to see Rachel at the window sill. That’s what I call a group of like-minded creatives 🙂

image by @claudiagoedke

7. Because of generous support from my favourite people.

HUGE THANK YOU to my FAVOURITE BRANDS who jumped with excitement to support this event and who were so generous to provide gifts for our attendees. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART:

@l.typeprints  Thank you so much for providing your GORGEOUS prints!!! It was so wonderful to teach on printed examples of our work!
@nomliving You know how much I love you guys! Your ceramics are always my favourite and they photograph so beautifully!
@linen tales Thank you sooooo much for sending your super soft linens as a gift for our attendees and others to play with at the workshop.
@london_honey_co Thank you so much for sending your sweet and super cute jars of your delicious honey!
@jingtea That rose tea!!!!My absolute favourite!
@inspiredlifediary Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful stationary and inspiring quotes – I love everything you create.




NEXT WORKSHOP ————> VERMONT

4 Comments

  1. Bea, the workshop gave me a lot of enthusiasm. Learning more about ligh and colours from Rachel and you was amazing. The best part was meeting so many creative women in one place! I’m grateful for the opportunity. Thank you. 😘

    1. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of this workshop LEILIANE! Your curiousity, positive spirit and the courage to create left me so inspired!!! Please keep in touch x Sending warm hugs your way!

  2. Thanks for the wonderful recap Bea. It was a perfect day. I was so happy to have met you. You are just like I imagined you would be, warm, generous and thoughtful.
    I came home so inspired and met so many talented, creative women. I also came home with a suitcase fuller than when I left, thanks to a visit to Nom Living the following day!!

    1. You were one of the reasons why this day was so special! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining us that day! And I am over the moon to hear that you felt inspired! Please, keep in touch x Hahaha, you know how addicted to Nom Living I am 🙂 Big hugs lovely xxx

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