Carlotta: food photography || guest post

So happy to have the lovely Carlotta from pastors girls ponderings guest posting today!  I've been reading Carlotta's blog for years now and while sitting down to read anything she posts feels a lot like sitting down to read the latest anthro magazine, my favorite posts are her food photography posts.  All the pictures and recipes look and sound deeeelicious, and I'm so excited to have one of those on the blog today!  Enjoy reading through her tips (leave her some love in the comment section!) then go have fun making the yummy recipe she includes--I'm definitely adding it to my list of breakfast foods to make for The Boy :)
-- jessica shae

Hello! My name is Carlotta and I'm so thrilled to be posting in Jessica's stead while she's off doing things like getting married! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's bursting with happiness for Josh and Jessica. :)

I'm no chef, but I love baking things from time to time...and of course, being a photographer, I can't resist photographing the result. Over the years, I've found the best light in my house (the garage, believe it or not, and the mudroom) and discovered a few tricks that I'm sharing with you all today.
 

1. The most important factor in food photography is light. Avoid harsh sunlight and stay away from things like sunflare. Similarly, unless it's absolutely necessary, stay away from artificial lighting, especially at night. And yes, this includes on-camera flash, sorry to say! Natural lighting is the way to go--I find that light from the north works the best.

2. Next comes presentation. The goal of this type of photography is to make the food look appetizing. This is easier said than done! However, besides lighting, artfully arranging the food and presenting it on a clean background does wonders for a photograph. Remove any unnecessary clutter and place the food on a simple neutral background, such as wood, stone, concrete, or any similar material. Feel free to play around with styling--maybe some silverware or napkins or pretty plates--but just make sure to keep it simple. Remember, the food needs to be the star!

3. Something else you'll need to keep in mind are the angles you use. I really love shooting from directly above, but shooting directly at the level of the food as well as angling slightly above work well too. Just make sure you're not accidentally getting a cluttered background when you shoot at food level! It's all about making the food look as appetizing as possible.

4. Most of all, though, have fun. Food photography is fun! Play around with different types of styling and composition...the best part of shooting food is that it never runs away from you...unless bits happen to disappear in your mouth. ;)
 

Now for the recipe: these muffins are delicious. They're gluten free and are sweetened only from the fruit, but they're so good and so healthy! They have just the right amount of sweetness, are incredibly moist, and are a breeze to whip up. This is one of my breakfast staples...they pair excellently with a mug of tea or coffee. Enjoy these!

Carrot Banana Muffins
adapted from Elana's Pantry; makes approximately 12 muffins (depending on how full you fill them)

Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup raisins
- 3 ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 cups carrots (about 2 normal sized ones)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°. Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a blender or food processor, mix together raisins, bananas, eggs, vinegar, coconut oil, and carrots. Pour into dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Spoon mixture into paper lined muffin pans until almost full (they won't rise much). Bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy!
   

Much love!
Carlotta

Lydia Photography: styled shoots || guest post

Super grateful to Lydia for taking the time to guest post for me today.  Lydia is a sweet friend from California that I met a few years back through a mutual friend.  Since then we've followed each other's work and we even got to shoot together for the first time when I was in Cali a few months ago shooting this wedding.  Lydia is always putting together these fabulous styled shoots with other vendors in her area and I asked her to share with us a little bit about how she makes those happen.  Enjoy, and leave her some love in the comments! :) 

___________________

Hello! My name is Lydia, and I'm a wedding and senior portrait photographer in the gorgeous state of California! I was so excited when Jessica wrote and asked me to share on how to go about putting together a styled shoot! If you're anything like me, sitting down with a wedding magazine, clipping out inspiration, and dreaming of photographing beautiful things is a favorite pastime. Add in a pumpkin spice latte, and you've got my idea of a perfect afternoon! ;-)

For me, a styled shoot is the perfect opportunity to work out the creative juices that go crazy after a day of soaking in inspiration. In the beginning, my very first shoots were mainly put together by me and a makeup artist. It didn't take long for me to realize that there was a LOT of work to make everything come together like I'd envisioned! I knew I needed more creative professionals to come on board in order for these dreams to come to life. Now I'm no expert and don't claim that the way I do it is the only way, but here are some of the tips that I learned along the way that will hopefully help you out!

Identify Your Goal Really, styled shoots can be anything from you + bride to a whole team of creative professionals. It all begins with your goals for the shoot. Are you looking to add to your portfolio? Network? Get published? Knowing your goals beforehand will help to dictate the who, what, where, and how of your shoot. It's essentially your Why for doing all this work!

Pick a Theme Now that you know the Why of your shoot, and it's time for the fun part. Grab those magazine clippings or hop on to Pinterest and start browsing. What catches your eye and makes your heart beat faster? Bohemian romance? Tangerine Tango? Western Couture? Uh yes, it might be cheesy, but I name all my themes!

Tell the Story So you have your theme, but how do you communicate it others? The most effective way is to tell a story. How did the bride and groom meet? What do they like to do? How does their wedding reflect their personalities? Their relationship? Make up fake names if it helps. This is your chance to write a love story the way you think it should happen! ;-)

Pin Away Now for the fun part! Start putting together your inspiration board! I use Pinterest to collect all my ideas, poses, colors, textures, makeup looks, etc. Anything I plan to use, make, borrow, or buy is added to that board. I'll add little notes to an invitation inspiration for my graphic designer or use my iPhone to snap a quick picture of a chair for the stylist. At a glance, this is my ultimate scrapbook and planning guide for the shoot, so I try to include as much detail as possible!

Ask for Help Now this might be intimidating for some, but I view it as sharing an opportunity. Developing a relationship with other creative professionals is a whole other blog post in and of itself, which I may write someday. But I believe that this type of shoot is more than about me. When I write and ask if they'd like to be a part of what I'm doing, I view it as an invitation to join in the fun! For this reason, I clearly lay out everything in the beginning (remember the goals, theme, story, and inspiration board? now's the time to share it!) and never pressure anyone to join in. Worst comes to worst, I have a few more projects to do myself or just scale things back a bit!

It's All in the Details I admit that sometimes searching for the perfect models, location, props, etc. can be hard. But now you have a bigger team and more resources to pull from. So keep everyone up to date with a group email. Create a timeline for the shoot and make sure it gets out to everyone involved. Invite friends or family over to create any of your diy projects. Anything you can do before the day of, do it! Don't forget, shoot time is kind of like wedding time. Everything takes 3x longer and time goes by 3x faster!

Rock It Out All that prep work has paid off, now have fun! Your vision has come to life, so enjoy the experience of the day and take some amazing pictures! But your work doesn't end there. After the shoot, edit and share those pictures with the other creative professionals as fast as you can! If you're submitting the images for publication, you may not be able to post anything online yet, but remember that the pictures are the currency of the shoot. Your team needs to be able to see the result of their hard work! And seeing your awesomeness isn't so bad either. ;-)

Here's a peek into my first big styled shoot...Western Couture:
















And a few favorites from my most recent shoot--1940s Tangerine Tango!






Oh wow, sorry I got a little verbose! But if you made it through, I hope you were able to find a tip or two to help you out! Styled shoots are a TON of work, but oh so rewarding!

Lydia
lydiaphotography.com
Lydia Photography on facebook

Joanna DeHond, Espoir Bridal: guest post

I'm so SO excited to have Joanna guest blogging for me today, she's fabulous!  From the moment I stumbled across her site this summer, I've been obsessed with her unique, feminine, drop-dead-gorgeous designs.  And I obviously knew we were kindred spirits from the moment I saw one of my favorite "anne" quotes on the home page of her website ;)  So grateful she agreed to do a little post about her business--and make sure you read to the end, she is offering a lovely discount to blog readers!    --Jessica Shae

Hi there, from western, upstate NY!  My name is Joanna, and I am so happy that Jessica has allowed me to share with you a little bit about my business, Espoir Bridals.

Growing up, I was able to watch my mother sew dresses and outfits for my younger sister and me, and I always looked forward to the day when I would be able to sit in front of that old machine and sew for myself. It started out with a skirt... I can still remember the cherry patterned fabric... and then it was a rag doll. Looking back, I really cherish those many hours spent working with my mom and learning from her, and I am so grateful for the time and effort and love that she gave to me. All in all, I'm just a small town girl who loves to embrace the beautiful God-given gift of femininity {and rejoice in it}, and create dresses that reflect that.

A little bit about Espoir Bridals -

I was blessed to sell my first wedding gown off of Etsy in 2011. It wasn't really a planned thing, but I loved it so much that I felt like, hey, maybe this is something that I could do! After working on multiple gowns for advertising, I "officially" opened business this past summer, and it's been a huge blessing ever since!

At the moment, I am working with brides from Washington DC, and Missouri, so long distance customizing is absolutely workable! In addition to the custom design aspect, I have a heart for designing gowns that are both modest and attractive.  There are so many options when working with the bride's themes, colors, materials and patterns, that the choices are endless.  I have also always loved words, and writing, and telling stories, so intertwined throughout all of the design process, is finding out what "story" the bride wants to tell, and then "telling" it with the design. This helps to make the whole process - style, design, theme, and most importantly the dress - very personal... which I love!!

I feel so blessed to be able to do something that I love so much, and to be included in one of the most important and special times in a woman's life! I find it a privilege and a blessing, and always look forward to meeting those who will come into my life through this. I'd love to hear from you, so if you have any questions, or just want to chat, send me a message and I'll be in touch!

Because Jessica Shae has been SO super sweet in allowing me to blog here with her, and in celebration of her very own upcoming wedding {so exciting!!}, I am offering a 10% discount on all custom bridal orders placed before February 14th, 2013!! {keep in mind, that this time frame is just for the order, not for when you will need/receive the dress. So you can plan ahead!!}  Just mention that you read/heard about me through Jessica's blog!!

XO,
Joanna Kristina

espoirbridals.com
espoir bridals on facebook