Food Photography & Styling Summer Pracshop with Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille

I can’t quite believe I’m writing this, but…one of my all time favourite stylists/bloggers and photographers, Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille is coming to do her first Australian workshop with Luisa Brimble and myself from November 11-13, at  Rydal (just over the NSW Blue Mountains).  I’ve been following, admiring and marveling at Aran’s work for many years and I am ridiculously excited that she is joining Luisa and myself to co-host what I know will be a wonderful two-and-a-half day residential workshop. Bookings for this workshop are now closed. But in the meantime, here is some information about the workshop, just to get you thinking! ….

While Luisa will be on hand to help teach and lead photography elements and I’ll be there too, to cook and facilitate things, this really will be Aran’s show.

For two and a half days, and in a small intimate group, she will share her inspirations, tips, knowledge and experience as one of the industry’s most successful and inspiring photographers and stylists.  Each participant will spend one on one time with Aran and Luisa to discuss their goals for the workshop and how and why they are shooting food and lifestyle images. We will all have the opportunity to practice techniques learned in a range of environments from studio-style food scenes to lifestyle stories (picnic lunches and dawn shoots) and editorial cooking stories such as making fresh cheese from scratch. We will take a field trip to a local farm and there will forage for ingredients, shoot and share their produce. We’ll discuss story telling and editing and learn to better use our social media tools to promote out work. And at the end of the two day workshop we’ll all have a series of beautiful images to use in blog posts, Instagram and across other platforms.

What we’ll cover

• Photography basics (manual camera settings, how to approach lighting, compositions, angles and lenses).
• Working on editorial briefs, planning photo shoots and working with stylists.
• A hands on demo styling and photography demonstration between Aran Goyoaga, Luisa Brimble & Sophie Hansen. Aran will show students how to use natural lighting and how to compose images and then we’ll then divide into groups and photograph sets of food themselves with direction and assistance by Aran, Luisa & Sophie.
• How to build a portfolio; collaborating with brands or other creatives, tips on editing and workflow from preparation to post processing.
• The business of food photography & building a social media presence that resonates.
• A ‘field trip’ to a nearby organic market garden shooting workshop (and to collect veggies for dinner!).
• Each participants will have the opportunity to do one on one photography advice with Aran Goyoaga & Luisa Brimble.

Who should come

Anyone with an interest in creating beautiful content for their blogs, websites, image libraries or personal interest. Anyone with an interest in connecting with and learning from creative, clever and inspiring teachers and fellow students. Anyone!

Workshop Fee

AUD$1,600 includes 2-nights shared-room accommodation at Kimbri Farm, Rydal Blue Mountains • All meals (Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea & Dinner) • Pracshop tuition. BYO Alcohol. There will be the option to pay in two installments, to do this, please email me on sophie_hansen@me.com or book here.

Workshop facilitators

Aran Goyoaga – Cannelle et Vanille (pictured above)

A Basque ex-pat living in the US since 1998. Aran is a freelance the food writer, photographer and stylist behind the blog Cannelle Et Vanille.  A blank canvas for creating anything and everything sweet that comes from the heart. Why the name Cannelle Et Vanille? Because those are the smells and tastes of Aran’s childhood and the blog is very much filled with nostalgia. Aran is a mother of a boy and a girl who keep her busy. Cannelle et Vanille blog is a journal of all her recipes, travels and life stories. Her first cookbook “Small Plates and Sweet Treats” was published by Little, Brown & Company on October 23, 2012 and her work has been published in Vogue, Food & Wine, Sweet Paul, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, CNN.com, In Style, ELLE Gourmet, Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, and other publications. Website: http://www.cannellevanille.com/

Luisa Brimble

Luisa is a food and lifestyle photographer whose distinct photography style has been featured in a variety of print and online publications including Kinfolk Magazine, Frankie Magazine, Cereal Magazine, The Simple Things Magazine, Broadsheet Sydney and The Design Files. In the past couple of years Luisa has completed and/or contributed to several book titles including ‘Community’ Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen by Hetty McKinnon (Plum/Pan McMillan); ‘Amina’s Home Cooking’ by Amina Elshafei (Lantern/Penguin Books) and ‘Urban Oz Harvest’ by OzHarvest. When not photographing, she collaborates with other creatives to conduct food photography and styling workshops and also manages the production of Alphabet Family Journal – a magazine about people who make a home together. Website: http://lbrimble.com/

Sophie Hansen

Sophie is a freelance food writer, home cook, fledgling photographer, author and farmer from Orange, NSW (or wife of one!). Before moving to Orange ten years ago, Sophie worked in food and lifestyle magazines as a features editor then editor and from 2001-2003 lived in north-west Italy, working for the Slow Food movement’s editorial house. One of the main things she took away from her time with Slow Food was that a good way to change the way people source, share and consume their food (for the better) is by making it a pleasurable and user-friendly exercise and this is what she hopes to achieve through her Local is Lovely (the blog and book), the regular farm lunches and tours she co-hosts with Tim and calendar of workshops she collaborates on with creatives from around Australia and now the world!. Website: https://local-lovely.com/

Schedule

Day 1, Wednesday 11th November (Meals: Afternoon tea, Dinner)

2.00pm – 2.30pm Arrivals & Welcome

3.00pm – 4.00pm – Introductions in the woolshed studio, iced tea and cake.

4.00pm – 5.00pm – Photography basics covering basic manual camera settings, how to approach lighting, angles and lenses. Luisa & Aran will get us started with a session on how to approach food in an editorial and lifestyle environment. Discussing philosophy on shooting in natural daylight, styling, sourcing props and composition. 5.00pm onwards – Time to settle in, get to know Kimbri farm, go for a walk, have a chat and maybe cold glass of white before a casual kitchen supper.

DAY 2 – THURSDAY, 12TH NOVEMBER (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner)

9.00am – 10.30am Early morning field trip to a local farm and meet the growers who will help us forage for lunch ingredients. Aran with assistance from Luisa, will guide us through shooting and styling on location and we’ll enjoy a photogenic morning tea on the farm before heading back to the woolshed studio.

10.30-11am – Travel from farm back to Rydal 11am – 12am – Aran will get us started with a session on how to approach food in an editorial and lifestyle environment. She’ll discuss her philosophy on shooting in natural daylight, styling food for camera, sourcing and styling props and composition.

12.30 – 1.30 pm Picnic Lunch in the paddock – We will walk a little way into the olive grove and share an al fresco lunch together which will not only be delicious but also a great opportunity to start shooting and practicing some of the theory we covered that morning.

1.30-3.30pm A hands on demo styling and photography demonstration with Aran, where she’ll show us how to compose images, how to use props and natural lighting, and then we’ll then divide into groups and photograph a series of scenes with direction and assistance by Luisa and Aran.

4.30- onwards – One on one with Aran & Luisa. Other participants will have the time to reflect, walk, relax, shoot some more, read and hang out on the farm before dinner.

DAY 3 – FRIDAY, 13TH NOVEMBER (Meals: Breakfast, Lunch)

Dawn – Early morning breakfast shoot and picnic in the paddock; Join us and the early birds as we set up a beautiful dawn shoot and share an al fresco breakfast.

9.30am – 10.30am – We start day two with a session by Aran on trends in food photography, how to find a visual voice, style and some of the business aspects of freelance food photography.

10.30am – 11.00am – Morning tea and questions

11.30am – 1.00pm – Our friend, a local cheese maker will bring over some fresh goat’s milk and with Sophie will show us how to make a very basic fresh cheese which we’ll turn into a baked cheesecake with roasted rhubarb. Aran will style said cake and with Luisa, will guide us through the process of shooting the process and end result. There will be lots of beautiful food, both raw ingredients and finished dishes to shoot during this session. And Luisa and Aran will provide practical, one on one tips and advice as we shoot.

1.00pm – 2.00pm – Lunch

2.00pm – 4.00pm How to build a portfolio; tips on editing and workflow from preparation to post processing. This is an invaluable session where Luisa and Aran will share advice, tips and experience in all of the above. Then there will be afternoon tea before a questions and answer session to wrap up the day.