Food photography and styling workshop

Sometimes collaborations come together so easily you feel like they’re meant to be. And so it was with the practical food photography and styling workshop that I’m thrilled to be co-hosting this coming November, at Rydal, NSW.

For a long time now I’ve been a distant but enthusiastic admirer of the work created by photographer and founer of Alphabet Journal Luisa Brimble and stylist Stephanie Stamatis (also known to her tens of thousands of Instagram followers as Stephanie Somebody). Both of these creative women are inspirations to me; their work is immaculate, beautifully thought through and unique to their individual styles. And I’d desperately wanted to go along to the Slow Living workshops they co-hosted recently in Sydney and Melbourne but the logistics just didn’t come together. So, thought, wouldn’t it be amazing if they’d come out west, and do a workshop that I could help out with and attend too.

A few emails later, and almost unbelievably for me, it’s happening! Luisa, in her gracious and enthusiastic way, made a few calls, juggled around a few dates and here we are announcing our first Local is Lovely food photography and styling workshop. It’s to be held in the countryside just over the Blue Mountains, 2 1/2 hours west of NSW and in the two days and one night we’ll spend together; our group will share beautiful meals, learn practical skills in photography and styling, take a little lesson in illustrating recipes, visit a local farm for some experience in lifestyle shooting, learn how to make quick and pretty preserves and come away with loads of content, new knowledge and inspiration.

Date – Wednesday 19th November and Thursday 20th November
Venue – ‘Kimbri’ Rydal (2 1/2 hours west of Sydney)
Cost – $795 (covers two full days workshops, one night’s accommodation and all meals) or $500 (two full days workshops, morning and afternoon teas and lunch – no accom)
Bookings – Book online via the Local is Lovely e-shop. Thanks!
Further enquiries – please take a moment to read through the below information, and if you have any further queries about this workshop, please send me an email; sophie_hansen@me.com
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!

What we’ll be covering

• 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 Luisa Brimble & Stephanie Stamatis. Stephanie 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 Luisa and Stephanie.
• 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 for an ‘al fresco’ shooting workshop (and to collect veggies for dinner!).
• A lesson on illustrations with artist Annie Herron. Annie will give us an introduction on illustrating recipes or just creating beautiful little pictures to add extra elements and depth to your blog, websites or diaries. 
• A brief demonstration from me on how to turn the beautiful baby vegetables we picked at our farm visit into pretty pickles and preserves. We’ll then package these up beautifully and take some ‘product’ shots.

 All images above by Luisa Brimble

Cost

The cost of this workshop is $795pp and covers two full day workshops, one night’s accommodation* and all meals (please bring your own wine etc). Due to room configurations, some will be asked to share a twin room, so we are allocating single rooms on a first come first served basis. If you are coming with a friend and are happy to share, please do let us know in the comments section when you book. Otherwise we’ll offer the first six people who book in, to have their own room and invite the remaining seven to share a lovely twin room – it’ll be fun!

If you are interested in joining us as a ‘day student’ ie coming for the two full day workshops but not staying overnight or for dinner, we have a few spaces available for $500pp, which covers two full days workshops, morning teas, afternoon teas and lunches. If keen, please book here.

 Above two pics styled by Stephanie Stamatis, photographed by Lauren Bamford

About the venue

Kimbri is a homestead and studio just near the village of Rydal, 2 1/2 hours west of Sydney (just over the Blue Mountains), 45 minutes from Bathurst and 1 1/2 hours from Orange. It’s also my family home and where my mother Annie Herron (below), has been hosting residential art classes for over eight years. The homestead itself is where we’ll share our meals and stay, the studio (in a converted woolshed) is where we’ll be learning and creating, and the gardens and olive grove are for sharing meals and time out. I recently posted some photos of the studio and surrounds over on the blog, and here are some images of the accommodation over on Mum’s site). You can either drive or catch the train to Rydal and we’ll collect you from the station.

We are opening this course to only a small group of 13 overnight students and a few day students; mostly because we want it to be intimate and allow everyone to really gain hands-on experience, but also because we are limited for beds so if you’d like to come please book early. Please also be aware that there will be no refunds so make sure you can come before confirming! Bookings can be made via the Local is Lovely store.