The Year of the Freelancer

Here's to us--small business owners and "work for hires"...in the words of a colleague, we're "like celebrated house guests. We show up, do our jobs well, then leave." Let's make ourselves indispensable this year!

International Conference on Food Styling & Photography 

The highly successful International Conference on Food Styling & Photography, held at Boston University, concluded on June 15, 2009. Targeted to both experienced as well as novice photo professionals, this unique event only happens every two years.

Visit  www.bu.edu/foodandwine/conference, to read the full program descriptions. The keynote speaker, kitchen science guru Harold McGee, shared his insider views of the most current cutting edge techniques embraced by world renowned chefs, and what he thinks will trickle down to commercial food photography.

Other prominent food photography professionals are featured as well, including renowned editorial food photographers Christopher Hirsheimer and Deborah Jones; international food stylists Clare Ferguson and Delores Custer; and Eugene Mopsik, Executive Director of ASMP. We have just returned from Boston--look for conference highlights in The Tweezer Times™ in the coming weeks.

Food Photography Award Winners

This year's James Beard Award for best cookbook photography went to the The Big Fat Duck Cookbook, by Heston Blumenthal. The photographer is Dominic Davies, a wonderful shooter from the Netherlands. To view some of the images from the book, visit www.dominicdavies.com.

The International Association of Culinary Professionals held their annual photo contest in Denver, Colorado this spring. The Best of Show award for "Pioneering a Sustainable World" was photographer Rick Souders  for his image "Giving Back".

The Peoples Choice award went to food stylist Traci Zitzer for her image "Slow Rise", shot by photographer Ken Epstein.

2009 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER! Anyone who's attended a culinary conference, Food on Film®, or the International Conference on Food Styling & Photo in Boston will know Shirley. She sort of goes by a single name amongst those of us who cherish her exuberant sharing of kitchen chemistry. We covet our copies of CookWise, her book on problem-solving in all manner of cooking--and look forward to seeing her performances with renowned food authority Harold McGee. Her willingness to unravel the mysteries of kitchen problems in her numerous "The Doctor Is In" sessions at conferences has made her the go-to person when cookbook writers and food stylists are stumped by recipes that just won't work properly. Now her new tome, BakeWise, The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking, has just won a James Beard Cookbook Award. We can't recommend it highly enough as a resource for your office or studio--baking has more potential pitfalls than other kitchen endeavors. And in photography we don't have time to deal with disasters. So be sure you've got Shirley Corriher whispering in your ear.

New Business Resources

Pick up a copy of a new book from one of our favorite marketing guru Ilise Benun. Her expertise is apparent in "The Designer's Guide to Marketing & Pricing: How to Win Clients and What to Charge Them." She and her co-author, Peleg Top, emphasize that this is a great guide for all creative professionals. They've also recorded a series of podcasts to accompany each chapter in the book, ready for download at I-Tunes. What are you waiting for? Visit her website for details... 

If you are a budding food stylist or know someone who's interested in learning more about the business, consider buying the newly released "A Day in the Life of a...Food Stylist". This 18-minute DVD is a full-length interview with veteran food stylist Lisa Golden Schroeder and includes a tour of the tools that stylists use and short demos of a few styling techniques. Find out what it takes to break into this fun business! To order your copy, drop us a line.