It’s such a kick!

I just get such a kick when I’m shopping somewhere, this time for Christmas, and I see some of my food photography.  It’s crazy!  I’m so blessed.  I have fun actually doing the shooting.  I have fun with the clients while shooting. and it’s fun walking down the isle at a store and seeing my work hanging from a hook.

I remember one day on my way to work, I passed by four billboards that had my photos on them.  I was in a really good mood all day! That was a hoot.

The most interesting experience I ever had with seeing my photography was one day when my youngest kid was around six or seven years old.  I was in line at a grocery store, on my way to a soccer game.  It was our week to supply the drinks and my daughter and I had stopped by to get “huggies”.  Do you know what those things are?

Hugs are basically cool aid in a little plastic bottle.  Any way… I couple months earlier I had shot the cover of the box for that product, but instead of shooting just the drink, the company wanted to shoot little kids playing sports.   So, being the cheap-ass I really am, and wanting to immortalize my daughter on the cover of the box, I had dressed her up in her soccer outfit and we shot pics of her kicking a soccer ball.

So there I was, in line at the grocery store, holding a box of huggies with my daughter’s picture on the lid, with her standing beside me, wearing the exact same uniform she had the in the photo.  So I said to the teller.  Hey, check it out, she’s the girl on the box!  The teller glanced at the box and said.  Ya… right…  I was a little disappointed, but it still makes a good story… :o)

Being a food photographer is really tough in a lot of ways.  There’s a ton of really good competition, the technology is always changing and you have to keep up with it.  Clients are hard to get and harder to keep.  There’s no doubt it’s a tough way to make a living in that respect, but if you have what it takes, it’s a career you just can’t beat.  I find it to be sooooooo rewarding.  Some people think that all I do is make “landfill”, and to some extent, they’re right.  It’s a pretty trivial career when compared to some others.  I’ll admit that, but I don’t think I’d trade food photography for anything else.

To all my Christian friends, I wanted to wish you a “Merry Christmas”!