2013 was the year I became a foodie.
I blame my friend, Kathi Rañeses, the woman behind the lifestyle blog Mucking Around Manila. Kathi, being a founder of an upscale social media agency, created the blog as her creative outlet outside of work. She loves to write and share stories of her little adventures, but admittedly, she can't take photos to save her life. They're alright - but not up to her standards of what she'd publish on her blog. So she asked me if I wanted to take photos for her and in return, she'd pay me with food and a good time. If I'm lucky, and she's still feeling peckish, sometimes with dessert and coffee, too! Who would turn down a free meal? I wouldn't. So I enthusiastically said yes to the pretty fair deal. From then on my palate discovered new flavors, I've met successful entrepreneurs and passionate chefs, and have drunk wines that I can't pronounce - yet I still manage to finish off the whole bottle.
Taking photos for Mucking Around Manila also paved the way towards my interest in food photography. With wanting to learn more and hone my craft I decided to attend a food photography workshop at PCCI (Philippine Center for Creative Imaging) by the renowned food photographer Mark Floro, who taught me a lot about lighting and shadows when shooting food. My style in shooting food is usually very high-key (I want it bright and white), but Mark Floro taught me how shadows play a huge role in food photography.
Overall, 2013 was the year that I evolved from a foodie into a food photographer. Every time I dine out with family and friends, when our food arrives, no one can touch it unless I take a photo of it first! That's the main problem when dining with food photographers, we almost always eat cold food just to take that perfect angle, perfect light, and the perfect shot. But you know what, if my food photos make you hungry, eating cold food isn't too much of a sacrifice in the end.
