A Food Photography Workshop With Penny De Los Santos

I am excited beyond words to announce that one of my favorite food photographers in the world, Penny De Los Santos will be coming to South Florida to teach a hands on food photography workshop.

Penny and I have never met in person, but I have followed her work through the pages of Saveur magazine and other publications. It was when I saw her photos of Basque sheep ranchers in Idaho when I decided to contact her and let her know how much I admired her work. I was surprised and flattered that she knew of my blog and from that moment on, we have stayed in touch through blogging and Twitter.



There is something so real about how Penny photographs food and people. Her organic and non fussy style resonates with me. Her client list is impressive. National Geographic, Saveur Magazine, Martha Stewart, Newsweek, Time, Latina and many more.

Her photographs always tell a story, a bit like a documentary. Just take a look at this man's face. This photo says so much. I am completely in love with it.



A few weeks ago, when I learned about her workshops, I realized I had to bring her to South Florida. What a treat and luxury is that! I quickly got one of my old culinary school instructors involved and we were able to have Lincoln Culinary Institute (formerly Florida Culinary Institute) to sponsor it.

The workshop will be held at the culinary school in West Palm Beach on Monday, February 22nd from 12:30pm until 4:30pm. Please visit here to register and for details or email me at aran@arangoyoaga.com.

If you want to get a better idea of how the workshop works and Penny's approach to photography, you can read Matt's review about Penny's workshop in Seattle on his blog.

If you are in the South Florida area, this is an opportunity you shouldn't miss. I hope to see you there!


All photos courtesy and copyright of Penny De Los Santos

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A Food Photography Workshop With Penny De Los Santos

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Returning from the International Food Styling and Photography Conference

I returned from Boston Monday night. The conference left me overwhelmed, exhausted, but most importantly, inspired. It has taken me a couple of days to gather my thoughts and organize in my head what it is I saw, heard and learned. I was trying to think about what I should share with you and the essence of it all and believe me, it has not been easy. So much...



I arrived in Boston early Friday morning. I wanted a full day to explore the city and meet up with my good friends Nadia and Ainara (who came up from NYC for the day... she is the lovely girl in the photo). Time flew that day and I didn't manage to get much done, but we did make time to visit Tatte Bakery, which is one of the places I wanted to visit before leaving Boston. Charming little place with the largest biscotti I have ever seen and delicious cinnamon rolls.



The conference opened early Saturday morning with one of my favorite sessions from the entire weekend. Award-winning photographer Christopher Hirsheimer and stylist Melissa Hamilton, who run The Canal House studio, won me over with their presentation called "Unplugged - Creating your own world". They spoke of their special partnership, which reminded me how important finding the right team is and how eventually I would like to work in an environment of trust like theirs.

They had a very independent attitude, putting emphasis on how important it is for a photographer or stylist to create and set their own language. One thing they said and I really related to was "please your eye and aesthetics and the rest will follow". It resonates with me as it's the only way I can work.



Soon after that, Mel Mooney of Saveur and stylist John Carafoli spoke about the fine, often times blurred line that divides editorial and commercial food styling and photography and touched upon real cases in which commercial advertising campaigns were approached with an editorial point of view.

Saturday afternoon, stylists Marcela Sorondo from Argentina and Claire Ferguson from the UK spoke about Global Style and the role culture and cultural subtleties play in food styling.

And the final session of the day was lead by stylist and organic farmer Stef Culberson and photographer Mette Nielsen who approached the subject of sustainable styling and tips on how to eliminate waste, increase efficiency and apply green practices such as taking into account seasonality, placing emphasis on local farms and artisans, ordering the minimal amount of food needed for a shoot, etc. They also shared a slideshow of their beautiful work.



I have to say that one of the highlights of the day for me was to be able to meet Lara Ferroni, one of my favorite food bloggers and food photographers that I have been following from the beginning. Her blog "Cook and Eat" is full of beautiful images, recipes and always fun. And who doesn't know "Still Life With" right? It has definitely been one of my number one resources when learning about food photography.

Lara and I had dinner that night and talked about food, how it has brought us where we are today, how we approach blogging and life in general. This was the first time in probably three years that I was able to go out to dinner with a friend and enjoy the conversation without being interrupted or having to rush through it so it was delightful to say the least.



I was really looking forward to the first session on Sunday because super talented stylist and photographer Bea Peltre of "La Tartine Gourmande" would be one of the speakers. She had a beautiful, brief but effective presentation about her work and her approach to food blogging. One of the things that I've known all along, but she reminded me of again was that food blogging must have somewhat of a personal touch, it must be authentic and it must create a bond of trust with the reader. So true.

Right after that, stylist Delores Custer, Lorna Rhodes and photographer Steve Adams discussed the importance of keeping once visual awareness and great resources for continuous inspiration.

After lunch, Harold McGee spoke about what is new in the molecular gastronomy world and I was happy to see him feature several Basque chefs whose restaurants I have visited.

By this point, I have to admit my head was about to explode with so much information. I wanted to run home right away and start implementing all the ideas that kept bombarding my head, but we still had two more sessions to go. Maxine Kaplan made us all very jealous with her one of a kind prop house in New York. I have never seen anything like it in my life. And finally, photographers Mette Nielsen, Pornchai Mittongtare and James Tse shared their work and inspiration with us.

I was ready for dinner and some fresh air after that, so Lara, Bea, Pascale (who I met at the conference for the first time... sweet as can be) and I headed off to dinner at "Rendez-vous" in Cambridge. Great place.



Finally on Monday, we headed to Francine Zaslow's studio for the workshop we had been waiting for. What a beautiful space this was! It left us all dreaming. Full of props, movable walls, equipment that I wouldn't even know how to use and a full kitchen.

Another one of the food photographers I truly admire, Deborah Jones came from San Francisco for the workshop. Her work includes many (or at least the best) Thomas Keller's cookbooks like "French Laundry", "Bouchon" and "Under Pressure".

The premise of the workshop was to be able to see the entire work flow of a photo shoot, from the cooking, to the styling, to the shooting and the post production. Francine who has a very artistic and even sculptural style would shoot using strobes and Deborah would use natural light exclusively. They had three stylists cooking for them and it was amazing watching them work.



I had to leave the workshop a bit early to catch my flight back home and I probably missed one of the most important parts, the Q&A. It was an exceptional day though and I hope I get to participate in something like that again.

I think as days go by, new thoughts will re-emerge in my head and I will be able to share them with you as I go. Also, read Lara's review of the conference. She has great insight as well.

More to come soon!

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Returning from the International Food Styling and Photography Conference

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International Food Styling and Photography Conference in Boston

This weekend I will be traveling to Boston for the International Food Styling and Food Photography Conference that will be held at Boston University. It will be an intense three-day conference with some of the world's best professionals and I cannot wait.

After years of working in pastry kitchens, I came upon styling and photography almost by accident, but it really has been one of the best things that has happened to me. This weekend, I hope to learn some more new tricks and get insight on how others plan and work. It will be interesting.

I will be back next week with notes and hopefully behind the scene photos. And, let me know if any of you are attending. It would be great to meet you!

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International Food Styling and Photography Conference in Boston

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