#17 Kimberly Espinel (The Little Plantation) - Growing your Instagram audience organically in 2021

On today’s podcast, I talk with Rachel Korinek of Two Loves Studio, an Australian food and still life photographer based in Vancouver. As a photographer, Rachel is known for bright and uplifting visual storytelling. As a teacher, her love for educating has inspired her to share her knowledge with both novice and expert alike through her insightful blog, e-books and courses. Rachel has worked for clients like Nikon, Huff Post, West Elm, Aldi, and many more. In this episode, besides talking about Rachel’s decade-long journey working in the commercial photography industry, we deep dive into the topic of building a great food photography portfolio.Intro (0:00 - 1:10)Rachel’'s Background (1:10 - 2:38)How Rachel got into food photography (2:38 - 4:02)Is food photography still exciting for Rachel after doing it for 10 years? (4:02 - 5:29)How Rachel balances her busy work schedule (5:29 - 9:23)Rachels work with clients and focus on education (9:23 - 10:54)When Rachel moved from Australia to Canada (10:54 - 11:23)How to build a good portfolio (11:23 - 20:22)Why Rachel has a B&W portfolio on her website (20:22 - 24:44)Does Rahcel plan her non-client shoots to fit into her portfolio? (24:44 - 26:08)Does Rachel work with a food stylist on her portfolio work? (26:08 - 26:46)Rachel’s experience working with a prop stylist (26:46 - 29:03)Will Rachel be joining TikTok? (29:03 - 30:33)How and why Rachel started her courses (30:33 - 33:18)The types of courses Rachel offers (33:18 - 38:13)Are Rachel's courses for beginners or more experienced photographers? (38:13 - 42:20)What Rachel finds most fun in her work (42:20 - 44:20)Rachels Recommendations (44:20 - 47:41)Rachels Socials (47:41 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with Heather Barnes, a Food Photographer and Stylist based out of Austin,Texas. Heather is known for her romantic feeling images and her blog, Mrs. Barnes, where she shares simple, seasonal recipes and how to throw a dinner party as a modern woman. While Heather enjoys working with small local businesses, she has also worked with big names such as Ghirardelli and Bobs Redmill. Today we talk about her journey to becoming a food photographer, the differences between working for small or big clients, and shooting/styling ice cream.Intro (0:00 - 0:53) Heather's Background (0:53 - 4:11) How Heather's background in Fashion Photography has influenced her now (4:11 - 7:19) How Heather transitioned from hobbyist photography to client work (7:19 - 13:15) Heather’s Client workflow (13:15 - 19:23) Pre-work deposit and the troubles with licensing (19:23 - 24:37) Why Heather prefers her clients to be on set (24:37 - 26:11) Does Heather make a selection with or without her clients present (26:11 - 31:03)Heather’s experience with photographing ice cream (31:03 - 36:02) Heather’s experience with working with big clients like Ghirardelli (36:02 - 40:22) Heather’s current work on an unusual foraging cookbook (40:22 - 44:59) What Heather finds fun in her work (44:59 - 47:15) Heather’s go-to recommendations (47:15 - 51:07) Heathers advice for a beginning food photographer (51:07 - 54:10) Heather’s Socials (54:10 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with Donna Crous, an award winning blogger and food photographer based out of Surrey, UK. Donna has been a Pink Lady “Food Photographer of the Year” Finalist for four years in a row, from 2017 to 2020, along with many other accolades throughout the recent years. Donna is best known for her food photography, styling, and recipe development from a broad range of health food magazines to cookbooks. Donna plans to soon release her own cookbook A Healthier Family For Life, which is expected to release in late 2021. Donna also works closely with Nikon as a Nikon Europe Ambassador. Her clientele base is widespread throughout the UK, the United States, and South Africa. Today we talk about her Nikon Ambassadorship, working with an agent, and the varying expectations of clients when making a cookbook.Intro (0:00 - 0:51)Donna’s Background (0:51 - 2:27)What type of clients Donna works with & Her personal workflow (2:27 - 3:51)Donna's work on cook books, and how she prevents a burnout (3:51 - 14:48)How is it working with an agent (14:48 - 15:56)Donna's Nikon Ambassadorship (15:56 - 22:59)Donna's Advice for an aspiring food photographer (22:59 - 24:44)Donna's Unique Style(24:44 - 26:23)Instagram - the online portfolio (26:23 - 31:31)Donna's biggest milestones in her food photography career (31:31 - 34:19)Donna's Recipe Book: A Healthier Family For Life (34:19 - 37:09)What Donna finds fun in her work (37:09 - 38:49)Donna’s go-to recommendations (38:49 - 41:24)Donna’s Socials (41:24 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with Joanie Simon, a commercial food photographer, stylist, and educator in food photography based in Phoenix, Arizona. Along with working for a wide variety of clients including cookbooks and digital marketing content, she is also known as The Bite Shot, an educational food photography tutorial youtube channel with almost 280k followers, and Instagram of the same name with 105K followers where she shares the behind the scenes of her work. Joanie has also recently released her book, Picture Perfect Food: Master the Art of Food Photography in 52 bite-sized tutorials. Today she shares with us how she started her successful youtube channel, what it takes to shoot for a cookbook, and her new book.Intro (0:00 - 1:45)Joanie’s Background (1:45 - 7:32)What made Joanie decide to teach Food Photography & The beginning of her youtube channel, The Bite Shot (7:32 - 11:32)Tips and tricks for starting a youtube channel & how the bite shot grew so fast (11:32 - 21:36)What gear Joanie uses for her content (21:36 - 25:52)Joanie's client work today (25:52 - 27:57)Joanie's ideal client (27:57 - 30:54)How Joanie determines pricing per assignment (30:54 - 34:36)What it takes to shoot for a cookbook (34:36 - 36:50)Joanie’s Book - Picture Perfect Food (36:50 - 43:15)How Joanie keeps her spirits up while making youtube videos (43:15 - 45:21)Entrepreneurial books that inspire Joanie (45:21 - 49:23)Where Joanie suggests beginners to start with artificial light (49:23 - 52:34)What Joanie finds fun in her work (52:34 - 55:12)Joanie's food photography book recommendations (55:12 - 59:12)Joanie’s Socials (59:12 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with Kimberly Espinel, known as The Little Plantation, an award winning Editorial and commercial food photographer, educator and podcaster. Kimberly has a following of 106K followers on Instagram,, and has recently released her Amazon best-selling book Creative Food Photography: How to capture exceptional images of food. You may know her from her Food Photography Podcast and Instagram challenge Eat, Capture, Share. Kimberly has worked with many big clients such as Waitrose, Kitchenaid UK, Sony, Tefal, Tate & Lyle Sugars and more. Kimberly shares with us tips on how to grow your Instagram with a highly engaged audience. Intro (0:00 - 0:59)Kimberly’s Background (0:59 - 3:5)How having a following helps your business (3:58 - 5:36)Why a mailing list can be helpful (5:36 - 6:32)How to continue growing your following (6:32 - 11:27)Why Kimberly doesn't host multiple challenges a year (11:27 - 13:30)What is the Eat Capture Share Challenge? (13:30 - 18:39)Are Hashtags still helpful anymore? (18:39 - 23:59)Tips and tricks for Instagram Live (23:59 - 31:26)The making of and release of Kimberly's book- Creative Food Photography (31:26 - 44:27)What does Kimberly find most fun in her work (44:27 - 45:13)Advice and recommendations for beginners in food photography (45:13 - 48:00)Kimberly’s exciting upcoming projects (48:00 - 48:44)Kimberly’s Socials (48:44 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with Aimee Twigger from Twiggstudios, a food photographer and stylist based in Devon. Aimee is a visual storyteller- she creates rustic scenes by integrating foraged foods and materials into her own creative baking and cooking.  Her lifestyle and work is ‘pinterest-worthy’- and has found a loyal following there, with 618k followers on Pinterest, along with 163k followers on instagram. Aimee’s work is as unique as her approach- she prefers to use only natural light, and highlights organic textures and textiles that have a special place in her everyday style. Aimee’s photos have won her the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year Award in 2019-2020, in the category for Best Food Blogger. Her portfolio is expansive and comprehensive - her blog, recipes, cookbooks, magazine features, and workshops all seem to hold equal weight, and together paint the portrait of a truly unique artist. Join us today as we explore Aimee’s roots, her unique approach to photography, and how to make the most of the resources you have available to you.   Intro (0:00 - 1:15)Aimee’s Background (1:15 - 6:03)Using natural light primarily (6:03 - 8:04)Finding clients as a job vs as a hobby (8:04 - 9:54)Aimee’s creative process (9:54 - 12:19)Aimee’s props and how she uses them (12:19 - 14:39)Aimee’s equipment & why you don't need the best and newest (14:39 - 15:44)Aimee’s Studio (15:44: - 21:04)Tips for a full composition (21:04 - 27:33)Aimee’s Editing Process (27:33 - 30:35)Pinterest and what it means to Aimee (30:35 - 32:54)Photography contests/awards and how that helps your business (32:54 - 36:59)Tips for a beginner forager (36:59 - 43:04)What does Aimee find most fun in her work (43:04 - 44:06)Advice for beginners in food photography (44:06 - 47:25)Questions from the audience (47:25 - 49:57)Aimee’s Socials (49:57 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with multidisciplinary artist, Claire Luxton. Claire has achieved great artistic and commercial success through her series of evocative multi-media digital images. Her vivid surrealism and beautiful self-portraiture, as well as her distinctive editing style, have earned her recognition and acclaim as both a fine artist and a photographer. Claire has collaborated with brands such as Adobe and McQueens, and her art has been commissioned by clients such as JP Morgan, The Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Westminster Council. Most recently, her art is being showcased in a peace exhibition for the United Nations in New York. Together we discuss the topics such as how to make a living and build a prolific career as an artist, what it means working with the galleries, how to price your own work, printing methods and many more.Intro (0:00 - 1:08)Claire’s Background (1:08 - 4:15)Claire’s First Camera and Self Portraiture (4:15 - 5:58)Tiktok and other Social Media platforms (5:58 - 8:21)How to make a living out of art (8:21 - 11:00)Being an artist as a professional photographer, and where to start. (11:00 - 13:34)How Art Galleries Work & Claire’s Experience (13:34 - 23:03)What makes a picture art and not just a picture (23:03 - 26:41)Pricing your own art (26:41 - 29:53)Printing Methods and Materials (29:53 - 38:07)Agency Representation (38:07 - 42:45)Projects in London (42:45 - 44:23)NFT’s (44:23 - 47:24)Inspiration and Creative Process (47:24 - 49:38)Finding Fun in your work, Claire’s Go-To’ s & Socials (49:38 - end)

On today’s podcast, I talk with a Food Photographer, Stylist, Educator, and founder of the popular Adventures in Cooking food blog, Eva Kosmas Flores. Adventures in Cooking has been nominated for Best Food Blog Awards by Saveur, and has been featured in Buzzfeed, Glamour, Bon Appetit, The Kitchn, and more. She has a loyal following of journeyman food photographers who attend her travel-based Food Photography Workshops around the globe through her company First We Eat. Her instagram recently passed 300K followers. In the meantime, Eva managed to build her dream life, living in the suburbs, building her homestead in the nature, growing chickens and garden, and working on other fun hobbies, while running a very successful business. Tune in to hear us talk about Eva’s business success, her tips and tricks for a more productive lifestyle, transitioning into her predominant role as an educator and entrepreneur and about how she build her dream life as a creative.Intro (0:00 - 1:16)Eva’s Background (1:16 - 3:17)Creation of the blog: Adventures in cooking (3:17 - 4:50)Social Media and the start of growth (4:50 -6:04)Work / Life balance and a personal management routine (6:04 - 11:18)Personal growth and the Homestead (11:18 - 19:21)The small team behind First We Eat (19:21 - 22:04)Education in the food industry and Client work (22:04 - 23:53)The switch from client work to educational online courses (23:53 - 28:48 )Online Class Curriculum (28:48 - 35:37)Mentorship (35:37 - 36:33 )Business and Education affected by the 2020 pandemic (36:33 - 38:32 )Future Plans (38:32 - 41:24)Finding Fun in your work, Eva’s Go-Tos & Socials (41:24 - end)

On this episode, I’m joined by US based photographer, and owner of LISH Creative, Alisha Cohen. Alisha took her background in Marketing, and her passion for color, fun, and creativity, and built a cohesive brand with a unique palette. Today, Alisha’s portfolio features work for huge companies like Dunkin’ Donuts, Nestle, and Unilever. She also boasts a huge following on instagram and TikTok, with the latter reaching 311k followers, and 4.5 Million likes. Her content features behind the scenes tips and tricks, workflow time-lapses, and the same bold colors and creative energy that clients love. Join us as we talk about Alisha’s career, how she built her brand, and what’s next for LISH Creative.Intro (0:00 - 2:04)Alisha’s Background (2:04 - 3:38)Collaborators, teamwork, and personal management (3:38 - 5:45)Crossplatform Media Solutions: using TikTok & Instagram Reels (5:45-12:20)How to film Behind The Scenes Content (12:20 - 14:30)Alisha on Signature Style (14:30 - 18:25)Offering Stop Motions to improve Earning Potential (20:33 - 21:45) Food Styling & Creative Problem Solving on and off-set (21:45 - 26:25)Client Workflows- meeting brand’s expectations (27:56 - 33:43)Billing, invoicing, and licensing (40:27 - 45:17)Finding Fun in your work, Alisha’s Go-Tos & Socials (45:17 - end)

On this episode, I’m privileged to be joined by Los Angeles Photographer Evan Naka, owner of Naka Studios and a highly acclaimed commercial Food & Product photographer. Evan’s career has exploded in the past few years, and he’s found a loyal community on TikTok for his near-endless supply of highly engaging (and educational!) Behind-The-Scenes content. Evan is a charming, charismatic, and energetic professional- join us as we talk Social Media, client work, balancing long-term projects as an independent creator, and of course: Food Photography!