New Jersey Monthly Distilleries Photo Shoot

This was a really fun project to travel around New Jersey and capture the various distillers. Each one I got to visit had a really unique personality and drink options; Worth a trip to see. The change in liquor laws in 2013 has allowed these new distilleries to open and operate in New Jersey. Everyone I met had a true passion for the craft and all had a unique story how they got into the business. Make sure to reach the whole story here: https://njmonthly.com/articles/eat-drink/new-jersey-distilleries/

and pickup a copy of the magazine!

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Felicia Perretti is a commercial food and beverage photographer and director based in New York City. She works nationally with food and beverage clients in advertising, packaging, editorial, and video. She has worked with food and drink in all shapes and knows how to craft the right team to get the job done! Her passion for food and beverage shine through on set as well as outside of work in her everyday life. Whether it’s trying new restaurants, traveling, or cooking with her husband Joe. Send her an email or give a call to discuss your next project, she would be more than happy to chat!

Rocket To The Moon News!...

Excited to be featured on Rocket To The Moon’s site for artists we love! 2020 has been an interesting year with its highs and lows. Connecting with him and the worldwide production team he has was certainly a big plus to end the year! Looking forward to 2021 and the opportunities to work together on some great Food and Beverage projects. Check out the amazing talent they’ve also worked with here: https://www.rockettothemoon.net/

PORTFOLIO: https://www.rockettothemoon.net/felicia-perretti

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Felicia Perretti is a commercial food and beverage photographer and director based in New York City. She works nationally with food and beverage clients in advertising, packaging, editorial, and video. She has worked with food and drink in all shapes and knows how to craft the right team to get the job done! Her passion for food and beverage shine through on set as well as outside of work in her everyday life. Whether it’s trying new restaurants, traveling, or cooking with her husband Joe. Send her an email or give a call to discuss your next project, she would be more than happy to chat!

Photo Shoot Recap New Jersey Monthly: Osteria Radici

Any food that encompasses the style of Italian cuisine I’m all ears and appetite. It was great to work again with New Jersey Monthly on their July feature for Osteria Radici in Allentown, NJ. Owners Randy and Ally were great to work during the photo shoot. The dishes we got to photograph each had their own personality and flavor that was amazing to see. It was great to see their different plate ware and table dressings to incorporate into the photographs. Also the interior had a warm welcome. Check this place out!! You can read the article and see more of my photos here:

https://njmonthly.com/articles/restaurant-reviews/italy-roots-osteria-radici-allentown/

Photo Shoot Recap: Angeline by Michael Symon

    I try not to geek out when it comes to celebrity chefs, especially now when everyone is on some type of food show BUT to meet and work with chef Michael Symon was awesome. I was hired for a magazine to capture the new Italian restaurant by Michael Symon called Angeline at the Borgata Casino. The Borgata is probably one of the most well known and visited casinos in Atlantic City with great stores and restaurants within. This new restaurant the locals have been waiting and raving about to open! Whenever Michael would come by the restaurant to talk with front and back of house staff, fans of his would line the windows looking in trying to grab a picture of him.
    When I visited they had already been open and had quite the momentum of customers. We stuck around that day for when they did open for dinner to grab photos and literally there was a line down the hall waiting to get in! I’ve never seen that before. I don’t blame them, the Italian fare I photographed and tried was top notch. The lasagna was perfect with its layers of meat and sauce, the artichoke heart appetizer was so tasty, the mozzarella was the freshest, the list can go on. Working with Michael was great, he was down to earth and a good honest cook. We captured some lifestyle shots of him slicing meat, and some environmental portraits of him in one of the dining rooms.
    The staff of Borgata that helped with the shoot were very welcoming and clearly took hospitality seriously. I highly recommend checking out the Borgata casino if you’ve never been. Even if you don’t gamble go for the stores and stay for the food.

Wild Foraging

It’s amazing what you can learn right in your own backyard. I had an amazing experience learning about wild foraging and the “weeds” we see everyday are the beginning of a culinary journey. Cherry Grove Farm had an afternoon excursion on their land with a group walking the grounds, discussing the natural plants, what we can and can’t eat, and what we can do with these plants! It was a beautiful September day outside; the grasses were high so harvesting was easy and plentiful. Some of the plants we discussed were dandelions, elderberries, walnuts, pineapple weed, and thistle. After our walk we took what we harvested back to the farm house and cooked some of the greens we picked. We had ourselves a variety of greens, and worked with Chef Tamara who had some things prepped ahead then paired with. It was a great experience and very useful knowledge if you find yourself in the wild.

Photo Shoot Recap: Le Bus Bakery

    It was great to be back at Le Bus Bakery! A long time favorite client of mine needed some new photography for new brochures AND they have grown so much since I’ve seen them. Their facilities have amazing new oven equipment expanding their capabilities on creating fresh bread. They have always had a variety of artisan breads from loaves to macaroons, and burger buns. The talent in their bakery is unreal! No wonder they have such a large spread of clients to the restaurant industry and right to consumers. If you make it out to the King of Prussia area make sure to stop at their outlet store. Yum!
    It was a fun day packed with shooting their fresh bread working with their marketing department seeing their newly designed brochure and taking shots to help fill their needs. After we finished with shooting their products we got to visit the updated bakery where they have all their new bakery equipment, updated loading dock, and packaging area which overall makes production smoother, quicker, and easier for the bakery employees. Still putting out that quality hand rolled dough. It’s really great to see.

Motion Series: On The Farm

This year has been an exciting transition to adding motion work to my portfolio. Building a motion section takes time, practice, and the right team to make the story come to life. Working with past clients like the few farms I’ve consistently been with over the years have been a great stepping stone to gathering footage and putting together in a cohesive story. The equipment we have been working with is the Canon C300, Canon 5D Mark 4, additional microphones, as well as various lighting and grip gear. Being on location is a challenge in itself but capturing moving imagery is another. The current piece we are working on has beautiful landscape pans of the farm as well as stationary shots interviewing the real farmers, not hired talent. I know the final cut will pair well with the still imagery I have captured over the years. DP STILLS BELOW.

MS 150 City To Shore Bike Ride

What a great ride this weekend for the MS150 City To Shore event. If you ride the event you know how anxious it is to get started. This year I managed to get to the front of the shoot and rolled out about 6:35AM! I completed the century loop (100 mile ride) and arrived to cheers at Ocean City about 1:30? Then Sunday morning for the 2nd day, and the ride back (only 80 miles) to Woodcrest, NJ; the starting point I arrived around 12:15. So far our team has raised $8,868.55 GO TEAM SQUASH!! There’s always time to donate, help today!
 

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/PAEBikeEvents?pg=team&fr_id=27061&team_id=452118

About MS

Multiple Sclerosis

When you make a donation, you are changing the world for people affected by MS. Symptoms of MS range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million worldwide, and there is not yet a cure. Every dollar raised matters to those affected by MS. Thank you for your support.

Photo Shoot New Jersey Monthly: Cave A Paleo Eatery

Just wanted to share a quick recap from a recent shoot for New Jersey Monthly! They asked me to shoot this charming restaurant near Asbury Park, New Jersey called Cave, A Paleo Eatery. I’m always interested in different diet plans people choose to live by and Paleo is certainly one many people know! It was great chatting with Chef Doug Stehle; chef and owner of the restaurant who eats a Paleo diet and runs his restaurant as one. The staff was super friendly and excited to see me there taking photos. The restaurant itself used to be owned by a antique dealer and when it was sold to Doug the previous owner still had some items there for sale. It gave the restaurant a unique feel. Also Doug is a surfer and being near the ocean there was appropriately placed surf boards he owned decorating the restaurant! All the items on his menu were dairy and gluten free. I tasted a couple things from the menu and I have to say their desserts were nothing like I had before. Their brownie was so rich and packed with chocolate it was the best thing I’ve ever had. There was also bacon on top! It probably took me 2 or 3 sittings to actually finish it. Also the chocolate chip cookies were stuffed with chocolate chips and the cookie itself was soft just like a homemade cookie. If you make a trip this way I would certainly stop in for lunch or dinner.

First Look: Motion Reel

This year has had such a great start. One of my new endeavors has been reconnecting with an old and very talented friend who has developed an extensive business in the video production world.

The photography industry has been evolving so much so quickly taking a back seat would not be the best move. I need to continue to grow my team and work I produce while adding value to what I offer in the end. Motion work seemed like a natural next step. It’s still in the works and plenty of ideas to be story-boarded but were getting there! This is our first full feature video on pasta making. Not a quirky “how to” but more about the romantic view of making pasta by hand. Sourcing the right food stylist, color, and sound really brought this idea to life. I’m excited to continue this and see what myself and the production company come up with.

Video Production: Savvy Video

Food Styling: Harry McMann

BTS: Food Photography Workshop at The Art Directors Club

What a great event and turnout for this past weekend's food photography workshop. It was great to share my experiences and tips I've learned over the years to help the students improve on their own photography. We had a packed afternoon of talking lighting setups, camera programs, and the importance of styling. I did a live demonstration on set shooting and building a sandwich. I also discussed the importance of hiring and working with a food stylist as well as a prop stylist.

Everyone broke out to separate tables building their own sets with props supplied and also making their own sandwich to photograph! You can see a time lapse below of the days events.

I would love to continue this workshop at other locations in New York City as well as New Jersey, and Philadelphia. If you are a food or prop stylist and want to collaborate on this please reach out! Also any studio spaces that would like to host us.

Friday Farm Follow Up

This mild winter has been great so far. I’ve been continuing my personal project photographing at the farms with weather I’m able to stand in for a few hours! However I would like it to snow at least once so I can get shots of the farms in a wintery setting.

Baby calf being fed milk and nutrients by Andrew the farmer at the dairy farm

Cocktail Recipe: Mint Julep

This was fun to photograph and also very challenging because it involved so much ice! I could see myself revisiting this shoot and re-doing it now knowing the difficulty of shooting so much ice at one time and it all looking good.

The history of the mint julep is interesting but the presentation to me is what really sparked my interest. The stainless steel cup and bright grouping of fresh mint drew my eye in.  After doing research and reading about the drink it was almost like a slushy for adults which I think any adult would be OK with.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Mint Simple Syrup
Crushed ice
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) bourbon
1 (4-inch) cocktail straw or coffee stirrer
1 fresh mint sprig
Powdered sugar (optional)

Cow Parade

As I mentioned in my last blog post I have been able to expand my personal project to two really amazing farms in the New Jersey and surrounding area. This will be an on going personal project capturing the farm and farmers through the seasons hopefully leading up to a year of work.

Being curious is a big part of creating this new imagery. While at the Cherry Grove Farm one of the workers was talking to me about their upcoming cow parade! “A cow parade?!, what is this?”, I asked with excitement. Well I had to go to see for myself. Below is just a small piece of the day to incorporate into my farming project.

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The Agriculture of Farming

My personal project I started about a month ago photographing a gorgeous apple orchard among other things has quickly taken me to larger and more complex ideas of the art of farming. My curious struck me while shooting at the orchard and really how far could I take this project. The orchard has several opportunities for photography and creating my unique vision of my experiences but I felt I wanted more. Beyond the apples, the small grouping of their livestock got me wondering about how I could incorporate these things. I started researching farms that specialize in crops, dairy, and meat.

After doing this my wheels got turning and I’m looking forward to expanding this project to a couple farms that have agreed to let me document their life on the farm and how they really are the backbone to our human existence.

Agriculture can be a very broad term but for our purposes of farming it can be defined as the art and science of growing plants and raising animals for food or economic gain.

NJ Monthly Photo Shoot: The Farm & Fisherman Tavern + Market

If anyone is familiar with great food and BYOB’s in Center City Philadelphia Farm and Fisherman would be on that list. Now they’ve expanded into a bigger and better location right in New Jersey. My most recent shoot for NJ Monthly took me to Cherry Hill to see The Farm and Fisherman Tavern and Market. It was a beautiful interior for dining and drinking. To the one side was a casual grab and go lunch spot where you could also purchase local sourced goods like cheese and chocolate! I was able to try some of their most popular dishes and I certainly had a couple personal favorites. One of the first things I shot was their Breads and Spreads appetizer. It came out on a wood lazy susan filled with locally sourced vegetables and house made spreads to dip with. Also with this dish was an amazing pita bread warm, fresh, and fluffy right from the oven! My other favorite had to be the panini sandwich dressed with cauliflower. Yum! The list can go on but I’d go check it out yourself.

Photo Shoot New Jersey Monthly: Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten

I recently was hired by NJ Monthly to photograph the new Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The drive was ok, but well worth it when I pulled up to the front of this stoic, beautifully crafted building right on the water. It looked like the exterior was the shell of a old factory and walking in it certainly had the reclaimed look. The interior had floor to ceiling windows, exposed brick and artifacts filling the room. There were rows of communal tables with the backdrop of hand painted murals representing the good old days! This location seated so many people it was not a surprise to walk up a few flights of steps to this huge bar roof deck that had tiered seating. The walls were covered in this beautiful floral and greenery arrangement for aesthetics and energy.

If the building itself wasn’t impressive enough Chef James Avery had such a passion and experience for German fare it was a match made in heaven. I quite possibly tried and photographed everything on their menu. There were some specifics for me to cover like the bavarian pretzels, beers, potato pancakes, but also their oysters “Braten”. These oysters were served hot on a bed of salt baked with pretzel crumbs and herbs. The flavors were unreal! Another favorite of mine from the menu was the Blumenkohl; fried cauliflower.

BTS Photo of Felicia working!

Photographer's gotta eat too!

Photo Shoot: Celebrity Chef Jose Garces

When I began my career as a food and beverage photographer the restaurant scene was a huge part of it. I lived for the Food Network and the chefs with their competitions and daily cooking segments. Honestly I kinda still do... These are the people, along with the Food Network and other national food brands that have shaped the food scene we know today. One of the first chefs that I admired and built his roots in Philadelphia was Chef Jose Garces. I followed him in his early stages before he became well known.

The first time I met him was while I was still an assistant and the photographer I was working with had to shoot him. We photographed him at his amazing restaurant Amada in Old City. I was overly joyed and could not wait! Chef Garces was so nice and down to earth and I shamelessly got his autograph on one of his menus which I still have today in my kitchen. This was right before he aired on Iron Chef America which he won and the rest is history for him..

It was very exciting to see me come back to him and he's still the same nice guy, but this time I got to photograph him and his restaurant Distrito in Moorestown, New Jersey. One of his newer adventures in his many restaurants he's opened. The images were photographed for an article that will be running in the March 2015 New Jersey Monthly magazine.