prop stylist

Test Shoot With Janine Kalesis and Penelope Bouklas

2024 started off with a bang! I collaborated with food stylist Janine Kalesis and prop stylist Penelope Bouklas to create these vibrant scenes incorporating cannabis and some indulgent food. Each environment had a color scheme which was complimented with accent props sourced by Penelope. Each food component was styled and created by Janine. This was a super team!! We were able to work around the scenes and capture all sorts of variations, crops, and angles. Can’t wait till the next one.

Check Instagram for more shots from the shoot!

@perrettiphoto

@foodstylistnewyorkcity

@penelope_props

B.T.S. In The Raw Photo Shoot

What a great time shooting with the In The Raw team! This concept was so fun incorporating identical cakes made slightly different using In The Raw products. Also we had the opportunity to work with talent posing as bakers. BLOC NYC was a great agency to work with and several models to choose from. There was great energy and discussions on set making the shoot a hit! In the end we walked away with a great variety in poses and expressions. Bringing ideas like this to life reminds me why I love what I do. Can’t wait to see this out in the wild.

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!

B.T.S. Photo Shoot Recap: Hook Line and Savor

    What a fun project to see grow from beginning to when it hit shelves! When I get to work with new clients on packaging it’s really my favorite thing to do! You get to shoot the product and immediately see it in the design layout through tethering the camera and see the project come to life. It’s really great when the product is of high quality and taste; which of course this was! It’s a new product line Gorton’s was working on. Delicious allergy-friendly recipes and quality of fish. It’s a step away from their traditional cut and styled fish you may be custom to seeing in stores. This had a more authentic approach in the styling and props. We got to use bright light that created more shadow and depth, the packaging was overhead, and the fish fillets we used were broken open showing the meaty fish flakes inside. Yum! The three types of fish were beer battered cod, black bean crusted haddock (personal favorite), and a citrus ginger salmon. They all had a crust to them and side sauce used to drizzle over top. Make sure to find this in the freezer section next time your shopping. Check out the B.T.S. from the shoot!

See their website too! http://www.hooklineandsavor.com

Make sure to read their story! http://www.hooklineandsavor.com/about.html

BTS: Aramark Photo Shoot

It was so exciting to get the call for a new push Aramark was doing for their annual report and other advertising outlets. They wanted something fresh and to really "raise the bar" on their offerings to potiental clients. They are the 2nd largest in the food business in North America and have clients all over in different capacities. We had a day of shooting food items on different surfaces creating unique environments. Debbie Wahl handled the food styling and Lisa Russell did props. The agency creative flew in from California and Aramark came to the shoot. We had a lot of fun and came out with really exciting work! You can see a little B.T.S. below.

B.T.S. Sabra Hummus and Stacy's Pita Chips

What a fun project! Love Stacy's Pita Chips and Sabra Hummus! Sample below of one of the ads that ran.

Food Stylist: Liza Jernow

Prop Stylist: Deb Donahue

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.

Food Photography Workshop Saturday March 12th 2016

I'm so excited to be working with The Art Directors Club on a food photography workshop at their NYC headquarters. It will be an exciting day of shooting food discussing how to craft your shot providing tips and tricks! Also touch on the benefits of working with food stylists and prop stylists. At the end will have a fun critique looking at what everyone shot.

You can find more info here and register for the weekend workshop, it will be fun :)

Don't forget, ADC month of March is Photography month.

How I Shot It: Wine Still Life

For this shoot I wanted the wine to feel very sophisticated and moody. How I created this image was I had a main light streaking in from the far left side of set just to hit the background burlap. From there I was able to angle my off camera mirrors and reflective paper in front to spot light individual labels. For the right side of frame I wanted a clean strip of light so I had my large 3x4 softbox just hitting some of the bottles and panning the head toward the back of set for less light to hit it. Working with the mirrors and reflective papers for shoots is always fun and experimental. I have so many different cuts and a handful of colors to work with. It can really add a level of mystery to the light.

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)


BTS: Rex Goliath Wines 2-day photoshoot

It was so amazing to work again with the super cool client Rex Goliath along with agency Partners + Napier. The client was able to fly into NY from Cali. this time to really experience the full shoot and be on set for creative direction.

Over the course of 2 days we photographed some wines they carry in bottle and their grab-go style tetra packs creating the summery/outdoor feel. We used bright lighting and actually brought in grass to make it feel more outdoors. (There was still snow on the ground outside and just starting to creep into comfortable temperatures.) Along with the wine photographs they were introducing recipe pairings and we got to photograph those as well. The food was no-fuss easy "picnic type" food which made for really cute and casual shots. I had my amazing team; food stylist Carrie Purcell, and prop stylist Deb Donahue. Check out the BTS video with pieces from both days and a couple of the final shots at the end of the video. Enjoy!

BTS Video: Rex Goliath Photo Shoot

I was super pumped when I found out Rex Goliath wanted to hire me for shooting their sangria line. I worked directly with the advertising agency in upstate New York and remotely with the west coast client Rex Goliath. Also creating this B.T.S. video was great way to show the client how my team and I work on a shoot and what it takes to get the shot. The images we created were for P.O.S. advertising nationally that would be released over the course of 2015.

We did a Cinco De Mayo, Spring/Summer, and Fall/holiday scenario. The Cinco De Mayo and Summer setup would be utilizing the same lighting as well as using the duratrans I had made to simulate an outdoor feel. Working on location is not always possible especially this time of year so being creative in the studio can really set you apart. The Fall theme images would have a moodier lighting setup and warmer tones and we did that by gelling and flagging some lights. Choosing a food and prop stylist was very important for such a large brand and going through Big Leo to find those people I were familiar with really made a difference. In the end the client loved all the images and bought usage for some additional selects which was a very good sign :)

Check out this BTS video and see some of the final shots on my site!

Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell

Prop Stylist: Beth Flatley

Photo Shoot: Culture Cheese Magazine

I had the opportunity to photograph Culture Cheese Magazine's upcoming Winter issue on Crème Fraîche. This cream can be applied to many dishes sweet or savory. The article I photographed and styled by Lisa Russell contained sweet and savory dishes such as twice baked sweet potatoes and Sticky Gingerbread Cake with Whipped Crème Fraîche. Below is just a couple shots that will be featured in the upcoming issue. Enjoy!


Behind The Scenes: Kellogg's Photo Shoot

Here’s a behind the scenes look at a recent shoot in New York for Kellogg’s packaging for some of their international brands. We were re-creating the look and feel of some packaging with more of a natural “foodie” look that’s trending in the market right now. Working with Deb Donahue my prop stylist and Dyne Benner a food stylist we had great options for bowls and surfaces. Also re-creating a milk pour with modern motion was fun. Having enough cereal for these type of images is a must. My assistant took some iPhone grabs of me working as well as cereal prepping.