Chase Your White Rabbit

We all have interests. Things we findenough worth in spending our time doing that they acquire the title ofsomething we are ‘interested’ in. Interests are a little…well… interesting,when you really take the time to think about them (which I obviously have,hence, this post!). I’ve discovered, from the time you become interested insomething, it can go a couple of different ways…

1) You can find it interesting—but not interesting enough that you want to pursue it further. It’s a fleeting interest whichwill soon be replaced by something else on Pinterest, Facebook, orInstagram.

2) You take action! You explore this interest further, actually investing sometime into research.

If you find yourself in the second point,it can then go two different ways…

1) You find it’s not actually asinteresting as you originally thought. 

2) (And this is where itgets good) You find yourself genuinely captivated by your interest… You venture down the rabbit hole ofcontinued intrigue set before you and you end up with a hobby and perhaps, evena new passion. 

Lately I found myself as Alice with my head poking down therabbit hole into a wonderland of Food Styling.

Instagram post from 2 years ago!

It’s been a natural progression—so much sothat I didn’t really realize it was a real thing to be interested in until ateacher mentioned it to me. As someone who has enjoyed the art of baking for anumber of years now, I have documented the various baked goods I’ve made andposted a good handful onto Instagram for my friends to see. Generallyunintentionally posted as a teaser of what my friends would soon get totantalize their taste buds with, these images allowed me to follow through withthe creative energy that was already flowing through the baking process. It wasfun to use whatever I could find at home to try to take a fun picture—fromwooden stumps to jars, and anything laying around the apartment.

As I moved into professional baking I foundmyself following bakers and bakeries more closely on social media. Ibecame captivated by how gorgeously a baked good can be presented. Showing abeautifully hand crafted baked good was one thing, showcasing a baked good withperfect lighting and interesting composition with raw ingredients and toolsincluded as supporting actors in the shot made an incredible difference in howenticing the item became. Seeing these images literally captivated me—I couldlook at them for hours. I began exploring with these same techniques. I had totake pictures for my employers Instagram feed which provided me the perfectopportunity to play around with literally every tool needed at my fingertips.

More recent food styling from Christmas 2014! Mmmm Egg Nog Donuts *drool*

During the explanation of an assignment at school oneday, a teacher said the words ‘food styling’ and it all just clicked. That’swhat I have been so intrigued with the past few months! This is the topic I cannow type into Pinterest to then spend hours upon hours staring at the images,all while being fully engaged by what is being presented!

I had to complete a project in school where wereached out to someone in the industry, preferably in a specific job we wouldlike to see ourselves in one day or something that intrigues us, and ask them afew questions about their job as well as what they look for in an apprenticeand what professionalism means to them. I realized this was my opportunity tolearn more about food styling from someone who actually does it! I began toresearch stylists and found that most of the people I found whose images reallyspoke to me were of those who were actual chefs in their past. They were thefolks creating food for so long and documenting it, that the transition tobecoming a stylist was a natural progression.

Even though those I emailed said they wouldget back to me, and never did, it was still an amazing opportunity to researchand gain knowledge on this little piece of the industry I haduncovered. There are food styling workshops you can attend, food styling books,online courses and more.

Recent shot from this week! Putting the book to use at a shoot you'll see more of soon! See some sneak peaks on Instagram!

Ar Christmas, my Secret Santa at myprevious place of employment was someone I worked closely with. She saw myinterest develop and got me a book called Plate to Pixel: Digital FoodPhotography and Styling. I just had a week off where I committed myselfto reading the book and implementing the techniques with the foods I love to create—cakesand cupcakes!

It’s so wonderful to find encouragement andlearning opportunities—these opportunities become more evident the more youexplore your passions and allow others to come along on the journey with you. Exploring this book more depth will only guide me to other paths to journey along. Theywill lead me to new teachers to share ideas and learn from, new worlds, andhopefully a helpful array of Cheshire cats to keep me in line and inspire mewhile I chase this new interest across Wonderland. Who knows, when I findmyself peaking up into reality I could take this new interest and apply it inways I never before thought I could!

I challenge you to allow yourself to getpulled away by an interest to see where it takes you! Baking used to be arandom hobby and now it’s my career. Anything can happen and it can lead you tounimaginable places. Be Alice. Chase your White Rabbit. Explore Wonderland. Youcan do it. It will be worth it. 

Pinterest-- always good for finding any image ever.