Food for the Camera: How to Cook, Style, Shoot and Translate with Matt Armendariz (MattBites) & Adam Pearson

As a specialized area within the world of photography, food photography strives to stir your hunger, tell a story, teach a process or two, make a political statement, or share a moment on a subject in which we are all experts. Oftentimes the photography team is the direct link between the chef/cook, grower, maker and the end user, and the team uses a variety of techniques to expand and enhance or create a story around a recipe. Whether it’s commercial advertisements or editorial assignments, menus, packaging, or cookbooks, we’ll explore this highly fascinating area that strives to touch each of the senses: see, hear, taste, touch and smell.

Matt Armendariz 

Matt Armendariz is a food photographer and writer from Los Angeles, California. A former graphic designer and art director in the food industry with 20 plus years of experience, it was the power of photography that clicked the proverbial light bulb inside his head. “Color, space, proportion, storytelling, and food all came together, and I realized it was all I wanted to do.” He traded in his cubicle for a studio in 2010, and has been shooting for a variety of advertising and editorial clients like Coca Cola, Target, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Martha Stewart, Food & Wine as well as numerous cookbooks for Chronicle, Random House, Grand Central and Ten Speed Press. Matt also chronicles his experience about food, cooking, travel and photography on his blog, www.mattbites.com.

Adam Pearson

Adam Pearson is a food stylist from Los Angeles, California. It was after culinary school that he began exploring other vocational avenues for food that would allow him to unite his love of cooking and styling with a unique artistic flair. The world of food styling was a natural fit for him, and he’s never looked back. With a variety of editorial and advertising clients, Adam creates the beautiful food seen in catalogues, magazines, and cookbooks. It’s not always a glamorous job, but the results are always beautiful.