Once a year we run a Food Photography Workshop in Daylesford Victoria, which is both a challenge to prepare meals and styling for an intense four day program but also a joy to get out of the city and hang out with the kookaburras. For that long weekend we have the luxury of a beautiful old farmhouse that is both spacious and rich in character. It’s a great location to enjoy the art of photography and learn new skills.

Most of our working life, however, takes place in downtown Melbourne just a short walk from Flinders St Station. Our modest kitchen studio was designed and built by me and my husband, during the pandmeic lockdowns when we found ourselves with all the time in the world. We’ve worked hard to make the most of the space we had, and create a workspace for cooking and photography that is enjoyable and practical.

Our Kitchen

It features a generous amount of benchtop space, loads of natural light, neutral tones for all the bench and door finishes, and a lot of clever storage to maximise the drawers. Plus it’s got an excellent double sink and a super quiet dishwasher for cleaning up after a messy day shooting! The island bench is very large but we still have 360° access around it which makes moving in lights and kitchen appliances a lot less difficult.

And I have all my favourite recipe books nearby, tucked into a window bench that runs along the windows. There’s not much we’d do differently to be honest.

When the kitchen is in full studio mode we have LED continuous lights that can be swung into position at almost any angle. Very little gets in the way of the creative process. LED lights are great because we can control them from an App and can tune the studio lights to match the natural light from outside if required. They’re ideal for video as well as photography, so we don’t have to reset the studio to switch from one to the other.

We do make the Collins St Kitchen available to other photographers and talent to shoot from time to time, but usually for people we know really well and already work with. It’s a bespoke creative space, not a warehouse for product shots.

Your Kitchen

Many people who join our Daylesford workshop struggle when they return home and try to keep their creative mojo moving forward. Nobody has the ideal kitchen or workspace when it comes to photography. Most of us are working in a kitchen that somebody else designed, and most of us don’t have the time or money to rip it out and start over. So we always have to compromise and try to make the best of what we have.

Light is the number one problem for most people. Having quality lighting that can be moved into place and out again as needed really helps. Good lighting is the key to good photography. You don’t need lots of studio lights either, indeed most of the time just one light with a large softbox will cover your needs. You want that ready to go with minimal fuss.

Removing the hurdles is a big part of making your photography more professional. If you have a busy home and there’s never enough time or space to get your creativity into gear, then just having a simple but effective lighting setup ready to drop into place can make all the difference. LED lighting is very quiet, unobtrusive and can make the magic real at any time of day or night. If you find yourself ready to start shooting pictures at 9 o’clock at night, then that’s no problem!

Collins St Kitchen

We’re often asked how we manage to produce so much quality photography and video from such a small space, and there are days when even we wonder how we got through the last few months! The fact is it takes a lot of effort to make the magic happen, but that effort is shared across the two of us.

After all these years living in the heart of the city we’ve become very good at making the most of small spaces. And really good at bringing good lighting together with good styling. Photography is often seen as a technical challenge, and for sure you need to know a few fundamentals with your camera. But mostly it’s a creative space, and that’s why it’s so important for you to create a good space for your creativity too.

If you’d like to learn more about food photography and immerse yourself in a unique space for professional development, come and join us in May 2025 for our next workshop.

From Our Kitchen

Filmed at the Collins St Kitchen

From Daylesford

Food Photography Workshop 2024