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

End of Year Thanks!

Happy Holidays! 2023 was an exciting year with lots of new clients and fun projects. It’s great to continue challenging myself in my work and growing my business connections. It was my first full year working with my rep Carolyn Somlo who has been a great production partner. Can’t wait to dive into 2024 and work on more exciting projects.

Enjoy this tasty whipped coffee drink for the holidays styled by Janine Kalesis.

Rita's Italian Ice Photo Shoot

So excited to finally share some new work I shot for Rita’s Italian Ice! Growing up with the brand this was a dream client to be able to work with. I worked with food stylist Alise Arato for the week capturing all sorts of Italian ices, custards, hand scoops. It was so fun and tasty of course! Looking forward to the next one, and keep an eye out for the new images.

1 - Reeses Concretes copy.jpg

3 - Gummy Bear Ice copy.jpg

4 - Frozen Coffee copy.jpg

11 - Unicorn Cone & Gelati copy.jpg

13 - Fall Concretes copy.jpg

15 - Unicorn Cone & Cups copy.jpg

16 - Strawberry n' Cream copy.jpg

B.T.S. Buona Vita Photo Shoot

Love this product! Really great to work with the Buona Vita team again on some new recipe photography and updated packaging work for them. This is such a tasty, great quality meatball that you can get in store. The recipe concepts we shot ranged from a meatball sub to a gyro! So tasty and creative. Couldn’t of been possible without the amazing styling team of Lisa Russell. Shot at the String Theory School. Can’t wait to see the images out in the wild.

APA Chicago 10th Annual Artist’s Perspective Exhibition Selected!

Excited to be a selected photographer in the 10th annual APA Artist’s Perspective exhibit!

APA Chicago, “Natasha Egan, Executive Director at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, has completed judging our 10th Annual Artist's Perspective Personal Work Exhibition. We are pleased to announce that she has selected 47 images from 42 artists to be featured in our one-night exhibition on Friday, April 28, at Fulton Street Collective. Our celebration includes drinks, food, fun, a photo booth, and more - please join us.”

Fri 28th Apr, 2023
7:00pm–10:00pm

Fulton Street Collective
1821 W. Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL 60612

Free Admission

Link to event and all photographers to be in the show:

https://chicago.apanational.org/events/entry/10th-annual-2023-artists-perspective-exhibition/

B.T.S. - The Not Company Shoot

NotCo What a fun brand to work with! It was so exciting when they reached out to work together on shooting new photography and video for their NOT chicken patties and their brand new NOT MILK product line. The vibrant colors in the brand were used in the background as well as table settings. We had a variety of set options for the recipes we shot. Tiffany Schleigh food stylist created indulgent dishes for us to capture. There were a variety of recipes that used plant based cheese, yummy sauces, and layers of goodness. When I tried their chicken patties and nuggets I coulnd’t belive it wasn’t actual chicken! They were so good!!

Along with the creative team we were able to work with the super talented kid model Miles @milesandre_14 He had fun expressions and excitement with each dish as well as the NOT MILK Chocolate Milk and regular Milk products. So much fun tossing things in the air.

We got to work with one of my favorite studios, Space28. We were able to shoot table top imagery as well as use their kitchen to shoot other dishes and Milk drinks.

Can’t wait to see all the shots out in the wild. You can find their products at a variety of stores like Whole Foods, and Giant Food Stores.

National Pizza Month - Pizza Promo

October is National Pizza Month! Of course we need to dedicate a whole month to our favorite food group. There are other pizza holidays throughout the year, but this is the big one. I’ve always wanted to do a fun over the top printed promo and this was the perfect opportunity.

This month was not just about any pizza, but a great way to showcase my shoot I did overseas for Domino’s PIzza! Get right to the heart of the project and show the tasty, beautiful, cheesy pizzas we shot over the month. YUM!!

To make this promo really fun and creative I worked with graphic designer Amanda Stringer on a concept of a pizza box with my branding and a photo booklet to go with it. In addition to the booklet to make it run and interactive I had a QR code made that would take you right to my website and the BTS Video from the shoot. Also I found this really cool pizza frisbees, and build your own pizza stickers!

The promos were sent to a super targeted list of pizza brands across the country and their coinciding agencies that also work with them. I sent out for the month of October my newsletter highlighting the pizza shoot and talking about the promo.

B.T.S. Domino's Pizza MENA (Middle East North Africa Division) International Advertising Photo and Video Shoot

This project was a great way to finish out 2021 and ring in 2022 with a month long advertising project in the Middle East. I don’t know where to start with this amazing opportunity to shoot for a dream client! I hope all the behind the scenes will help do it justice. There were months of pre production planning this shoot while still dealing with international travel during COVID. In the end everything came out great and the client loved the shots.

The first half of the shoot was the still components. We went through and captured fresh imagery for their menu showcasing all the different pizza offerings and sides. Beautifully styled by Jamie Kimm. In addition to the menu items we captured combo deals that they regularly advertise. The New Yorker pizza was a very prominent pizza we shot. Really great hand tossed pizza with big slices just like in New York City! The most exciting and challenging aspect of this shoot was getting the cheese pulls right. Jamie’s attention to detail and experience was paramount in getting these shots right.

After we captured the still components the last 2 weeks we shot various short video moments of cheese pulls, wings dipping, sauces being poured onto pizzas, and beautiful details of the regional ingredients. These videos will be used on their digital sings in store as well as social media. I couldn’t of done this project without the local rental house Action Filmz who was able to put together all the lighting and grip I needed and deliver to Abu Dhabi. Highly recommend!

We had 3 core surfaces we used for the different channels the images and video were going to be showcased on. I had a super talented local prop stylist fabricate these. Again highly recommend Caroline of Food Art Concepts. Domino Blue Color was very important!

We had just a couple days off to site see and enjoy the local food. Some of the best I’ve ever had. The weather was in the 80’s and sunny, no humidity Every Single Day. What a beautiful place.

Hope you enjoy these images as much as we do. Any questions on this project or if you have similar needs please feel free to reach out.

B.T.S. Violife Foods Photo Shoots!

I love what I do because you never know where your next food project may take you! The Violife brand 100% Vegan is a fun, tasty, and fresh product hitting the shelves in the USA! I’ve been working with the T&C team creating colorful social assets featuring their products used in recipes. Each month we have been shooting different recipes that may correlate with an upcoming FOOD holiday or special event. The recipes are tested and concepts are sketched out for each recipe. Lisa Russell helps with styling, art direction and sourcing props for each setup. Each recipe gets a hero still image and a supporting stop motion. So fun to watch these shots come to life. Make sure to follow along @violifeus

New Personal Series "Wawa Run"

This personal series I conceptualized and shot captures the real food and real orders of everyday customers that shop at Wawa. I wanted the food to feel heroic so I incorporated bright colors that play off the brand as well as strong lighting to cast shadows and highlights giving the food dimension, and shooting at a lower angle to make the food feel big. This was so fun to go through each order and compliment the drink choice with food. Being from the Philadelphia area I know what Wawa is all about! Hope you enjoy these fun photos.

Perretti Photography LLC Now On Workbook!

Excited to share I’am now apart of Workbook! It is the place to get your work seen by top agencies in the industry! I’m excited to share some of my latest work and projects here. The involvement of Workbook’s staff making sure I showcase the best work and projects shows how dedicated they are to their artist. I hope you will take some time to check it out. Let’s work together!

https://www.workbook.com/portfolios/perretti_photography

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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!

Featured Photographer on the DT Blog

Excited to share for the month of July I’m the featured photographer on Digital Transitions blog! You can read the full Q&A and see some of my recent work HERE

“This month, we couldn’t be more excited to feature the incredible work of our client, commercial food and beverage photographer Felicia Perretti. She is located in New York City with a specialty in advertising, packaging, editorial, and video for food and beverage clients across the country. Felicia’s extensive passion for the food and beverage industry remains a constant in her daily life and has guided her professional career.”

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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!

B.T.S. Photo Shoot for Victoria Beer

Dream job!! Working with beer, but not just any beer; Victoria. What a great easy drinking beer in the summer with the right balance of malt taste. The team at Upshot had a beautiful deck put together for this shoot and I was so excited to bring these shots to life for them. The bright sunlight feel with the long cast shadows created a amber glow for the beer that was beautiful to capture. In the studio we had to create an environment that you may dream of drinking this beer in. Paola Andrea did not disappoint with her creative approach to the stucco walls and palm leaves that filled the frame. To finish off the shots a hint of food and refreshing look to the beers Kate Buckens brought her “A” game! Also one of our pour shots we had talent Rafael Medina of Bella Agency do the honors. Great shoot all around. Can’t wait to see the shots out in the wild. Working remotely with the agency through the ZOOM platform once again worked well for everyone.

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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!

B.T.S. Photo Shoot Buona Vita (Safe Set Covid-19)

It was so fun to work with Buona Vita again, this time updating their photography for their meatball cookbook and other collateral! With the new photography they are relaunching a new website and logo. The creative look for these shots was clean, modern, and appetizing. We really wanted to highlight the great quality in the meatballs. Also showcasing all the amazing ways you can use their product. The meatball is so much more than just a topping for your pasta. Can’t wait to see these shots up on their new site. Make sure you check out their products at your local supermarket.

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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!

B.T.S. Gorton's Seafood photo shoot (Pre-Covid)

Back in the studio with our favorite client Gorton’s Seafood! Hook Line and Savor family of fish is doing so well they have extended it and we were shooting their newest flavor; Everything! Just like the bagel, that was so tasty! It had a great crust and Helen the food stylist came up with perfect herbs and flavor Q’s that went along well. In addition to shooting that we got to shoot a new packaging shot for their Pub Style Cod. This was beautiful with the rustic wood surface and earthenware plate. The cod was paired with steak fries and a crisp golden beer. That was new for me incorporating a beer into a packaging shot, such a perfect idea! It came together really well. The lighting was a broad and soft approach as if there was window light being used. Beautiful shot to end the day with. Great working with the team!

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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!

B.T.S. John and Kira's Chocolates (Safe Set Covid-19)

Always look forward to a chocolate shoot! When it’s John and Kira’s I know it’s not going to disappoint. They are a great client to collaborate on ideas and their vision for the brand. Lisa and myself really have creative freedom to elevate their chocolates every time. Always a great shoot! The difference this time was the limiting of people on location because of COVD-19. Following the previous precautions I’ve taken on other projects since the shut down and insight from ASMP, the leading industry photography organization I knew my clients were in good hands as well as my crew.

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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!

B.T.S. Photo Shoot: King's Hawaiian

When I think of bread that reminds me of summer, hands down it is King’s Hawaiian! It was an awesome project to work on that Chuck Studios executive producer Elyse Sara brought me on to. We had 2 days on set with a limited crew because of COVID-19 to capture beautiful kitchen scenes and super tasty recipes using the various King’s Hawaiian products. The kitchen sets were modern, contemporary with warm colors and greens peeking in. Helen Jones styled the recipes perfectly to really elevate the bread and flavor cues! Propping and set dressing was done by the amazing Christina O’Neil. We had all the COVID-19 regulations in place and we all felt safe on set. Also since the client could not be there we were able to setup a private Slack channel and use ZOOM to conference in the team. It was a seamless experience and would do it again. At the end of the day we got some awesome photos. Can’t wait to see them in the wild!

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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!

Food Face Mask Fundraiser! Help support the cause!

COVID-19 has shaken our economy globally and locally. You might of seen this first hand in your own neighborhood, or someone directly in your family. When restrictions start to lift we will still have an up hill battle ahead of us, one area that was hit hard and is close to me is the restaurant industry.

Article Reference Forbes.com
”Many independent restaurant owners have used personal savings or taken on new debt to support their employees. Restaurant workers accounted for the largest share of unemployment claims in March but less than 8.9% of approved PPP loans went to restaurants and hotels combined. 
The IRC says restaurants contribute $1 trillion to the U.S. economy each year, and only 30% of them will survive the crisis if it lingers four months or longer.
Those who do emerge may face even more difficult tribulations after reopening their doors. The first thing survivors will need to do when they reopen is pay old invoices. Then they’ll have to hire and train a skeleton staff to help unveil a newly configured, socially distanced dining room that’s expected to be legally required to cut previous capacity by 50%.
Many restaurateurs will decide it’s just not worth taking on more debt and will permanently close shop. Some will have to reimagine their concept to accommodate a new dining room layout, no large groups and reduced tourism, plus either less service or higher menu prices. The rest will go back to business fully expecting to ring an average of 50% less revenue over the first 12-18 months than when the virus forced them to suddenly close.”

Please consider supporting this cause by purchasing a custom face mask. CLICK HERE

Profits of EVERY SALE goes to https://www.jamesbeard.org/openforgood Open For Good, campaign to support the recovery and rebuilding of the independent restaurant industry.

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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!

Melbourne's Yarra Valley

I haven’t had much time to share on here my photos from our trip to Australia. As you saw in my last blog post we came home and immediately had to self quarantine, then the country went into shut down mode. Nothing we could do! I did have time to work on my scrap book album with trip highlights but I want to share some of my favorite moments abroad.

As you know Joe and I are big fans of traveling to wineries and tasting locally made wine. Australia of course is home to one of the world’s most beautiful wine regions; Yarra Valley, about an hour outside of Melbourne. It DID NOT disappoint. We mapped out a few days to stay in the Yarra Valley going to various vineyards (14 total?) and see some of the most spectacular views.

If I had to pick our top three wineries we drank/ate/toured at it would be 1. Oakridge Wines 2. Tarrawarra Estate 3. Yering Station

Good resource here for the wineries: https://visityarravalley.com.au/

OAKRIDGE: The views were unmatched. The design of their winery was able to transport you into the vineyard as if you were walking through it. The large windows surrounding everything made that possible. We stayed for their pre-fix lunch and I had the best EMU. Business casual, but not stuffy at all, which I love about modern dining.

TARRAWARRA ESTATE: I don’t know if I really want to call them second, they were equally as good as Oakridge. The views were beautiful. Again the architecture (award winning!) was amazing to witness. The cellar door was really really cool! We also stayed for their lunch, I had the kangeroo, it was prepared like a sausage, really good.

YERING STATION: Entering their cellar door was breathtaking. They had up a sculpture art exhibit that made it feel like a museum walking through. Beside the overcast skies that day it was very cozy inside. Their wine selection was so good and you could tell they had a passion for their wines. This is a must stop!

A Few Others Highly Recommend:

-Coombe

-De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate

-Domaine Chandon

-Punt Road

-Yarra Yering

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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!

Working Remotely

How are you doing?

Looking back at my February email to this months, wow, what a stark difference. End of February my husband and I left for a much needed vacation to the beautiful country of Australia. The brushfires were clearing up and the trip as a whole was fantastic. The food, views, and people were great; really a trip of a lifetime!

In those short 3 weeks away, we were leaving Australia on one of the last normally scheduled flights by Quantas to America. We landed in San Francisco to see the news coverage of the travel ban to Europe. The immediate following days everyone’s world turned upside down. Business came to a halt and an illness was creeping among us.

As I write this we are starting to adjust to the new normal. We are creating a virtual routine with friends, family, and co-workers. The same goes for me while running my business. I’ve reached out to several of my clients to see how they are doing and what I can do to help. When the time is right to get to the new normal of working I’m there for support. Like others adjusting and working from home, I have a home photo studio setup and working well. In addition to email, text, and phone, I have ZOOM the virtual platform where you can share screens live and I can mirror my tethered screen so you can see the images come through. If you have food or product that needs to be captured please know I’am here for you. COVID-19 might of removed me from my normal studio, but it certainly didn’t take my creativity.

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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!