B.T.S. PRE Brands Photo Shoot

Another fun time with PRE Brads! It’s great to see how the creative grows with them every shoot. The ideas just get bigger and better.

This past shoot we created bold, colorful environments that mimicked the summer outdoors, game night, date night, and others! Incorporating the brand colors then matching the tones with props and wardrobe. Talent was really important because we were able to show faces and their expressions. Each scene had actions played out, so we were able to capture fun stop motion pieces as well as stand alone stills. This made for a wide range of captures for their library and various places the imagery was going to be used. So many combinations of great shots and expressions, it was hard to share just a few!

Thanks to the amazing crew!!

Izze Copeland, Conner Wall, Katie Van Dyke, Elaine Miller, Gadi Solis, Jack Goodwin, Thomas Schroeder, Cindy Melin, Nina Albazi, Karen Brody, Geoff Binn-Calvey, Dom Propizio, Reya Quezada, Franki Dupont-Madinier, Emily Alexander, The Rock Agency, Stewart Talent, Parchment Studio, Carolyn Somlo

B.T.S. Spring Awakening Series Shoot

This personal series has been brewing for awhile. I wanted to create these sculptural images that incorporated raw ingredients and flowers. I wanted to shoot this when fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers were peeking in season. This allowed us to have the flexibility to source some stunning options! My stylist did not let me down. I got to work with food stylist Judi Orlick and Florist (and ceramic artist studio owner!) Zofi Lipton on this shoot. I was so excited when they were on board to help bring this vision to life. We narrowed down the ideas and left room in the day to just explore and play around. I wanted the lighting and propping to be dramatic. Once the food and flowers touched the surface the vibrant colors and interaction of the two things just came to life in the shot. Beside minor dust spotting and creative rigging these are true to what we captured in studio. It was great to shoot at Simple Studio, the perfect still life studio with a view! Assisted by Jarrett Murphy

B.T.S. Breakfast Favorites Creative Shoot!

Breakfast is such a versatile meal. It can be sweet or savory, but always filling! How can you capture some of the simplest breakfast options like cereal or yogurt and take them to the next level? Working with a creative and collaborative team of stylists. For this test shoot I got to work with food stylist Hadley Sui and prop stylist Alya Hameedi. We laid out some colorful ideas to capture iconic yogurt brands and cereal with our own creative take on them. In a crowded market it’s important to not just help a brand make amazing photos, but make them unique to their identity and stand above the other competitors! A big part of being successful with this is planning ahead. So much can be figured out ahead of the shoot to allow the actual day of the job to run smoothly and leave room for creative spontaneity. Reach out to discuss your next project and how we can bring it to life!

News: Now Represented by Carolyn Somlo Talent!

Excited to start the new year with big news! I’m now represented by Carolyn Somlo Talent! Looking forward to growing my client reach, projects, and traveling all over! Work is now live at her site http://www.somlotalent.com/ Along with other amazing photographers and directors. Reach out to us for your next project!

B.T.S. with Felicia and Carolyn on set!

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!

Create In Place

Excited to join forces with Create In Place, a production option to photo and video shoots while following stay at home orders. Let’s create something great! *Clients* Please inquire for additional info with password protected access. https://www.createinplace.com/

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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!

B.T.S. Video Shoot Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company

If there’s something I’m really passionate about in New York City it’s a good bagel! Once I came upon B.B.C.C. I knew I was hooked. I’ve had my fair share of bagels and hit up the “hot” spots but a true kettle boiled bagel was the answer. NYC knows that’s the only way to make a bagel and anyone that has had a bagel this was they wouldn’t forget it. Here’s a couple brief articles about the science of it:

https://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-why-bagels-are-bo-86711

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/05/21/405190434/chew-on-this-the-science-of-great-nyc-bagels-its-not-the-water

I really am writing this because it was so exciting to work with them to create a amazing bagel piece I could use for my portfolio but something they could also use for their advertising. I arrived ahead of the shoot to sit down with the owner to discuss my idea and vision and to make sure he was on board. Once that was settled I had some interview style questions to ask that would be sliced over the visuals in the end. When we agreed on a date my team and I shot for the good first half of their shop being open capturing the beautiful kettle boil process, their coffee being made, some of their signature sandwiches, and of course the happy customers. It was all about the beauty in the food so we had our cine prime lens on the entire time. In addition to that we had a tungsten light back lighting the steam and certain shots. Also we staged some shots at the front of the store and incorporated the natural light coming in. It was a fun day and flew by! The final product came out great, see it in my motion portfolio

Diary of A Commercial Photographer: How I Got Started

Catchy title right?! :) I can’t say my post is actually from a diary but the idea of my real thoughts on the business in writing remind me of my diary I had when I was little. The "real deal" moments you had growing up that just had to get written down; documented, so you can look back and remember when… Since the recent closing of my college The Art Institute I know I won’t be able to visit the school and talk with photo students anymore. My post reflects my own experiences and opinions and were discussed with students at school.

I wanted to be a commercial photographer in 11th grade. I remember attending my local technical school that had an amazing commercial art program with the best teachers! They are still working there today and still inspiring students. They had a photo studio where I could shoot products, study advertisements, understand graphic design, and learn everything I could about photography. My first job at 13 was working at the local supermarket, so I was around food all day. Not a bad thing! :) When I would face off the shelves or be a cashier I would ring up items that had food photos on them. It was that moment I knew that’s what I wanted to do! I enrolled in college attending The Art Institute where it also had a commercial driven curriculum. During school I interned and assisted with commercial photographers in all genres and still came back to food photography.

Any advice I can give current photo students or someone looking to change careers, assist for as many currently working photographers as you can. This career is very much a learn on the job pace. You can’t just open shop without watching and learning from other pros, you are going to waste your time and money. The first impression you have on a potential client is your last impression so you want to make sure your best foot is forward. I know in today’s world everything is online where you can “learn.” There’s a huge difference in watching someone and actually being there and doing something, so don’t think there’s a quick fix or easy way out.

In addition to working under professional photographers you want to make sure and give yourself creative freedom. This is your career and it’s going to change a lot over time. You need to make sure and remember why your doing this in the first place. Let yourself be inspired by other photographers alive or deceased. Doing creative exercises like this will help you understand what you enjoy photographing. Have fun!

Photo Shoot Recap New Jersey Monthly: Osteria Radici

Any food that encompasses the style of Italian cuisine I’m all ears and appetite. It was great to work again with New Jersey Monthly on their July feature for Osteria Radici in Allentown, NJ. Owners Randy and Ally were great to work during the photo shoot. The dishes we got to photograph each had their own personality and flavor that was amazing to see. It was great to see their different plate ware and table dressings to incorporate into the photographs. Also the interior had a warm welcome. Check this place out!! You can read the article and see more of my photos here:

https://njmonthly.com/articles/restaurant-reviews/italy-roots-osteria-radici-allentown/

Photo Shoot Recap: La Mercerie for The Village Voice

It was so fun to work on this photo shoot for The Village Voice covering the new all-day cafe La Mercerie. You walk in and immediately feel a cool energy surrounded with clean design. Chef Marie-Aude Rose was great to work with. The dishes seamlessly were brought to us to photograph. Just getting back from France I felt like I was on my honeymoon again! All the food was delicious, fresh, and unique! I loved the cantabric anchovies with vanilla butter. The specialty butters were also amazing. What was unique about the location was it was connected to Roman and Williams Guild. Everything hand picked without any corners cut. It really helped set the tone of the restaurant. Read the whole article here: https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/06/29/gallic-grandeur-at-la-mercerie/