Two phone calls and a few mails changed the entire perspective of my dream. And it was probably the first time ever that I truly appreciated these lines “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
When I sit back and retrospect, I feel amazed by the pace at which life has moved forward since I planted the dream called Lite Bite . I really had no plans as to where my dream will take me to, I just loved chasing it.
Life is never easy for those who dream they say, I missed many golden moments of family fun, functions and precious sleep just to be in harmony with the on line world to sustain my dream.
A few weeks back hubby received a call in his office from someone enquiring about the food stylist for Lite Bite (and how did ‘he’ received the call? The account for Lite Bite was opened with hubby’s ID particulars) “My wife does it and she does not have any professional qualification for the same. She does it for her passion for food, and if you still want her services you may contact her at ….”.was the frank reply from my hubby.
And to my surprise I received a mail from this Chennai based photographer Prem who asked me to send my portfolio for a restaurant shoot.
Another day another call, this time it was a lady on the other side, she asked me to forward my portfolio and informed that she will revert back soon. Within minutes of sending the files of my pictures she called me “This is what I have been looking for, will you work for me, there is a photo shoot for a company next week?”
There comes a time in life when you start walking beyond your dreams…yes I did, and this is how it all happened…
Food Styling for the First Company
Product Food Styling; Met Deepa a few days before the shoot to discuss about the products and other aspects of the photo shoot. Had a wonderful time shooting for a company close to my heart, Brown Tree . The photo shoot happened in a professional studio and we shot close to 25 plus products in a single day.
I was totally amazed by the energy levels, professionalism and dedication of this lovely photographer ‘Deepa’. The shoot was a bit hectic and I could not manage to get candid shots of the proceedings that day. The only picture I took was the one above and then my camera slept till we finished the entire shoot and packed for the day. Will share the final pictures soon.
Restaurant Food Styling; The next food styling preject was a restaurant shoot, a vegetarian restaurant called Two Square. I was called for food tasting by the client in their restaurant.
The meet was arranged in a conference room with a large table laid out for presenting the food to be shot the next day. Around the table there were the three owners of the restaurant, advertising person Shiva, chef and photographer Prem.
And then the show started, we were presented with steamy hot food in succession.
My..my never had so much of food in a single sitting before..in the end I was like, please leave me, the food looks great and am sure tastes good as well 
Few signature dishes were selected for the photo shoot.
Back at home I did my homework and segregated the props, boards, colorful napkins and other useful nick-knacks from my treasure which I thought would go well with the theme of the photo shoot.
A cab was arranged by the client for the shoot. Prem reached much before me and and was ready with the lightnings and other set up. We asked chef to prepare dishes according to the shoot with a few instructions to make the food look good on camera.
One by one coked dishes were presented before us and I was ready with the props to set up the shoot.
Shiva the advertising man was a great help during the whole shoot. He coordinated perfectly between the restaurant people, photographer and me.
Owner and the chefs kept pampering us with fresh fruit juices and snacks every now and then.
The cheesy baked whole cauliflower tasted so yum but was the hardest to shoot..we tried all angles and tricks to make it look as appetizing as it taste.
American style corn…I could eat that whole bowl all by myself…
Vegetable Biryani was flavorful and scrumptious.
Love the color and crunchy veggies in this recipe…
Yes, we had our share of fun as well… Prem with the deadly weapon.
Some of the spices and ingredients used during the shoot.
A few of my props…
Looks like someone is having serious business here….will this look nice or should I remove those leaves….thanks Shiva for all these candid shots.
I was humbled by the hospitality extended to me by all the persons I worked with during the entire project. It was great experience working with two different professional photographers. Thanks for believing in me and my work.
With the kind of experience I have in writing, food photography and food styling (Hmm..well, I struggle for words and am still taking baby steps with my camera and styling my food) I could never dream big. But content I am, for I am able to keep my passion alive with whatever little I know.
And for once, I did walk beyond my dream!
. . . .
My gratitude to some of the food blogger friends who played the role of a ‘catalyst’ in different ways in my journey;
Lakshmi ,
Sylvie ,
Sala and
RL for the guidance they provided by taking out time and writing to me.
Faith ,
MJ ,
Jamie ,
Marla ,
Deeba ,
Alisha ,
Julie ,
Anuradha ,
Rebecca ,
Chinmayi ,
Kankana for their unconditional constant online love and support.
Two phone calls and a few mails changed the entire perspective of my dream. And it was probably the first time ever that I truly appreciated these lines “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
When I sit back and retrospect, I feel amazed by the pace at which life has moved forward since I planted the dream called Lite Bite . I really had no plans as to where my dream will take me to, I just loved chasing it.
Life is never easy for those who dream they say, I missed many golden moments of family fun, functions and precious sleep just to be in harmony with the on line world to sustain my dream.
A few weeks back hubby received a call in his office from someone enquiring about the food stylist for Lite Bite (and how did ‘he’ received the call? The account for Lite Bite was opened with hubby’s ID particulars) “My wife does it and she does not have any professional qualification for the same. She does it for her passion for food, and if you still want her services you may contact her at ….”.was the frank reply from my hubby.
And to my surprise I received a mail from this Chennai based photographer Prem who asked me to send my portfolio for a restaurant shoot.
Another day another call, this time it was a lady on the other side, she asked me to forward my portfolio and informed that she will revert back soon. Within minutes of sending the files of my pictures she called me “This is what I have been looking for, will you work for me, there is a photo shoot for a company next week?”
There comes a time in life when you start walking beyond your dreams…yes I did, and this is how it all happened…
Food Styling for the First Company
Product Food Styling; Met Deepa a few days before the shoot to discuss about the products and other aspects of the photo shoot. Had a wonderful time shooting for a company close to my heart, Brown Tree . The photo shoot happened in a professional studio and we shot close to 25 plus products in a single day.
I was totally amazed by the energy levels, professionalism and dedication of this lovely photographer ‘Deepa’. The shoot was a bit hectic and I could not manage to get candid shots of the proceedings that day. The only picture I took was the one above and then my camera slept till we finished the entire shoot and packed for the day. Will share the final pictures soon.
Restaurant Food Styling; The next food styling preject was a restaurant shoot, a vegetarian restaurant called Two Square. I was called for food tasting by the client in their restaurant.
The meet was arranged in a conference room with a large table laid out for presenting the food to be shot the next day. Around the table there were the three owners of the restaurant, advertising person Shiva, chef and photographer Prem.
And then the show started, we were presented with steamy hot food in succession.
My..my never had so much of food in a single sitting before..in the end I was like, please leave me, the food looks great and am sure tastes good as well
Few signature dishes were selected for the photo shoot.
Back at home I did my homework and segregated the props, boards, colorful napkins and other useful nick-knacks from my treasure which I thought would go well with the theme of the photo shoot.
A cab was arranged by the client for the shoot. Prem reached much before me and and was ready with the lightnings and other set up. We asked chef to prepare dishes according to the shoot with a few instructions to make the food look good on camera.
One by one coked dishes were presented before us and I was ready with the props to set up the shoot.
Shiva the advertising man was a great help during the whole shoot. He coordinated perfectly between the restaurant people, photographer and me.
Owner and the chefs kept pampering us with fresh fruit juices and snacks every now and then.
The cheesy baked whole cauliflower tasted so yum but was the hardest to shoot..we tried all angles and tricks to make it look as appetizing as it taste.
American style corn…I could eat that whole bowl all by myself…
Some of the spices and ingredients used during the shoot.
. . . .
My gratitude to some of the food blogger friends who played the role of a ‘catalyst’ in different ways in my journey; Lakshmi , Sylvie , Sala and RL for the guidance they provided by taking out time and writing to me. Faith , MJ , Jamie , Marla , Deeba , Alisha , Julie , Anuradha , Rebecca , Chinmayi , Kankana for their unconditional constant online love and support.