How to Quit Your Day Job & Become a Food Photographer
A Foodtography School Course Review
Looking to combine my passion for baking and recipe development with my interest in photography, I enrolled in Foodtography School in 2018.
This is my honest review of the Foodtography School Course and how it has impacted my business and career. I hope this blog post gives you the confidence to take the leap and pursue your passion!
How I got started with Food Photography:
Escaping my 9-5 used to be dream. Growing up in the tech hub- Silicon Valley, it was engrained in me to get the best, highest paying corporate job. And so I landed in pharma then moved on to tech sales for over a decade.
Stable & lucrative income. YES! coworkers, sense of community and career advancement were all appealing. But a voice in my head was screaming for more.
2015- Eat More Cake Blog was Born
Baking was as an outlet from the monotony corporate life. Which led to obtaining a license to bake from home and spent 3 years making desserts for weddings. This was a side hustle….for 3 years and I felt utterly burnt out.
One of my first blog and Instagram photos in 2015 before I invested in Foodtography School. Read on to check out the After Photo!!
Unable to scale my business and feeling stuck, something had to change. I strived for a life of choosing my clients, schedule, working from anywhere, and ultimately FULFILLMENT and PASSION in my job.
2018- Invested in my education to learn Food Photography
Fast forward to 2018- I needed to find something more lucrative that combined my passion for baking + recipe development and offered more than just baking wedding cakes (I loved doing this but it wasn’t scaleable in a way that allowed me to spend time with my son during his most important years). With basic knowledge about photography and a DSLR camera that was never used, I decided to sign up for Foodtography School.
When my son was born in 2019, this life change forced me to choose between corporate life or continue with my baking business. My number one priority was being a mom first and entrepreneur second.
I purchased in 2018 but never starting the course until Winter 2019 and completed 4 weeks later in Jan. 2020.
2019- How I calculated my risk and took the leap to quit my day job!
I want to be transparent- my journey into food photography was a RISK. As my maternity leave was coming to an end- I went to my fav winery with my husband…drank a bottle of rosé and outlined every possible job option.
I came up with 6 options short term and long term strategies for career options and outlined the + & – for each. This helps me build a road map with big decisions knowing that I have a short term strategy that I can always pivot to help me reach my long term goals.
All roads were leading to wanting job fulfillment and flexibility to stay home with my son. My baking business was the answer but how do I make that more lucrative? It was at that moment I decided to combine my baking business with my hobby ie FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY!!
Investing in myself was a risk, quitting my stable & lucrative sales job was a huge risk and the scariest decision of my life.
It was a mindset shift to say- I’m going to learn as quickly as possible and make Food Photography work. No.Matter.What. I had no time to waste.
ACTIONS I TOOK AFTER QUITTING MY DAY JOB
The next week, I quit my day job, gave myself 3 months and created a schedule that I would adhere to. First priority was completing the course that I signed up for 1 year prior but had never started. Second- practicing photography every single week + developing new recipes for the blog. Lastly- pitching brands and finding paid work!
You still have to put in the work. But the risk can be worth the reward! Take a look at these Before and After photos!
3 months post Foodtography School 1 year post Foodtography School
1 month post Foodtography School 1 year post Foodtography School
HOW HAS THE COURSE IMPACTED MY LIFE AND CAREER?
3 months after the course- I landed my first paid gig with a BIG BRAND. Which has led to 1,000% growth (yes for real!) on Pinterest which is driving traffic to my website, more paid opportunities and I wake up pumped every single day to bake and create for my clients, my audience and blog.
1 year post Foodtography School- What does my life look like now?
I am a mom first, which means that my business is only part time (2-4 hours per day). This career allows me to work with dream food brands and I have been featured on The Feed Feed. With a strategy in place and practicing every day, my business has grown quarter over quarter. This has allowed me to double my rates per project within 6 months.
My images keep improving with practice and the help of Foodtography School as a continuous resource. The course is relaunching with twice the amount of content in Feb. 2021!
Before Foodtography School 1 year post Foodtography School
Before 1 year After
Foodtography School Course
Landing the first client is probably the most difficult. I practice photographing 3-4 times per week and aim to improve my skill and develop my own unique style and brand. The course provides the foundational knowledge covering:
- Fundamentals + Composition– includes editing in Lightroom, where to source props and backgrounds, +5 NEW Styling Videos!
- Light + Color– understanding light, how to manipulate bad light, creating a color story, how to find your visual voice
- Social Media– Branding, growing your audience
- Marketing– Pricing your work, pitch guide, ways to get paid as a food photographer
Plus 5 added bonuses for FREE that I found hugely valuable in regards to editing and landing paid brand deals. Hello e-mail templates to pitch to brands!
1 : Styling Session video tutorial – walk-through an entire shoot from start to finish!
2 : Props & backgrounds video tutorial – walk through my background and prop collections, so you know exactly what you need and why
3 : A 1 hour Lightroom walkthrough mini-course
4 : 5 custom Foodtography School Lightroom presets – get 5 custom-made-by-me food photography presets to get your photos looking stellar ASAP!
5 : Smartphone Editing tutorial – learn how to edit pictures on the go on your mobile phone with the apps I use and love
Most importantly- the course was a catalyst for me to build the career and lifestyle of my dreams- to work from anywhere, choose my clients and projects, and be a mamma first and entrepreneur second. I’m literally typing this in between tickling my toddler.
WHO IS FOODTOGRAPHY SCHOOL FOR?
Foodtography School Mission
To turn peoples passion for food photography into a business. We want food photography to be accessible to all, so we teach students ranging from beginners to advanced on both the skill and business sides of food photography.
WHAT MAKES THIS COURSE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES?
- Community- you gain immediate access to an insider Foodtography Facebook Group. With over 3,500 students to date- this group and community has been a lifeline for feedback, critique, and help with business questions! Not to mention- I’ve developed friendships with so many amazing foodie photogs that I would have otherwise never crossed paths with.
- Photography + BUSINESS- I actually signed up for this course because of the business modules. It covers social media marketing strategies, how to stand out from the crowd, pitch to brands, how to find brands to pitch to, pricing your work, and diversifying revenue streams to build a strong portfolio and stable business model that can weather any storm.
HOW MUCH IS THE COURSE?
$587 in one single payment for Foodtography School Course. As an affiliate, I can offer 15% off (SAVINGS of $88.05) using my DISCOUNT CODE: EATMORECAKE when enrolling at this link.
PLUS!! As a welcome to the course, I am offering a FREE 30 minute Pitching Consultation so you can feel confident to hit the ground running and monetize your business! This applies to anyone that signs up using the link above– just send me an DM on IG to claim this offer.
DISCLOSURE ON MY FOODTOGRAPHY SCHOOL COURSE REVIEW
100% transparency, I am an affiliate member of Foodtography School. I only affiliate myself with products or services that I whole heartedly believe in and that have made a positive impact on my life in hopes to share the same benefit with you.
If you make a purchase through my affiliate links provided, I do earn a commission of the sale at NO extra cost to you. If anything, by going through my affiliate link and applying the DISCOUNT CODE: EATMORECAKE you’ll gain a further $88 OFF the single payment price.
This applies to all courses: Foodtography School, Advanced Foodtography School, Restaurant Foodtography School and iFoodtography School.
If you would like to see more of my photos visit these recipes!
Hi Candice thanks for your honest review. I tried to organise the 6 monthly payment but unfortunately it doesn’t give the discount with your code so not sure it applies for payment spread.
Hi Fiona- thank for letting me know. They did just change that and the 15% off only applies to full payments, not the payment plan. However, with the 15% off, you will be saving $132 compared to the payment plan. Feel free to DM me on IG @Eatmorecakebycandice if you have any questions or need an immediate response. Thank you!