January 24, 2025 • 44 mins
Discovering Your Creative Spark: A Conversation with Food Stylist Sheila Jarnes
What if the most unexpected detours in life turned out to be your calling?
Sheila Jarnes, a food stylist, prop stylist, and hand model based in Midcoast Maine, sat down to share her journey from environmental conservation to the deliciously visual world of food styling. With her hands in everything from gardening to cooking, Sheila’s story is a testament to the beauty of embracing curiosity and finding art in the everyday.
Sheila’s career took root in the restaurant industry, followed by an “accidental” entry into food styling in 2016. She described her early days as a mix of excitement and learning, styling recipes for Boston Globe Magazine in her tiny apartment with no formal training. From makeshift shoots with a point-and-shoot camera to working on high-profile campaigns, Sheila’s path has been anything but linear—and that’s what makes it inspiring.
The episode dives deep into what it takes to style a dish to perfection, from the chaos of on-set dynamics to navigating creative briefs. Sheila also shares her heartfelt goal to align her work with brands that emphasize sustainability, blending her love for food with her background in environmental conservation.
Take Action Are you ready to embrace the unknown and tap into your own creative spark? Take a moment to try something new in your craft this week. Experiment, explore, and let curiosity guide you.
Closing Thought As Sheila so beautifully put it, “This work is a constant reminder of having to be okay being uncomfortable.” Let her words nudge you toward growth—because magic lives just outside your comfort zone.
💬 Join the ConversationSavory Shot Shownote: https://micamccook.com/guests/sheila-jarnes/
Website: https://micamccook.com/podcast
Instagram: www.instragram.com/mica.mccook
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thesavoryshotpodcast
Would you like to be a guest on the show? Fill out the guest form, and we'll be in touch soon.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mica (00:00):
Welcome to the 60th episode of The Savory Shot, a podcast about the art
(00:07):
and soul of working in food photography.
I'm your host with the most, Mica McCook.
I'm a food and beverage photographerbased out of Austin, Texas.
I would like to start today'sepisode by thanking y'all, the
listeners, for joining me today.
Especially the ones whoreturned after the hiatus.
(00:29):
I was so nervous about putting outthat episode and I had no reason to be.
Y'all are the best.
I just want to say that I love you allso much and I'm glad that you're back.
I'm glad that you'reexcited for future episodes.
Your feedback was the matchI needed to spark this fire.
(00:52):
So thank you guys somuch for the feedback.
I love you.
And if this is your first time joiningus, thank you so much for being here.
Welcome to the Hot Mess Express.
But y'all, I am so excited totalk about today's episode.
I've been on pins and needleswaiting to put this episode out.
(01:13):
I felt an instant connectionto our next guest.
I know by the end of thisepisode, you will too.
So, without further ado, I'd liketo introduce y'all to Sheila Jarnes.
Y'all, we are jumping backinto the world of food styling.
Sheila is a freelance food stylist, propstylist, and sometimes even a hand model.
(01:39):
She's a master of creatingbeautiful scenes and has a deep
love for gardening and her pups.
Sheila's journey started in a completelydifferent field, environmental
conservation, but her passion forfood led her to launch a food blog
(01:59):
called All Things Considered Yummy.
This venture led her to workin various restaurants and
eventually as a food stylist.
Today, she works as a successfulfreelance food stylist and works with
top photographers and food brands.
(02:22):
Y'all, in this episode, Sheila'sstory will inspire you to keep
going even when things get tough.
You'll learn how she found her niche,how she embraced her unique talents, and
built a career in the creative industry.
Sheila and I talk about aligning yourselfwith brands whose values match your
(02:45):
own and why that is so important to do.
We traded war stories of thepandemic and how that time still has
a rippling effect on our world today.
When I was editing this episode, Ihad the biggest, cheesiest smile on my
(03:07):
face because I forgot how much Sheilaand I laughed during this interview.
It was healing to my soul.
But enough talking.
I've talked enough.
Let's start the show.
(03:54):
Sheila, I want to start off this bythanking you so much for being here.
Sheila (04:01):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Mica (04:05):
Yay.
So I am so ready to get right into this.
You have been in this industry since2016, and your first job was at an ice
cream parlor, which I do count thatas styling because I've gone to Amy's
Ice Cream and I see what they do.
They flip the ice cream around, theysprinkle around and they present it
(04:26):
in a way that like, makes people go," I'm going to like, indulge in that."
But I, I want to hear about your,your early days as a food stylist.
Who is Sheila in 2016?
Sheila (04:40):
2016.
I didn't know what a food stylist was.
It's something that just fell into my lap.
I was working in this restaurantin Gloucester, Massachusetts.
I think I had been there for five years.
I was really interestedin food in general.
I basically left this governmentjob that I had and told myself I had
(05:00):
five years to dedicate to workingin food if I was still interested
after five years, then carry on.
I was in the midst of that and hadan agency where she had a bunch
of different stylists, like food,prop, wardrobe, makeup, hair.
But I had this embarrassing foodblog called, All Things Considered
(05:22):
Yummy because I was convinced NPRwould get mad at me because they
have All Things Considered and thenI would have to change the name, but
they would have like said something.
I don't know.
It's so stupid.
One point somebody was like,"Oh, Sheila does some kind of
like food photography stuff."
Which was just like me on my cellphone or my like crappy point and shoot
(05:43):
at the so I was practicing cookingtaking pictures and writing badly.
And I had a business cardfor no apparent reason.
Like I don't even have businesscards now, but then I did.
Long story short, gave her my cardand she put my name in for this job
that ended up being my first gig.
Boston Globe Magazine.
They had this weekly food column.
(06:05):
I had just moved intomy first solo apartment.
Recipes written by Adam Reidfrom America's Test Kitchen.
It would come out everySunday in the magazine.
I would do the props, cooking, styling,and the photographer would come over
to my apartment and we would shoot.
That's it.
(06:26):
I had literally no idea what I was doing.
I didn't know how to think like a stylist.
I really wanted to take therecipes literally, cook them
exactly how they were laid out.
You want it to look like therecipe should, but this restaurant
background made me like reallyobsessed with the food side.
(06:47):
Instead of being like, "Oh yeah, Ishould separate all of the ingredients
and then place them on the dish."
I wasn't assisting at the time.
It was just like once everythree weeks we would do this.
And other than that, I was working fulltime in a restaurant, which eventually
morphed into me managing the restaurant.
It really was like aside thing for a while.
(07:09):
Every now and then I would assiston something else, which was great
to see what bigger commercial shootswere like and how real stylists work.
So that was a few years where I wasnot treating it like a career because
I was committed to the restaurant.
And then we moved to Maine.
(07:30):
At that point I was like, I have noidea how I'll be able to continue
doing this in Portland, Maine, becauseso much of the work is in Boston,
and I couldn't fathom driving andschlepping and doing the whole thing.
So I continued working full timein a restaurant, that was short
lived because the pandemic happened.
So then I just like waffled andflailed through the pandemic trying to.
Mica (07:54):
As mostt of us did.
Sheila (07:56):
Yeah.
And just neurotically was like tryingto learn how to cook a gajillion
things at home because I was like,"What can I possibly do with my life?"
I don't think I want towork in restaurants anymore.
It doesn't feel sustainable.
Is there a way I can just getmy anxiety out with cooking and
maybe turn it into something?
I was like, "I'm gonna make candybars and try to sell them to people!
(08:17):
I'm gonna, I don't know how tomake bread, I'm gonna, blah!"
Like, Everything.
Mica (08:21):
I tried to learn how to make gummy bears, and I was like, "Yeah,
that, that was short-lived too."
Sheila (08:28):
Yeah.
How did they come out?
Mica (08:30):
I mean, they came out looking like gummy bears, but
they it didn't taste anything.
Like, like it was just kindof a weird consistency.
And I was like,
Sheila (08:43):
Yeah.
Mica (08:44):
This is not the gummy bears that I am used to buying in the store.
Sheila (08:49):
Let's swear.
I love a gummy bear.
Mica (08:51):
You mentioned the restaurant industry really taking a hit.
I shot mainly for restaurants inAustin, and then pretty much every
like shoot that I had lined up waslike canceled in a matter of days.
And then I had to transition tostudio work and I was like, "This
is a whole new world for me."
It's just now that I'm starting tolike shoot back into restaurants.
(09:15):
So I need to know isyour food blog still up?
All Things Considered Yummy?
Because that's just such a cool name.
Sheila (09:23):
I've continued paying for the domain just because I want to be
able to look back at it nostalgicallybut I don't want to look at it for
like, another ten years, maybe?
Just keep it as anembarrassing time capsule.
Let's just pretend I didn't name it.
Mica (09:44):
My friend Charlotte and I used to work together on a food
blog named "Let's Taco About It."
It had nothing to do with tacos.
I don't even know why we thoughtthat was the best name on the planet.
It turned into a literary food blog.
We would create these three coursemeals based on a book character.
It's so off putting whenpeople see, Let's Taco Bout It.
(10:05):
And then they go and they're like,"What's all this shit about books?"
If we tell people, Oh, we have a foodblog, it's called, "Let's Taco Bout It."
Like, Oh, I love tacos.
It's like, so do we, butthat's not what this is about.
But I still have it up justfor, for like what you said
about your blog for nostalgia.
But yeah, that, that was a fun, fun time.
(10:27):
Something that you said that that Ithought was interesting is that when
you were starting as a food stylist, youdidn't know like what food styling was.
At what point did you think or know,actually, this could be a career?
And maybe this is somethingto explore and give it my all.
Sheila (10:50):
Guess it must have been maybe like 2021 or beginning
of 2022 when I was like, okay.
It's pretty recent for me that I was likereally switched to be like trying to focus
on this full time and make it a thing.
Just because the pandemic kindof turned me off from wanting
(11:10):
to be full time in restaurants.
I admire so much the hard work thatgoes into that, but after having done it
for a long time, very intensely, I wasready to phase out of that if I could.
And so I started more seriouslyassisting on bigger jobs, which was
a really great learning experience.
(11:33):
I'm still doing that kindof filling in the gaps now
and there's so much to learn.
But yeah, it was really like the pasttwo years that I decided to dedicate
and put all of my eggs in that basket.
And it's really just this year thatI've stopped working in restaurants
entirely, like I had been doing itpart time and trying to supplement the
(11:55):
styling work and now I'm like, okay, allof my eggs are in the styling basket.
Let's just hope this all works out.
Mica (12:02):
That is so cool.
Man, like, a scary leap.
Sheila (12:07):
Yeah.
And I'm three hours from Boston.
So it's it's a whole thing.
I like go down and stay withmy parents who are closer
to the city or with friends.
But sometimes the work is uphere, you know, there's so much
that can be done remotely now.
Mica (12:21):
What's it like when you're packing your.
How big is your kit?
I, I'm fascinated with food stylists kit.
Like ever since I worked with the firstfood stylist, like you guys have like
a whole kitchen that you take with you.
Sheila (12:32):
It's pretty expansive, like moving to this place or moving
apartments in general, it's just not fun.
The kit itself, it's like a Husky wheeledthing that if it's a longer job or there's
more varied foods, I might bring the wholething with the heat gun and the steamer
and all of the like sprays and whatnot.
I feel like most of the time it'slike a pretty light situation.
(12:56):
But the packout always takeslonger than I think it's going to.
And sometimes I'm alsobringing props with me.
So every time I like, think that I haveeverything tight and buttoned up and
ready to go, I'm like, Oh wait, I needthis other thing and this other thing.
And then the car is very full,and sometimes I want to bring
(13:17):
somebody with me, and I'm like,there's no room in the car.
Mica (13:20):
Do you, do you wanna sit on the, on the roof?
I dunno where to put you.
Sheila (13:24):
Yeah, it's crazy it's crazy.
Because we live in this little farmhousethat we're renting, I have finally
gotten a garage fridge, which is thecraziest, most amazing thing to me.
It's life changing I know I'm not alonein thinking that that is the pinnacle of.
It just feels so Americanto have a garage fridge.
(13:47):
But I had a test shoot here this spring,and I was like, there is absolutely no
way that I can cook all of this food.
And also we have our own foodin the fridge and not have
an extra place for it to go.
So that's not, like, exactly my kit.
I'm not like, you know, but it just grows.
Mica (14:05):
It, it gets out of hand.
Our garage, started out withmostly my husband's stuff.
And then it quickly grewinto my prop collection.
Especially like in 2020started shooting more at home.
So I started collecting more propsat home and it got out of hand.
So you mentioned that youare assisting food stylist.
(14:30):
What have you learned in general abouteach stylist that you've assisted?
Sheila (14:35):
It's amazing seeing how people get ready for the shoot.
There's just so many lists to organize.
How they lay out the food for a shoot interms of just organizing in the kitchen.
Pre pro calls, you try to, ask anythingin advance so you're not in the moment
(14:57):
trying to ask a question about howsomething should be cooked or shown.
Every second is crucial on these busiershoots If you don't ask those questions
and have clear answers ahead of time,that can make the day like kind of
snowball and feel really challenging.
Really just seeing how differentstylists like to do things.
I've assisted some people who cook aton of stuff in advance and store it
(15:20):
in a special way that it won't oxidizeor deteriorate and then other people
who like it to be as fresh as possible.
Seeing the client interactions andhow they deal with challenges has been
great to see how other people do things.
You can sort of like absorb all of itand find your own style within that.
Mica (15:43):
Whenever, like I assisted, I liked seeing how the lead
photographer would resolve a conflict.
Some.
Just their communication style ison point, and they knew how to get
a point across without crossingany hairs or causing any problems.
When you did your first lead stylistshoot, what do you remember from that?
Sheila (16:08):
My gosh, I don't even remember what it was.
Like I was starting out with somethat were with my friend, Evan,
who was doing remote shoots.
They were with bigger companies, but itwas just the two of us hanging out, so
it still felt like small scale to me.
I did do a lead stylist job with Duncanthat I've like completely blocked from
(16:33):
my memory because it did not go great.
Mica (16:36):
No.
Sheila (16:39):
I just like, I wasn't ready for a job that scale.
It was like years ago and I thought thatI could just do it and I was like, Oh wow.
Okay.
Wasn't ready for it.
Mica (16:50):
I've yet to do a remote shoot, but I'm always curious to hear about other
photographers who do remote shooting.
Is it usually where are they onlike zoom and they can just see what
you're doing, like you're sharing yourscreen with them, or do you take a
couple of shots, send them a couple ofscreenshots and say, how are we doing?
Sheila (17:10):
I've had kind of varied experiences with it.
So sometimes, I'd say more often thannot, people can have a live link where
they can just like see the images, notnecessarily see the live camera, but
see the images throughout the day orthey're in a chat where you can send them
along and people can text and respond.
(17:31):
So there's been like a text chain going.
I've been on other ones where it wasa packaging shoot and somebody was
basically on Zoom the entire time.
This was unusual for me at least likethey were watching the live view and
so I'm just like processing how I wantto put things down and I'm not great at
(17:51):
using live view because it doesn't likecommunicate with my brain the right way.
So sometimes I like, I'mlike, I want this here.
Oh wait, that's not wherethat goes because the camera
is flipping it in my brain.
I don't know.
And so she was like, that should be there.
This should be there.
This should be there.
Like telling me as I'm moving it.
So that's like an extreme example.
Mica (18:10):
That is like micromanage to the max.
Sheila (18:13):
I was like, I'm just trying to like place this and figure it out.
And then I've had the other extremeof that where they're just like,
it was a cookbook and they werejust like, yeah, just send us
the link at the end of the day.
And they didn't need to reallyapprove each image as it went.
There was a lot of trust there.
(18:33):
So it's been all across the board.
Mica (18:34):
While you're talking, I'm wondering like, to myself, it's
like, which would I prefer?
Them telling me exactly what they wantor me having to make decisions for them.
And then I probably would wantsomething right in the middle, but.
the, the detailed, like, oh,move that there, move that there.
It's like, don't you gotsomething to be doing?
Like what?
Sheila (18:54):
Yeah, I was like, I'm not done.
Mica (18:56):
So I looked at your website.
I love that on your websiteyou have a section for hands.
And I was like, of course, why don'twe have a portfolio for the hands?
If you can't envision yourself eatingit or making it, then it's hard
for you to really connect with it.
Why do you have a whole section for hands?
Why is that important tohighlight in your work?
Sheila (19:17):
Yeah it feels like it's something that comes up a fair amount.
Maybe a client wants hands in a shot.
All of the ones on that partof my site are my hands.
It was just trying to show like, ifyou need me to throw my hand in the
shot, this is what it will look like.
It has come in handy where if someonedoes ask me about that, I can just be
(19:39):
like, look at this part of my site andyou'll know what my hands look like.
Mica (19:43):
I hope you're charging for hand modeling expenses.
Sheila (19:45):
Yeah.
I'm gonna probably need a manicure, so.
Mica (19:50):
Make sure you include that in the statement.
What's Whenever you see yourwork in print what thoughts and
feelings go through your mind?
Sheila (20:01):
It's usually a lot of excitement at first because it's just
like, so fun to hold it and see it.
Also just a feeling of like, how cool isit to do a job like this that's creative,
where I get to merge all of my interests.
Delicious food and drink and presentationand art and color and share it and have
(20:23):
it like something I'm holding that I justremember all of the work that went into
creating it and what that day felt like.
And then I start noticing like, Oh,they should have tucked that little
piece of lettuce in, or I wish theywent with this other version where
I did tuck that piece of lettuce.
But yeah, a lot of the time I'll, I wouldbe super psyched about seeing it and
(20:47):
then processing like how should I havedone this differently and what can I do
to make it better next time and then Ihave to put it down and not look at it.
Mica (20:57):
I get with, like, the analyzing.
It's like, oh, my God.
There was one shoot that I did.
It was a cookbook shoot andat the time everything looked
gorgeous, perfect, everything.
The author sent me the bookand I was just so proud of it.
We flipped on one of like the closeupshots and like, there was, it wasn't,
it was just like an ingredient.
(21:18):
It was like a pea or something.
And I was like, I really wish that Ihad like, checkered more peas than this.
I was like, ah.
And it was all I can think ofand I was like, shots ruined.
Sheila (21:29):
No!
Mica (21:30):
Not enough peas.
Sheila (21:32):
Oh my god.
It's so funny because like I go backand forth with this where I'm like oh
my god nobody is gonna notice that blahblah blah but then at the same time
this is like why we obsess over detailbecause people who don't work in this
will look at something and they willknow if it works or if it doesn't work.
(21:55):
They won't be able to say thatlettuce should have been different
or that we needed another pea.
But they're like, there's like a thing.
Mica (22:02):
They can't verbalize like what's off about the photo, but
there's something not quite clicking.
Sheila (22:08):
Yeah.
My mom has always been a painter andit wasn't her main career, but she's
really talented and she will havean oil painting on the wall for like
decades and then she'll just look atit and be like, oof, and take it down
and start changing something about it.
So it just feels like it's never finished.
(22:29):
It's fun to look at something inprint, but then it's also like,
I need to do something betterand different the next time.
Mica (22:35):
What's it like working with photographers on a on a shoot?
What type of energy and dynamicsdo you usually find on set?
Sheila (22:43):
Generally it feels like a fun, roving circus.
I feel like when I first startedit was interesting to be coming
from restaurants with a veryspecific kind of creative wanderer
personality that attracts restaurants.
(23:05):
I was in that world of working withdifferent people sometimes, it's always
like meeting the people in the restaurant.
And it was wild to see adifferent side of all of these
creative people coming together.
There's always a bit of anxietyif it's a new job or a new crew
and seeing how people interact butit's so important when people can
feel centered when they walk in.
(23:26):
It's such a team effort andeveryone comes together.
So I just bring up restaurantsin the sense that it.
it feels similar you're all workingreally hard and fast at something
that bonds you faster than anybodyworking in an office would.
People bringing each other up.
Like energy is contagious.
We all need to kinda holdeach other together through
(23:46):
the day to feel positives.
At least for me, to likeget in my head about stuff.
But if we all stay centered,then we can like rise together.
Mica (23:58):
Love that.
That's so true.
For like new photographers who arecoming in to this industry and they
finally get the chance to, to workwith the food stylist, what are some
things that a photographer needsto know so that the two of you,
like, accomplish this goal together?
What do you need from thephotographer to make that happen?
Sheila (24:22):
I think it can be helpful to know what kind of lighting
the photographer is working with.
Just like what is the general gearthat they're using and the style of
photography that they like to work with.
You can always look at someone's websiteto get a feel, but if it's the first
(24:43):
time they're working with a stylist,it's probably a little bit different than
what they are showing as their portfolio.
So I think a conversationof like, what is your flow?
How do you like to work?
Telling the photographer as a stylist,what you plan on bringing and just being
clear on how you envision your role.
Mica (25:03):
If they're feeling nervous about working with a a food stylist, what
advice would you give to photographers?
Sheila (25:11):
I would say that the stylist is there to help things just run smoother.
And not to say there's no reason tobe nervous, cause I'm nervous all the
time, just part of the joy of this.
It's growing.
Mica (25:28):
If someone tells me to relax, I'm like, you need to get away from me,
because that does not exist over here.
Sheila (25:36):
Exactly.
So not to say no reason to be nervous,but more there is a shared purpose
and we are here to support eachother and create something together.
If either person has any questionbefore or during that, they should
feel comfortable to just ask andwork on the problem together.
Mica (26:00):
What's the saying?
Teamwork makes the dream work.
I mean, I know that's such a tired clichething to say, But like, it's so true.
It's so, so true.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Sheila (26:11):
Yeah.
You only have so many arms, two.
Getting multiple brains together to like,all of the people who have their strength
is how you make that beautiful photo.
Mica (26:24):
Absolutely.
I compare it to working in theater.
Everything to put on a show.
With the director is going to do it alllike they're going to run the sound board,
bring up the lights, they're going to acton stage, they're going to do the cut.
Like, no, it takes a whole communityto bring this show together.
Sheila (26:44):
Yeah, there's, there is the energy to it.
Mica (26:47):
Oh, for sure.
In college, they have like a theatercompetition and we would have an hour to
set up, and then an hour to tear down.
I remember the college that we wereperforming at, the director there
had his students come and watch us.
He's like, I want you guys tosee like what an actual tear
(27:09):
up tear down, looks like.
That director was fascinatedwith how we set up and tear down.
Everybody had their jobs.
We We went and did our jobs firstand then once we were done doing
what we needed to do, then we lookedaround and see, okay, who needs help?
And we would like switch jobs so thateverybody knew how to do everybody's job.
(27:30):
I'm not saying it's like that withfood styling, but that communication
was right there and we communicatedwith each other verbally.
We communicated with each other just byseeing like what their body language was.
So we'd often finished our setup and tear down in under an
hour and it was so efficient.
What it boiled down to is thatwe just were so in tuned with one
(27:52):
another that it's like, we didn'teven need to ask each other.
We just knew what the other person needed.
And I try to channel thatsame energy with my team.
Everybody has their jobs and wetrust each other to do the job.
I'm not going to micromanage you andtell you how to do your job because
frankly, I'm not a professional,like it's not what I know.
(28:14):
So I'm going to step back andlet you do your thing because
it'll go by faster if I let you.
Otherwise I should just do it myself.
Like, a lot of it is based on trust.
Sheila (28:25):
Totally.
Mica (28:26):
It's kind of hard to build that trust when you just met, but
that's what test shoots are for to,to figure how the other works out.
And And how you guys getalong and everything.
Yeah, so I'm, I'm rambling on thatpoint, cause I'm just so big on having
stylists on set, having a team on set.
(28:48):
It, it really does take a teamto, to bring something wonderful.
And I just want people to talk to,like, I don't want to work by myself.
Sheila (28:55):
Yeah.
Mica (28:56):
That was like the hardest thing, like going into freelancing.
It's like, I went from havingcoworkers to like no coworkers.
So you are freelancing completely.
What has that journey been likefrom having coworkers to being solo?
Sheila (29:13):
Uh, I mean, It's also just coincided with moving
to this town of 700, so.
Yeah so, it can feel a littleisolating at times, like when
there are lulls in between jobs,and sort of like Okay, it's fine..
. It's summer.
(29:33):
I'm on this beautiful propertyand we can farm and we can explore
and go canoeing and whatever.
I think I lost my train of thoughtbecause I started thinking about canoeing.
Mica (29:46):
We were talking about what it's like going from having coworkers to solo work.
Sheila (29:52):
It is interesting, like there's these extremes where I'm like here at
home and like seeing friends around butalso it's like very quiet if I'm just
home, but then I really do get a sixth oflike intense burst of direction where I'm
like with a bunch of different people.
Like I could have a week where maybeI'm doing a couple different shoots in
(30:14):
Boston and so I'm seeing like a coupledifferent groups of people and I might
be seeing my parents or a friend thatI'm staying with or other family members.
So it's like fitting that all inthat kind of spreads my socialization
out through the week sometimes.
But there are definitely times whereI'm like, Oh, I just miss being around
(30:36):
people at work that you can see on amore regular basis and just like, how was
that thing that happened the other day?
Like those smallconversations are so valuable.
So I do miss that sometimes.
Mica (30:47):
Oh, yeah.
I, I, I missed the office gossip.
Sheila (30:51):
Yeah.
Mica (30:53):
It's like, I don't want to know the drama.
What's going on?
I'm, I'm like more engrossed in myfriends, their co workers drama.
I'm like, tell me the tea.
What's going on?
What's going on?
Is she doing that?
Like, I don't even knowwho this co worker is.
I'm like, that hooker.
You know?
Sheila (31:11):
Love it.
It's like being an aunt.
Because you don't have to likeactually be responsible for the drama.
You just get to visit itand then be like, Goodbye!
Mica (31:23):
Yes.
Yes.
You just like drop little nuggetsof like, here's how we can do this.
And then you just step awayand you're like, Oh no, no.
Sheila (31:32):
That's so funny.
That's so funny.
Mica (31:36):
So, I want to take it to your creative process
when you're styling a dish.
What's the first thing that usually comesto mind when you're prepping a dish?
Sheila (31:47):
Going back to the briefing document and trying to see what is the
vibe of the story we're trying to tell?
And who is the person that wouldenvision themselves in the scene?
Who's the audience?
Is it something that is like maybe moreof a commercial product where it needs
(32:08):
to be like really clean and no littlebits of mess around, or is it like a more
interacted with food that like somebodyjust stepped away from the table and
you can immerse yourself in that scene.
So try to think about what the clientis envisioning the story being.
If I were about to eat thatdish like what would make it
(32:30):
look the most appetizing to me.
Mica (32:32):
Whenever you get the brief, are you like starting to form
like shot ideas or styling ideas?
Or do you wait until the shoot itselfand then make decisions at that point?
Sheila (32:48):
I mean, usually we'll have a shot list, like maybe I'll get the brief and
it doesn't have a fully formed shot list,but it's starting to talk about what the
general concept is, and then usually therewill be a pretty planned out shot list.
(33:08):
Whether that's provided by theclient or if it's something that
like the photographer might makeor maybe we work on together.
I just like to have mostof it going into the shoot.
So many things can get away from you thatif you don't know like this is generally
how I want this shot to look like.
I'm not doing like paint by number whereyou're just showing up and doing exactly
(33:30):
what you might have laid out but atleast having like, this is, overhead and
we're probably going to do one or twoplates and this is the color scheme that
we're thinking of and the vibe havingthose guidelines is really helpful and
then obviously you see it on camera andit might not be be communicating the
(33:50):
message that you want so then you'llchange it in the moment, but it's
nice to have it set ahead of time.
Mica (33:56):
Preparation is key.
You prepare, you prepare, andthen you prepare some more.
Is it a different vibe wheneveryou're doing like test shoots when
you're a dish during test shoots?
Sheila (34:08):
Yeah, it's interesting because I've done some where they've just been
like a friend and I just being likea little bit looser and experimenting
and seeing what we come up with andthen going in a direction of like
trying to have it more planned out.
And it's, it's cool to seethat process applied to a test.
Like I did one this spring witha couple of friends here at home.
(34:31):
And that was like themost magical thing to me.
Because it was like where I livewith all of my stuff and like food,
I would actually eat and my friendswere the models and it was really fun.
Generally I'm trying to bemore mindful about the plan.
I have one later this week and it'sa whole thing to like, produce quote
(34:53):
unquote, the shoot instead of justgetting together with a friend and being
like, let's just make something pretty.
Actually we have goals of who we wantto be targeting with this and what
kind of work we want to get from it.
My friend, the photographer,found some models for it.
So I'm like, anytime there's morepeople added to it, I just don't
want to waste anybody's time.
(35:14):
I'm always so scared of wastingpeople's time and energy.
It's such a precious resource that we'vejust been like chatting every day about
Okay, what are we going to do for this?
And what is that going to be?
And mapping it all out.
There's going to be things thatyou're like, Oh, that's really pretty.
Let's like go capture that, butdefinitely having some sort of a plan.
So none of us, myself very much included.
(35:38):
Don't just like get carried away andthen end up forgetting something.
Like maybe there was a shot thatwe really wanted to get and we're
like, ended up being excited aboutthis thing and forgot about the
thing that we really cared about.
Mica (35:50):
The biggest takeaway that I've learned about test
shoots versus portfolio shoots.
I used to think that portfolio shootswere the same thing as test shoots.
I would create these really beautiful,fine art esque photos that were gorgeous,
but they weren't bringing in clients.
It was hard for the client toenvision their product in this shot.
(36:11):
So like learning what my testshoots, it's like, okay, we're
actually targeting a brand.
We're actually targeting anagency or something like that.
My question for you is with yourtest shoots, type of clients do you
usually find yourself targeting?
Sheila (36:28):
This is still newer to me, but, well, this past weekend
I had a minor epiphany where I'verealized that I want to try to be
targeting companies and brands thatproduce food in an ethical way.
Studied environmental conservationand I've felt what is the connection
(36:50):
with what I'm doing, right now.
Because there's this industry that isalways full with food, and it's really
breaks my heart every single time thatwe just end up having to throw food out.
We try to save a lot of it, and giveit away, and whatnot, but long story
short, I'm trying to find clientsthat might have values that align
(37:12):
with mine, that can hire stylists andphotographers, and still put on the kind
of shoot that I want to be working with.
I'm trying to find that kindof company to work with.
Mica (37:26):
You touched on something that's also near and dear to my heart.
I'm part of the Buy Nothing community.
So like, if there's dried goods,then I give what I can away there,
but there's also like they call themlike community fridges around Austin.
There's like two that are near my houseand so I'll drop off what I can, but
there's a lot of hands touching food.
(37:46):
So like, nobody's going to be eating that.
But I try to.
At least for my test shoots andmy portfolio work, I tried to
pick things that my husband andI are going to eat in the house.
So it's like, this is nowpart of our meal plan.
This is what we're having for dinner.
Just because I don'twant to waste anything.
Like I feel wasteful that I'm buyingthis food specifically to photograph it.
(38:11):
And then it's just tossed aside.
So I, I love that that mission of yoursthat you wanna work with food brands that
are more in tune with how, you know, whatimpact they're making on the environment.
Sheila (38:23):
Yeah.
So this is my new journey of tryingto find those companies and see where
our tastes can overlap and if we are amatch hoping that something works out.
I don't expect every brand to alignwith everything that I believe in
because it's not the world we live inbut I really want to go more in that
(38:44):
direction because it just it just feelsmore true to what I'm wanting to do.
Mica (38:49):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I'm, I'm right there with you.
Off the cuff question, what'syour least favorite dish to style?
Sheila (39:02):
Hmmmm.
Sometimes pizza.
Like, I recently had a shoot where itwas a roundup of restaurants and they
had to deliver the pizza the day before.
And they wanted it to look like anice fresh pizza and it was a day old.
(39:28):
So I had to like, essentially justadd more sauce and cheese and use
my hand tool to broil, melt it andmake it look like it was fresh and
okay, it's not gonna, I don't know.
So that it's just like cheesepulls can be so finicky.
And day old pizza can be finicky.
Mica (39:47):
Hmm.
Mm hmm, mm hmm.
Yup, and like having to dump liketwice as much cheese, and then.
Sheila (39:55):
Yeah.
Mica (39:56):
You have to do it all over again, you're like, keep eating.
I agree,
Sheila (39:59):
Yeah, I'd say like generally melty cheese is probably feeling the trickiest.
Especially like I had to do somethingelse where it was a remote shoot
and we're like waiting for approval.
And I'm like, It's dying!
It's dying!
Help!
Mica (40:22):
We gotta do this now!
Like, my least favoritefood to photograph is chili.
I've said this so many timesbefore, but I'm like no.
I
Sheila (40:37):
Yeah, I've had to do meatloaf a couple of times, and then I had to do this
lentil nutloaf, and it had dried fruitand all of this stuff in it, and it just.
That was, I would ratherdo anything else, actually.
Mica (40:55):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Brown foods in general.
I guess that like cutsbarbecue out completely.
I love barbecue, most Texans do,but I don't think I, I don't know
if I'd ever be okay with likephotographing it cause it's just brown.
So I want to finish out today's interviewwith one last question, what's exciting
(41:17):
you these days as a food stylist?
Sheila (41:20):
Ooh I am really inspired by all of these cookbooks that are
coming out, just really diving intodifferent cuisines around the world.
I'm so psyched to see so many differentcultures being represented and getting
to learn about them and the familystories that go behind them and the
(41:40):
different ingredients that I'm notfamiliar with and techniques and
then there's also this book um, Ithink it's, You And I Eat The Same.
And so it'll be like all of the overlapsof okay, all of these cultures are based
in rice or different kinds of flatbreador different ways of grilling meat and
how you can see all of the interactionsbetween different cultures and detective
(42:05):
red string between all of them.
And I'm just really inspiredby learning constantly.
There's so much that there'smore that I don't know, by
far, obviously, than what I do.
And so it's just really cool to see somany interesting cookbooks come out.
Mica (42:22):
Sheila, if there's one piece of advice that you could give to
a photographer right here, rightnow what would you say to them?
Sheila (42:29):
Yeah, I would say just keep your curiosity strong.
Practice as much as you can, whetherit's in photography or food styling.
If it's food styling, just absorbingas much information you can, asking
all the questions, cooking thingsthat you're not comfortable cooking,
(42:50):
and forcing yourself to go outsideof your comfort zone in that way.
And expanding the differentrealm that you can.
Be comfortable.
And if you're like, oh, I don't bake,then try baking because you never
know what's going to be thrown at you.
It's also just like a good lifelesson to try to do the things
that you're not comfortable doing.
(43:10):
And this work is a constant reminder ofhaving to be okay being uncomfortable.
Mica (43:15):
Be okay with being uncomfortable.
Thank you so much for,for being on the show.
Where can the listeners find youand admire your amazing work?
Sheila (43:27):
I'm on Instagram at Sheila Jarnes and my website is SheilaJones.
com.
Mica (43:35):
Oh, all right.
You heard it.
Welcome to the 60th episode of The Savory Shot, a podcast about the art
(00:07):
and soul of working in food photography.
I'm your host with the most, Mica McCook.
I'm a food and beverage photographerbased out of Austin, Texas.
I would like to start today'sepisode by thanking y'all, the
listeners, for joining me today.
Especially the ones whoreturned after the hiatus.
(00:29):
I was so nervous about putting outthat episode and I had no reason to be.
Y'all are the best.
I just want to say that I love you allso much and I'm glad that you're back.
I'm glad that you'reexcited for future episodes.
Your feedback was the matchI needed to spark this fire.
(00:52):
So thank you guys somuch for the feedback.
I love you.
And if this is your first time joiningus, thank you so much for being here.
Welcome to the Hot Mess Express.
But y'all, I am so excited totalk about today's episode.
I've been on pins and needleswaiting to put this episode out.
(01:13):
I felt an instant connectionto our next guest.
I know by the end of thisepisode, you will too.
So, without further ado, I'd liketo introduce y'all to Sheila Jarnes.
Y'all, we are jumping backinto the world of food styling.
Sheila is a freelance food stylist, propstylist, and sometimes even a hand model.
(01:39):
She's a master of creatingbeautiful scenes and has a deep
love for gardening and her pups.
Sheila's journey started in a completelydifferent field, environmental
conservation, but her passion forfood led her to launch a food blog
(01:59):
called All Things Considered Yummy.
This venture led her to workin various restaurants and
eventually as a food stylist.
Today, she works as a successfulfreelance food stylist and works with
top photographers and food brands.
(02:22):
Y'all, in this episode, Sheila'sstory will inspire you to keep
going even when things get tough.
You'll learn how she found her niche,how she embraced her unique talents, and
built a career in the creative industry.
Sheila and I talk about aligning yourselfwith brands whose values match your
(02:45):
own and why that is so important to do.
We traded war stories of thepandemic and how that time still has
a rippling effect on our world today.
When I was editing this episode, Ihad the biggest, cheesiest smile on my
(03:07):
face because I forgot how much Sheilaand I laughed during this interview.
It was healing to my soul.
But enough talking.
I've talked enough.
Let's start the show.
(03:54):
Sheila, I want to start off this bythanking you so much for being here.
Sheila (04:01):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Mica (04:05):
Yay.
So I am so ready to get right into this.
You have been in this industry since2016, and your first job was at an ice
cream parlor, which I do count thatas styling because I've gone to Amy's
Ice Cream and I see what they do.
They flip the ice cream around, theysprinkle around and they present it
(04:26):
in a way that like, makes people go," I'm going to like, indulge in that."
But I, I want to hear about your,your early days as a food stylist.
Who is Sheila in 2016?
Sheila (04:40):
2016.
I didn't know what a food stylist was.
It's something that just fell into my lap.
I was working in this restaurantin Gloucester, Massachusetts.
I think I had been there for five years.
I was really interestedin food in general.
I basically left this governmentjob that I had and told myself I had
(05:00):
five years to dedicate to workingin food if I was still interested
after five years, then carry on.
I was in the midst of that and hadan agency where she had a bunch
of different stylists, like food,prop, wardrobe, makeup, hair.
But I had this embarrassing foodblog called, All Things Considered
(05:22):
Yummy because I was convinced NPRwould get mad at me because they
have All Things Considered and thenI would have to change the name, but
they would have like said something.
I don't know.
It's so stupid.
One point somebody was like,"Oh, Sheila does some kind of
like food photography stuff."
Which was just like me on my cellphone or my like crappy point and shoot
(05:43):
at the so I was practicing cookingtaking pictures and writing badly.
And I had a business cardfor no apparent reason.
Like I don't even have businesscards now, but then I did.
Long story short, gave her my cardand she put my name in for this job
that ended up being my first gig.
Boston Globe Magazine.
They had this weekly food column.
(06:05):
I had just moved intomy first solo apartment.
Recipes written by Adam Reidfrom America's Test Kitchen.
It would come out everySunday in the magazine.
I would do the props, cooking, styling,and the photographer would come over
to my apartment and we would shoot.
That's it.
(06:26):
I had literally no idea what I was doing.
I didn't know how to think like a stylist.
I really wanted to take therecipes literally, cook them
exactly how they were laid out.
You want it to look like therecipe should, but this restaurant
background made me like reallyobsessed with the food side.
(06:47):
Instead of being like, "Oh yeah, Ishould separate all of the ingredients
and then place them on the dish."
I wasn't assisting at the time.
It was just like once everythree weeks we would do this.
And other than that, I was working fulltime in a restaurant, which eventually
morphed into me managing the restaurant.
It really was like aside thing for a while.
(07:09):
Every now and then I would assiston something else, which was great
to see what bigger commercial shootswere like and how real stylists work.
So that was a few years where I wasnot treating it like a career because
I was committed to the restaurant.
And then we moved to Maine.
(07:30):
At that point I was like, I have noidea how I'll be able to continue
doing this in Portland, Maine, becauseso much of the work is in Boston,
and I couldn't fathom driving andschlepping and doing the whole thing.
So I continued working full timein a restaurant, that was short
lived because the pandemic happened.
So then I just like waffled andflailed through the pandemic trying to.
Mica (07:54):
As mostt of us did.
Sheila (07:56):
Yeah.
And just neurotically was like tryingto learn how to cook a gajillion
things at home because I was like,"What can I possibly do with my life?"
I don't think I want towork in restaurants anymore.
It doesn't feel sustainable.
Is there a way I can just getmy anxiety out with cooking and
maybe turn it into something?
I was like, "I'm gonna make candybars and try to sell them to people!
(08:17):
I'm gonna, I don't know how tomake bread, I'm gonna, blah!"
Like, Everything.
Mica (08:21):
I tried to learn how to make gummy bears, and I was like, "Yeah,
that, that was short-lived too."
Sheila (08:28):
Yeah.
How did they come out?
Mica (08:30):
I mean, they came out looking like gummy bears, but
they it didn't taste anything.
Like, like it was just kindof a weird consistency.
And I was like,
Sheila (08:43):
Yeah.
Mica (08:44):
This is not the gummy bears that I am used to buying in the store.
Sheila (08:49):
Let's swear.
I love a gummy bear.
Mica (08:51):
You mentioned the restaurant industry really taking a hit.
I shot mainly for restaurants inAustin, and then pretty much every
like shoot that I had lined up waslike canceled in a matter of days.
And then I had to transition tostudio work and I was like, "This
is a whole new world for me."
It's just now that I'm starting tolike shoot back into restaurants.
(09:15):
So I need to know isyour food blog still up?
All Things Considered Yummy?
Because that's just such a cool name.
Sheila (09:23):
I've continued paying for the domain just because I want to be
able to look back at it nostalgicallybut I don't want to look at it for
like, another ten years, maybe?
Just keep it as anembarrassing time capsule.
Let's just pretend I didn't name it.
Mica (09:44):
My friend Charlotte and I used to work together on a food
blog named "Let's Taco About It."
It had nothing to do with tacos.
I don't even know why we thoughtthat was the best name on the planet.
It turned into a literary food blog.
We would create these three coursemeals based on a book character.
It's so off putting whenpeople see, Let's Taco Bout It.
(10:05):
And then they go and they're like,"What's all this shit about books?"
If we tell people, Oh, we have a foodblog, it's called, "Let's Taco Bout It."
Like, Oh, I love tacos.
It's like, so do we, butthat's not what this is about.
But I still have it up justfor, for like what you said
about your blog for nostalgia.
But yeah, that, that was a fun, fun time.
(10:27):
Something that you said that that Ithought was interesting is that when
you were starting as a food stylist, youdidn't know like what food styling was.
At what point did you think or know,actually, this could be a career?
And maybe this is somethingto explore and give it my all.
Sheila (10:50):
Guess it must have been maybe like 2021 or beginning
of 2022 when I was like, okay.
It's pretty recent for me that I was likereally switched to be like trying to focus
on this full time and make it a thing.
Just because the pandemic kindof turned me off from wanting
(11:10):
to be full time in restaurants.
I admire so much the hard work thatgoes into that, but after having done it
for a long time, very intensely, I wasready to phase out of that if I could.
And so I started more seriouslyassisting on bigger jobs, which was
a really great learning experience.
(11:33):
I'm still doing that kindof filling in the gaps now
and there's so much to learn.
But yeah, it was really like the pasttwo years that I decided to dedicate
and put all of my eggs in that basket.
And it's really just this year thatI've stopped working in restaurants
entirely, like I had been doing itpart time and trying to supplement the
(11:55):
styling work and now I'm like, okay, allof my eggs are in the styling basket.
Let's just hope this all works out.
Mica (12:02):
That is so cool.
Man, like, a scary leap.
Sheila (12:07):
Yeah.
And I'm three hours from Boston.
So it's it's a whole thing.
I like go down and stay withmy parents who are closer
to the city or with friends.
But sometimes the work is uphere, you know, there's so much
that can be done remotely now.
Mica (12:21):
What's it like when you're packing your.
How big is your kit?
I, I'm fascinated with food stylists kit.
Like ever since I worked with the firstfood stylist, like you guys have like
a whole kitchen that you take with you.
Sheila (12:32):
It's pretty expansive, like moving to this place or moving
apartments in general, it's just not fun.
The kit itself, it's like a Husky wheeledthing that if it's a longer job or there's
more varied foods, I might bring the wholething with the heat gun and the steamer
and all of the like sprays and whatnot.
I feel like most of the time it'slike a pretty light situation.
(12:56):
But the packout always takeslonger than I think it's going to.
And sometimes I'm alsobringing props with me.
So every time I like, think that I haveeverything tight and buttoned up and
ready to go, I'm like, Oh wait, I needthis other thing and this other thing.
And then the car is very full,and sometimes I want to bring
(13:17):
somebody with me, and I'm like,there's no room in the car.
Mica (13:20):
Do you, do you wanna sit on the, on the roof?
I dunno where to put you.
Sheila (13:24):
Yeah, it's crazy it's crazy.
Because we live in this little farmhousethat we're renting, I have finally
gotten a garage fridge, which is thecraziest, most amazing thing to me.
It's life changing I know I'm not alonein thinking that that is the pinnacle of.
It just feels so Americanto have a garage fridge.
(13:47):
But I had a test shoot here this spring,and I was like, there is absolutely no
way that I can cook all of this food.
And also we have our own foodin the fridge and not have
an extra place for it to go.
So that's not, like, exactly my kit.
I'm not like, you know, but it just grows.
Mica (14:05):
It, it gets out of hand.
Our garage, started out withmostly my husband's stuff.
And then it quickly grewinto my prop collection.
Especially like in 2020started shooting more at home.
So I started collecting more propsat home and it got out of hand.
So you mentioned that youare assisting food stylist.
(14:30):
What have you learned in general abouteach stylist that you've assisted?
Sheila (14:35):
It's amazing seeing how people get ready for the shoot.
There's just so many lists to organize.
How they lay out the food for a shoot interms of just organizing in the kitchen.
Pre pro calls, you try to, ask anythingin advance so you're not in the moment
(14:57):
trying to ask a question about howsomething should be cooked or shown.
Every second is crucial on these busiershoots If you don't ask those questions
and have clear answers ahead of time,that can make the day like kind of
snowball and feel really challenging.
Really just seeing how differentstylists like to do things.
I've assisted some people who cook aton of stuff in advance and store it
(15:20):
in a special way that it won't oxidizeor deteriorate and then other people
who like it to be as fresh as possible.
Seeing the client interactions andhow they deal with challenges has been
great to see how other people do things.
You can sort of like absorb all of itand find your own style within that.
Mica (15:43):
Whenever, like I assisted, I liked seeing how the lead
photographer would resolve a conflict.
Some.
Just their communication style ison point, and they knew how to get
a point across without crossingany hairs or causing any problems.
When you did your first lead stylistshoot, what do you remember from that?
Sheila (16:08):
My gosh, I don't even remember what it was.
Like I was starting out with somethat were with my friend, Evan,
who was doing remote shoots.
They were with bigger companies, but itwas just the two of us hanging out, so
it still felt like small scale to me.
I did do a lead stylist job with Duncanthat I've like completely blocked from
(16:33):
my memory because it did not go great.
Mica (16:36):
No.
Sheila (16:39):
I just like, I wasn't ready for a job that scale.
It was like years ago and I thought thatI could just do it and I was like, Oh wow.
Okay.
Wasn't ready for it.
Mica (16:50):
I've yet to do a remote shoot, but I'm always curious to hear about other
photographers who do remote shooting.
Is it usually where are they onlike zoom and they can just see what
you're doing, like you're sharing yourscreen with them, or do you take a
couple of shots, send them a couple ofscreenshots and say, how are we doing?
Sheila (17:10):
I've had kind of varied experiences with it.
So sometimes, I'd say more often thannot, people can have a live link where
they can just like see the images, notnecessarily see the live camera, but
see the images throughout the day orthey're in a chat where you can send them
along and people can text and respond.
(17:31):
So there's been like a text chain going.
I've been on other ones where it wasa packaging shoot and somebody was
basically on Zoom the entire time.
This was unusual for me at least likethey were watching the live view and
so I'm just like processing how I wantto put things down and I'm not great at
(17:51):
using live view because it doesn't likecommunicate with my brain the right way.
So sometimes I like, I'mlike, I want this here.
Oh wait, that's not wherethat goes because the camera
is flipping it in my brain.
I don't know.
And so she was like, that should be there.
This should be there.
This should be there.
Like telling me as I'm moving it.
So that's like an extreme example.
Mica (18:10):
That is like micromanage to the max.
Sheila (18:13):
I was like, I'm just trying to like place this and figure it out.
And then I've had the other extremeof that where they're just like,
it was a cookbook and they werejust like, yeah, just send us
the link at the end of the day.
And they didn't need to reallyapprove each image as it went.
There was a lot of trust there.
(18:33):
So it's been all across the board.
Mica (18:34):
While you're talking, I'm wondering like, to myself, it's
like, which would I prefer?
Them telling me exactly what they wantor me having to make decisions for them.
And then I probably would wantsomething right in the middle, but.
the, the detailed, like, oh,move that there, move that there.
It's like, don't you gotsomething to be doing?
Like what?
Sheila (18:54):
Yeah, I was like, I'm not done.
Mica (18:56):
So I looked at your website.
I love that on your websiteyou have a section for hands.
And I was like, of course, why don'twe have a portfolio for the hands?
If you can't envision yourself eatingit or making it, then it's hard
for you to really connect with it.
Why do you have a whole section for hands?
Why is that important tohighlight in your work?
Sheila (19:17):
Yeah it feels like it's something that comes up a fair amount.
Maybe a client wants hands in a shot.
All of the ones on that partof my site are my hands.
It was just trying to show like, ifyou need me to throw my hand in the
shot, this is what it will look like.
It has come in handy where if someonedoes ask me about that, I can just be
(19:39):
like, look at this part of my site andyou'll know what my hands look like.
Mica (19:43):
I hope you're charging for hand modeling expenses.
Sheila (19:45):
Yeah.
I'm gonna probably need a manicure, so.
Mica (19:50):
Make sure you include that in the statement.
What's Whenever you see yourwork in print what thoughts and
feelings go through your mind?
Sheila (20:01):
It's usually a lot of excitement at first because it's just
like, so fun to hold it and see it.
Also just a feeling of like, how cool isit to do a job like this that's creative,
where I get to merge all of my interests.
Delicious food and drink and presentationand art and color and share it and have
(20:23):
it like something I'm holding that I justremember all of the work that went into
creating it and what that day felt like.
And then I start noticing like, Oh,they should have tucked that little
piece of lettuce in, or I wish theywent with this other version where
I did tuck that piece of lettuce.
But yeah, a lot of the time I'll, I wouldbe super psyched about seeing it and
(20:47):
then processing like how should I havedone this differently and what can I do
to make it better next time and then Ihave to put it down and not look at it.
Mica (20:57):
I get with, like, the analyzing.
It's like, oh, my God.
There was one shoot that I did.
It was a cookbook shoot andat the time everything looked
gorgeous, perfect, everything.
The author sent me the bookand I was just so proud of it.
We flipped on one of like the closeupshots and like, there was, it wasn't,
it was just like an ingredient.
(21:18):
It was like a pea or something.
And I was like, I really wish that Ihad like, checkered more peas than this.
I was like, ah.
And it was all I can think ofand I was like, shots ruined.
Sheila (21:29):
No!
Mica (21:30):
Not enough peas.
Sheila (21:32):
Oh my god.
It's so funny because like I go backand forth with this where I'm like oh
my god nobody is gonna notice that blahblah blah but then at the same time
this is like why we obsess over detailbecause people who don't work in this
will look at something and they willknow if it works or if it doesn't work.
(21:55):
They won't be able to say thatlettuce should have been different
or that we needed another pea.
But they're like, there's like a thing.
Mica (22:02):
They can't verbalize like what's off about the photo, but
there's something not quite clicking.
Sheila (22:08):
Yeah.
My mom has always been a painter andit wasn't her main career, but she's
really talented and she will havean oil painting on the wall for like
decades and then she'll just look atit and be like, oof, and take it down
and start changing something about it.
So it just feels like it's never finished.
(22:29):
It's fun to look at something inprint, but then it's also like,
I need to do something betterand different the next time.
Mica (22:35):
What's it like working with photographers on a on a shoot?
What type of energy and dynamicsdo you usually find on set?
Sheila (22:43):
Generally it feels like a fun, roving circus.
I feel like when I first startedit was interesting to be coming
from restaurants with a veryspecific kind of creative wanderer
personality that attracts restaurants.
(23:05):
I was in that world of working withdifferent people sometimes, it's always
like meeting the people in the restaurant.
And it was wild to see adifferent side of all of these
creative people coming together.
There's always a bit of anxietyif it's a new job or a new crew
and seeing how people interact butit's so important when people can
feel centered when they walk in.
(23:26):
It's such a team effort andeveryone comes together.
So I just bring up restaurantsin the sense that it.
it feels similar you're all workingreally hard and fast at something
that bonds you faster than anybodyworking in an office would.
People bringing each other up.
Like energy is contagious.
We all need to kinda holdeach other together through
(23:46):
the day to feel positives.
At least for me, to likeget in my head about stuff.
But if we all stay centered,then we can like rise together.
Mica (23:58):
Love that.
That's so true.
For like new photographers who arecoming in to this industry and they
finally get the chance to, to workwith the food stylist, what are some
things that a photographer needsto know so that the two of you,
like, accomplish this goal together?
What do you need from thephotographer to make that happen?
Sheila (24:22):
I think it can be helpful to know what kind of lighting
the photographer is working with.
Just like what is the general gearthat they're using and the style of
photography that they like to work with.
You can always look at someone's websiteto get a feel, but if it's the first
(24:43):
time they're working with a stylist,it's probably a little bit different than
what they are showing as their portfolio.
So I think a conversationof like, what is your flow?
How do you like to work?
Telling the photographer as a stylist,what you plan on bringing and just being
clear on how you envision your role.
Mica (25:03):
If they're feeling nervous about working with a a food stylist, what
advice would you give to photographers?
Sheila (25:11):
I would say that the stylist is there to help things just run smoother.
And not to say there's no reason tobe nervous, cause I'm nervous all the
time, just part of the joy of this.
It's growing.
Mica (25:28):
If someone tells me to relax, I'm like, you need to get away from me,
because that does not exist over here.
Sheila (25:36):
Exactly.
So not to say no reason to be nervous,but more there is a shared purpose
and we are here to support eachother and create something together.
If either person has any questionbefore or during that, they should
feel comfortable to just ask andwork on the problem together.
Mica (26:00):
What's the saying?
Teamwork makes the dream work.
I mean, I know that's such a tired clichething to say, But like, it's so true.
It's so, so true.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
Sheila (26:11):
Yeah.
You only have so many arms, two.
Getting multiple brains together to like,all of the people who have their strength
is how you make that beautiful photo.
Mica (26:24):
Absolutely.
I compare it to working in theater.
Everything to put on a show.
With the director is going to do it alllike they're going to run the sound board,
bring up the lights, they're going to acton stage, they're going to do the cut.
Like, no, it takes a whole communityto bring this show together.
Sheila (26:44):
Yeah, there's, there is the energy to it.
Mica (26:47):
Oh, for sure.
In college, they have like a theatercompetition and we would have an hour to
set up, and then an hour to tear down.
I remember the college that we wereperforming at, the director there
had his students come and watch us.
He's like, I want you guys tosee like what an actual tear
(27:09):
up tear down, looks like.
That director was fascinatedwith how we set up and tear down.
Everybody had their jobs.
We We went and did our jobs firstand then once we were done doing
what we needed to do, then we lookedaround and see, okay, who needs help?
And we would like switch jobs so thateverybody knew how to do everybody's job.
(27:30):
I'm not saying it's like that withfood styling, but that communication
was right there and we communicatedwith each other verbally.
We communicated with each other just byseeing like what their body language was.
So we'd often finished our setup and tear down in under an
hour and it was so efficient.
What it boiled down to is thatwe just were so in tuned with one
(27:52):
another that it's like, we didn'teven need to ask each other.
We just knew what the other person needed.
And I try to channel thatsame energy with my team.
Everybody has their jobs and wetrust each other to do the job.
I'm not going to micromanage you andtell you how to do your job because
frankly, I'm not a professional,like it's not what I know.
(28:14):
So I'm going to step back andlet you do your thing because
it'll go by faster if I let you.
Otherwise I should just do it myself.
Like, a lot of it is based on trust.
Sheila (28:25):
Totally.
Mica (28:26):
It's kind of hard to build that trust when you just met, but
that's what test shoots are for to,to figure how the other works out.
And And how you guys getalong and everything.
Yeah, so I'm, I'm rambling on thatpoint, cause I'm just so big on having
stylists on set, having a team on set.
(28:48):
It, it really does take a teamto, to bring something wonderful.
And I just want people to talk to,like, I don't want to work by myself.
Sheila (28:55):
Yeah.
Mica (28:56):
That was like the hardest thing, like going into freelancing.
It's like, I went from havingcoworkers to like no coworkers.
So you are freelancing completely.
What has that journey been likefrom having coworkers to being solo?
Sheila (29:13):
Uh, I mean, It's also just coincided with moving
to this town of 700, so.
Yeah so, it can feel a littleisolating at times, like when
there are lulls in between jobs,and sort of like Okay, it's fine..
. It's summer.
(29:33):
I'm on this beautiful propertyand we can farm and we can explore
and go canoeing and whatever.
I think I lost my train of thoughtbecause I started thinking about canoeing.
Mica (29:46):
We were talking about what it's like going from having coworkers to solo work.
Sheila (29:52):
It is interesting, like there's these extremes where I'm like here at
home and like seeing friends around butalso it's like very quiet if I'm just
home, but then I really do get a sixth oflike intense burst of direction where I'm
like with a bunch of different people.
Like I could have a week where maybeI'm doing a couple different shoots in
(30:14):
Boston and so I'm seeing like a coupledifferent groups of people and I might
be seeing my parents or a friend thatI'm staying with or other family members.
So it's like fitting that all inthat kind of spreads my socialization
out through the week sometimes.
But there are definitely times whereI'm like, Oh, I just miss being around
(30:36):
people at work that you can see on amore regular basis and just like, how was
that thing that happened the other day?
Like those smallconversations are so valuable.
So I do miss that sometimes.
Mica (30:47):
Oh, yeah.
I, I, I missed the office gossip.
Sheila (30:51):
Yeah.
Mica (30:53):
It's like, I don't want to know the drama.
What's going on?
I'm, I'm like more engrossed in myfriends, their co workers drama.
I'm like, tell me the tea.
What's going on?
What's going on?
Is she doing that?
Like, I don't even knowwho this co worker is.
I'm like, that hooker.
You know?
Sheila (31:11):
Love it.
It's like being an aunt.
Because you don't have to likeactually be responsible for the drama.
You just get to visit itand then be like, Goodbye!
Mica (31:23):
Yes.
Yes.
You just like drop little nuggetsof like, here's how we can do this.
And then you just step awayand you're like, Oh no, no.
Sheila (31:32):
That's so funny.
That's so funny.
Mica (31:36):
So, I want to take it to your creative process
when you're styling a dish.
What's the first thing that usually comesto mind when you're prepping a dish?
Sheila (31:47):
Going back to the briefing document and trying to see what is the
vibe of the story we're trying to tell?
And who is the person that wouldenvision themselves in the scene?
Who's the audience?
Is it something that is like maybe moreof a commercial product where it needs
(32:08):
to be like really clean and no littlebits of mess around, or is it like a more
interacted with food that like somebodyjust stepped away from the table and
you can immerse yourself in that scene.
So try to think about what the clientis envisioning the story being.
If I were about to eat thatdish like what would make it
(32:30):
look the most appetizing to me.
Mica (32:32):
Whenever you get the brief, are you like starting to form
like shot ideas or styling ideas?
Or do you wait until the shoot itselfand then make decisions at that point?
Sheila (32:48):
I mean, usually we'll have a shot list, like maybe I'll get the brief and
it doesn't have a fully formed shot list,but it's starting to talk about what the
general concept is, and then usually therewill be a pretty planned out shot list.
(33:08):
Whether that's provided by theclient or if it's something that
like the photographer might makeor maybe we work on together.
I just like to have mostof it going into the shoot.
So many things can get away from you thatif you don't know like this is generally
how I want this shot to look like.
I'm not doing like paint by number whereyou're just showing up and doing exactly
(33:30):
what you might have laid out but atleast having like, this is, overhead and
we're probably going to do one or twoplates and this is the color scheme that
we're thinking of and the vibe havingthose guidelines is really helpful and
then obviously you see it on camera andit might not be be communicating the
(33:50):
message that you want so then you'llchange it in the moment, but it's
nice to have it set ahead of time.
Mica (33:56):
Preparation is key.
You prepare, you prepare, andthen you prepare some more.
Is it a different vibe wheneveryou're doing like test shoots when
you're a dish during test shoots?
Sheila (34:08):
Yeah, it's interesting because I've done some where they've just been
like a friend and I just being likea little bit looser and experimenting
and seeing what we come up with andthen going in a direction of like
trying to have it more planned out.
And it's, it's cool to seethat process applied to a test.
Like I did one this spring witha couple of friends here at home.
(34:31):
And that was like themost magical thing to me.
Because it was like where I livewith all of my stuff and like food,
I would actually eat and my friendswere the models and it was really fun.
Generally I'm trying to bemore mindful about the plan.
I have one later this week and it'sa whole thing to like, produce quote
(34:53):
unquote, the shoot instead of justgetting together with a friend and being
like, let's just make something pretty.
Actually we have goals of who we wantto be targeting with this and what
kind of work we want to get from it.
My friend, the photographer,found some models for it.
So I'm like, anytime there's morepeople added to it, I just don't
want to waste anybody's time.
(35:14):
I'm always so scared of wastingpeople's time and energy.
It's such a precious resource that we'vejust been like chatting every day about
Okay, what are we going to do for this?
And what is that going to be?
And mapping it all out.
There's going to be things thatyou're like, Oh, that's really pretty.
Let's like go capture that, butdefinitely having some sort of a plan.
So none of us, myself very much included.
(35:38):
Don't just like get carried away andthen end up forgetting something.
Like maybe there was a shot thatwe really wanted to get and we're
like, ended up being excited aboutthis thing and forgot about the
thing that we really cared about.
Mica (35:50):
The biggest takeaway that I've learned about test
shoots versus portfolio shoots.
I used to think that portfolio shootswere the same thing as test shoots.
I would create these really beautiful,fine art esque photos that were gorgeous,
but they weren't bringing in clients.
It was hard for the client toenvision their product in this shot.
(36:11):
So like learning what my testshoots, it's like, okay, we're
actually targeting a brand.
We're actually targeting anagency or something like that.
My question for you is with yourtest shoots, type of clients do you
usually find yourself targeting?
Sheila (36:28):
This is still newer to me, but, well, this past weekend
I had a minor epiphany where I'verealized that I want to try to be
targeting companies and brands thatproduce food in an ethical way.
Studied environmental conservationand I've felt what is the connection
(36:50):
with what I'm doing, right now.
Because there's this industry that isalways full with food, and it's really
breaks my heart every single time thatwe just end up having to throw food out.
We try to save a lot of it, and giveit away, and whatnot, but long story
short, I'm trying to find clientsthat might have values that align
(37:12):
with mine, that can hire stylists andphotographers, and still put on the kind
of shoot that I want to be working with.
I'm trying to find that kindof company to work with.
Mica (37:26):
You touched on something that's also near and dear to my heart.
I'm part of the Buy Nothing community.
So like, if there's dried goods,then I give what I can away there,
but there's also like they call themlike community fridges around Austin.
There's like two that are near my houseand so I'll drop off what I can, but
there's a lot of hands touching food.
(37:46):
So like, nobody's going to be eating that.
But I try to.
At least for my test shoots andmy portfolio work, I tried to
pick things that my husband andI are going to eat in the house.
So it's like, this is nowpart of our meal plan.
This is what we're having for dinner.
Just because I don'twant to waste anything.
Like I feel wasteful that I'm buyingthis food specifically to photograph it.
(38:11):
And then it's just tossed aside.
So I, I love that that mission of yoursthat you wanna work with food brands that
are more in tune with how, you know, whatimpact they're making on the environment.
Sheila (38:23):
Yeah.
So this is my new journey of tryingto find those companies and see where
our tastes can overlap and if we are amatch hoping that something works out.
I don't expect every brand to alignwith everything that I believe in
because it's not the world we live inbut I really want to go more in that
(38:44):
direction because it just it just feelsmore true to what I'm wanting to do.
Mica (38:49):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I'm, I'm right there with you.
Off the cuff question, what'syour least favorite dish to style?
Sheila (39:02):
Hmmmm.
Sometimes pizza.
Like, I recently had a shoot where itwas a roundup of restaurants and they
had to deliver the pizza the day before.
And they wanted it to look like anice fresh pizza and it was a day old.
(39:28):
So I had to like, essentially justadd more sauce and cheese and use
my hand tool to broil, melt it andmake it look like it was fresh and
okay, it's not gonna, I don't know.
So that it's just like cheesepulls can be so finicky.
And day old pizza can be finicky.
Mica (39:47):
Hmm.
Mm hmm, mm hmm.
Yup, and like having to dump liketwice as much cheese, and then.
Sheila (39:55):
Yeah.
Mica (39:56):
You have to do it all over again, you're like, keep eating.
I agree,
Sheila (39:59):
Yeah, I'd say like generally melty cheese is probably feeling the trickiest.
Especially like I had to do somethingelse where it was a remote shoot
and we're like waiting for approval.
And I'm like, It's dying!
It's dying!
Help!
Mica (40:22):
We gotta do this now!
Like, my least favoritefood to photograph is chili.
I've said this so many timesbefore, but I'm like no.
I
Sheila (40:37):
Yeah, I've had to do meatloaf a couple of times, and then I had to do this
lentil nutloaf, and it had dried fruitand all of this stuff in it, and it just.
That was, I would ratherdo anything else, actually.
Mica (40:55):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Brown foods in general.
I guess that like cutsbarbecue out completely.
I love barbecue, most Texans do,but I don't think I, I don't know
if I'd ever be okay with likephotographing it cause it's just brown.
So I want to finish out today's interviewwith one last question, what's exciting
(41:17):
you these days as a food stylist?
Sheila (41:20):
Ooh I am really inspired by all of these cookbooks that are
coming out, just really diving intodifferent cuisines around the world.
I'm so psyched to see so many differentcultures being represented and getting
to learn about them and the familystories that go behind them and the
(41:40):
different ingredients that I'm notfamiliar with and techniques and
then there's also this book um, Ithink it's, You And I Eat The Same.
And so it'll be like all of the overlapsof okay, all of these cultures are based
in rice or different kinds of flatbreador different ways of grilling meat and
how you can see all of the interactionsbetween different cultures and detective
(42:05):
red string between all of them.
And I'm just really inspiredby learning constantly.
There's so much that there'smore that I don't know, by
far, obviously, than what I do.
And so it's just really cool to see somany interesting cookbooks come out.
Mica (42:22):
Sheila, if there's one piece of advice that you could give to
a photographer right here, rightnow what would you say to them?
Sheila (42:29):
Yeah, I would say just keep your curiosity strong.
Practice as much as you can, whetherit's in photography or food styling.
If it's food styling, just absorbingas much information you can, asking
all the questions, cooking thingsthat you're not comfortable cooking,
(42:50):
and forcing yourself to go outsideof your comfort zone in that way.
And expanding the differentrealm that you can.
Be comfortable.
And if you're like, oh, I don't bake,then try baking because you never
know what's going to be thrown at you.
It's also just like a good lifelesson to try to do the things
that you're not comfortable doing.
(43:10):
And this work is a constant reminder ofhaving to be okay being uncomfortable.
Mica (43:15):
Be okay with being uncomfortable.
Thank you so much for,for being on the show.
Where can the listeners find youand admire your amazing work?
Sheila (43:27):
I'm on Instagram at Sheila Jarnes and my website is SheilaJones.
com.
Mica (43:35):
Oh, all right.
You heard it.
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