The Beginner Photography Podcast

Food Photography Secrets: Plating Up Art with Mica McCook

• Raymond Hatfield

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#350 Mica McCook is an Austin based food photographer. Mica recollects her journey to becoming a photographer which had begun in 2015 when her then-boyfriend encouraged her to take up photography as a business. On receiving payment from her first gig, she realized she could turn it into a career. Mica shares how she began her journey as a photographer by experimenting with different types of photography, and eventually landed on food photography. Mica believes that light is an important element of her work and uses it to create dramatic photos.

The Big Takeaways

  • You can be a photographer.
  • Start with a passion.
  • Develop emotional sensitivity.
  • Learn the rules to break them.
  • Bring life to still images.
  • Try the thing.
  • Light and shadows create art.
  • Prepare before shooting.
  • Give yourself permission to fail.

Resources:

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Mica McCook:

Shadows make you feel different things at different times. Like if you're watching a scary movie and you see a shadow and you're like, Oh my God, there's a ghost there. I'm going to be taken away. I think about theater where the spotlight is. You are telling your audience where you want them to look. And so with shadows, I don't look at it as something that takes away from a photo. I think it as something that adds to the photo. I just think shadows are so freaking dramatic. And that's the kind of work I'm drawn to.

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, welcome to episode 350 of the beginner photography podcast, brought to you by cloud spot, the easiest way to deliver and sell your photos online. I'm your host, Raymond Hadfield. And today we're chatting with dramatic food photographer, Mika McCook, about the artistic side of food photography. You know, I remember when Instagram first came around and people started posting photos of their food. Because, well, I think, non photographers wanted to, be a part of this fun photo action. So they just kind of took things, took photos of, their everyday life. And we all eat food every day. So that's what they would take photos of. And I think that because of that, for a while, food photography was kind of like this easy scapegoat of a joke for, those who didn't know what to say when you told them that you were a photographer. But food photography is no joke. And as you will hear today from Mika, not only does she take her job incredibly seriously, not only to document food, but she spices them up by turning them into works of art. I'm serious. I highly encourage you to check out her work before we get into this one. And you can see what socials. The links are in the show notes of this episode. So with that, let's go ahead and get on into this interview with Mika McCook. Mika. My first question for you, it's an easy one. I just want to know when did you know that photography was going to play an important role in your life?

Mica McCook:

I'd say 2015, when I accepted this crazy idea that I could be a photographer. I was in this really hard point in my life. I was working at a physical therapy clinic. I hated my job. It was just a terrible existence. And, I went to school for theater arts and it didn't work out. I dropped out of college like a year before I was supposed to graduate. I had what I call my mid twenties, you know, crisis, crisis. I'm like, I don't want to be a teacher. What do I do? And, I just kind of drop out and try to figure things out. I didn't for a very long time. I kind of got an adult job and I put that in quotation marks and I just kind of got stuck in the cog of like life and bills. And just that creative side of me kind of disappeared and it wasn't until 10 years later when I had just the crappiest day at work and it's one of those days that I will never forget. It was a terrible day. And I think at that moment, it was the first time I said out loud that I hated my life and making that, like that admission, it was both jarring cause I'd never said it before. So I didn't know what to do with that information. It's like, okay, I hate my life. What do I do with this information now? So my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, I told him this, that I really hated my life and I don't know what to do, he said, what are you looking for in an employer? And I started just listing all of these things that I want in a job. And it was a long list, mind you,

Raymond Hatfield:

of course,

Mica McCook:

very long list of things, requirements, very particular list. And he was quiet for a minute and he goes, you sound like an entrepreneur. And I laughed and I go, ha, yeah, okay, sure. And he's like, no, really listen to me. You sound like an entrepreneur and I think you should start your own business. I told him I didn't know anything. I don't know how I could be like, I don't know. I don't have any other talents. And he said, well, do you have any hobbies? Do you have any things that you like doing? And I started listing off things and photography was one of those hobbies. So it was never anything that I like. I didn't even have a camera, always had point and shoots, but I always loved looking at photos. I used to work in a retirement center when I graduated high school, and I loved looking at the residents photos of themselves when they were younger and their family, like you just got to know someone in a much deeper way. Then, especially if they had like dementia, like you got to see who this person was before. Yeah. So photography was just a hobby, but it was never anything. I considered a career because theater was my life and that is what my entire identity was wrapped up in. So, when I listed photography, I said, I, I like photography. My husband's like, you should be a photographer. And I was like, yeah, ha, no, one's going to pay me to take photos. My photos are crappy. And he goes, well, they are now, but you'll get better and you'll learn. And I just was like, ah, whatever, not gonna, not gonna entertain that idea. It wasn't until I actually booked my very first client. They paid me actual money and bless their hearts because those photos were terrible. But I mean, in her defense, she paid me 50 bucks. So you get what you pay for, right? And, when I saw the email that said this bill has been paid, that was like the moment that I was like, I think I could do this. I think I could do this. And I wasn't a food photographer at first. That's the other thing. I didn't jump right into food photography. I spent the first year of my career, just kind of dancing around. But that first pivotal moment of being, being paid for a gig. And I was like, Oh my gosh. Maybe I could do this. What if I put a little bit of elbow grease in this and see where this takes me and see what happens. And I had a little Canon, power shot. It was not even close to a professional camera, which, you know, I have my ideas, my opinions on that. You don't need the nicest camera to start a business. You just need the grit and the mental of saying, okay, I'm a photographer now and that's it. No, we can tell you any different, but I had my little cannon power shot and I set up a website and I put some feelers out there and I'm like, I got one paid gig, so I want to see who else is, interested in hiring me. And it just sort of built into where I am today, which is so different than where I started. But yeah, so 2015, that's when it was, um, when I had my very first like professional camera, it was like holding a golden globe or an Oscar statue is like, Oh, you know, I knew this was going to change my life. And there was no going back. Like I could never go back to doing what I was doing before. It was really, really, really life changing.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. What was it about taking images? You said that, you know, looking at the images of residents that you were working with, that sparked something inside of you, but like, personally, we don't have, Oh, yes. we don't have the ability to just fast forward time and, and understand how powerful an image is until years later. So for you, what was it about just this point and shoot camera, that did it for you in terms of photos?

Mica McCook:

Well, it wasn't, it was the technical part of photography that really captured my attention because, I was so lost when I first started. And it made me want to learn photography. It challenged me in a way that I don't think I'd ever been challenged before. And that is what drew me to photography. It was like this puzzle. I was like, I'm going to figure out this puzzle. But then once I learned like the fundamentals, I felt like the most, one of the most powerful people in the world, because I could create moments, capture moments. Like that was just. Just beautiful. And the downside is I'm always behind the camera. So, you know, and my standards are really high and my husband bless his heart. He doesn't know anything about anything. And so everyone else has these gorgeous photos and then, I have black, but it's the memory behind it. And when it came to portraits and, and just regular point and shoots, it was very candid moments. You know, I'm a theater person. I'm very visual. I always think about, what was going on at the moment. What was the conversation at the moment? I'm very much into words of like feeling words. How did that person feel in that moment that this picture was taken? What was the weather like? What were the noises like? It's just this whole visual. And that's what fascinated me about just photos in general. What fascinated me about food photography. Is just how dramatic it can be and how that kind of tapped into my love for drama. Cause I love drama, reality shows, whatever you can think of. I'm just, I always love to figure out how can I elevate something? How can I make it more dramatic? And that is something that photography always spoke to me, you know, theater. Is a very varied art. You play a different character or you work on a different show. It just, it keeps you stimulated. Nothing is ever the same. And with photography, it's also very similar. Every shoot you do is different. Every client you work with is different. Every project, every installation is different. That that inspiration. Like it's, there's just so much variety in the things that you do, even as a, as a family photographer. Every family you work with is different. Children are different weddings. Good or bad. All different. Yeah. All different. And if you thrive with that kind of energy, then, theater and photography are just so similar. And I knew that the hardest thing for me, when I stopped doing theater is. It was finding something that stimulated me and energized me as much as theater did. And photography was it. And you know that feeling. That's a very unique, special, irreplaceable feeling. And when I took on photography and I started to grow and learn and develop, that sparked this creativity in me that I hadn't felt since my theater days. So there's no going back for me. This is it.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh man. So when you first started out, you said that your first clients, it wasn't related to food, right? Was it, was it portraits or

Mica McCook:

something? I did a little bit of everything. I did not. That's the way to do it. That first year, I really just didn't know. I just knew I wanted to be a photographer, but I didn't know what kind of photographer. Family photography was something that I just landed in because it's, you know, pretty easy to get into. You know someone with kids? There you go. You got a business right there. You're in business. so I just kind of dabbled in a lot of things and how I landed in food. My friend who was also my co blogger, we used to work together in the physical therapy clinic. We worked in the front office and, she was like, Hey, you have a camera. You have a nice camera. You want to start a food blog? And I'm like, I don't even know how to use this camera. I just got it. She's like, wow. We'll figure it out as we go along. And that's how I got into food photography. I started, and I can't cook, so this was all, all Charlotte. But, I had my camera, and I treated food photography as a hobby because, the food blog was just something I did for fun. And then the family photography was something that paid the bills. And I built my family photography business, from 2015 to 2017. I was, full time at that point. And I was struggling to do both working in the clinic and then doing. Photography. And that's when I decided, okay, well, I'm going to go back to school because I want to study photography. I want to take my skills to the next level. I feel like I've learned enough on my own. And I also learned what my learning style was, which is I'm great with in person learning. So I left school and went or left my job and went to school. And then my second semester, I had a conversation with a professor who told me that when I talk about my family photos, and when he looks at my family photos, they're nice. They're technically nice and the lighting's right and everything. But when he looks at my food photos and when he sees watches me talk about food photography is like your face just lights up and I'm just curious as to why you're not pursuing food photography. It's like, I'm not here to like, tell you what to do with your life or what you're with your career. I'm just curious. And after that conversation, I decided, I actually went home. And every single photo shoot I ever did, I rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of enjoyable experience.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, wow. And

Mica McCook:

every food photo shoot was like 8 or 9s, 10s. And that's when I knew, I was like, okay. I'm going to pursue food photography, but that first year I did everything. Like I photographed a birth. I photographed a death metal concert, festivals, weddings. I learned very quickly that weddings were not for me and weddings are not for the timid. it's a tough industry to be in, but, I was not very good at it. Um, I did at the

Raymond Hatfield:

time. You've got to go. Yeah.

Mica McCook:

Uh, Technically, probably I just, I like my weekends and weddings are all weekends. And, so I knew then that I was like, okay, this isn't going to work for me. But, food was just, I just really enjoyed it. And I enjoyed that it was a great conversation starter. I love watching the chefs create something out of nothing. I mean, that's what I love about theater. You have this bare stage and there's nothing. And then in a couple of weeks to a few months, you have this incredible set. You have these incredible costumes and makeup and characters. And it's just this wild event. Well, it's the same thing with watching a chef. They put all of these random ingredients together and they create this masterpiece, but it's not. It's if there's not a photo of it. Did it exist?

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. When I'm thinking in my head, though, about like, working in theater, as far as, photography goes or even family photos, it's almost more reactionary, right? Like, because you really want to capture whatever moment is happening. So you wait for a moment, when it happens, you take the picture and then, you move on. But when I think of food photography, it feels more like you have to build something from nothing, you know? So how did you learn that aspect of food photography? Food photography.

Mica McCook:

Well, I had to learn about color and the feelings attached to color and study that and build from that. And when I look at photos of any kind, I ask myself, what do I feel in this moment? What is this photo telling me in this moment? And then I ask why, what elements about this photo mean this feeling? So like, if a photo is happy, it's like, okay, what makes this a happy photo? And when you look at photography in that way, and you start looking at it from a more analytical point of view and you identify things that are attached to an emotion. So when we think about happy, we think bright colors. We think hard shadows. We think, these are things that, this is why I feel this way. Why do you go to a restaurant? think about your favorite restaurant And it's not just the food. The food is like the thing that fills your belly. But what about the environment that makes you feel a certain way? You know, I go, I it's funny. when I was a kid, I thought golden corral was like the fanciest place. Ever. It was a buffet. And so every time we went, I just felt luxurious. Of course, now as an adult, I know it's not luxurious, but now it's nostalgic because of all the memories that are attached from my childhood of going there. It's taken on a much different feeling. So that's kind of like how you think about. When you're creating a photo, when you're creating food, it's the food is what ties it all together, but you're really tugging at that person's emotion and emotion is what makes us buy something. Emotion is what makes us, how it makes us feel. It makes a huge difference. So when I think of chocolate. I'm like, I think indulgent and when there's different kinds of indulgence. So it's just, it's all about the psychological feeling, feeling type of things that I had to learn and develop and be more sensitive to, because I don't think I was when I first started as a photographer.

Raymond Hatfield:

I want to know where that came from, because I don't, yeah. I don't know if I feel that way, about weddings. I look at a photo and I think to myself, this is a good photo. And then that's it. I never really studied color theory or anything like, like you did with food. So did that just come from school? Like the education that you were taking or was it more organic in the way that you were taking in photographs?

Mica McCook:

It definitely came after school because I feel like the first few years of your career as a photographer. It's very much technical. Like, you don't really have a style because you're just learning your camera and that's fine. Like, you should spend that first year just learning. Learning light, learning your camera, that camera should be attached to your hip and you become one with the camera. And so I didn't really have a style. I didn't even think about things like that my first few years because I was just so, focused on learning photography. But once I learned the fundamentals and I learned that the A's and C's, then that gave me the room to explore later on down the alphabet. And that's something that was really hard for me to accept in the beginning. Cause I'm also an impatient person and I expect instant results. Like I put two, two little ounces of effort into something I expect a whole building to be put up. And something that my professors would tell me, they're like, you know, it's going to take time. Like you, you've got to learn the rules of photography before you can break them, but you need to be patient and just take your time and learn how first, and then you can go and get real crazy, get wild and get creative Because when you learn just the fundamentals of photography, it becomes so automatic. Like you're taking a breath. Like, it's just something you do. And so you don't have to worry about the technical side of it because you already know it. It's just like waving your hand, writing on a piece of paper. The creative part is where you finally have that room. So I didn't really start doing all of that until I got to a place where I was comfortable enough with my camera that I could just walk into a room and know automatically what my settings were going to be. And, that's takes time. And I know that's not an answer that everyone wants to hear because they want to be great and good right away. They'll look at other photographers work and they'll be like, I want to do that. And it's like,

Raymond Hatfield:

will

Mica McCook:

happen. It will happen. It will happen. And it happens faster for some people than it does others. it's a combination of learning what you're, Learning style is and showing kindness and grace to yourself. And that's something that I struggled with a lot in the beginning. I had really high expectations for myself and. When I didn't meet them, I just, it was the worst feeling in the

Raymond Hatfield:

world. No, I get that. And I think it, I think it's hard because it's like, as humans, we're trained like to follow rules, right? Do A, B, and C, and you're going to get D. But when it comes to photography, the tough part is that there are technicals that you can follow and there are quote unquote rules to follow as well. So it seems like if you follow A, B, and C, you're going to get D, but really it's like, if you follow A, B, C. You're gonna get H. And like, because you're missing a factor, and it's that personal, it's that personal factor. And even though you want to follow the rules, what I have found is that the sooner that you can relinquish the desire to follow those rules, and just kind of listen to, well, what is it that I feel, the sooner that you're going to get to D or H or whatever letter it is that you're looking for. So, that does make it more difficult for sure. But of course, as we said, It takes time, takes time,

Mica McCook:

but sure. I trained for a job, when I was in high school and the person who trained me, and this is the philosophy I follow with photography. she said to me, I'm going to teach you how to do it. I'm going to teach you how I do it. And then your job is to figure out what works for you. And that's how I look at, that's exactly how I look at photography. I learned just the terms, the basics, and then how everyone else does it. And that's where I get my educational courses and I watch other photographers do their thing. And, and then I kind of figure out what works for me. And that's really what I love about photography. It's just, it's such a personal art and it's so different. Everyone has different things that work for them that probably wouldn't work for someone else. But you know, the only way you can really figure that out is just going into your studio and just play an experiment.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, that's why these podcasts are so important. people like you who are interviewing other photographers That we have to hear other perspectives because otherwise, we're all just gonna be the exact same photographer But if we hear those other perspectives and we can take that knowledge and try it ourselves we're going to create something uniquely our own So, uh, speaking of things that are uniquely our own, when I look at your photos, like when I look at your Instagram feed of photos. So in fifth grade, I took a field trip to Washington DC from California and I was excited to go. And we went to the Smithsonian and that was the first time that I saw a Rembrandt painting. And I was like, this is so dark and moody. And there's something magical about this photo that doesn't look like, you know, every other photo that I've ever seen, And it's a painting but when I looked at your work on Instagram I think to myself if Rembrandt was a food photographer You two would be like in competition with each other because it is so magical You're saying so much in the shadows, like in that empty space, like what you said, it's what you don't show that is, that you can share so much. And I don't think that anybody looking at your work is going to think that, Oh, well, this was just shot with an iPhone. And that's kind of the goal as a photographer, right? To create something that, others wouldn't with the same access to the food and being able to take a photo. So talk to me a little bit about what goes into, turning this food in front of you into art rather than just simply documenting what's on the plate. Hey, Raymond here. And we will get back to today's show in just a moment. Have you seen that YouTube channel Unbox Therapy? It centers around the idea that we as consumers love the experience of opening up something new. In fact, Apple spends more than any other electronics company on using premium packaging because they know that it will elevate your experience. So why are you still sending your images with Google Drive or Dropbox? You can create a beautiful delivery experience in your photography with CloudSpot. From easy to use, uploads to grandma proof downloads, and everything in between. Cloud Spot will give your clients a premium experience. You can get started for free by heading over to deliver photos.com today. That's deliver photos.com and sign up for Cloud Spot today. Now, let's get back to today's interview.

Mica McCook:

Hmm, that's a great question. Well, it started with, I went to to Boston and we went to an art museum, and I loved, like, 15th century Dutch paintings, Carro Scuro, like, I was just obsessed with that. And I loved the drama, the dramatic, and I was like, okay, that's so cool. So I've, like, I'm obsessed with classic Dutch deep shadow type of art. And in school, one of the comments, one of the feedback that I got from my professor, he said, you know, your work's a little punchy. He said, it's punchy. I go, is that good? Or is that bad? He goes, it's punchy.

Raymond Hatfield:

Thanks for that clarification.

Mica McCook:

Yeah. And so I kind of went on this. mission to do what everybody else was doing and it's like I was creating photos that I thought would be aesthetically pleasing to everybody else and there just came a point where I, I actually did a mentorship with, with B Lubas. She's. An amazing food photographer, and we went on this, like, journey of creating photography, based on colors and really studying color theory and getting down to the nitty gritty and I told her, I really like classic paintings and that's the kind of photography that I want, like, to me. I want to create something that's super dramatic and lots of color, very punchy. And it's something that when you see it, it's just like, it takes your breath away. Because that's what I feel every single time I go to see a play, when the lights go down and they come up and you're like, you know, and you see the set for the first time or the actors come out or the music starts and it's just like, Oh, it blows you away. And that's. The kind of, photos I like to create the way I can do that is with lots of color, lots of shadow, Super saturated colors. I think it just my work really taps into who I am, like my personality. I'm animated drama for your mama kind of person. And that's the kind of work I like to create. And I just love that style of art. I mean, it's just so beautiful. And if there's a painting, Gosh, I'm trying to it's, um,

Raymond Hatfield:

paintings have names, by the way. So I do.

Mica McCook:

Yeah, it's so it's a it's, I believe by Rembrandt, and it's very morbid, but It's a professor performing an autopsy on, obviously a corpse and there's like, students surrounding surrounding this body. And it's like, very deep, very shadowy. there's just like a little spotlight on the professor and the students and everything like that. And, I just didn't I just imagined like what was going on in that room at the time. And, who painted, you know, who was obviously I know who painted it, but like, what was the energy at the time. And I just thought that lightning was gorgeous and beautiful. And there's also a painting. it's not really a, uh, a Dutch style painting. It's a Las Meninas or Meninas. And there's just so many different elements going on, but what I love about it is just the drama of the situation. You know, the little girl is there in her dress and you can see the, well, what we assume is the artist. You see the parents in the background, like there's just so much going on. And so when I create photos, I'm not just focused on the food itself. I'm focused on everything I'm creating a scene. So whoever looks at this, they can just envision themselves sitting down. I mean, it's all about point of view. Can you envision yourself sitting down to eating this bowl of soup? I mean, if you just take a shot of a bowl of soup and it's a closeup and it's just right there in your face, it's like, that tells me nothing. How do I connect? I can't connect with that unless I'm starving. And then I'm like,

Raymond Hatfield:

just give it to me.

Mica McCook:

I want that. Give that to me. But it's really just tapping into that nostalgic, you know, that feeling. What do you want your viewer to feel when they look at your work? And once I started looking, or planning my shoots from that angle, based on how do I want them to feel and what does, this feeling look like it changed everything about how I created photos. And then I just really just embrace my love of art and creating that. And I'm like, I don't really care if anybody else is doing this or not. This is what I like doing. And hopefully some, you know, paying clients going to see that and go, Ooh, I want that for my product. And so far it's, been pretty good People are into what i'm doing. So it's it's you know, there's a method to my madness, I guess

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, that's yeah, it's good that you found that method to your madness. I looked it up real quick It's called the painting is called the anatomy of dr. Nicholas tulip. So if he's listening you can find it, right? Yes, but it's interesting that all of these Images that that you're speaking of that one in particular the one with the little girl these all have people in them, and I think that we inherently can connect with people They move around, we move around, like, we understand how people work. How do you bring that livelihood into still life? Like, that is fascinating to me. Because when I look at your work, it feels like both still life and I don't want to say motion, not necessarily motion, but that there's an element of liveliness to it. It doesn't feel still, it doesn't feel flat. So is that a quality that you, work on to bring into your work or did that happen organically?

Mica McCook:

That happened organically.

Raymond Hatfield:

How so?

Mica McCook:

You know, it really, it was a lot of, my portfolio work. That is the space that I give myself to fail and fail repeatedly and try things out. And that's where I go. I'm going to go into the studio. I have an idea of what I want to do. I have an idea of what I want to accomplish, but it's okay. If I don't, if there is a style that I'm intrigued by, naturally the 1st. instinct is to like go on YouTube and look up a video that says how to do this. I don't do that. I try to figure it out for myself and I go in the studio and I study the photos and I look at what direction the light's coming in and I try to patchwork quilt it up myself and By doing that I find fun ways of accomplishing a photo That I don't think I would have ever accomplished if I had gone You And found a video on YouTube that said how to do this exact thing. It's just, it's kind of, I guess the self soothing method, but it's just having fun with photography and not putting this pressure on yourself to automatically understand something and really just enjoying the journey of learning. A certain technique or a certain style, and I found that by being patient with myself and showing myself kindness and being willing to fail and fail again that I found. Little tidbits that I liked a lot better and having fun with photography in that way. So a lot of, things that I'm discovering now are things that I've discovered organically. I didn't set out with a mission. I mean, other than just to have fun or, all that jazz, but, I was just open to anything and everything. And that's, I mean, I wouldn't be able to do that if I didn't know my camera, like the back of my hand, that part. I can just be creative and sometimes it doesn't work. I've done shoots where I looked at the photos and I'm like, ew,

Raymond Hatfield:

this is crap. But

Mica McCook:

then I critique it and I'm a big, big, big component for portfolio reviews, having other photographers look at your work. And talking about like, how can I make this a better photo? And so every shoot that I've done, I look at the photos and I'm like, what was great about the shoot? What was bad about the shoot? But especially the portfolio shoots where the photos just look like crap and they will never see the light of day ever. But I think about what I felt in that moment and what was frustrating about it. And what could I possibly do? That's different. It's only then that I'll go and look up. a course or a video, or I'll go find one of my many, many, many, many, many, photography books and try to find the solution and then go back into the studio and try again. And I'm like Aaliyah, try, try again, you know?

Raymond Hatfield:

I don't think we've ever had an Aaliyah reference on the podcast. So you are the first, you're going to get a t shirt in the mail for I love that because it's like, you know, I think we, it's so easy to have the knowledge, as a professional photographer and just say, yeah, if you go in and you do X, Y, and Z, like, you're going to be good. Like, that's exactly what you're looking for here, but. that's why people listen to podcasts because they're looking for information. They want to know answers. But as you just attested to right there, you can know the answer like logically, but it's not until you actually go into the studio and do the thing or attempt to do the thing that. You're really going to, hammer in what those skills are. And not only that, but also figure out how you can apply it to other areas in the future, since you said that that was a, an organic trait that came out, you weren't expecting that, but it happened. And now you're going to roll with it. I can't tell you. You know, how to do something on a podcast and you'd be like, Oh, but wait a second, and figure out how to do something else entirely. So if anybody is listening and they take away one thing from this episode, I hope it's that like, just actually go out there and try the thing like, don't just listen, go and try the thing, try the thing. But I want to talk more about your use of shadows because you're not afraid of shadows in your work. And correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not common. In the world of food photography. So that seems like a bold decision to be able to make. what gives you the confidence to lean into that? Is it other clients saying, Hey, I like this, or is it more personal?

Mica McCook:

it's a combination of both. And I think about, theater where the spotlight is. You are telling your audience where you want them to look. And so with shadows, you know, shadows, I don't look at it as something that takes away from a photo. I think it, I think of it as something that adds to the photo and it can be very beautiful. It's, I mean, just, if you go back and look at classic paintings, your eyes naturally gravitate where the light is and there are different Kinds of light, obviously the but you know, hard light is dramatic, but soft light soft shadows that can be just as dramatic too. And that's really what I think of when I think about shadows. I just think shadows are so freaking dramatic and that's the kind of work I'm drawn to. I don't like super bright and airy photos. It's just not something I've been that I'm not drawn to. I love the shadows and I love how it makes me feel. And I just think it's just, you know, Such a creative, cool way of, turning something. From a photo to art. I mean, I, I knew that when I got in, like, when I was starting this and developing them, like, I feel like I'm on to something here. Like, I'm creating more and more photos like this. And I like the idea where people look at and they're like, this can be. And this almost looks like a painting. Yeah. This is a photo. And I was like, yeah. It's a photo. But I love art, and this would be a really cool way of combining the two. But with shadows, I don't know, it's like, they're, shadows make you feel different things at different times. Like, if you're watching a scary movie, And you see a shadow and you're like, Oh my God, there's a ghost there. I'm going to be taken away by. But then if you're like in a restaurant and there's a lot of shadows coming in and there's like very soft window light coming in and you see. The shadow and you see the light and it's creating this beautiful shape. And you're like, wow, this is like a perfect fall day in a coffee shop. And I feel warm and cozy. It's just, I like how you can create different feelings with shadows.

Raymond Hatfield:

And

Mica McCook:

so.

Raymond Hatfield:

Wow. Let me ask you real quick, with food photography, do you typically do it in a studio setting or is it in like a restaurant setting? How does that work?

Mica McCook:

It's usually in the studio unless it's for a restaurant, then it makes more sense to shoot in their restaurant. And in that case, I'll bring my equipment with me unless they're perfect and they have the perfect window light. And then I can take full advantage of that. But I am not, particular about whatever light I use natural light, artificial light. I mean, I love blue light, like the blue hour. Oh, that's so awesome. And I mean, you've got a very short amount of time, so you do have to be very intentional when you're shooting at that time, but it's just. I mean, it's such a soft, beautiful, dramatic, you're going to hear dramatic a lot in this drama

Raymond Hatfield:

here today.

Mica McCook:

I do. And so now, like, I still talk to that professor who called my work punchy. And so every time I see him. He asked me, you know, how are you doing today? And I said, I'm feeling punchy.

Raymond Hatfield:

You're just looking to start some drama yourself. Geez.

Mica McCook:

Oh yeah. I woke up and chose violence.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, okay, I want to get a little, practical here for listeners, because I know that we talk a lot about, these ideas that we have as photographers. But we do want people to get out and actually shoot. So, if a lot of the, shoots that you do are in a studio setting, can you tell me about maybe one of the most recent ones that you like? What's something that you recently shot in the studio?

Mica McCook:

Well, in my studio I did a shoot for a vodka company.

Raymond Hatfield:

Vodka company, okay. And

Mica McCook:

I had, gosh. We had about 12 people, so my studio is my home studio. And so my home, it's where my home. So we had about 12 people, crammed in, in my office space and it's a pretty decent size. I think, the office, is about almost four 20 square feet. So it's a, it's a decent size. So it's not like we were like elbow to elbow, but, yeah. We shot it for a whole afternoon. We had different shapes of ice, but it was a fun experience and they were very happy with how it turned out and it was great. And, when the shot came up, they were like, Holy crap. That looks like a painting. And it's like, that's the goal. Yeah. They were blown away. It was great.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. Yeah. So I think that we all have access to some sort of clear liquid in our house. All right. So tell me, right. So you know, that you're going to be working with vodka. It's a clear liquid. Like what is going through your head to start setting up these shots? Do you think about the background first? Do you think about light first? Walk me through what it takes for you to set up a shot.

Mica McCook:

Well, when I'm planning the shot, cause planning a shot, a shoot starts way before you get behind the camera. So every shoot that I do starts with creating the mood board. And that's where I think about my colors. That's where I think about my props. I think about my background boards. If I'm working with a team, I'm coordinating with the food stylist and I'm telling them, this is what we're doing. So that happens before any shoot. even portfolio work. I mean, I know I said earlier, like you go in with no expectations. This is the only expectation I go in with is the props, all of that jazz. And then when it comes time to actually building it, I actually draw out my shots. what I'm seeing in my head. I'm not, I'm not a Picasso or anything like that, like very much. Yeah. Or it was definitely not. Good Lord. Definitely not Rembrandt. But, there's actually, let me see if I can find it here on my computer. There's a software that I use. I don't know. Can I say what? What the software is. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Mica McCook:

Okay. It's called set a light 3d.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay.

Mica McCook:

And, uh, it's actually really cool because you can, build your lighting in this software. Like you have like the model and you tell it like what camera you're using. You tell it what strokes you're using, or if you're using a speed light, or if you have, you know, Reflectors, diffusers, and you create the lighting scene and you can see it, what it would look like in real time. And you can just kind of play around with that. It's actually really handy, especially if you're learning and starting to play around with strobes and, that's something that you're learning. So I do that a lot. And then when it comes to the actual shot itself, the first thing that I think of when it comes to the cocktails or drinks. I'm thinking about the garnishes. What's going to go with this drink? Because if you just put, a cup with some clear liquid, well, that could be anything. That could be water. It could be rubbing alcohol. It could be anything. So what makes this a cocktail? What do you think of when you think of a martini? Well, we all think about that olive. You know, or the brine or, the toothpick that goes through the olive, if you want to have, do you want to have one giant olive? Do you want to have three? Like, what kind of drink is this? Is this a hot date night drink? Or is this a, I just came home from a long day of work, so we're going to have five olives kind of drink, you know, um,

Raymond Hatfield:

always five, if it's

Mica McCook:

always five olives, and then If it's just the drink itself and you want to keep it minimal and you don't want to have a lot of props, well then you have to, that's where you have to be super intentional with what props you do use. there in some cases less is more, so it really depends. if the drink itself is already heavily garnished, then I'm okay with having a very minimal scene, but if it's not, like a martini. A gin, a vodka martini well, then you need a lot of supporting elements to help it. And so sometimes it is like, you're thinking from a technical point of view, but once you get that tech part out of the way, then you can start thinking about, the art direction, but a lot of that really is done in the pre planning stages. when it's with client work, that's not the time to experiment when it's client work. So you spend a lot of time in preparation, but when it's portfolio work, I go in with the, with the plan. In that I do my mood boarding. I pick my props. I choose what lights I'm going to use, but then when I'm actually in the studio, I go in with the intention of being open to like letting it go in whatever direction it might go in.

Raymond Hatfield:

Uh, I see. Yeah.

Mica McCook:

So I might go into a shoot with the intention of creating this super dark and moody, shot. But it might just organically steer to the right and I end up with this, very colorful, bright background. Like, it really depends on how I'm feeling at the time that I'm shooting it, but definitely preparing the shot. Props, things like that. before I even get into the studio.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a hard thing for new photographers to figure out. Cause again, like a lot of that comes based on experience, you know, what light you want to use, what props might look good in the shot, but as long as you start and it doesn't have to be great, but at least do something. So I appreciate you, sharing that. I want to know, like after the shoot is over. If they say, the client says something to the effect of like, wow, this looks like a painting, you know, that you did a good job. But like internally, when you look at the images, you said that you're a perfectionist, right? When you look at the images, how do you know that you did a good job?

Mica McCook:

If it takes my breath away, like one photo in particular, it's a red charcuterie board. And I don't know if I'm saying charcuterie right or wrong. My husband and I have this.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Mica McCook:

Charcuterie.

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, okay. Yeah. Don't say that. Yeah. Yeah.

Mica McCook:

And I say charcuterie. Uh

Raymond Hatfield:

huh.

Mica McCook:

And he's like, that's not how you say it. created this photo, of a red charcuterie board and I, the idea behind it was, the song man eater by Nelly Furtado

Raymond Hatfield:

and

Mica McCook:

the lyrics, where she's talking about everybody look at me, me, I walk in the door, you start screaming and man eater, make your man walk, make your man talk for all your love or something like that. And so I imagine that this man. Was creating this board to try to impress Nelly Furtado's character and that, when you think of love, you think of the color red, and it's very passionate. So I wanted to like create different, tones of red. So I had strawberries in there, salami, tomatoes, don't know why, I was like, oh, that's red, let's throw that in. It's not weird to me, they're red, I get it. Red grapes, and at the end, it's so funny because when I was taking the shot and I actually shot this in natural light, we had, our AC get our AC got repaired that same day that I was shooting this and the AC repair man and his assistant walked in and his assistant looked over to the right and he sees me there and he sees the board and my camera and everything like that. And his eyes just like, like those cartoons where they just bulged out. He was like, what is that? And I, told him what I was doing and the shot. And, and I took the shot and we looked at the screen and he was like, that is the one that is so cool. And, so the shoot goes on, it's done. And the next day, I have a rule that when I shoot, I take a break. I don't look at the photos until the very next day. And, so the next day when I pulled up my Capture One and I'm looking at the photos, I mean, before I even started the post processing, it blew me away. I was like, I did this? Me? Mika McCook? I, I, wow, this is incredible. And it was a image for my mentor, Bea, and I sent it over to her and she was like, this is incredible. Mind blowing. This is breathtakingly gorgeous. And I was like, so proud of it. And I took my breath away. And that is the kind of work that I set out to create every time for my clients. I don't set that out when I'm doing portfolio work. I just, I go in hoping for the best, not expecting the worst, but, just accepting the idea that I might not walk away from this shoot with something incredible. But with client works, I do. That's my intention. I want to take their breath away. And that photo took my breath away. So when I feel like I did not take this, this was not me. And I know it's a great photo and it's something that I'm extremely proud of.

Raymond Hatfield:

That is about a solid of a litmus test as you can, uh, you can have there when you look at your own work and you literally can't breathe. You're like this. I did not. Somebody else. It's like, this is

Mica McCook:

someone else who did this, you know,

Raymond Hatfield:

how did this end up on my memory card? This is not me. That is amazing. Well, um, Mika, we are at the end of our time here. but I want to say that I appreciate everything that you have shared with us today. it has gotten me excited, to look at more food photography in more of a critical way. now that you've shared some tips with us, I also know that there are going to be some listeners who are thinking, you know what? This food photography thing sounds pretty awesome. how can we learn more about you and, more of your food photography teaching offerings?

Mica McCook:

Oh, absolutely. If anyone's interested in food photography, come join us on the dark side. We have a lot of fun. We eat a lot of delicious food. Join us. But, you can follow, me at Austin food guide, A U S T I N food guide. I also host a podcast called the savory shot and you can follow that at the savory shot and you can check my website out austinfoodguide. com. But I mostly hang out on. Tik Tok. Those are my two favorite. My two favorite places to be. And that's the same, same name, Austin food guide on Tik TOK as well. Not a lot of professional stuff goes on, on my Tik TOK page. I'm very silly. I just like to have fun. But, Austin food guide is where I talk about the toughness of being an entrepreneur and the fun behind it.

Raymond Hatfield:

I know that, uh, we didn't talk much about brisket in this episode, but, brisket is on my mind right now and I want to know what food are you thinking of after this interview with Mika? I had three big takeaways, from this episode with Mika. The first one was, you know, the power of self critique. That was so cool. Most people, look at a photo and simply smile, you know, but Mika, Uh, looking at photos, as a task, she asked herself, what does this photo make me feel? Okay, cool. why does it make me feel that way? what is it about the photo that makes me feel, happy? and then she's able to build a mental Rolodex of how to create mood in an image. Wow, if you could do that, I'm telling you, unstoppable. Unstoppable. Takeaway number two was to give yourself permission to fail. You don't want to try something out in front of a client, you know, on a client shoot. So do those test shoots with purpose. I can tell you from experience, I've tried something out and it has failed completely and I was so excited about it that I told the client, I was like, this is going to be great. And then it didn't. And. it just kind of leaves a bad taste in the client's mouth. It didn't ruin anything, but they really thought something was going to be great and it wasn't, and they're just kind of like, okay, you know, so if there's a specific technique that you want to try, just do it again, do those test shoots with purpose, try that specific technique, and if it fails, Who cares? now you know what won't work when you need it. And then takeaway number three was the power of shadows. You know what she said that, shadows don't take anything away from a photo. They add to it, right? It becomes a character that is so cool. When you look at renowned paintings, the dark backgrounds are prevalent because it brings attention to your subjects. Think about that next time you go out and shoot. All right. If you have any questions about this episode or feedback on the show, feel free to reach out to me directly by visiting the contact page at beginner photography, podcast. com. There, you can shoot me an email or a voicemail. Yeah, voicemails, how cool and who knows, you might even hear that voicemail of your thoughts on this episode in an upcoming episode of the podcast. And that is it for this week. Thank you again so much for tuning into this episode of the beginner photography podcast brought to you by CloudSpot. It truly is the easiest way to deliver and sell your photos online. I don't know how more efficiently I could say it than that. If you want to learn more about CloudSpot, just head over to deliverphotos. com. And remember the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon.

Outro:

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