California Dreaming

Written By Judy Doherty

California-Inspired Test Shoot Day

This test shoot was all about celebrating California's bold, delicious flavors. With cheeseburgers, Baja-style bites, and sun-soaked drone shots of LA flooding our social feeds, we drew inspiration straight from the Golden State’s current vibe.

This shoot allowed us to simultaneously show you our new multi-studio system across five sets, experiment with new lights, monochromatic color schemes, and quirky props, all of which are coming in hot from our client requests.

It was an actual test day—and a creative one at that! Our clients need a variety of shots for their marketing libraries, so we always want to help beat that budget beast and practice new looks!

Part 1 - the Pasadena Cheeseburger Party

Pasadena style cheeseburger with bling and hard light - delicious food photography

The Pasadena Burger from my studio is a homage to where the cheeseburger was invented. It also reminded us of the In-N-Out Burger, which was also invented in California!

Burger Party Reel

French Fry tray - with hand models

Assorted French fries and dips

Some Scrabble letter fun!

Food and lifestyle photography hard light with polaroid effect - party table and models with fairy lights pink orange bright crazy fun hip

Burger party set

Food and lifestyle photography hard light with polaroid effect - party table and models with fairy lights pink orange bright crazy fun hip

A Polaroid-style light with a hip but quirky model - we have had requests for this look!

Food and beverage with party lights and fairy lights bright colors hip

Closeup of party food with fairy light bokeh.

Part 2 - Baja Ceviche Tacos and Sets

Prepping taco recipe in kitchen lifestyle food photo with hand model

So, first, we started making our delicious shrimp ceviche tacos in the studio kitchen. It was real-life prep on camera, along with a video reel shot concurrently.

Baja tacos ceviche in studio with hand model hard light baja vibe lifestyle photo

Then we took the tacos to the sunlight studio and created a fun Baja inspired bar set.

Tacos on a beach with hand model -baja vibe - food and lifestyle photo and stop motion gif

More work in studio on the top down set with a beach. My assistants found the turtle mold in the sand castle toy set!

models on sunny patio with baja taco table and margaritas - food and beverage product and lifestyle photography

Finally, we ended up with a lifestyle Baja party on the patio. One of the good things about being in SoCal is that the outdoors are always beautiful and ready to go!

Spicy margaritas on patio - outdoor lifestyle photo with models and beverages

Cheers! Who loves spicy margaritas?

Stop motion tacos on the beach

Baja Taco Reel

Judy Doherty

I am a food, beverage, and CPG product photographer specializing in photos, stop motion, and video, with over 90,000 photos and motion graphics delivered. Clients hire me for my eye, creative direction, and passion for taking their idea to the next level.

My strength lies in a nimble and lean creative process. Clients love getting creative content at a reasonable cost since my studio can art direct, style, and shoot their images quickly and on budget. My studio features an extensive surface library and prop house with a fully equipped kitchen and two shooting studios.

My experience as a chef, stylist, and photographer has earned many awards, including APA Top 100, ACF Gold Medal, and a juried fine art photo exhibit at Art Basel Miami. I was Executive Pastry Chef for two Hyatt Hotels and Resorts before completing two post-baccalaureate certificates for Visual Art and Graphic Design at U.C. Berkeley Extension in San Francisco.

https://judydohertyphotography.com
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