London Food & Lifestyle Photography Workshop in Pictures

What started as a vague conversation over the most delicious Korean fried chicken, ended as a great day spent with a group of lovely and creative people. I still remember the afternoon when Jo and I were licking our greasy fingers and discussing the possibility of doing a photography workshop together. Only about a week later the planning process had started. We teamed up with super sweet and talented food stylist & writer Olia Hercules (she's just published her first cookbook Mamushka) for our intimate one-day hands on food photography & styling workshop. Being on the same page from the very beginning, we had envisioned a creative and inspiring day for a small group of food and photography enthusiasts.

Fast forward a few months, on the last Sunday in May, we were unpacking boxes of food and props at Lyle's in Shoreditch (the light in there leaves me in awe every time I visit), waiting for our workshop participants to arrive. To start the day off we covered some basics of composition, lighting, colour theory, working with props, mobile photography and food styling before it was time for our attendees to have a go and put theory into practice during three practice sessions.

Salad photos by Joanna Yee

Photo by Joanna Yee

Photo by Charlotte Hu

Big thanks go out to our generous sponsors, specifically Natoora for the most beautiful produce that we all swooned over and West Elm London for gorgeous props. We all stayed well hydrated during the day thanks to Good Beans cold brew coffee, Innocent Coconut Water and Joe's Tea. A small healthy bites were supplied by 100% Natural Foods brownies and Cereal Lovers granola. And as we all know, wine makes every event better, so even this workshop wouldn't be the same without good bubbles and wine from Campo Viejo. 

Olia and Jo checking the #sjphotoworskhop hashtag on Instagram. :)

Here's what our workshop attendee's say about their experience.
Natural Kitchen Adventures
Skillet & Shutterbug
The Little Plantation

Oh and Jo created a short video, have a look!


Food Lifestyle Photography workshop from Joanna Yee on Vimeo.

London Food & Lifestyle Photography Workshop

I hope you all had a lovely Easter! I have two exciting announcements today! First - spring has finally come to London and I couldn't be happier, second  - I will be teaching a food photography & lifestyle workshop with my friend and photographer Joanna Yee in London at the end on May. We will also have a food stylist and writer Olia Hercules joining us and sharing some of her secrets.

Lyle's London, Image by Joanna Yee

Here's all the details. Hope to see you there!

London Food & Lifestyle photography workshop with Sarka Babicka & Joanna Yee 

Date: Sunday 31 May 2015 
Place: Lyle’s | Tea Building | 56 Shoreditch High Street | London E1 6JJ 
Time: 10 AM – 5 PM 

Join us for a creative & inspired one-day photography & styling workshop in London’s Shoreditch. Using the beautiful space at Lyle’s we’ll cover our approach to food & lifestyle photography including:

• composition 
• working with natural light to create different moods 
• selecting & working with props 
• the process of telling stories through images 
• mobile photography tips 

Olia Hercules, Leith’s trained chef, food writer and stylist, will also be providing practical tips on food styling and demonstration. You will gain hands on experience styling and shooting based on what you learned at the workshop to create a small portfolio of work. There will also be an opportunity for you to get a private critique of your existing work from Sarka or Joanna should you opt to.

This is a workshop for those who are looking to learn or improve their food & lifestyle photography and styling skills. We hope you can join us for this creative and inspired day where you will leave with valuable tips & insights to execute on your own.

Cost: £300 
Includes: Tea, coffee and a light lunch will be provided.
Equipment: Bring a camera, fully charged battery and memory card(s)
Maximum of 10 participants
Tickets are non-refundable

For registration, go to our online store

About: 
Sarka Babicka is a London based food and travel photographer. She works with clients locally and internationally on a variety of editorial and commercial assignments. Her work has been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Times, The Telegraph, Woman and Home, Bon Appetit, CNN Travel, The Huffington Post and more.

Joanna Yee is a London-based freelance photographer specialising in food, travel and lifestyle photography. Her work has been featured in Good Things Magazine, Vogue Instagram, The Huffington Post and Time Out London. She is currently shooting a cookbook ‘Summers Under the Tamarind Tree’ by Sumayya Usmani.

Olia Hercules is a Leith’s trained chef, food writer and stylist. Olia grew up in Soviet Ukraine and Cyprus. She honed her cooking skills in the fiery kitchens of Ottolenghi and later working as a recipe developer and stylist for a variety of food magazines, including Sainsbury’s and Jamie’s. Her recipes are regularly featured in 10 Best column of The Guardian’s Cook supplement. Olia's first cookbook 'Mamushka' will be published on June 1st.