For the first few years that I blogged I wrote anonymously. Everything I needed to learn, I would learnt alone. Everything I didn’t understand, I Googled. It was wonderful as it gave me the freedom to take my own journey without input or critism. But, it was also a little lonely. I wondered what or how other bloggers did things, but could never have the answers! Since ‘becoming public’ I have met SO many amazing bloggers who inspire me and share my passion for digital media. Some of those people include Dean, Francis and Tracey, contributors to InstaEats Cape Town and Visual Curative. They are the nicest people on the planet and SUPER talented! I love chatting to them about our passion for digital media as well as sharing thoughts and ideas. One of those ideas includes their new baby:
INSTAEATS FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE
I spoke to Dean, who will be running the InstaEats photograph course, along with Francis, aim at those of you who want to up your blogging/social media photograph skills:
BCTC: First of all, tell us a little back history about InstaEats.
Dean: InstaEats was started in April 2015 by myself with the purpose of creating a food photography Instagram account that would feature the best in food photos taken at restaurants around Cape Town. I was joined by Francis Gersbach in September 2015 and we came together to turn InstaEats into the number one destination for amazing visuals of food taken at Cape Town restaurants. Our focus is on taking food photos as they appear in restaurants and our aim is to create a community of food photographers who taken amazing food photos from their visits to some of Cape Town’s best restaurants.
BCTC: Tell us about the InstaEats workshop came about?
Dean: The InstaEats food photography workshops were created by Instaeats in collaboration with Cameraland to share our knowledge around taking food photos in a restaurant setting.
We want to introduce people to this world of food photography, through amazing experiences and fun days out rather than boring classroom lectures because we believe that the best way to learn is being thrown into the deep end of the environment you are planning to shoot.
BCTC: Who should attend the course?
Dean: The workshop is aimed at anyone looking to improve their food photography and is geared towards beginners with any type of camera or phone. The ultimate aim is to create this community of people who have the ability to go to any restaurant and take an incredible photo of their food.
BCTC: What kind of things can attendees expect to learn?
Dean: We have created these workshops around an experience and around fun rather than purely learning a new skill. As with all our meetups we want to create unique experiences which are not only enjoyed, but in which new skills are learnt and once off activities are enjoyed.
The course is divided up into different sessions, namely starters, mains, desserts and drinks and each session focuses not only on helping people shoot these different courses, but also divides up into different aspects of shooting from where to place your food, to finding the best lighting and little tips and tricks that people can do at restaurants to enhance their photography. Each session will have a practical component to it, allowing people to test their newly learnt skills.
BCTC: Tell us about the other brands you’ve partnered up with to enhance the experience?
Dean: We have paired up with Cameraland because they have incredible experience and technical knowledge of all things camera related as well as a community of camera enthusiasts who are always looking to increase their skillset. We have also partnered up with the City Sightseeing Bus who will be provided transport to and from Groot Constantia on their open top bus and Simon’s at Groot Constantia who will be providing the food for us to shoot and to eat. Kamili Coffee have also come onboard and every person will get a coffee to enjoy on the bus ride to Groot Constantia.
BCTC: What can people expect if they buy a ticket?
Dean: The name of the workshop is Foodtography 101 – A mouthful of creativity in partnership with Canon, Simon’s at Groot Constantia and City SightSeeing presented by Cameraland & InstaEats. The day will start at Cameraland at 8am and end at Cameraland at 5pm. Parking will be provided.
It will cost R800 (buy tickets here) and the following is included:
- Red Bus trip to and from Groot Constantia
- Cellar Tour
- Three Course Meal from Simon’s Restaurant
- Chocolate and Wine Pairing
- Beverages (Groot Constantia’s wines as well as non-alcoholic options)
- Foodtography workshop and notes
- Goodie Bag including Groot Constantia wine
- Certificate of attendance
- Print out of your best shot of the day
- Prizes up for grabs including entertainer vouchers, city sightseeing vouchers and a bottle of Grand Constance.
You could also WIN a ticket here! Simply leave a comment on the Facebook post of this blog post, and tell me about your interest in digital media or photography. Please also leave your e-mail address so I can mail you if you win!
Thanks to Dean for the great chat and for providing awesome opportunities for new bloggers to improve their skills. Make sure to follow Instaeats on Instagram (link above) and keep snapping/blogging! M
