I get a lot of questions of how I turned my photography around from photos like the one on the left below, to the one on the right. And honestly, the biggest part of that was taking Foodtography School. So I wanted to write a post that gave some insight into what Foodtography School is all about, what it can teach you, and my honest review of the course.
In this post I cover:
- What is Foodtography School?
- How to get a discount on Foodtography School
- Who should take Foodtography School?
- What will you learn when you take Foodtography School? (a breakdown of each module)
- What will you not learn from Foodtography School
- How much does Foodtography School cost?
- My honest review of Foodtography School
- Is Foodtography School worth it?
What is Foodtography School?
I am going to be talking about the OG Foodtography School in this post, because I think it is what most people are looking to try. But Foodtography School actually has a lot of other offerings too! They have an Advanced Foodtography School if you are already pretty well versed but want to take your work a step further, a Restaurant Foodtography School to learn how to take your skills from your studio to an on site shoot, an IFoodtography School if you are not ready to jump in with a DSLR but want to take ahhhhmazing photos with your Iphone, as well as a new Influencer Bootcamp to help you learn how to dominate on social media nowadays (because we all know that feels impossible!)
They also have non-course offerings such as beautiful website templates, you can use for your blog so you don’t have to start from scratch, presets so you can edit photos in one click, style and edit sessions you can purchase a la carte if you have a certain subject that you would love some advice on how to style, as well as templates and guides for things such as branding, pitching, and restaurant photography that you can buy at a lower price point than a full course.
So back to the OG course. Foodtography School is a self-paced, online course that covers all of the fundamentals you need to know to be a great food photographer. It starts with going over how to use your camera in manual mode, and then has modules dedicated to composition, lighting, and editing. But it doesn’t stop there, it also covers branding, social media, and marketing skills to help you learn both the creative and the business side of the industry to help make your photography a real success.
Get a Discount on Foodtography School
I want to be transparent and let you know that I am an affiliate for Foodtography School. I absolutely love this course and what it has done for my business, and have been promoting it since the day I took it. So I am excited to be a part of the team and help spread the word. As I have mentioned before I only work with brands that I love, in all capacities of my business, and this is no exception. I would not promote Foodtography School if I didn’t think it was 1000% worth your time and investment. But what that means is that the links in this post are affiliate links, so if you click them and make a purchase, I do get a small commission. **It adds zero extra cost to you** In fact it gets you a discount! You can use code DONUTWORRY for 15% off ANYTHING on their site. Check it out here. So this doesn’t only include the OG course, but all of their courses, their presets, and any resource they offer. As always, I appreciate you supporting me, it is what allows me to keep doing this and creating free content for you to enjoy!
Who Should Take Foodtography School?
Foodtography School is geared towards beginner food bloggers and food photographers that want to learn a basic understanding of their cameras, as well as composition, lighting and editing techniques. If you already have taken a course that covers these topics or you feel like you have a really good understanding of them, I’d recommend you take Advanced Foodtography School Instead. Also, as the name suggests, this is really meant for photographers that photograph food. If you are a portrait or lifestyle photographer, it probably will not be the most useful class for you. If you feel like you have a good understanding of composition and lighting but really want to focus on editing in Lightroom, I’d recommend another course I have taken called Lightroom Magic with Rachel Korinek of Two Loves Studio. This course is all about Lightroom and really focuses on getting into the nitty gritty of editing. But it only covers editing, if you want a more comprehensive class, Foodtography School is your best bet.
What Will You Learn When you Take Foodtography School?
Foodtography School is broken into 7 units:
- Fundamentals of Photography
- Composition
- Light
- Branding
- Editing
- Social Media
- Business & Marketing
Unit 1: Fundamentals of Photography
This unit covers all of the basics to get you started. It goes through the history of photography (which is cool if you’re into that sorta thing but I kinda skimmed over it 😛 ), it walks you through all of the settings you need to know in order to use your DSLR camera in manual mode (which is a must to master photography!), and it even gives you Sarah’s go-to gear and some great prop ideas to get you started (I bought like everything on the list). Plus it has a walkthrough of Lightroom and when I took this course I had NO idea what I was doing in Lightroom so that was huge for me.
Unit 2: Composition
Composition has honestly been the hardest part for me in my photography journey so this unit was everything to me. She goes through core composition principle you can put into practice right away to help your photos look more cohesive and intentional. She talks about how to incorporate movement and layering and textures to help you make your photos more interesting, and covers the best perspectives to shoot from with food photography. This unit was one of my favorites and one that I have gone back and watched again and again.
Unit 3: Light
Light – the best and worst part about photography. Lighting is everything for photography. And it can be SO hard to master (another pain point for me). In this unit Sarah goes over how to detect different types of light, how to shoot in different types of light, lighting mistakes to avoid, and offers some great tips on how to standardize your light so you can take photos with a cohesive, on brand style over and over again.
Unit 4: Branding
Creating a brand for yourself is so important. You want someone to see your photo and immediately know you took it. This unit goes over why it is so important, how to creative visual branding, cohesive brand messaging, and finding your style.
Unit 5: Editing
The unsung hero of photography. I am not sure people who are not photographers understand this, but editing can make or break a photo. I still to this day have SO many photos that look frankly, uninteresting and not very good, when I snap the shot. But through editing I am able to create the style and look I want to achieve. This unit will teach you how to use Lightroom, you will see step by steps on how Sarah edits both a light and bright and a dark and moody shot, plus it teaches you how to edit according to your color story.
Unit 6: Social Media
We all have a love/hate relationship with social media am I right? Well this unit will show you how to make the most of it so you can use social media to showcase your portfolio, attract brands, and build your business. She even added a video all about reels and Tik Tok so you can stay up to date with latest trends.
Unit 7: Business and Marketing
Unfortunately good photography will only take you so far. Don’t get me wrong, good photography Is a must if you want to make money as a food photographer, but it is not the only skill you will need to be successful. This unit will teach you how to market to your audience, reach out to brands with confidence, and handle clients like a pro so that you can make (good) money through your photography! I love that it has specific modules on how to price your work and how to negotiate, because those were two areas I found really difficult to master.
What Will You Not Learn from Foodtography School?
As mentioned under the “who is this for” section, Foodtography School covers the basics. It covers pretty much all of the aspects you need to know both from a creative and a business side of food photography, but it does not go super advanced into any of them. If you are looking for a lot of information on one specific topic, I’d probably recommend looking for a course just in that topic (like how I mentioned Lightroom Magic for editing in Lightroom). But if you want a comprehensive course that will really get your food photography off the ground, Foodtography School is great for that.
It also does not cover anything related to artificial light. Sarah shoots mostly in natural light and that is what her course sticks to. If you want to learn about how to use artificial light you can check out my resource, Affordable Artificial Gear Guide For Food Photography, and if you want an entire course on the subject, I took Joanie Simon’s Artificial Academy and would be happy to answer any questions you have on that!
I have also gotten asked a decent amount recently if the course covers video. And my response to that would be yes and no. There is a new module in the social media section that covers reels and Tik Tok. It provides a great explanation of how to create short form video content on your Iphone that will perform well on social media. I think this is super useful because we all know that is what Instagram is pushing right now. But for the “no” part to this answer, this course does not cover how to create food videos on a DSLR, or how to edit food videos from a DSLR/on your computer.
What Does Foodtography School Cost?
The cost of the OG Foodtography School is $587 when you pay in full. But for you it is only $499 when you use code DONUTWORRY at checkout.
My Review of Foodtography School
Alright so what was my experience like with Foodtography School? Honestly it changed the game for me when it came to my blog and to my photography. I didn’t have a big social media following when I took the course, and I knew I wanted to differentiate myself not through the numbers, but through the quality of my content. Foodtography School helped me land really lucrative brand deals when I only had about 5k followers on Instagram. It was the first real investment I had made in my food photography and it gave me the motivation, skills, and confidence to really go out there and do what I wanted to do.
One of the best parts? You get access to the Foodtography School Community Facebook page. Honestly that is worth the price of the course! This is a group of everyone that has taken the course, and I have asked what feels like zillions of questions in there and everyone is so willing to help. Questions on anything and everything photography related so if there is something the course doesn’t cover, I can 99% guarantee someone in there can answer it for you. The Foodtography School team is also in there to help with questions!
What I do want to say though, is that Foodtography School is not a magic pill. You won’t watch the videos and automatically become a completely different food photographer. I remember I actually felt a little underwhelmed after I sped through all of the courses because I felt, unchanged. But DUH! Knowledge is just the first piece of the puzzle. You have to put in the work. I continue to go back and rewatch the videos and I always take something different away from them. And my photos continue to get better. The photos I take today are a lot better than the ones I took right after taking the course and that is because I continue to apply what I learned and practice.
I also wouldn’t expect the social media section to be anything life changing. Sarah gives some solid advice but as we all know, there is no method or tactic that will guarantee you grow on social media. So if numbers are all you are after, I wouldn’t expect that from this course.
So is Foodtography School Worth it?
In my opinion, absolutely 1000% yes. My photography would be nowhere near where it is today if I hadn’t invested in this education. Also, I recouped the cost of the course in brand deals within two months of taking it, which would not have been possible with the type of content I was creating before I took it. You need to be prepared to practice and do the work, but if you do, I think you will see there are amazing things that lie ahead for you and your work.
Ready to Invest in Yourself?
If you are ready to make the leap and invest in your food photography you can check out the course here. Remember to use code DONUTWORRY at checkout for 15% off anything on their site!
And if you still have unanswered questions don’t hesitate to leave them in a comment below or shoot me a message on Instagram! Good luck!
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