As the daughter of a midwestern Mom, my love for cheese has run deep since I was a kid. “Everything is better with cheese!” my Mom would always say as she was cooking away in the kitchen, pouring an extra handful of cheese on top of any and all of our meals. I’m not here to complain, though. I love trying all sorts of new cheese flavors and this project had no shortage of variety. From black pepper gouda and tomato basil feta to paneer- Appel Farms knows how to make a fantastic cheese with subtle yet impactful flavors.
The Project
When the client contacted me they new a few things right off the bat:
- They didn’t want the perfectly plated cheese and charcuterie boards that have become so popular on socials, but something more messy and organic.
- Bright, saturated colors in the scene that were balanced with their primary branding colors of mustard yellow and a minty kind of green.
- A more dramatic type of side light allowing for deeper shadows and highlights
- An eclectic look that allowed the packaged cheese to be the hero, but provided plenty of interest around the rest of the shot.
- To focus primarily on ten different cheese flavors – each one to be showcased in a different styled scene
- To use these photos for marketing, in their shop, on their website + socials, at trade shows and more.
The Challenge
One of the biggest hurdles we faced here was finding backgrounds that really fit the branding colors and style the client was looking for. Plus, whenever we’d find something we liked it was either out of stock or on back order. This process actually took a number of months to finally work out. We landed on the mint green marble, a yellow backdrop no longer offered from Woodville Workshop and this black tile. Ultimately, it was well worth the wait to ensure that the colors in these images were compatible with their brand and overall visual identity.
The other challenge here was to think through unique pairings for each type of cheese. This took a significant amount of input from the client to be sure that the pairings were in line with their vision. We worked through tweaking scenes and collaborating on ideas to create a final grocery list that would give us as much variety as possible. The one that stands out most to me is the Smoked Gouda – We photographed it in two different scenarios because each of them was so intriguing. The first scene featured apple pie, red wine and pecans inspired by a family phrase they shared with me – “An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze!” The second scene was meant to be grill-esque including torched wood chips and smoke.
The Takeaway
In the end, the project ended up taking 6 hours in the studio, included different angles and styling of 10 different cheeses and totaled 166 final images. The client has already started sharing images on their socials and using them on their website and I am so excited to see how else they use these shots!
Want to see more cheese photography? Check out this session with Cheesebelly Co and Golden Glen Creamery!
Ready to get in touch? Reach out today and let’s talk about photographing your food!
