Environmental Portrait Photography for Food Technology Magazine I San Francisco Bay Area Editorial Portrait Photographer

Environmental Portrait Photography for an Editorial Publication

I recently had the pleasure of photographing June Jo Lee, a food ethnographer, for Food Technology Magazine. This assignment combined two things I love about editorial assignments, connecting with interesting people and creating portraits that tell a deeper story through their environment.

One of June Jo’s tasks as a food ethnographer is that she observes consumers in their natural settings to understand why they choose certain foods. Her research helps food companies and marketers understand human behavior and needs.

What Makes Environmental Portrait Photography Different

With environmental portrait photography, the location becomes part of the narrative. I photograph people in spaces that reveal who they are and add meaning to their story. For this Food Technology Magazine shoot, we created three distinct setups in June Jo's home, each showing different facets of her professional life and personal aesthetic.

Why June Jo's Space Was Perfect for Editorial Portraits

Sometimes you walk into someone's home and immediately know the shoot will work beautifully. June Jo's space was one of those moments. Her home reflects the same curiosity and attention to detail that defines her work as a food ethnographer:

The design layers create visual depth without feeling cluttered. Her color palette was already editorial-ready. Every corner had thoughtful touches that revealed her personality.

As someone who specializes in environmental portraits, I'm always looking for these kinds of spaces where the subject's character is already expressed visually. It makes the photography feel authentic and interesting.

Creating Variety for Magazine Editorial Work

Magazine editors need options, and for this assignment, the three different environmental portrait setups gave them flexibility to match images to different article sections or page layouts, and select the visual tone that best supports the piece.

I kept the lighting and compositional approach consistent across all three setups so the images would work together cohesively, even though each setup told a slightly different part of June Jo's story.

The Energy of Collaborative Portrait Sessions

June Jo was wonderful to work with, engaged, natural, and completely comfortable in her space. That collaborative energy matters tremendously in environmental portrait photography. When someone feels at ease in their environment, you can see it in the images.

Environmental Portrait Photography for Editorial and Commercial Clients

I work with editorial publications, local Bay Area businesses, and professionals who need portraits that go beyond standard headshots. Whether you're a magazine editor looking for compelling feature photography, a professional needing personal branding images, or a company wanting to showcase your team in authentic ways, environmental portraits create depth and tell a story that simple headshots can't achieve.

My approach emphasizes storytelling through thoughtful composition, beautiful lighting, and capturing people in spaces where they feel themselves.

Three Trees Milk Tea Brand Photography I San Francisco Bay Area Product & Lifestyle Photographer

Sustainable Brand Photography for Woman-Owned Food & Beverage Companies

I recently collaborated with Three Trees, a woman-owned plant based beverage company, to create brand photography celebrating the launch of their new Milk Tea product.

About the Three Trees Brand Photography Project

Three Trees is a female-founded, sustainable food brand committed to plant-based nutrition and environmental responsibility. Their newest product, organic Milk Tea, represents their ongoing dedication to creating clean, nature-inspired beverages.

For this product photography series, my team and I designed purposeful, minimalist compositions that highlight moments of mindful self-care. Each image captures the quiet pleasure of taking a restorative pause during a busy day, reflecting both the brand's values and the customer experience.

My Approach to Values-Aligned Brand Photography

As a commercial photographer, I prioritize working with brands whose mission aligns with sustainability, ethical business practices, and community impact. Three Trees exemplifies these values through their commitment to:

• Women in leadership and business ownership

• Sustainable packaging and environmental stewardship

• Plant-based, organic ingredients

• Transparent, nature-rooted business practices

Sustainable Brand Photography Services for Food & Beverage Companies

I specialize in product photography for sustainable brands in the Bay Area.

• Product launch photography

• Lifestyle and editorial brand imagery

• Social media content creation

• Purpose-driven brand storytelling

• Photography for woman-owned businesses

I work with conscious food and beverage brands creating visual content that communicates their environmental values, product quality, and brand story. My lifestyle and product photography approach emphasizes authentic moments and purposeful composition.

Branding Portraits for Freelance Culinary Content Strategist Clare Langan I San Francisco Bay Area Food and Lifestyle Photographer

Culinary Lifestyle and Portrait Photography in SF Bay Area

When colleagues reach out for headshots or portraits, it’s such an honor that they put their trust in me as a photographer. When chef and culinary instructor Clare Langan mentioned she was looking for headshots I jumped at the chance to work with her.

Clare is a San Francisco Bay Area chef specializing in seasonal recipe development and culinary education. As both a cooking instructor and video content creator, she needed authentic professional headshots that reflect her approachable style and creative workspace. We photographed these portraits in Clare’s home kitchen and backyard, the actual spaces where she develops recipes and creates cooking content, ensuring that the images authentically represent her work environment and creative process.

Follow Clare’s Work

Check out her Substack, On Cooking to get her thoughts on seasonal recipes, kitchen tips and the joy of everyday cooking.

Book your Professional Portrait Session

I specialize in headshots for food professionals, culinary instructors, and creative entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Photography Services Offered

• Professional headshots for chefs and culinary professionals

• On-location portrait photography

• Brand photography for food industry professionals

• Social media content creation

• Business portraits in authentic work environments

Actor Jason Veasey photographed for POZ Magazine

Actor Jason Veasey for the cover of POZ magazine! We shot this at the Toni Rembe Theater where Jason was currently acting in a musical comedy called Nobody Loves You. Shout out to the staff there who did so much to help me organize this shoot which took a lot more logistics than you would think. Since we couldn’t show any of the stage, we had to use the tippy top of the mezzanine where the seats are high up and steep. Not easy for the vertigo challenged (me).

 Jason was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met or photographed. Elegant in front of the camera with the warmest smile. This POZ cover shot came on the heels of him coming out publicly as living with HIV and I am so honored to be a (super tiny) part of that journey by making his photo for the POZ feature.

Lazy Bear for Wine Spectator

I photographed Lazy Bear for Wine Spectator Magazine to celebrate the restaurant winning the 2024 Grand Award, which meant spending most of the day with beverage director Jacob Brown (@everythingliquid) who was knowledgeable, funny, and kind. It was fun to see him enjoying the acknowledgment of hard work paying off and getting to have a moment in the spotlight. Well deserved 🥂

If you’d like to see more work I did for Wine Spectator, you can see my shoot with Press Restaurant here.

Midsummer Vibes

Midsummer vibes are in the air and I’m here for it! This is a group of images that I put together for my summer newsletter. I love this time of year when all the early summer produce is at its peak and the flowers are bursting in bloom. The air is warm and having a picnic and enjoying the sunny weather are the most important things on the agenda.

I’ve been thinking lately about the feeling an image gives you when you look at it and how I can use the light to create that feeling. If it’s on location that means planning the shoot for the perfect time of day and supplementing the existing light. And in the studio that’s creating the light from scratch. These images are a mix of location and studio shots that give me all the warm summer feels. You can see more of my food and lifestyle work here.

Lifestyle work for Just Date

New Lifestyle work for Just Date!
I’m excited to share work we created for their latest advertising campaign. It’s an honor to collaborate with a company on their marketing photography whose values and ethos align with my own. I’m always aiming to work with brands who are intentional in their efforts to uplift our health and well-being and act with kindness towards our planet.
“Just Date is on a mission to help folks enjoy real sugar and natural sweetness that nourish your body. Creating a healthier sweet that’s great for you and great for our Earth. We are not a company that celebrates cut-out culture, diet culture, or subtraction. We believe a healthy life is rooted in abundance: overflowing with joy, energy, nutrients, flavor and community”
It was a delight to work with this caring, creative, competent and talented all-woman team. As it says right on their packaging, their products are MADE BY WOMEN.

See more of my food and lifestyle work here.

Cute Little Grilled Mortadella Skewers

Having a moment with pastels! This was the perfect inspiration for a studio shoot with one of my favorite guilty pleasures: mortadella. I had a day in the studio styling, lighting and photographing by myself. I love to work with a team of collaborators and I also love to work by myself sometimes working out some of my own food styling, composition and lighting ideas.

See more of my food work here.

Editorial Food Assigment for Plate Magazine

Some recent work for Plate Magazine for an article on the mother sauce: Sambal. This is the Masak Kicap, beef cheek with sambal at Azalinas which is a 4-course tasting menu restaurant here in SF.

So much hustle goes in to photographing one item! For a simple editorial shoot where I’m photographing a dish or two, restaurants usually have an hour or less for me to set up, photograph, break down, and get out of the way before they need to set up for service. Even with only a simple one-light set-up, I’m working fast the whole time.

There were many details here that were on my side, the table and plate ware were a nice matte finish so I didn’t have to spend time problem solving reflections. The elements of food on the plate are a variety of shapes, textures and colors, which look appetizing and interesting in a photograph. Also Azalina and her staff were gracious and able to take the time away from their prep to help with the food styling.

Even with all the hustle I love editorial work, it’s so much fun! I love discovering new spots and meeting people who are doing work worthy of being recognized. And so I get sent home with food. I didn’t get to eat this dish, but Azalina sent me home with a little container of sweet crispy lotus root to snack on while I drove home.

The second image is the final layout of the dish. I am always amazed how the version in a magazine’s layout is like an alternate interpretation of the image I took. I love seeing this dish up close and in a double spread!

See more of my food and lifestyle work here.

Collaborative Branding Photoshoot with Yoga Instructor Marissa Mika

Sharing images from a recent branding shoot I did with yoga instructor Marissa Mika. Marissa is also a writer and Cal Alum who describes herself as a “nerdy urban academic lady who likes a sun salutation, writing, and a cup of coffee.” Marissa has a strong and meaningful relationship to UC Berkeley, so we decided to do her yoga branding photoshoot on the campus. 

After doing some scouting we decided on a few key spots that Marissa felt connected to, and the day of the shoot we followed the light during the span of the afternoon, capturing her in some of her favorite locations and also a few spur of the moment gems where the light was doing something gorgeous. 

 I love working with clients in a collaborative effort to tease out what feels true to them. Marissa and I also did a scouting session in downtown San Francisco at some POPOS (privately owned public spaces) and ultimately Marissa decided that didn’t feel aligned with her brand. Sometimes you have to see what isn’t working to land on what IS. 

 Working with Marissa was such a treat. I feel thankful to get to work with clients whose values align with mine, specifically to uplift our health and well-being.

See more of my portrait work HERE..

New Food & Lifestyle work for Just Date

New work for Just Date! I’m so excited to share work we created for their latest lifestyle advertising campaign. It’s an honor to collaborate with a food company whose values and ethos align with mine. I’m always aiming to work with brands who are intentional in their efforts to uplift our health and well-being and act with kindness towards our planet. 

“Just Date is on a mission to help folks enjoy real sugar and natural sweetness that nourish your body. Creating a healthier sweet that’s great for you and great for our Earth. We are not a company that celebrates cut-out culture, diet culture, or subtraction. We believe a healthy life is rooted in abundance: overflowing with joy, energy, nutrients, flavor and community”

It was a delight to work with this caring, creative, supportive, competent and talented all-woman team. As is says right on their packaging, their products are MADE BY WOMEN. I literally let out a little squeal as I was doing the retouching on the packaging and noticed this detail. 

This project was one of my highlights of 2023!  

See more of my food and lifestyle work HERE.