We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Chasten. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Amanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
I have a degree in Food Science and have always been interested in food and loved being creative. During the lockdown in 2020, I decided to pick up the creative hobby of food photography after I saw an Instagram ad for an online class. I bought a cheap DSLR camera at Costco and got to work watching the course and trying out my camera! I started an instagram account and online blog, and began to create simple recipes that I would photograph and post. I got really into it and truly loved it! I started out with small clients and worked for trades, and my first paid job got me $50.
Over the next 3 years, I kept working my corporate job and I continued to hone my craft through practice and more online classes on nights and weekends. I learned how to use artificial light and upgraded my gear. I also learned more about business, including about photography copyright and licensing, and how to properly charge clients for my work. I continued to practice, learn and cold email businesses to try and pick up new clients. At this point, I was still doing all of my own recipe development, cooking, and food styling in addition to photographing the food and doing all of the post production work.
In 2023, I met two amazing food stylists, Emily Caneer and Diane Gsell. In the summer of 2023, a job came through that had a slightly larger budget than what I was used to, so I realized I’d be able to hire a food stylist for the first time! I found Emily via a LinkedIn search and reached out. It turned out she was originally from the next town over, and after living in San Fransisco for a number of years, was moving further south down the coast. The timing was perfect, as she was looking for more work near me. That first job with Emily was definitely clunky, as I’d never worked with a food stylist before. We did the photoshoot in my house, and I learned as I went how it was to work on set with another person. We worked together well and the food looked great, and I saw the immense value in working with a food stylist rather than doing everything on my own.
I also had the opportunity to work with Diane Gsell on a few jobs and learned a lot from her! Meeting these two stylists helped me break into the local photography and food styling community which helped propel me forward and accelerate my knowledge of the industry.
Flash forward to January 2024: Emily came to me with an idea. We had worked on a few more jobs together and had started to build a rapport. She really wanted to bring more work to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area and asked me if I’d be interested in collaborating. She had an idea for the name of a collective of creatives: Saltwater Studio. I was super excited and honored that she, an experienced stylist, wanted to work with me in this capacity! I was all for the idea, and we got to work. We met up every month or so to talk business. We came up with a logo, website, did several photoshoot tests together to build a joint portfolio, built up a client base, and started to look for a physical studio space. At this point, I was still working my corporate job and doing all of this on the side. After about a year, we found the perfect spot, and I left my corporate job to pursue photography full time! Our studio space will be opening in April of 2025 in Ben Lomond, CA (just north of Santa Cruz)!
Going from the idea of food photography to executing a full blown business with a studio space was a 5 year journey with lots of learnings, and this is just the beginning! I can’t wait to see what is in store for us next as we continue to grow our business.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I have a degree in Food Science and have always been interested in food and loved being creative. I was working a corporate marketing job in food and it just wasn’t fulfilling me. During the lockdown in 2020, I decided to pick up the creative hobby of food photography after I saw an Instagram ad for an online class. I bought a cheap DSLR camera at Costco and got to work watching the course and trying out my camera! I started an instagram account and online blog, and began to create simple recipes that I would photograph and post. I got really into it and truly loved it! I started out with small clients and worked for trades, and my first paid job got me $50.
Over the next 3 years, I kept working my corporate job and I continued to hone my craft through practice and more online classes on nights and weekends. I learned how to use artificial light and upgraded my gear. I also learned more about business, including about photography copyright and licensing, and how to properly charge clients for my work. I continued to practice, learn and cold email businesses to try and pick up new clients. At this point, I was still doing all of my own recipe development, cooking, and food styling in addition to photographing the food and doing all of the post production work.
In 2023, I met two amazing food stylists, Emily Caneer and Diane Gsell. In the summer of 2023, a job came through that had a slightly larger budget than what I was used to, so I realized I’d be able to hire a food stylist for the first time! I found Emily via a LinkedIn search and reached out. It turned out she was originally from the next town over, and after living in San Fransisco for a number of years, was moving further south down the coast. The timing was perfect, as she was looking for more work near me. That first job with Emily was definitely clunky, as I’d never worked with a food stylist before. We did the photoshoot in my house, and I learned as I went how it was to work on set with another person. We worked together well and the food looked great, and I saw the immense value in working with a food stylist rather than doing everything on my own.
I also had the opportunity to work with Diane Gsell on a few jobs and learned a lot from her! Meeting these two stylists helped me break into the local photography and food styling community which helped propel me forward and accelerate my knowledge of the industry.
Flash forward to January 2024: Emily came to me with an idea. We had worked on a few more jobs together and had started to build a rapport. She really wanted to bring more work to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area and asked me if I’d be interested in collaborating. She had an idea for the name of a collective of creatives: Saltwater Studio. I was super excited and honored that she, an experienced stylist, wanted to work with me in this capacity! I was all for the idea, and we got to work. We met up every month or so to talk business. We came up with a logo, website, did several photoshoot tests together to build a joint portfolio, built up a client base, and started to look for a physical studio space. At this point, I was still working my corporate job and doing all of this on the side. After about a year, we found the perfect spot, and I left my corporate job to pursue photography full time! Our studio space will be opening in April of 2025 in Ben Lomond, CA (just north of Santa Cruz)!
To talk more about Saltwater Studio, we are a. Santa Cruz Based collaboration of creatives, here to make brands as beautiful and exciting as they deserve to be. Saltwater Studio is a one stop shop for photography, recipe development, creative direction and social media strategy. We custom tailor our services to our clients’ needs in order to provide a streamlined experience while having fun along the way. We’ll work with clients to strengthen their brand awareness and capture their customers’ attention. We also work with bloggers to create their recipe content!
What really sets Saltwater Studio apart is we offer an amazing service and quality photography at a more affordable price point than a large studio in the bay area would be able to offer. We are a boutique agency that’s accessible to a wider range of clients.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
I have a degree in Food Science and have always been interested in food and loved being creative. I was working a corporate marketing job in food and it just wasn’t fulfilling me. During the lockdown in 2020, I decided to pick up the creative hobby of food photography after I saw an Instagram ad for an online class. I bought a cheap DSLR camera at Costco and got to work watching the course and trying out my camera! I started an instagram account and online blog, and began to create simple recipes that I would photograph and post. I got really into it and truly loved it! I started out with small clients and worked for trades, and my first paid job got me $50.
Over the next 5 years (until this year, 2025), I kept working my corporate job and I continued to hone my craft through practice and more online classes on nights and weekends. I learned how to use artificial light and upgraded my gear. I also learned more about business, including about photography copyright and licensing, and how to properly charge clients for my work. I continued to practice, learn and cold email businesses to try and pick up new clients. At this point, I was still doing all of my own recipe development, cooking, and food styling in addition to photographing the food and doing all of the post production work.
In 2023, I met two amazing food stylists, Emily Caneer and Diane Gsell. I also met Laura Cook, a wonderful local prop stylist. In the summer of 2023, a job came through that had a slightly larger budget than what I was used to, so I realized I’d be able to hire a food stylist for the first time! I found Emily via a LinkedIn search and reached out. It turned out she was originally from the next town over, and after living in San Fransisco for a number of years, was moving further south down the coast. The timing was perfect, as she was looking for more work near me. That first job with Emily was definitely clunky, as I’d never worked with a food stylist before. We did the photoshoot in my house, and I learned as I went how it was to work on set with another person. We worked together well and the food looked great, and I saw the immense value in working with a food stylist rather than doing everything on my own.
I also had the opportunity to work with Diane Gsell and Laura Cook on a few jobs and learned a lot from them! Meeting these three stylists helped me break into the local photography and food styling community which helped propel me forward and accelerate my knowledge of the industry.
Flash forward to January 2024: Emily came to me with an idea. We had worked on a few more jobs together and had started to build a rapport. She really wanted to bring more work to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area and asked me if I’d be interested in collaborating. She had an idea for the name of a collective of creatives: Saltwater Studio. I was super excited and honored that she, an experienced stylist, wanted to work with me in this capacity! I was all for the idea, and we got to work. We met up every month or so to talk business. We came up with a logo, website, did several photoshoot tests together to build a joint portfolio, built up a client base, and started to look for a physical studio space. At this point, I was still working my corporate job and doing all of this on the side. After about a year, we found the perfect spot, and I left my corporate job to pursue photography full time! Our studio space just opened in April 2025 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
On the business/financial front, I got myself organized as the years went on by opening a separate business checking and savings account, getting a business credit card, opening up a Quickbooks account, and hiring an accounting team for taxes and bookkeeping. I made sure not to leave my full time job until I knew photography was bringing in enough income to support my lifestyle. I think this is a very important thing to remember! If you make the leap from your full time job to taking your side hustle full time too early, that can result in overwhelming stress that squashes creativity. Patience is a virtue!
To talk more about Saltwater Studio, we are a Santa Cruz Based collaboration of creatives, here to make brands as beautiful and exciting as they deserve to be. Saltwater Studio is a one stop shop for photography, recipe development, creative direction and social media strategy. We custom tailor our services to our clients’ needs in order to provide a streamlined experience while having fun along the way. We’ll work with clients to strengthen their brand awareness and capture their customers’ attention. We also work with bloggers to create their recipe content!
What really sets Saltwater Studio apart is we offer an amazing service and quality photography at a more affordable price point than a large studio in the bay area would be able to offer. We are a boutique agency that’s accessible to a wider range of clients.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
This happened recently. I had heard about the online platform, Substack, starting in 2024. It has become increasingly popular with bloggers of all kinds in recent years. One of my target customer groups is the food blogging community, so I decided to make a Substack profile and make a post. I messaged a few food bloggers I recognized who were on Substack, just letting them know who I am and what my business is about. I got an immediate response from the #3 food blogger on Substack that she actually was looking for a photographer, and the rest is history! Now she works with us twice a month and we get to photograph her awesome recipes.
This is an example of how a shot in the dark cold message can turn into valuable work and is exactly why you should never be the one to say no to yourself! Sending hundreds of cold emails/messages with no response can get discouraging after a while, but instances like these become shining moments!
I felt really energized from the success of this cold message and whenever I’m feeling discouraged, I think back to this instance and it helps me keep going with gusto.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amandachastenphotography.com. and www.saltwaterstudiosc.com
- Instagram: @amandachastenphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-chasten-b16114127/
Image Credits
Not applicable