We were lucky to catch up with Brianna Coleman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brianna , thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the best parts about my job is translating and bringing a client’s ideas into visual formats to represent them or their brand. One of my recent favorite projects to date is creating branding, website design & brand photography for Christine Tobin, food stylist. Christine is a Boston local stylist who has a passion for food & culinary storytelling. She both creates editorial food work in collaboration with other photographers as well as leads a team as head stylist for films in and around New England. Digging into the depths of her brand, I was able to curate a visual narrative to whomever enters her site to know she cares deeply about creative process and staying true authentic food history to tell a story. I curated all photography selects from archived projects dating years back to give each cookbook the artist had worked on distinct & special purpose. I was also lucky enough to capture portraiture of Christine in front of her infamous cookbook library in her home, on her favorite artists’ stool which reflected a deep personal meaning. All elements on set that day play a unique part in reflecting my subject’s passionate dedicated years to the food industry. This project as a whole was special to me personally because I was able to use all my skills in the creative toolbox to tell her story – art direction, design & photography – which stirs my budding creative ideas in the best possible way.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Originally trained as a graphic designer, I started out my career specifically in this field coming into a food media company that blossomed & grew exponentially during my five years with them. I started working at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street in 2016 as one of two members of the creative team. At Milk Street, I dove into the food world and fell head over heels giving life to the brand as a designer who touched everything from aiding in art direction for their award winning website to creating smaller design assets like brochures for their on-site cooking school or pulling props to decorate a TV set or editorial food set. I soon jumped into food photoshoots as an art director to aid in the high volume of food photography production needed which touched all departments & channels across the company. This included their public TV show, radio, magazine, cookbooks, booming E-Commerce store and all marketing needs. Since the need for food photography was so exponential, this quickly became a niche role I naturally took to full time – producing and art directing food shoots. From designer, to associate art director, to art director of photography, in the five years I spent at Milk Street I worked with incredibly talented teams to produce a whopping eight cookbooks, one of my most proud accomplishments during my time there. I also photographed food & products for the company’s online store that launched right before the start of the pandemic. I will never forget the privilege and challenge of continuing to shoot food during that time in my own home kitchen as a team of one – cooking, styling and photographing!

During my time at this company, I fell head over heels into the food photography world, and felt a strong desire to help other brands with their design or photo needs. Eventually, I pivoted completely into the world of freelance, feeling strongly it was my time to branch out and bring my unique perspective as art director, designer and photographer to other clients in and around the food & beverage industry. Now, it is my great joy to work full time for myself, and bring my specialty to clients who need design or photography to help bring their brand visuals to life. What makes me distinctive from other creatives in this industry is truly my Mary Poppins bag of mixed creative skills to the table. I have a deep understanding of how both photography & design need to have a symbiotic relationship to create a balanced narrative that clients need. It is my passion and pleasure to work with all different types of clients who typically share my love of food. I am a huge design & photo nerd who loves to stay up to date on emerging trends & always strives to curate timeless visuals that can bring businesses to the next level.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One of the most helpful parts about forging a path for myself as a small business, particularly in the photography & design community has been seeking advice and support from other likeminded professionals. There are so many talented photographers and designers out there that love to other freelancers as well. I have found especially that women in my community are the most welcoming and willing to offer advice or swap experiences they have learned from. I definitely learned early on to not shy away from reaching out to people who inspire you and make work that you can relate to. There are so many small ins and outs as you start your journey that are important to know that you make not have thought of or come across in research as you start your business.

The most important piece of advice I got from a local Boston food photographer was to KEEP MAKING WORK! There are periods of time where the influx of work may seem slow, but I love utilizing this time to try new ideas, experiment with lighting and collaborate with others. This can help to keep your skills sharp and creating art for yourself is invaluable. You never know what future client sees your experimental work and wants to hire you for a like minded project!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

With so many large companies out there for hire, I think the best way society can best support artists is to think and shop locally. Going to local flee markets, open studios and farmers markets for example really gives back to your community in so many ways, and supporting local vendors is an amazing way to give back in small ways to your community. So many independent artists are also willing to negotiate with clients on specialized pricing as well, something you won’t typically find when hiring agencies for projects.     

Contact Info:

• Website: http://briannacoleman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bri_coleman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brianna.coleman.3998?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianna-coleman-design-photo-art-direction/

Image Credits
All imagery taken by me for clients