We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristina Wolter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kristina, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

As much as I’d love to say “I wish I had started doing this much earlier in life,” I really can’t because I’m a firm believer in opportunities being presented when they are meant to happen. I started my commercial food-styling business in 2014 as the result of a few different paths all coming together at the right time. While food has been a passion of mine since early childhood, my opportunity to be a food stylist would not have been successful without the experiences that came before.

In roughly 2009, I started a blog where I wrote about food and shared stories about my life related to food, usually including a recipe and a few photos. At the time, I was a full-time mom but also worked as a substitute pre-school teacher. It was during this time that, on a whim, I applied to a Craiglist ad looking for a production assistant for a television show being shot in Austin. I got the gig and it turned out that the position was essentially a sous-chef for the show’s on-air talent. This job truly opened my eyes to the world of film and working with food on sets. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that job was basically a food stylist.

At about the same time, the food blogging community in Austin started meeting regularly as a group which led to the creation of the non-profit Austin Food Blogger Alliance, of which I was asked to be the hospitality chair. One of the group’s early events was a food photography workshop, after which, I approached one of the professional photographers to ask if she took on interns. The television production had run its course but not before leaving me with the desire to explore the different opportunities to work on a set, and this was my chance to get my foot back in the door. She invited me to shadow her on a shoot and I gladly accepted. It was after that shoot that I admitted to her that I was not really interested in becoming a photographer, but really enjoyed creating and plating the food, as well as helping to create the story being told through the photos. As luck would have it, she was looking for a regular food stylist and based on how well we had worked together that day, gave me a chance. From that point on, my focus went solely on food-styling. I spent endless hours teaching myself the art of placement and learning all the tricks to keeping food looking good on set. We worked on a number of jobs and test shoots together, making sure it really was everything I wanted it to be as well as building a portfolio, before I felt I was ready to make this a business. Looking back, I know that I could not have started any earlier than I did and have been as successful, simply because I needed those different events and experiences to take place to guide me into this profession.

Kristina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a commercial food stylist living in Austin, Texas. I moved to Texas 23 years ago from Northern California and food has always been an integral part of my life and starting my food styling business feels like it has been a very natural transition. My interest in this line of work stemmed from my fascination with all the “industry secrets” used in making food look so enticing in an image. I love how food takes center stage these days in story-telling both in print and digital platforms. I generally work with individual photographers, agencies, and film production companies to create beautiful, mouth-watering content for commercials, film, print, packaging, and social media platforms. If you have ever picked up a cookbook or ordered a delicious-looking item off of a restaurant menu based on the image alone then you can thank a food stylist and a team of creatives who have spent countless hours making that picture look the way it does.

I enjoy working on sets because they are always dynamic and often present unexpected problems that I get to solve for, whether it be for food that’s “dying” (it’s a real problem) or adding just the precise amount of condensation to enhance the “icy” feel of a cold glass of beer. Being organized, prepared, and flexible to adapt in real time is key, but equally important is coming in with a pleasant and can-do attitude. Part of that is getting to know my clients, really listening to their personal stories, and creating materials that align with their branding. I’m always grateful to style for large brands but it’s those small start-up and family businesses that tug at my heart strings and being able to help them launch a product or tell their story is truly an honor. I get so much joy when I come across something that I styled, be it a package on a grocery store shelf, an image on the side of a truck as it passes by, or a recipe that comes up on a social media post. The joy comes from memories made on that job – the people I worked with, the laughter and frustration, and the things I learned that day. I get such a warm feeling knowing I had a part in making that happen.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I’m a firm believer in the idea that your work ethic goes hand-in-hand with your reputation. My father was a small business owner and growing up, I saw first-hand how he took care of his customers. He was a man of his word and did not make promises he knew he couldn’t follow through on. He treated his employees fairly and made his customers always feel important by going the extra mile. His integrity and work ethic were instilled in me and my siblings and I carry this into every client interaction and every shoot. While I’m an individual contractor, I am hired to join and work as part of a team and I have always taken the view that I’m no more or less important that anyone else on the production crew, be it a single photographer or a 60-person film crew – we are all there to make the best finished product that we can for the client.

I think the most important aspect of this is a person’s on-set personality. I try to always have a “can-do” attitude and stay open to the suggestions and changes that inevitably happen during a job. Staying professional and respectful to everyone, from the photographer, to the account managers, to the client, goes a long way towards creating and keeping a positive work environment.

I would like to believe that this is my reputation – at least it is what I strive for. A person’s reputation tends to get shared amongst the people in the industry – word-of-mouth and referrals are still a key. My hope is always that, at the end of the day, I am seen as knowledgeable in my craft, easy to work with, and someone that will go the extra mile to get the shot.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I find that working in a creative field is rewarding in a number of ways. I love that I’m always learning new things and having the opportunity to think outside the box, be it in pre-production planning or on-set when something does not go as planned. I like that it constantly keeps me on my toes. Just like the fashion industry, food is forever trending and evolving in new directions, so it’s important to keep up with those trends. Connecting with others and being part of the creative community, both in person as well as online, does just that.

I also love working with the different generations of people, the younger ones full of new energy and the industry veterans that have decades of knowledge to share. Within that, I also look at my role as someone that should be passing on as much knowledge as I can to those that want to learn, and feel especially proud when I’m able to teach someone something new.

The feeling I get when I see an image that I styled, whether it be in print or digital, is both pride and joy. When I see it, I’m instantly transported back to that shoot and the fun – and sometimes chaos – it took to make it. The saying “every picture tells a story” is one that I truly agree with, and for me that story is from behind the scenes. The memories of the people I worked with and the individual stories shared with me on that day. And always the laughter of my assistant and I, exhausted after spending ten hours on our feet. Working with creatives creates a kind of energy like none other, it fills my heart and keeps me motivated.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.girlgonegritsfoodstyling.com
• Instagram: @girlgonegrits_foodstyling
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/girlgonegrits
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/girlgonegrits/

Image Credits
Waffles-Mitchell Magnuson Soup- Amy Minkler Sandwich- Rachelle Bendixon Dark Acadamia-Nitya Jain Indian Charcuterie-Nitya Jain Head Shot-Bob Wolter