We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Peloquin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

As a new parent I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood in terms of what worked or didn’t so I can be sure to impart those successes to my baby. My parents are both very different people than me and have a different work background but what they really did right was let me explore. While neither was active in the arts and far from creative professionals they paid a lot of attention to what I was interested in as a little kid and listened to me as I grew into a teenager. I’m sure it’s incredibly challenging to know what is a passing phase vs what’s a core interest and how to nurture things on a tight budget but they didn’t protest when I asked to go to art museums, making them part of family adventures- sometimes even at the expense of long detours and always made sure whenever possible there was film for me to steal as I taught myself photography on my dad’s camera.

Eventually they got me my first “real” film camera (probably so I’d give my dad’s back..) and when I decided I wanted to go to an arts high school and secretly applied behind their backs, they found a way to make it work even though I broke a lot of rules to get in. Without that school and the early experiences exploring photography I would have been at such a disadvantage when it came time to knowing what I wanted to do with my career and getting to where I am now. We are all a sum of our experiences and so much of it I owe to parents who were willing to encourage when it made sense or step out of the way and let me run when I needed to.

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’ve been a photographer since I got my first trashy little plastic camera as a little kid and it was really all over for me after that!  Over the years I’ve explored music photography, beauty, editorial portraiture and fashion alongside countless photo zine projects and illustration all the while looking for the right balance of seeing images and creating. Eventually I found that in tabletop still life photography with a focus on food and beverage.

The ability to see a product- especially something food related, and conceptualize it by creating a story or a scene for it really appeals to me these days. It allows me to bring my full creativity to a project and make something really unique that couldn’t exist without our brains, hands, and constantly searching eyes. Sometimes the project just needs to convey who the product is for and you can do that often with simple demographic cues in propping, color or lighting, but other times you can create a whole world in the studio and that can be really incredible. It’s always a dance with budgets and dreams but my hope is simply to work with respectful clients who dream the biggest dreams with me and let me make periodic and catastrophic messes in my studio!

I offer full service commercial food and product shoots with both still and motion components and can help with everything from dialing in creative direction prior to our shoot to fully creative directing and concepting our projects within brand specifications. I have a private studio based in Los Angeles that I shoot out of primarily (though I love a good location…) which allows me to collaborate with clients anywhere in the world and an ever evolving list of crew who can help me bring any project to life. Gone are the days of having to hop on a plane to come to set- as long as you can ship me a product and hop on a call we can make some magic happen. I work on projects ranging from digital marketing campaigns, packaging, cookbooks, advertising and everything in between! I’m most proud of my ability to make wild things happen for my clients and I can’t wait to keep creating…

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The main question I get asked by new photographers is where to get clients and the brutal answer is- there is no one best source of new clients- you need to do it all and be as visible as you can.

This industry is highly competitive and full of really talented people so don’t wait for someone to reach out to you. It’s important to have a multi-point marketing plan to connect with the people you want to work with- and find ways of sustaining it so you can keep the process going.  I’ve had people I have been contacting for years tell me they “found” me on Instagram not realizing that they were warmed up to my name by countless newsletters, direct emails or print promos, and of course it goes without saying but be nice to everyone you can because word of mouth is huge.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first came to Los Angeles I thought I was going to be a fashion photographer. Mind you- I was almost certainly thinking that while wearing a band shirt with the sleeves cut off and trashed jeans- pretty much the furthest thing from a walking runway but for years I was drawn to the art of those editorial fashion images and could not figure out why I wasn’t doing well. It took a lot of not doing well to eventually realize I was thinking too narrowly.

It might seem obvious now but when I took a broader look at my interests- designer clothing and accessories were not on the list- food was. Taking time to explore, doing personal projects and taking stock of what my true values and interests were led me to start testing with tabletop photography and eventually pursue a full rebrand of my work which has been a complete game changer. It has made my marketing much more natural because it’s what I really care about and led me to find that perfect balance of creating moments and worlds on set. I’d also add it allowed me the ability to stay flexible during the initial pandemic shut downs because I was able to easily find ways to still work with clients.

You can really apply this to anything- technology is going to keep changing, gear will change, client’s needs will- but hone in on what inspires you so you can deliver and you always will be able to!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rebeccapeloquin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccapeloquin/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rebeccapeloquinphotography
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccapeloquin
• Other: Sign up for my mailing list: https://www.rebeccapeloquin.com/contact