Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ricardo Mora. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ricardo, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

The start of my career with food came from going to culinary school to complete their professional baking program. A few months into the program I got my first kitchen job, which was working pastry at a raw vegan restaurant. It was interesting and I really enjoyed it, and since working there I continued to work pastry jobs for many years.

Photography is something that had also always interested me, but I thought that was something I would never be able to do professionally and did not know much about the options and specialties that are available for photographers. I did not even know that food photography was a career all its own. I did however have a desire to take better quality pictures of my own baked goods and didn’t know what I was doing wrong or why my pictures never looked as good as the ones on billboards or in magazines. Then about 5 years into my pastry career I came across a YouTube channel that was focused entirely on food photography. It immediately piqued my interest, as it was explained in a way that was easy to understand and focused on the same type of subject that I wanted to photograph. The name of the channel is The Bite Shot.

Watching the videos posted by Joanie from The Bite Shot convinced me to purchase my first DSLR camera, which ended up leading me to invest in multiple online courses created by food photographers so I could further expand my skills. While taking these courses I continued working on test shoots at home, cooking or baking something in order to photograph it. As I continued to do this I was finding that I was enjoying the photography aspect more than the actual cooking and baking, so once I started to get a few clients of my own I decided to stick with photography as a career rather than working in a kitchen full time. It can be difficult running a business as a freelancer, but it is something I have enjoyed and has brought me multiple experiences and connections I would never have made if I had continued working in a kitchen for an employer.

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

I am a photographer based in Los Angeles that specializes in working with food and beverage brands. It is so important these days for businesses to have an online presence, and one pain point that a lot of food businesses have is that they do not have the time or the knowledge of how to best capture their dishes on camera. When hired by a business I provide them with everything necessary to execute a photo or video shoot. I bring my camera, lenses, and lights to make sure the dishes look as good on screen as they do in person, if not better. I set up my computer so any images I take will immediately be visible to clients on a large screen. If it is necessary for a job I will also bring on a food stylist to help us make sure each dish is perfect and ready for the camera.

Clients are oftentimes surprised at how much of a difference having the right lighting makes in taking a food picture. I have received comments from previous clients of how impressed they are at how their product or dish looks on screen compared to seeing it in person, and it makes me happy to see their faces light up when they see their vision come to life.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s hard for me to put this into words, but there is a joy that I get any time I am able to execute something creative and something that pushes me to use my skills and experience. I felt that joy and passion while I was in culinary school creating whatever dessert I had envisioned, and I feel that any time I am on a shoot making adjustments to the camera and lighting until I see exactly what I was hoping for come up on screen.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think that in a creative field like photography, so much of your reputation comes from having done the hard work beforehand to put together a strong portfolio. Word of mouth is always helpful when coming from previous clients, but if you don’t have a strong enough body of work to show people, they will not want to hire you. By looking at your portfolio they should be able to envision how their product or dish will look captured in your style, and that should excite them. If it doesn’t, then you may still need to work some more on developing your style or having a wider body of work. For me personally, I spent a lot of time doing test shoots and refining my style so I could have a portfolio that inspires people to reach out to me. Doing so has led to me getting more inquiries and has helped me book some larger client projects.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rmoraphotography.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r.moraphotography/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-mora-food-photography/