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

Sophia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

Food photography has become an absolute necessity for restaurants looking to build their online network and community. Social media marketing has saved businesses through COVID and helped grow new restaurants. Something as simple as a ten second clip showcasing a restaurant’s attractive food and ambiance with little bits of info is enough to bring in a wide range of customers, especially the youth. As a college student and food blogger in Philadelphia, I have experienced this firsthand. Through my collaborations, I have found that many restaurants see value in enhancing their online presence through food photography. Not only does it make a difference in revenue, but quality photographs and engaging videos promotes an accurate, enticing presentation of what your business has to offer.

Sophia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sophia Reis, I’m a college student and food blogger based in Philadelphia. My boyfriend Jon and I have been running our food blog, @feefeeandj (previously @phillysgoodeatz) for almost two years now, where we document our experiences at new restaurants and places through storytelling. We are on Instagram and TikTok, where we post food photography, as well as picturesque and engaging videos. Our food recommendations tend to vary by location, cuisine, and price because after all, we are college students on a budget. Our website also features blog entries and home recipes, as we love to cook at home too! We have always had a profound appreciation for gastronomy and travel, so documenting our food-oriented lifestyle has become a creative outlet for us. Part of our social media model fosters a youth perspective, where we know what young college students want to see, while still appealing to diverse demographics. Eventually, I’m looking to turn our blog into a business and pursue food & product photography full time! For now, we’re having fun, working on booking more restaurant collaborations and freelancing ourselves as food photographers. It’s refreshing to be part of an online community that holds a strong appreciation for delicious food and rich culture. There’s nothing more rewards to us than positive feedback from our peers and other foodies. People have said, “When I watch your videos I get hungry,” and “your posts make me want to try new foods.” Our goal is to inspire others who are looking to try new things, expand their food knowledge, and embrace their adventurous selves!

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew earlier how game changing having a professional, digital camera is in the food and business industry. I’m currently taking my first photography college course, where I’m fortunately able to rent a camera from the school. Naturally, I have received more collaborative and networking opportunities by attending events, going through my day to day with a camera. Once different restaurants and entrepreneurs started asking me for my photos, I realized I can make a service out of this!

How did you build your audience on social media?

This is a great question because building our audience on social media is still an ongoing process for us, that has its struggles. We initially started following as many food creators as possible, especially local ones. We’ve found that consistent engagement is the best way to grow. Our following includes food creators, restaurants, college students mainly located in the Philadelphia area. There’s a global sector to our following as well, where we are connected with food creators in Canada, Europe, Australia and more. The algorithm can be tough, where the videos we work on the most get little views and a video that we contemplated even posting receive the most views. For a long time it felt like our content wasn’t getting enough recognition, which can be demotivating. However, the amount of followers will never be as valuable as being part of genuine, supportive community. I reach out to food influencers all the time for advice and it has helped me tremendously; it validates the highs and lows of building an online presence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.phillysgoodeatz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feefeeandj/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-reis-889947232/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@feefeeandj

Image Credits

Our photography!