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There you have it—twelve more minutes and counting.

- Kyle

Week one at location one:

Week two at location two:

Video: A little sample of our little rain on set.

And that’s a wrap. If I had to do it over again, I’d choose the same crew—everyone was wonderful! And, the client was wonderful as well. You can see the final images in their layout in “Let’s Start Something” blog post.

- Kyle

Cover

Picnic Party

Kid’s Birthday

Sports Fun

Shower Celebration

Holiday Party

Graduation

Family Occasion

Dinner Party

I can’t overemphasize the appreciation I have for everyone involved on this project—Karen, Scott, Paul, Nan, Rory, Ian, Joel, Tony, Dede, Caroline, Aaron, Mollie, Rusty, Hunter, Lisa, Laura, Laure, Sandra and…I’m sure I’m forgetting someone. It was a huge, fast and fun undertaking.

- Kyle

These new push-up gizmos are reminiscent of the orange sherbet push-up pops I grew up with, but these modernized versions host all kinds of creative delectable treats—from chocolate brownie sundaes to frozen peach bellinis. (Confession: I can actually personally vouch for exactly how delectable these two particular treats are … er, uh … were.)

Big thanks to Courtney, her faithful assistant (and mom) Phronsie Dial, stylist Caroline Brewer, first assistant Rory White and retoucher Tony Richardson for what was a fun, fast and furious five days of shooting 35 different push-up pop recipes.

Also a special thanks to the eleventh-hour spouse crew for grabbing dinner (yes, dinner) for the crew, meticulously sorting sprinkles by color and lending a hand with props and gear. Getting across the finish line was a huge team effort.

- Kyle

ps. You can pre-order the book at amazon.com

Thanks Ryan for sending this over.

I’m still waiting for Wok Hay to make it into our market here in Nashville. (Tapping foot with anticipation…)

Oh, and the image? It’s Teriyaki Prawns Udon Soup Bowl.

What’s next…a 30 foot egg roll?

- Kyle

Aside from my love affair with food, I have a semi-secret passion for publishing. Part of my dark and mysterious past includes my position as Art Director for American Way magazine—the inflight magazine for American Airlines. Once you have publishing in your blood you can’t get it out…I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with Cindy.

The inaugural issue of Entrée Nashville coincided with the 2011 Nashville Film Festival, so it seemed a natural to me to find a way to serve up some film. Easy enough, right? Well, believe it or not film isn’t as available as it used to me. Therein lay the challenge—and I love a challenge. Using some of my own stock photography I shot of the Nashville skyline I managed fashioned some 35mm film strips in the same format as motion picture footage. Then, of course I had to stick in on a fork.

I presented a couple of directions/variations of this film-on-a-fork theme and Cindy decided to use each of them. And, that’s what you see here. I don’t think I can choose my favorite either.

I wonder what I’d do if I got a call from a magazine about vintage cars and food … how about a 1962 AC Cobra Roadster on a fork? I’m ready for the test drive!

- Kyle

Aside from all the planning there are a number of people on set working together to pull it together—food stylists (you may recognize the dynamic duo Teresa and Whitney), assistants (go Rory), photo retoucher (Tony rocks), producer (big thanks to Mollie) … oh, and don’t forget the photographer (and resident goofball … me).

Here’s a little taste of what happens on set and behind the scenes—this from of one of our recent food photography jobs for a regional restaurant chain.

I hope you find this a little informative and perhaps even entertaining at some level. Did you notice what I use for stand-ins? Yes, woodblock type—I have an ongoing love affair with typography. Also, ever wonder what the food stylist is spraying all the time? I’ve been asked not to reveal that trade secret—I’m kidding—it’s just water.

We certainly have fun doing what we do. I hope you enjoyed seeing a portion of our day.

- Kyle

ps. See more of my food photography at dreierstudio.com.

Back when Old-Man Winter was being nasty we did some preparation for Spring here in the studio with the fun creative team from Gigi’s. Yes, we were literally shoveling snow and using deicer on the sidewalk the day we were photographing these “Spring” cupcakes.

Now that the trees are flowering and the tulips are showing their colors I felt it was time to go ahead and show you a few things from our wintery “spring time” shoot.

I have to admit, there is a fringe benefit for doing food photography for Gigi’s … there are always leftover cupcakes to be had. Let me share my personal favorite from this group … the Limeade cupcake. It’s just like drinking a fresh limeade in Spring.

- Kyle

I’ve had a lot of fun the past few months and we have had some great projects come our way. Our team is working well together (like usual) and we’ve managed to schedule some portfolio work in between assignments.

The later part of last Summer we started working with a new restaurant client who has multiple concepts. We’ve done a few shoots with them since. This particular concept is an Asian restaurant with a few locations and more to come. Here are a few shots selects from our three-day shoot.

As always, special thanks go out to my food stylists (or in this case “drink stylists”) Teresa and Whitney. Also thanks to my rep and producer Mollie. And last and certainly not least my first assistant Rory. It really is fun working together … if it wasn’t I’d likely just go find something else to do like knitting or something.

- Kyle

First, start with a vibey location-Fido in Hillsboro Village in Nashville. Add a couple of foodies, a dash of food bloggers, plus a handful of cooks and bakers. Mix with a few aspiring food photographers and a heaping of wonderful food by Chef John Stephenson. Blend these all together with a couple hours of food photography tips and tricks and … well, you end up with a fun evening complete with four-course meal.

Here’s a taste of what the evening looked like.

:: Chef John and Kyle getting things started.

:: Participants telling us about Fill, Rim and Key.

:: Oh, look! Food paparazzi.

:: Chef John delivering the goods.

:: More food paparazzi.

:: Participants explaining, with flare, the photo crew’s responsibilities.

:: This is an Art Director. A What? An Art Director. Oh, an Art Director.

:: Kyle saying something very important, or likely just being silly.

And, here are a few food photographs taken during class with our sample lighting setup.

So what was the highlight?

Personally, I enjoyed meeting everyone and sharing a little about how I work. Hopefully everyone left with some piece of information that will prove helpful in their food photography efforts.

But, you know me, after the workshop I had the pleasure of sitting down and enjoying a fabulous slice of chocolate cake. Chocolate is always a highlight for me.

- Kyle

To learn more about the Shoot Eat Learn workshops click here.