My (Honest) Foodtography School Review

You may have stumbled over here because you too are interested in learning more and expanding your food photography skills and business. Let me tell you, I've been there, many, many times. Over the past seven years running Holistic Foodie, I've learned a lot along the way. I've invested in myself and my business with in-person photography classes, business coaching, life coaching and lots of hours spent researching everything to do with running an online business/food blog and how to take better food photos.

I want to create this post to simply share with you my very honest review of all things foodtography school, the online food photography school run by Broma Bakery. Let me walk you through the courses and products I've personally purchased over the years and share with you what I loved, what I learned and share the progress I've made along the way.

I am a Foodtography School affiliate and this post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase Foodtography School through any of the links in my post or with my coupon code, I will receive a commission that will come at no additional cost to you. Use my discount code ‘holisticfoodie’ for 15% off everything at Foodtography School (excluding bundles and payment plans).

Let's kick things off with a photo comparison. The first photo was taken around 2017/18 and the next one was taken after Foodtography School in spring 2021.

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Foodtography School

The first course I bought was Foodtography School back in 2019. At this stage of my life, I had one freelance client that I worked with on developing recipes and it required me to take one photo of the final product. I also had this blog, which was sort of a mess at that point. I didn't really have a clear direction in where I was headed and I had no idea how to pitch myself, or land more clients. At this point, I was still a beginner in terms of food photography and it showed.

Here are some great before and after photos that I've redone since completing Foodtography School in 2019.

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What You'll Learn from Foodtography School:

This is a course for those who are in the beginning stages of their food photography journey. For example, when I purchased the course, I was shooting with a DSLR camera (a very basic model) and had a basic level of understanding my camera settings.

Here's what you can expect to learn:

• The fundamentals of photography: learning about the settings of your camera and shooting in manual mode. Plus, setting up your scene and props and background recommendations.
• Composition: the main composition techniques for taking a great food photo, how to capture movement, working with bad lighting and more.
• Light: how to detect and work with different types of light, common lighting mistakes (a BIG one for me!), and how to make your lighting more standard for all of your photos.
• Branding: how to find your own visual voice and tell your own story, brand messaging and the importance of branding in your career.
• Editing: how to edit your photos in Lightroom for both soft and moody and dark and bold, plus you'll learn how to find your own editing style.
• Social Media: an introduction to social media and how to use it to leverage more clients, plus a reels and TikTok training.
• Business & Marketing: how to reach out to brands, price your work, plus a brand pitch guide.

The other great thing about this program (and others from Foodtography school) is the online community from other members. The Facebook group is super helpful and filled with others just like you that are starting out and ready to support you.

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Would I recommend Foodtography School?

Absolutely, without a doubt, I'd recommend Foodtography school to anyone wanting to get started in food photography. It was the catalyst for me in my own food photography career and was one of the reasons I was able to leave my secure 9-5 government job (which I had grown to loathe).

With all this being said. This wouldn't be an honest Foodtography School review if I said this is the course that will teach you everything, or that it will drastically change your career/life overnight.

Photography (of any kind) takes SO MUCH practice. If you're willing to also put in the work and be comfortable being uncomfortable behind the camera then this can work for you.

It will take time. And lots and lots of practice.

The Investment

When I first purchased the course, I was very, very limited with my budget. I only had one freelance client, had come out of a messy long-term relationship and breakup and didn't have a lot of money to invest in myself.

So when I purchased the course, I knew I had to make it worthwhile.

After completing Foodtography School, I went from one freelance client to five over the course of one year. This gave me the confidence to know that I could run a successful business and support myself on my own.

Use my code holisticfoodie for 15% off courses, presets and guides. This code cannot be combined with other sales.

How Foodtography Changed My Business (& My Life)

I learned A LOT about the basics of food photography and how to take better photos, plus how to edit them in Lightroom properly.

But beyond the photography aspect, the fact that this course has so much more in terms of branding, marketing and social media make it a very well rounded course.

Anyone can learn how to use a camera and take better photos, but what do you do with that after?

This is where the marketing, branding and social media come into play. I learned how to pitch myself to brands, gain more freelance clients and get paid for it.

With my skills improving combined with my new knowledge on how to market myself, I was able to go from one freelance client to five over the course of one year.

This course helped immensely with my confidence in terms of both taking better photos and knowing my worth when it came to pricing.

Overall, I highly recommend this course, it changed my life and for that I'm so grateful.

I have made back my investment into the school many, many times over.

You can learn more about Foodtography School here!

Use my code holisticfoodie for 15% off courses, presets and guides. This code cannot be combined with other sales.

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Foodtography School Presets

The next purchase I made through foodtography school was their presets. I purchased the light and bright and the dark and moody.

I still use them to this day and here's why.

• They make editing a breeze: I simply pick the preset I want to use and then make my own slight modifications, adjusting things like exposure, shadows, white balance and minor colour editing.
• Consistency: this is one of the best things about using presets. Your photos will look consistent which is super important for building your own brand, unique voice and for clients.
• Time saving: I spend way less time adjusting every detail in Lightroom.
• Easy to install: and once you have them installed in Lightroom, they're with you forever!

I very highly recommend the presets for editing your photos. They really will save you SO MUCH time!

Here's a raw photo I've taken and the edited photo after using a preset from the Light & Bright preset.

Use my code holisticfoodie for 15% off courses, presets and guides. This code cannot be combined with other sales.

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Advanced Foodtography School

The next major purchase I made was the advanced foodtography school.

I'm actually still completing the modules for this course, but so far, it's been very helpful in terms of styling and pushing my out of my comfort zone.

As much as my own food photography skills have grown over the years, lately I've felt stagnant in terms of my own styling and composition.

Here's what you can expect to learn:

• Structuring your scene: learn how to style your scene in terms of colour, texture and storytelling.
• Advanced placement principles: learn artistic principles that are universally proven techniques used for thousands of years.
• Advanced styling: finding your own unique style different from everyone else out there.
• Styling sweets: cookies, muffins, brownies, bars and cakes. Plus styling sessions are included!
• Styling savoury: soups, salads and bowls, casseroles, and pasta. Plus styling sessions are included!
• Properties of light: how to tame pesky light and understand the characteristics of light.
• Advanced editing theory: why editing is critical, the four main food photography editing styles, how to edit difficult colours like reds and oranges.
• Cohesive branding: defining your audience (this is key!), exploring your own content strategy, how to define your own unique selling proposition, and how to put it all into practice.
• Growing your social: the importance of niching down, authenticity and vulnerability, plus the three things every successful IG account has.
• Skyrocketing your business: how to develop a business mindset, create long term partnerships, create passive income and how to scale your business.

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Would I recommend Advanced Foodtography School?

I'm still enrolled in this course, so I haven't completed everything myself yet. But, from what I have taken, I love it. I'm about halfway through.

In regards to my own styling I've felt a little stuck lately but I'm already noticing a difference in how I approach my own styling. And I'm excited to see how my own journey continues to expand and grow.

I would say, if you've taken Foodtography School and you're looking to expand, this course is jam packed.

Here's a photo I've recently taken since completing more of the Advanced Foodtography course.

Use my code holisticfoodie for 15% off courses, presets and guides. This code cannot be combined with other sales.

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The Influence Course

If you follow Sarah from Broma Bakery (you should!), then I'm sure you've seen her viral, engaging and high quality videos.

Since short form videos aren't going anywhere, you need to learn how to create high impact and high quality videos. If, of course, you want to use social media as a primary means of your business.

Up until last year, I had almost given up on social media. I very much resisted video and TikTok and I hated the way social media was going. I told myself that video wasn't for me and was too difficult to learn.

But..... then I started creating video. And you know what? I really, really liked it. You can see my instagram now, it's a lot of video for that very reason.

And within one year, my account on Instagram has grown from 15k to over 170k. The number's don't lie. The engagement from video is where it's at, and you can see some of my stats below.

I wish I had taken screenshots from my account earlier this year to show the growth but here's what I could get from my insights on Instagram.

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So how did I learn?

I took the free Influencer Bootcamp course from Foodtography School. The FREE one!

I also practiced A LOT.

At the time, the Influence course didn't exist yet. Had it existed, I'm sure I would have purchased it.

Would I recommend Influence?

I would highly recommend it if it's something you want to learn. Having taken the free mini version of it with the bootcamp, I can see the value.

And the full course has even more info, more in depth knowledge from Sarah, plus a video blueprint for shooting viral video content. You'll also learn more about reels and TikTok in depth.

If you want to grow on social media and you're tired of seeing your posts get less engagement, it's time to make a change.

There is a blueprint for this, and it's much easier to learn from an expert than try and figure it out all on your own.

I highly recommend the course Influence.

Use my code holisticfoodie for 15% off courses, presets and guides. This code cannot be combined with other sales.

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Foodtography School Review: My Thoughts

I hope that you found this Foodtography school review helpful. I always want to be completely honest with you, as I take this career I've created for myself very seriously.

Within the last year, I've become an affiliate for this course, and as such I believe in being 100% transparent about that.

Either way, even if I was not an affiliate, I would still happily praise Foodtography school and tell anyone wanting to get into this profession to enrol.

Foodtography school helped me at a time where I very much felt lost and confused about my career and future. I know that it can do the same for you.

If you have any questions about the products or courses, please send me an email, or leave a comment below. I love talking about this stuff!

And if you found this review helpful, and you'd like to make a purchase from Foodtography school, you can use this link. I earn a percentage of the sale, however it doesn't cost you a thing. And that money goes directly towards helping me run this blog.

Thank you!

Oh! And if you're reading this in time for the sale happening site-wide right now its 25% off for Black Friday.

Use my code holisticfoodie for 15% off courses, presets and guides. This code cannot be combined with other sales.

Happy shopping friends!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.