Episode 6- Maximizing Your Creative Assets with Erin Scott
When starting out, many businesses don’t feel the need or have the costs for a photo shoot or visual assets. In this episode, we unpack with food and lifestyle photographer Erin Scott on the importance of having high-quality assets from the start.
How to connect with Erin online:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn
The Remodelista article
Episode key moments:
Food, beverage, and lifestyle photography with Erin Scott.
Entrepreneurship journey, trusting work, and managing downtime.
Entrepreneurship, branding, and photography.
Photography for small businesses with budget constraints.
Food and beverage photography techniques and creative process.
Food photography challenges and brand identity.
Branding, photography, and consumer insights.
Client-creative team collaboration for successful photo shoots.
Photo shoots, garden inspiration, and planning.
Food photography and brand loyalty.
Plantas Pod Credits
Host: Daniella Allam
Producer: Jacqueline Smith
If you have any feedback or questions about the podcast, email info@plantasstrategy.com
Episode Transcript:
Daniella Allam: Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the podcast. I'm so excited for our guest today. Miss Erin Scott. Welcome.
Erin: Hey, I'm so happy to see you, Daniella. Thank you.
Daniella Allam: Same I'm so excited for this conversation. So I'll introduce Erin a little bit, and then we'll get right into the juicy combo. Sounds good.
Erin: Great.
Daniella Allam: Okay, so Erin is a food, beverage, and lifestyle photographer based in Berkeley, California. She's inspired by honest food, real people, and the magic of light. Erin comes to food photography as a passionate eater, gardener and cook and she works out of a custom photo studio, which is beautiful, by the way side note, tucked into a wild herb garden. She has photographed over 45 books and authored her own cookbook as well. And her clients include Traditional Medicinals, Good Eggs, William Sonoma, Pete's Coffee, Emmy's Homegrown, Chronicle Books, among others. So I'm so grateful to have Aaron on this podcast today. Welcome again.
Erin: Thank you so much for having me excited.
Daniella Allam: Yeah, I'm so excited. I feel like this will be such a fun and juicy convo. And it's one that we often don't really have. A lot of times I think a lot of startup founders don't necessarily see so much sometimes the need of talking and thinking about assets and photography. But I think we'll have a very, hopefully, fruitful conversation that y'all the listeners can get some insights from. But I wanted to start today. Erin, if you could tell us a little bit about like your entrepreneurial journey? When did it start? And what made you decide to become an entrepreneur and be a photographer,
Erin: I've always had kind of an entrepreneurial Inklings. And before I was doing photography work, I had a store in Oakland that had men's and women's clothing and lifestyle objects and things like that. That was my previous life. So
Daniella Allam: Oh, I didn't even know about that life. Yeah,
Erin: That was entrepreneurial, as well. And I did food, I cooked a lot and did photography, just for fun, I didn't really think it would be able to be a job, a real real job. And but I kind of fell into it through a long series of things that just happened just the right way that I probably don't need to bore you with those details. But it has been an interesting journey. You know, early on in my food photography, time, I was blogging, and I wrote a cookbook. And that's kind of how I started my journey. Was through taking photos for myself and for my own blog and learning along the way until I was at a point where I could do it for other people or felt like I could. And yeah, it's just, you know, entrepreneurial work is amazing, and fun, and exciting, and wonderful and stressful, irregular and unpredictable. And all the things.
Daniella Allam: All of the things. Yeah, so it's a theme that has resonated across a lot of our guests, right, that it's like there's so much freedom and enjoyment and ability to craft your own journey and entrepreneurship. But it's also filled with peaks and valleys. Were like what have been some of those, like big things that you've learned in this in this journey called entrepreneurship?
Erin: Well, so much of it is trusting that the work will come and ask my husband who's been at my side and watched me, you know, I kind of like love a little bit of downtime, I need downtime because other one working all the time. But then I hit a certain point in my downtime, where if it's a little too quiet, it's a little bit of crickets from clients. I start to freak out but the time I've gotten better about that, I should say and trust it more. I've been through enough cycles of you know, quiet and then busy quiet and and busy that it just has to be that way.
Daniella Allam: I kind of get used to that. That was something certainly for me at the beginning that was a little bit like oh, okay, we gotta get used to this new kind of vibe, right? And I think my first year of entrepreneurship, I kind of struggled with it, and I resisted the fact that that was happening. And now, like as you say, I kind of lean into those times and I'm like, Okay, well, it's a little bit slower. Let me like focus on other things, let me kind of think, have time to read, let me like, do other stuff that normally I don't. And I think it just comes with the territory, it's never going to be like a smooth, always the same, you know, journey, but that's part of it right and like, and I think that it took me it took me certainly at least a year to be like, Okay, I think I can just relax into this instead of freak out all the time.
Erin: And it really is like an asset to have time that time and whether it's just pure downtime where you're reading or lying around or whatever, or seeing friends or traveling. Or sometimes when I'm, you know, feeling a little antsy, I'll just reach out and connect with people, not with any intention around anything coming from it, but just like, oh, let's just kind of network in a fun way. Kind of amazing. And you don't have that time when you're busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. So
Daniella Allam: Right. And that trust that like the work will come too right and like the right work will come the right clients will come I think, you know, surprisingly, I mean, this is not necessarily a spiritual podcast, but it feels like a little bit of a spiritual journey that I had to be on myself, where it's just like, I just gotta trust, right, that things are working out in the right way. And that the efforts you're putting in and the seeds you're planting are gonna come back right in the way that you want it. And, and I didn't expect entrepreneurship to teach me those kinds of lessons at all. But it definitely did. It definitely did.
Erin: And to be able to say, and like you said, you touched upon, like being able to say no to things that don't feel right, trusting someone will come and they do. It's kind of wild.
Daniella Allam: It's kind of wild. Exactly. It's kind of wild. I don't know how it works. I don't know, the mechanics, but it somehow does work out. Right. And, and, and, you know, as you look back, so how long have you been at this now?
Erin: I've been at this for 10 years, I guess? Well, a little more than 10 years, but pretty solid 10 years.
Daniella Allam: So we got a decade of entrepreneurship. I know you're your belt. Yeah, so I'm sure for me, like, it's only been three years; when I look back, I'm like, wow, I had so much to learn, right? And I and so many beautiful fruits came out of things, if I had just let leaned into that trust and that knowing and I'm sure with 10 years it, you know, the picture looks completely different as well and hopefully, helps you keep going forward.
Erin: Totally, totally, and that, that things will emerge, you don't even know what they're gonna be
Daniella Allam: And that's part it's part of the it's part of the shtick, right. And so, so that's entrepreneurship, but I think the juicy combo here is gonna come when we start talking about photography, because honestly, I, you are my favorite food and beverage photographer, period, period, end of story. And I think we have a lot of folks that are listening, that are maybe starting out their food and beverage brands, or maybe it's an it's a seed, it's an idea that's been planted, maybe they're in the just beginning stages of starting their brand. And I think this conversation is gonna be really, really helpful. So I think for those folks starting out, one of the one of the things that I think comes up, at least with some of my clients that are usually very early stage, is sometimes there's a resistance to having like assets and photography and, and having, you know, investing either time, energy or money into doing something like that. But I found it to be mission-critical. And, and so I wanted to get your perspective. So why do you feel like having good assets, strong assets that tell your brand story? Why are they super important when you're trying to build a brand at the early stages?
Erin: I mean, it's a tool that you can't live without, we're such a visual time. I mean, you're having to put things on Instagram, on YouTube, on Facebook, on, you know, just everywhere. I mean, you have to have visuals and what are you gonna put up there? Something
Daniella Allam: Question Question mark. Yeah, exactly.
Erin: And, you know, if you want to put up kind of cheap casual stuff, that's fine. You can do some of that. But if you're missing kind of the anchor of really thoughtful brand story, you're really missing out. That's your opportunity to get really into the details like Who are we, what are we about, what are we want to show the world? Who do we want to attract? What's the story we want to tell? And without photography? Can't really do it.
Daniella Allam: How can you really do it right? a picture's worth 1000 words, obviously, is what it says. And for me, I have a funny story where I had a client a couple years ago who had a lot of resistance to this idea like we're launching a new product and I was like we need assets, we need good photography. And they just had, you know, a hard time because there were so many other things, so many other priorities. This just didn't feel like the right place to invest. It was like, let's wait until we launch. Let's put it off. I got my way in the end, thankfully. And then a couple of months later, they come back to me, and they're like, Wow, you are so right. Like, I don't know what we would have done without these pictures that I'm like, exactly my point, right? Like, these pictures not just don't exist, just like on the socials, but also on our website and presentations to customers to investers, everything, to everything, like your entire business really will benefit from having images that really showcase what your brand is really about. And I think, you know, as humans, we connect, like you said, visually, emotionally with things. And it just makes it so much clearer, right. It's like a one two punch, this is what this brand is really about. So I tell that story just to like, stress this point for the early founders, they're like, you might not have a big budget, but still try to make it work still try to get as best as you can. Some assets and some imagery that will really showcase what your brand is about.
Erin: And even if it's painful, it could be one day's worth of shooting, like but if you have those, you will use them so many times in my small business clients. Some of them are using images from 10 years ago, my original friends and they still use them
Daniella Allam: all they're still using exactly like those images. Yeah, and that story I was mentioning, those images have already been through so many things, right press media, so many ways that you're going to be able to use them. And without them, you're kind of left trying to find like, Oh, should I find like illustrations? What should I do? Should I you know, just take whatever a random picture. And so super, super important. And I think that leads me to my my next question, which is, knowing that a lot of folks that might be listening are like budget constrained, right? And resource constrained and time and energy also constrained? Do you have some tips, some advice and ideas for them on how can they start thinking about and getting some of these beautiful assets? If they don't really have a budget for like a full two day kind of shoot?
Erin: I do. And it's interesting, I was thinking about you and what to share. And, and I created actually a form for new clients, which, whether it's, they want to work with me or somebody else, they still should go through these questions.
Daniella Allam: That's great We'll link to it.
Erin: Yeah, that you need to ask yourself before you're ready to do photography. And then people come to me and they say, Oh, I'm new. I'm so excited. I need photography. And I say, Well, great. Can you go back and answer these questions? And usually they can't answer all the questions. And if you can't answer all the questions, you're not really ready, and you shouldn't be throwing money at it. Yeah. So, you know, some of the things are, how many images do you need? Where are they going to live? Is it on the website? Is it for market? Like? How are they? What are these different use cases for your images? your brand's story? How would you describe it? Do you have any sample images that you like, you know, it's just like getting them to do this homework, because the more homework the client does, the more value they're gonna get out of their shoot,
Daniella Allam: right? It's sort of like, it's almost like a pre brief, it sounds like that you're asking them to do and one of the best things I learned early on in my career with briefs and creatives was like, garbage in garbage out, right? Like, it really like the quality of that brief. And that thoughtfulness and that intention of what you need these things for, will really make make a big difference in the output that you get at the end of the day.
Erin: And every detail matters. Like I had a small business client, he had a snack product coming to me, he said, Well, you know, I just want like somebody with a backpack with the snack coming out. I said, Well, who was the person? You know, give me the demographic on who that person is, you know, where is this happening? What color is the backpack?
Daniella Allam: What kind of backpack are we talking about
Erin: Like, we need to dive in every little detail on the smallest little details, like give you all the subliminal messaging on what your brand is, right? And if they're off, they're off.
Daniella Allam: That is so woof, woof. Oh, I got goosebumps. Just because I think that really ties really well with one of the things that is like the hill I'm willing to die on which is consumer insights. Right? You need to know your consumer, you need to know who you're going after. If you're just like I'm going after everybody who's 18 to 70 urban and rural like that shops at a Walmart. It's like, okay, that's all Americans. That's not helpful. Like that doesn't help us narrow down. And I think what you're alluding to is that that specificity of knowing like exactly who you're going after will actually make you have better assets.
Erin: Totally. Otherwise, you're wasting your time. And I really don't let clients waste their time or money with me. They're not ready; they're not ready. They're not.
Daniella Allam: And so if they're not ready, right, they're not ready. They can't they can't answer those questions yet. What what do you recommend they do? If they're like, Well, I still need some images? I don't know. Like, is it just figure out the answers to your questions first, and then and then figure out how you could do it? And what if they're somebody who like, okay, they figure it out? They've written the answers to their questions, but they don't have budget, or they have such a very, very low budget, what can they do?
Erin: I mean, there are a couple ways to go about it, you could try to find some really, you know, new budget friendly person who's willing to work really hard. I mean, I also am a little hesitant to encourage that too much. Because I think people should be paid well for their time, and somebody that's like, can be taking advantage of somebody. So, you know, I'm of two minds about that. Right? And when I really have a strong distaste for people, when they say, oh, it's for exposure.
Daniella Allam: oh, you know, well, yeah. So much work. I mean, I've been to these photo shoots, there's, it's a whole team, right? You have, it takes so much work and so much thoughtfulness, it's not just people are like, Oh, just pull out your iPhone, it's like, okay, I mean, you might get an okay shot, but it's not, it's not really gonna hit. And I think for you know, if, if you need to do things in the low budget way to get by, because you don't have that budget right now, I think that's fair. But then as you grow, really strongly consider putting building into your budget, build it into your marketing budget. So you can get these high quality images, because I think people can tell also, like we are visual humans, and I think you can tell when an image is, has been done by somebody who's like a professional, and who understands how to really frame and do all the things with lighting, when making the food look good versus somebody that's low budget, right. And so, I think sometimes you get what you pay for, too, and you gotta be willing to accept that.
Erin: And you have to remember that anybody who has a brand is going to pay for packaging, right? You have to package it's kind of part of that, like me, and you're gonna have a website, website and packaging, you can't not have photography. And again, it could be one day of shooting,
Daniella Allam: right? And that you get, you can milk it for 10 years. Think about it like that, yeah,
Erin: a strong day of shooting where you really don't have a lot of work and really been thoughtful about it, that will work for you. And sometimes it's gonna save you money, versus then going the route of like, kind of slapdash, doing it a few times, in the end, you could just pay it for one really good shoot instead of three mediocre shoots that you weren't ready for.
Daniella Allam: Oh, yeah, I've, I, I've lived that many, many times throughout my career. And I think that's why I really love the work that you do. Because I just feel like all of the images that you do they just hit, you know, you're like, yes, so yes, give me that. So I think that segues me to the next question, which is, for me, I feel like, there's so many beautiful things I could say about your work. But one of the things I love about what it does with food and beverage is that not only does the brand personality shine through and the point of view and the who the target consumer is, but you also make the things look so good. So craveable so yummy. Like I want to be there, I want to be at that table, I want to be eating that I want to be playing with those plants. How did you achieve that? Like, is that just your natural sensibility? Is that something that you've evolved over time? Like, how do you get your stuff to be so good?
Erin: Thank you so much. I mean, the best compliment, and that's what I want to evoke, actually, you nailed it. That's what I'm always going for. And I have to say, when I was first shooting it, it wasn't that way. I mean, I was learning. This does not look the way I want it to or that I know it should or that I see through my eyes. And I had to keep working and working until I could use enough skill to make that happen. But it does also depend on my team. I mean, you've seen me work with my team. And when we're all working in this harmonious way, whether it's a food stylist or a prop stylist. It just makes a huge difference. Having a bunch of people who are really skilled at what they do when we collaborate all together. It's kind of magical. It's like a band. You know, you might have one member of the band who's really good at guitar, but when you put three members of the band together playing all these instruments, it's that much better and has that much more depth and richness.
Daniella Allam: I love I love that metaphor because I think sometimes it is very common if brands want to go the low-budget route, it's just like, let's just hire this one person, and they can go around and do this stuff. But I've literally seen it in action. You know, I'm so fascinated by the work of a food stylist in particular, right? Things that like we don't even think about as, as consumers of the images, right? Like all the technique and work that has to go into something to make it look that amazing. Wait, if you just didn't put that work, it probably wouldn't look like that.
Erin: No. And the funny thing is the shots, I mean, the work that we did for Traditional Medicinals is a good example. Like, yeah, get to the point where it feels really natural and effortless is the hardest. For somebody who's gonna make something that's really composed and perfect. It's not that hard. It's like taking it and pushing it to that level of you're just like, I don't know what I love about this, but it just makes me feel so good. That takes a lot more work.
Daniella Allam: It takes a lot of work. And I think so so often folks in like the creative world don't really get there Do you know the due credit for like all the work that goes into creating that kind of stuff? So what like now that we're there, like, what do you love? About what do you love the most about photographing food and beverage? Like what lights you up about it? And like, why food and beverage and that other stuff?
Erin: Well, I love to eat. And I love plants. I mean that you know, it's like all the things, of course is so beautiful and reading. I mean nature. It's almost like cheating, a beautiful plant and beautiful herbs. And those definitely like do.
Daniella Allam: Like talent, right? Talk about the talent.
Erin: Like, and I don't know, I just love the storytelling. It's like, we all eat every day, we all, you know, hopefully, are drinking tea every day. We're all drinking our favorite drink every day. So why not have it be just like, the best, richest, most enjoyable experience it can be. And the fact that I get to work with people to create images that make them feel kind of as you described, you felt like it makes you hungry. And it feels yummy. And all those things that's really fun and satisfying that I get to be a part of that. I often pinch myself and talk with my colleagues about like, we are so lucky. This is what we get to do. It's kind of ridiculous. I mean, we worked. But we're so lucky.
Daniella Allam: Yeah, yeah, I think it's a both and situation. What is What is most challenging about photographing food and beverage? Would you say?
Erin: Well, the talent can be fussy too
Daniella Allam: The Talent can be fussy! Yes, they're divas, especially plants!
Erin: Yeah, plants can be real divas. And also, recipes can be hard. I mean, if you have somebody for example, a cookbook author who is an amazing cook, but maybe isn't a visual person. The recipes might taste good and not look that good. Right. So the problem solving is like how do we make this recipe that we know is delicious look enticing when maybe it's a brown saucy pile of
Daniella Allam: mush. Yeah. How do you make that look? Only Erin Scott up to the for that challenge. That's That's my vote for the player that can handle that.
Erin: I lean on my food stylists really hard in those moments. Like we kind of go through this creative process of like, Oh, should we do it this way? Should we do it that way? How do we do it? And so we like those challenges but definitely with fussy divas.
Daniella Allam: Fussy divas. And what about so we talked a little bit about props like can we can you go into like why do props matter? And like why? Why is that also a part of the brand identity that you're creating with these images?
Erin: It's they're so important. It's a little bit like we started to tap into with the backpack. Right? Story. So just think about it like your countertop. Often we're shooting something that's either a countertop or a table. What materials or countertop? Is it fancy marble? Is it rustic wood? Is it really modern? Is it super colorful? Is it Formica like so just that alone? That's like your very base level of your palate that's telling you a huge part of a story. Every single plate every single dish also tells you about like is the person young. Are they older? Are they rich? Are they lower income? Are they like you every little every fork makes a difference is an old fork isn't a new fork. Is it a fancy fork? Is it a plastic fork is it and that none of those things are wrong, but the combination of things add up to tell you what your brand is about.
Daniella Allam: Mm hmm. Yeah. And I think it like, again, your team does such an amazing job with that. Every time I've been in your studio, I'm like looking at all the 1000s of spoons, I mean level like, Wait, I didn't know like, a small little spoon can come in so many ways. But you can start to get a feel for that and say, Well, okay, like, this is my brand like a brass spoon or is it a wooden spoon? Like, what what is my brand about? And so if folks that are listening, or maybe having trouble thinking about like, what what kind of images I want? Maybe it is something to think about is like, what kind of props would your target person be like having in their, in their life in their daily? What's the palette? What are the colors, right? What are the textures, I think that's another thing that I love about your work is like, it feels so textural. And it's certainly something I learned in the photoshoots with you was like, one of the things I really love is like layering of different textures. And sometimes I feel like Junior photo shoots or like Junior photographers or teens, sometimes don't have that sensibility to like, fully take it to its fullest expression. They're like, Okay, I got one plate, I got one plate and one fork, and it's like, it's looking kind of bare. Like I want a little bit more personality, more pizzazz. And you do such an amazing job with that. Is there a secret? A secret, you can tell everybody?
Erin: I mean, it is experience. And I think working with a great prop stylist and collaborating with a group makes a big difference. Again, you go from that single plate single fork to these layers of subtlety that when you first look at the photo, you don't even really notice any of them. But they're all adding up to give you a feeling
Daniella Allam: the whole full picture, right? And I think it's almost like nature in a way, right? Like, nature is like that the plants are like that, like you you, you know, you'll look at a leaf and you'll get a different quality than the petals and the flower. And so, you know, I think that's just such a powerful part of your work. And hopefully, something that can help folks just like get a little bit more inspired and think, How can I how can I kind of elevate this a little bit more, and take that all the way through? Like take the full execution of this idea. And this concept, which I think you did really well I think a Traditional Medicinal is, you know, our tagline with you was like more plants, more plants, we need more plants, we always kept adding plants because the brand is so much about the plants. And then I and you know, some of my favorite images that we shot were the ones that had like that crazy abundance of plants that perhaps at first sounds like maybe not right, it wouldn't be right for every brand. But it certainly was for that red brand.
Erin: It was perfect that that was the North Star and, and kind of figuring out what your North Star is. And it's a little bit tricky, sometimes for founders who aren't super visual, or don't have that vocabulary or that eye. So one thing that can be helpful is if somebody just kind of starts making a Pinterest board or anything with images, and they like they don't even need to know why they liked them that can be and then if they work with a photographer who's skilled, the photographer will come back and say, Oh, I'm noticing you tend to like this, like we can distill and pull from those images, what they might be resonating with. That coulde helpful. Just go with your gut. We don't know why we like this. But we do.
Daniella Allam: Right Start start your Pinterest boards, people, I think that's such a good thing. Because you have to come in, like we said at the beginning, coming in with a point of view, right? Come in with a point of view. And maybe you can have your photographer help you get that out of you. But you need to do that pre-work to understand, like, what are you gravitating towards what feels really aligned with the brand. The tidbit I would give there for founders, there are some founders that are very visually oriented as well. And my my only like sort of be careful caution tale there is to make sure that you're thinking about it from the lens of your consumer first and foremost, right. And as a founder, you might have trouble with that, like you might conflate yourself with the consumer a lot. And you might be in some ways, but I think it's really important to have that separation and give it's like a metaphorical hat put on the hat of who is that person that you're going after? That's going to be the bedrock of your business, because you might find that some of the things that they would like would be things that you don't like, which I've noticed as well with certain founders, which is like Oh, actually, okay, I know that I like this, but I'm not necessarily the target consumer. So
Erin: I've never heard somebody articulate that that way. So that I think that's really insightful and that's next level.
Daniella Allam: Yeah, well, it was something I learned, you know, very early on in my career was it was something that was like drilled to us at at Gallo, actually, which is like you are not your consumer, you are not your consumer. Because as humans, we have a tendency to be like, well, I like this, well, I like that. And we all may have different points of view. And while those, some of them might have some overlap with your target consumer, I guarantee you that there's more there. So if you kind of remove yourself and your own preferences, it just makes you a better marketer. But it's very difficult. It's like a constant thing that you have to remind yourself all the time, I have to remind clients this all the time, like, you're not the consumer. And it's like, okay, okay, let me let me like, think back and put on the other hat. So I think that can really help as well. What other you know, best practices or ideas do you have for folks like, in the planning process, or in the photoshoot day itself? Like, how should How did the best clients behave?
Erin: the best clients feel really ready. By the time we get there, like, we have a roadmap, we know what we're doing, we have a good team, we are just ready to roll. And then there can always be little bits of magic and spontaneity on set. But mostly, we like have a real plan of what's going to happen that day, we know where our props are going to be, in general, we know what the style is going to be, we even know what the lighting is going to be. We know where these images are going to lie. Like for example, if something is for a banner for your website, I might even ask for you to give me the text overlay, we lay on it to make sure it's in the right place. So this image just sings, you know, when we drill down into that level of detail, we really shouldn't have any questions by the time we get to set them if you're with somebody else, same thing, right? Or like, you shouldn't really have any questions left by the time you go.
Daniella Allam: You should know exactly what's happening that day of the shoot. And then what would you say is like the best way for brands to engage with the photographer and the rest of the team like throughout during the shoot itself?
Erin: Yeah, well, that's a really good question. I feel like you all at Traditional Medicinals were particularly great clients in all sorts of ways. Each individually, but one of the things that I particularly appreciated about you, and we've talked about it ever since is that, when we would ask for feedback on a shot, you would kind of huddle up, and as a group, talk about it, and then come back as one voice to the photographer, so that we didn't have to even hear your process necessarily, or hear maybe even the negativity, it's fine. Not that there can't be negative things to say. But you get really bogged down if there are multiple client representatives on set with multiple voices. So you have to get aligned on your team first, and then come back to the photo team. It is so appreciated.
Daniella Allam: Oh, yes, I'm glad to hear that that was appreciated. It was something. Again, I learned, I think early on in my career. And I think it's kind of taught to you if you're like in traditional brand management, but if you start maybe in other places, you might not get exposure to that way of thinking, because it's something that, like I do with everything, like every every creative process, it's like, try to just have one voice, one person who's really doing that interface with the with the creative team. Because otherwise, you get like maybe the CEO is saying, Oh, I don't like this, but then the marketing person is saying this, and then the sales guy, and then it's just like how very inefficient first of all, and then second of all, there's no alignment. And I think that really underlines that that's the responsibility on the brand side and the client side to the creative team, which is to really have a strong point of view to start out with a good strong brief. And then during the shoot, have one one person who's delivering the required feedback and information so as to not like muddy the waters because sometimes even if you have people that are like similar in the hierarchy, and you're just like disagreeing, it's like well, I think it should be like this lot less plants. I think more plants. Like where are we going to land the plane, we're going to lose so much time.
Erin: Exactly. You're just losing time and productivity and and I do think along those same lines that whoever that has that brand voice sorry about a little pounding back there. If you can hear it, let me know. Okay. Um, so the other thing is coming in with confidence you're in your team because you pick them and you've worked really hard to make it work being encouraging but then also being really direct with feedback. If something's not working, just say and just say like, I'm not feeling that color or I want you guys to pivot like one of the hardest things is when a client kind of oh, I don't know I don't like it but I don't know like
Daniella Allam: I don't know,
Erin: like we have to make decisions we have to make them fast or the shoots can be really slow And you can't go into it say like, I want one photo today, I want the best photo ever. I'm gonna nitpick it forever. And that's fine. You can do that. But if you want 10 photos, you got to make decisions.
Daniella Allam: You're gonna have to make those decisions. Oh, yeah. I think like
Erin: don't be shy, like, We're professionals. And we can take negative feedback. I mean, you can deliver it in a kind and collaborative way. But we want to know what you want.
Daniella Allam: Right, right. And I think that's another thing. I think that sometimes folks that are doing this for the first time, yeah, they feel like, well, they know better. So like, the creative team knows better. So maybe I shouldn't say that. Or yeah, they feel maybe a little bit like not super confident, or don't feel like they can be really honest. And again, I think this just highlights like, that's actually detrimental to the process, like, for, like both the for the creative team, but for your final assets, too. Because no, nobody wants you to end up with images. And you're like, Ah, I should have picked, you know, whatever, the marble versus the, the wood, you know, like.
Erin: We'd be heartbroken, we want you to be happy. We're not trying to deliver our vision. We're trying to create your vision. So you just let us know, that doesn't feel right. That is so depressing.
Daniella Allam: And I think that kind of speaks to that point about, like, the prior planning is really important. Right? Like, that feels like a theme. It because I think, you know, up until you mentioning it, it wasn't something that immediately came to mind when I was thinking about your photoshoots. But as I were talking, I'm like, That is such an important part. Because you're always so strapped for time, strapped for, like, you know, trying to make fit all these different things into that shoot. And so if you didn't come prepared, ooh, you'd be like spinning out left and right. And I've been at photoshoots like that, right? Where it's just like, what are we doing? Wait, wait, we got through five we were supposed to get through 10 Like now what do we do? And we don't have time tomorrow So depressing. So guys, have the team have everything aligned beforehand, it's gonna make such a big difference. I'm so how do you one of the things I really love about your studio is that it's in this amazing garden. And I think that's just something so unique and so clever as well. Because a lot of your the brands that you work with are probably very plant forward. How does your garden and how did the plants inspire you? And how do they help you achieve the goals that you set forth for every photoshoot?
Erin: Well, I love my garden. And it is an important part of the studio. I mean, whether it's herbs that we've planted, you know, for TM, or for another client or it's just little bits of veggies and things like that, those little tidbits that are snipped straight from the garden really look like good talent to go back to your talent reference, I mean, you can't get better than something that's just freshly snipped. And also I feel like there's almost I don't know it's like a good feeling when people walk around the garden and makes people happy you can step outside for a minute it's like aromatherapy with the plants and all the herbs so I think it just brings a lot of good feelings on a practical level and just on an emotional level and it just kind of sets the tone like this is a home this is real this is not a studio that's in an industrial area that has no connection to nature.
Daniella Allam: Right? I just think that's so special because I've never been to another studio like that right? And and like what you said that actually being able to be outside you know, as you're like going through the photo shoot, you're not just like holed in and like no walls, no way, you know, all walls, no windows, which can sometimes be the case just creates Yeah, such a different vibe, such a different vibe and such a strong connection with what we're here to do. And I think, you know, the images come out in a much better way when of before we started working with you and way way way back in the Wayback Machine. I remember at Traditional Medicinals a shoot we were doing with dandelions, and they are notoriously probably the most diva of the talent out there because as soon as you snip them, they start to wilt. And it was so difficult running around Minneapolis trying to find dandelions trying to keep them fresh. By the time we were shooting them they were already wilted. And so just having that ability to bring in the plants for these plant forward clients I think is just such a unique value add of working with Miss Erin Scott that everybody should utilize.
Erin: I grow things for my clients too. Like if I have ongoing clients, I want to grow what they need, so we can have it fresh in the garden and something that grows in Northern California,
Daniella Allam: Northern California, which is your garden is beautiful. It's just, it's a sensorial experience, even to just like, show up and be a part of those shoots. So what would you say? So for somebody, again, starting out, as we wrap up, what are the top three things that you think brands should take away when they're thinking about photoshoots and images and assets and working with the photographer, what are like the three juiciest tips which you might be able to summarize some of the things you already said.
Erin: And I don't mean to be boring, but I feel like it's like prep prep and prep,
Daniella Allam: prep prep prep.
Erin : Yeah, it's just like be go dive really deep into the details. Answer all the questions.
Daniella Allam: Answer all the questions. Well, so I think folks can definitely will check out the form on your website sounds like it's a great thought starter, even if they can't work with you right now. As we wrap up, I'd love to hear like what brands and products are you loving right now? Do you have any themes, anything that you're loving lately?
Erin: I love, I'm pretty partial to my content. I have to say. Here I am. I'm breaking my Traditional Medicinals Cup of Calm as we chat. Yeah, I'm looking over there at Enzo Olive Oil, which I just am obsessed with. And they're not butters, and I just finished up an incredible shoot this last week for Hardy Grant, which is a publisher that's been in the UK and Australia. And now they've just opened an office in the US and we did a plant based book for an author out of Sacramento and she was just so inspiring and amazing. And her recipes were so delicious. And I had create this theme and it was one of those like this is just all the things coming together in this way that felt really magical. So can't wait to see that one. Yeah, you're gonna love it. It's me.
Daniella Allam: Yeah, I think it's obviously one of the benefits of being in the food and beverage space is that you get to like work and play with a lot of these and get really into it with a lot of these brands and products. So I feel like that kind of helps in the brand loyalty department for sure.
Erin: And then I've other things I'm of course obsessed with but I don't shoot for them like Honey Mama’s although I would shoot.
Daniella Allam: Oh, hey, Honey Mama’s. Hey, yeah. Oh, sure.
Erin: I've turned so many people on Honey Mama’s, and Summer is the one who told turned me on Honey Mama’s.
Daniella Allam: Yes. Summer Singletary, who is also been on the podcast. Yes. She turned me on to Honey Mama’s many, many years ago as well. Incredible brand. Yeah. Hopefully, you'll get to shoot with him. So let's manifest that. Well tell folks where they can find you and connect with your work. Where can they get your cookbooks and all the all the amazing stuff.
Erin: So my website is Erin Scott studio.com. On Instagram. I'm @Erin Scott Studio. I don't know where they can find all the cookbooks. It's funny. As a photographer, you can't really cross. What about your your cookbook. My cookbook is called Yummy Supper. And it's been around for it's 10 years. So it's kind of an old
Daniella Allam: 10 year anniversary. Get the Yummy Supper. You also did the Berkeley Bowl.
Erin: So that's a real local favorite. For sure. I did Flower Craft Bakery, which is an amazing bakery in Marin. I've also done almost all the William Sonoma books the past few years. So you'll probably find me in those. I mean,
Daniella Allam: yeah. And you can also see we'll leave a link for Erin's studio that's been featured in Remodelista. So you can take a peek at the beautiful garden studio that we've been talking about. Well, I feel like this was so helpful, Aaron and it's just such a pleasurable conversation. I really enjoyed having you on the podcast today.
Erin: Thanks for having me. And I loved some of your insights. Were like kind of mind-blowing to me. So I'll take those to my next clients.
Daniella Allam: Oh, awesome. Well, we'll definitely talk soon and everybody go check out Erin's work.
Erin: Thank you, Daniella.
Daniella Allam: Alright. Bye.
Erin: Bye!