Photography at The Wonder Jam
1145 Chesapeake Ave
Building J
Columbus, OH 43212
I will be the first to admit that the focus of this blog has never been photography. I don’t have a fancy camera, and didn’t even have an Instagram account in the beginning, now my largest social media channel. My ability to take pictures of food has improved tremendously over the past two years, but it’s always been something I never concentrated on enough. Sometimes I was too starving to take photos, sometimes I got off work late and there was no sunlight left for an ideal setup. I have a long way to go to hone those food styling skills, but I’m working on it with The Wonder Jam!
I connected with The Wonder Jam through Instagram (@thewonderjam), and had been admiring their photography work from afar. Then, a couple weeks ago I finally pulled the trigger and visited their studio for a photography class. The Wonder Jam is owned by the husband and wife duo of Allie and Adam Lehman, and they offer assistance in expanding your small business or “side hustle” in a variety of ways. Some of the services: building your brand, social media coaching, and of course, photography. The Lehmans and their team also prep the food and then shoot it for entire cookbooks, which I learned isn’t as glamorous as it sounds!
The class I took was Food Photography and Styling, essentially an intro to capturing food on film. It was iPhone-friendly (perfect for me!) and the group was a great mix of career photographers and amateurs who just wanted to take prettier snaps of food. At only $40 for 3 hours of instruction and light snacks, this class is such a tremendous value! I took notes throughout the session like a maniac. Allie and her crew set up different food scenes for us to try our hand at capturing, so it was interesting to see how these high-quality shots are developed from the ground up. I won’t give away all the secrets, but I learned how to set up layouts and backgrounds for shooting, how to add texture with napkins, and that painting produce with veggie oil gives it a perfect sheen. I can’t wait to take another class and learn more. Some of my shots have improved already:
Culinary Clue: The studio is in the same industrial strip as Watershed Kitchen + Bar. So schedule a class at The Wonder Jam, then mosey over to Watershed to test your newly-acquired camera talents on their cuisine.
Keep Connected,
Caroline