There is perhaps no other blog phenomenon that went through the roof in the past few years than food blogs. The trend is catchy because of the decorative avocado toasts, latte art images on the daily and cappuccino or artistic burgers. Worldwide, users pull out their smartphones to share their daily food with their friends and followers within the social media world. Certainly, this quickly separates the good from the bad. However, food photography is a skill like any other and has to be learned and practiced. It’s not as easy as it sometimes seems to imitate the recipe from your favorite food photographer and make it stand out visually.

As we scrolled through our Instagram feed, we discovered the Mexican Daniela Constantin. She masters the art of food photography and impresses thousands of people. She is a certified photographer, who uses her own blog as a portfolio of her work and shares her popular breakfast images with her followers every day. Her pictures stand out among the mostly colorful breakfast bowls or beloved avocado toasts; most of Daniela’s pictures are a bit darker and create a mystical atmosphere. We asked Daniela for an interview and wanted to know this: How did she find her passion in food photography, what inspires her to do her job so well and how does her typical day look like?

To start things off, please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about you.

My name is Daniela Constantini, I am a professional photographer based in Bern, Switzerland. I was born and raised up in Mexico City, a city I love and I greatly miss. I studied Communications, majored Journalism and even though, I love writing I realized in 2015 I wanted to pursue photography full time.

When did you move to Bern? Why did you choose Bern and Switzerland as your base for now?

This year I moved to Bern in May. My fiancé is from Bern and although, we both lived in New York City when we met, we found ourselves at a point where we needed to decide if we wanted to stay in New York City longer or move to Mexico City or Bern. Circumstances made us choose Bern and now I am greatly happy to be here.

 

Tell us more about where you live and what your typical day looks like?

In Bern every day is really calm. After living in New York, a city I loved but also became exhausting to me, I needed peace and some silence in my life – a smaller city, I fell right into place here. There are days I feel incredibly creative and then I either photograph breakfast scenes or create outdoor cinemagraphs. I also do research on personal projects. I am interested in photographing which is embraced by documentary and is another side of my photography passion but takes longer, needs a lot of research and finding subjects willing to be photographed, is a huge challenge. Those are my most creative days. I have others when my bed and my sofa are the best things in the world and I barely move, I make up for those days by working out and practicing yoga.

“Photography does not feel like work at all.”Daniela Constantini

When was the first time you got in touch with photography? How did it all start?

I was about 11 or 12 years old, I had a purple point-and-shoot-camera, my dad bought me in the “photography section” of our closest supermarket. I was not good and ended up cropping heads. I never stopped taking photographs but I was short-sighted then. I did not think I could improve and did not take it seriously, not until I was in my 20s. There I had a first formal lesson but I still did not think of it as the profession I wanted to embrace. In 2015 I got rejected from Columbia University to study a Masters in Journalism but I was adamant and New York City was my target. Then I remembered photography and the rejection felt more like a wake-up call. I applied at the International Center of Photography School and received an acceptance letter shortly after. Since then photography became my full-time profession and I feel so happy. There is no gig I do not enjoy, which is something I did not have as a journalist – photography does not feel like work at all.

When did you start to show your work on your own blog?

I created my first website in 2013. Usually, I was making videos where I interviewed people who loved their job and I called it “Gente Bonita” (Beautiful People). It does not exist anymore but I am still drawn to that idea, so I hope I can continue it here somehow. The blog on my current website has not been there for too long, I created the blog this year. I decided to start posting a wider selection of the photos I shared on Instagram.

How would you describe the philosophy and the content of your blog?

Timeless, honest, poetic and a touch of magical realism.

 

How long did it take you to become a professional photographer?

Since 2015 photography is my full-time job.

What motivates you and what are you trying to express through your pictures?

Other photographers are my motivation, I am constantly searching for previous creations and getting inspired. I also find photographers whose work I admire and I try to find out how they made the light look like this or that and while I am experimenting I find other ways to tell my stories. I am constantly searching for texture, light and moody scenarios. My photos should make you to want to be there and almost feel the place I am in or a scene I created and then captured.

Your focus right now is on showing your followers mouth-watering food photography. Why did you start to capture your food?

I have never been a morning person, waking up early is a huge effort, a conscious effort, but after an aggressive liver sickness, I became appreciating mornings and time and I have always been a breakfast lover. So after I healed, I started waking up early and actually enjoy my morning routines and since then I have been photographing what I have for breakfast and sharing it on Instagram.

How do you always find new ideas, places and new stagings for your pictures?

I love visiting second-hand-stores, there I find timeless props and/or surfaces and my head starts thinking how to create scenes. Besides I am constantly on Instagram, Tumblr and websites where I get inspired and find fresh ideas.

 

What are your working essentials, things you cannot live without?

After I moved from New York and had to leave behind props and surfaces, I arrived in Bern with nothing more than my camera and little by little I found other props and realized things are always replaceable – now I know I only need my camera.

Do you have a method for editing your photos?

I do have a workflow but most of the work is the creation of the scene I want to photograph by finding the right light, the right props, the right color pallet, the clothes, the cooking… At the time I sit down, I know what I have to correct and what needs to be enhanced.

 

When did you start on Instagram and why should we follow you?

I cannot remember, I think I started in 2012 and new and current followers can find tons of passion on my Instagram. Hopefully, they can feel the love I put into when I photograph and I love eating good breakfasts so, there is that, too (hahaha).

At least we would like to know which collaboration with clients and brands have you done so far?

Most of the collaborations I have had were food related. So I made my breakfast scene and I found a way to incorporate whatever it was. My way of collaborating should look natural. I started collaborating with clothing brands recently, so I go to the woods or to the old city of Bern and make a photoshoot and cinemagraphs. These are some brands I collaborated with: Instagram, Fujifilm Mexico und What to Eat.

 

*numbers current at the time of writing.

Copyright: All images are copyright protected and property of Daniela Constantini.