Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Couch.
Hi Jeff, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
This is my third career, started as a chef and then owned a successful food service equipment marketing firm and now a photographer. I always enjoyed photography but didn’t really understand the triangle so I went to UCLA Extension. During the later part of the course, I did a mentorship. When deciding what to do it on because of my past experiences the mentor suggested food photography. I had never really thought about food photography as all my other work was Urban Decay and Lost Cities. Since then, I have been totally focused on food photography and video. In 2017 I became certified as a professional photographer through Professional Photographers of America (PPA) I have spent a number of years entering global competitions and attending critiques for continuous improvement. Today I shoot for various food service clients throughout So Cal.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No easy road and it still isn’t. It takes time to gain exposure, build a client list and breakthrough. It’s a very big market but a crowded one. Getting exposure to editors, food stylists and others is hard, people work with whom they have worked with before, so it takes time. But that’s why you go into business and those are the struggles of an entrepreneur.
One challenge was starting to create a video, it is a lot different than stills. Learning the software was the biggest challenge and the software is always weeks if not months ahead of you. I have taken a lot of courses as well as practiced to become accomplished in it.
Social Media is another challenge, which platform do you use, how often to engage, how to stay relevant and find the time to do it consistently.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in commercial food photography and video. I help chefs, magazines, food packaging communicate effectively to their audience through my photography, I call it “capturing your senses”. When working with a client, I listen to what they are trying to tell their customer about their place or product, I enjoy telling the story through food images.
Due to my chef and food service experience, I am able to assist with design, composition, styling and produce excellent images. I have a client that is non-food, it’s a porcelain company but they have me on contract to produce images on how you would use the porcelain at home. I get a brief for each season, the pattern to use and from there I design the layout, produce the food, style it and shoot it. This is a fun one to do.
My images have been selected for inclusion American Photographic Artist (APA) publication, won several awards in global photographic competitions. I have worked with Michelin Star Chefs, Celebrity chefs and many others.
Moving forward, I would like to do a cookbook and a food magazine.
How do you think about luck?
That’s a funny question! Not that I would change anything, because we learn from good and bad, it makes us stronger, but if I had of known how to get into food photography at a young age, I definitely would have done it, the bad luck is I didn’t even know about…but the images have always been in front of us. Good Luck was I have met a few people along this journey that have taken me under their wing, mentored me and made me strive harder.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeffcouchfood.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffcouchfood
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/%2Fjeffery.couch.336
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffcouchfood
