Jodi Hinds, Freelance Photographer
All images © Jodi Hinds.
From capturing the beauty of raw ingredients to the finished artistry of an incredible dish, freelance photographer, Jodi Hinds, knows how to tell a story about food. Her stunning photographs reveal the life and work of some of the UK’s finest cooks and restaurateurs but as Jodi describes, her beginnings were simple experiments and a hobby she enjoyed.
I talked to Jodi about her path to becoming an accomplished visual storyteller, how to balance being a freelancer with personal time and the experience of working with some of the UK’s most respected culinary characters.
Jodi, your portfolio is like a who’s who of top London chefs. What’s been the path to work with such an illustrious bunch?
About 10 years ago I was actually based in Sheffield and had been networking with a local Italian restaurant. They didn’t really have any photographs and when I got talking to the owner he just invited me to come and do a bit of work for him.
A little while later he told me it was going to be his birthday and that he’d be going out to a house he had in Italy with all his friends. He asked me to go along and take photos so I went along with my assistant for this crazy 48 hours. We were going round taking photos of his honey suppliers and olive oil suppliers and it was the just the best time ever.
The photos turned out so well that we decided we should do a book all about Italian food culture. We went back for another week to take pictures of suppliers and as I worked I kept in mind that there’d be multiple images on the page which was great training. One thing led to another and the publisher, who did a lot of cookery books, asked if I’d do some more for them.
I did the most amazing fish and chips place and then a Michelin starred restaurant in Birmingham and that was really the start. That was when I started to get really into flavours and textures and stories and chefs and processes. It blew me away, it was amazing. When I moved to London five or six years ago I started to reach out to other publishers and find new opportunities and just kept building on those contacts.
Did you study photography?
No, in the beginning it was just like a hobby and then it grew. I would go along to night school classes and my early jobs were weddings and family portraits. I was involved with a charity that works with students and I went along on some of their international relief work, taking photos.
When a friend asked me to photograph his wedding I had to borrow a lens to do it. I didn’t even have the right equipment and I nearly lost the lens when it rolled away down some steps.
There’s been a lot of trial and error and just using the experience from those small, early jobs to do the next thing.
Taking photos of food is known to be notoriously hard. How do you even go about creating a visual story about food? Where do you start?
I think it depends on what your clients want to say. There are a million stories to tell about suppliers, customers, processes, plates, the chef and the space in the restaurant. It does kind of depend on which story they want to tell.
Sometimes people don't really know what they want to say and they just want to look good but at other times it's really specific.
In some of the big advertising projects the brief will be entirely dictated to you and have great art direction. At other times, it's more a case of really needing something for a website or promoting something in particular. In that case you need to help someone to understand what their narrative is and how customers can lock in with it.
I worked on one book with Vivek Singh called Festival Feasts. We styled each photograph according to a different Indian festival; colours, flavours, types of plates, fabrics and saris. The imagery came to life as it was inspired by each festival.
There’s a picture in your website portfolio of Albert Roux where you’ve captured the most wonderful expression. How did you manage to do that when it must have been a fleeting moment?
Well, that was funny because the gentleman on the other side of the photo was the chef Steven Doherty. He was one of the first British chefs to be awarded three Michelin stars and he rose up through Le Gavroche with Albert.
Steven and I were working on a book and part of it was to feature some of his colleagues and friends in the industry. I was on the floor I think, kneeling beside the table to get the right shot, and Albert just kind of motioned to me with his chin and said to Steven “Is she ok? She’s skinny. Does she eat?” Steven’s response was great: “Believe me, she eats!” It was just a great conversation between friends and I was in the right place at the right moment.
When we got this picture out there it just really resonated with people. You don’t always know how it’s going to be when you’re editing, what people will respond to. It’s so intriguing to see what people’s reactions are. To take that photo in particular was a privilege, it was beautiful to be there.
How do you balance freelancing with your personal life and time? I know that you’ve volunteered many times in different contexts so where and how do you draw those boundaries?
The flexibility of freelancing is great but I suppose it means that none of your time is off limits.
When I choose to volunteer now I often do it locally. It’s important to me but tricky, yes, because you have to think carefully about the best use of that time. If you’re volunteering for something in your free time when you’re self-employed, that’s hugely costly because there’s only a limited amount of time left to sustain important relationships with friends and family too.
You have to ask where you’re going to be most effective and recognise up front what time it will take to do what you’re thinking about.
There are so many TV shows now that feature great chefs and British cookery but sometimes we’re given the impression that it’s a pretty brutal world to be a part of. Is that your experience or is it all in the edit?
You’ve got to remember that this is a world where feedback is normal and everyone wants to get better and improve all the time. They’re always trying new dishes and experimenting.
So many chefs have stories of things they’ve experienced but that have taught them so much. They will tell you about times when a superior was tough but acknowledge with hindsight that they were absolutely right.
Leadership in a restaurant is remarkable because everything is so quick so it’s a huge skill to manage every station and individual. Imagine creating a dish with 25 different ingredients to the highest standard possible.
Do you have a specific kind of strategy around marketing and getting more work as a freelance photographer?
You might have different targets each year and then your strategy for the work falls in with that, perhaps through promotions or adverts. There are different strategies for different seasons for different kinds of campaigns.
This year was one where things were put on hold but there was also more time for reflection. There are always different targets or wish lists or maybe an experiment you do that leads to something else. Really though, it’s just about being the best you can be.