Letting My Intuition Be My Visionary Guide

"I believe that art can heal and passion for food, wellness, art, and social causes fuels all that I do." - Leigh Beisch

We wanted to know how Leigh Beisch developed her intuition for photography. Was it her brain on auto-pilot, was it learned or a combination of the two? We asked Leigh about her background, influences, and vision for the future. Here is what she had to say:

Growing up under the spirited influences of an advertising creative director dad and a mom that worked in fashion before she became a poet meant learning about life from a visual perspective and being able to communicate in different ways. Our house was filled with inspiration. From stacks of fashion and literary magazines to stories and visits from well-known photographers and writers. Later at RISD, I was challenged to think about the applications of creativity, discovering what drives me to create (content) and light, always the light.

Today I channel many of those influences; whether I am collaborating with clients or creating work for myself, I strive to bring a perspective of beauty and nurturing to a world inundated with messaging and imagery. My approach to collaboration is empathic - always considering the project from start to finish and in an authentic, integrated fashion. Every element of production is mindfully considered to translate my photographs into powerful, yet nuanced statements. As I discovered through poetry, I still love the element of surprise and adopt a fearless approach when it comes to exploring ideas and trying new and unexpected things. With an eye towards the future in my DNA, I’m always looking to riff and change, adapt and roll, no matter how simplistic or complex.

Through my photographs, I aim to give back and demonstrate how beautiful imagery can equate to a sense of health and well-being.

I am drawn to the natural light and strive to use it in its authentic and transparent way. I’ve always believed that the best imagery reflects an iconic moment in time and culture, and I always look forward to seeing where the world is going and how my work can reflect popular minds and moods with my point-of-view.

I believe that art can heal and passion for food, wellness, art, and social causes fuels all that I do. As my career continues to evolve, I’m always looking for ways to engage with the human condition and how to demonstrate how truly connected we all are in this big picture called life.

Check out Leigh's latest stills and motion on her new website or follow her on Instagram for more professional food photography, and to witness her exploration of how food and family nourish and nurtures.

Festive Super Bowl Appetizers for the Big Day

This Sunday my father who just moved here from Boston, will come over to my house to watch the Super Bowl and to yell and scream at the TV, rooting for his team, guess who?! The Patriots have kept us entertained for a few years now, keeping us on our toes until the end and then winning the game giving us New Englander's a feeling of relief and patriotism. This year, I teamed up with a my own fun group. Food stylist and blogger Betsy Haley and prop stylist Mikhael Romain to create some fun, colorful veggie chip appetizers and such that could be served at not just fancy holiday parties, but Super Bowl or Emmy watching as well! Veggie chips add a layer of color, texture and healthfulness to the mix. Also using these colorful veggies to create fun and healthy dips as well.

Adding some sweet jam to a baked brie makes this appetizer completely irresistible. The sweet coolness of the jam contrasting with the warm savory cheese- oh boy!

Additional bonus for a quick, sweet pick-me-up ending- Affagato's! (ice cream in a pool of creamy coffee!)

Foods and Moods, Foraged Aromatics for Holiday Infused Cocktails that Heal the Body and Soul

The San Francisco Bay area was home to the Miwok Indians. These people lived off the land, foraging for ingredients that grew wild to both nourish and heal them. Come fall time, the prevalent ingredients were mostly berry like, dark in color, inky and red. Also prevalent were healing and scented leaves and things like rose hips, the remnants of beautiful wild roses. Dan, our food stylist,  spends a lot of time hiking around the Bay Area and is familiar with these local "crops". He has been an admirer of the abundance out there and embraced the challenge to create cocktails that used these ancient ingredients that the ancestors of the region used to nourish and heal.

 

Happiest of Thanksgivings! A Project with BiRite Markets

This year I had the privilege to shoot for BiRite Markets. Our first shoot was for their holiday meals so the shoot had a deeper level of community to it. BiRite is a San Francisco based market that embodies the idea of Good Food and community. It has created a program that educates the community with cooking lessons for low income kids, teens and adults and also introduces it's neighbors to the producers of the food it sells. It was a pleasure to see the passion and dedication that these folks have for their markets, their food and the philosophy behind them. A great way to start the holiday season of giving (back.)  Above is one of the shots we did for them for use on multiple platforms and below are some BTS (behind the scenes) photos of the shoot. We are looking forward to working with them again, continuing the relationship with this wonderful local brand.

Breakfast Fun - Cereal!

Do you ever just want to do what Jerry Seinfeld did- eat cereal all day long? I do, and as the "cook" in the family, the simplicity of pouring two things in to a bowl and eating a nutritious meal sounds very appealing most days. These days there are so many fun things you can do with cereal too- bowls, bars, even toppings! Big thanks to Pinterest for all the fun ideas!

Wine Country Ingredients "Foods and Moods"

A focus on just a few of the incredible ingredients that have the power to heal us and nourish us- all which are grown locally here in our Northern California Wine regions - both Sonoma and Napa! A visual treat for me to shoot! I think that just looking at these beauties heals the soul.

Foods and Moods- Pineapple!

This year I wanted to start a project that reflects a challenge to myself to explore new ways to use my photography + passion for food to help deepen peoples connections to the foods that not only nourish and nurture, but also heal us. Growing up with my mother fighting breast cancer for over 30 years meant being exposed to alot of talk of healing foods and nutrition. It is probably why she lived so long with cancer, due to her proactive attitude and diligence to nutrition. So you can see that healing foods is something very special to me. I also seem to have spent my career shooting for magazines and brands that revolve around healthy food and lifestyle. Each project has exposed me to how powerful ingredients are in helping our bodies heal and be healthy.

For my first study on “Foods and Moods”, I partnered with twin sisters and talented chefs Mary Barber and Sara Whiteford, aka Mary and Sara  (www.maryandsara.com). Besides our mutual love of making a storied image, they also have learned along the way to make and eat foods that help the body heal. And we love Turmeric.  And pineapple — not only for its taste, texture and flavor but because it is also a serotonin-rich food that helps promote optimism. For this project we wanted to focus on foods that promoted good mood and optimism in conjunction with my friend Riley John Donnell’s movement UMEWE ( you me we) and “Into Yellow” which is a platform and specific tone of yellow he has created in conjunction with Pantone to promote optimism as well.  http://www.intoyellow.com.