Student Success, Cindy Epstein

Cindy Epstein, of Fallbrook, CA, signed up for the San Diego Food Styling & Photography Workshop in February 2008 to help her determine if she wanted to move forward with her food styling career. Before moving to southern California she had a catering business in Philadelphia. After selling her catering company, she apprenticed with a stylist in Philly, but her career plans got postponed after moving to California. Within a few weeks of completing the workshop, she found herself in the studio. She was testing with another student, Carl Kravats, a photographer who lived nearby and styling a new cookbook with photographer Greg Bertolini!

Says Cindy, “I walked into the weekend with little confidence in my styling skills and with the hope that it would help me make a career decision about my next steps. The message was loud and clear. Go for it!! I walked away with a real sense of self-confidence.”

Here’s how Cindy describes her next project: “I've got a fabulous shoot with an ad agency on Monday. As one might expect, it wasn't finalized until Thursday afternoon at 4:45 and the agency was closed on Friday (4th of July holiday weekend). Ahhhhh! I've been shopping, prepping, and experimenting with various techniques for three days. They want to do 11 shots in one day - including ice cream - and there's no kitchen, no sink, no range, and no refrigeration. It's going to be a very busy day!” With Cindy’s skills and positive attitude, I’m sure she will have a successful day – and love every minute of it!

Afternote: “I finished prepping Sunday night at 10 pm, was up at 4 am and on the road before 5 getting ice, dry ice, and making a trip to the bakery for fresh pastries. (They didn't tell me there was no elevator in the building!) We plowed through the day without a break. I got home at 8:15 Monday night, and as I fell into a chair, exhausted, I realized I hadn't sat down all day except for when I was driving to and from the job. But Susan was right, I had a blast! I can't think of anything more fun than collaborating with a group of creative people. When the group energy starts flowing, the process of creating the image is very exciting!” And the client sent a note after shoot thanking Cindy for the wonderful job she did!

Visit Cindy's Website: www.cindyepstein.com

Cindy is now enthusiastically helping Greb Bertolini, Lisa Golden Schroeder, and me with promotions for the upcoming Food Photography and Styling Workshop in San Diego, September 2009.

Student Success Story: Daunea Foster, Atlanta

by Daunea Foster

I enrolled in the Fashion Styling 101 course under the instruction of Kim Maxwell and it was by far the best decision I could have made in my career as a stylist.

I am a freelance fashion stylist in Atlanta, Georgia and like any profession I knew that I needed to learn the ABC’s of being successful in this industry. Taking Kim’s course not only taught me the basics, it exceeded my expectations and taught me the essentials, the in’s & out’s, what I need to make it, and how to make sound decisions!

I feel so much more confident on how to pursue my dreams and that’s more than what any book could’ve taught me. Kim Maxwell has also been a mentor during and after the course ended which is to be commended. Through her mentorship and referrals, I have been booked to style a music video for 2 artists here in Atlanta. That was a success and through that music video, I gained an ongoing client!

I have also been booked to style for models in the area. One of the greatest opportunities was being hired as a head assistant stylist for STYLESbyMAXX. I had the chance to assist in styling an event titled “Memoirs of a Fashionista” in honor of Kim Maxwell, which was also a huge success! The doors continue to open, and more projects begin to come to me which I am truly grateful for. I give KUDOS to Susan Cox & Photo Styling Workshops for offering this course, and a HUGE thank you to Kim Maxwell for being such a wonderful, resourceful, and kind instructor! This course has provided me with the tools to birth my vision.

Photo above: Hip-Hop Artist Young Que

Earth Friendly Fabrics

Last fall I taught a class at Mesa College in San Diego on Photoshop for Fashion Design. I was filling in for Susan Lazear who was taking a sabbatical semester to travel the world and research ethnic fashions. It's pretty different teaching a software class after the more social and interactive classes and workshops in Photo Styling that I usually teach. But the students were wonderful and dedicated and worked hard to develop their skills in the challenging but exciting program of Adobe Photoshop.

The final project was my choice - they needed to create professional-quality presentation boards. I decided upon "earth-friendly fabrics."

The challenge was to provide information on a fabric (or fiber), research its production and dyes, etc., and develop it into a fashion design. The presentation boards include a photo montage about the fabric, Pantone colors, flats, and fashion drawings. I was thrilled with the results of their research and happy to see them exploring the issues of sustainable fashion fabrics.

Some of the materials used were: felted recycled yarn (seen here), bamboo, soy, organic cotton, recycled plastic bottles, and peace silk. You can view small samples of the class project at our Class Gallery.

Best of Students' Work

As part of their course work, Photo Styling Workshops students create numerous photos. Some of their very best can be viewed in our Gallery. Congratulations to these students!

This image, Chocolate Chip Cookies, was created by Kimberly Siciliano in Debbie Wahl's Food Styling 101 course whcih began on May 27, 2008. See more great examples!