In today’s creative branding, marketing and advertising culture, the idea of “story” seems to be everywhere. Companies are creating brand books to define their “brand story.” (By the way, brand books are super helpful for directing how we approach photography for our clients.) Creative providers and agencies are touting story-telling services. There are business books on story-telling. (Confession: I bought “Winning the Story Wars” but only got about a quarter of the way through it before moving on.)

I can get a little cynical about the overuse of “story.” I think in reality I’m just critical of creative service companies trying to use story-telling as a differentiator. Story is important, but one’s ability to tell story is also fundamental. Telling it well is of higher value. But I digress. I like the exercise of creating work with some kind of story to establish direction. Story is an effective tool for defining creative.

I’ve not been to Ireland in the winter, but I have this picture in my mind of what it’d be like. Being in an old-world stone cottage somewhere in a remote part of Ireland was the story going through my mind when food stylist Teresa Blackburn and I started this small project together. She and I both had ideas in our minds. She may have been thinking about a different country all together. What happens though in our collaboration is a blending of our ideas, our experiences, and our stories. That’s probably my favorite part of food photography — when collaborative visions meld and come together in our images. We created a loose visual story dialogue and came up with the following.

And wait for it…
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

– Kyle

There’s something about fall that makes me extra sentimental.

I think about the start of school… Growing up we started after Labor Day, not the first week of August like my boys have to endure.
I think of field trips to the Texas State Fair… It always seemed to rain on our designated day off from school.
I think of baking pies with my grandmother… She was notorious for doing a test-baking before Thanksgiving.
I think of returning home from college and how wonderful my mom made the house smell with something freshly baked coming from the kitchen.

There are certainly many more memories. I find that many of my memories are centered around food. I guess that’s just a reflection on our family traditions linked to food . . . and my own preoccupation with eating.

And now? Well, this fall seems a little bit like any other fall. The trees are beautiful here in Nashville. It’s been kind of wet weather. At home, we’re getting geared up for lots of baking in November and December. At work, we’re working with clients on 2016 promotional food photography and some spring editorial work. Thanksgiving seems like a distant memory since we were in turkey mode a couple of months ago work-wise.

Today, I thought I’d take the idea of fall as an excuse to show some fall-ish food photography. The food styling on these is by Nashville food stylist Whitney Kemp. We did these images for fall 2014 but can just now show you since much our work is under a probationary period of six to twelve months. Unfortunately, we can’t show 2015 images yet. We’ll have to wait until next year.

In the meantime, happy fall to you. Eat well. – Kyle

Crepes. Sandwiches. Gyros. Nashville’s food truck scene offers a wide range of foods. Before the temperature starts making you want to stay inside all day, get out and enjoy some of Nashville’s finest traveling cuisines. Head to the NFTA (Nashville Food Truck Association) website to get more information about the trucks around Nashville, and pick some to try out. – John

See more food trucks here.

FOUR & TWENTY BLACKBIRDS – GLOBALLY INSPIRED COMFORT FOODS

CREPE A DIEM – FRENCH STREET FOOD

KING TUT’S – EGYPTIAN

Sometimes work can be work, but at the end of the day (metaphorically and sort of literally speaking) it’s more about who you get to work with that makes our jobs fun, memorable and meaningful. We’ve been fortunate to work with Catherine Jones for years. She recently moved on to another company, but we have nothing but fond memories of our time with her on many a shoot. Here are a few images from a couple of recent Ruby Tuesday shoots with Catherine.

Food styling by Nashville food stylists Teresa Blackburn and Whitney Kemp.

– Kyle

Another month has passed at Dreier & Company. The start of fall had a lot to offer and the good times are continuing into the holiday season. Keep up with us and all that’s happening in November by following us on Instagram. – John

Around here I think we’d be OK if everyday was candy corn day. There’s something addictive about these little sweets. We decided to have a little fun in anticipation of National Candy Corn Day. We hope you enjoy today and have a Happy Halloween filled with very few tricks and many sweet treats. – Kyle