Monica Thomas hasn’t always been a chef. She began her career in the corporate world, moved on to work with a prominent caterer in Chicago, and spent years as an event planner. In 2004, she left behind her lucrative job to follow her passion. After decades as a chef, she realized she had even more to offer and set her sights on writing a cookbook.
While Chef Monica serves high-profile clients in the Washington, D.C., metro area through her private catering business Tailored Taste, her years volunteering at the local middle school to teach kids healthy eating habits inspired the focus of her cookbook. She cherished the excitement and pride the kids felt as they learned to prepare and serve nutritious meals to their parents. Eager to expand the impact of her classes and catering beyond her immediate community, she envisioned helping children everywhere recreate that experience in their own homes.
Quality over quantity: A few stunning photos beat a gallery of mediocrity
Armed with a collection of kid-approved recipes, Monica turned her focus to photography — and that’s where I came in. Working within her budget, she prioritized high-quality, eye-catching images to showcase her recipes. Instead of attempting to photograph every dish, we recommended quarterly shoots to highlight a curated selection. This approach allowed her to create stunning visuals that will bring her cookbook to life while staying on budget.
Securing polished visual assets before pitching her proposals to publishers was a smart, strategic move. By including professional, high-quality images, Monica shows her dedication to excellence and makes her proposal stand out in a competitive field. Once she secures a publisher, she plans to expand her image collection to fully realize her creative vision.
Who knew playing with your food could lead to such delicious results?
Recipes for kids should be easy and accessible, but that doesn’t mean they can’t also be fun and full of nutrition. Monica’s brand is all about turning the everyday into something special, so we made sure the photos were as fresh and vibrant as her style.
While Monica excels at teaching kids the joys of cooking, I picked up a few tricks during our shoot, too! Photographing her broccoli tots was a blast, especially when I figured out the secret to capturing the perfect sauce splash. The trick? Dropping two tots per frame—one to create the splash and the other to freeze in mid-air. After an hour of tossing tots into sauce, my patience finally paid off. The shot you see here? That’s my 'last try' shot!
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