Hey there! Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to chat with you all today!

Love these

JULIA: I love this question!

#1. Strive to let your photos tell a consistent story! Think of your photos as pictures in a storybook that tell the story of your cookie brand which likeminded people/customers can “read” - engage with and relate to!

#2. Create a set of small photo rules to follow for your brand's photos to help with that consistent storyline and brand recognition. (Plus this makes creating photos much faster!)

#3. Don’t cheap out on the caption! A photo may be worth a thousand words . . . but people still want the words! After looking at a beautiful photo in a magazine what’s the next thing we do? Check the text for the full explanation. When posting on social media, it's worth the small time investment to make sure you're posting a great caption that further welcomes them into the story that your cookies, photos, and overall brand is telling . . . and if you’re really good inviting them to interact!

JULIA: Sure! Two of my photo rules are: 1. Always add something white - like a small glass dish or plate. And 2. Add texture - sprinkles, crinkle paper, a soft prop...

JULIA: It’s just a look I prefer. The combination of the solid color background and white props starts to create a consistent look. The same thing could be done with...gold...marble...pink...wood...

MANU: Thank you! Creating the boxes is also another way to help tell the story! Crayon cookies are cute, but you package them in a familiar box and suddenly you feel like you went straight to Kindergarten again!

Hi, Toni, My name is Pat. Thank you for chatting with us today. My question is when I look at most cookies pages, the pictures are beautiful. They look like they're taken from far away and you can't see the flaws. What is the trick?

PCOLONNA: I use a camera stand when creating my photos to get a nice wide overhead look, which may be creating the faraway effect you're talking about. I don’t think there’s a real trick to hiding flaws. For most cookiers, I think that as they grow in their skill (their flaws are still there but less common!), they get really good at cleaning up mistakes and adapting the design if needed. If I have the occasional crater or flaw/break, I may be able to hide it under the edge of another cookie etc. . . . but for the most part, I just try to keep it real. The flaws are there . . . you might just be overlooking them! In my CookieCon cookies/photos, a few of them broke during travel. I don’t think anybody even noticed the cracks!

JULIA: Those rules apply as well! I have about 4-5. Also, I have a rule to occasionally - break the rules lol! Just to try something new and possibly find a new rule!

JULIA: Believe it or not, I shoot all of my cookies in natural sunlight - yes, even on days where the sun doesn’t want to come out and play. Over the years as I strived to take better cookie photos, I developed a cookie photo “recipe” which I call Cookieography - the exact recipe I taught at CookieCon!

In this recipe, I teach what I consider the core ingredients of my cookie photo recipe, but then more importantly how to put the ingredients together to create great cookie photos every single time - yes, even in the rain! It’s really a matter of understanding a few basic settings, a little equipment, and how to put them together.

As for shadows - I always say shadows are our friend! I lessen them with the use of a simple white foamboard to reflect light and then soften in editing if need be. But we don’t want to remove all shadows, as shadows create depth and texture!

Thank you. Do you use any editing programs like Photoshop, etc.?

PCOLONNA: I use Lightroom! I strive to create the best photo right out of the camera naturally. But then I move it into Lightroom to do a few little edits - just like packaging a cookie!

Have you ever used a lightbox? I live in northern Canada and, in the winter, it's dark a lot of the time.

DEEBIE GEORGE: Awe thanks!

RENATA CARSON: I am not a fan of using a light box. The first reason is with my cookieography recipe - as cookie conners learned! You actually have wayyyyy more light then you realize you just need to learn how to make your camera (even phone!) SEE that light. Second when shooting with artificial light is a must (after sunset) I recommend a shadow box instead. When using artificial light we want to mimic the sun as much as possible. Light boxes do not do a great job of that - and are most often more money!

JULIE: A light box is an enclosed structure often a square, that as lights attached to it at some part made for “easy” product photography. A shadow box is a large “Umbrella” on a stand with a light inside.

JULIA: The temp of the lights in the box may be close to natural sunlight (5,000k) but the LOOK of the light is not the same. It’s small,close, and hard.

JULIA: A large overhead shadow box creates a large light source (like the sun!) which creates softer shadows...and allow light to fall on the cookies also like the sun.

MANU: Thank you! The Library has been such an incredible adventure. And yes, we sure did print a cutter in the car! I’m still surprised it turned out!

DEBBIE: I first recommend using Lightroom mobile app on your phone. You can use the camera in that app and switch the “pro” which gives you options similar to a DSLR! From there, I recommend starting with and entry DSLR - Canon rebel T6 or T7 is great! Around 300-400 and most likely you wont grow out of that.

JULIA: You can use all sorts of light sources to create different artistic feelings/looks. But I like to have cookiers start out with a shadow box to create a natural sun look first...then they can adjust and find a style they like better if needed.

JULIA: Sure! I use a Canon 80D - a horizontal camera stand, and a cheap white foam board! Since I do shoot on a stand I also use a tether cord and live shoot on my computer screen. Then I can easily adjust any settings and see the shot right on my computer!

JULIA: But I want to stress that you really don’t NEED a pro camera. Often a newer phone will do the trick. The key is to learn the settings! If anybody is interested in this and didn’t get a chance to take the cookie con class we will be releasing COOKIEOGRAPHY and an ecourse soon!

JULIA: ALWAYS manual. Even if I am using my cell phone (with Lightroom!) This allows me to suck in allllll the light possible.

DEBBIE: Give me a moment and I’ll post a photo of the setup

MANU: I shot these photos in natural light, but don’t be scared by that! As a military family I’ve taken my cookie photos in house all around the world and I don’t always have a well lit studio. And I don’t always shoot when the sun is this great. Remember the sloths were after 5PM!

JULIA: I shoot tethered for several reasons one of which to avoid camera shake, but more importantly to be able to adjust ANY settings I want right on the screen. Most importantly SHUTTER SPEED <- the secret sauce to cookieography!

What is the best way to use your iPhone for pictures? Any special settings or filters?

PCOLONNA: My favorite is to download Lightroom mobile and use the camera option in that app. Switch it to “pro” just beside the shutter and suddenly you have manual options just like on a DSLR!

JULIA: You will then have the option to adjust your shutter speed and ISO etc. Without buying a fancy new camera!

MANU: For cookies, one should absolutely be enough! The one I recommended at cookie con was 40.00 on amazon total package https://amzn.to/39A1B8u

JULIA: That’s the key between the two. At cookie con I encouraged students to think about what they were using the photos for. If using just for social media your good to go on a iPhone. For print purposes I recommend to move into a DSLR. Which is why I shoot with a DSLR - also because I started so long ago flip phone cameras were not quite usable!

JULIA: Thank you I did miss this! I consider the key ingredients: STYLING, EQUIPMENT, CAMERA SETTINGS, LIGHTING, AND EDITING.

Once we understand the roll each of these ingredients play and how they work, we can strategically put them together for one easy to follow photo recipe! Which I take you through step by step!

We haven’t put out an official date yet, but we are leaning towards to end of March!

DEBBIE: Actually I do! Here is the link I shared at cookie con with the equipment I use and/or recommend depending on your setup (camera/phone sun/artificial): https://thesprinklefactory.com/cookiecon/

JULIA: That is your key problem! And what I did for YEARSSSSS. Until I started to really learn the few “cookie crucial settings” and then it all literally clicked!

DEBBIE: Thank you! I look forward to teaching you Cookieography. It’s really a process I developed over the past ten years, and I’m soooo giddy to finally be able to put it out there!

JULIA: It’s such a struggle for most which is why I love teaching it so much.

At cookie con...on the last class at 6PM...the shades were closed, the overhead lights were off, and we had a little leftover natural sunlight filtering through. I thought...let’s REALLY push the boundaries. You could hear a pin drop! But sure enough...with 100 students watching...WE GOT THE SHOT! I think they got the best Cookieography value over all lol!

JULIA: YES! And one of the things I bring up right away is you don’t have to be a photographer to create great cookie photos OR take a long time. You you believe it if I told you I spend no more then 5 minutes taking my photos?

JULIA: Styling may take a few more minutes but the actual photos...five minutes max.

JULIA: You can still follow my same process, you just adjust your camera angle and backdrop!

Sadly I haven’t got to that yet BUT I do have a overall email list for my website (it’s on the front page) and I will announce there as well as INSTAGRAM!

DEBBIE: Thank you! I’m so excited to release it! This has been requested for so long, I’m so glad to finally release it and feel like we’ve got it down perfect for you all!