Back in August 2008, I was negotiating the contract for Tacos: Authentic, Festive & Flavorful with Sasquatch Books. My editor told me they had lined up a great photographer named Lara Ferroni who did all her own cooking, food styling, and photography. I took a look at her websites and immediately knew that I was going to do Tacos. With photos like hers in the book, I knew it would be a work of beauty and something we could all be proud of. She worked off the rough draft of my recipes early on, and produced some excellent pictures. Without further distraction, I present the interview:

Taco Matrix: Did you like tacos or taco trucks before doing the photos for Tacos: Authentic, Festive & Flavorful? What’s your favorite taco? Favorite taco joint?

Lara Ferroni: Absolutely! In fact, my husband and I did a little Taco Truck Tour of Seattle just before I knew I was going to be shooting this book (I even made a Google map of Seattle Taco Trucks for it. I usually get either a carne asada taco or a grilled fish taco, but I like to change it up. Not sure I have one favorite… as for favorite taco joint, I like Costa Alegre down in Rainier Beach for taco trucks, and for a late night snack, Taco Gringos on Capital Hill always has intriguing flavor combinations.

TM: Did you find any challenges unique to shooting tacos, either in the studio or plein-air?

LF: I think tacos are really beautiful because they are usually topped with yummy looking salsa or fresh herbs of some sort… things that photograph really well. However, any time you photograph a single subject over and over, it gets to be a challenge to have the photos not all look the same. So, finding new, interesting ways to present the tacos tricky.

TM: You must be an accomplished cook, to make the dishes that you photograph. Tell us a bit about your previous cooking experience. What do you like to cook at home?

LF: I do cook a lot, but I’m not a trained cook by any means. I just try to follow the recipe, with a special note to how the food looks. Most of my cooking experience came from cooking for my own blog, and just trying things until I got them right. I cook anything at home… but rarely the same dish twice. Except for a good roast chicken. It’s always a great dish.

TM: You shot the studio pictures early on, from a pretty rough manuscript. Is it hard to follow recipes that haven’t been cleaned up yet? How was it making the recipes for Tacos?

LF: It can be. Tacos was in quite good shape when I got it… much better than some other cookbooks I’ve shot actually. So, thank you(!) for that. I have had a few experiences where the recipe was not yet tested, and I’ve had to kind of wing it and then give the author feedback on how the recipe could be improved. I don’t think I had to do that at all for Tacos though… and I also had a lot of really delicious salsas left over that my family and neighbors loved.

TM: How long have you been shooting food and travel photos? How did you get into it?

LF: I’ve been shooting seriously since 2005, and professionally since 2006. It all started from my blog, and me needing to take a few shots. I remember I made a batch of raspberry scones and all of a sudden really started enjoying the photography aspect even more than the cooking & writing. I started reading food blogs voraciously, especially those with great photography (like 101cookbooks.com), and it just sort of grew from there.

TM: What are some of the coolest assignments you’ve had? Worst? Most challenging?

LF: I do a lot of shooting for Edible Seattle, and those shoots are always fantastic. I’ve gotten to shoot a family with an Argentinian Barbecue in their backyard, where we sat and talked and made empanadas and palm heart salad while the grill was being heated… or to go into the kitchen at a Korean church where they were making vats and vats of kimchi. Most recently, I got to attend a pie making class to learn to make the most delicious apple pies. It’s hard to rank the experiences though, because they are all different. The taco cookbook was pretty cool too!

As for worst, it wasn’t really a bad assignment, but there was so much bureaucracy around the shoot that even though I had two sets going at the same time, we were lucky to get 4 shots done in a day. I don’t like just standing around waiting.

The most challenging was probably the cover I did for R&I magazine of an egg skillet dish. The client was remote, and so I’d prepare and shoot the dish, send them the shot, and they’d come back with feedback… more cheese, less cheese, more bacon… and then I’d have to make it all again. I think I went through two dozen eggs. But, they ended up happy with the shot in the end!

TM: You have a new cookbook coming out in 2010 on the subject of donuts. Tell us a bit about that. What’s your favorite donut?

LF: I do indeed. I’m just finishing up the writing now, and the recipes are out to a whole slew of testers. I’m really excited about it… the feedback has been great so far. I also started a doughnut blog that I’ll be updating now and then over the next year until the book comes out… and then it will be a place for some of the recipes that won’t fit in the cookbook. The blog is doughnutcookbook.com.

As for favorite… I’m pretty simple when it comes to doughnuts… plain cakes suit me fine. I also like the Tim Horton’s Honey Crullers. As for my own recipes, I really like the chocolate doughnut hole macaroons.

TM: One of your blogs, Still Life With, is sort of an information source/forum for food photography. How important is it for you to interact with other photographers and foodies?

LF: It’s funny… when I started my blogs, Seattle had quite a few food bloggers but we never really did anything together. That’s all changed in the last couple of years. Seattle now has a really booming food blogger scene that is very, very social. Many of them are really getting interested in food photography too, so I’m starting to see and be involved in various food photography workshops and things. It’s been fun to crawl out of my studio for a while to talk with folks who are doing similar things. And, I always love to help others develop their skills.

TM: Who are some of your favorite food photographers?

LF: Kind of too many to name… but Matt Armendariz, Heidi Swanson, Keiko Oikawa, Bea Peltre, John Kernick, Christopher Hersheimer, Jason Lowe, Con Poulos… I have a list of photographers who inspire me on Still Life With. Or, if you follow my Still Life With Twitter stream, I post new inspirations all the time (@StillLifeWith)

TM: What would be your dream assignment ($1 million advance, private jet, unlimited camera equipment, you know)?

LF: You know, I kind of have my dream job already. I know that sounds corny, but I love what I do when I’m just home, cooking and shooting. But sure, a million bucks would be no hell. Oh, and having someone else do all the post-production!

TM: Do you love tacos more now than you did before shooting Tacos: Authentic, Festive & Flavorful?

LF: I don’t know if I love them more. But, I do feel more confident about making them myself. I grew up in a house where we pressed our own tortillas, but we usually just filled them with ground beef, cheddar cheese and onions. Since the shoot, I always have a supply of about 5 varieties of dried chilies around so I can whip up a salsa with just a little notice and I’m much more inclined to stew up a pork shoulder.

Lara Ferroni’s Websites:

The Doughnut Blog

Still Life With

Plates and Packs