Francesco Tonelli (P)

Francesco Tonelli

  

mmm

MMMMM I'm hungry.... this makes a appetizing and mouthwatering invite unlike the photo's I see my friends putting up on Social Media....(cough cough or myself)

Lemon drizzle before
doesn't really say a lot lol

my own fail of lemon drizzle cake photography from years ago
WAS NICE AND TASTY THO!

Francesco Tonelli is from Northern Italy. From early childhood he had a deep passion for cooking and, by the time he was 14, he was already working in the kitchen with his brother who was a chef. Over the next 20 years, Francesco developed his culinary skills by cooking in Italy, Switzerland and France. And he didn’t just cook. While in Milan, Francesco ran a couple of restaurants which meant that in addition to his time in the kitchen, he was also responsible for pretty much everything else.

Francesco’s experience led to him to be hired by the La Cucina Italiana magazine to develop recipes.

   

It was a very successful arrangement, and Francesco ended up working alongside food photographers for almost eight years.
After this he moving to America and began teaching lessons to students for a very prestigious cooking school in the world: the Culinary Institute of America — the other CIA.

Still this wasn't enough and because of the photography learnt in the past he began to document they work... however, Francesco began shooting his first food pictures. They were, in his words, ‘horrible’. But he persevered and gradually, over time, what started as just a way to improve his lesson plans became his new hobby.
Getting lessons for a former friend he began to learn about composition and lighting etc. Even the CIA showed an interest in the fact not only  could he cook the food but to shoot the images himself.....it was then through them he got work with Coca-Cola and Guinness.

From here his success grew and he made the decision on his 40th birthday to make the leap into full-time professional photography and leave the CIA.

Setting out

The magnitude of Francesco’s mistake soon become clear. Quote... ‘The moment I resigned to focus on the first big project, all the projects went away.’ Difficulty in agreeing the terms and fees with clients meant none of the promised projects ever happened. And without the CIA to feed him any new work, Francesco was dead in the water.

sink or swim

He didn't quit and wrote to other photographers for advice and did short courses.....He kept taking on smaller jobs and taking photos of the food.... Eventually The New York Times took notice in his work.....Working with different reps he began to understand about pricing work and estimating.... he knew his food and now had more confidence to shoot his work....

The battle and like many artist's I have researched in the past he wanted to stick to his beliefs and not lose his sense of work ethics and passion......He needed to find a rep that understood his workings and passion.....His family life was suffering and money was disappearing quicker than it was coming in...

THIS GIVES ME HOPE! SOUNDS BAD TO WANT TO READ ABOUT PEOPLE FAILING BUT I MYSELF DOUBT THE WORK I'M DOING AND HAVE QUESTIONED IF I'M BEING SELFISH DOING THIS COURSE.... MY KIDS, MY HOME LIFE, MONEY AND TIME ARE ALL IMPACTED TO A DEGREE BECAUSE I DECIDED TO TAKE ON SOMETHING NEW.....WITHOUT KNOWING WHERE ITS TAKING ME!

if only there was an answer!
Or would that be to easy and less fun

Separating from his wife and children to save more hurt Francesco moved out.....Times were bad for a while... little work, broke and no family during the week....... still he kept going..

Working for a magazine Cooking Light gave him another big brake and then a chef/friend from the past decided to make a book and wanted him to take the photos... 

The style and imagery that had not enthused critics from the past now was working for him....Celebrity chefs and larger companies all wanted the bold and colourful imagery of Francesco's work.....Plus the chef's unique working practice of cooking for all staff and people on set while doing the shooting also........I'd look to taste his food my mouth still watering writing this!

SO tough times or getting a brake straight away.......

Time is a great advantage I guess........Finding something you enjoy and working from that is important.....From his starting out as a child and learning family life cooking to working as a chef, then moving away and seeing how others work, learning and then teaching and I guess believing Francesco's story has me thinking about you get what you put in! He researched and tried and failed but he didn't give up.... This is something that will hopefully stick in my mind when I'm lacking or doubting the point of creating or trying something.

sources https://medium.com/fellow-hq/francesco-tonelli-from-master-chef-to-photographer-df4fc2b2b67#.str8gn2rt
and google images and my own facebook photo