Do you run across pictures on a blog, Pinterest, or Instagram that completely suck you in?  I sure do... all the time!  I love it when a photo jumps out, grabs me by both ears, and pulls me face first into a stack of pancakes smothered in dripping syrup and melting butter with bright happy berries playing peak-a-boo from under all that goodness.  First, I catch myself thinking, "Dang!  I want to eat ALL of that right freaking now!"  And then I'm like, "Man, I want want my pictures to look like that."  Hmmm....

Tasty Food Photography Workshop

Luckily, when I first discovered Instagram 2 months ago, the very first video I saw was Pinch of Yum's Tasty Food Photography Workshop.  The video was shot in their uber swanky Minneapolis studio loft.  Complete with lots of huge windows, chic decor, Edison lights, an open kitchen, even a hanging barn door wall.  So cool!

If you haven't seen Lindsay's own amazing food photos on her blog Pinch of Yum, stop reading this right now and go check them out! Please come back though 😉  After looking over her sight, I knew right away I wanted to take her course.  Uh... Ok, needed to take her course.

I took her July 14 & 15 workshop.  Wow!  I am so happy I did too!  It was 2 days of very real useable information paired with hands on demos and time for us to dive in and experiment with new techniques, props, and lighting.  Here's some pics I took after Lindsay's demo.

But what really made the workshop was... well, Lindsay.  She's so midwestern-down-home-make-you-a-big-batch-of-cookies nice!  Not only does she know her way around a DSLR camera and editing software, she's also encouraging, down to earth and... Did I already say nice?  Love her!

She only takes 12 people per workshop.  Everyone gets a chance to ask questions and get to know each other.  We had 12 truly amazing women from all over the country, all in various stages of blogging.

The Next Best thing...

The other great thing about the workshop was she and her husband, Bjork, included access to their soup to nuts how-the-Freak-do-I-set-up-a-food-blog? web sight: Food Blogger Pro (FBP).  With over 300 professional high quality tutorial videos and vibrant community, this is a priceless tool for anyone (not just food bloggers) starting a blog, looking to update their blog, or just trying to increase their audience.  They even have a podcast: Food Blogger Pro!  So awesome.  Love these guys!

*Disclaimer: as of right now, I don't sell for them and I don't receive any form of compensation from them.  I am not an affiliate for Food Blogger Pro or the Tasty Food Workshop.  I just play one on TV.  Ok, no, not really.  Truthfully, I just can not express how much help Bjork and Lindsay have been to me.  Other companies charge $1000's of dollars and don't come close to what Bjork and Lindsay offer.

When I started this blog 8 months ago, I knew absolutely nothing about blogging.  Even after reading Food Blogging for Dummies, I was still lost!  Between Food Blogger Pro and the Tasty Food Workshop, my learning curve has been dramatically shorten and I'm not scared anymore of all the technology surrounding this wildly crazy blogging world.  Lindsay and Bjork keep me inspired and they make all the tech-y stuff (dare I say it...) fun!

Thanks again, Lindsay for a great workshop and thanks to you too, Bjork, for your podcast and Food Blogger Pro!

Oh, man!  I totally forgot...

... to tell you guys about the best no bake cookies I've ever had.  Lindsay served them up the last day of our workshop.  But honestly, I've got to start dinner.  I'm thinking tonight is going to be Roasted Salsa Verde Pork over rice with a big green salad.  Yep, that'll do it.  It's quick, easy, you set it on simmer, and let it go and oh so good!  I'll post that recipe soon too.  Major yum.  

But before I forget (again), here is Lindsay's original recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Energy Bites from her Pinch of Yum food blog.  Seriously, these are so delicious your face will want to fall off.  I mean it.  They are THE perfect summer cookie because they're easy to make, OMG so good, and you don't have to turn on the oven.  We've got some friends coming for dinner tomorrow with their kids, I'm going to make them right now.  It'll take 10 minutes tops.  It's a great recipe to play with too because it lends itself so easily to variations, but that's a post for another day.  Gotta go make dinner!  Bye!