Food Seen

Name: Food Seen
Address: 5 W Hargett Street, Suite 409, Raleigh, NC, 27601, US
Telephone: +19192107089

Food Seen is a boutique marketing studio specializing in digital ads, organic social media marketing, content creation and public relations.

By emphasizing the human element of marketing, we craft thoughtful strategies that help your brand be seen.

07/25/2026

Post 3: Sexy Fish (2015)

Just a year after launching Food Seen, the floodgates opened. Opportunities beyond anything I could have imagined came knocking. Opportunities I never saw coming, but ones that paved an incredible path for me.

My first big test came when I was booked to photograph seafood for Pate Dawson Southern Foods (later acquired by Cheney Brothers)… in a giant refrigerated warehouse.

There was just one problem.

I didn’t know anything about fish, studio lighting, props, or that you should probably dress warmly if you’re spending the day inside a refrigerator.

I showed up with some lights I didn’t know how to use, a couple of wooden planks I’d painted, some dill… and immediately started sweating my ass off while everyone stood around watching me, waiting for me to do something.

So I politely dismissed everyone and said it was going to take me a while to get set up.

I lied. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

But eventually I pulled myself together. I grabbed some ice, set up a light (basically a really big flashlight), and photographed the sexiest fish a four-generation Southern family-owned food distributor had ever seen.

I walked away thinking, They’re going to fu***ng hate this.

Instead, they loved it.

We ended up working together for years, photographing everything from fresh seafood to some of the most incredible farms and agricultural producers across North Carolina.

Takeaway: In grad school, one of my professors wrote K.I.S.S. on the dry erase board.

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

I have a talent for overthinking absolutely everything. But whenever I come back to those four words, everything gets clearer.

That day, I reminded myself of one simple thing: I knew photography better than anyone else in that room.

Sometimes that’s enough to get you started.

07/23/2026

Post 2: The Moment It Clicked (Pun Intended) 2014

In January of 2014, I was asked to photograph a collaborative chef’s dinner at Midtown Grille in North Hills.

I’d never really photographed food before. Or worked in a professional kitchen. But I’d photographed events, and I figured, I can do this!

That night I fell in love with the energy of the kitchen. The camaraderie. The organized chaos. The artistry.

I’ve always been an artist. As a kid it was drawing, painting, sculpture, photography. I’ve always been fascinated by beautiful things. But I’d never looked at food as art until I saw it through my lens.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just photographing a dish. I was telling the story of the chef, the ingredients, the craftsmanship, even the plate it was served on. Every detail mattered.

When I left that shoot, I knew. This was it.

Not just photography. The storytelling. The marketing. Watching those images end up on social media, restaurant websites, advertisements, books… it all made sense.

For the first time in my life, I knew exactly where I was headed. And I was 36! Not a baby!

I’d spent years trying to figure out what I wanted to do. College didn’t answer it. Grad school didn’t answer it. Even working as a photographer in Los Angeles didn’t answer it. But this did.

It was the first time all the parts of me - artist, marketer, entrepreneur, connector, storyteller - started working together in a totally seamless way.

Takeaway: Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from finding one thing you’re great at. It comes from finally seeing where all the pieces fit.

Image: Chef Scott James, current Executive Chef at Angus Barn

07/14/2026

Post 1: Call Me a Pioneer. If You Insist. 2014

Over the next several weeks, I’m going to tell Food Seen’s story.

It’s a story for anyone who is starting a new chapter, thinks they’re too old to change their trajectory, or for anyone who’d like to commiserate over the adventures of entrepreneurship.

Instagram launched in October 2010, back when nobody was taking pictures of their food. Three years later, I landed in Raleigh with a background in photography, marketing, business, and a lifelong compulsion to make connections and solve problems.

When I got here, I saw an opportunity to combine photography, marketing, and this brand-new platform to amplify Raleigh’s emerging food scene.

I mean… you can call me a pioneer if you insist.

That’s probably a little dramatic, but I was early to the game and that was the moment Food Seen was born.

This is a post from my very first restaurant shoot. By today’s standards it’s… not great. But that moment, that image, changed my life.

Come back to find out how I turned those seemingly unrelated skills into a business, and who took a chance on me before anyone else did.

Takeaway: I was 36 when I started Food Seen. Old by many people’s standards. I learned at that moment that it’s a combination of your talents and cultivated skills that set you apart, not just one, and I am applying this to my life now, at 48. Stay tuned, it’s a good story.

07/06/2026

Whether I’m consulting on marketing strategy or behind the camera, the objective is the same: bring a brand’s purpose to life. What message are we communicating? Who are we trying to connect with? How can something as simple as an image support broader business goals?

After more than a decade working across restaurants, CPG, retail, and hospitality, l’ve learned that the strongest visuals do far more than capture attention. Every creative decision, from the recipe and styling to the composition and lighting, should support a larger strategy because great content is built on more than creativity.

This shoot with chef, wine educator, and Doreen Colondres for Consorcio del Jamón Serrano Español and Denominación de Origen Cava was designed to tell a story through food. Not just of flavors and pairings, but of heritage, culture, craftsmanship, and connection. When imagery tells the right story, it builds brand awareness, strengthens brand identity, and gives people a reason to engage.

06/02/2026

After the success of , EAT Restaurant Partners is preparing to unveil its next Raleigh concept: Lucky AF. Read the full story in this month’s .

04/26/2026

☀️ What a great Saturday! Awesome to see at catering the Raleigh Cup 🎾

04/25/2026

Everyone balked at Italian-style smoked ribs… until they ate them! Love this recipe and the content we created for Villari Foods May social media campaign.

03/30/2026

More followers ≠ more success.

After 12 years in food and beverage marketing, we’ve watched the space explode post-COVID and with TikTok. More brands, more products, more noise.

And more competition than ever, for attention, shelf space, and loyalty.

But here’s the shift:

Social media isn’t what it used to be. It still matters, but it’s just one piece.

Because in food and beverage, the most important thing is still this:

People have to taste it.

Sampling, in-store, at events, through distribution, is what makes people understand your product.

Everything else should support that:
positioning, packaging, messaging, partnerships, paid, retail, e-comm.

And yes, social.

But followers alone won’t build a brand.

The ones that last create real connection, not just double taps.

02/19/2026

We love developing content for - Purveyors of North Carolina Certified Duroc Pork.

Address

5 W Hargett Street, Suite 409
Raleigh, NC
27601

Telephone

+19192107089

Website

http://foodseen.com/

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