Easter Macarons & Dubai-Inspired Brownies | Food Photography Collaboration

23 days ago (Edited)

A few days ago, I had a super fun and delicious photography project with a lovely girl who makes the most beautiful and tasty macarons — all by herself! She reached out to me with a proposal to collaborate through a barter: I would take photos and videos of her creations, and in return, I’d get to try her Easter-themed macarons and trendy "Dubai-style" brownies. And let me tell you — I couldn’t say no!

The macarons she made for this season were Easter-inspired, and they looked like tiny edible artworks. So carefully decorated, colorful in the softest pastel shades, and just overall perfect in shape and detail. I honestly didn’t have to do much to make them look good — they were already incredibly photogenic. It felt like they were posing for me on their own!

The biggest challenge was choosing how to style them. I didn’t want to overpower their natural charm, so I kept the background soft and clean, with some spring-themed props like flowers. I ended up doing both flat lays and some side angles with natural light, which worked beautifully with the pastel tones.

Now, the brownie — that was something else entirely. She told me it was inspired by a viral Dubai-style chocolate dessert. It looked super rich and chocolatey, and when I cut into it — surprise! — it had this crunchy green filling inside. I honestly have no idea what the filling was made of, but it was SO good. Sweet, a little nutty maybe? But mainly just insanely tasty.

Photographing the brownie was a bit harder. It’s shape naturally doesn’t have the same charm as the macarons. But it had a luxurious, rich vibe, so instead of focusing on still photos, I decided to make more videos for her. I captured some close-up cuts and even a little aesthetic slow-motion action to give it that indulgent feeling.

This was one of those collaborations where everything just worked out — the client was sweet, the desserts were stunning, and I got to practice both photography and video skills. Plus, I got to taste-test everything after the shoot, and I’m still dreaming about that brownie…

For the shoot, I used only natural light coming through the window. To balance the light, I placed a big white cardboard on the opposite side of the window, which helped soften the shadows and bring out the details of the desserts. I also used a tripod for some overhead shots, stop motion clips, and a few steady videos — it made the whole process much smoother.
I've put everything on a DIY background that I've made quite some time ago and kept that on a table: