Pull Up A Seat with Gayle McLeod

We are so excited to start a new series called “Pull Up A Seat”.

For those of you that don’t know, Siège, means seat in French, so now you know!

We are going to have some pretty awesome people pull up a seat to our table and chat with us about their experience in the food photography world.

We are beyond excited to welcome our first guest, Gayle McLeod! With each episode, we will choose a chair that represents our guest.

We choose this beautiful chair (from our favorite restaurant NaKorn) for Gayle because it is elegant but approachable, timeless, and perfectly styled just like Gayle and her stunning photography.

So take a seat and enjoy getting to know one of our favorites, Gayle McLeod!

1. You are a phenomenal food photographer and stylist, how did you get your start?

I think I’ve always been enthusiastic about food, especially making it look as good as it tastes. It wasn’t until I started my own food company in 2014 that I fully appreciated the art of creating imagery to communicate the nuances of various textures, flavours, and freshness to the viewers. I had zero experience with photography so it was definitely a challenging and steep learning curve at the time. Those years I spent developing recipes, styling, and photographing my own creations to market my food company provided the foundation for what I do today. Once I started working with other brands for their photography needs, I closed that business and went full-time freelance as a food stylist and photographer. 

2. How would you describe your style?

When I look at my best work, or the work I’m most proud of, I see all the qualities that are important to me: natural, relatable, approachable, and realistic–with thoughtful details that make an image memorable. Even though I occasionally apply creative effects in my editing process, my goal is to make the subject look like the best version of itself, rather than noticeably enhanced.

3. Who do you look to for inspiration?

I’ve been looking to Aubrie Pick, Greg DuPree, and Leigh Beisch for their use of colour and contrast–something I want to explore and incorporate more into my own images. I love everything Matt Armendariz does – I think I save all of his posts on Instagram!

Stylists that I follow for their beautiful work are Kirsten Jenkins, Tami Hardeman, Chelsea Zimmer, and Kirsty Bryson.

GAYLE MCLEOD
food + photography

Follow all of Gayle’s lovely work here:
portfolio, blog, instagram, pinterest

You might also like: Behind the heart of Siege