“A Veggie Burger Changed My Life!” My Interview with Pretty Focused Creator and Food Photographer Melodee Fiske 

How does someone decide to learn food photography and make a life-changing career out of teaching it to others?

Imagine this scene: You’re the mom of two young boys. You’ve left your job as a teacher to care for them – but you want more. You try a few selling and testing gigs, but they don’t inspire you. You start taking family holiday portraits, and love it.  But you want something you can do all year long. 

And then you take a photography workshop, and a friend with a food blog asks you to take pictures of her recipes… and you are on your way as a food photographer!

In a flash (see what I did there?), a friend is asking you to show her what you do and how she can do it, too. And you realize there’s a lot of moms and dads out there who want to learn food photography and need someone to help, so they don’t have to figure it out as they go the way you did. People who would love to be earning a good income doing food photography while being home with their families, doing work that excites them.

This is Melodee Fiske’s story. 

Meet Melodee!

She is the owner and creator of Pretty Focused, a program that not only helps people learn food photography but also helps connect graduates to food blogger clients. She also recently began the Pretty Focused Podcast.

Melodee’s mission is to help other moms find their way to doing work they love from home – because she knows how good life can be when you have that.

After hearing her graduates rave about her, I got the chance to talk to Melodee recently about how she started Pretty Focused, what you’ll need to invest to become a food photographer and stylist, and how food photography helps her change her students’ lives. And, if you read this interview, you’ll also learn how a veggie burger changed hers!

Hi, Melodee!

What did you do before you started Pretty Focused?

Before I created Pretty Focused, I was photographing recipes for food bloggers.

Before I was a photographer, I was a second-grade teacher. When I had my boys, I became a stay-at-home mom. I did what a lot of stay-at-home moms do, and would look online for work-at-home opportunities to make extra income. Selling health shakes and workout programs, testing websites…you name it. I even started a food blog! I’d always had an interest in photography. 

It was during that time that I was looking for all the things that I started doing family photos during the fall time, and it was a great way to earn extra money for Christmas! 

But after a few years, I became restless. I wanted more. I wanted to do it more than just during the fall; I wanted to do it year-round. But I just didn’t know how. 

At the end of 2015, I signed up for a photography workshop here in Phoenix and eagerly awaited it because I KNEW this was what I was destined for. I was finally going to be able to call myself a photographer. 

But the thing I didn’t know was that I wasn’t just going to be able to call myself a photographer, but I’d be a food photographer. Because that’s when a friend introduced me to the world of food blog photography. She had a few recipes she needed help photographing for her blog, and since I was so eager to expand my craft, I offered to help her. 

And that’s when a veggie burger changed my life. 

I fell in love with it immediately. This, this is what I was made for. Not portraits. Not weddings. 

I knew in my heart that I was going to be a food photographer. Suddenly, all my hopes, dreams, and prayers were answered. I was making money, working from home, doing something I loved. That sounds so cliche, and it feels like it’s just a marketing slogan people overly use. But for me, there was really no other way to describe it.

What is your Big Why for creating Pretty Focused?

The biggest reason Pretty Focused was made was to give other women opportunities to make money working from home. 

I was about a year and a half into working with food bloggers, and I had a friend reach out to me and ask if we could meet at Starbucks. I happily agreed, and she sat across the table from me and tearfully explained her circumstances. She was working a corporate job and had a newborn baby. It was killing her to have to leave him with a babysitter, even if it was her sister. 

She asked me, “Do you think that I can do what you do? Can I work for food bloggers? Do I have enough experience? Will I be able to get clients? Can I make enough? Can you teach me?”

I gently laughed and said, “Oh yes, you can work for food bloggers, you can make what you need, and YES! I will teach you!”

So I started sending her videos I made of myself photographing recipes. And within two months, she was working with food bloggers, staying home, and raising her son.

My big why for creating Pretty Focused is because I have tasted and seen how good of a life it is to be able to work at home doing something you love, and there is no way I’d keep that to myself. If I could give that to someone else? Why wouldn’t I? 

I believe that my struggle and frustration of trying to find something I loved to do wasn’t in vain. It was to pave a new way for women to make money working at home.

The cool part about Pretty Focused is that we aren’t just helping photographers, but the photographers we train are providing a service to food bloggers to help them grow and scale, so they can keep up with the demands of their business, so everyone can do what they love. It’s a pretty cool community we’ve created.

How satisfied were you with your life before you learned about food photography?

Before I discovered food photography for food bloggers, I was exploring and learning all that I could about portrait photography. I thought that was my only option to make money. But I felt unsatisfied because I wanted to make money all year long, not just during the holidays. I wanted people to take me seriously and to be able to confidently say that I am a photographer. But I never felt like I could do that.

What were the most stressful parts of being a working mom for you?

I always had the ability to stay home and raise my boys, so I don’t know the stresses of working outside the home as a mom.

But I do know about the stresses of being a work-from-home mom. The most stressful part was trying to create a schedule. Schedules have always been hard for me to stick to because I’m by nature a creative person and can go with the flow. 

So, not having boundaries, like a schedule, created chaos some days. I didn’t know what to say yes to and what to say no to. And then when my boys stopped napping…oh boy. That made things even harder.

How can Pretty Focused help other moms avoid those stress points?

When I first started this career, I was literally alone on an island. When I told people what I did, the response was, “That’s a thing”? So there’s no way they could even begin to understand or relate to me. Now, Pretty Focused has built such a strong community that you can easily find people to relate to, and they help you navigate through the hard times. We have stay-at-home moms with littles, empty nesters, women without kids, single moms, and we even have men who have joined. So you are guaranteed to find people you can connect with and relate to.

Having a place where you can go and connect is just one piece of how our community helps alleviate some stress points. Our program also comes with coaching, so as you learn a new food photography skill, you’re getting feedback on your progress. Someone is always helping you move forward. 

Our program is also self-paced, so we provide wiggle room for life to happen. It was literally built by moms for moms. 

On top of our coaching that’s included, we offer a separate bootcamp that’s all about working more efficiently so you can make more and work less. 

What is your favorite part of helping people learn food photography?

My favorite part of what I do is being able to help men and women make money working from home. For people to search for something for so long, and for Pretty Focused to be the answer they were hoping and praying for? It’s really humbling. What we are isn’t really about learning food photography; it’s about creating a life you want.

I also love building cultures and communities, and I think that culture, community, and communication are so vital. I find joy in bringing people together and helping people work on their strengths. Not only do we pour into our community of students, but our coaches and teaching team as well. We are constantly working to be better, and I think that’s reflected in our larger community.

What is one thing you would change if you could?

I’m not sure I can answer that. I am a firm believer that the choices you make shape who you are. I wouldn’t change anything, but I do have plans for the future in ways we can improve and grow.

You’ve shared that you’re a homeschooling mom working full-time in your own business. How do you fit everything into your life and still have time for your family? 

I am very fortunate to work alongside my husband. We are a team. We work on Pretty Focused and homeschooling together! As the boys have gotten older, they are more independent in their school work, so they mostly require us to check over their work and follow up with them on things they don’t understand.

How many hours do you work in an average week? Do you keep that constant, or vary it by week?

How much I work varies per week and if we are open for enrollment. I have set boundaries for myself this year to not start work until 10:00 am because I learned the hard way that I was actually letting my work steal from my why. 

I created this career so I could build the life I wanted. But what I found was that I wasn’t free or flexible. I would stress when I would go to lunch with a friend, or when I would have to take the boys to school, or when I would work out. And I’ve realized that I need to take control of my environment and my time. It’s not healthy for me, my family, OR for the Pretty Focused community and I want to always bring my best.

How has starting a home business changed your family’s life? How about your own?

This business has completely transformed our family and allowed us to do things we NEVER dreamed of. Before 2020, my boys were in public school, and my husband worked a corporate job at a financial company. He was on track to become a director. 

But COVID changed a lot of things for us, like it did for many. What was hard for many was actually a GREAT season for our family. We realized that our priorities were off and that we were caught up in this hustle that we didn’t care for. We started homeschooling, going on walks as a family after dinner, and my husband became very aware of the stress he was carrying that was affecting our family in ways we didn’t realize. 

In 2021, when his company wanted to move everyone back to the office, we decided that he wouldn’t be going back. After tasting freedom, why would we go back to that? So we worked it out financially to where he would be able to stay home and use his corporate skills to help Pretty Focused.

When we first got married, we just figured that I’d be a stay-at-home mom and he would be the corporate dad. Boy, were we wrong. This life has been so much better than we imagined.

The past few years have come with challenges and sacrifices, but I know for sure we would do it again in a heartbeat. Our marriage is thriving, our boys are thriving. There is abundant evidence that the choice we made was the right one.

Did you have financial goals when you started your business? Are you meeting them? If so, how long did it take to do that?

When I first started looking for ways to make money from home, I thought that an extra $1,000 would be great for our family. When I started photographing for food bloggers, I made more than I did as a teacher.

What would you say is the most important skill or thing to remember about breaking into food photography?

The most important thing to remember about breaking into food blog photography is remembering what is important to your client. 

A lot of our students aren’t just photographing recipes, but they are writing recipes for bloggers too. Recipes and photos are what a blogger builds their reputation on. So recipes need to be well executed and written, and the food HAS to look delicious.

How much in general, will it cost a student to purchase the basic equipment to learn food photography? What will they need, at a minimum, to succeed?

Depending on what equipment you already have, you can expect to spend around $2900. I just went and built a cart on Amazon that included a camera, lens, SD card, macro filters, styling boards, artificial light, light stand, and softbox. This doesn’t include any styling items, but you can typically pick things up for fairly inexpensive prices at Goodwill or even the Dollar Tree.

This isn't something you can do with an iPhone. We're teaching professional photography, so students will need to use professional equipment.

Some people borrow cameras from friends, but you should expect some kind of investment up front if you don't already have a camera.

The other thing you could leave out is the artificial light equipment. If you use natural light, that would drop the expense down to $2300.

Have your students surprised you in the ways they’ve used what they learn in your courses? Have you seen anyone put food photography to uses you didn’t expect?

YES absolutely! It’s so crazy to me just how many of our grads have had the opportunity to photograph cookbooks, start blogs of their own, or open up opportunities for them in their other jobs. For example, we had one grad share that the skill she gained from Pretty Focused opened up opportunities for her at her current job, which led to one of her photos being on a billboard.

And when we started Pretty Focused, we thought that people would be able to make “side hustle” money. But some of our grads have turned this into a six-figure career. It’s MIND BLOWING TO ME!

What makes Pretty Focused worth the investment (in other words, what do you feel you do better than anyone else?)

I can confidently say that nobody has the coaching, community, and access to clients like Pretty Focused does. 

We invest time and money to grow the Buyers Club for our grads. We're truly invested in their success. We don’t just sell them a product and send them on their way. I have taken those courses and have felt so frustrated that people say they have a “community” but then don’t do anything to nurture it themselves. 

Can you share what a typical day or week is like for you now?

As I said earlier, I am not starting work until 10:00 am. I get up, get coffee, make breakfast, and read my Bible. Then I’ll do some work around the house or do school with the boys, depending on the day.  

I’ll jump into work at 10. Work now involves managing people, communicating with my team, writing emails, creating action plans, delegating tasks, and creating content, which is VERY different than when I was photographing! 

I will wrap up around 2 or 3 and will go on a walk for an hour. While I walk, I like to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Once it warms back up, I’ll walk in the morning before work.

After I’m done walking, I’ll come back and finish up a few projects, and then will start on dinner.

What advice can you give to others to help them build their businesses?

Oh boy, I can write a whole series on this! But I’ll try to keep it short.

Don’t let the work steal from your why.

Set boundaries. We work from home so we can be home. But it’s easy to get so wrapped up in the work because you love it so much that it ends up taking time away from your family…which is why you started this whole thing in the first place! 

Or maybe you want the freedom and flexibility to travel, but you never travel because you’re working all the time.

Make sure you’re prioritizing your WHY, not the work.

Don’t forget, it’s not always about the WHAT. It’s about the who and the how.

There will be other people who do what you do. There will be other business owners who offer the same services you do. 

But businesses aren’t solely founded only on the what. 

The truth is, nobody can do what you do, how you do it. Their quality isn’t going to be the same, their eye isn’t the same, and how they communicate isn’t the same. The demographics you serve may not be the same. 

Don’t look and compare yourself to someone who does WHAT you do, because how you do it may be completely different, and that’s really what will set you apart from the rest.

You are what makes your business unique and marketable. It’s not what you do, but who you are!

I used to have a quote framed on my desk that said, “But what if I fail? Oh, but darling, what if you fly?”

And I loved that quote; it kept me going when I was afraid of failure and embarrassing myself. 

But now that I am a seasoned business owner, I am learning that failure and mistakes are inevitable. Sorry if that doesn’t sound very encouraging. But it’s true! I’ve taken blurry, out-of-focus photos, been let go by clients because of poor quality, I’ve made people mad, I’ve dropped the ball, and I’ve been called a scam. You name it.

But if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that failure is a catalyst for growth and shouldn’t be something to be afraid of. Sean Cannell of Think Media says, “Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn”. And it’s so true! I have failed plenty of times. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and just look at where they all got me!

Would you like to share 3-5 tips for succeeding in your business? 

• Don’t let the work steal from your why.
• Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you weren’t meant for it.
• Your ordinary is someone else’s extraordinary.
• Failure is a catalyst for growth.
• Nobody can do what you do, how you do it.
• You are what makes your business unique and marketable. It’s not what you do, but who you are!

Conclusion: Do You Want to Learn Food Photography?

Food photography and styling were the perfect at-home career for Melodee Fiske. She took a chance and let that veggie burger change her life. =) Because of that leap of faith, she could be there for a friend who needed a change. And that led her to create a program that helps other moms find an at-home career they love, too.

Are you one of them? If you want to learn food photography and styling, Pretty Focused might be the perfect fit. Do you also want coaching and a community that will help you succeed? How about access to the Buyer’s Club, so you’ll be able to find clients easily once you graduate?

Pretty Focused and the veggie burgers of change are waiting for you! Click the button to enroll, and learn food photography today!

But… what if you’re not sure you’re ready for the commitment of buying the equipment and paying for the course? 

You can check out the new podcast, or you can sign up for the Pretty Focused Road Map – a free mini-course that will help you learn the basics of food photography. You’ll also get a taste of what the full Pretty Focused course is – like a taste-test before you spend a penny! Check it out below.