Daniela Lambova: The perfect photo is the one the client falls in love with

Her path to photography began with her passion for food. She adds in her business card that she is a workaholic whom one can rely on. And also - creative and imaginative, in love with sweets and GODOX. She claims that there is no perfect photo, but there is a definition for one. We present to you the culinary blogger and food photographer Daniela Lambova.

"I am a photographer and a blogger, but I started leaning a bit more towards photography because I started shooting many things that have nothing to do with cooking and the blog," says Daniela.

First came the temptation of food

"Ever since I was born, I've been tempted by food. As I grew up, I always dealt with recipes, I always made something sweet at home. But in 2010-2011, culinary blogs started to develop, and I decided that I was the perfect person for it."

Thus, the culinary blog Dani's Cookings was born. Daniela came up with the name immediately, and since then, it has never crossed her mind to change it. In the beginning, she used her phone to photograph her recipes, but in 2011, phones were not like today's. There were pictures - but not like in the foreign blogs she was increasingly interested in.

"I looked at Instagram accounts, and there were pictures like works of art. And I told myself that I wanted mine to be like that too. That was my first motivation to become a photographer."

From phone to camera

That's how she got her first camera - a Canon 1100 D. And the first recipe she shot with it was for pumpkin ravioli. She now recalls being surprised by the pale colors. But also that she realized how important specialized software processing is for photos.

Daniela still uses her first camera – but mainly for trips. Because after it, she relies on the Canon EOS 6D. Besides having become more experienced with the technology over these ten years, she also notes another difference between the cameras:

"The Canon EOS 6D has more options. Besides being full-frame, the main thing is that with the wide-format camera, I can take photos that are suitable for many purposes. I can increase the ISO much more, shoot in darker spaces... Whereas with the old camera, I mainly shoot outdoors or where it's very bright."

From a food photographer who cooks herself to working with clients

As her culinary blog developed and she felt increasingly confident behind the lens, Daniela Lambova began seeking out other bloggers.

"It became clear to me that some American bloggers were looking for photographers and people to develop recipes for their blogs. That's how I started with my first clients."

Today, Daniela Lambova has turned her kitchen into a real photo studio. And when she has to cook and shoot for a client outside her home, the kitchen-studio moves into several bags.

"It's more interesting and challenging for me to shoot clients' recipes. They challenge my creative energy in a different way. When I do something of my own, I know what's good about it and I forget to show it in the photography. But when I show something that isn't mine, first I try to understand what's best about it to present it in the best possible way. To some extent, the client's own requirements also inspire me."

Thus, Daniela's summary came somewhat naturally: "If someone tells me: That's it! Either you shoot only for clients or for your blog for the rest of your life, I'll say: For clients."

In love with GODOX

Besides photos, Daniela also makes many videos. That's why she prefers continuous lighting.

"I am in love with GODOX continuous lighting. I had the opportunity to test it - it's wonderful because it's suitable for both video and photos. It's quite powerful, it can be modified in different ways, so photos can be taken with different types of light."

Exactly this Daniela Lambova will demonstrate at the one-day seminar in the Dynaphos studio on June 3rd, "Lighting for Delicious Photography". At it, besides the continuous GODOX lighting, she will also work with a portable flash to explain the capabilities of both techniques. For this purpose, she will prepare three setups. What food she will photograph - you will find out at the end of this month. For this, follow our website and the news in our blog. It is already clear, however, that besides the opportunity to come on site, observe and ask questions, you will be able to test the flash and continuous lighting yourself by shooting with your own cameras.

Challenges

Although Daniela would prefer photography over blogging, her Instagram account today has over 19,100 followers. She shares her experience as a food photographer with aspiring culinary photographers in her special training courses, because she knows that "it's not that complicated - one just needs to know what they're doing, not give up. And they need to try."

This year, she is also making new photographic attempts - in shooting bottles of alcohol. She claims that it is not only extremely interesting but also a real adventure. And in the future, she hopes to participate in more serious commercial projects - for example, advertisements with richly laid tables. Until she achieves this step, she will continue to shoot, challenging herself for the best shot. Although she is categorical:

"There is no perfect photo. There is one from the point of view of what the given market will like. Because a perfect photo for me will not be a perfect photo for a man, for example. A perfect photo is one for which the client says: This is it, I fell in love! It may not appeal to me much, but it may be perfect for him."

Delicious recipes, photographed by Daniela Lambova, can be found on her blog and on Instagram. The photographs here are provided specifically for the Dynaphos blog by her. And the cover photo, in which she is in the frame, is by Nevena Gencheva and was provided for publication by Daniela.