Today we’d like to introduce you to Sunny Ricks.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sunny. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up, the kitchen was always my sanctuary. Cooking helped me calm down and unwind. I found it cathartic to peel, chop, mince, and dice. In college, any time I had a big exam, I’d find myself in the kitchen making meal after meal. All my friends knew how stressed I was based on how much I’d be cooking. So becoming a Food stylist wasn’t such a big leap for me. It was just a fortuitous career path for me that was a perfect fit.
Having a producer as one of my best friends, I was able to crack into the New York food styling market and apprentice under several renowned food stylists. After three years under their guidance, I began to feel confident enough to work on my own. I worked a few years in New York then moved to Cambridge, MA and started styling in the New England area. I’ve been here for the last 8 years and am fortunate enough to work with the best photographers, art directors, and prop stylists.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Assisting and apprenticing with three food stylists were challenging. Going from a salaried position to getting paid sporadically was a difficult transition. There were many times I was going to give up and go back to graphic design but my mother pushed me to give food styling a full year. After the first year, I was able to work more with better pay.
I also struggled when I became a mother. Trying to keep a nanny on a sporadic work schedule became more stressful than one would think.
Please tell us about Sunny Ricks Food Styling.
As a food stylist, your task is to make the product (food ranging from ice cream to crackers) as appetizing as possible. I’m usually involved with the art directors in researching and creating mood boards for an upcoming photo or film shoot and then I execute those ideas on the day of the shoot. I work on everything from beverages, savory foods to desserts. Not all food stylists work on ice cream, which is considered one of the hardest foods to style. So, I am one of the go-to stylists for ice cream shoots.
Photo shoots and film shoots can be extremely stressful. But I strive to be calm, collected and professional on every job. And I’ve garnered wonderful relationships with photographers, agencies, directors, and producers who know I always bring my A-game.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There isn’t much I would change if I could do it over. I’m extremely lucky to have a job that I love.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sunnyricks.com
- Phone: 201-658-7869
- Email: sunnyricks@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sunnyricks
Image Credit:
Paul Saraceno Photography, Heath Robbins Photography, Nick Thomas Photography
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