I'm a Photo Art Director and Creative Director based in Chicago, with over ten years spent building visual brands for food, beverage, and CPG companies. I care about food. I LOVE food. It’s what I live and breathe. I care about how it's shot, how it's styled, and how it makes someone feel before they've even tasted it.

 

My work lives somewhere between creative direction and hands-on production. I think about how an image performs just as much as how it looks, so I'm as comfortable developing a shoot concept and directing a full crew as I am picking up the camera myself.

 

At Home Chef, I lead photo art direction on the culinary studio team, shaping how the brand's meals look and feel across every channel. Before that, I built Crawford Captures into an award winning commercial studio, working with clients like Garrett Popcorn, Bob's Red Mill, The Spice House, and Wilton.

 

Outside client work, I co-founded Morning Jay's, a Chicagoland breakfast concept that grew from a pop-up into a nationally recognized brand, with features in the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, and Midwest Living. I led the creative from the ground up, brand, packaging, photography, all of it.

 

I'm a baker, a photo educator, and a person who stutters. All three have taught me the same thing; that the best work comes from showing up, staying patient, and trying again until it's right.