Come to our
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We’re heading to Italy…
One of the greatest ways to reignite your creative spark with your work is to cultivate new experiences, visit new places, and build community with fellow creatives. Are you feeling the call to add this enchantment into your life?
Tastemaker is going international! Join us and 30 food photographers at Villa Boccella in Lucca, Italy as we come together to learn about the business of food photography, styling, and editing from the award-winning Rachel Korinek—all while vacationing in the beautiful Italian countryside eating our fill of pasta, wine, and gelato.
We don’t know if I’ve ever heard of something more perfect. Have you? This highly anticipated event is sure to sell out, so make sure you get your ticket asap.
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Details
Dates: Sunday July 14, 2024 – Saturday July 20, 2024
Venue: Villa Boccella in Lucca, Italy (look at the beautiful images of the estate!)
Educator: Our expert joining us is Rachel Rachel Korinek (she/her) from Two Loves Studio.
How many join: We have space for 30 creators as of right now.
Excursions: Although Villa Boccella is so dreamy we could happily spend the whole week there, we will also be exploring the beautiful countryside beyond the estate walls. Lucca is situated in the heart of Tuscany, which makes it an ideal destination for luxe Italian day trips!
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What is included in the ticket:
- Accommodations: Lodging at the beautiful villa for 7 days/6 nights
- Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner (on and off site) and drinks (onsite) for all 7 days are included and covered by Tastemaker Conference (allergy accommodations welcome!)
- Workshops: Expert food photographer and educator, Rachel Korinek (she/her) from Two Loves Studio will be our educator. Rachel is an Aussie transplant, professional food photographer, and the founder of Two Loves Studio, a studio and online workshop platform that blends her passions for food and photography.
- Networking and community: Dedicated time to meet and bond with other attendees that are in the same industry! We will also be providing a dedicated Slack channel to communicate about the event using the email provided in your registration.
- Day-trip excursions:
- Sunday, July 14: Afternoon Excursion to Lucca Central
- Tuesday, July 16: Full-Day Excursion to Pisa
- Wednesday July 17: Onsite pasta making class
- Thursday, July 18: Full-Day Excursion to Siena
- Swag: And of course, awesome swag!
Airfare and travel is not included!
This event ticket is non-refundable. We highly encourage you to purchase travel insurance for the other portions of the trip/travel in case of an emergency, missed flight, passport doesn’t arrive on time, illness, etc.
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FAQs
- What airport should we fly into? The nearest major airport is Pisa International Airport (PSA / LIRP), so you can start mapping out travel times and plans! It is about 40 minutes from the venue.
- How long does it take to get to Italy? If you are traveling from the US, you will need to plan for a full day of travel. This means that if you are looking for a flight that arrives on the morning of Sunday, July 14, it will likely leave the morning or afternoon of Saturday, July 13.
- What is the time difference in Italy? Lucca, Italy is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Time. For example, if it is 12 pm in Eastern Time, it is 6 pm in Lucca, Italy.
- What if I want to stay longer? If you are wanting to extend your Italian vacation (who wouldn’t!), you are more than welcome to do so. Villa Boccella will only be available to Tastemaker attendees during our designated retreat dates (July 14-July 20), so if you would like to arrive before or depart after those dates you will need to find other accommodations.
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Meet our Educator
Expert food photographer and educator, Rachel Korinek (she/her) from Two Loves Studio will be our educator.
Rachel is an Aussie transplant, professional food photographer, and the founder of Two Loves Studio, a studio, and online workshop platform that blends her passions for food and photography. She loves to capture visual stories and create bright, uplifting imagery that emphasizes the beauty and emotional connection of real food. When she’s not behind the camera, she is traveling or tracking down her next favorite dish.
rachel’s italy pics!
Let’s talk about
$3,999 All-Inclusive Ticket: First 10 tickets will have access to $100 off discount (only sent through the waitlist)
- For Payment Plans: Go to checkout and select – PayPal – Select Paythen. Use their platform to process payments as needed.
- Questions about Pay Later? Check out their info here. Options from Pay in 4 to monthly are available, but interest rates can vary on credit score for monthly options. Here are more details:
- About Pay in 4: 0% interest. Only available in certain countries due to loans and country restrictions.
- Pay Monthly: is subject to consumer credit approval. 9.99-29.99% APR based on the customer’s creditworthiness. Basically like a credit card and could be easier to use your own credit card if the interest is lower there.
- If you are in a country that doesn’t allow “Pay in 4”, PayPal does link to other services like Klarna that might be available in your country. So, be sure to link that account to your PayPal.
- Questions about Pay Later? Check out their info here. Options from Pay in 4 to monthly are available, but interest rates can vary on credit score for monthly options. Here are more details:
This price is all-inclusive, minus airfare and transportation to and from the venue.
- Lodging at the beautiful villa for 7 days/6 nights
- All meals and drinks (allergy accommodations welcome!)
- Daily photography instruction from Rachel of Two Loves Studios
- Networking and day-trip excursions
- And of course, awesome swag!
This event ticket is non-refundable. We highly encourage you to purchase travel insurance for the other portions of the trip/travel in case of an emergency, missed flight, passport doesn’t arrive on time, illness, etc.
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Day One
9:00 AM Arrive at Villa Boccella and settle into room
You are responsible for arranging travel arrangements from Villa Boccella to the airport/to your next destination! Ride-sharing may be a possibility based on the desires of other attendees.
You are responsible for arranging travel arrangements from Villa Boccella to the airport/to your next destination! Ride-sharing may be a possibility based on the desires of other attendees.
10:00 AM Breakfast
11:00 AM Welcome/Introductions
12:00 PM Social/Downtime
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM Group Outing – Lucca
6:00 PM Happy Hour
Offsite in Lucca
Offsite in Lucca
7:00 PM Dinner
Offsite in Lucca
Offsite in Lucca
Monday, July 15, 2024
Day Two
9:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 AM Lesson 1: Working with Natural Lighting (Soft + Hard)
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Master working with different types of natural light both indoors and outdoors.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- How to search for light
- Ways to manipulate natural light
- Different types of natural light
Take action — explore the gorgeous Italian light around so you can harness its power throughout the week and make beautiful images.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Master working with different types of natural light both indoors and outdoors.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- How to search for light
- Ways to manipulate natural light
- Different types of natural light
Take action — explore the gorgeous Italian light around so you can harness its power throughout the week and make beautiful images.
12:00 PM Social Hour/Downtime
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM Lesson 1: Working with Natural Lighting (Soft + Hard) – LAB
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Master working with different types of natural light both indoors and outdoors.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- How to search for light
- Ways to manipulate natural light
- Different types of natural light
Take action — explore the gorgeous Italian light around so you can harness its power throughout the week and make beautiful images.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Master working with different types of natural light both indoors and outdoors.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- How to search for light
- Ways to manipulate natural light
- Different types of natural light
Take action — explore the gorgeous Italian light around so you can harness its power throughout the week and make beautiful images.
5:00 PM Happy Hour
6:00 PM Dinner
Tuesday, July 16
Day Three
9:00 AM Breakfast + Head out for Excursion to Pisa
Day excursion to Pisa!
Day excursion to Pisa!
11:00 AM Lesson 2: Telling a Story with Your Images
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Build your storytelling skills that go beyond the kitchen or studio to create an editorial series around food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Editorial composition tips
- How to frame your shots for interest
- Lens choice and camera settings
Take action — with these new skills on our day excursion and capture images that will complement a story around food in Italy.
BONUS: day excursion
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Build your storytelling skills that go beyond the kitchen or studio to create an editorial series around food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Editorial composition tips
- How to frame your shots for interest
- Lens choice and camera settings
Take action — with these new skills on our day excursion and capture images that will complement a story around food in Italy.
BONUS: day excursion
1:00 PM Lunch + Free time
3:00 PM Lesson 2: Telling a Story with Your Images – LAB
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Build your storytelling skills that go beyond the kitchen or studio to create an editorial series around food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Editorial composition tips
- How to frame your shots for interest
- Lens choice and camera settings
Take action — with these new skills on our day excursion and capture images that will complement a story around food in Italy.
BONUS: day excursion
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Build your storytelling skills that go beyond the kitchen or studio to create an editorial series around food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Editorial composition tips
- How to frame your shots for interest
- Lens choice and camera settings
Take action — with these new skills on our day excursion and capture images that will complement a story around food in Italy.
BONUS: day excursion
5:00 PM Happy Hour
Offsite in Pisa!
Offsite in Pisa!
6:00 PM Dinner
Offsite in Pisa!
Offsite in Pisa!
9:00 PM Head back to the Villa
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Day Four
9:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 AM Lesson 3: Composition + Styling for Organic Storytelling
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Understand what makes a good image and styling techniques that enhance food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Composition and styling techniques
- How to work with minimal props
- Ideas on how to make food shine
Take action — with these new skills as we cook and prepare food in our pasta-making class.
BONUS: learn cooking and plating techniques from Italian Chefs in our pasta-making class.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Understand what makes a good image and styling techniques that enhance food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Composition and styling techniques
- How to work with minimal props
- Ideas on how to make food shine
Take action — with these new skills as we cook and prepare food in our pasta-making class.
BONUS: learn cooking and plating techniques from Italian Chefs in our pasta-making class.
12:00 PM Lunch
Level: Social Hour/Downtime
Level: Social Hour/Downtime
1:00 PM Lunch
3:00 PM Lesson 3: Composition + Styling for Organic Storytelling – LAB
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Understand what makes a good image and styling techniques that enhance food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Composition and styling techniques
- How to work with minimal props
- Ideas on how to make food shine
Take action — with these new skills as we cook and prepare food in our pasta-making class.
BONUS: learn cooking and plating techniques from Italian Chefs in our pasta-making class.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Understand what makes a good image and styling techniques that enhance food.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Composition and styling techniques
- How to work with minimal props
- Ideas on how to make food shine
Take action — with these new skills as we cook and prepare food in our pasta-making class.
BONUS: learn cooking and plating techniques from Italian Chefs in our pasta-making class.
5:00 PM Happy Hour + Pasta Dinner
Cooking class!
Cooking class!
6:00 PM Dinner
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Day Five
7:00 AM Breakfast + Head out for Day Excursion to Siena
Day excursion to Siena
Day excursion to Siena
11:00 AM Lesson 4: Flex Skill Building TBD (Based on Attendees Skill Preference)
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
This lesson will be built out based on what attendees want to learn to ensure you’re leaving with all the skills you want to learn.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
This lesson will be built out based on what attendees want to learn to ensure you’re leaving with all the skills you want to learn.
1:00 PM Lunch + Free time
3:00 PM Lesson 4: Flex Skill Building TBD (Based on Attendees Skill Preference) – LAB
This lesson will be built out based on what attendees want to learn to ensure you’re leaving with all the skills you want to learn.
This lesson will be built out based on what attendees want to learn to ensure you’re leaving with all the skills you want to learn.
5:00 PM Happy Hour
Offsite in Siena
Offsite in Siena
6:00 PM Dinner
Offsite in Siena
Offsite in Siena
9:00 PM Head back to Villa
Friday, July 19, 2024
Day Six
9:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 AM Lesson 5: Polishing Your Images with Editing
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Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Put the final touches on the images you’ve taken throughout the workshop with RAW post-production.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Core editing theory and edits to perform on every image.
- Color correction and masking.
- Color grading to add feeling and mood.
- Choosing the best crop + working with images in a set.
Take action — with these skills and edit your own images with Individual assistance in solving editing problems and honing your workflow.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Put the final touches on the images you’ve taken throughout the workshop with RAW post-production.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Core editing theory and edits to perform on every image.
- Color correction and masking.
- Color grading to add feeling and mood.
- Choosing the best crop + working with images in a set.
Take action — with these skills and edit your own images with Individual assistance in solving editing problems and honing your workflow.
12:00 PM Social Hour/Downtime
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM Lesson 5: Polishing Your Images with Editing – LAB
-
Speaker:
Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Put the final touches on the images you’ve taken throughout the workshop with RAW post-production.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Core editing theory and edits to perform on every image.
- Color correction and masking.
- Color grading to add feeling and mood.
- Choosing the best crop + working with images in a set.
Take action — with these skills and edit your own images with Individual assistance in solving editing problems and honing your workflow.
Speaker: Rachel Korinek (she/her)
Put the final touches on the images you’ve taken throughout the workshop with RAW post-production.
Lesson instruction will cover:
- Core editing theory and edits to perform on every image.
- Color correction and masking.
- Color grading to add feeling and mood.
- Choosing the best crop + working with images in a set.
Take action — with these skills and edit your own images with Individual assistance in solving editing problems and honing your workflow.
5:00 PM Happy Hour + Charcuterie Class
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Speaker:
Chandice Probst (she/her)
Speaker: Chandice Probst (she/her)
6:00 PM Dinner
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Day Seven
8:00 AM Breakfast
10:00 AM Check out of Villa Boccella
You are responsible for arranging travel arrangements from Villa Boccella to the airport/to your next destination! Ride-sharing may be a possibility based on the desires of other attendees.
You are responsible for arranging travel arrangements from Villa Boccella to the airport/to your next destination! Ride-sharing may be a possibility based on the desires of other attendees.
Current Curriculum Outline
We at Tastemaker Conference, and Rachel of Two Loves Studio, are committed to you leaving with the skills you want to learn, (and beautiful images to prove it!), we will be sending out a questionnaire so you can have your say in what you’d like to learn.
This retreat is open to all levels with a mix of curriculum aimed at foundational concepts through to advanced techniques. We’ll be putting all new skills into practice with photography session tasks which will be built around individual skill levels.
It is assumed that attendees can shoot in manual mode and import images into a RAW editor like Lightroom. Can’t shoot manual mode yet? Don’t worry, Rachel will give you private instruction during the week to ensure you’ll master this new skill.
At the end of our Italian Retreat, you’ll walk away with the following skills:
How to harness different types of natural light
Understand what makes a good image
Composition + Styling techniques for organic storytelling
- Food styling and plating from professional Italian Chefs
- How to create an editorial series of images
- Lens choices
- Framing your images for interest
- Cropping images
- Editing, color correction and color grading
- Editing a set of images for cohesion
Along with these new skills, you’ll have a new body of work to add to your portfolio or blog. Curriculum details in the schedule.
The Location
Lucca, Italy is one of the most stunning cities in Tuscany, if not all of Italy. What makes this such a unique destination is the thick medieval walls that surround this circular city. The city has a cozy and untouched feeling because it has been so well protected by these walls over the years.
The Venue
We’ll be hosting this event at Villa Boccella. A truly magical place. This 17th Century Tuscan estate, set amongst the hills and olive groves of Northern Tuscany. It is very well situated, 10 Kilometers from the medieval city of Lucca, one hour from the international airport of Pisa and just an hour from Florence. It is also near to the many beaches on the Versiglia coast.
The Accommodations
We are renting the Villa Boccella and Dependence at this location for a week. You can see more about both spaces on the property here.
check out the venue
Travel Tips
Average Weather
Average temperatures for Tuscany in July range between 82-95°F during the day and drop to the 70°F range by the evening.
What to Pack
- PASSPORT
- Light fabrics appropriate for summer weather
- Sweaters/jackets/long pants for cooler evenings and mornings
- Swimsuit – the Villa has a pool!
- Personal toiletries/medications
- Professional camera and camera accessories (batteries and charger with European adapter)
- Laptop
- Chargers for all electronics WITH INTERNATIONAL ADAPTERS!
- Small bag for day excursions
- Sunscreen
A Note on International Travel
Whether you are a seasoned traveler or this is your first time traveling out of the US, you are in for a delightful experience! International travel is full of many wonderful surprises, and the key to minimizing stress is to be prepared yet flexible.
A few tips:
- Make a plan for getting to the Villa from the airport well in advance. If you are going to book a bus or train ticket, do that ahead of arrival. Many European cultures are less fast-paced than what we are accustomed to in the US, meaning that you won’t find Ubers waiting for you outside the terminal!
- There will be a language barrier to navigate. Many locals in the tourism industry will speak basic English, but this becomes less common as you travel into smaller towns. It might be helpful to study up on some basic Italian phrases to help you get around.
- It’s helpful to have some cash on hand upon arrival. Italy’s currency is the Euro. You can exchange money at the airport when you arrive, or at your bank ahead of time.
- Expect the unexpected! Flights get delayed, trains don’t arrive on time, and luggage gets lost. That’s life! Having a positive attitude and expecting some hiccups along the way will help you have a better experience.
- Passports can take a LONG time to get processed, so jump on this process ASAP to make sure you get yours in time for the trip!
To Recap: Attendee Checklist
- Book flights to the Pisa International Airport (PSA/LIRP)
- Fill out the Attendee Registration Form
- Join the Attendee Slack Channel
- Make an arrival/departure plan (including travel to and from the airport)
- Pack your bags and REMEMBER YOUR PASSPORT
- Enjoy Italy with your new besties!!!
EQUIPMENT LIST
Here is a general list of equipment for the retreat that you should consider bringing. We know you’ll want to pack light so here is a list of must-bring and nice to have gear.
Must-bring items
- DSLR or mirrorless camera + memory cards
- Normal + narrow focal length lenses (see lens details below)
- 2 batteries + chargers (with applicable plug converter for EU outlets)
- Memory card reader(s) or cords to transfer images off the camera
- Laptop with either Lightroom or Capture One for RAW editing
- Backup external hard drive (I recommend Samsung SSDs for travel)
Lenses
Ideally, we want to have a normal angle lens (equivalent to the human eye), i.e. a 50mm lens and a narrow macro lens for detailed shots. This will give us the flexibility to capture flat lays, 45-degree shots and macro details.
Here are some suggestions of ‘ideal’ lenses to bring if you have them in your kit.
Full frame cameras
- 50mm 1.8 (known as a nifty fifty lens)
- Narrow macro* — Canon 100mm 2.8 | Nikon 105mm 2.8 | Tamron 90mm 2.8
- Macro extension tubes are ok if you have them and want to use them.
Cropped sensors cameras
- 35mm 1.8
- Macro* — 60mm 2.8
Alternatives
- 18-55mm kit lenses if you only have one lens.
- 24-70mm 2.8 pro lens if you like to travel light.
- *these macro lenses are highly recommended
Nice to have items
- Tether cable
- Small reflector/diffuser
- Lightweight tripod
- Any other gear you feel is important to your photographic technique & workflow
