Renee’s Story: A Portrait Session Full of Colour, Food, Wine and Life

For Renee, this portrait session was never about simply having a few nice photos taken.

As a restaurateur, her life has always been connected to food, wine, colour, celebration and people. She met her husband in the party scene many years ago, surrounded by music, clubs, dressing up and expression. Her closest friendships came from that same world — a life filled with sequins, feather boas, colour, laughter and shared experience.

Turning 50 became a moment to pause and capture that.

“I wanted to stop and pause and try and capture that moment,” Renee said.

Her brief to the studio was bold and deeply personal: gluttony.

She was inspired by old-world art and Renaissance-style abundance — long tables, rich food, wine, excess, beauty and drama. She wanted to play with food, drink champagne during the shoot, and create portraits that felt connected to her life, her industry and her personality.

The result was not a standard portrait session. It was a custom portrait concept built around who Renee is.

At first, Renee felt vulnerable. She is used to managing food shoots with her own team, but this time she was the subject.

Once the session began, the studio helped her settle in. They started with simpler portraits first, before moving into the more styled, food-driven images.

The final portraits captured more than appearance. They captured humour, confidence, indulgence, artistry and identity.

One of the finished portraits showed Renee eating caviar — bold, theatrical and completely connected to her world as a restaurateur. That image was not created to sit unseen in a digital folder. It became finished artwork and was displayed in one of her restaurants.

That is what made the portraits meaningful. They did not just capture how Renee looked. They captured her industry, her humour, her sense of occasion and the world she has built around food, wine and celebration.

Renee also chose one of the portraits as a 20th wedding anniversary gift for her husband. Her plan was to place the framed pieces in their hotel room before he arrived, so he would discover them as part of the celebration.

Other portraits were created for the family kitchen, to sit alongside artwork already in their home.

“I feel like this is an offering or an altar,” she said, describing one of the images. “And then it’s got my cheekiness.”

For Renee, the portraits were not just memories of the day. They were artwork created for her home, her husband, her restaurant, her family and this point in her life.

When asked what she would say to someone considering a session, her advice was simple:

“Put the nerves aside and think of this as an art process. If you are wanting to capture a moment in your life, or a moment in time that explains you, just do it. It’s not as nerve-wracking as you think once you’re here. The process is relaxing and fun, and I’m just so glad I did it.”

Create portraits that reflect your story

Whether you want something elegant, personal, dramatic or completely custom, your portrait session can be designed around who you are and what you want to remember.

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