The Nitty Gritty - with Anisa Sabet

I have followed Anisa on instagram for some time now and am constantly inspired by her beautiful dark and moody shots and her ferocious work ethic.

Tell us a little about yourself .

I’m a food lover with restless feet that calls Canberra, Australia home. I am crazy for all things photography, toasties, fashion (hats + lipstick especially) and emojis.

Most days I can be found behind the lens, eating something mildly unhealthy, wrangling my daughter or catching up with / cooking for friends and family.

I specialise in food, travel and lifestyle photography, and aside from creating content this blog, I also host a series of creative workshops and charity curated dinner parties called Hidden Feast.I am mostly described as slightly annoying, funny, warm hearted and hard working. I tend to agree with all of those things haha.

How did you get started?

A few years ago I spent 18 glorious months travelling Europe, living in Chamonix, exploring endless countries in our camper van and stopping to smell the roses. I started this blog to follow my travels, my adventures in cooking and capture the moments of my slow(er) paced and deliciously spent life. I fell in love with photography and using it to inspire myself and others.

I started my adult life as a building and construction manager, go figure I would end up being a photographer! I’d say it was the creativity, flexible hours and meeting beautiful souls that led me to this path, and I have never looked back.

What equipment do you shoot with?

All my photographs are taken are using natural light, my Canon 6D/Canon 5D Mark IV and either a 100mm f/2.8 Macro, 50mm f/1.2 or 24-70mm f/2.8 + almost always free-hold. I really should bother learn how to use my tripod but I haven’t got around to it yet.

Do you prefer studio work or location shoots?

I really love both. My little home "studio" is pretty hilarious. Most people laugh when they see it. It's an old rustic table up against a window in my lounge room, sitting in a pile of backgrounds, props, deflectors and napkins. Most of the time it has food on it, and other times it's used to house new props until I "home" them without the husb noticing. It's not glamorous by any means, but it does the job. I love nothing more than using nap time to listen to some tunes, and get messy with some food styling and photography.

I also enjoy the social aspect of shooting on location, meeting people, bouncing ideas etc. Otherwise photography can be a fairly lonely job.

Describe your style.

Photography style? I really don't associate myself with a certain style as I truly love many types of photography. However, in saying this, I do tend to gravitate towards moody images, tight frames, macro and shallow depth of field. My style is basically food porn.

Who do you admire?

There are so many to list but some of my inspirations are: Zaira Zarotti at The Freaky Table, Valentina at Hortus Cuisine, Lean at Lean Timms, Beth Kirby at Local Milk, Eva Kosmas Flores at Adventures in Cooking, Linda Lomelino at Call Me Cupcake, Carey at Reclaiming Provincial, Sam at Drizzle & Dip, Helene at Tartelette and many, many more.

What's your dream food shoot?

Wowza, that's a tough one. I basically want Jamie Oliver (and Jools) to come to my house, in some kind of sexy apron, cook and let me photograph the food, then we could eat it over a bottle of red. That's my dream.

What's your "can't live without" prop?

I can't really live without my over-loved grey linen napkins, handmade ceramics and vintage coffee pots. Oh and antique silver spoons.

Sweet or Savoury?

Why not both? I love a good toastie as much as ice cream.

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate, obviously. Does anyone ever say vanilla?

Four favourite instagram accounts?

Oh tough one. SO MANY!

@thefreakytable

@tohercore

@valentinahortus

@leantimms

@local_milk

@evakosmasflores

@linda_lomelino

@drizzleanddip

Three songs to listen to while working?

Kitchen Swagger or my Macadames playlist on Spotify is my go to. I honestly couldn't pick 3 songs, I love too many. I also don't know what any song I like is called. Also, Justin Bieber is a big part of my life and I am not ashamed.

What was the last cookbook you bought?

First We Eat cookbook by Eva Kosmas Flores. It's sooooo pretty.

If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family think you'd done?

1000% something car related. I am a notoriously bad driver.

Can you show us one of your early photos, along with a recent shot that you're really proud of?

OMG just check out the Insta story on my feed marked "wanna lol?" But until then, this post is legit still published on my blog. Honestly, it's enough to turn you off my blog forever, but I can’t delete it, it tells the story of where I came from (if I can do it, ANYONE can).