October 2025

Hi friend-

It's that time of year again where I wish I was still back in New England eating an apple cider donut from a farm stand, proximal to a comically large pumpkin though still drinking a Dunkin iced coffee that is realistically too cold to hold but who drinks hot coffee anyway? 

But my home base is in LA and I have to bring the fall vibes even if there isn't a leaf pile in sight… SO-

Journey with me in this newsletter for:  

🖤 Cyanotypes exploring modern applications of aging processes 

🖤 The first look at my personal project on motherhood + the equalization of time 

🖤 A spooky still life with Three Bird Props 

🖤  & a look at an incredible night I spent talking to students at Santa Monica Community College about food photography- check out the BTS reel here and the demo products I shot below! 

As always if I can bring your vision to life, solve a problem for you, or just talk horror movies hit that reply button and let's do the thing!

xoxo

RP

Sept 2025

Hi friend-

So far every summer he's been around- my son (the not so terrible 2) Toddler Danger has starred in a shoot where he has gotten to snack and be wild. For this year's triumph, prop stylist Jaclyn Kershek and I teamed up to explore food photography and what childhood means to us- mac + cheese, goldfish crackers, authentic kid drawings, endless blueberries and a big dose of chaos! 

In the span of just a few hours we shot:

•  (4) distinct setups- built a vintage pantry full of generational snack faves

• a dino nugget stop motion channeling Kid Cuisine realness

• splashed milk all of the studio and mostly cleaned it

• retrieved a child from daycare (don't worry, it was mine)

• dressed and styled him

• got proper cheesy

• and for good measure worked through a light head injury (why do they make plastic toys so hard!?!)

All with just the two of us. 

How did we do it? 

A great plan! 

When you book with me the thought, love and organization starts LONG before we get on set. Moodboards, sketches, down to the minute shot lists organized with care and print outs on set all help make sure when we hit the ground on our day- we do it running! We can make a lot of magic with a little planning!  

Want to come make a mess that makes me mop my studio floors? Drop me an email and tell me how!

Let's get wild 🖤 

xoxo

RP

Aug 2025

Hi friend- 

This month I turned 40- and as is mandatory with all big birthdays I took a moment to look back at where I've come from, and look forward toward what's to come.  

Last decade shift I was working part time as a photo editor for all the big award shows and entertainment agencies while barely shooting on the side- portraits, beauty, fashion- none of the food still lifes that set my heart on fire. They were long, stressful days and I'd go home feeling drained. Only a short while later I quit the safety net of staff photo jobs, dialed in on the dream, formed my business and leaned in for the ride. Since then, I've had the great fortune to get to use my days to make ideas come to life with some really excellent folks. I also got married, had a little son and am really proud he gets to see the possibilities of a creative life. That's cool too. 

That being said, this year has not been the most smooth of peanut butter. More like that jar of organic stuff in the back of the cupboard with the separated oil that would eat a spoon like cement if you actually opened it. Daily I am having convos about the future and state of the industry and here is what I've got for you. 

Technology will change and is, job titles might merge, staff + freelance is probably going to be sticky for a bit, people in power will likely keep acting foolish in ways that trickle down in big ways BUT what won't change is the value of creating.  

Our unique ideas and viewpoints have power and value. I know I want to keep using mine to show the beauty, fun, weirdness, and energy of this cool world of ours. That is what is going to get us through. 

Let's keep creating together! 

You bring the jelly, I'll bring the good PB 🧡 

xoxo

RP

PS. This newsletter features images from my recent bucket list trip to Morocco. Since there is a lot to say on photography in a different environment, places we saw, snacks that were snacked, and ooops food poisoning- I'm going to carry that conversation (and more photos) into Substack where I hope you will join me! Stay tuned on the socials 👀 

June 2025

Hi friend-

 This month is all about two things I love: motion + iced coffee!

 For this project I challenged stylist Kara Mickelson/ StyledDelicious to create the perfect iced coffee mixing shot in a simple vessel- the humble to go cup. We all know it, you've probably got one in your hand right now but I thought it deserved a glow up. Aspirational glassware you'd never touch IRL has been done- let's let our recyclable ride or die have a turn! For this project I wanted to show you we can do a lot with a little- make impactful work with a good idea, a ton of color, and a lot of coffee!

Shot in my private tabletop studio we splashed, mixed and caffeinated the day away. There was real ice, fake ice, and a laboratory like experiment to test viscosity. It was a time! Really proud of what we did! Check out our BTS video shot by the delightful Christina Russo.

Does this spark any ideas? I sure hope so! If you’ve read this far I have a special SECRET offer to help get one of your brilliant ideas off of the moodboard and into the world! Just say hello!

✨ Let's connect and be spectacular together! ✨