The Restaurant Project

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I want to take a moment and introduce you all to The Restaurant Project.

It is an idea that struck me a couple of years ago (and frankly an idea that wouldn't go away). I actually tried to push it away, but the idea was persistent; it challenged me and so I listened. For the last year and a half, I have been working to develop the structure, concept and creativity behind this business and I am so happy I did. 

I started The Restaurant Project because I believe it is time for a shift. Imagery, video and self marketing have never been more important. Many people are doing parts of what we do, but we want joining The Restaurant Project to be different. Essentially, I am asking restauranteurs to rethink the way that they have ever spent their marketing dollars before. A bold statement? Yes, but someone has to make it. I think it is time for restaurants to invest in themselves. So what's included in the investment? So many beautiful things.

"So, you like take food photos and video for social media, right?" -- Wrong.

Let's break it down:

The Restaurant Project offers an easy, one button solution for restaurants to tell their stories. Through Photography, Videography and Strategy, we provide a steady stream of gorgeous content and then empower you to use this content in a big way. 

First, our clients will own full licensing rights to all of the photo and video work we create for them. Did you get that? Unlimited licensing rights. We want our clients to be able to use their content freely - for websites, social, press opportunities and beyond. We offer Monthly + Quarterly subscription services to keep your work fresh! When it comes to photographers, we have the best (award-winning in fact). 

Secondly, we want to educate and empower our clients. You have all of this beautiful content, so let's talk about how to use it best.  I teamed up with Annie D'Souza to be our strategist and I can't begin to tell you how damn perfect she is. Annie is a leader. She is experienced and has an approach to building communities and connecting with people that is inspiring. Do you feel a little overwhelmed with exactly how to use Instagram these days? Great, we can help you with that. Does your PR team want to develop a more helpful strategy for your marketing plan? We've got you. 

Lastly, we want to look towards the future. Video is proving to drive action and putting video on your website alone increases conversion by 80%. Eighty Percent. That's huge. Lauren Schneck is leading video for The Restaurant Project and she is amazing. Her background in reality tv lends a very authentic, yet refined approach to video that translates perfectly to food and the kitchen. 

I have lofty goals for The Restaurant Project. I know it's bold and I know it's not cheap, but I also know it is a game changer. It's an opportunity for better work and better connection with not only your guests, but also the media. It's the chance to grow from within and tell your own story. 

Can you still hire me outside of The Restaurant Project?

Of course. It's business as usual for eliesajohnson.com for our editorial and private client work, but this new project is an extension of our services. I hired the best to implement video and education sessions for our restaurant clients, so your team can be empowered to work better for your business. 

Without further adieu, I would love to introduce you to The Restaurant Project:

Website: therestaurantproject.co

Instagram: @the_restaurant_project

LOVEe

 

Mpls / St. Paul Magazine // Citizen Style

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For the September issue of Mpls / St. Paul magazine, I was asked to photograph a set of portraits for their fall fashion story. It turns out that I had a connection to all of the people, which made photographing this all the more special. 

When it comes to photographing real people in a 'fashion' sense - I love to still make it feel real. I wanted the portraits to be authentic to who our subjects were and why they had been chosen to highlight their personal style. 

I wanted to share some of my favorite outtakes and behind the scenes from this shoot, because the energy with all of our subjects was absolutely amazing! A big thank you to Betsey Kershaw, Kimberly Ferguson, Linda Kaysen and Paul Buttenhoff for all the great moments! You can check out the full story here. 

Behind the Scenes//

ELIESA JOHNSON // New Brand Identity!

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Brand identity work by Dschwen

I am super excited to share the new identities of all of our companies! This is our eleventh year of business and as our work and businesses grow and become more refined, so do our brands. Last year, we took on the big project of updating all of our websites and this year brought along the next phase of that project, which was to unify all of the brands. We worked with the brilliant mind of David Schwen of Dschwen to bring this all together and I am SO happy with how it turned out! Each company still has it's own individual presence, while still feeling cohesive with all we do here in the studio. 

The new logo for ELIESA JOHNSON was inspired by how I sign my prints. The old logo was my full signature, but how I really sign my work is simply with an 'e'. I love the simplicity of the logo and can't wait to roll our more design elements and portfolio books with this! You'll also notice that we have new fonts, which are easier to read on the site! 

You can check out all of our other brands at the sites below:

eliesaconsults.com

photogen-inc.com

rivetsandroses.com

Philando Castile March //

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Philando Castile's mother, girlfriend, cousin and family lead the march to the Governor's mansion in St. Paul, MN. 

Sometimes the only way I know how to express myself is to take photos. So, I showed up. If you were not able to be at the march or vigil for Philando Castile today, I hope these images are helpful for you to understand all the emotion, concern, awareness, conversation and change that needs to happen in our world today. 

2015 Design 100 // Mpls / St. Paul Home & Design Magazine

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Photo by Paul Nelson

Photo by Paul Nelson

The Design 100 is one of my favorite stories to be a part of each year. It lives in the pages of Mpls / St Paul Home & Design magazine and I just always love how this turns out. The Design 100 is a story about the 100 best people, products and places that add style to home and design. This includes rad spaces, talented artists and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a lot of our favorite products. Maybe I love this story so much, because it is about the artists and where their hustle comes from. 

The images below are from the 2015 Design 100 issue and I was able to photograph a few folks for this article. Big thank you to Ashley Mary Art, Keith Wyman of Concrete Pig, Erin Francois of Francois et Moi and the wonderful Lisa Balke and Susan Blankenship of Victory Vintage. 

Ashley and Ashley Mary Art

Keith of Concrete Pig

Erin of Francois et Moi

Lisa and Susan of Victory Vintage

2016 James Beard Awards

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Lyric Opera House // Chicago

The 2016 James Beard Awards happened this week in Chicago and I was beyond honored and thrilled to be a part of documenting this night. Photographing an event at this caliber is a full production and I had an amazing time working with the James Beard Foundation and their team. I shot alongside 3 other photographers that night, as well as my assistant, Jackson Faith. 

Our specific focus for the night was on the VIP dinner, which was made by Cosmo Goss of Publican, Erling Wu-Bower of Nico Osteria, Perry Hendrix of Avec and Nicole Guini of Blackbird. Their teams hustled to create some amazing dishes for the guests backstage as the awards, which were hosted by Carla Hall, began. 

The night was an amazing experience and I wanted to share a few of my favorite moments. I especially wanted to give a little nod to our hometown of Minneapolis - and a big congratulations to Chef Paul Berglund of The Bachelor Farmer who won the award for Best Chef: Midwest. Beyond that, it was exciting to see so many faces from our city represented!

Erling Wu-Bower of Nico Osteria // VIP dinner prep

Cosmo Goss of Avec // Chef Portraits

Showtime

Gala Reception 

 

 

North Minneapolis // Jamar Clark March

 

Joyce Clark, sister of Jamar Clark. 

I went to North Minneapolis today on a bit of a whim. I was in my studio, eating lunch and watching the news as the story continued to unfold of the Jamar Clark case. I realized that this is all happening in our city and I felt the need to go talk to the people and document this time.

It's a bit of a departure from my regular work, but I think that is what makes it worth showing. I started my photography career in photojournalism and it's moments like this that do matter to me and remind me why I am a photographer. 

Archived Favorites// MSP Best of Restaurants

Bryan Morcom of Restaurant Alma

Steven Brown of Tilia

One of my favorite features that I photographed in 2015 was the Best of Restaurants issue for Mpls / St Paul Magazine. Time has been passing far too quickly this year already, but I wanted to make it a priority to share some of my favorite images. 

I connected with this feature so much, because not only was beautiful food a part of the story, but capturing portraits of the Chefs and their kitchens was another element to it. I find the making of a dish and the dance of the cooks in the kitchen so intriguing.

I've always been excited about the images that came out of this story and I hope you are, too. 

NORWAY GALLERI EXHIBIT //

 

A couple of months ago, I was approached by Norway House and asked to be the next artist for their Galleri exhibit. The organization had been following our work and took note that I had traveled to Norway not so long ago. They also had admired the work in general that we have been doing - all of the food photography, especially. So, together we curated an exhibit that focuses on showing a more modern Norway. 

The entire process of putting this show together was awesome for me. It challenged me artistically in ways that I haven't been in a while. Almost all of these images were moments that were captured, not intending to be in an exhibit together. However, I love that an overall body of work - filled with personal experiences, family history and stylized food shots - all came together to make one rad photo exhibit. 

The Galleri show at Norway House is now open to the public and will run through May 1 -- I hope you all get a chance to stop by! We also have put together an exclusive print shop on our website, with 25 of our favorite images from the show. (See below)

BEHIND THE SCENES//

The Salty Tart //

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Salty Tart has released a new website and I am so happy to have been a part of this project! I have admired Chef Gayer for a long time - her energy, her hustle, and her amazing baked goods, so being asked to photograph new images for her was a dream. 

We wanted to bring a light and fresh look to her bakery and also a subtlety to the images - we wanted her gorgeous baked goods to speak for themselves. Everything that Michelle and her team make is rustic, free form, from scratch - and down right beautiful. We collaborated with Liz Gardner from Bodega LTD. on the styling for this shoot and came up with a series of images that are just so damn pretty. We also spent time at the bakery of Salty Tart and caught some of the real moments of their team working. 

Behind the Scenes //