Meet creator Julia: where culinary skill meets creative vision bringing food to life frame by frame

Creator Julia Wharington isn’t just a talented food and drink photographer—she’s also a qualified commercial cook, making her a true expert in both flavour and visuals. Based just outside Melbourne, Australia, her journey into photography began unexpectedly when her husband gifted her a food styling course. That single moment ignited a passion that turned her creative eye and culinary expertise into a thriving career.

With an eye for detail and a love for storytelling, Julia seamlessly blends her culinary expertise with artistry, crafting stunning images, stop motions and videos that bring food and products to life, literally! A longtime and valued member of the Creatively Squared community, her work speaks volumes wowing us all, even though she stays humbly behind the scenes.

From mouth-watering stills to dynamic animations, Julia’s Creatively Squared portfolio is a testament to her talent. With collaborations spanning brands like Suimin Noodles, Extra Gum, Fantastic Snacks and Little Victories, her creativity shines through in every frame. She pours her heart and soul into her work—and it shows.

Dive into Julia’s creative world and discover how she continues to push the boundaries—both in the kitchen and behind the lens!

Let’s chat with Julia

Hi! I’m Julia Wharington, the face behind Paddock 2 Pixel. My husband and I live in a small town two hours north of Melbourne. Australia has been my home for 20 years now (I’m originally from Germany).

While I’ve been a creative soul since early childhood, I never wanted to earn a living in a creative industry out of fear that I’d lose my passion for my crafts if money was involved. So I worked as a sound editor, event manager, and in admin roles, nicely separating my many hobbies (dancing, sewing, gardening, cooking… oh did I mention dancing, my biggest love of all!?) from my 9-5 job.

I never cared much about photography, until my husband, out of the blue, gifted me a food styling course in 2018. I reluctantly bought a camera, out of necessity, because I wanted to document the food I styled. And I fell in love! I had discovered the perfect mix of technical nerdiness and artistic freedom!

Maybe turning 40 was the key to finally having the courage to jump in the deep end and try my luck working in a creative industry. I quit my job, enrolled in culinary school, and watched about every video about food photography and videography there is on YouTube.

Since then, I feel blessed to have worked for some amazing clients, and while it’s an absolute rollercoaster ride (I’ve learned quickly that I’m not much of an entrepreneur), I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I'm hoping to expand to portrait photography one day, but at this stage, I'm focusing on food and drinks (and products in that industry). I mainly shoot in my home studio (a.k.a. a tiny spare bedroom). Stills, recipe videos, and my favourite: stop-motions. There is just something so creative about bringing ingredients or packaging to life, and telling little stories. I have no assistants available (other than occasionally my husband pressing the shutter), so I do everything solo, from prepping, cooking, styling, hand-modeling, to shooting, editing and colour-grading.

Personal preference is a little rustic, cluttered and moody, but with a strong colour element. I tend to edit with high saturation, contrast and clarity. But... I find that most clients prefer a modern, brighter and cleaner look. Because I've had to shoot like this more often, it's growing on me.

Journey with Creatively Squared

I joined Creatively Squared because I saw other Creatively Squared creators posting their work on Instagram and I was intrigued. Access to big brands in the industry is tricky, but thanks to Creatively Squared I now have some well-known names in my portfolio!

Julia’s creativity is off the roof in this stop motion assets for Little Victories. Source: Creatively Squared

Little Victories, a UK-based chocolate brand, has certainly been the most fun, especially the hero stop-motions I did for them. I would have cursed this project a year ago, but with our newly installed air-conditioning unit in the studio, handling chocolate in Australian summer was a breeze!

The other project I loved was for Fantastic Snacks. Again, the chocolates, strong colours, fun stop-motions and photos, and quite a bit of creative freedom made it a favourite.

Tools of the trade

I shoot on the Canon EOS R with a 24mm, 50mm, 85mm or 100mm lens. (Dreaming of upgrading to the R5 one day, mainly for video, but oh, that price!). 99% of my photos are tripod shots or overhead shots using a c-stand, and about 90% are done with artificial lighting (As a night owl, I find shooting with natural light and chasing the sun way too stressful).

I use the Godox AD400 Pro for stills, and the Godox VL 300 II as my continuous light source for video and stop-motion. I edit in Lightroom and Photoshop, and use DaVinci Resolve for video editing and colour grading.

For props, I couldn't live without my backdrops. I've made a few myself but the best ones are the vinyl ones from Errer Backdrops and Club Backdrops. It's so tempting to keep adding to the collection!

As for my photoshoot location, my studio is definitely my favourite as I can create whatever scene I imagine without having to rely on the environment around me.

I have converted our 3x3m guest bedroom into my studio. Best feature: the wall bed I built, surrounded by shelving for all my props. When guests come, I just pull the bed down; when I shoot, the bed gets tucked away and I use the back of the bed to attach my backdrops.

I also use a height adjustable table. Trust me, you want this! No more hunching over a low table when styling your scene! And because the space is tiny, I've mounted my three big softboxes to the ceiling, that way they are out of the way when not in use.

Julia’s creative process

During a Creatively Squared photoshoot, I definitely don't draw any sketches. Photos often kind of happen organically with lots of trial and error. Moving a napkin around for an hour? That's me, LOL! I do create inspiration through Pinterest boards though for styling, lighting, etc. And for videos and stop-motions I write a detailed shot list to help me tell the story and stay on track.

Whenever I experience a creative block, I get super frustrated ALL the time (just ask my husband). It's the perfectionist in me, and when the creative juices don't flow, I'm ready to quit it all, and get a desk job again. But I'm also incredibly stubborn and will eventually break through it and then I feel a million bucks again.

What helps is simply a break, physically and mentally stepping away from it. Cooking a meal, baking a loaf of sourdough, playing a game, having a dance with my husband, watching TV. And usually I find that as soon as I step back into the studio afterward, everything flows again.

Julia aced these stop motion assets for Suimin Noodles and Extra Gum. Source: Creatively Squared

Finding inspiration

There is a lot of talent out there, and also out in the wild. A prop can inspire. A backdrop. A flavour. A landscape. A painting. While I don't know them personally, people who have helped me immensely become the photographer I am today are Joanie from the Bite Shot and Daniel Schiffer (videographer on YouTube). I have devoured all of their video tutorials and learned so much from them.

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Top creative tip

The great director Orson Welles famously said: "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations". I totally live by this. My creativity needs constraints. If I try to pluck ideas out of thin air, not much good will come of it. So I try to set myself parameters. Work within them. It helps me focus. That's why I like detailed client briefs. I know what I'm working with, rather than the generic 'hey, just create something beautiful'.

Lastly, what’s next for you?

Speed. Even after so many years, I'm still too slow. Perfectionist at work here, so I want to learn how to stop when it's good enough, rather than continue making tweaks again and again that no one would ever notice.

Thank you Julia for moving us with your creativity over the years at Creatively Squared.

Follow Julia’s Instagram @paddock2pixel to see more of her stunning work and impressive portfolio.