FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What type of photography does Erica Mae Allen do?
Erica Mae Allen is a commercial advertising photographer specializing in food, beverage, product, and lifestyle imagery for brands, agencies, and editorial clients. Known for her bold use of color, dynamic compositions, and collaborative approach, Erica creates visually compelling photography that elevates advertising campaigns, packaging, digital marketing, social media, and editorial storytelling. Her upbeat personality and creative energy bring a positive, efficient atmosphere to every production, helping clients produce impactful imagery that connects with audiences and strengthens brand identity. Erica is also known for CPG packaging and CPG product photography.

Does Erica Mae Allen travel for photography productions?
Erica Mae Allen is available for travel nationwide and internationally for commercial advertising, food, beverage, product, and lifestyle photography assignments. She partners with brands, agencies, and creative teams to produce impactful imagery on location and in studio, bringing the same collaborative energy and bold visual style to every production.

What type of clients does Erica Mae Allen work with?
Erica Mae Allen works with clients ranging from emerging CPG brands and independent restaurants to nationally recognized brands, creating food, beverage, product, and lifestyle photography for advertising campaigns, packaging, and marketing across print and digital media.

Do I need to have a brief developed in order to work with Erica Mae Allen?
Whether a brand arrives with a fully developed creative brief or is looking for guidance from concept to final image, Erica Mae Allen adapts to each project's needs. She can seamlessly execute an established creative vision or provide art direction and creative leadership, collaborating with clients to develop imagery that aligns with their brand, campaign goals, and audience.

Does Erica Mae Allen work with stylists?
Erica Mae Allen is happy to collaborate with food, prop, and wardrobe stylists recommended by a brand or agency, and also maintains a trusted network of experienced stylists she regularly works with. When building a team for a project, she carefully selects collaborators based on their individual specialties, ensuring the right creative talent is matched to each campaign. This tailored approach helps every production run smoothly while delivering imagery that best reflects the client's vision and objectives.

Can Erica Mae Allen work with a production team?
Yes. Erica Mae Allen can collaborate with client-selected vendors and production partners or assemble a specialized creative team tailored to each project's unique needs. Over the years, she has built a trusted network of talented food stylists, prop stylists, wardrobe stylists, producers, and other creative professionals who bring specialized expertise to commercial productions.

When building a team, Erica considers the creative direction, brand identity, production requirements, and desired outcome of the project. She carefully selects collaborators whose strengths and aesthetic approach align with the assignment, ensuring each element of the production supports the overall vision.

Whether a brand has an established creative team or needs guidance from concept through execution, Erica provides a flexible and collaborative approach. Her experience working with national brands, advertising campaigns, restaurants, and CPG companies allows her to understand the importance of assembling the right team to create cohesive, impactful imagery that meets commercial goals.

Who has Erica Mae Allen done campaigns for?
Erica Mae Allen has partnered with national brands, restaurants, publishers, and consumer packaged goods companies to create compelling commercial photography for advertising, packaging, editorial, and marketing campaigns. Her clients include Barilla, Bibigo, Chipotle, Chronicle Books, Country Archer, FabFitFun, Fancy Sprinkles, Homeboy Industries, IHOP, Jollibee, King Arthur Baking Company, Marugame Udon, Mendocino Farms, Martha Stewart Living, Panda Express, Postmates, Pressed Juicery, Tillamook, Urban Pie, Walmart, and Wetzel's Pretzels.

What’s the process in working with Erica Mae Allen if I have a creative brief?
Commercial Photography Process

Discovery Call

Every successful production begins with understanding the brand, the goals of the campaign, and the intended audience. During the discovery call, Erica Mae Allen learns about the project vision, creative objectives, deliverables, timeline, budget considerations, and where the final imagery will be used.

This conversation helps establish the foundation for the project and ensures that the creative approach aligns with the brand's marketing goals, whether the assignment is for advertising, packaging, social media, editorial, or a larger campaign.

Creative Brief Review

Erica works closely with brands, agencies, and creative teams to understand the creative brief and translate the goals into compelling visual imagery. She reviews references, brand guidelines, shot lists, messaging, and any existing campaign direction to understand the desired look and feel.

For clients who already have a fully developed concept, Erica brings the vision to life through thoughtful execution. For clients who need additional creative guidance, she helps refine the visual direction and develop an approach that supports the brand's objectives.

Concept Development

Strong commercial photography begins with a clear creative concept. Erica collaborates with clients to develop the visual story, considering composition, color palette, lighting, styling, environment, and overall campaign direction.

Her signature use of color and attention to detail help create imagery that feels intentional, memorable, and aligned with the brand identity. Whether creating a bold advertising image or a lifestyle-driven story, Erica approaches each project with a focus on connecting with the intended audience.

Production Planning

A successful shoot requires thoughtful preparation. Erica manages the details needed to bring a creative vision to life, including developing shot lists, selecting locations, coordinating production needs, and assembling the right creative team.

Depending on the project, Erica can collaborate with brand-recommended stylists and production partners or build a customized team from her network of trusted food stylists, prop stylists, and creative professionals. She carefully selects collaborators based on each project's specific needs and creative direction.

Photography

During production, Erica creates a collaborative and efficient environment where brands, agencies, and creative teams can feel confident in the process. Her upbeat personality and hands-on approach help keep productions organized while allowing space for creativity and exploration.

Whether shooting in studio or on location, Erica combines technical expertise, creative problem-solving, and a strong understanding of advertising photography to produce imagery designed for real-world brand applications.

Retouching

Post-production is an important part of refining commercial imagery and ensuring the final photographs meet the highest standards. Erica works with trusted retouchers or collaborates with client-selected post-production teams to achieve the desired final look. She sometimes does her own retouching, depending on the project.

The retouching process enhances the photography while maintaining authenticity, ensuring the final images are polished, brand-appropriate, and ready for advertising, packaging, digital campaigns, and marketing materials.

Final Delivery

Once the images are complete, Erica delivers final files prepared for their intended use, whether for advertising campaigns, packaging, websites, social media, editorial, or other marketing applications.

Her goal is to provide clients with a seamless experience from initial concept through final delivery, creating commercial photography that not only looks beautiful but also supports the brand's larger creative and business objectives.