Kim Anh Doan

Client: The Bloom - The gift from Vietnam nature

Photographer: Satomi

Mid-autumn festival is one of the busiest seasons for food photographers and food stylists in many parts of Asia, and Vietnam is no exception. Everywhere you look it seems you will find mooncakes on display with a variety of flavours and packaging. It is quite challenging to style for mooncakes in a completely unique way since there are already hundreds of photographers who’ve worked on the same topic year after year. It feels like an exhausting competition.

So when Satomi and I were hired by The Bloom to showcase their mooncakes, I told her: “Let’s just have a good breakfast and think about what we are most comfortable doing, instead of being pressured by what others have already done”. I like to start my creative process in the most organic way possible, which means letting myself be inspired by everything around me, not necessarily collecting a hundred reference photos from Pinterest.

My vision was to tell a story, not just to take photos of product. I imagined myself on a quiet and slow afternoon, I patiently brew some tea by the window, cut a mooncake, place some dried fruit on the cutest plate I have, and contently enjoy every bite with each passing moment. Satomi captured my concept perfectly.

Below is our work for The Bloom's mooncake photoshoot. Through the photographs, I hope you feel a moment of peace and perhaps a curiosity for trying this delightful traditional pastry.