BlogHerFood – An Inspiring Event

I just got back from BlogHerFood in Atlanta where I had the chance to meet hundreds of fabulous food bloggers with all kinds of specialties. I’m exhausted and inspired. I had planned another post to run today, but I’m just too excited not to share!

As I was tweeting about BlogHerFood last week some of you asked, “What is BlogHer?” It’s a community of bloggers who write about everything under the sun. The organization runs a website, conferences, and an advertising network. The membership ranges from brand new bloggers to super-savvy bloggers, all who are willing to share what they know and always want to learn new things.

The person I was most excited to meet at the event was Dianne Jacob, food writer, writing coach, and author of Will Write for Food. She and her co-presenters led a lively discussion on recipe development and the ethics around sharing/re-printing recipes on blogs. I went to the session hoping for a clear answer to that question, and there isn’t one. The key takeaway was to respect other writers/recipe developers’ work, and ask permission if you want to re-use something.

One of my personal goals was to learn more about food photography (since I tend to think of the photos as an after-thought). The biggest tip was – use a tripod! There were also lots of ideas for food props and lighting that I will be trying over the next few months.

Of course, the highlight for me was working with my awesome co-speakers, Alisa Fleming, Sarena Shasteen, and Alicia Simpson. On Friday afternoon we talked about adapting recipes for special food needs. I learned a few things myself about vegan cooking that I’m looking forward to trying. We were also lucky enough to have Bianca O’Brien live blogging our session for us. So all of you who weren’t able to be there can check it out here!

I made some great new blogging friends this weekend – some who are allergen-free and gluten-free, and others who just love writing about food. I’m already looking forward to the next BlogHerFood, but in the meantime I’ll be reading the liveblogs of the sessions I missed.