I'm Maria Hedrick, a photographer who believes food deserves to be photographed the way it deserves to be eaten with care, attention, and a little drama.
Based in Los Angeles, with over 15 years behind the camera. I've developed an instinct for the two stylistic approaches. The editorial pull of mood, shadow, and story, plus the commercial clarity of bright, appetizing, and beautifully lit product work. Perfecting when to deploy each mood, and how to move between them without losing a signature point of view.
My background spans high-volume CPG campaigns for brands like Popcornopolis (distributed through Amazon, Costco, and Sam's Club), intimate shoots with local catering companies, and editorial work with food bloggers building their visual brand. I believe that whether it's a single hero shot for a restaurant's homepage or a 50-SKU product line refresh, the standard is the same.
How I work
I treat every project as a creative partnership. That means thoughtful pre-production, concept development, shot lists, prop and surface sourcing, and styling collaboration. We walk onto set with a clear vision and room for the happy accidents that make images feel alive.
On set, I work fast but never rush. Whether we're capturing the perfect steam rising from a bowl of ramen or the clean lines of a beverage bottle for packaging, I handle the technical complexity so you can focus on your vision. Off set, I manage retouching and final delivery with the same level of care. The goal is always the same: imagery that feels unmistakably like your brand, on time, every time.
Beyond the Lens
Traveling really opened my eyes to more possibilities with food. Growing up in LA I'm biased toward Mexican food and that's what I grew up with culturally. Sundays after church we'd drive to my great-grandmother's house in East LA and there would be a huge pot of menudo and pan dulce on the table. Those early memories of food don’t leave you.
My first trip to Europe was Italy. I ate pasta every day, popped into small restaurants, ordered house chianti. Paris, London, Scotland, Seoul followed. The toast in Seoul is something I ate almost every morning and still think about.
Food has an impact on memories in a way that grounds you to a time, place and feeling that doesn't leave. That's also how my husband connects with people, and how we connect with each other. Over time I became a more open and adventurous eater and LA makes that easy. From the San Gabriel Valley, Koreatown, East LA, to the Westside I'm insanely spoiled to live here and have that access.
When they say you eat with your eyes, that's literally how I shoot. I'm just as excited to try the food I'm photographing as I am to photograph it. Not everything looks totally perfect and that's the point, because things are melting, there's steam, it's in the moment. I want the images to feel like they're on your lap.