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Life Is Sweet with Anita Chu, Creator of Dessert First

Writer's picture: elisacicinellielisacicinelli

Ever head to an Instagram page or blog that made your mouth water just looking at

it? Well then you might have just stumbled on Anita Chu’s Instagram page or her

amazing blog Dessert First (which is a name I can get behind)!


Branding shoots are one of my personal favorites. Being a photographer, I am able

to see people through the lens of my camera, which is a perspective not everyone

gets to experience. I learn about my clients first from our consultations and

brainstorming sessions, but once we head to our locations or start shooting in the

studio, their unique self always starts to evolve throughout the shoot.

Getting to know Anita during her branding shoot was incredible. We were able to

head to multiple pastry and food hot spots in San Francisco that related well to

Anita’s brand. From the pastel color theme throughout her blog and Instagram feed,

to the beautiful desserts she creates and posts, our goal was to continue that scheme through our shoot.


We wanted to make sure from our brunch shots at Le Marais Bakery, to the pastel

colored macaron pictures we took at Chantal Guillon, that we were going finish with

images that were authentic to Anita and her blog. We also headed to my studio, to

take some portraits in a few different spring attire looks. In addition, we took some

fun pastry shots in the studio to highlight Anita’s baking skills. We finished with

more options then expected! It was hard to choose ones not to edit, which is a good problem to have!


A little background on Anita: She is a Bay Area native and as the name of her blog

states, you can imagine she has a slight sweet tooth. Anita graduated in 2005 from

Tante Marie’s Cooking School six-month professional pastry course and then

worked full time in a local bakery. While doing so she began to photograph her amazing baked goods in and out of the bakery. Out of the oven soon popped, Dessert First, Anita’s blog!

Dessert First is inspired by Anita’s daily baking at home, cookbooks, pastry chefs she admires, restaurants she heads to and even the smells on the street! Her goal is to give people at home the opportunity to learn how to create professional-level pastries while also giving her bakery reviews on tools, shops and more in between. Anita’s blog has brought her some amazing opportunities, including not one, not two, but THREE cookbooks: Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy and Lollipop Love.

As Anita says on her blog, “I was extremely lucky to get the opportunity to do these books, and it was all because of my blog. You’ll never know where life takes you, so just get out there and start doing it!”


Her message is truly magnetic. When someone has a passion for something they do, their energy is contagious!


For more information on Anita Chu head to her blog here: https://dessertfirstgirl.com/about-pastrygirl

Stay tuned for more images from our branding shoot together on my social media!



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Elisa Cicinelli is a Northern California photographer specializing in portraits of all genres – personal branding, content creation, social media content, headshots, actor headshots, corporate headshots, family portraits, mother daughter portraits, fitness photography, beauty, boudoir, lifestyle photography located in San Francisco but is continually serving happy clients all over California and the United States. Elisa's studio is located in the heart of San Francisco but she often travels to Los Angeles, Napa Valley, Carmel Valley, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Palo Alto, East Bay, Silicon Valley, Peninsula and the Greater Bay Area for varying creative photography projects. Elisa Cicinelli Photography aims to capture the subject's inner beauty through refreshing their image and making them as comfortable as possible. If you are located in San Francisco or other areas of California, don't hesitate to reach out to book your complimentary consultation with Elisa.

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