About

Hi, I’m Kelly Neil and welcome to kellyneil.com! This is my little corner of the internet where I share my food photography along with easy recipes for home bakers and cooks.

🕰 My Background

I started my food journey working in restaurants. At the end of my restaurant career, I was the general manager of one of Halifax’s most acclaimed Italian restaurants.

On the side, I had a personal passion for photography. One day I was approached to photograph new menu items and an obsession was born!

🍽 Food Photography, Styling, And Writing

I started kellyneil.com as a way to showcase my food photography, and over time, it’s evolved into a full-time career. I do all of my own prop sourcing, shopping, and styling, as well as all of my own food styling.

I’ve created content, photography, and recipes for:

Baked

Baked is a collaborative project by several Canadian recipe developers, food photographers, and stylists. I've been a core contributor to Baked since January 2017.

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Cavendish Farms

I've been photographing almost all of the social content for Cavendish Farms' retail products since February 2020. I've also shot national billboard images, as well as full campaign collateral for their restaurant food service division.

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Lee Valley

I've created quite a lot of tutorial style content for Lee Valley, including articles called How To Make The Perfect Apple Pie, Turkey Tips, and How To Bake The Perfect Cake.

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Loblaws / President’s Choice

I've had an ongoing partnership with Loblaws / President's Choice since 2017. I was flown to Toronto for an influencer event, I've created numerous recipes and other content for different campaigns, and have appeared on live morning television many times to promote various PC products and their bi-annual Insider's Reports.

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The Chronicle Herald

For three years, I was a food columnist for The Chronicle Herald, one of The Saltwire Network's largest media titles. During this time I wrote and photographed four different bi-weekly columns—The Nanny Project, In Season, The Menu Board, and The List. These columns ranged from interviews with people about grandparents and their food memories of them, to showcasing seasonal produce, to restaurant reviews, to local recommendations for various food spots and products.

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👀 What You’ll Find Here

My recipes range from classic East Coast fare like Nova Scotia seafood chowder and Nova Scotia blueberry grunt to simple family meals like pesto gnocchi. My favorite things to make are sweet treats I like to eat such as blueberry cake donuts, Biscoff ice cream, and brown sugar shortbread cookies.

A Note About Sponsored Content

Sponsored content, that is, recipes created specifically for clients and brands that compensate me financially, are always indicated as such.

My Studio

I currently have a dedicated studio space in my home. With easy access to my kitchen, plus a large collection of surfaces, props, and linens on hand, it works well for me. I have hosted many clients in this space!

I sometimes shoot on location, however, this occurs on a project-by-project basis.

👏🏻 Testimonials

Working with Kelly was awe-inspiring! Anyone who needs food photography done should contact her right now. It will be the best decision you made this year! Jennifer Laughlin, Owner, Schoolhouse Gluten-Free Gourmet

Kelly fully grasped the intent and character of my recipes and portrayed them beautifully through her work. An outstanding culinary professional, excellent professional photographer, and lovely person to have around the kitchen, Kelly’s a true triple threat! Elisabeth Bailey, author of Maritime Fresh

I can’t recommend Kelly enough. The quality of her work is exceptional, but beyond that she is a dream to work with. Specifically I was impressed by her ability to ask the right questions, understand exactly what the client wanted, then execute the process herself. She went above and beyond what I expected and I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Andrew Breen, Outshine Online Marketing

📺 Some Places I’ve Been Featured