Photographer & Creative Director | Visual Storytelling for Food, Beverage & Lifestyle Brands

About

As a Brazilian Photographer and Creative Director abased in Los Angeles, I transform brand narratives into compelling visual stories. With over 16 years of experience, I specialize in the food, beverage, and lifestyle industries, helping brands connect with their audiences through powerful, high-impact imagery.

My work spans from long-term partnerships with global giants like Nespresso—where I've spent over 11 years developing advertising, editorial, and social media campaigns in Brazil and now collaborate on creative projects in the U.S.—to impactful assignments for brands such as Gillette, Nescafé, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, P&G, and AMBEV.

My portfolio also includes high-end food photography for renowned restaurants and chefs in Brazil, as well as editorial features published in prestigious magazines like Marie Claire, GQ, and Condé Nast Traveler.

Beyond commercial projects, I explore a more poetic side of photography through my personal art, which has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Brazilian Consulate in Los Angeles (2024) and Projeto Aprendiz in São Paulo.

Experience

Owner & Creative Director — Carol Gherardi Photography Los Angeles, CA & São Paulo, Brazil | 2008 – Present

  • Directed and produced award-winning commercial photography for global brands, specializing in the food, beverage, and lifestyle sectors.

  • Led a long-term collaboration with Nespresso Brazil for over 11 years, driving visual content strategy, national campaigns, and product launches. Currently collaborate with Nespresso USA on creative and photographic projects.

  • Delivered high-impact photography for major brands, including Gillette, Nescafé, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, P&G, and AMBEV.

  • Partnered with top-tier restaurants and chefs in Brazil to create high-end gastronomic visuals that elevate their brand.

  • Published work in leading publications such as Marie Claire, GQ, and Condé Nast Traveler.

  • Successfully balanced commercial work with personal artistic projects, culminating in solo exhibitions in Brazil and the United States.

Visual Artist & Exhibiting Photographer

Brazil & United States | Selected Projects

  • 2024 – Solo Exhibition, Brazilian Consulate, Los Angeles, CA.

  • 2019 – Solo Exhibition, Projeto Aprendiz, São Paulo, Brazil.

  • Participated in group exhibitions and cultural projects exploring visual language, identity, and cultural exchange.

Skills

  • Creative Direction

  • Food & Beverage Photography

  • Gastronomy Photography for Chefs & Restaurants

  • Visual Storytelling

  • Editorial Photography

  • Analog & Digital Photography

  • Lighting & Composition Mastery

  • Content Strategy for Visual Brands

  • Cross-Cultural Communication

  • Adobe Creative Suite


“If photography is, above all, about seeing, few photographers possess the ability to see beyond like Carol Gherardi does: she sees beauty in the bubbles forming in a cup of coffee, poetry in the symmetrical veins of a leek, and the choreographed dance that cooks—unaware—reproduce in a bustling restaurant.

Carol has the talent to make everything appear more beautiful to the world when she wields her camera. And, luckily for us, her eyes are extended by lenses that capture everything with great attention: not only in capturing unique, fleeting moments but in generously revealing them to us mortals, who were not born with "supersonic pupils."

Over the past 20 years, she has traveled the world documenting people and processes through the richness of gastronomy. She has created portraits of chefs and their dishes with the same subtle exuberance of someone who seems to work effortlessly, relying solely on an innate gift. But Carol is also a dedicated photographer and a collector of references, and when she presses the shutter, she already knows the type of image she wants to immortalize.

Based in Los Angeles but originally from Brazil, Carol Gherardi immerses us in the world of food photography, where her personal projects blend with commercial campaigns, always reflecting her unique style: a meticulous work of proportions, a gentle light, and unpredictable framings. The collection presents a variety of styles, each marked by Carol's singular vision, the unique play of shadows, and a profound respect for the art of cooking.

The images are , above all, an invitation to explore the subtle beauty of life around food, nature, and the connections we share as beings who see food not only as an essential need but also as a genuinely hedonistic pleasure. And what a pleasure it is to see food through Carol’s powerful eyes!”

Rafael Tonon  

Journalist, writer, curator and teacher.