From the pages of Better Nutrition magazine to advertisements for Williams-Sonoma, Katie Christ has styled it all.

Having originally graduated with an international business degree, Christ decided to follow her passion and pursue food styling after studying at institutes like Citizen Cake in San Francisco. Through connections with photographers and fellow stylists, Christ began her career as a freelancing food stylist and advanced to win a Food Network Challenge competition for food stylists in 2008.

On May 3, Christ, with the help of event organizer Diane Pierce of De Anza’s photography department, came to visit photography students to discuss her extensive career.

Christ first asked her audience members what their first memory of food was. Students shouted everything from “pizza” to “white rice” to their “mother’s apple pie.” Christ related that her first memory was tasting artichokes for her first time in San Francisco when she was five.

Christ introduced the history of food styling as illustrations before film was invented, which then evolved into black and white and later color film. Food styling is also used to reflect on the social life of the era in which the photography took place, she said. Christ explained how the 1950s emphasized more “all-American” styles, while the 1960s and 1970s introduced more European aspects, and the 1980s focused on glamorous high style, with small portions and larger-than-life decorations.

In the last 10 years of Christ’s career as a stylist, trends have come and gone, but they all made an impression on her style today. It was not until about five years ago that digital photography replaced film for food photography.

“With the digital process, everything moves along faster, so your food doesn’t have to be preserved, but these changes can also affect the collaboration and feedback system [that photographers, stylists, and clients have developed],” Christ said.

Food stylists are not only responsible for shopping and cooking the recipe, but also preserving every detail of their dish, in case their client needs to reshoot or change minute details.

Christ teaches that food styling is not what one would assume. Being hired by magazine publishers, ad agencies or photographers means that food stylists must be able to follow creative direction while retaining their own personal style. Christ also advised the aspiring audience members that the key to succeeding in this industry is assisting the photographers or stylists they admire the most, and networking through connections in order to gain referrals.

While networking is a significant aspect of finding work in the industry, finding inspiration is one of the most important aspects of food styling. Without inspiration, artists would not be able to find passion in their work, Christ said. She left her audience with one lasting thought: “[Food styling] is all a puzzle and if you like thinking on the fly and solving challenges every day, you will love this career.”