An overhead view of an Asian-style meal spread on a blue surface, featuring spring rolls, dumplings, noodles, greens, and various sauces and garnishes.

Dumpling Shoot

Project Type

Creative Direction
Art Direction
Campaign Strategy
Prop Styling
Social Strategy
Copywriting
Campaign Development

One very full day of shooting

A single-day, multi-scene shoot that turned Moodboard Studios’ biggest strength — versatility — into a bold, scroll-stopping campaign designed to book the space.

CLIENT: Moodboard studios

PHOTOGRAPHY: VERY TALENTED KARA CHIN

The Challenge

Moodboard Studios invited Kara Chin and me for a test shoot — free studio time in exchange for fresh, high-impact content

They needed visuals that could actually help them book the damn space. I saw an opportunity to turn one studio into a scroll-stopping campaign — and show just how much you can create when the right creative brain meets the right location.

One studio. Five scenes. Zero wasted time.

A modern kitchen with a white countertop, black stove with three black pots, a stainless steel range hood, a sink with a high-arch faucet, and wooden shelves with glassware and decorative items. Vegetables and herbs are visible on the counter and a pink and white backsplash.

Making Versatility the Hero

During a strategy session with the owner, Megan, we zeroed in on what would make the shoot truly sell the space:

Moodboard Studios isn’t just another warehouse with props. It’s a chameleon.
It morphs into whatever the shoot calls for — fast, clean, and without the usual setup fatigue.

The ceilings are tall. The sets are swappable. The lighting is on point. The layout actually makes sense.

No wonder people weren’t booking it — they had no idea what it could do, until we turned one studio into five completely different worlds in a single day.

A modern industrial-style kitchen with white cabinets, a stove, and open wooden shelves, with a woman working near the refrigerator.
Woman in a kitchen cooking and smiling while holding a bag of vegetables or chips.

From Blank Space to Bold Scenes

I led creative direction, built a visual strategy, and created an art direction deck to align the team.

Priorities:

  • Visual Style: Bold, contemporary, slightly retro — vibrant colors and hard lighting to catch a creative director’s eye

  • Efficiency: Used only in-house surfaces and backdrops with minimal props

  • Production Flow: Staged scenes during food prep to move fast without losing quality

We planned each scene to highlight a different strength of the space — and shot all five in one day.

Photography studio with a large monitor displaying food photography, various lighting equipment, a wooden table, and shelves with camera gear in a spacious room with a concrete floor and wooden ceiling beams.
A woman is standing in an industrial-style room, holding a large black marble-patterned board, with a small wooden table and a blue armchair beside her. There is a large pegboard on the wall with various tools and materials hanging on it.
Kitchen countertop with chopped vegetables, fresh herbs, a bowl of shrimp, and limes for cooking.
Scene Highlight
Spring Roll Prep Customizable kitchen setup — swappable backsplash and hardware
Modern Tabletop Wide range of textured surfaces and backdrops
Restaurant Vignette Movable wall, modular tables, and soft lighting
Indoor Picnic Simulated outdoor setting using faux grass and artificial lighting
Takeout Noodles (bonus) Quick setup using minimal props and rearranged elements

Five Scenes, One Day

A table set with salads and two cocktails, in a modern restaurant or cafe.

The Impact

What started as a “test shoot” became Moodboard’s best marketing tool. The campaign showed creative directors that one space could flex into five completely different sets — fast, bold, and beautiful. Since then, the visuals have become Moodboard’s signature scroll-stoppers, proving that with the right direction, even a one-day shoot can turn into a full-blown brand asset.

Chopped vegetables and shrimp on a wooden cutting board, including purple cabbage, cucumber, celery, jalapeño, yellow bell pepper, orange carrots, and cooked shrimp, with a bowl of additional shrimp and a bowl of assorted greens and vegetables in the
Assorted Asian-style food dishes including dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, and sushi served on plates and containers on grass, with cans of soda and chopsticks.
Variety of Asian dishes including gyoza dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, and vegetable dishes on patterned plates and containers, with two cans of Coca-Cola, small bowls of dipping sauces, and chopsticks on a grassy surface.
Assorted Asian dishes on a turquoise surface including dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, seafood salad, vegetables, and dipping sauces.
A table with Asian dishes including spring rolls on a pink plate, dumplings in a bamboo steamer, a bowl of ramen with vegetables and chopsticks, fresh vegetable spring rolls, dipping sauces, and a glass of water with chili and cilantro, all set on a
A table set with bowls of Asian noodle dishes, a cocktail garnished with fruit and blackberries, a green candle holder, and chopsticks.
Two cocktails with garnishes, two bowls of ramen with vegetables and meat, a small plate of dumplings on lettuce, soy sauce, and chopsticks on a dark table
Hand using metal chopsticks to pick up noodles from a white takeout container, resting on a round bamboo tray, with a pink textured background.
Kitchen countertop with vegetables, a bowl of raw shrimp, a lime, and kitchen knives in a holder.