Contract Food Writer & Photographer

TMB is the community-driven entertainment company engaging more than 250 million consumers worldwide across streaming TV, social media, web and print. Our portfolio of brands including FailArmy, Family Handyman, People Are Awesome, Reader's Digest, Taste of Home, The Healthy, and The Pet Collective, is powered by content that's inspired and created by our fans. Together our community sparks curiosity, fuels laughter, and inspires people to live big, full, fantastic lives. Learn more about our brands, our data-driven marketing solutions, our award-winning licensing services, and much more at trustedmediabrands.com.

About the role:

As a contract Food Writer and Photographer for Taste of Home, you are key to our recipe publishing initiative: to infuse our recipe content with advice, images and expertise. Working closely with the Managing Editor, you use your culinary knowledge, polished writing skills and photography and styling talents to create engaging, on-brand recipe content to help us reach our lofty traffic and production goals. You are clear, creative, organized and flexible.

Contractors in this role will have the capacity to shoot and write at least 25 recipes per month. Applications are accepted on our site and contracts and payments will be managed through a third-party platform.

About you:

A whip-smart content creator who thrives on deadlines, you use your culinary expertise, creative eye and approachable writing style to craft instructive, in-depth recipe articles that follow SEO (Search Engine Optimization) best practices and sparkle with the Taste of Home style. Organized and efficient, you consistently deliver error-free copy and imagery that will be approved and published quickly. At home, you love to cook, and your social media feeds are filled with beautiful recipe images.

Your day-to-day:

You write SEO-driven recipes according to weekly publishing goals, adhering to AP and house style
You prepare and style Taste of Home recipes, then photograph hero images, ingredient stills, and step-by-step shots as outlined in each assignment
You adhere to the lighting, propping, surface and composition best practices provided in the brand style guide
You shop for ingredients according to each recipe, ensuring that they are fresh and photogenic
You follow the method described in each recipe, using the appropriate tools and dishes
You edit, retouch, name and deliver high-resolution images following brand guidelines and meeting weekly deadlines
You support editorial strategy with a full understanding of editorial integrity, brand voice, shareability and engagement, and knowledge of SEO principles and social networks

You have:

3+ years of full-time experience writing and/or editing digital food content; professional culinary experience a plus
2+ years of professional experience photographing and styling food
Research skills and an understanding of what makes a reliable source
Proven knowledge of SEO best practices, a CMS (content management system) such as WordPress, a project database such as Airtable, basic HTML, AP style and Adobe image products such as Photoshop and Bridge
Keen organization skills, consistently meeting deadlines and catching all the details
Effective communication skills: comfortable accepting and applying constructive feedback
Solid knowledge and understanding of the digital landscape
Ability to work independently
A keen familiarity with, and interest in, the food and food-lifestyle space in general, and food photography trends