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How did it all start?
Honestly, I don’t have a particular date in mind, but for as long as I can remember, I always loved trying different cuisines and especially loved reading Time Out Dubai reviews before picking a place (there was no Zomato back then). Every year I would save up money for my birthday, do lots of research on the website, and pick a place where I would treat my friends for dinner. I used to read reviews from Daisy (if I’m not wrong), and kept wondering if I would ever land a job that allows me to get paid for writing food reviews as well! (To this day I don’t get paid, but we’ll get to that later)
My first blog
Blogs were a big thing back then. And I decided to jump in on the bandwagon in 2013. Again, I don’t quite remember how the name true to taste came into conception, but it was something that stuck with me – it had the Ts and it was easy to say, and it instantly pointed in the direction of food (taste) so I logged on to wordpress and got myself a beginners blog – truetotaste.wordpress.com
Once you get a blog, you need to get writing, right? So I quickly wore my typing gloves (that’s a joke), and began documenting the most random things possible. This was a little after I turned 25 in November 2013. My posts were ridiculous. Yes, they were. Think a blog post around a portion of fries from Wendy’s or an ice cream from Baskins, or worse, a blog about having bread and butter for breakfast. Yeah, that’s how lame they were! But don’t go searching for them, for they’ve all been set to invisible now. Although if you ask nicely I’ll send across a screenshot!
I wasn’t really making a lot of money to be able to eat out a lot, so the one creative dish I would make at home would end up as a recipe post on my blog. Literally a year later, in November 2014, I dined at a few places that became the first few restaurants on my blog. These included IHOP, CPK and Rosa Mexicano. One day I got some food home from Manisha’s Kitchen in Karama and started plating everything nicely to take pictures, and ended up writing a post about them too. And surprisingly, they actually shared my piece on their social channels, not once or twice, but a lot of times. I was beyond humbled at their kindness. And mind you, these were all #notsponsored
How Instagram happened
Fast forward to January 2015. I was taking a bus from Nakheel Metro Station to my then workplace Cobone, and within those 10 minutes something occurred to me where I quickly decided to create social media accounts for truetotaste on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. So to give you a date, the first ever post from this 2000+ Instagram account was posted on 13 January 2015. (Yes, I actually spent 10 minutes scrolling to the bottom of 4 and half years to check the 1 st ever post)
Once I had my Instagram set up, it was all about posting posting and posting for me. So all those random fries and bread butter I told you about, they were all on the gram, obviously next to some great desserts from Baskins, coffees from Costa, creative breakfast setups at home and random lunch and dinner takeaways. Since then I have grown a lot, which you’ll see if you too take the time to scroll back to 2015 and look at my timeline. I have become better at captions, wayyy better at photography, my style of posting has changed, the content has changed dramatically, and I’ve also archived some of my very early posts that are plain stupid.
When it comes to other channels like Facebook and Twitter, I initially reposted everything from Instagram to Facebook, but it’s been a while since I did that, mainly because my Facebook channel doesn’t get as much engagement as Instagram.
One question I am asked very frequently is how I managed to get followers. Now I don’t have a formula or a trick to do this. Honestly what worked for me may or may not work for you. But my two cents would be:
a) Spread the word: Tell your family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, shopkeepers, everyone to follow you and to spread the word. This helps a lot in terms of getting an initial boost.
b) Hashtags: There’s so much theory behind this, that I feel fairly unqualified to talk in-depth about this. But from what I know, using the right hashtags gets you visibility. It did for me, and also Instagram algorithms were different back then. But there’s no harm in trying it out.
c) Follow big accounts: When I started my handle, I didn’t want to follow anyone, and soon realized no one was going to follow me either. So instead of randomly following every other person I come across and later on be compelled to unfollow accounts that don’t engage, I decided to follow big brands and celebrities (accounts I wouldn’t really unfollow even if they don’t follow me back). When you follow these people or brands, you weirdly get followed back by a lot of their followers. And it’s a win-win situation!
d) Host giveaways: This helps you get followers since one of the requirements of a giveaway is to follow the host, and it certainly helps spread the word, especially when you ask participants to share it on their stories or repost it, landing you with more followers. The risk here though, is a lot of people unfollow you as soon as the giveaway is over (and they realise they haven’t won), but look on the bright side – some people continue following and engaging on your content.
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Getting invited to restaurants
Many people had told me about Zomato meet-ups where top reviewers on Zomato got invited to restaurants for a bloggers meet to try their food and write reviews. Back then I used to assume Zomato organizes these meet ups, but it was only later I learned that restaurants get a list of top 25 reviewers, bloggers, etc. from Zomato, and these guys are then contacted by restaurants to come in and review them.
I still remember the time I was sent my first invite. No, I wasn’t big on Zomato. I didn’t even write reviews on Zomato, and had no idea what a spoonback is. I was invited through an Instagram DM by the Turkish restaurant O’Doner in Palm Jumeirah for a bloggers meet. My excitement was at the highest level it could possibly be. The restaurant had just opened up and they wanted people to promote the food. I thought to myself – Me? They want me to post about their food on my Instagram? Wow, restaurants are actually looking at my Instagram?!
I asked one of my best friends Apeksha (who has always been a big motivation) to come along, and we experienced something that I had always wanted to, but never knew how and if I’ll get there. We tried a lot of food (a LOT), managed to click some pictures (with my iPhone 6S) and I shared every single dish on my feed.
Soon after I started sending out customized direct messages to Instagram handles of different restaurants expressing my interest in reviewing them (it was a norm back in 2016), and so many of those places replied. This included the likes of Tresind, Jodhpur*, and Patiala by Kunal Kapur**. This also helped me get in touch with a lot of different PR people and agencies, and I started getting regular listings on my email. It was Ramadan soon, and this was my first time attending Iftars and reviewing set menus. So many of them… it was pure bliss!
* restaurant is permanently closed
** restaurant is under a different management now
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Setting up my email
While some restaurants and PR agencies preferred sending me DMs, and lot of others communicated through emails. At first I kept using my personal email, but soon realized if I needed to take this big, I would have to start a separate email only for blog-related communication. As soon as I set one up, I sent out an email to all the contacts I had made until then, informing of the change, and almost overnight I found myself added to so many media lists and PR communication lists, it was amazing to know so many opportunities existed around me.
Apart from giving me an insight into the different accounts they handle, a BIG benefit of getting in touch with PR folk was getting a comprehensive round up of seasonal offers, new openings and events. If you go through my blog, you’ll find I create 2 guides every year – one for Ramadan and one for NYE. All the Iftar and NYE offers sent to me by my PR buddies get a place on the respective lists, and these SEO friendly lists are trying to get to the 1 st page of Google (currently they are on Page 2).
More importantly, these round up of lists help increase my blog stats, get me tons of new followers, and are easy to share through family and friends.
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Blogging – challenges and changes
I didn’t become a blogger to get free things. I started getting free things because I am a blogger.
There are so many things I’d thought of when I started blogging. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of those assumptions have turned out to be a farce. That’s the thing with reality. It makes you way more grounded and committed to giving your best shot in everything you do. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way:
1. Don’t be ashamed to share content for the fear of being judged
No, I am not telling you to turn into a lingerie model on your gram, but always keep in mind that there’s no one size fits all when it comes to content. No matter what you post, there are people who will love it, who will hate it and in-between. But look on the brighter side – that’s what creates a variety in audience. I have guy friends who hate it when I post about makeup, but well, if it’s a part of my life and is something I’d like to share with my followers, I’ll post it anyway. One person might not like it and might even be too vocal about his or her dislike, but there are a 100 others who like it just as much as they like my other content. So keep doing what you’re good at and remember, people who poke in too much are usually just jealous.
Say it out loud: IT’S MY CHANNEL AND I’LL POST WHAT I LIKE. And stick to that. It really is your channel, so create content the way you like it, as far as you’re not stepping over to the other side of law, or doing something that’ll hurt your close ones.
2. Learn to say NO
As soon as I started getting invites, it seemed like there should be no other answer than a ‘Yes’. I used to go out of my way, sometimes try and attend tastings all week (even 2 in a day) to make sure I have every place covered on my blog. I did that mistake. Kept saying yes to everything until I was burdened and started thinking of blogging as a chore. Yeah, exactly, something I started as a passion turning into a chore! The problem here was that I was worried I would be forgotten and I wanted to be out there, be seen at every event, have every place on my list. But it put me in a very very difficult position. Apart from the obvious weight gain depression, I was also perpetually tired, always on my phone and stressed out about having to write all those posts. It wasn’t a good state to be in.
Trust me, it’s healthy to say NO. You’re not going to lose out on your followers or your credibility by saying no. If anything, you will be seen as more credible. And people who know you well, will always understand why you chose to say no, and they’ll keep coming back.
3. Quality over Quantity
Saying yes to everything meant I would have to write for tons and tons of restaurants, and trust me, even the best of us run out of things to write. This is especially true when you’re eating the same thing everyday but are expected to come up with new content for the same biryani every single time. Spacing out my tastings and picking and choosing what I like and what I don’t gave me the freedom to take my time, get my creative juices flowing and write with a positive mindset, which made writing fun rather than a task.
Another obsession was with photos and putting everything out there. Initially I felt obliged to post one picture of every dish I’ve tried (sometimes even the sides, OMG how naïve). It was much later though that I realized that too much of something cannot always be good, and of course thanks to Instagram who later came up with stories so we could share all the pictures for 24 hours and post just the important ones, and carousel posts allowing us to club our entire experience in one post. I learned that more often than not, it’s the best photos that deserve a place on my feed, and the rest can feature on my stories for 24 hours and sit on my blog for those who are keen enough to look out for more.
More importantly, I realized that my Instagram channel is not just another social media handle, but it’s also my portfolio, and how it looks at the first glance speaks volumes of my creativity and content skills.
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4. Blogging isn’t free
Every one who looks at a blogger, thinks of one word almost instantly – FREE. There is a bad rep among society that bloggers get everything, I repeat EVERYTHING for free, and they have to do nothing in return except smile and take pictures. You’re so WRONG! First of all, you have to invest in blogging – right from hosting a website to buying a good smartphone or DSLR, all these things cost money. Secondly, eating free food or receiving free products is hardly 20% of the real thing. The actual 80% of the work involves capturing it correctly – both in terms of photographs as well as a comprehensive review on the blog. And that my friends, is absolute hard work. Hard work that needs to be compensated by money, not freebies.
A funny thing happened a few weeks back. While traveling to Tilal Liwa for a staycation, I did a poll on my stories asking people if they thought this staycation was a paid one. And to my surprise most of them thought all my staycations are paid for!!! Just because I love blogging about my staycations or holidays, does not mean they have to be free. I didn’t become a blogger to get free things. I started getting free things because I am a blogger. Read that again before you move on the next line.
I don’t just write reviews about places I am invited to. I blog about them to share my experience with my followers, and maybe in the process help them make a fair decision when they are planning their next dinner or stay or holiday.
5. Being a blogger does not make you an expert
I have seen this happen so often now, it literally makes me cringe. Get this straight – just because you have a ton of followers or brands dying to work with you to promote their products, it DOES NOT make you an expert on the subject matter, unless you’ve either a) got education in that field or b) have considerable years of experience in that work, which more often than not is not the case. It’s great to want to learn about what a product does, and even more to spread the message, but don’t behave like you are schooling your followers, because that’ll just make them hate you.
I don’t know how people take the liberty to call themselves “experts” or “creators” when all they do is just click random photos from their phone (or a DSLR), and copy paste content that is sent to them by PR agencies. Getting a product for free DOES NOT make you an expert in that category. Just like how owning a 1000 AED DSLR DOES NOT make you a professional photographer. Despite blogging about food the longest, I almost snap back at friends who keep calling me an expert on food or a marvelous photographer, etc. I am not an expert. If I were one, I would first be an amazing cook before being able to call myself an expert on it, which I am not. If anything I am learning. Over these years, I have learnt a great deal about different cuisines, different countries, different brands and what they stand for as well as different photography techniques, which I then try to educate myself about by talking to people from the industry, reading topics on the internet, and digging deeper, before putting out my word which I expect my followers to blindly trust.
6. Stop with the fakeness
Just like all the other points, this is not applicable to everyone out there. There are countless genuine bloggers, but every once in a while you come across those overly obnoxious ones who have no regard whatsoever for correct grammar (or words) in their written content, and try to put up a very obviously fake accent. Please please be yourself. It’s alright if English is not your first language – you DON’T have to use a thesaurus for every single word in your review. That’s just plain naive and comes off as trying too hard. Stay simple and use the words you know, even if they don’t sound fancy. You will come across as way more authentic. I promise.
Also, just to be clear guys – every food item IS NOT scrumptious. Cakes are scrumptious, burgers are not. Also wtf is toothsome? (I know what it is). But please stop using that to describe everything you eat!
7. Honesty sells
I always felt the need to write something good about the restaurant I’m invited to no matter what. I mean, they are giving me food for free, so I should give them a good review in return right? But what it led to was my posts looking like advertisements without any heart and soul in it. For one, they didn’t seem honest, and two, combined with the barrage of posts from one single restaurant, it looked like I was trying too hard to sell something that I was not fully invested in.
That took some time to change, but what’s important is that it changed and there are a couple of reasons behind it:
a) So first, get this straight – you are a blogger, not an advertisement, so stop behaving like one. I started writing constructive criticism. Things like “I would’ve liked this dish if…”, “It would’ve been better if…”, etc. I also made sure I inform the restaurant management about these points before putting them down in my reviews. And 95% of the time, the restaurant is more than willing to make those changes.
b) I knew that as a blogger I will always receive preferential treatment at a restaurant and the staff will more often than not, go out of their way to make my experience a complete 10 on 10.
That’s when I started noticing other customers. Were they treated the same way that I was? Were the chefs visiting their tables too? Were they getting quick service with the same hospitality? All these things instantly led me to my conclusion of how good or bad a review the restaurant deserved.
Believe it or not, I have come across a PR agency who forced me to change my Zomato rating for a restaurant from 4 to 5. And I decided to not do so. What was the situation you ask? Without taking names, it was a new restaurant that needed bloggers to spread the word. We were never told we’ll be given a set menu. More than the fact that this detail was not mentioned, when we were giving our food preferences to the staff, I specifically mentioned – no fish for us please – and guess what we got for mains – exactly, fish! Regardless of how strict the set menu is, agencies and restaurants need to understand that just because we are being invited for a review, doesn’t mean we’re supposed to eat anything and everything we are given.
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8. Always be approachable
A lot of people let this sudden fame get to their heads. They behave snobbish, pricey and unapproachable. DON’T! A lot of what you are is because of your followers. You wouldn’t have been able to succeed without the help of those around you. So be open to receiving negative feedback, reply to DMs, post your work on time (there is money involved even if it’s not coming into your pocket), and be considerate.
I receive tons of DMs from random guys who start with a ‘hi’ and eventually resort to ‘I love you’ or sending lewd messages. If you have a business account on Instagram, your response to DMs affects the algorithm, so don’t ignore the messages. A simple suggestion – reply with a ‘hi’, and if it gets weird, give them a verbal warning and then just hit block. Don’t let them get to you. If you get messages from people inviting you to try their services and get 50000 followers or 1000 likes, again, just let them know you’re not interested and move on. But always respond!
9. You don’t own me
One of the biggest challenges that comes with being approachable by public is they start treating you as public property. Right from tiny things like telling me what to do, to bigger serious things like sending lewd messages, everything is a part and parcel of having a public profile. While I have learned to ignore and block people who send inappropriate content, I simply cannot stand unsolicited advice from people who think they know me, only because they stalk me on my social channels. Let’s just put it out there: what I post on my social media only constitutes a part of my life. It isn’t my whole life, and I will probably never share the whole thing either, because a) some people don’t deserve it, and b) It’s my life and my choice.
I have on occasions asked for suggestions, recommendations and the like from my followers, with two motives – to increase engagement, and to reinstate my genuine and approachable attitude. This however, sometimes backfires and I start getting shouted at, blamed, judged and put down by people. It’s almost as though people start assuming they have an authority over my life and what I do, and they can tell me whatever they feel like, just because I have opened a window to receive some honest suggestions. On the lighter side, I have been told things like “omg, why don’t you like this?”, or “why the hell haven’t you gone here yet or tried this yet”, “obviously you are not paying for it, so why are you reviewing it negatively”, “you can’t complain because you live a free life”, or well, you get the idea. One, I hate this kind of authority, and the minute you talk to me like that, my inner Scorpio will snap back so hard, you will be treating your wound for months. Two, I DON’T LIVE A FREE LIFE. And three, because it’s my life and my choice!
I have learned not to complain about this, because more often than not, people around me don’t relate to the self-worth imbalance I go through every time I receive such messages. The whole circle of rationalization and justification happens more often in my life than with others. So while snapping back and blocking is the last resort, and very very infrequent, I usually make sure I reply with a straight face to these people who think they are entitled to control my life.
10. Say no to wastage
Have you ever been in that situation where you’re at a really fancy restaurant, you’ve ordered a lot of food and are too embarrassed to ask them to pack it for you? I used to feel the same way until Chef Pradeep Khullar clearly told us on our first ever menu tasting with him that anything we don’t eat has to be packed and taken away. Wow! I felt instant relief. He was then head chef at a really fancy restaurant, and if this rule was coming from a person with that stature, then surely it was ok to consider it a norm. After that day, no matter where I go, if there’s a considerable amount of food left, it is coming back with me. Whether I decide to give it to the less fortunate or heat it up for lunch next day is completely my choice.
I know a lot of people will say, “why do you order so much when you cannot finish it?” Well, you have to understand that’s how tastings work. Most of the time restaurants don’t expect you to give them a review based on one or two dishes. They’ll aim at serving you a variety of items so you can talk about their expertise across a range of flavors and cooking techniques. Also, don’t ask for smaller portions just because you cannot finish a dish. Remember you’re going to post a picture of that dish for all your followers, and you don’t want them to think the portion is too small for the price they’re paying. There have been so many cases where I’ve told the restaurant I’m absolutely full and cannot eat anymore. Sometimes they comply and don’t serve anything else, and other times they simply say “It’s alright, just taste a little and pack the rest!” Easy peasy, no?
11. Keep developing your skills
When I started blogging I was absolutely amateur. I knew a little about food, very minimal about photography and styling, and had no idea on how to grow. A few things that helped me along the way were the support of my friends along with better equipment and signing up for courses that would help me polish my skills. One such course was the 2 day food photography and styling workshop by Meeta K. Wolff. This comprehensive course covered so much about using the DSLR correctly, how to style food using props and how to edit photos on Lightroom. To be very honest, this helped me a great deal in improving my photography skills.
Another important thing was investing in a good smartphone and DSLR. Earlier everything I shot was on an iPhone 6S, but I finally took the big leap to Android and I’ve never looked back. Also, while I was still struggling with the not so good quality of iPhone pictures, I invested in a Canon 750D which I got at a great deal during GITEX, and it has been my bff ever since.
12. Balance your work & blog
I’ve had a lot of followers ask me very frequently, how I manage my work life as well as my blog, often wondering if it gets too hectic. To be honest, it is not the easiest thing to do and from time to time it does get stressful. Also, unlike me, who was working before I started my blog, some people start blogging first and then working which makes it quite a challenge. Here are some tips that I’ve learnt over the years:
a/ Your job comes first
You are certainly accountable to the company that pays your salary, gives you security and sponsors you in the country (in case of UAE or other countries where expats need to be sponsored in order to work and live).
b/ Don’t keep your blog a secret
Be proud of what you do as a blogger and let your colleagues know about your work. I have listed it in my CV as well as on my LinkedIn profile that I am a blogger, so anyone who approaches me for a job or works with me, knows the nature of my blog. You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn from them and the kind of support you’ll receive. Plus more followers!
c/ Minimize any overlaps
If I know an event that is scheduled during work hours is really really important and cannot be missed, I make sue my work is completed or covered, and ask for a half day off from my annual leave. Even then, it is very rare as 99% of the time, I refuse invites that are during work hours. Working from home does not give you an excuse to go around attending things either. The max I would do is take my lunch break to quickly do a product or photo shoot, but never let it eat into my working hours.
d/ Your relationship with your manager
This matters more than anything else, and in the past I’ve had managers who have accompanied me to food reviews and events as plus ones as well! But remember, both you and your manager must be fair to other people in the team, so even if he/she is slightly lenient with you, don’t take undue advantage of that.
e/ Give your company some coverage too
If you work for a company that has its own online presence, then make sure you keep posting positive things about your workplace or about the products and services your company offers, and they will definitely value that.
Weight? Worry it or Work it
I have always been in one of two scenarios – struggling with weight or very happy with my weight. There has never been an in-between for me, and one of the main reasons for this is that THANKFULLY I have been blessed with a body and metabolic rate that allows me to lose weight fast (and gain it fast too).
In my previous life (life before blogging) I weighed 65 kgs! Yes, that’s true. I had just got back from Mumbai after completing grad, and I stayed pretty thin back there despite how much I ate mainly because it was a hectic lifestyle – lot of walking, climbing stairs, public transport, etc. After coming back I was at home without a job, continued the same eating habits and didn’t indulge in any activity which led me to putting on almost 12 kgs. I was really really depressed, so I did a complete turn over in my lifestyle – joined a gym, stopped eating heavy meals, did a lot of portion control, worked out like crazy and lost 15 kgs!
Then I got a job and didn’t have time for gym anymore, so I left it and moved on with my life until I started blogging. As excited as I was about getting to try out so much food, I almost missed out on the effect it was having on my waistline. Although initially it was all fine, a few months in I could see my clothes weren’t fitting right anymore, and I didn’t like the shape I was in. Result – I was spiraling into weight related depression all over again. Now I know we are all about body positivity and saying no to body shaming, but it’s not just about having a perfect shape that worried me. I was concerned how this would affect my health, my cholesterol levels, my metabolic rate, stamina, body functioning, and so much more. It was high time I hit the gym again. I joined Fitness First in April 2018, and by April 2019 I had gone down from 58 kg to 52 kg, with lesser fat, more toned muscles, increased stamina and a lot of weight lifting power. I can go on and on about the importance of working out and the numerous benefits of lifting weights, but that’s for another blog post. But it wasn’t just the gym, I also made a conscious decision to limit my menu tastings to 2 or max 3 a week, eat lesser portions and get the rest packed, do intermittent fasting and basically enjoy food responsibly.
A quick tip: Lifting weights has helped me increase my metabolic rate. Which means that I can still eat cheat meals more often without too much damage on the scales. And getting a trainer, never missing workouts, having a strict discipline, not letting laziness get the better of me has helped a lot. A lot of my workout motivation comes from my friend and Fitness First Trainer Abhinav Malhotra. A winner of UAE Personal Trainer of The Year – Male (2019) by Fit Awards, Abhinav posts a lot of good information about working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle on Abhinav Malhotra’s website. He is 100% active on his Instagram channel, so you can follow him for more tips and motivation or contact him through DMS on @officialabhifit
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From truetotaste to rashidablogs
I have possibly repeated this story so many times, now my friends know it by heart and they almost start like a tape when anyone asks about why the change? Well, I have a few reasons:
1. Who is truetotaste?
Very often I would be invited to tastings and events, where I was supposed to make myself known at the entrance so my name could be crossed off the guest list. I would happily tell them my name and more often than not they would search the lists front and back, to find no “Rashida” on it. The catch – there would be a certain ‘truetotaste’ whose name no one knew, heck they didn’t even know if it was a male or female, and that was it for me. I had once been told by my colleague that having your own name in your brand is really important if you’re looking at long term sustenance, and I knew then I needed to create something with my name in it – hence rashidablogs
2. But you are only into taste (food) right?
Although I don’t get invited or paid for doing it, as I mentioned earlier, I blog about everything else too – be it staycays and holidays, fashion and beauty or random tips and advice. Potentially of course, I would love to receive hotel review invites and go on press trips to different countries, but with a handle that focuses only on food, I am not doing justice to the fact that I talk about a lot more than just food. I even tried to spin off true to taste as ‘my tastes in food travel and lifestyle’, but that didn’t quite get the point across. I needed something that is more generic and covers all the genres – right from food and travel to even fashion and lifestyle. And rashidablogs (with my name in it) seemed like the perfect solution.
3. Being scalable is important too
I could’ve created a handle like rashidawrites or rashidatalks or rashidaviews. I actually did create one handle rashidareviews but it was rashidablogs that finally fit the bill. For one, it’s because that’s what I do – I blog about things. And secondly, a blog can be anything and everything – it can be an insta-blog, a website, a photo blog or a video blog (commonly known as vlog). This means if I am creating a photo-only post, or if I decide to make videos with full scale production, my handle will still fit all those content styles.
My achievements
While I have had a fair share of achievements thanks to my blog I certainly want to list down a few notable ones:
1. Posing for a photo with the ultimate chef – Sanjeev Kapoor
2. Getting awarded one of the Top 50 Most Influential Content Marketing Professionals at the Content Marketing Summit
3. Collaborating with big brands including Dubai Food Fest, Passion F&B, Vox Cinemas, Reel Cinemas, Address Hotels, and many more.
4. Being chosen as one of the first few Zomato Gold Ambassadors for a year, and scoring a place in the list of top 10 bloggers in Dubai on Zomato
5. Starting my own blog, moving it to a self-hosted platform, and now to a brand new domain without any external software or IT help
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Closing notes
If you’ve managed to read everything until here, then a BIG THANK YOU to you. If you’re a follower then I hope you’ve learnt a great deal about the truth behind being a blogger. And if you’re a fellow blogger then I am sure you agree with everything I’ve written in here. Either ways, please do share your thoughts in the comments below or send me a DM @rashidablogs
If you took this post as a rant, then yes, some of it certainly is and well, maybe I needed to get everything out there!
A personal thanks to Rakshinda Mujeeb for inspiring me to write this post.
Thanks
There are so many people to thank, I could probably do a different post on them, if not create a mini directory of my own. But I am definitely going to name the ones who stand out:
1. Salman Kureishi – a really good friend who gave me the initial push to start the blog
2. Rahul Rege – my go-to plus one, my personal photographer and the only person whom I can blindly take to any tastings (except sushi I guess). He’s one person who has himself developed a lot of photography skills after reviewing so many restaurants with me. And of course, the one person who happily lent me his DSLR when I didn’t have one of my own.
3. Narges Hassan & Apeksha Udeshi – a big support and a plus one to many many tastings, both these soul sisters have always pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone and helped me better my captions and photos to a great extent.
4. The entire team at Zomato – their constant support has been unparalleled. Right from my stint as a Zomato Gold Ambassador to being in the top 10 bloggers in Dubai, every association with Zomato has and continues to be rewarding. Special thanks to Justin Griesel for being such a sweetheart.
5. Chef Pradeep Khullar, Mint Leaf of London – a 5-star level chef who trusted me with reviewing his restaurant when I was literally a nobody. And since then, he has always stayed in touch, taken me forward with his own career move, always spoken great of my work, appreciated my words and photos, and overall been a really good friend. And it’s not just me who has tried his food. He has tried my ras malai as well!
6. Chef Himanshu Saini, Tresind – another extremely talented and down to earth chef who has been extremely appreciative of my work, created the best of dishes for me to try, and kept me at the forefront of every new season or menu he creates.
7. Zadya Dias & Samrat Deshmukh – for being the perfect plus ones, to many many food reviews, supporting me throughout, and getting me a lot of free publicity along with tons of new followers.
8. Vimmy & Monish Mathrani – this lovely couple who’s always given me good advice, accompanied me to so many menu tastings, and brought nothing but the best out of me.
9. All my blogger friends – this strong community who helps out each other, is always there to listen to rants and forms such a strong support system, it’s difficult to live without them.
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Here are 10+ points you should know if you shoot home videos or are planning to:
1. Lighting is everything
I always shoot on weekends. In fact, every weekend I make sure I have one day free to spare (no restaurant invites), just in case a video op comes up. After much trial and moving around, I have finally found the spot in my living room that works perfectly for my videos.
Nothing works as beautifully as natural light. Which is why I place my station next to a big balcony door that draws in a lot of sunlight, making my videos so much brighter and my life so much easier. While a video can take anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours, I try to fit my main shoot between 12 – 2 pm, where the light is at its best. Also, my background wall is white in color, which acts like a good reflector.
2. Equipment on point
Equipment is everything. You cannot, CANNOT, make a good video without having the basics done right. When I say equipment, I don’t just mean a good camera, but in fact I mean everything that is in front of your camera and even everything that’s behind.
First things first, a good camera. You don’t necessarily have to be shooting with a DSLR. A good smartphone camera would work fine too. But the quality and clarity that you get from a professional camera is quite rare to find, even in the 8s, 9s and Xs. I especially love how I can play with manual focus in DSLRs, which is a little tricky to achieve if you are both the camera-person as well as the presenter. A good thing here is that my Canon 750D comes with a 360-degree tilt screen, so I can position the LCD to face me while I am shooting and see exactly what is getting taped.
A tripod is more essential than the camera itself. It not only stabilizes your shot, but let’s you maintain an angle for your entire video, without the worries of hands shaking or the frame moving. For my DSLR I use the standard tripod that stands tall on the floor. A short one like the flexible ‘Octopus’ tripod works well with both DSLRs and phones, but always let it stand independently.
My dining table, which I always have to move across the hall on the day of my shoot, doubles up as a good, study station. For one, it has strong legs, which means it won’t wobble when I place pressure over the chopping board or try to press down the egg slicer over that piece of banana. And two, it has the perfect height I need to work comfortably.
In my earlier videos, I made the mistake of using a small round table that was a little lower than the height of a dining table. To add madness to misery, I placed both, my DSLR and my phone, on short tripods on the same table. The end result – not only did the small table keep shaking with every chopping action I did, but the cameras kept shaking as well – so I was left with a very unstable, not to mention an unprofessional video.
While I don’t have any yet, you can also make use of reflectors and light boxes to help you get better light on your station. And if you can manage to get a low priced tripod that can help mount the camera for a top angle shot, please do share it with me in the comments.
3. Plan, plan, plan
a. Plan what you want to shoot – Is it a recipe? Is it the functionality of a kitchen gadget? Does it need to show your face? Do you need to be audible? All these questions need to be answered way before your shoot day.
b. Make a list of everything you will need for your shoot. Make sure you buy all your ingredients and tools according to the list, as well as gather your props either on the day of the shoot, or before. I am an avid planner. I am known for being painfully particular when it comes to planning. Which is why I get my items a day or two before just to be on the safe side, in case the supermarkets are not open or they run out of stock.
c. Storyboard – How are you going to start your video? How will you introduce your hero into the frame? How will you transition from one frame to another? All these need to be pre-planned. I always take down quick mental (or smartphone) notes whenever I think of a new idea. Watch all the Buzzfeed Food, Tasty, etc. videos that you can, and it will help a lot.
d. For certain recipes planning goes to the next level. For my recent Ramadan drink recipe, I had to prepare two glasses of the drink in advance so I could show what it will look like after 4 hours in the fridge, instead of having to wait for 4 actual hours before the drink is ready.
4. Wear like you care
My photographer friend once told me that I should wear plain light colored clothes instead of dark and bright, printed clothes so the audience doesn’t get distracted and can easily see the main product. Wear something that’s comfortable, let’s you do your job without getting in the way and is easy to manage. Long sleeves might be a hassle if you are shooting a video that requires you to mix ingredients using your hands – like a dough. Clothes that are too tight might not be very flattering (unless you have a perfect bod!) And there will be lots of to and fro – from the camera to the station to the kitchen and back to the station – so easy denims or leggings would make the right choice.
When it comes to appearance, it doesn’t just end at clothes. You need to make sure you look presentable too. My videos never show my face, so I can skip on the make up bit, but I always make it a point to do my nails well. Your hands are going to be visible throughout the video, so ensure your nails are properly trimmed, in shape and look clean. You don’t necessarily have to paint them, but I do that since I like to add a little color pop to my look. You can put on some hand accessories as well, if you can manage them of course. As for me, my ring is my only accessory, mostly because I am so stressed about the whole shoot that I always forget to put on anything else.
5. Props are your besties
Don’t leave your background to chance. Dress it up just like you’re dressing yourself up. Make sure you don’t have any unwanted elements in your frame. A random bottle of water that you sip on between takes, the hand of your assistant, the remote control of your TV – it could be anything. Check your frame before you start shooting. My backdrop is a basic white wall that I prop up with a simple glass bottle and some faux flowers. The curtains and a floor speaker add a touch of homely feel to the whole setup.
It’s not just the background that needs propping up. Your station also needs to be setup well. I prefer placing faux flowers at the edge of the table and keeping them slightly out of focus to add a colorful element to the frame. I also make sure all the plates and ingredients are not haphazardly placed on the table, but rather arranged in a rhythmic manner that fits in the overall frame. For my egg slicer video, I used a whole boiled egg, that stayed there throughout the video without getting sliced. In the latter part I also used whole bananas to create an aesthetic appeal and relate to what I was working on in that clip.
6. Check, and then recheck
Have you ever taken the best shots, wrapped up your shoot and sat down to edit it two days later, only to realize that you missed on a key element in the video, went too fast where you needed to be slow, covered the hero in the frame by the wrong placement of your hand, or had a used tissue in the frame that should have been on your work table?
This is why you need to recheck your clip immediately after you shoot it. I have had instances where I didn’t press the shoot button and did an amazing job at pouring the drink, and then had to re-do the process all over again. Or another time, where I ended up spilling the drink on my clothes without realizing it until I saw it on the clip. Sometimes moving your video elements might skew the focus slightly, so that’s another thing you need to check before and after every shot.
In fact, for some of my clips, I even do a dry run, just to see how the action looks on my camera. This, apart from being a method of practice, also helps me iron out any discrepancies in my shot.
But what do you do when you recheck your shot and something’s gone wrong? Read the next point to find out.
7. Backups got your back
Things go wrong all the time. For my egg slicer video, I thought everything would slice smoothly in one go, but two bananas later I realized I was wrong. Luckily for me, I had backups for all my ingredients. If the first one failed, I tried it with the second. And if the second one failed too, I moved on with the third.
Extra lemons, extra boxes of cheese – they all work the same way. If one goes wrong, you can always use the other. The one thing you should remember is to make your second take look like it’s the first one. Do the little tid bits of introducing the ingredient like you would in your first shot. Pick it up from the plate, bring it forward to the lens, or whatever else you do in the initial few seconds of a new clip.
What did I do with the failed ingredients? Just arranged them on the station as props so they could at least support my frame.
8. Multiple angles = multiple joy
Having backups also means you can take different shots with the same ingredient. For example, one shot from a full view perspective and one shot from a zoomed perspective. Honestly, the only thing missing in my equipment is a top mount tripod. That would make all my angles complete (yes, I have two DSLRs, so that would be possible).
This is just an added benefit, especially if you get your shot right in the first take. Not having these additional shots wouldn’t make your video bad, but having them would certainly add a level of professionalism to your home video.
9. That edit game
I edit all my videos myself. And while I try to stick to just one editing software, there are these rare times when I have to use more than one. This is especially important when you need to add certain effects in your video. I make my videos mainly for Instagram, which means I have to edit my clips over and over again to make sure it fits within the 1 minute time limit. This makes the role of a good editing software even more important.
A basic and really good entry level video editing software I recommend is Windows Movie Maker. While this used to be included in earlier versions of Windows, in my current Windows version I had to purchase it for around 26$. The software is worth the price.
Apple users can opt for Final Cut Pro which although is more expensive, is also more advanced and allows you to work on a host of different effects in one place. If you prefer working on your phone, try out Cute Cut. It costs around AED 21 for the full version without ads, but is definitely worth it. The iOS version of this app is slightly better than the Android version, especially when it comes to adjusting the speed of your video.
It might be a personal preference, but for elaborate videos that require a lot of editing, I find laptops or desktop PCs are the most easy to work with. You get a big screen to perfectly chop and time your edits, you can work with a mouse than rely on touch, and you also save your back and neck from a lot of pain.
10. Tune it in
While stats reveal that most mobile phone users keep the volume on mute while browsing or watching videos, having background music adds a better finishing touch. This is also good if you share your videos on YouTube, and it’s definitely better than having no sound, or worse random chatter in the background.
This brings me to another important point – always mute your background noise if it’s filled with chatter, TV sounds, or even foul words. Even if you are speeding up your clip, you don’t want your audience to hear a buzzing sound. If you are doing a voice over, it is okay to either not add any music at all, or add a very soft tune in the back.
The real challenge is doing a live voice and action video. This changes the entire dynamics of the whole project. Unless you are extremely experienced in getting the words out right in the first go or have grown up enacting cookery show hosts, I would say leave the explanations to the post production stage. This is because you are already worried about your actions not going right in your take and you don’t want that to be disturbed by your lines not coming out correctly either.
But having said that, over time you will definitely get better at doing both the tasks together. Practice it while you are driving, or cooking in your kitchen, making Insta stories, or simply in your free time and you will get more and more efficient at it.
11. #BTS Behind the scenes
One thing you certainly want to do is keep your social media audience engaged and aware of your efforts and challenges. It is fun to watch a finished video, like it and move on to the next one. But it is also important to let your audience know that making that “easy looking” video wasn’t easy at all.
Ask a friend to take a couple of photos and clips of you while you are working on your video. Or prop up your smartphone on a second tripod and let it shoot you while you shoot yourself. You can even take your followers on a tour of your station and show them what the camera sees for a literal “behind the scenes” experience. This will show your followers how things can go wrong, how it takes a lot of trials to get everything perfect and will definitely increase the engagement on your social media channels.
If you can manage to, you can even film a special bloopers edition by stitching together a montage of all your “fail” videos.
12. Answer all the Qs
Lastly, when you publish your video, make sure you write a strong caption to complement the film. If its a recipe, write down the ingredients and method. If it’s a gadget, write down the price and where it can be purchased from. Adding text captions within your video is also a great idea because it acts as a supporting element to the actions being showcased.
I always show my video to a minimum of 3 people before giving it the final go-ahead. Although there is usually some feedback on things that I cannot undo – “you should have placed the bottle a little more to the right” – yet there are always a lot of constructive comments that help me make my video more appealing – “speed up the refrigerator part so the audience doesn’t get bored”.
I am guessing I pretty much covered all the dos and don’ts of shooting home videos. However, I am sure there are lot of you out there who are way more experienced than me. If you think I missed something, don’t forget to add it in the comments below. If my blog helped you, I would love to hear more about it. Either way, put in a comment or two 
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