Hey friend! I wanted to tell you a little about me and my story.
I’m Dulanji. Homemade Mart is a food and photography blog that I started in May 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, as a creative outlet to keep me centered. As the name suggests, everything here is homemade and all photographs are taken by me.
Prior to starting, I had never baked/cooked a single thing in my life (except for a batch of cookies in high school that burnt – yikes. And a few batches of quiche that weren’t too edible – double yikes), nor had I held an actual camera or knew anything about photography.
Photography was an accidental discovery
In May 2020, a mutual friend started a home bakery and wanted my brother (who does portrait photography as a hobby + side hustle) to help capture photos of their products. I helped him “style” the products for the shoot without knowing anything about food styling, composition etc. and not knowing that food photography was even a “thing” (aka industry). The photos came out amazing and I couldn’t stop thinking about the shoot. The next weekend, I baked a batch of cookies (they weren’t that edible) and decided to style them and asked my brother to help take photos. Did it again with a batch of brownies the next day. But, I didn’t want to rely on him for photos every time and so, decided to learn the camera and photography myself.
The more I baked and took photos, the faster it ignited a passion for both. So, I decided to post all my photos in a little corner on Instagram called Homemade Mart.
Over the last year and a half…
I’ve spent over a gazillion (sometimes frustrating) hours studying, exploring and practicing food photography. As my photography improved, I was also able to start working with reputable brands in the food industry as a freelancer and grow a profitable business.
If I can do it, so can you!
That’s why today, I’ve turned Homemade Mart into a learning space for creatives on all things food photography. I want to share everything I’ve learned and continue to learn behind the camera, in the studio, from client work, and on the business end, to help YOU so you too can start producing beautiful work and get one step closer to building a successful food photography business.
A little more about me
I was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. And moved to Canada when I was 16.
Yup. I’ve got one elder brother. He’s also one of my biggest supporters along side my mom and dad of course ❤️
I have a few. My favorites are my Grandma’s Young Jackfruit and Potato Curries. Sushi and Poke are also liiiife.
I would love to be able to say that one day. But right now, photography is not my full time job. I have a BEng in Computer Engineering and have been in the worlds of software development and technology consulting full time, since graduating Uni.
In May 2020 – about 2 months into the Pandemic. I really needed a creative outlet to stay sane and accidently discovered food photography (you can read more about it above). Prior to this, I had never taken a single photo with a DSLR and knew nothing about any style of photography.
Well, right now, photography is one of them for sure. But, philanthropy has been at the top of my list forever. I founded an NGO in 2017 and has been something I’ve devoted a lot of my time to. If you’re someone in the non profit sector looking to raise funds or simply work together in any way, I would love to hear from you. Please DM me directly on Instagram or email me at marthomemade@gmail.com.