Seeing flavors with Still Sunday

Food photography and styling duo Johna and Ivan Manuel just want to whet people’s appetites

By September Grace Mahino
May 19, 2025

---

Blame Instagram for bringing out the latent food photographer and stylist in anyone with a smartphone, but Johna and Ivan Manuel are actually excited to see people be more visually appreciative of food and even build careers out of it.

The couple behind the food styling and photography company Still Sunday says the surge of talented food photographers, especially post-pandemic, keeps them on their toes. “Sometimes, looking at other people’s work and success makes us question our skills,” Johna admits. “We still experience self-doubt. But when we look at our eight-year journey, we appreciate how we’ve grown doing something we love.” And it’s impressive growth, with the two going from offering their food styling and photography services to small cafés for free to getting tapped by clients like San Miguel Food Corporation, Monde Nissin, Mary Grace Cafe, Hue Boracay, and more.

With a professional background in photography (Ivan) and production design (Johna), Still Sunday’s tablescapes have a maximalist appeal to them: lush, delicious, and fully fleshed-out, aimed at making viewers feel as if they’re part of the feast. Each shoot is a full production that combines elements of the cottage-core aesthetic with moody lighting that’s reminiscent of chiaroscuro paintings. Their style is not a matter of throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, into the scene, though. Rather, it’s a deliberate creative decision to stand out. “We don’t use just a table and a backdrop,” says Johna, who has experienced styling sets for big family photo shoots for a commercial studio. “If we could incorporate a window in the background, another table, another seat, we would.”

 

It’s not just Johna’s styling that’s in service of making a tablescape look inviting. Ivan always takes pictures with the intention of making food look delectable. “Most of our clients are restaurants and cafés that have us shooting complete dishes already, so I make sure their appearances are enhanced in the images, that the details of the ingredients are also showcased.” Since most components of a cooked dish tend to take on a similar color, he and Johna apply some color theory principles to differentiate them visually. “For example, we add something green, like garnish, to predominantly orange or yellow dishes to brighten them up,” Ivan says. “We also ask the kitchen staff that the sauce be served separately so we can brush it onto the meat instead. All these are to help food look camera-friendly.”

With food a tricky subject to photograph, it’s common for some food stylists and photographers to use non-food items (glue, engine oil, shoe polish) to mimic the appearance, texture, and consistency of those that degrade quickly when exposed to light and oxygen. For Still Sunday, however, they employ as many tricks as possible to ensure they shoot only edible food items. “The most ‘cheating’ we’ve probably done is use fake ice or fake ice cream because they melt really fast,” Johna admits; the usual industry practice is to use styrofoam instead of ice and mashed potatoes rather than ice cream. “We brush cooking oil on meat items like hotdogs so they look shinier and use ‘risers’ to elevate a dish served in a bowl, but that’s about it.” “Plus, we use edible food because we also eat it after,” Ivan adds, laughing.

 

They find cheese the trickiest to shoot. Johna says, “Food that’s melting is already hard to manage, and with cheese, its color sometimes doesn’t register well on the camera.” Making the spongy, glossy, golden dome of a sunny-side-up look appetizing was also a challenge in the beginning. “Four years ago, it would take us 10 eggs to get the perfect picture. Fortunately, after constant practice, we now get that with just one.” She adds, “You never really know if you could handle an ingredient unless a client has tapped you to work with it.”

The devil is in the details in styling, and given the elaborate sets that Still Sunday creates, they’re mindful about remaining meticulous regardless of how tired they already are on set. “The main star of the layout is the dish, but the background must not be overlooked,” Ivan notes. “What looks even to the naked eye registers differently on camera; elements may look distorted so stylists and photographers must be mindful of the details.”

 

The duo also never leaves anything to chance, preferring to arrive at the set over-prepared rather than with insufficient props. If a shoot requires small, medium, and big bowls, they make sure to also have bowls in between these sizes. Johna is constantly sourcing items to add to her styling stash, visiting thrift stores and outlets like Gourdo’s and Crate & Barrel just in case she finds something they can use in future shoots. “When Still Sunday was starting, there weren’t any shopping apps available yet. Beautiful kitchen props like stoneware were expensive and difficult to find,” she shares. “I remember deliberating whether to buy a Php400 wooden spoon, which was a big amount of money then. I thought, ‘If I buy this spoon, there’s no turning back. I would have to commit to working as a food stylist.’”

Having people skills is crucial as well. With shoots that can go for as long as 12 hours, clients that have very specific demands, and long approval processes, patience is a must. “You don’t have to be an extrovert on set, but if a client wants something difficult to execute, you must find ways to achieve it while maintaining a good and friendly energy at work,” Ivan advises. “But don’t let yourself be abused, too. If an idea is really impossible to achieve, communicate that so clients have a chance to meet you halfway with a solution.”

 

Still Sunday’s signature elaborate, moody, and rustic style was the look that got them their first big break, a Christmas campaign for Mary Grace Cafe. However, the couple still keeps up with what’s trendy in the food styling scene—they note that the colorful pop art style has been popular in the past few years—and experiments with how they can incorporate them into their preferred aesthetic to accommodate client requests. “That doesn’t mean we’re abandoning our original style,” Ivan clarifies. “We feel we don’t have to change what we like doing much since we do well in shoots that combine our original look with the current trend.”

Now that they’re no longer novices in the industry, Johna and Ivan hope new food photographers and stylists don’t feel pressured to take on just any available opportunity that they end up undervaluing their work. “We’re lucky we get to weigh our options now and see if a project is feasible branding- or production-wise,” Johna admits. “But we hope beginners learn early on not to just accept everything because your brand will suffer; the quality of your work can go down.”

They’re also paying it forward with a planned project that will have Still Sunday providing food photography and styling services to small dining establishments around the country for free. Since last year, they’ve been shooting food in domestic locations, and they’re excited to do more to help local restaurants see what beautiful food photos can do for their businesses. It’s like a return to Still Sunday’s earliest, portfolio-building days, and it makes the couple appreciate even more how their hard work has paid off. “There’s so much creative talent in the food industry as a whole,” Johna says. “We’re very happy and grateful that we’re part of it.”

***

Discover more of how food and creativity intersect while finding the best flavors and ingredients that the country has to offer. Visit IFEX Philippines, the country’s premier food trade show, which will run from May 22 - 24 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila. IFEX Philippines is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM). For details on how to register as a visitor, visit the IFEX Philippines website.

Follow Still Sunday on Instagram ( @stillsundayco ), and email [email protected] for inquiries. Photos are courtesy of Still Sunday.

Get in touch with CREATEPhilippines by emailing us at [email protected]. Want to be part of our creative community and have the chance to be featured on CREATEPhilippines? Sign up and register for our Directory of Creatives here. Join our Viber community, too, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to be updated on the creative events that we’re promoting.

---

Related posts: