Super blogger sunday : Sharmilee of Sharmis passion

Meet Sharmilee of Sharmis passion this week in the Super blogger series. She has a collection of more than 180 recipes posted over a period of 2 years. The pictures on her blog are very beautiful and would tempt any reader to grab some of the delicacy from the screen itself. Apart from telling us about herself and her blog, Sharmilee also shares some interesting and useful tips about baking and food photography..

EC: Tell us something about yourself

Sharmilee: I am Sharmilee, mother of a 1.5 yr old daughter living in Coimbatore with my family. I started Sharmis Passions 2 yrs back as a platform for the passion for clicking and cooking. But to be frank when I started this blog I cooked to click but now am interested in both clicking and cooking :)

Attimes it is tough to allot time for clicking with the 1.5 yr old hyperactive kiddo but still with my family's support and my passion for food photography it gets going. I struggle to take things at the last minute....So I usually preplan things and have atleast 10-15 posts in drafts. So its easy to post in different categories and I try to post atleast twice a week.

The main reason for me to start a food blog was the passion towards food photography and secondly I can say I wanted to have a record of all the traditional and new recipes with proper measurements. The first thing I do in the morning is check my dashboard and it brings a wide smile on my face when there are comments waiting for me to be moderated.

EC: Who and what inspired you to start food blogging ?? Which food blogs inspire you ?

Sharmilee: Once when I was searching for a recipe and that was the first introduction to food blogs to me. When I was in my 2nd trimester I wanted some distraction apart from my job so chose to create a food blog as I was keen in feeding healthy and tasty food for my family.

EC: The pictures on your blog are so beautiful..Tell us something about your food photography lessons and some tips for our readers

Sharmilee : Thanks for your words!! I browse through http://www.digital-photography-school.com and get tips from there. I really feel very happy when people appreciate my photographs because I spend so much time in clicking(sometimes the clicking time is more than the cooking time :))

I've just bought my DSLR and still in the learning stage but with what I have learnt I can give u few tips:

1. Never use flash especially when food photography is considered.

2.I believe in taking a decent picture than spending more time in editing. Attimes when my picture isnt

satisfactory I try to make the dish another time for clicking sake because first I should like my pic before presenting it to others.

3.Always keep the food near by a window where the light is neither harsh or dull. Take the food in different angles and take more pictures and choose the best.

EC: You have baked so many goodies..some tips on baking and which recipe of yours would you suggest for a first time baker

Sharmilee: I am still a beginner in baking. Will you believe I bought an oven only after Sharmis Passions was born and yes I bought it specially for my blogs sake and of course now my family enjoys my baked goodies too. I would suggest Simple Moist chocolate cake without eggs as this is the top popular posts in my blog and also many of my readers and friends have tried this and have given me good feedback.

With what I've learnt so far :

Measurements are very important in baking, eyeballing wouldn't do any good in baking at least when you are beginning

Always start with small measurements as I still follow that. And try to stick to the orginal recipe for few trials then experiment on them.

EC: Do you think blogging has widened your perspective and exposure?

Sharmilee : Of course yes I love my identity as Sharmilee from Sharmis Passions and I thoroughly enjoy blogging, cooking and clicking for that sake. I would say that it has made the lazy me cook and try out new recipes as well. And has earned me so many blogger friends worldwide and now few of them are close too.

EC: Your favourite vegetarian recipe

Sharmilee: Choosing one among all my creations is a pretty tough job so here is the recipe index : :)