I am not a food photographer and never will be, but I still enjoyed giving myself the challenge to shoot what I had left of my lockdown food shop. Whatever type of photography you specialize in, shooting food can be a fun way to put your own unique spin on it.
I tip my hat off to actual food photographers, such as Scott Choucino, who perfect this craft for years. His article, "Why Photographers Hate My Images," actually inspired me to lose all inhibitions and expectations of what my peers might think and to simply create a brief shoot without any particular intention other than to exercise the creative side of my brain. I understand that food photography won't be my professional choice, but the freedom of creativity and experimentation within food photography is immense. There are so many ways one can interpret it, whether they are a fashion, a street, or a wedding photographer. I fall in the category of the latter two, which is why I thought it would be interesting to see what I could come up with using very limited resources.
I used the most basic equipment set up by photographing items on my coffee table against my living room wall. I didn't use any artificial light, and my camera of choice was a Nikon D750 paired with an 85mm f/1.8 lens. I photographed a few food items I had left in my cupboard and aimed to create at least one image I was satisfied with. Luckily, I ended up with a set of six!
The wonderful side to personal photography projects and shoots like these is that you are simply using it as an exercise to work on your creativity, as you would on any other skill or hobby. There are no added pressures of creating something that fits certain requirements or client requests, you simply do it because it reminds you of the playful side of photography. Currently, we have enough financial and health worries to deal with, so photography can serve as a form of relaxation and enjoyment. This side to our craft we often forget when we are buried with deadlines, but it can reignite your passion for something that you might have neglected for far too long.
How do you feel about your personal photography during the pandemic? Is it something you have shelved for the time being or do you use it as a coping mechanism?
