There are many great dishes that are boring to look at. Most dips and sauces are monochromatic and have very little texture to them. They taste delicious, but there is a challenge in making them jump off the page at a viewer. Here is how I took a boring looking blue cheese dressing, and made an image that you want to take a bite out of.
Photography is filled with niche markets that require a specialized skill set from the photographer. What kind of skills does it take to capture a vehicle (that is worth more than all the houses on your street combined) moving at over 200mph? I sat down with Jamey Price to find out more about the world of motorsport photography.
For beautiful salivating food photography, you don't need a lot of lighting equipment. To create a shot that will make your viewer's stomach start to rumble you only need one diffused light source. Using only one light source creates a natural look with one set of shadows. By changing the direction and intensity of these shadows, you can create countless lighting scenarios that will leave your viewers hungry. Let me show you how one light can provide many options.
I have been following Stephen Hamilton’s work for the past couple of years. I first came across the Chicago-based food photographer’s work through his personal work and project called “The Restaurant Project.” In this project, Stephen has dined at restaurants throughout the country experiencing new dishes that chefs have to offer. While dining he takes an iPhone image. From this image, he recreates a beautiful shot of the meal back in his studio. I have enjoyed seeing Stephen's recreations and contacted him to learn more about the project. Here are 7 questions with Stephen Hamilton.
Does seeing a towering stack of pancakes with syrup running down the sides make your mouth water? What about a rich and thick caramel sauce flowing over the top and sides of a slice of cheesecake? The sauce or syrup pour shot is one that will make your viewers mouths' water. When creating these shots, I like to piece together several pours to make the perfect pour! Here is how I plan and execute a pour composite.
Every food shot will have some type of background that the subject sits on. A few months ago, I showed you how you can paint wooden boards to make a beautiful and versatile background system. If you don't have the storage space for a wooden board system, or are just getting started in food photography and want something a little simpler, I have a solution for you! Let me show you a background material that any level of photographer will find inexpensive, portable and versatile!
Do you use a sweep in your portrait or large product photography? Sure a roll of paper several yards in length is necessary for photographing people and large products, but what about food and small products? Walking into a bakery or the back of a kitchen with two C stands and a large roll of paper is not going to work in the often small kitchen shooting environments.
From cookbooks in bookstore windows to magazine covers you pass in the grocery store check outline, it is hard not to notice the overhead camera view's popularity in food photography. If you are going to shoot your food overhead, there is one piece of equipment that will make your job a lot easier: The Tripod Arm.
Did you know that what you wear may have a huge influence on the look or your images? In portrait, landscape, or sports photography, you will most likely be working far enough away from your subject that you won't notice the effects of your outfit on your subject. Let me show you what happened while shooting with a red shirt.
All restaurants aren't the same. They will serve different dishes, have different interiors, and charge different amounts for what they serve. When you are assigned to shoot a restaurant's signature dish, you will find that all restaurants will have one thing in common. There will be a table for guests to dine at, and for you to shoot at. Do you think of a table as just a table? Before you brush off the importance of selecting the right shooting surface, let me show you a few examples of how this decision will impact your image.
Have you ever looked at a picture of a dish and been embarrassed? It could be that a sliver of drool escapes from your salivating mouth. Or you could be a crowded place and looking at a food shot causes an embarrassingly loud rumble from your stomach. Looking around and pretending that it wasn't you won't save you. The food photographer and stylist have done their jobs. They have made you hungry. So how did that do it?
Americans love football. For around four and a half months every fall fans by the thousands flood parking lots on Sundays to eat, drink, and celebrate their team. This is the world of NFL Tailgating. Last season, brothers John and Mike Trupiano traveled over 25,000 miles in an RV with a film crew to see how the NFL tailgates. The Trupianos attended a regular season game at all 32 of the NFL’s franchises. Last September, I met John and Mike when they were at a Carolina Panthers game in Charlotte. Now that they have completed this tailgating journey, I caught up with the brothers to find out more about their 32-game trip.
In a perfect world, you will have a stand-in and hero version of your food subject. You will be able to pre-light the stand-in and have everything perfect when the final hero version is ready. Then, all you have to do is add the hero and take the final shot. Unfortunately, most food assignments don't take place in a perfect world. There are times when you will have to use a non-edible stand-in for your pre-lighting.
In past articles, I have shown you what I love about wooden and stone food photography backgrounds. These backgrounds make great sturdy surfaces that you can use anywhere. However, their sturdiness comes with weight and rigidity that can make hauling them around quite the chore. If you are looking for a lightweight background with a wide range styles; cloth is the way to go. Let me show you why.
Have you had trouble lighting reflective surfaces? If you were given a food like ceviche to style, would you know where to begin? In this post, I am going to show you how I styled and shot a scallop and peach ceviche recipe. Here is a little background on the shot. The recipe developer meant for this dish to be served at an outdoor entertaining event, and wanted to highlight the light refreshing nature of the dish. With this in mind, I chose lighting and props that would help communicate this. Here is how I created the shot.
