Autumn’s almost gone: Issue #2/2011
Oh dear, how time flies: it really does feel like the summer was over just yesterday, and now look at the calendar – it’s almost December. Not that we had too much to complain about this fall’s weather (it really was smooth and cosy for the most part so far). And there is no frost or snow whatsoever (which suits Ira just fine and doesn’t suit Jive at all). But in order to come up with some winter-themed food images, one does need inspiration, which, well, is best delivered by snow and frost in this particular case.
Food Photography Crumbs vol. 5
So we’ve been shopping in downtown today, and bought some sweets to go before we headed home. After almost half of these were washed down with some fine tea, I realized that these little pieces make for today’s perfect photography objects. Now, I know I didn’t bake these sweets, but I wanted to give the shots a touch of homemadeness (what a cute word). So I implemented a simple and obvious trick: I added some ingredients and additional plates, cups and kitchenware that could have been used in the process. Yes, this does sound obvious straight-forward – yet it does bring the effect I wanted. A good little trick to keep in mind when styling your shots, isn’t it?
Food Photography Crumbs, vol. 4
Let’s talk about props. I once mentioned, that I have a large collection of props and equipment, and it’s growing exponentially. Dishes, towels, pots, spoons and other things. I also have a lot of “these things” - props which I do not even know how to name properly :) This entire collection must be stored somewhere and it’s a huge problem, of course. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the props should be stored in open shelves so that they are in sight and reached conveniently. This has two major advantages. First, you won’t forget that you own some of these items in first place (and end up buying same or similar items – happened to me not only once) Secondly, if you take a look at the whole collection before you begin planning your photo shoot, it will be easier to choose the appropriate props.
So here is my advice: store all of your props in the same place and keep them well organized.
Food Photography Crumbs, vol. 2
Following trends can be hard – sometimes time-consuming, sometimes just quite tiring. But here is one of the current trends in the food photography that is fairly easy to keep up with. Since nowadays it is so fashionable to produce dirty/grungy/vintage pictures, don’t rush to the dishwasher with the dishes after you’re done with cooking – try arranging a set of ‘used’ tableware and shoot it. You may come up with some beautiful ‘side’ compositions using dirty dishes – take a look at the proof above!
