Posts Tagged ‘style’
Winter Soups
The latest installment from our Good Tastes column with Binny Macnamara…
Holiday food gifts
Pears for fall
We recently did a job for Baltimore Style magazine (which I really like since they gave me one of my first commercial jobs.) We shot several pear dishes and worked with their new food writer. Great recipes and a really fun shoot. Hopefully we’ll have the chance to do more soon.
Why use a food stylist?
The short answer is it makes the work better. I know lighting. I know composition. I know lenses and file types and filters. I don’t know cooking, I don’t know food chemistry. That’s where the food stylist comes in. It’s the stylists forté to know how to cook the food (or not) in the manner that will produce the look you’re aiming for. It’s a combination of experience, talent and education that makes this possible. Food stylists are a great combination of chef and visual artist. Most stylists have degrees in culinary arts and years of experience in the food service industry. They’ve learned the craft of food styling from apprenticeships as well as the occasional workshop or class at school. A few come at it from the other direction and were artists, film makers or photographers who got into food styling from that side.
Often we’re approached by a restaurateur or small chain restaurant that’s looking to do some photography for marketing purposes. Maybe they need shots for their menu, their website or other such uses. Invariably the talk turns to pricing and after finding out what they need I’ll send over an estimate. Since I like to keep my clients in the loop on exactly how they’re spending their money I itemize my estimates. This will occasionally lead to the questioning of line items on the estimate and I’m happy to answer any questions. Many clients will question the need for the food stylist stating, “Our chef can prepare the food, we don’t need a stylist.” Sometimes they’re right. Usually not. The chef’s job is to prepare food that tastes out of this world. Our job is to prepare food that looks out of this world. How food is prepared for photography is nothing like how food is prepared for customers.
Above image styled by Harry McMann
Photographic Style
Whether you’ve spent a lot of time and money on branding your company, or are planning to, it’s important to find a photographer whose vision matches your own. Finding the right photographer is not simply a matter of finding one that can do the job – it’s about finding the photographer that understands your company and will craft images to fit. Give 10 photographers the same assignment and you’ll end up with 10 different images. How do you know if the photographer you’re considering is a good fit? The first step is to look at their portfolio. If you’re an innovative technology company that needs to convey how far ahead of the curve you are, it’s probably not best to use a photographer who shoots in a traditional, staid style. Likewise, if you’re a financial company who needs to reassure conservative customers, then a contemporary bleeding edge style is not the way to go. You have a vision for your company, make sure your photographer fits that vision.
