If you’ve ever done any research into food photography and styling, then you know how few and far between the guides are. There are a couple of books that focus on lighting and some of the basics of photography when it comes to food… almost a laughable number given the overall quantities of books on general photography and photography software. For food styling, there has been even less. However, I just received my copy of Food Styling for Photographers by Linda Bellingham and Jean Ann Bybee and I’m thrilled to see this kind of information more readily available to photographers and people considering food styling.

Food Styling for Photographers does a great job of giving photographers an idea of what they may be getting themselves into if they do decide to pick up styling. Starting from the shopping trip, to prepping the table setting, to preparing some of the harder to style foods, the book is comprehensive and easy to understand. There is a fantastic section on stylists tools, including brand name suggestions on everything from griddles (Presto Tilt & Drain) to paper towels (Bounty). The vegetable chapter has a neat trick for how to fold a corn husk, and the chapter on desserts (which yes, contains the expected fake ice cream for hot lights) has a great suggestion for using toothpicks to get neat stacks of freshly baked cookies. There are also some tricks that made me giggle… like using cardboard between layers of a cake to help it keep its height, or using Soil Moist granules to make a drink that looks like a frozen margarita.

For food bloggers interested in learning more on styling, be aware that this book is aimed at people who will not be eating any of the food being prepared. There are still good tips, even a few that say “follow the recipe” to make the food look beautiful (I had to laugh at the food styling for biscuits paragraph that simply says pop them open from the can and bake them!). The most useful chapters if you want to eat the food afterwards are likely the on making a salad and on garnishing, like how to perk up the green tops on strawberries and tomatoes. That said, the authors’ number one rule is never to eat the food from the set. But, even if you don’t use any of the styling tips, there are great shots of the lighting and setup of most of the images in the book, along with photographers notes which are incredibly useful.

Technorati Tags: food styling, food photography

While I work on that… I hope you guys will get as excited about this month’s challenge… Food Travel. One of my favorite parts of traveling is seeing what all the special food stuffs are wherever I go. If you happen to be traveling right now, do share some of your secret finds. If you aren’t traveling… even better! Here’s your chance to think like a pro photographer and shoot your own town as a traveler’s destination. This is the kind of assignment I get all the time and it happens to be one of my favorites because I learn more about my own city and feel like I’ve been adventuring without all the $$. The key to this challenge is shooting on location where lighting is probably mostly out of your control. You’ll want to think about your destination and what kind of light it has and when the best time to shoot will be. Think about the types of shots you might see in Australian Gourmet Traveller or Travel & Leisure… the shots that are often the most intriguing bring a sense of the culture into them. Markets, restaurants, bars are all wonderful places to take photos. Feel free to combine two images to build the picture. Think about the color. Bring in some life. Explore somewhere new or share some of your favorite places. Most of all, have fun!

The usual rules and are up on the Flickr group… the things like be constructive, take the photos during the month if possible, 3 photos per person and the last day will be around April 30th give or take a few days.

I’m a bit late finding this, but if you haven’t seen it yet, and were curious about how the relatively inexpensive Lowel Ego Lights worked for food photos, check out Steamy Kitchen’s excellent post that shows how much difference they can make. Brilliant.

I do love a good double meaning. So, for this month’s challenge, the theme is Reflection. Initially, I wanted this to encourage you to think back over the past year and think about what you’ve learned, and show it in your photos. But, as I started typing the title, it occurred to me that reflections in photography are a wonderfully challenging topic on their own. So, take your pick & reflect!

The usual rules and are up on the Flickr group… the things like be constructive, take the photos during the month if possible, 3 photos per person and the last day will be around December 30th give or take a few days.

When my friends threw out the idea for the progressive party we had a few weeks ago, I immediately thought that it would be a fun event to photograph and post about. Now, event photos aren’t really my thing normally. People move around and get self-concious when you point a camera at them. Food, well, it just sits there. But I decided to give it a shot with that party. I was pleased with the post and photos but I have to say, I’ve been stunned by the response I’ve recieved.

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As the holiday season approaches, food styling needs start to kick into higher gear. Food is such a critical part of the holidays, and making food look good, even more so. It’s all turkeys, stuffing, cookies, cakes and pies. Especially pies. I recently shot a pecan pie for a regional magazine. The pie was baked in a local bakery, and I had the whole pie to work with to get a shot of a single slice, on a white plate, on a white background to allow lots of room for text to be placed all around. Styling pie is not particularly easy, and this particular pie, while mind-blowingly delicious, didn’t make it easier. When styling pie, you really want something that can hold it’s height fairly easily, with a nice thick bottom crust. This pie loved to sink and while the outer crust was incredibly thick, the bottom was almost nonexistent. Still, I thought it might be nice to show you a little walkthrough of the shot.
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If you’ve been using a digital SLR for a while, you know how frustrating it can be to pick up a point and shoot camera and get good shots. For that matter, if you use a point and shoot, you might be just as frustrated. A point and shoot, for all its ease of size and automation, makes all kinds of decisions for you in what makes a good photo, and while often it is right, it is just a piece of hardware and can’t read your mind about exactly what you want. When you photograph food, this becomes particularly clear.
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If you are interested in improving your off-camera flash lighting skills, Strobist is kicking off a new round of lighting assignments geared toward teaching people the basics. Lighting 102 kicks off on June 4th, and I’m thinking about playing along this time. Most of what I do is natural and continuous light, and my flash skills are sorely lacking. First step is the gear… and Midwest Photo has put together several great low-cost options of the Strobist lighting kits. If you are thinking about going through Lighting 102 (or looking back at the Lighting 101 archive), you might check out the kits soon, before they start to run out.

First, I have to say WOW for last month’s Splish-Splash, Drip-Drop theme. Tons of great photos were submitted, and it was good to see some feedback from folks other than me! Thanks all for your participation.

For March, I’ve decided to take the theme an entirely different way. This month’s theme is Inspiration. Rather than a specific subject, I want to know about photographers and food stylists that inspire you! One of the best ways to learn is to find a mentor or ten and try to figure out what they did to achieve the shots you aspire to. I have all kinds of photo-heros… Petrina Tinslay, Christopher Hirsheimer, Heidi Swanson, Alastair Hendy, MatthewA, to name just a few… and a few I’ve even been lucky enough to meet. By drinking in their work, I think my own work has gotten better. Initially, I find it good to try to reproduce an image (with credit, of course) and then, from there, little bits and pieces find their way into helping me create my own, unique vision. I start to see things differently and realize greater possibilities with each shot.

For this month’s challenge, each shot should pay homage to a specific point of inspiration… maybe that’s it’s a style of a particular food magazine, a particular photographer whose portfolio you can’t get enough of, or even a fellow flickrite. In addition to the photo being in the proper style, add a bit about the original image (a link if possible) and why it excited you. Do remember, although you may be inspired by many different types of photography, your image MUST still be a food shot.

The usual rules and are up on theFlickr group… the things like be constructive, take the photos during the month if possible, 3 photos per person and the last day is March 31st.

Technorati Tags: Food, Food Styling, Meme, Photography

If you spend much time looking at photo related blogs, you’ve probably already stumbled across Strobist, one man’s terrific attempt to teach flash photography from start to finish. This site has a HUGE amount of info on flashes and other studio setups, and is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself if studio photography is going to be “your thing” or even just to find out if you like it or not. Take a look at his boot-camp series and lighting 101 sections if nothing else.

This weeks post is particularly relevant to Still Life With readers… it’s all on how to take a simple tabletop shot of food… specifically Mac & Cheese. The reflective nature of the dish, as well as the subtle light tones, makes getting the lighting right critical, and David walks through how to use a stand-in before the “hero” subject is actually put in place. It’s a good quick read and might even get you to take the step into (off camera!) flash photography.

Technorati Tags: Food, Photography, Tips