One of my favorite tricks is to use a simple foam-core board as a background. Set just far enough away from the subject, it will appear as a nice clean wall and cut out any clutter that is in the room (and in my studio, that can be quite a bit). Even better, several years ago I found these great poster-sized paint samples by Yolo at Seattle’s Ecohaus that have a bit of double sided tape on the back… perfect for attaching to a 2×3 sheet of foam board. Not only do they have a beautiful selection of colors, but the samples have texture to them, so they really look like a wall surface. And, they are only $5.99 each.

I’ve had a set of these for the past 4 years and used them extensively. A simple switch of a background color can make a huge difference in the feel of a shot.

My old sheets were starting to look a bit ratty, so I made a trip down to Ecohaus earlier this week and picked up 9 “new walls” for the studio… which all store away in the tiniest space between my cabinets. I’m in love with some of the new colors they are offering.

Wallpaper would work great for this too! In fact, I’m particularly intrigued by the Madison & Grow papers. The samples are only $5, but I’m not sure how big they are.

PS: Something bizarro happened last time I upgraded WordPress and it deleted all of my categories… it’s going to take a little while, but I should have things recategorized in the next couple of weeks. And, I’ll be posting a new challenge for Flickr at the beginning of February.

Sometimes, as a food photographer, you have to make really ugly food look beautiful. There are many people who are true masters of this. I wouldn’t call myself one of them. But, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. And the main one is distraction. The thing about ugly food is quite often, it actually is really delicious. Hummus is a big beige blob, but if you swirl it around, dress it with a little oil and finishing salt and put it in a nice bowl, maybe with a chip taking a little dive in, suddenly, it becomes the appealing dip that it actually is.

Last month’s photo remake was all about taking a dish of something that is probably not all the beautiful, and making it into something that looks like you may actually want to eat it. I had a recent photo shoot that included a recipe for a molded salmon pate. I was worried about the shot going in… it sounded like it might be fairly Fluffy Mackerel Puddingesque. My worries were justified… when I unmolded the pate, it wasn’t anything you’d want to take a photo of. (Of course, I did anyway) And then, I proceeded to style it to make it look like something you’d actually want to eat (because despite its looks, it was tasty).

Suddenly, that pate starts to look pretty appealing.

I’ll be posting August’s remake challenge tomorrow! So, if you have anything to post for July’s challenge, get it in quickly!

When you buy a lot of props, you end up with a lot of tissue paper. I like to put mine to use rather that just recycling it. Sometimes, I use tissue to look like parchment paper or wrapping around treats. Sometimes it’s a background, or an interesting surface texture. But most commonly, I use to to modify light. Although my windows in my studio are usually covered with vellum, sometimes it’s still not enough to tone down the light and minimize hot spots. For small hot spots, I like to use glass bottles to diffuse and refract the light… but if there is an overall problem, a sheet of tissue paper can work wonders… even just sort of tucked in. Because it comes in different thicknesses, there’s almost always just the right piece.

That’s what I did today when I was working on the cover shot for a cocktail book I’ve been shooting this week. Thought you might enjoy some of the setup shots and one of the (unedited) outtakes. Not exactly high-tech!

A great linen can really make a photo. But if you shopped for high quality tablecloths and runners frequently like I do, you’ll probably find yourself with sticker shock more often than you’d like. Some of the big name stores like Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn have pretty good sales, but I still find myself wincing if I have to pay more than $20 for a tablecloth and even on sale their good stuff may run more. Yes, I am that cheap.

Luckily, for photography, perfectly hemmed corners are rarely necessary. I invest in a few high-end cocktail and full sized napkins if I need to show a seam… the rest of the time, I simply use roughly cut fabric in 1 or 2 yard sizes. Sometimes I even like to show the frayed edges in my shots (but not often or it strikes me as a bit too contrived). Quilting quarters also make fantastic faux napkins.

If you are looking for some fun places for fabric, here are a couple I’ve recently discovered:

Pink Chalk Fabrics carries gorgeous designer printed fabric in really fun colors as well as some great solid linen and Kona cotton.

Whipstitch Fabrics on Etsy has beautiful natural fiber fabric. I’m in love with Ikoi from Moda in Lime with it’s beautiful Japanese calligraphy and it’s only $8 per yard (plus shipping).

Oilcloth addict has some really bright oil cloths perfect for summer, and maybe even cooler, chalk cloth which would be great for pot lucks… you can just write on the cloth to say what is what!

In Seattle, I like stopping in to Stitches to browse their selection. They always seem to have something new.

Just thought I’d share a simple trick with you today. I was in the midst of shooting a story for Cook & Eat, and wanted a shot of noodles streaming off of a fork. Rather than set-up anything fancy, I grabbed a couple of mugs, and stacked them to hold the fork into place. For heavier things, a simple $5 clamp from the hardware store carefully placed on a stack of blocks (or mugs, or anything) works great too. It’s a nice way to change up your photos and add a little life to them.

Now, time for lunch!

Maybe it is the economy, but I’ve been picking up more cocktail shooting assignments lately so I’ve been spending quite a bit of time studying cocktail photos. The photo to the right is a Mint Julep that I shot last year for Portland Monthly.

Today, I happened upon this great interview (on The Pegu Blog) with photographer Sara Remington discussing her approach to shooting Artisanal Cocktails. For even more great stuff from Sara, see her fantastic blog.

Sorry for the general lack of posts lately… you probably know I’ve been traveling a bunch (in fact, I’m about to head out again) and have been swamped for the short time I’ve been home (all good!). With that in mind, I’m resurrecting a post I wrote sometime earlier this year for the Orbitz travel blog about taking photos when you travel. For some reason, it never actually got pushed live there, so I thought I’d go ahead and share it with you here.

Most people come back from their trips with handfuls of snapshots of friends and family, strategically posed in front of some monument or view of significance. My family, on the other hand, look through the photos that I take on our trips and wonder, how come there are never any pictures of us? My daughter, who jumps at any chance to model, looks at me in dismay when flipping through the shots, all she finds are pictures of slices of pie, signs of restaurants and, if she’s lucky, her hands offering up some local seasonal fruit. My work tends to bleed over into my personal life more than a little.

I find that I just want to bring home all the little details of the places that visit. I want a memento to remind me of the silky smoothness of the goat cheese ice cream we had in the century old farmhouse in the Loire Valley or of the bright crisp redness of the sweetheart cherries from a Yakima farm stand. My photos aren’t proof of a visit… they are portals that transport me back whenever I need a little escape.

Here are a few tips for making the photos from your next getaway magazine-quality:

Light spilling into a cafe at lunch makes for a great meal and great photos.

Find the local and seasonal stuff. Resort travel has it’s benefits, but when I travel, I like to find the little, local places that serve things I can’t get at home. It may sound obvious, but tiny little bakeries and cafes, farmer’s markets, street food stands, classic roadside diners or local brew pubs all offer great opportunities for memorable photography. I tend to scour magazines like Sunset, Food & Travel (especially those with articles by Melissa), Gourmet Traveller and Australian Vogue Travel & Entertainment (for the dream trips) to find hints of the hidden gems, plus find some great inspiration for photos. Without Sunset magazine, we would never had found the Sparrow Bakery in Bend, Oregon, shown above, which is well off the main tourist strip.

Bring your camera to lunch, not dinner. Getting great shots of food in dimly lit restaurants is nearly impossible without a tripod… so give yourself a break and try to get shots of the food you eat during the day rather than at night. If you really want a shot, and don’t have much light, set the ISO on your camera to 1600 and try to steady the camera as much as possible. Don’t forget to set it back! Using a dSLR with a fast lens (like a Canon Digital Rebel XSI with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8) will also give you better results than your average point and shoot camera, although it won’t slip into your pocket. You can find out more about what I shoot with here.

Bright sunlight may feel good on your face, but it is too harsh for food photos.

Pray for a cloudy day. For travelers, a beautiful blue sky day is a blessing. But, for photographers, all that sun can create harsh shadows which can spoil food shots. A bright but cloudy day is much better for food shots, letting you see all the color and texture of the dish. If you can see a shadow from your food, try to move the plate to a shady spot of the table, with the light off to the side.

Action and context bring your photos to life.

Food on a plate is kind of boring. Take a few close-up shots of your food, but don’t forget to back up and get some of the environment or try to capture people interacting with the food. Photos with context that show some action will bring back more memories. This shake (From McMenamins Pub also in Bend, OR), for example, is a little more interesting glugging from it’s tin.

Know when to put the camera away. Some restaurants don’t want you taking photos of their food. I don’t really understand why anyone would have a problem with it, but since it is their restaurant, it’s best to respect their wishes. If you want to take photos of someone working in the restaurant, it’s polite to ask first. Most people are more than happy to let you and a shot of your server or bartender, even just their hands serving up your meal, will add a new dimension to your picture.

Watch the light. I said before to bring your camera to lunch, but the best times to take outdoor photos are in the mornings and evening, when the light falls across rather than from overhead. Evening light has a beautiful, golden color that is wonderful in photos.

Know a few things about your camera. Your camera will try to guess the lighting conditions you are in… but you’ll get better shots if you tell it. This is called setting the white balance… on most point and shoot cameras, there will be settings for indoor versus outdoor, and cloudy versus sunny days. Check your manual, and get in the habit of setting this, rather than leaving it on Auto for best results.

How about you? Do you have any photo tips for traveling?

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.

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.

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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