Food Styling for Photographers

BURGERS, SANDWICHES, AND BEYOND

with a little piece of tape for reference as you build the

hero. To build the hero burger you will need a work

surface that is large enough to hold many items and to

give you ample space to work. Assemble burger compo-

nents, tools, stand-in burger, and supplies on that table,

and fi nd a stool to sit on as you work. Remember your

eyes will need to be at camera height in relation to the

burger as you build. To achieve this, adjust either the

height of the hero build area or your stool height to get

the correct relationship. Th is adjustment might be

accomplished by using a wooden box of the right

proportion under the hero plate.

Place the hero burger bun bottom on a clean dry surface

or on the clean hero plate. Take one leaf of hero lettuce

from the bag. Beginning at the stem end of the lettuce,

carefully tear around the stem and rigid center vein to

remove it from the leaf. Th is technique will give you a

fl exible length of lettuce while maintaining the attractive

ruffl e edges. Lay the resulting lettuce strip on the bun

with the ruffl e edge on the outside, making it curve to

conform to the curve of the bun. Th e lettuce ruffl es should

break over the edge of the bun in a few places. Gently

move the lettuce into a good position. Secure the lettuce

to the center area of the bun with toothpick halves. Insert

the toothpick pointed end fi rst through the lettuce and

bun at a diagonal angle. After completing the lettuce

arrangement around the bun, tear or cut away any excess

lettuce that may be on the back side of the burger. Snip

away any toothpicks that extend more than 1/8 inch

above the surface of the lettuce.

Using a nylon spatula, remove the #l choice of meat patty

from the vegetable oil and place it on a work plate. Pat

the top and edges of the meat with paper towels to

remove excess oil from the patty surface. Brush the color-

ing agent onto the patty with a large artist’s brush. Take