Food Styling for Photographers

CHAPTER SEVEN

Here Fishy, Fishy: Fish Are Diff erent Critters

If you plan to photograph a whole, head-on fi sh you
must purchase very fresh fi sh the day of the shoot. You
will need to use something that is a similar size as a
stand-in to perfect the set and lighting. When you select
hero whole fresh fi sh, the eyes must be clear, not cloudy,
and the gills should be red rather than pink. Also look
for a fi sh that does not have missing scales and whose
fi ns and tail are complete. Th ere should be no cuts or
tears visible on the fi sh. Have the butcher carefully
wrap the fi sh in butcher’s paper and ask him to make
sure the tail and fi ns aren’t bent during the wrapping
process. Carry the fi sh to your vehicle where you cleverly
have a large ice chest, half full of ice, waiting. Th e ice
chest must be big enough to hold the fi sh without
bending it. Place the wrapped fi sh on top of the ice in
the ice chest and pack more ice around the sides of the
fi sh to prohibit it from sliding around as you drive.
Transport the fi sh to the studio in the closed ice chest,
and keep it there until time to go to set. Once the hero
fi sh is on set, keep cold, damp paper towels covering the
fi sh whenever possible until time for fi nal photography.
Spritz the entire fi sh with cold water, making sure to
spritz the exposed eye before you go to fi nal capture or
fi lm.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE Here’s a trick that I’m happy to share.

The ice in our whole fi sh shot is actually not real ice. And, it

isn’t the acrylic ice commonly used in photography for this type of

shot. The ice in our shot is a landscaping rehydrating product made

by JRM Chemical. Each cube starts out as a tiny 1/8-inch cube and

expands to the size of the cubes you see in our shot after spending

a couple days in water. If you use this product for photography, plan

to soak it a couple days ahead of time. This “ice” will stay on set

all day.

Th e texture of most fi sh fl esh is delicate when compared

to beef and pork. For this reason, the styling and cooking

techniques for fi sh are diff erent. Because most types of

fi sh have a texture that fl akes when cooked, fi sh cooked

for photography must be handled very carefully. It must

be fully supported underneath during styling and during

transport to the hero plate or surface.

Like other proteins, fi sh fl esh will tighten up during the

cooking process. Th e tightening of protein will cause the

piece of fi sh to shrink slightly in the surface area it will

take up on the plate and it will become a little thicker or

taller in size. When you begin the cooking process for

fi sh for photography, there are several advantages to

starting the process with well-chilled fi sh. If the inside