MAKING A SALAD FOR THE CAMERA
resulting in a rough edge and bruising of the fl esh around
the cut. As you cut produce for the hero salad, lay the
pieces on trays for easy selection as you build. Trays of cut
produce can be covered with damp paper towels and plastic
wrap, and stored in a refrigerator until you begin to build
the salad. Sliced, shaved, or pared carrots should be kept
submerged in ice water until built into the salad.
If your refrigeration space is limited, you can use spacers
to sit on each tray corner that will allow tray stacking
without crushing the tray contents. Th e spacers can be
wood or craft foam blocks of the same size. Th is trick
works well for numerous applications when storage space
is limited in the studio and/or in the refrigerator.Salad Support Techniques
Before you begin to build a salad for photography, you
need to take into consideration the size of the salad.Although most salad ingredients aren’t heavy, you’ll
probably be adding colorful things to the top of those
greens. Th e accumulated weight of those items can cause
the greens to sink or collapse. And a “moving” salad
is not an option for photography. If the salad is on a
serving plate, it may not be necessary to provide a
support structure.If the salad is to be photographed in a bowl, regardless of
the depth of the bowl, I normally begin the salad build by
inverting a clear glass bowl within the hero salad bowl.
Start by placing some salad greens in the bottom of the
hero bowl so that the inverted support bowl will rest on
the greens. Th ese greens will conceal the rim of the support
bowl where it touches the inside of the hero bowl. Th e
inverted bowl provides solid support for the heavier salad
ingredients that will be added to the top layers of the salad.