Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots

106 food PhoTogrAPhY: from snAPshoTs To greAT shoTs

mAking vegeTABles BrighT

If you want to give your vegetables a

burst of color, the best way to prepare

them for a photograph is to blanch them

in boiling water immediately before you

photograph them. Blanching is a cooking

method wherein food is boiled very briefly

(30 seconds to a minute or maybe more)

and then cooled in cold water to stop the

cooking process. When you blanch veg-

etables, you will end up with very bright

colors that photograph beautifully. This is

also a good way to add color to an other-

wise boring-looking dish (Figure 4.24).

Prop Styling

In really big food photography produc-

tions, along with a food stylist there is

likely to be a prop stylist. This person is in

charge of the plates, napkins, tablecloth,

and anything else added to the scene

that is not food. If you’re styling and

photographing your own food, then this

job falls on your shoulders. And though

it might not seem important at first, the

props you use can really make or break a

food photograph.

How you style the area around your food

can greatly affect the mood and overall

impression of the photograph (Figure 4.25).

The props can suggest the location, time of day, season, and perhaps even who might

be about to enjoy the meal. All of this can be achieved through the colors, textures,

and shapes of your dishes, textiles, and props. The possibilities are endless.

Canon 5D Mark II

ISO 100

1/8 sec.

f/8

70–200mm lens

FIgure 4.24
On its own, this beef stew was colorless, since the meat and veg-
etables had turned brown during the cooking process. To liven it up,
I blanched some of the ingredients separately and placed them in
the dish to add color to an otherwise boring-looking dish of food.