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Building Your Portfolio
CHAPTER ONE
Building Your Portfolio
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WHERE TO START?
Whether you are starting at the very beginning of building your portfolio or beefing up your existing portfolio, you need to know that this is a process that will continue as long as you are food styling or photographing food. As your talents grow and as you work with different types of shots, you will both eliminate and add images to your portfolio to give it a fresh look. After a few years of showing your portfolio you may feel it is starting to look tired, and if you are thinking that, the people you show it to are probably thinking the same thing! That’s when you need to freshen it up, and perhaps you will want to consider all new images the next time you show your portfolio.
My Story I want to share with you how I got started as a food stylist. From talking with other food stylists, I’ve learned that my introduction to food styling was fairly typical in some ways. My story will include how I built my portfolio many years ago. If you are just beginning to build your own career and portfolio, I believe it is important to share this with you to give you an idea of the process involved. Having a degree in home economics definitely gave me a head start in understanding food chemistry and food handling. After a few years of teaching home economics in high school, catering, and working in restaurants, 4
I was ready to look for a new direction in my career. On a whim I applied for a food stylist position in a commercial photography business in Dallas, Texas. At that time I did not have a portfolio to show, not one image. But I knew I would be making food for the camera and that sounded like fun. Because of my strong background in food, I felt confident about being successful. In other words, I had no idea what I was getting into! There were 10 full-time staff photographers working in the studio where I applied. Each photographer basically created images that were on an assignment list handed to them when they arrived at work in the mornings. Generally, they worked on outline shots.
NOTE An outline shot is an image of a product that is usually captured on a white or light gray background. When clients use the image, they remove or cut out (using specialized computer software) the product image from the background and drop it into their ad. They can use the image for numerous applications and the shot is usable as long as the product design or packaging does not change. (For an example of an outline shot, refer to the full page image of a hot dog at the beginning of Chapter 6.)
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Working for a studio that manages multiple photographers is a tough assignment for a food stylist, but I had no idea that was the case. My guess is that my enthusiasm coupled with the fact that I had experience with food got me hired for the job. It was a place to start and, ultimately, it served me well. In that studio, whenever a photographer was assigned a shot that involved food, I would prepare foods that would present well with the client’s product. I would look at the product (e.g., pots, skillets, dishes, etc.) and then consider foods that would look good displayed with the product. Sounds easy, right? Well, don’t forget there were 10 photographers. And this particular studio seemed to attract clients who had foodrelated products. Needless to say, I was working in a 10-ring circus and definitely earned my wages. However, I did not do any work that I considered worthy of a portfolio. After working at this studio for three months, a new account came into the fold. A large, upscale grocery chain approached the studio to produce images for their annual Thanksgiving brochure. The client was bringing in a local top-gun food stylist and I was to be her assistant on the job. The shot list (listing of all images to be completed for the project) was fairly lengthy and the shots were divided between two of the in-house photographers. The job was estimated to take at least one week to complete. I was in heaven that week working with a seasoned, professional food stylist. I learned so much from her.
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On the last day of the shoot, she said to me, “Linda, you’re too good to be styling in a studio like this. Would you like to assist me for awhile? You’ll earn an assistant’s wage, which isn’t much, but you’ll meet a lot of people who will be able to help you get started as a freelance food stylist in this market. You need to build a portfolio. The photographers you meet may be willing to help you with this. If you’re as good as I believe you are, you’ll be able to go out on your own as a freelance food stylist fairly quickly.” I was flattered, shocked, and very scared to hear these words from her. But I knew this was the right thing for me to do.
Attitudes and Abilities That I Learned as an Assistant While on the subject of how I got started, I am going to briefly stray from the subject of building a portfolio, because I want to mention some important things I learned in my first year of food styling. As an assistant I learned a lot of styling skills but I learned other skills as well. Most important, I learned how crucial organization and planning are to achieving a successful shoot. If you arrive at the studio missing even one element that is necessary to pull the hero image together, you may be making another trip to the store. This slows down the entire day for everyone on the shoot, could definitely drive up costs for your client, and does not instill confidence in you as a stylist. Another skill I learned as an assistant was how to view the set through the camera and to take that information and improve what the camera was 5
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viewing. Because the camera sees things differently than our eyes, the stylist has to know how to enhance the depth of what the camera sees. The more time I spent styling on the set, the easier it was for me to see what was needed to make the hero food and sometimes the arrangement of elements on the set look better to the camera. I also learned how very important it is to follow direction. When suggestions for changes in the hero food on the set are offered by the photographer, art director, or client, you should not take their comments personally, but rather make every effort to learn from them. This is something I learned very quickly as an assistant by observing the lead stylist. I believe it serves a stylist well to achieve an attitude of being a food technician as well as a food artist. Having this attitude can help build a level of trust as a food stylist within the commercial photography community.
So, I worked as an assistant. I met lots of photographers, assistants, clients, and art directors. After a few months of assisting, I worked up my nerve to ask one of the photographers if he would be interested in doing a test shot with me.
NOTE Test shot is an industry term for working on a shot without a client. When a photographer and a stylist work together on a test shot, they volunteer their time and purchase necessary items to complete the shot. Both have the option to use the image in their portfolios.
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When a stylist is just starting to build a portfolio as I was, the photographer usually drives the direction of the shot. In other words, the photographer will suggest a general food, theme, or type of shot he needs for his portfolio. For my purpose, I just wanted good shots to start building my portfolio (also called book), so I was enthusiastic to work on any kind of shot. When a stylist and photographer work on a test shot together there is a negotiation necessary to divide the expenses. It has been my experience that most photographers rely on the food stylist to provide the food and other supplies necessary to produce a test shot. The photographer takes care of his studio overhead and is responsible for making a copy(s) of the shot for the stylist’s portfolio. Today, most copies of still images are digital and are saved on CDs and video images are saved on DVDs. Back when I started food styling, all still shots were on sheets of film called transparencies. A transparency is a piece of film (4 5, 8 10, etc.) that is placed on a lightbox to view. Video images for commercials and such were saved on DVR reels. And that’s how it all started. I was assisting as a food stylist and even working with some different lead food stylists. Soon I was asking almost every photographer I worked with to do a test shot with me. The big day for me was when a photographer called to ask if I wanted to work on a paying job with him! To him it was a simple job, but to me it was a huge deal!
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Portfolio Basics If you are just starting out as a food stylist, you will need a portfolio to show photographers and clients when you approach them for work. Generally, a food stylist presents her portfolio to photographers, whereas the photographer will present his portfolio to clients. When the photographer lands a job that involves food styling, he will start calling stylists on his list to see who is available on the day(s) the shoot is scheduled. It is not uncommon for a photographer to place two or more food stylists “on hold” for the shoot date(s). The client may request to see a food stylist’s portfolio, especially if they are not familiar with the stylist’s work. The client and photographer will then decide which stylist will be retained to do the job.
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show off all your food styling skills. Remember your portfolio is your calling card, and it is the way you will present yourself to photographers and clients. You want them to see that you know what you are doing. Image suggestions for starting a portfolio: 1. Have at least one beverage shot. Make sure you have a frosted glass in at least one image, just to show that you know how to do it. 2. Have a breakfast shot with either a cup of coffee or glass of juice. Choose breakfast items that will demonstrate specific styling techniques: fried or scrambled eggs, pancakes, cereal, and so on. 3. Ethnic foods, like Mexican or Asian, will show your versatility. 4. Have at least one protein dish. Select a beautiful fish fillet or a steak and complete the plate styling with accompanying
NOTE Photographers and stylists need to have a wide variety of shots in their entire portfolio. Having a large number of images in your portfolio gives you options in selecting a specific grouping of images to show a client. But as a rule, you should not show more than 8 or 10 images to a client unless asked to show more.
Building a Basic Portfolio from Scratch If you have no idea where to start and need a few suggestions for images in your portfolio, start with foods that you feel comfortable styling. Select a subject matter that will
vegetables and other appropriate foods.
The key for building a good basic portfolio is to have a variety of foods in your images. Eventually, as jobs come to you, you will have many images included in your portfolio. As you start picking up work, ask the client if you can have a copy of the hero shot(s) you styled to add to your portfolio. This is a very common request and I’ve never been turned down when asking for images or film for my portfolio. As you read through the projects in this book more suggestions for portfolio images will be mentioned. 7
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Some food stylists have reputations for being best at certain kinds of styling. For instance, a stylist may be fabulous at styling ice cream. Word about the stylist’s skills will spread through the advertising grapevine and that particular stylist will be hired for ice cream shots over other stylists. If you feel your skills are stronger in one or two areas, focus your test shots in that direction. Hopefully, as you gain experience styling other foods, you will be able to incorporate images in your portfolio that show off your new skills. I’ve got to make a confession. When I first started out as a food styling assistant, I met a lot of people in the food industry. Yes, I built my portfolio but I didn’t show it many times. Honestly, word of mouth in the industry grapevine was the absolute best means of advertising myself to get jobs. You could spend thousands of dollars on an agent, or gimmicks to sell yourself, but if you are good at food styling, the photographers and clients you work with will spread the word. Regardless, a portfolio is a necessary tool for both photographers and food stylists. While writing on this subject I asked my coauthors, Jean Ann Bybee, who has been a commercial photographer for many years, and Brad G. Rogers, who works in the industry as Jean Ann’s agent, art director, and set/prop stylist, to give their perspectives on building 8
a portfolio. I was curious to see the differences in their views. And, they had some valuable information to add to the subject.
Building a Portfolio: A Photographer’s View Jean Ann’s first comment was that even Richard Avedon, a famous American photographer, constantly worked on his book (portfolio). She feels that you have to “stay current with new lighting and trends in the market.” This view is one that we share. If you want to be taken seriously in the business of food styling and photography, you need to stay current with trends in the food industry. Your portfolio should reflect your knowledge of what’s happening in the marketplace. When working on her portfolio, Jean Ann likes to build a series of shots that complement each other in lighting, background, and style. Her sources for inspiration when searching for ideas for new food images are “cookbooks, food magazines, catalogs, the Internet, and restaurant menus.” My sources are the same, but when I have time, I watch food television, attend chef presentations, and eat at trendy restaurants. On numerous occasions, I have been impressed with food combinations, food preparation trends, and plate/food presentation. These impressions went through my creative process and wound up either on my dining table or on film for my portfolio.
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If you already have shots in your portfolio, critique them and determine what you don’t have. Once you have identified a new or different kind of shot you want to add to your book, Jean Ann’s advice is to “look at resources until you find a good example of the specific look or style you want to achieve.” Then start planning your shot, or series of shots, by first considering the style and lighting. Keep the example or tear sheet (pages torn from a magazine or marked in a cookbook) near you when you plan and work on your shot. The tear sheets will be a visual reference to help you achieve the style of shot you’re after. Don’t copy someone else’s ideas completely. Your portfolio is unique and shows what you can do that no one else has done before.
Building a Portfolio: An Agent’s View As an agent representing a photographer to a client, Brad has a different perspective on portfolios. Since he has experience showing portfolios and winning clients, his views are definitely worth considering. Brad looks at the entire portfolio, which could contain hundreds of shots, and then pulls specific images together that most closely represent what the potential client needs for the project. Brad offers, “Today, there are numerous ways to show one’s work—web sites, pdf presentations, web galleries, and of course the printed portfolio.” When you show your book to a client, which you have customized for that specific client, you might choose pdf presentations or printed pieces so the client won’t be overwhelmed. If the client wants to see more images, he can refer to your web site or web gallery, if you have one.
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NOTE Once you are established as a food stylist or food photographer, you will most likely choose to build a web site, or have one built. The web site with a photo gallery is fast becoming a standard tool in self-promotion.
Brad’s motto is, “present quality not quantity” to the client. He feels that showing 10 or fewer shots is ideal. If you have 5 great shots to show and add numerous mediocre shots to the mix, the good shots will not be memorable. When you present your portfolio, “start with your best image and end with your best.” The first shot needs to grab the client’s interest and make them want to see more. When they come to the last shot, it is the one they will remember you by. He advises that you put your portfolio together the way you think it works best and then show it to someone whose sense of style you respect and ask for a critical evaluation. “This person is not Mom,” because she will like everything you do. Brad suggests that you visit other photographers’ web sites for ideas when searching for new shots to work on for your portfolio. Take notes of what you like and don’t like about the images. He suggests this activity could help you crystallize a beginning vision for your portfolio shots. Take the bits and pieces that you like, spin them with your personal creativity, and turn them into your own vision and style. 9
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Brad’s advice is, “When you work on shots to build your portfolio, if you are fortunate enough to have talented people around you, never miss an opportunity to collaborate.” Brainstorming as a team between photographer and stylist (and creative friends) will get ideas flowing. If you have a clear vision of what the shot should be, go ahead, style it your way and shoot it. Get that shot! But let your collaborator do it her way also. Brad offers, “Often the best shot has a little bit of you and a little bit of your collaborator in it.”
Presenting Your Portfolio I realize this sounds a little old-school, but when you approach a client, be well groomed, neat, and have your act together. Clients will not want to invest in someone who is sloppy or not punctual. Remember that the food stylist is only one piece of the puzzle during production of an image. The client pays for the photographer, products for the photo shoot, props for the set, and other necessities. In other words, a photo shoot is an expensive undertaking. A flaky food stylist could cost the client a lot of money. Because most photography today is digital, most stylists use computer files, CDs, or DVDs to show their portfolio. If a stylist or photographer is showing a portfolio in person, she may opt to bring her own laptop to use for the showing. Before visiting the client, images are selected for the showing, placed in a file created specifically for that client, and then shown to the client during the appointment. Up to this point, you have put a lot of effort and some of your personal funds into your portfolio. Be proud of your work! Don’t be afraid of big-name photographers or clients. Even they have small projects that would be perfect for a fledgling food stylist. You’ve got to start somewhere!
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Some portfolio showings are achieved through the mail. The stylist or photographer will send a cover letter, a flash drive or CD/DVD, and other promotional materials to a perspective client. If a photographer or stylist shows her work via mail, e-mail, or by posting images on the Internet, it might be smart to apply watermarks on the images. A watermark is a
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computer-generated, semitransparent mark (with your copyright information) that is applied to an image as a layer using specialized computer software. The watermark bears the name of the owner of the image, and although the client can easily view your portfolio image, the watermark prevents unauthorized use of the image.
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The presentation of your portfolio is important. Not only do you need to look professional but your portfolio needs to look professionally put together. There are portfolio products in the marketplace that are specifically designed for mailing as well as for in-person presentations. There are a variety of sizes, shapes, and designs for portfolios.
If you are uncomfortable with the printing process or if you don’t have a good color printer, go to a professional printer to have your portfolio images printed. Choose a high-quality paper to print your images. My personal preference is a heavy paper with matte finish. I feel the matte finish adds a quality of depth to the print that makes your image resemble a work of art rather than a photograph. 12
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a short-but-sweet note. If a client really likes the shot, she may tack it up in her office … lucky you! Afterward, if you work on a new test shot, print new portfolio cards and send them to clients you have visited in the past as a gentle reminder of your presence in the food styling and photography community. NOTE For photographers sending portfolios or leave-behinds to prospective clients, it is important to include information about the services your studio can offer. For instance, let clients know if you do both digital stills and videos, provide digital retouching, have a kitchen, and have ample storage space for clients with large inventory, and so on. If you have a large inventory of props in your studio, make sure the client is aware these props are available to them.
A few days after a client sees your portfolio, it’s a good idea to follow up with a “leave-behind” mailer. Print out one or two of your images on postcard-sized heavy paper. (If there were specific images the client liked, use those!) It’s less expensive to send these as postcards, but you may want to send a few cards grouped together in an envelope. On the back side of the cards with your images, print your contact information, your logo if you have one, and add a short note. “Hope we can work together soon!” or something similar makes
Providing this kind of information can bring jobs and new clients into your studio.
Supplies used to complete shots in this chapter: l
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ThinkPad W701ds provided by Lenovo Portfolio cases; Jet Pack and O2 Bag provided by Case Envy
Hand-painted tablecloth by BAM at www.bamsart.com
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Red River Paper, premium photographic inkjet papers
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Planning a Test Shot Here’s your chance to get those creative juices flowing! For illustration, I am using an example of photographer and stylist working together because that’s how this test shot was achieved. You may be filling the roles of both photographer and stylist. Regardless, the creative process is the same. When photographer and stylist get together to plan a test shot, the tear sheets come out, notepads are open, and brains are in gear. It’s hard not to get invested in this process. As mentioned earlier, this is a collaborative process and both photographer and stylist can walk away with a new shot for their portfolios or even their own versions of the same shot. Tear sheets (also called “go-bys”) are invaluable tools since both people, because of their chosen careers, are most likely visual thinkers. By using tear sheets, both people can identify elements in other shots that they want to incorporate within the test shot. These elements can include specific lighting techniques, set styling, food styling, and garnishing, or they can be more generic. Once the food elements, the set design, and perhaps the mood and lighting of the shot are identified, a date
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will be set to complete the test shot. At this time both the photographer and stylist can begin their journey to make the image happen. Knowing the food elements in a shot gives the stylist information to create a shopping list. To build a shopping list, you will need to take into consideration food for stand-in as well as hero food contenders. Plan on purchasing a minimum of three or four of every food item on your list to assure getting the shot completed in case there are any problems. Check the studio kitchen for equipment and for other supplies that might be needed to complete the shot. Ask if you need to purchase items like paper towels, plastic wrap, cotton swabs, and such. (Refer to Chapter 4 of Food Styling for Photographers for shopping and handling techniques for produce.) Before the day of the shoot, the stylist needs to run through the order that food items will be prepped. Prep is planned according to how perishable each item is; least perishable is first on the schedule and most perishable last, perhaps even on set on the shoot day. Arrive at the studio at the appointed time. Unpack and properly store all items. Then begin the prep process.
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OUR TEST SHOT: “LIVING FOOD”
I’ve been going to chef ’s demonstrations and have recently dined in a few “living food” restaurants. The preparation techniques are unique for this new and very popular healthy style of eating. I’ve been amazed by the creativity used in plate building and presentation. I managed to talk Jean Ann into doing a test shot with me that shows a single-serving presentation of living food. I’ve done lots of research on this topic, because I want to give an educated representation of living food so as not to offend anyone who follows the guidelines of this type of diet. No foods are heated over 105°F—ever. This is a vegetarian diet mainly composed of nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits. Let me share that everything I’ve eaten has been really good!
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colors as I named the elements in each layer. Basically, it is a tower of different foods prepared using the techniques of living food. It looks similar to a tall serving of layered lasagna except the layers of this living food dish will have a lot of texture due to the food items and prep techniques. For me, it’s an opportunity to expand my knowledge and styling techniques; for Jean Ann, it’s an opportunity to have a fresh, trendy image in her portfolio. She seemed to like the idea, so here are the styling steps we took to achieve our test shot.
NOTE If you style an ethnic food or represent a type of diet or trend that has specific preparation guidelines, you need to research the topic before you go to the studio. Make certain that you are presenting the food to the camera in a way that demonstrates you know what you are doing!
I showed some go-bys to Jean Ann but I couldn’t find anything close enough to my vision. I finally drew a schematic of the layered dish I wanted to prepare, including 17
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Because the prep process of living foods involved techniques that were fairly new to me, and because the guidelines of food prep in this trend use a dehydrator rather than conventional cooking techniques, my prep started two days prior to shoot day. The first thing I did was to dehydrate some of the ingredients for the shot. Since I was a novice with the dehydration process, I also wanted to experiment with dehydrating fruits and other foods. I filled the dehydrator with pineapple, Roma tomatoes (to make “sun-dried” tomatoes), kale (to be used as a garnish on our dish), red bell pepper slices, and apples. The results were a hit in the studio. A few layers in the dish will consist of foods that have been blended together and then dehydrated for a period of time to reach the right consistency. This was true for the wafer-type bread that I wanted to use to contain or frame the tower of food. I chose a specific bread recipe for its color and texture. The bread is made mostly of cashews, grated carrots, ground flax, and golden raisins. Making bread or crackers for living food requires that the mixture be spread thinly on a flexible food-safe sheet specially made for dehydrators. The food dehydrates for a few hours and is then flipped over onto regular dehydrator trays to finish the dehydration process.
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That same day I also made veggie patties by blending nuts, celery, carrots, onion, and fresh herbs. The bread and patties dehydrated together as the Roma tomatoes finished their time in the dehydrator. The tomatoes were allowed to become fairly dry; however, some foods do not stay in the dehydrator long enough to become dry, rather only some of the natural moisture in the food is removed during the process to reach a good consistency. Living food advocates also use the dehydrator to bring the foods to 105°F serving temperature.
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The following day, shoot day, I continued to prep items that would be used fresh rather than dehydrated. When building any kind of food tower or construction that requires food to be stacked (sandwiches, pancakes, etc.), it is often necessary to insert skewers through the food to hold the stack in place. Sometimes when building a tower of food with layers of different consistencies, the weight of the food can press down upon any softer layers below, causing a smashed appearance. That would not be a good image. 19
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As I planned for shoot day, I decided to try a new method of spacing the foods within the tower to avoid any compacting or smashing. In the past, I might have chosen to use a product called foam core, which is 1⁄2 of foam similar to Styrofoam sandwiched between two layers of heavy paper. The foam core would need a hole cut out of the middle in case I might want to insert skewers, and would resemble a doughnut slice with square sides. While thinking about this, bagels popped into my mind. So I decided to slice day-old bagels into thin slices and use them instead of foam core. The bagel technique worked so well that I will use it again in the future. Cutting foam core is tedious and time consuming, especially where cutting a hole out of the center for skewers to pass through is required; bagels, however, are easy to cut, readily available, and are soft enough to run skewers through them if necessary. For this shot I wanted to have some sauces available on set in case we needed to garnish the plate or the food. The decision to use any of the sauces would be made after a capture was made of the hero living food without sauce, and any subsequent captures with sauce would be considered as an “alt” or alternative for the hero image. After all captures were made, we would have the option to use one or all of the images.
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NOTE It’s advisable to have a selection of garnishes, including sauces when appropriate, available on set when doing a test shot or any image featuring a serving presentation.
I made four different colors of sauces: red made with pureed red bell peppers, orange made with pureed orange bell peppers, yellow made with pureed yellow bell peppers, and green made with pureed cilantro. We tested the sauce colors on plates we were considering for the hero image. We quickly agreed on the plate color. A block covered with tape was used on the plate to represent the tower of food. (If you read Food Styling for Photographers, you will remember that I often prefer to use rough stand-ins.) As far as using one of the sauces, the hero living food tower was so colorful and interesting that we didn’t use any sauce. But I was ready with choices if we needed them. I finished the prep process by working on the most perishable ingredients. The thinly sliced zucchini was achieved by cutting the zucchini lengthwise using a slicer with an adjustable blade. I set the width of the cut to be about 1/8. With all the food elements around me on the work surface, I began to construct the hero plate.
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The bagel slices worked very well. I used them between the nutty cheese layers and the pesto layer. I trimmed the bagel pieces so they were a little smaller than the circumference of the tower and placed them back far enough from the front of the tower construction so there was just enough room to add the food ingredient in front of the bagel slice. The food ingredient hid the bagel completely, keeping it out of the camera’s view. This technique helped me to maintain an upright and elevated look rather than a compressed presentation. The weight of food items to be added above the bagel spacers would rest on the firm bagels instead of on the softer elements like pesto, making it squish and compress. In fact, this technique added so much stability to the structure that I did not have to skewer the stack. I did use a few cut pieces of toothpicks to hold the zucchini and dried tomatoes in place though. The last item to be prepped was pesto. I waited to make the pesto until it was time to build the pesto layer in the hero on set. I wanted it to be very fresh with visual texture and moistness in the mixture. By using a food processor and bursting the power, I could watch the progress of the processor as it worked on the basil, garlic, Fruit Fresh, and nuts. I added enough olive oil to keep the mixture workable and moist. The pesto was placed in front of a bagel spacer. 21
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Supplies used to complete the test shot image of living food: l
Cabela’s dehydrator, fruit roll sheets, and dehydrator netting
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Messermeister elité Meridian Knives
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Cuisinart Elite Collection 12-cup food processor
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Hamilton Beach Commercial Summit Auto-Blend blender and Carve ‘n Serve electric knife
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Microplane grater and grater attachment
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bambu small cork cutting board
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Totally Bamboo Big Kahuna cutting board
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Le Creuset chef ’s apron
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Zak Designs Playa serve bowl
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Inhabit Chrysalis wall flat
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Stretch-Tite Wrap ‘n Snap 7500 dispenser and Stretch-Tite plastic wrap OXO Good Grips angled measuring cup Anchor Hocking 10-piece mixing and True Seal bowls, and triple-pour measuring cup Eco bamboo towels; compostable, reusable towels made of renewable materials Wilton silicone spatula, 9 angled spatula, 12 angled spatula, and applicator bottles Architec colander, gripper cutting boards, gripper smart mat, and kitchen clip Bounty paper towels Toothpicks, tweezers, cutters, scissors, artist brushes for water and oil, nuts, seeds, raisins, veggies, herbs and spices, day-old bagels, and syringes
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PHOTOGRAPHER’S COMMENTS—Living Food Test Shot
a shiny dark surface that will give me great reflections behind the
It’s really a lot of fun and also hard work to do a test shot for your
food.
portfolio. When you are the client it’s almost more difficult to get the perfect image. You are responsible for the creative feel of your shot. Working closely with a stylist or producing the food yourself, it’s a shot for your portfolio and the image will be what you will show clients as an example of your work.
We have many props and tried them all until we found the right ones. The Inhabit wall panel and the white vase are perfect for the feel of the shot and both are set a few feet behind the food and are not directly lit by the window light or strobe.
My portfolio is constantly changing and yours should too. You have
My Canon 5D with a TSE 90 mm lens is set securely on a Gitzo
to stay current with lighting trends, styling ideas for backgrounds
Basalt tripod. I am at a low angle shooting directly into the face of
and props, and of course the latest in food presentation. I am
the food. The window light is direct and pretty strong to camera left.
always looking at other photographers’ work and studying how they
I have positioned a small Chimera lightbox low and to the right of
use their lighting to solve problems and create beautiful images.
the camera to light the face of our food. I do not need a fill card
Magazines and cookbooks are a wonderful resource. I also look at
because the lightbox at the camera lights the shadows. We wanted
lots of web sites of other food photographers.
light to come through the piece of kale sitting on top and the natural
To stay current we have chosen a shot of “living” food. It’s a vertical shot with lots of layers and textures. We wanted a modern set and a natural, fresh feel to the overall shot. I have decided to use a mix of natural light and strobe. We built our set next to a southwest-facing window in my studio and it’s
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light does just that. I have positioned a white card inside the window to limit the amount of direct sunlight on the food while letting the natural light spill behind it. My camera is set at ISO 200 and a shutter speed of 1/60 at f8 and a PocketWizard miniTT1 syncs my strobe pack to my camera.
a sunny day. We are using a wooden tabletop as our surface. It’s
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WHERE TO START?
Whether you are starting at the very beginning of building your portfolio or beefing up your existing portfolio, you need to know that this is a process that will continue as long as you are food styling or photographing food. As your talents grow and as you work with different types of shots, you will both eliminate and add images to your portfolio to give it a fresh look. After a few years of showing your portfolio you may feel it is starting to look tired, and if you are thinking that, the people you show it to are probably thinking the same thing! That’s when you need to freshen it up, and perhaps you will want to consider all new images the next time you show your portfolio.
My Story I want to share with you how I got started as a food stylist. From talking with other food stylists, I’ve learned that my introduction to food styling was fairly typical in some ways. My story will include how I built my portfolio many years ago. If you are just beginning to build your own career and portfolio, I believe it is important to share this with you to give you an idea of the process involved. Having a degree in home economics definitely gave me a head start in understanding food chemistry and food handling. After a few years of teaching home economics in high school, catering, and working in restaurants, 4
I was ready to look for a new direction in my career. On a whim I applied for a food stylist position in a commercial photography business in Dallas, Texas. At that time I did not have a portfolio to show, not one image. But I knew I would be making food for the camera and that sounded like fun. Because of my strong background in food, I felt confident about being successful. In other words, I had no idea what I was getting into! There were 10 full-time staff photographers working in the studio where I applied. Each photographer basically created images that were on an assignment list handed to them when they arrived at work in the mornings. Generally, they worked on outline shots.
NOTE An outline shot is an image of a product that is usually captured on a white or light gray background. When clients use the image, they remove or cut out (using specialized computer software) the product image from the background and drop it into their ad. They can use the image for numerous applications and the shot is usable as long as the product design or packaging does not change. (For an example of an outline shot, refer to the full page image of a hot dog at the beginning of Chapter 6.)
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Working for a studio that manages multiple photographers is a tough assignment for a food stylist, but I had no idea that was the case. My guess is that my enthusiasm coupled with the fact that I had experience with food got me hired for the job. It was a place to start and, ultimately, it served me well. In that studio, whenever a photographer was assigned a shot that involved food, I would prepare foods that would present well with the client’s product. I would look at the product (e.g., pots, skillets, dishes, etc.) and then consider foods that would look good displayed with the product. Sounds easy, right? Well, don’t forget there were 10 photographers. And this particular studio seemed to attract clients who had foodrelated products. Needless to say, I was working in a 10-ring circus and definitely earned my wages. However, I did not do any work that I considered worthy of a portfolio. After working at this studio for three months, a new account came into the fold. A large, upscale grocery chain approached the studio to produce images for their annual Thanksgiving brochure. The client was bringing in a local top-gun food stylist and I was to be her assistant on the job. The shot list (listing of all images to be completed for the project) was fairly lengthy and the shots were divided between two of the in-house photographers. The job was estimated to take at least one week to complete. I was in heaven that week working with a seasoned, professional food stylist. I learned so much from her.
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On the last day of the shoot, she said to me, “Linda, you’re too good to be styling in a studio like this. Would you like to assist me for awhile? You’ll earn an assistant’s wage, which isn’t much, but you’ll meet a lot of people who will be able to help you get started as a freelance food stylist in this market. You need to build a portfolio. The photographers you meet may be willing to help you with this. If you’re as good as I believe you are, you’ll be able to go out on your own as a freelance food stylist fairly quickly.” I was flattered, shocked, and very scared to hear these words from her. But I knew this was the right thing for me to do.
Attitudes and Abilities That I Learned as an Assistant While on the subject of how I got started, I am going to briefly stray from the subject of building a portfolio, because I want to mention some important things I learned in my first year of food styling. As an assistant I learned a lot of styling skills but I learned other skills as well. Most important, I learned how crucial organization and planning are to achieving a successful shoot. If you arrive at the studio missing even one element that is necessary to pull the hero image together, you may be making another trip to the store. This slows down the entire day for everyone on the shoot, could definitely drive up costs for your client, and does not instill confidence in you as a stylist. Another skill I learned as an assistant was how to view the set through the camera and to take that information and improve what the camera was 5
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viewing. Because the camera sees things differently than our eyes, the stylist has to know how to enhance the depth of what the camera sees. The more time I spent styling on the set, the easier it was for me to see what was needed to make the hero food and sometimes the arrangement of elements on the set look better to the camera. I also learned how very important it is to follow direction. When suggestions for changes in the hero food on the set are offered by the photographer, art director, or client, you should not take their comments personally, but rather make every effort to learn from them. This is something I learned very quickly as an assistant by observing the lead stylist. I believe it serves a stylist well to achieve an attitude of being a food technician as well as a food artist. Having this attitude can help build a level of trust as a food stylist within the commercial photography community.
So, I worked as an assistant. I met lots of photographers, assistants, clients, and art directors. After a few months of assisting, I worked up my nerve to ask one of the photographers if he would be interested in doing a test shot with me.
NOTE Test shot is an industry term for working on a shot without a client. When a photographer and a stylist work together on a test shot, they volunteer their time and purchase necessary items to complete the shot. Both have the option to use the image in their portfolios.
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When a stylist is just starting to build a portfolio as I was, the photographer usually drives the direction of the shot. In other words, the photographer will suggest a general food, theme, or type of shot he needs for his portfolio. For my purpose, I just wanted good shots to start building my portfolio (also called book), so I was enthusiastic to work on any kind of shot. When a stylist and photographer work on a test shot together there is a negotiation necessary to divide the expenses. It has been my experience that most photographers rely on the food stylist to provide the food and other supplies necessary to produce a test shot. The photographer takes care of his studio overhead and is responsible for making a copy(s) of the shot for the stylist’s portfolio. Today, most copies of still images are digital and are saved on CDs and video images are saved on DVDs. Back when I started food styling, all still shots were on sheets of film called transparencies. A transparency is a piece of film (4 5, 8 10, etc.) that is placed on a lightbox to view. Video images for commercials and such were saved on DVR reels. And that’s how it all started. I was assisting as a food stylist and even working with some different lead food stylists. Soon I was asking almost every photographer I worked with to do a test shot with me. The big day for me was when a photographer called to ask if I wanted to work on a paying job with him! To him it was a simple job, but to me it was a huge deal!
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Portfolio Basics If you are just starting out as a food stylist, you will need a portfolio to show photographers and clients when you approach them for work. Generally, a food stylist presents her portfolio to photographers, whereas the photographer will present his portfolio to clients. When the photographer lands a job that involves food styling, he will start calling stylists on his list to see who is available on the day(s) the shoot is scheduled. It is not uncommon for a photographer to place two or more food stylists “on hold” for the shoot date(s). The client may request to see a food stylist’s portfolio, especially if they are not familiar with the stylist’s work. The client and photographer will then decide which stylist will be retained to do the job.
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show off all your food styling skills. Remember your portfolio is your calling card, and it is the way you will present yourself to photographers and clients. You want them to see that you know what you are doing. Image suggestions for starting a portfolio: 1. Have at least one beverage shot. Make sure you have a frosted glass in at least one image, just to show that you know how to do it. 2. Have a breakfast shot with either a cup of coffee or glass of juice. Choose breakfast items that will demonstrate specific styling techniques: fried or scrambled eggs, pancakes, cereal, and so on. 3. Ethnic foods, like Mexican or Asian, will show your versatility. 4. Have at least one protein dish. Select a beautiful fish fillet or a steak and complete the plate styling with accompanying
NOTE Photographers and stylists need to have a wide variety of shots in their entire portfolio. Having a large number of images in your portfolio gives you options in selecting a specific grouping of images to show a client. But as a rule, you should not show more than 8 or 10 images to a client unless asked to show more.
Building a Basic Portfolio from Scratch If you have no idea where to start and need a few suggestions for images in your portfolio, start with foods that you feel comfortable styling. Select a subject matter that will
vegetables and other appropriate foods.
The key for building a good basic portfolio is to have a variety of foods in your images. Eventually, as jobs come to you, you will have many images included in your portfolio. As you start picking up work, ask the client if you can have a copy of the hero shot(s) you styled to add to your portfolio. This is a very common request and I’ve never been turned down when asking for images or film for my portfolio. As you read through the projects in this book more suggestions for portfolio images will be mentioned. 7
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Some food stylists have reputations for being best at certain kinds of styling. For instance, a stylist may be fabulous at styling ice cream. Word about the stylist’s skills will spread through the advertising grapevine and that particular stylist will be hired for ice cream shots over other stylists. If you feel your skills are stronger in one or two areas, focus your test shots in that direction. Hopefully, as you gain experience styling other foods, you will be able to incorporate images in your portfolio that show off your new skills. I’ve got to make a confession. When I first started out as a food styling assistant, I met a lot of people in the food industry. Yes, I built my portfolio but I didn’t show it many times. Honestly, word of mouth in the industry grapevine was the absolute best means of advertising myself to get jobs. You could spend thousands of dollars on an agent, or gimmicks to sell yourself, but if you are good at food styling, the photographers and clients you work with will spread the word. Regardless, a portfolio is a necessary tool for both photographers and food stylists. While writing on this subject I asked my coauthors, Jean Ann Bybee, who has been a commercial photographer for many years, and Brad G. Rogers, who works in the industry as Jean Ann’s agent, art director, and set/prop stylist, to give their perspectives on building 8
a portfolio. I was curious to see the differences in their views. And, they had some valuable information to add to the subject.
Building a Portfolio: A Photographer’s View Jean Ann’s first comment was that even Richard Avedon, a famous American photographer, constantly worked on his book (portfolio). She feels that you have to “stay current with new lighting and trends in the market.” This view is one that we share. If you want to be taken seriously in the business of food styling and photography, you need to stay current with trends in the food industry. Your portfolio should reflect your knowledge of what’s happening in the marketplace. When working on her portfolio, Jean Ann likes to build a series of shots that complement each other in lighting, background, and style. Her sources for inspiration when searching for ideas for new food images are “cookbooks, food magazines, catalogs, the Internet, and restaurant menus.” My sources are the same, but when I have time, I watch food television, attend chef presentations, and eat at trendy restaurants. On numerous occasions, I have been impressed with food combinations, food preparation trends, and plate/food presentation. These impressions went through my creative process and wound up either on my dining table or on film for my portfolio.
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If you already have shots in your portfolio, critique them and determine what you don’t have. Once you have identified a new or different kind of shot you want to add to your book, Jean Ann’s advice is to “look at resources until you find a good example of the specific look or style you want to achieve.” Then start planning your shot, or series of shots, by first considering the style and lighting. Keep the example or tear sheet (pages torn from a magazine or marked in a cookbook) near you when you plan and work on your shot. The tear sheets will be a visual reference to help you achieve the style of shot you’re after. Don’t copy someone else’s ideas completely. Your portfolio is unique and shows what you can do that no one else has done before.
Building a Portfolio: An Agent’s View As an agent representing a photographer to a client, Brad has a different perspective on portfolios. Since he has experience showing portfolios and winning clients, his views are definitely worth considering. Brad looks at the entire portfolio, which could contain hundreds of shots, and then pulls specific images together that most closely represent what the potential client needs for the project. Brad offers, “Today, there are numerous ways to show one’s work—web sites, pdf presentations, web galleries, and of course the printed portfolio.” When you show your book to a client, which you have customized for that specific client, you might choose pdf presentations or printed pieces so the client won’t be overwhelmed. If the client wants to see more images, he can refer to your web site or web gallery, if you have one.
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NOTE Once you are established as a food stylist or food photographer, you will most likely choose to build a web site, or have one built. The web site with a photo gallery is fast becoming a standard tool in self-promotion.
Brad’s motto is, “present quality not quantity” to the client. He feels that showing 10 or fewer shots is ideal. If you have 5 great shots to show and add numerous mediocre shots to the mix, the good shots will not be memorable. When you present your portfolio, “start with your best image and end with your best.” The first shot needs to grab the client’s interest and make them want to see more. When they come to the last shot, it is the one they will remember you by. He advises that you put your portfolio together the way you think it works best and then show it to someone whose sense of style you respect and ask for a critical evaluation. “This person is not Mom,” because she will like everything you do. Brad suggests that you visit other photographers’ web sites for ideas when searching for new shots to work on for your portfolio. Take notes of what you like and don’t like about the images. He suggests this activity could help you crystallize a beginning vision for your portfolio shots. Take the bits and pieces that you like, spin them with your personal creativity, and turn them into your own vision and style. 9
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Brad’s advice is, “When you work on shots to build your portfolio, if you are fortunate enough to have talented people around you, never miss an opportunity to collaborate.” Brainstorming as a team between photographer and stylist (and creative friends) will get ideas flowing. If you have a clear vision of what the shot should be, go ahead, style it your way and shoot it. Get that shot! But let your collaborator do it her way also. Brad offers, “Often the best shot has a little bit of you and a little bit of your collaborator in it.”
Presenting Your Portfolio I realize this sounds a little old-school, but when you approach a client, be well groomed, neat, and have your act together. Clients will not want to invest in someone who is sloppy or not punctual. Remember that the food stylist is only one piece of the puzzle during production of an image. The client pays for the photographer, products for the photo shoot, props for the set, and other necessities. In other words, a photo shoot is an expensive undertaking. A flaky food stylist could cost the client a lot of money. Because most photography today is digital, most stylists use computer files, CDs, or DVDs to show their portfolio. If a stylist or photographer is showing a portfolio in person, she may opt to bring her own laptop to use for the showing. Before visiting the client, images are selected for the showing, placed in a file created specifically for that client, and then shown to the client during the appointment. Up to this point, you have put a lot of effort and some of your personal funds into your portfolio. Be proud of your work! Don’t be afraid of big-name photographers or clients. Even they have small projects that would be perfect for a fledgling food stylist. You’ve got to start somewhere!
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Some portfolio showings are achieved through the mail. The stylist or photographer will send a cover letter, a flash drive or CD/DVD, and other promotional materials to a perspective client. If a photographer or stylist shows her work via mail, e-mail, or by posting images on the Internet, it might be smart to apply watermarks on the images. A watermark is a
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computer-generated, semitransparent mark (with your copyright information) that is applied to an image as a layer using specialized computer software. The watermark bears the name of the owner of the image, and although the client can easily view your portfolio image, the watermark prevents unauthorized use of the image.
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The presentation of your portfolio is important. Not only do you need to look professional but your portfolio needs to look professionally put together. There are portfolio products in the marketplace that are specifically designed for mailing as well as for in-person presentations. There are a variety of sizes, shapes, and designs for portfolios.
If you are uncomfortable with the printing process or if you don’t have a good color printer, go to a professional printer to have your portfolio images printed. Choose a high-quality paper to print your images. My personal preference is a heavy paper with matte finish. I feel the matte finish adds a quality of depth to the print that makes your image resemble a work of art rather than a photograph. 12
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a short-but-sweet note. If a client really likes the shot, she may tack it up in her office … lucky you! Afterward, if you work on a new test shot, print new portfolio cards and send them to clients you have visited in the past as a gentle reminder of your presence in the food styling and photography community. NOTE For photographers sending portfolios or leave-behinds to prospective clients, it is important to include information about the services your studio can offer. For instance, let clients know if you do both digital stills and videos, provide digital retouching, have a kitchen, and have ample storage space for clients with large inventory, and so on. If you have a large inventory of props in your studio, make sure the client is aware these props are available to them.
A few days after a client sees your portfolio, it’s a good idea to follow up with a “leave-behind” mailer. Print out one or two of your images on postcard-sized heavy paper. (If there were specific images the client liked, use those!) It’s less expensive to send these as postcards, but you may want to send a few cards grouped together in an envelope. On the back side of the cards with your images, print your contact information, your logo if you have one, and add a short note. “Hope we can work together soon!” or something similar makes
Providing this kind of information can bring jobs and new clients into your studio.
Supplies used to complete shots in this chapter: l
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Hand-painted tablecloth by BAM at www.bamsart.com
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Planning a Test Shot Here’s your chance to get those creative juices flowing! For illustration, I am using an example of photographer and stylist working together because that’s how this test shot was achieved. You may be filling the roles of both photographer and stylist. Regardless, the creative process is the same. When photographer and stylist get together to plan a test shot, the tear sheets come out, notepads are open, and brains are in gear. It’s hard not to get invested in this process. As mentioned earlier, this is a collaborative process and both photographer and stylist can walk away with a new shot for their portfolios or even their own versions of the same shot. Tear sheets (also called “go-bys”) are invaluable tools since both people, because of their chosen careers, are most likely visual thinkers. By using tear sheets, both people can identify elements in other shots that they want to incorporate within the test shot. These elements can include specific lighting techniques, set styling, food styling, and garnishing, or they can be more generic. Once the food elements, the set design, and perhaps the mood and lighting of the shot are identified, a date
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will be set to complete the test shot. At this time both the photographer and stylist can begin their journey to make the image happen. Knowing the food elements in a shot gives the stylist information to create a shopping list. To build a shopping list, you will need to take into consideration food for stand-in as well as hero food contenders. Plan on purchasing a minimum of three or four of every food item on your list to assure getting the shot completed in case there are any problems. Check the studio kitchen for equipment and for other supplies that might be needed to complete the shot. Ask if you need to purchase items like paper towels, plastic wrap, cotton swabs, and such. (Refer to Chapter 4 of Food Styling for Photographers for shopping and handling techniques for produce.) Before the day of the shoot, the stylist needs to run through the order that food items will be prepped. Prep is planned according to how perishable each item is; least perishable is first on the schedule and most perishable last, perhaps even on set on the shoot day. Arrive at the studio at the appointed time. Unpack and properly store all items. Then begin the prep process.
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OUR TEST SHOT: “LIVING FOOD”
I’ve been going to chef ’s demonstrations and have recently dined in a few “living food” restaurants. The preparation techniques are unique for this new and very popular healthy style of eating. I’ve been amazed by the creativity used in plate building and presentation. I managed to talk Jean Ann into doing a test shot with me that shows a single-serving presentation of living food. I’ve done lots of research on this topic, because I want to give an educated representation of living food so as not to offend anyone who follows the guidelines of this type of diet. No foods are heated over 105°F—ever. This is a vegetarian diet mainly composed of nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits. Let me share that everything I’ve eaten has been really good!
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colors as I named the elements in each layer. Basically, it is a tower of different foods prepared using the techniques of living food. It looks similar to a tall serving of layered lasagna except the layers of this living food dish will have a lot of texture due to the food items and prep techniques. For me, it’s an opportunity to expand my knowledge and styling techniques; for Jean Ann, it’s an opportunity to have a fresh, trendy image in her portfolio. She seemed to like the idea, so here are the styling steps we took to achieve our test shot.
NOTE If you style an ethnic food or represent a type of diet or trend that has specific preparation guidelines, you need to research the topic before you go to the studio. Make certain that you are presenting the food to the camera in a way that demonstrates you know what you are doing!
I showed some go-bys to Jean Ann but I couldn’t find anything close enough to my vision. I finally drew a schematic of the layered dish I wanted to prepare, including 17
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Because the prep process of living foods involved techniques that were fairly new to me, and because the guidelines of food prep in this trend use a dehydrator rather than conventional cooking techniques, my prep started two days prior to shoot day. The first thing I did was to dehydrate some of the ingredients for the shot. Since I was a novice with the dehydration process, I also wanted to experiment with dehydrating fruits and other foods. I filled the dehydrator with pineapple, Roma tomatoes (to make “sun-dried” tomatoes), kale (to be used as a garnish on our dish), red bell pepper slices, and apples. The results were a hit in the studio. A few layers in the dish will consist of foods that have been blended together and then dehydrated for a period of time to reach the right consistency. This was true for the wafer-type bread that I wanted to use to contain or frame the tower of food. I chose a specific bread recipe for its color and texture. The bread is made mostly of cashews, grated carrots, ground flax, and golden raisins. Making bread or crackers for living food requires that the mixture be spread thinly on a flexible food-safe sheet specially made for dehydrators. The food dehydrates for a few hours and is then flipped over onto regular dehydrator trays to finish the dehydration process.
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That same day I also made veggie patties by blending nuts, celery, carrots, onion, and fresh herbs. The bread and patties dehydrated together as the Roma tomatoes finished their time in the dehydrator. The tomatoes were allowed to become fairly dry; however, some foods do not stay in the dehydrator long enough to become dry, rather only some of the natural moisture in the food is removed during the process to reach a good consistency. Living food advocates also use the dehydrator to bring the foods to 105°F serving temperature.
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The following day, shoot day, I continued to prep items that would be used fresh rather than dehydrated. When building any kind of food tower or construction that requires food to be stacked (sandwiches, pancakes, etc.), it is often necessary to insert skewers through the food to hold the stack in place. Sometimes when building a tower of food with layers of different consistencies, the weight of the food can press down upon any softer layers below, causing a smashed appearance. That would not be a good image. 19
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As I planned for shoot day, I decided to try a new method of spacing the foods within the tower to avoid any compacting or smashing. In the past, I might have chosen to use a product called foam core, which is 1⁄2 of foam similar to Styrofoam sandwiched between two layers of heavy paper. The foam core would need a hole cut out of the middle in case I might want to insert skewers, and would resemble a doughnut slice with square sides. While thinking about this, bagels popped into my mind. So I decided to slice day-old bagels into thin slices and use them instead of foam core. The bagel technique worked so well that I will use it again in the future. Cutting foam core is tedious and time consuming, especially where cutting a hole out of the center for skewers to pass through is required; bagels, however, are easy to cut, readily available, and are soft enough to run skewers through them if necessary. For this shot I wanted to have some sauces available on set in case we needed to garnish the plate or the food. The decision to use any of the sauces would be made after a capture was made of the hero living food without sauce, and any subsequent captures with sauce would be considered as an “alt” or alternative for the hero image. After all captures were made, we would have the option to use one or all of the images.
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NOTE It’s advisable to have a selection of garnishes, including sauces when appropriate, available on set when doing a test shot or any image featuring a serving presentation.
I made four different colors of sauces: red made with pureed red bell peppers, orange made with pureed orange bell peppers, yellow made with pureed yellow bell peppers, and green made with pureed cilantro. We tested the sauce colors on plates we were considering for the hero image. We quickly agreed on the plate color. A block covered with tape was used on the plate to represent the tower of food. (If you read Food Styling for Photographers, you will remember that I often prefer to use rough stand-ins.) As far as using one of the sauces, the hero living food tower was so colorful and interesting that we didn’t use any sauce. But I was ready with choices if we needed them. I finished the prep process by working on the most perishable ingredients. The thinly sliced zucchini was achieved by cutting the zucchini lengthwise using a slicer with an adjustable blade. I set the width of the cut to be about 1/8. With all the food elements around me on the work surface, I began to construct the hero plate.
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The bagel slices worked very well. I used them between the nutty cheese layers and the pesto layer. I trimmed the bagel pieces so they were a little smaller than the circumference of the tower and placed them back far enough from the front of the tower construction so there was just enough room to add the food ingredient in front of the bagel slice. The food ingredient hid the bagel completely, keeping it out of the camera’s view. This technique helped me to maintain an upright and elevated look rather than a compressed presentation. The weight of food items to be added above the bagel spacers would rest on the firm bagels instead of on the softer elements like pesto, making it squish and compress. In fact, this technique added so much stability to the structure that I did not have to skewer the stack. I did use a few cut pieces of toothpicks to hold the zucchini and dried tomatoes in place though. The last item to be prepped was pesto. I waited to make the pesto until it was time to build the pesto layer in the hero on set. I wanted it to be very fresh with visual texture and moistness in the mixture. By using a food processor and bursting the power, I could watch the progress of the processor as it worked on the basil, garlic, Fruit Fresh, and nuts. I added enough olive oil to keep the mixture workable and moist. The pesto was placed in front of a bagel spacer. 21
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Supplies used to complete the test shot image of living food: l
Cabela’s dehydrator, fruit roll sheets, and dehydrator netting
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Messermeister elité Meridian Knives
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Cuisinart Elite Collection 12-cup food processor
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Hamilton Beach Commercial Summit Auto-Blend blender and Carve ‘n Serve electric knife
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Microplane grater and grater attachment
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bambu small cork cutting board
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Totally Bamboo Big Kahuna cutting board
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Le Creuset chef ’s apron
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Zak Designs Playa serve bowl
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Inhabit Chrysalis wall flat
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Stretch-Tite Wrap ‘n Snap 7500 dispenser and Stretch-Tite plastic wrap OXO Good Grips angled measuring cup Anchor Hocking 10-piece mixing and True Seal bowls, and triple-pour measuring cup Eco bamboo towels; compostable, reusable towels made of renewable materials Wilton silicone spatula, 9 angled spatula, 12 angled spatula, and applicator bottles Architec colander, gripper cutting boards, gripper smart mat, and kitchen clip Bounty paper towels Toothpicks, tweezers, cutters, scissors, artist brushes for water and oil, nuts, seeds, raisins, veggies, herbs and spices, day-old bagels, and syringes
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PHOTOGRAPHER’S COMMENTS—Living Food Test Shot
a shiny dark surface that will give me great reflections behind the
It’s really a lot of fun and also hard work to do a test shot for your
food.
portfolio. When you are the client it’s almost more difficult to get the perfect image. You are responsible for the creative feel of your shot. Working closely with a stylist or producing the food yourself, it’s a shot for your portfolio and the image will be what you will show clients as an example of your work.
We have many props and tried them all until we found the right ones. The Inhabit wall panel and the white vase are perfect for the feel of the shot and both are set a few feet behind the food and are not directly lit by the window light or strobe.
My portfolio is constantly changing and yours should too. You have
My Canon 5D with a TSE 90 mm lens is set securely on a Gitzo
to stay current with lighting trends, styling ideas for backgrounds
Basalt tripod. I am at a low angle shooting directly into the face of
and props, and of course the latest in food presentation. I am
the food. The window light is direct and pretty strong to camera left.
always looking at other photographers’ work and studying how they
I have positioned a small Chimera lightbox low and to the right of
use their lighting to solve problems and create beautiful images.
the camera to light the face of our food. I do not need a fill card
Magazines and cookbooks are a wonderful resource. I also look at
because the lightbox at the camera lights the shadows. We wanted
lots of web sites of other food photographers.
light to come through the piece of kale sitting on top and the natural
To stay current we have chosen a shot of “living” food. It’s a vertical shot with lots of layers and textures. We wanted a modern set and a natural, fresh feel to the overall shot. I have decided to use a mix of natural light and strobe. We built our set next to a southwest-facing window in my studio and it’s
O ne
light does just that. I have positioned a white card inside the window to limit the amount of direct sunlight on the food while letting the natural light spill behind it. My camera is set at ISO 200 and a shutter speed of 1/60 at f8 and a PocketWizard miniTT1 syncs my strobe pack to my camera.
a sunny day. We are using a wooden tabletop as our surface. It’s
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