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Posted on 20/12/20 2:27:06 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply  |
Photographing food.
I have to confess this post is about stuff I am quite proud of so it has to come truthfully under the heading of rather shameless showing off. I have mentioned here before that, when lockdown started, I started a new project which was to produce a cookbook to pass on to my sons, who are both accomplished cooks, a lifetime of cooking based on my travels and to give them the chance to prepare for their children the things they loved so much when they were kids. I have been working on this project since March. The result so far is twenty eight cocktail recipes together with all their photographs and thirty three dishes together with all their recipes and photographs. On the basis of this and my list of potential dishes I expect the work to go on well into late next year. There are a huge amount of Asian and Oriental dishes as this is my first love from all the time I have spent working there. Food photography is surprisingly difficult and, if you don't know what you are doing, the results can be very disappointing. Normally it is done in specially equipped studios with kitchens in them. It is done by a small team: At minimum, a specialised chef and his/her assistants, someone to look after all the accessories and keep them clean and spotless, and the photographer with one or more technical assistants. My studio is my kitchen. I have two small soft-boxes for lighting (one daylight 6000K and one halogen 3000K), some clips and clamps and a few sheets of black and white card. I use the camera tethered to a lap top so I can control it remotely or with delayed release. This is essential so I can photograph my own hands preparing the food where special techniques need to be photographed. 
I try not to Photoshop too much aside from minor clean up and fine tuning the picture photographically. I don't cheat the food at all. This is not commercial sales photography. I am not trying to sell the food. I am trying to encourage people to try making it for themselves. You don't do that by using post to enhance it to the point where the would be cook could never arrive at the same result. That would be counter to the whole point. Once I start work the only 'team' is just me on my own. Every dish has to be first tested and made by me and the quantities and methods meticulously recorded. Once a dish has reached the point where it can be included it is first written up and then scheduled for photography. On the photography day I have to first cook it to perfection for the camera and then take all the photographs while it is fresh. It is surprisingly hard work and sometimes has to be done more than once. So here, in no particular order, is a little selection of some of the pictures for you to look at. The question is not really one of whether you think they are good or bad photography - that is, ironically, to some degree, irrelevant. This post is less about photography than inspiring and giving ideas to people who like, or would like, to cook. So the real question is do the pictures make you want to eat or drink them? Or, even better, learn to make them? (The names in the photos are just for identification. They will not be included in the final result but in its accompanying text.) COCKTAILS: 
FOOD 
_________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 20/12/20 4:30:44 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3958 Reply  |
Re: Photographing food.
Yes, I'll have the Margarita, please; no salt. Then may I have the chicory and orange salad followed by steamed scallops andmay I have a side dish of the marinated cucumber? For dessert I would like to try the dark chocolate chilli icecream. Do you have a nice Gevrey chambertain to go with it?  _________________ Time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like a banana. |
Posted on 20/12/20 5:26:13 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
An excellent choice if I may say so Sir. 
The ice cream is particularly special. 100% Noir chocolate made with Hot Thai chillies, fresh ginger root and the sweet juice and bitter peel of oranges. Not ideal with Gevrey Chambertin ........ but hopefully you will have finished that before desert ............  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 20/12/20 5:35:46 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3958 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
Yes, I agree. Perhaps a good robust ‘Nero de Troia’ from Puglia? I ‘m not driving.  _________________ Time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like a banana. |
Posted on 20/12/20 6:02:09 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
_________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 22/12/20 1:13:32 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3091 Reply  |
Re: Photographing food.
I will start with three martinis, then please serve one of everything until I pass out... lovely presentations... all are extremely appealing. |
Posted on 22/12/20 5:57:45 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
Thank you. That's what I'm aiming for. The Martini Marocaine, by the way, is my version of the classic Dirty Martini. The difference is that instead of being made with a teaspoon of the brine from the olive jar it is made with a teaspoon of the brine from Moroccan preserved lemons. It's my absolute favourite. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 23/12/20 12:09:02 PM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6987 Reply  |
Re: Photographing food.
Glorious. I really like how you've set up all the props and backgrounds independently for each image. |
Posted on 23/12/20 5:39:27 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
Yes. I have help from Ingrid with this as she was a professional set dresser and stylist. It has been challenging because all the props have to come from what we have in our apartment or on its little terrace. It was quite fun in March in Brussels trying to produce tropical settings for some cocktails when all the flower shops and garden shops were closed for three months. The drinks are more extensively 'propped' because they are often very similar photographically and so ambience helps distinguish them. The food I have taken a much simpler approach that really focuses on the food itself. Glad you like them. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 29/12/20 07:04:15 AM |
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vibeke
Kreative Kiwi Posts: 2166 Reply  |
Re: Photographing food.
Wow David, I have only just found this, what a mammoth job. The photographs are stunning. I would love to try some of those dishes. _________________ Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize. |
Posted on 29/12/20 08:53:53 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
Thanks Vibeke. Some days it's real fun to do and some days it's hard work. Long way to go ........ _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 30/12/20 08:19:30 AM |
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tooquilos
Wizard of Oz Posts: 2884 Reply  |
Re: Photographing food.
Oh wow David! Not only is this beautiful to look at - Im confident it taste wonderful too. Well done on every account. Preparing, cooking, presenting and photographing. _________________ Dorothy: "there's no place like home!" |
Posted on 30/12/20 11:48:47 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5521 Reply |
Re: Photographing food.
Thank you Anna. For me it's very rewarding and satisfying to do. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |