So Good You Can Taste It: How a Photographer Prepares for a Food Photoshoot

 So Good You Can Taste It: How a Photographer Prepares for a Food Photoshoot

Everywhere you look, there is food. Advertisements on TV for a juicy fast food burger, tasty foods printed onto boxes and stuck on aisle ends at the grocery store, Pictures of food so sharp and colourful that you can taste it!

Before I became a photographer, I always wondered, “what exactly goes into creating a picture like that?”. You can find articles talking about sneaky tricks that marketing companies use to make food look better than real life, but not a lot of what goes on before the camera comes out.

So, I would like to share my process of planning and executing a food photoshoot, from an idea to a finished image.

The first step is to come up with an idea. Personally, I keep a list of foods, themes, or colours that I’d like to work with and flesh them out as I go. 

Olives, pickles, white cheddar, and rosemary apricot crackers with a glass of red wine. Photo by Cassidy Cooper (2019).

I start by picking out a single food to be the focal point of the picture. There are so many options that for me, this is usually the hardest part. So to help make the decision easier, I think of the physical limitations: Can I actually make this food myself, or will I need to buy it? Will it last overnight in a fridge to be brought to the studio, or does it look best fresh off the stove? How much will it cost to make it? Do I have the right props to style the way I want, or will I need to buy those?

This process will help give me an idea of what I can reasonably do in terms of food, props, and styling. 

At this point, I also think about the mood, lighting, composition, and colour palette of the photo. Would I prefer a soft, bright, picture that makes someone think of Sunday brunch? Or a sleek, dark photo that would be good on a magazine cover? What colours go with the main food?

Having a solid idea of the final image is very important in creating a good photograph. Good photos aren’t accidents - they’re well-thought out and planned!

For this photoshoot, I decided to photograph pancakes. They’re super easy to make, and will look good even after a night in the fridge. I settled on a dark background, so all you can see are the pancakes - my goal was to make a magazine cover-style picture to add to my portfolio.

Annie's white cheddar mac 'n cheese with bacon and paprika. Photo by Cassidy Cooper (2019).

Once I have an idea fleshed out, I like to look online for styling tips. Everyone knows that the food you see in the picture usually doesn’t look anything like it does when it’s in front of you - there’s always some trickery. Personally, I like to balance realism and style. I want my food to look good, but still be edible.

In this shoot, I slipped some cardboard between the bottom 3 pancakes to add height to the stack. I also heated up a water-soaked tampon to create steam (Yeah, it sounds weird, but it works!).

When I have my shoot fully imagined, I start gathering my props and cooking my food. Thrift shops like Value Village and Goodwill are where I get most of my dishes, and a trip to the dollar store can yield some good props.

After everything is prepared and packed, it’s time to start shooting. Each shoot usually takes between one and five hours, depending on how many lights and different shots you want.

In my pancake shoot, I started by placing a sheet of black velvet on a table underneath a pane of glass. Coupled with a black background, this creates a seamless “void”. I then placed my pancakes on the table and began setting up my lights.

I used an Elinchrom flash with a medium softbox to create a soft main light. However, the shadow on the other side was a little dark, so I set up a reflector to bounce some light back onto the stack. There was also some light spilling onto the back of the table, leaving a noticeable line where the pane of glass ended. To darken, I used a square of fabric (called a flag) to block the light, and let the back of the table fall into shadow. 

I also placed a small flash called a “speedlight” out of view behind the food to backlight the steam I would eventually add. With the lights in place, I started shooting to test my final light setup.

A few shots of the steam that will be edited together to make one big,fluffy cloud. About 30 images were taken in total. Photo by Cassidy Cooper (2019).

It takes a little tinkering to get all the lights at the right strength. When I have everything properly exposed, I’ll then add my steam. When using fleeting things like steam, dust, water splashes, or confetti, you have to be ready and shoot in bursts so you don’t miss the best shot. The moment the tampon was placed behind the pancakes, I held down the shutter button to snap as many frames as possible to use in post-production.

Once I’m satisfied with my images, I’ll start to tear down all my equipment… and have a snack. I don’t like letting the food I shoot go to waste, so I eat what I can and share it with whoever’s currently in the studio.

Then, my work in the studio is done, and it’s time to edit.

 In the photography program, we learn a bunch of programs to edit our photos with, including Bridge, Photoshop, Lightroom, and recently, CaptureOne.

I start my editing process by importing my pictures into Adobe Bridge. Bridge allows you to see thumbnails of all your pictures, and makes it easy to cull out the bad and unfocused ones. 

After I have the baddies filtered out, I go into a subprogram called “Camera Raw” that lets you make simple adjustments to white balance, exposure, colour, and crop. 

I make some global adjustments to help visualize the final image, then take the best pictures into Photoshop for more editing. There, I can get rid of imperfections and really make the image shine.

Finally, I’ll get the opinion of a classmate to check my editing. Classmates can catch flaws that you wouldn’t notice - maybe the photo is too dark, or looks a bit off colour. They can also offer constructive criticism to help towards your next shoot!

“Pancakes”
photo by Cassidy Cooper (2019).

With my final image complete, all that’s left is to share it. I love posting my pictures on Instagram so my friends and family can see (And you can see them, too! Follow @cas.cooper on Instagram!). If an image is especially good, I’ll print it to add in my physical portfolio to show to potential clients and employers. This photo is definitely going in my portfolio!

So the next time you see a beautiful picture of food, try and guess how much work went into the final picture: How many lights did the photographer use? How long did they work in the studio, or on their computer to make the final picture? Is there a tampon hiding behind the plate? Think about how much care went into creating a photo that looks so good you can taste it!