Apr
03
3:38PM, 4/1/2010 Three and a Half Mirrors and a Silver Card with String Beans on Set
Food photography is this totally different animal; it’s nothing like shooting products. Lighting for food is different. There’s a time limit when shooting food. You can’t leave food on set for three days waiting for someone to come back from a long weekend to approve the shots. There’s a different passion on set when there’s food involved. It’s breaking bread with friends, but it’s a creative team. We’re designing food and when it all comes together, it’s a bit of magic. And, no, I’m not gaining weight.
Even though I’ve been planning this for a while and doing my homework–studying the styles of food shooters and lighting techniques–there is a freshness and an excitement about working with chefs and food stylists that is totally different from other forms of commercial photography. There’s a sense of collaborative teamwork here, and an obsession that I can’t quite define, maybe only because I’m just beginning to explore this amazing new world of photographing (and eating) food.
Or maybe it’s just because I was hungry.
Apr
03
3:38PM, 4/1/2010 Three and a Half Mirrors and a Silver Card with String Beans on Set
Food photography is this totally different animal; it’s nothing like shooting products. Lighting for food is different. There’s a time limit when shooting food. You can’t leave food on set for three days waiting for someone to come back from a long weekend to approve the shots. There’s a different passion on set when there’s food involved. It’s breaking bread with friends, but it’s a creative team. We’re designing food and when it all comes together, it’s a bit of magic. And, no, I’m not gaining weight.
Even though I’ve been planning this for a while and doing my homework–studying the styles of food shooters and lighting techniques–there is a freshness and an excitement about working with chefs and food stylists that is totally different from other forms of commercial photography. There’s a sense of collaborative teamwork here, and an obsession that I can’t quite define, maybe only because I’m just beginning to explore this amazing new world of photographing (and eating) food.
Or maybe it’s just because I was hungry.
Mar
18
01/09/2010 - Akamaru Modern Ramen at Ippudo, NYC
I put an ad up on Craigslist in February for a food stylist and much to my surprise, there were responses from 2 chefs: Corey Earling, the third place runner up from Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen (season four) and Rob Endelman, a wonderful natural food chef and educator.
These responses plus responses from 5 other established food stylists and one dessert chef left me stunned. I never expected such great talent to respond to my posting.
This winter I started making my own udon and ramen at home. I’d been eating out regularly at Setagaya Ramen, Rai Rai Ken and Ippudo, each within a few blocks of each other, and each bowl of ramen is so very different in taste and appearance, it intrigued me. So it was bound to happen; this all started to migrate to my home cooking and somewhere along the way, I got the notion to shoot food and thus, the posting on Craigslist.
Everyone is so thrilled to be collaborating toward a vision and style that expands each of our individual books. I’m really looking forward to this new endeavor.
And I love the fact that digital food photography isn’t something that can be done with 3-D.
