This document provides an introduction to food photography. It discusses how food photography is a form of art that influences people's behaviors and decisions. It also explains that food photography requires teamwork between photographers, chefs, stylists and clients. Several tips are provided on lighting, composition, shooting locations and props to use when taking professional quality food photos. Recommendations are made on resources for learning techniques and finding inspiration from other food photographers and blogs.

1. Introduction to food photography
eat&twitt
by @gkamin

2. What's so special 'bout food photography?
● Art
● Which makes us DO things:
● Feel hunger
● Cook
● Buy a cook book
● Buy a product at the supermarket
● Order a dish (although we don't like restaurants with
pix in their menus, but for takeaway and website it's
ok ;)

3. What's so special 'bout food photography?
● Team work:
● Photographer
● Chef
● Food stylist
● Prop stylist
● Client
● Combines studio and outdoors work
● Requires understanding of light and reflections.
● Requires working fast at times (we don't want that ice-cream melting,
don't we?)
● Requires improvisation skills
● You get to eat the stuff!

4. How they used to do it...

5. How things are done today - angle

6. How things are done today - tilt

7. How things are done today – less is more

8. How things are done today – DOF

9. How things are done today – colors

10. How things are done today – raw

11. How things are done today – location

12. Light in food photography
● Photography (esp. In the studio) is all about understanding light.
● Size of light source
● Distance from subject
● Diffusing light
● Reflections
● Food looks best under natural day light!
● Shoot next to a window with indirect sunlight (or with a curtain)
● Don't use an on-camera flash
● Make sure the light doesn't come from behind you
● Side light or backlight work best
● Use a reflector if you need to balance lighting and remove shadows

13. Light in food photography

14. Stuff to keep in mind when shooting food
● Tell a story – make series of pictures

15. Stuff to keep in mind when shooting food
● Think like a magazine editor – for a piece you'll
need:
● A cover – leave room for logo and text
● A spread – at least one great landscape shot
● Some portraits
● Don't forget to tell the story

16. Rules were meant to be broken
● Use harsh lights and shadows for drama

17. Rules were meant to be broken
● Use harsh lights and shadows for some drama

18. Rules were meant to be broken
● Go back high – shoot from above

19. Rules were meant to be broken
● Go wild
scanwiches.com

20. Rules were meant to be broken
● Shoot no food at all

21. Shooting drinks
● Use back light and improvise light tables
● Add some water to make more transparent
http://www.diyphotography.net/light-up-the-floor-a-floor-lit-table-top-studio-project

22. Shooting wine
vs.

23. Shooting wine
vs.

24. Shooting wine
vs.

25. Shooting wine
● Avoid spot lighting – creates a light dot on bottle

26. Shooting wine
● Make sure you're not reflecting in the bottle

27. Shooting wine
● What's with this background?

28. Shooting wine
● Avoid multiple light sources – 2 are enough
No fingerprints on the bottle please

29. Shooting wine
● Make sure you get some light on the bottle

30. Shooting wine
● Label should be clear, with no harsh lights or
shadows on it
● Use a strip light to create that reflection
following the bottle's height
● http://www.diyphotography.net/the-diy-strip-light

31. Where to shoot?
● Restraurants
● Go inside the kitchen or sit on the bar – shoot
where the action is!

32. Where to shoot?
● Restraurants

33. Where to shoot?
● Restraurants

34. Where to shoot?
● Restraurants

35. Where to shoot?
● Restraurants – try to grasp the place's quot;feelquot;

36. Where to shoot?
● Markets – full of color

37. Where to shoot?
● Markets – full of people

38. Where to shoot?
● Markets – full of action

39. Where to shoot?
● The outdoors – camping, hiking, etc.

40. Where to shoot?
● The outdoors – camping, hiking, etc.

41. Where to shoot?
● Factory

42. Where to shoot?
● Winery

43. Where to shoot?
● At your butcher's

44. Where to shoot?
● Any place food is involved:
● The street
● Weddings (but don't shoot people eating – they
don't like it, and it's not nice)
● When you travel – you're usually less shy when
approaching people, the subjects are more likely to
cooperate, and you get to see stuff you don't have
at home

45. Shooting at home
● Basically, you don't need anything special...
...but

46. Shooting at home
● You better get some props
● Get some stuff from IKEA or something
● Bristol paper and other backgrounds
● Shoot on different surfaces
● Wood
● Floor
● Marble
● Fabric
● Glass
● Get a reflector or improvise one

47. Shooting at home
● Shoot the process

48. Shooting at home
● Props

49. Stuff that comes in handy
● Sprayer

50. Stuff that comes in handy
● Keep your hands free – use a tripod and a
professional fork holder

51. Stuff that comes in handy
● Get some daylight at night
Lowel Ego comes with 5500K bulbs - http://www.lowel.com/ego/

52. Stuff that comes in handy
● Get some daylight at night
Lowel Ego comes with 5500K bulbs - http://www.lowel.com/ego/

53. Pay attention to the background

54. Where can I learn more?
●Courses – Weiner, Lailah
●Web resources

55. Where should I go for inspiration?
● Donna Hay

56. Where should I go for inspiration?
● Magazines
● Cook books
● Food photographers' websites
● The israelis:
– Nelli Sheffer - www.nellisheffer.com
– Danya Weiner - www.danyaphoto.com
– Daniel Lailah - www.dlp.co.il
● Recipe websites
● http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/
● http://www.cookstr.com/

57. Where should I go for inspiration?
● Blogs – for example – Lara Ferroni
● gallery: http://platesandpacks.com
● website: http://cookandeat.com/
● Blog + challenge: http://stilllifewith.com/
● twitter: @StillLifeWith
● Others:
● Cookbook catchall: http://www.cookbookcatchall.blogspot.com/
● Mattbites: http://mattbites.com/
● Flickr groups
● Food photography club, Professional looking food photography,
Food porn, etc.

58. thanks
It's been a pleasure...
Most pictures in this presentations belong to @gkamin and are fully copyrighted.