Food Photography Tips and Secrets of the Masters...

PerezDesignGroup · July 21, 2004

wxwax gave me the idea for this thread. After scouring the web (for a whole 45 seconds

) I realized that Food Photography tips are not abundant. So maybe we can help create an unofficial thread on it. Post any tips or rumors you've heard. I'll start with one I heard about a long time ago...

Never use milk in cereal or advertising. Instead of milk, use Elmer's glue or a similar brand (water it down if necessary). This creates a much thicker, richer look (and we all know it's yummy too :huh ).

So if you've heard anything at all..post it!

mercphoto · July 21, 2004

Food

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

wxwax gave me the idea for this thread. After scouring the web (for a whole 45 seconds ) I realized that Food Photography tips are not abundant.

I thought most food photography wasn't of actual food, but was of replicas of food. Not sure what they are made of, I would assume wax. Your comment about white glue in place of milk is an example.

For tips, I would think that depth of field is of huge importance, and the small apertures needed would require long shutters and tri-pods. Multiple lights to relieve shadows plus add glisten. How, for example, can you make a burger patty look juicy (spray with a water mist?).

Maybe I'll photograph my sandwich tonight and post a picture.

cmr164 · July 21, 2004

PerezDesignGroup wrote:

wxwax gave me the idea for this thread. After scouring the web (for a whole 45 seconds ) I realized that Food Photography tips are not abundant. So maybe we can help create an unofficial thread on it. Post any tips or rumors you've heard. I'll start with one I heard about a long time ago...

Never use milk in cereal or advertising. Instead of milk, use Elmer's glue or a similar brand (water it down if necessary). This creates a much thicker, richer look (and we all know it's yummy too ).

So if you've heard anything at all..post it!

I have some pictures of sushi on the Boston Sushi Society webpage
Follow the links to the reviews and click on the images. I am very
receptive to suggestions but bear in mind that I have to shoot the
actual sushi.

PerezDesignGroup · July 21, 2004

mercphoto wrote:

How, for example, can you make a burger patty look juicy (spray with a water mist?).

Maybe I'll photograph my sandwich tonight and post a picture.

I took the following from XaraXone

Mouth watering burgers revealed In my days in advertising, I had many occasions to work with professional photographers who specialized in photographing food. These photographers relied heavily on food stylists whose job it was to prepare food using every trick in the book to make the food look fabulous for the camera. If you have ever wondered why the hamburger you get at McDonald's never looks one tenth as good as the one you see on the billboards or TV commercials, it is because the one you purchased was not constructed by a food stylist.

Those sesame seed covered buns were baked especially for the photo shoot and the stylist added each seed by hand with a tweezers. In fact she probably created a half dozen "hero" buns. The grill marks on the meat were added with an electric iron. Glycerin is brushed onto the meat to make it look "juicy" and tiny droplets of glycerin are individually placed on the leaves to make them look fresh and crisp. Those crisp pieces of fresh lettuce have been individually selected from a table filled with pieces of perfect lettuce leaves. There are dozens of other tricks used in the photography of food and beverages.

PerezDesignGroup · July 21, 2004

And I struck gold on this article. Here are the details...

* That luscious-looking roasted turkey has been washed in dish washing detergent, cooked briefly, painted with ten coats of food colouring, and blowtorched (to give it that lovely roasted look!)
* Those natural-looking bunches of grapes are sprayed with baby powder deodorant.
* The molded cream pudding is hard as a rock, because it contains ten times the amount of gelatin than a regular pudding would. (We don't want it to melt under those hot lights!)
* The ice you see in that frosty beverage is most likely acrylic "ice," that refracts light better than real ice and doesn't melt.
* The rich-looking syrup being poured over pancakes? Motor oil works well here.
* Like that milkshake? It's a combination of food colouring, and whipped shortening! And don't go for the ice cream instead â€“ it's shortening too!
* That great looking bowl of cereal on the cover of your cereal box is actually cereal and white glue, instead of milk, to prevent the cereal from getting soggy. (No one wants to buy a box of mush!)
* Those veggies that look as if if they were just picked and dew-covered? Mix glycerine into a spray bottle with water and the drops will stay on for about 15 minutes. (Glycerin can be used to give any food a juicy, glistening appearance.)
* Want your Barbecued ribs to look mouth-watering? Half-cook the ribs, paint with wood stain and BBQ sauce.
* Those french fries in a carton? Each one has been individually selected, from hundreds of fries, and secured to a styrofoam base inside the package so that they stand up straight and fan out nicely.
* Hamburger? Do the following...
o Try frying the hamburger for 20 seconds on each side using red-hot skewers pressed against the meat to give it that "grilled" look
o Painting the hamburger with food colouring to give it that plump, brown, juicy appearance.
o Picking the best out of hundreds of hamburger buns (strategically gluing on extra sesame seeds if necessary)
o Lining the buns with cardboard so that they don't get soggy
o Snipping and spreading the burger from behind so that it looks bigger in the bun
o Selecting only the most perfect condiments and securing them in place with toothpicks
o Securing the top of the bun to the hamburger with toothpicks

* The finishing touch to a hot food photo-shoot? Artificial 'steam' placed behind the food to give it that 'fresh from the oven' appearance.

wxwax · July 22, 2004

Good thing the food that I eat can't read or watch TV. Otherwise it would have the same complex some women do, trying to match up to an impossible ideal as portrayed in the media!

zero-zero · July 22, 2004

PDG, while the tricks you're posting are tried-and-true standards, there is a growing number of food photographers that will balk at such artifice and work with the real thing only, albeit tightly groomed by a food stylist, with great results. Besides, there are some countries (the UK amongst them, if I'm not mistaken) where law concerning advertising prevents substitution, so the real product needs to be used. Of course, it might not be fully baked or great tasting, but food photography IS possible with the actual food that is supposed to be featured.

Try to find a copy of "Food in focus", by Charlotte Plimmer, published by Amphoto. It's a bit dated now, but it's still a good book with some great food photography (and some that's over-the-top, too). Check here.

Food Photography Tips and Secrets of the Masters...

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