Things that make you go hmmm..

Went to a Chinese restaurant with my co-workers recently. And stumbled upon the photographer engaged by the eatery to shoot some promotional pictures on their food offerings.

Food photography I learnt is considered one of the most difficult specialties for professional photographers. There is a saying in the industry, “If you can shoot food, you can shoot anything.”

After a chat with the staff, I was told that the primary reason for this difficulty is how little time you have to shoot before the food looks like garbage. Within 1-3 minutes after putting a beautiful plate on a table to shoot, whip cream runs, wet food dries, fried food becomes greasy, ice cream melts, and steaming food doesn’t. Sometimes you only have time to get off 2-3 shots before the food is no longer at its photographic best. I also noticed that the staff applied layers of oil played on their beancurd speciality, among others to enhance the beauty of the food shots.

Further research on the Internet revealed that numerous elements contribute to effective and beautiful food photography: the recipe, the styling, the props, and of course, the quality of the food itself. But nothing influences the beauty of a food photograph as much as the lighting.