Food Photography As Play
Harmonious passion is taking joy in a process rather than feeling pressure to achieve and outcome -- Adam Grant
"Harmonious passion is taking joy in a process rather than feeling pressure to achieve and outcome. You're no longer practicing under the specter of should. … You're drawn into a web of want. That makes it easier to find flow: you slip quickly into the zone of total absorption". -- Adam Grant, Hidden Potential, 2023
Reading that Adam Grant quote was revelatory for me. It explained why I gravitated to food photography in the last few years. I love looking at and eating beautiful food. I'm not one that reflexively pulls out my phone camera at a restaurant to post pix of my meal on social media. Ugh!
My preference is to make something at home with
, food stylist and professional pastry chef. We make specialty confections and desserts for local restaurants. We use the images for promotional flyers and occasional social media ad campaigns. The photography sessions evolved into play time.Equipment set up is very simple and efficient:
A pair of LED panel lights on stands with adjustable color temperature and power for still photos and video clips
3 strobe lights with umbrella diffusers for still photos only
My SLR camera and both of our iPhone cameras
White foam core boards from a local art supply shop for fill-in reflectors
One ring light for fill-in, as needed
We use our kitchen counter and dining table as staging platforms
Linda's collections of crystal and china are used for styling
Our creative process is efficient as well. Linda peruses her vast recipe library to choose an item to make, a "restaurant special" for example. We brainstorm and plan how to best present the image: plating, garnishes, flatware, backgrounds, and decorations. We go shopping for the ingredients and decorations that we do not have on hand. The items are made in our kitchen, then the fun begins!
While Linda is plating and styling the dish, I set up lights, reflectors, and cameras to show the dish according to our plan. Test shots are made and we critically evaluate each image. Once setup is finalized, we take photos from several angles with the SLR and iPhones. Video clips are made using our iPhone cameras. We end up with about 30-40 photos and a dozen video clips that we will pare down.
The next stage of play is culling the photo batch down to a few standouts and video editing. I load up my photo editing software and step through each image. We can quickly evaluate and select or reject and image. Next. Next. Next. Next is video editing, if videos are in our plan. This is a fun creative space for me where I can stitch together clips, add royalty-free music, include images we just made, add descriptive text titles. I'll show video "drafts" to Linda for her to review and recommend edits and changes. Once the video is completed, Linda then uploads to her designated social media sites and we send email with images and video links to our mailing list. Done!
As I began my photography avocation, I never considered the category of food photography as something of interest. It was not until I had a pragmatic need for it that I undertook the endeavor. I have found enormous enjoyment in the process of food photography and videography.
If you would like to collaborate on a food photography project, please let me know! You can send me a direct message on Substack or via email to pcaloca@gmail.com.
Here are some example photos Linda and I have made. I hope you enjoy them.
BONUS: Video slideshow available
I just have one question.. how you can be in the presence of that yummy food and not want to nibble? 😆 These are beautiful shots - thank you for sharing Linda and your work!
Now I can't take food photos for granted. These are ... mouth-watering. The raspberries give the minis a sense of scale. Beautiful work.