Photos of food can now be seen on billboards, restaurant signs, and even on Instagram. Many girls, visiting a restaurant or just seeing a beautifully decorated food, try to immediately post it on a social network. Dishes look beautiful and appetizing. It turns out that there are secrets, by learning which you can professionally present us with original pictures of delicious food.
Profession Features
A food stylist is a person who can present a photo of food so that you definitely want to eat it. Food stylists work wonders, their juicy pictures can be found in cookbooks or in the restaurant menu. Even the most ordinary dish or just an apple cut in half can look like you can't take your eyes off them. Masters are always ready to make a video of cooking and their actions resemble the work of an artist. Their creations are often used for advertising, so that observers not only buy the product, but also enjoy watching it.
A food stylist must have talent and understand the technology for performing the photographic process. It is very important to know how to position the dish, choose the lighting, showing it from the most favorable angle.
Any surprises on the set, a variety of dishes and products should be the norm for a professional. Indeed, many hours of work in the frame requires a quick reaction and informed decisions.
How to become
To become a food stylist, you do not need to graduate from an institute or take certain courses. The main thing for this profession should be a great desire to photograph. Take pictures beautifully and skillfully, have a shutter speed, know everything about contour lighting and aperture.The master should have talent, imagination and his own view of the world, meticulousness in the details and hands suitable for such delicate work. In order to take pictures not for a home amateur album, but to advance and be famous, you need to collect a portfolio of the most successful works and show them in advertising agencies or restaurants. They always use the services of this professional.
Even if you have not been trained, but you have the necessary skills and knowledge, there is a chance to get this job. But you certainly should have knowledge about cooking.
This can be a cook’s education or a certificate of training in cooking at renowned schools such as Leiths School of Food and Wine or Le Cordon Bleu.
After all, working as a food stylist, you must know all the stages of creating dishes. You can also learn yourself, for this there is a lot of information in the Internet space. Visiting various food conferences and participating in webinars will only benefit you. It is best to learn from examples, for this, take the time to look at the works of famous food photographers.
Useful Tips
As soon as the profession began to become popular, different methods were applied to create a beautiful photo, which have nothing to do with the natural preparation of products and natural ingredients that can be eaten. For example, using a blowtorch to create a golden crust or using a lime solution instead of mayonnaise. Now everything has changed, food stylists use real products and natural methods.
- Tip # 1. Of course, for high-quality shooting, first of all, you must have high-quality equipment. The camera must meet all professional requirements. The presence of a graphic tablet is also necessary, because after viewing frames small defects can be detected, and with the help of a tablet they can be easily retouched.
- Tip # 2. For an original and vivid photo, you need to buy only beautiful and fresh food. If it is fruit or vegetables, then look for perfect specimens, without cuts and dents, with a large size and a juicy, ripe color. If it is a fish, then it should also be fresh with a healthy color. After all, if the products in their natural form look beautiful and appetizing, but in the photo they will undoubtedly look even better without the use of retouching or special effects.
- Tip # 3. The correct arrangement of products on a plate is an important criterion in creating a quality frame. Food stylists have a special rule for the location of products. The plate is a dial. A place for two hours is provided for meat, six hours for vegetables, and ten hours for a side dish (potatoes, pasta or other carbohydrates). All professionals adhere to this method, since a composition divided into three parts will be well deposited in memory. If you want to focus on any other product, then it simply needs to be raised higher relative to other foods.
- Tip # 4. For photos to be natural, you must use natural light. Good photos are obtained on a sunny day, when you can use both light and shaded areas. If it is a cloudy day, then the window will be the best place for a photo. If it is a completely dark rainy day, then you can’t do without using a flash.
- Tip # 5. For a perfect photo, work must be done quickly and skillfully. After all, if you are looking all day for a zone or a suitable side of the product, but in the end the product will lose its fresh appearance.
- Tip # 6. To extend the aesthetic and fresh appearance of your products during the photo shoot, spray them with lemon juice or ice water 15-20 minutes before starting work. If these are cooked dishes, then it is better to refresh them only with water, and if fried, then only with oil.
- Tip # 7. To show dishes from the best side and to emphasize them, use plates of the same color.For this, white or blue dishes with a wide rim are better. Always keep the bezel open; do not lay food on top of it. So the dishes will look elegant and remarkable. As for the dishes themselves and cutlery, it is better to purchase an expensive option.
- Tip # 8. If you are photographing a hamburger or similar food, then use the background and stand. Try to make the frame simpler, do not attract other dishes and accessories.
