Food Photography
They aren’t selling sandwiches, or bread, or meat. It’s just a photograph of a sandwich that has meat in it that uses their sausage casing. It’s been called a copy warmer. You can call it what you want, I call it Tasty! Let me know what you think.
Detroit Photographer Thomas Kirby
Here in Detroit we have Coney dogs, Coney Island hot dogs. Like our neighbor to the North's dish of poutine, there is no pretense of health. I suppose you could argue hot dogs themselves are not all that healthy. But when you smother them in chili, mustard and onions you reach a new level. And, like doughnuts, bacon, and all unhealthy foods, they are delicious. Chicago Dogs on the other hand at least have the air of being healthy, with their vegetables, pickles, and the like. Lots of fun to shoot with a super client and crew.
It’s a classically autumn vegetable. Cultivated for centuries, they have been used for food, kitchen tools, toys, musical instruments and decoration. They have fascinating shapes and colors that make interesting subject matter for photography. I’m sticking with the simple approach again, a single light source and a white background. I feel that it allows the nature of the gourd to be revealed. As always, comments are welcome.
Root Vegetables have that gnarled, misshapen, twisted look that I find intriguing. I added glamor to these beets with water, giving them a little shine. It contrasts with the messy root hair and debris on the stems. Photographically, a single light and a simple white background let the beets be the star.
Wax beans provide an interesting subject. The simple curving shape, and nice yellow color make for a less dramatic image than the Garlic Scapes. Still, there is a quiet, subtle beauty to the yellow beans. The organic shapes and calming horizontal lines. Odd numbers seem to work better too. Please let me know what you think.
I like reality, in advertising photography there is an ideal of perfection. I like perfection too, but sometimes, the gritty reality of things is far more interesting. Perfect, straight, and clean carrots might be preferred for some situations, but I like the dirty twisted ones. We got these from our CSA, and they tasted great once they were cleaned up. Please let me know what you think!
It turns out that lots of vegetables are really beautiful. Garlic scapes are right up there. Graceful curves are the best visual part. They’re pretty good when eaten too. I had a hard time deciding my favorite, so I picked three. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
Radicchio, is another one of those really attractive vegetables. I thought a very simple treatment with the dark background would complement the simple beauty of the radicchio. For me, photography it is the ability to reveal the essence of an object, or person. Sometimes, that means high production value and complicated lighting. Other times it means one light in a very simple background. As always I'm interested in your comments and thoughts.
My 5th grade teacher liked to call me Pea-Pod. He had pet names for other kids too, like Meatball and Hotdog. Now, my daughter calls me Pizza. (Long story) I guess I just inspire food names. Personally, I like the visual organic forms of raw food. Less really is more in this case. As always, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts and comments.
I love shooting moody still life images. Onions provided an interesting subject. Warm tones, textured skin, circles and spheres are design elements I can work with. Afterwards, I made some delicious onion soup. I used Thomas Keller’s recipe in the Bouchon cookbook. Awesome! As always, I’m interested in your comments.
I had a couple of down days so I thought I’d shoot something for me. It’s a series of close-up photos of fruit and vegetables. Can you guess what fruit or vegetable this is? If it weren't a fruit or vegetable what might it be? The rest of the series is on my personal blog. 
Please let me know what you think.
I recently was shooting artwork of Dennis Wojtkiewicz and I was inspired to try something similar. His paintings are frankly better than what I have done here (and worth a look), but it was a lot of fun and these aren’t that bad. There is an additional photo on the Studio blog. As always I am interested in your thoughts.
With Zingerman’s bread, I might give it a try. Fortunately, I can get it at a nearby market. The bread itself is beautiful, and the fig jam adds a warm glow. Food photography is fun and challenging. As always, I am interested in your thoughts.
While it may be true that you cannot live on bread alone, Zingermans' bread
comes pretty close. I did not have to go to Ann Arbor to buy it, my local grocery store carries it. It is the best bread I've ever had, so it seemed a good subject for this still life. I thoroughly enjoy shooting rich low-key pictures. The fig jam is a nice extra element. As always let me know that you think.
I’m not much of a drinker - couple of beers or glasses of wine and I’m done. But I did have a smashing great time shooting some vodka drinks. Designers & Partners’ Jim Tocco art directed and did much of the styling. We did 13 shots so it was a busy and productive day.
I recently had the opportunity to do some food photography at Isabella’s, a restaurant in the Soaring Eagle Casino. I spent the day there shooting in a separate dinning room so we would not disturb the patrons.
Working with an assistant, we brought in studio strobes, and set up at a couple of different tables. There was window light as well, so I used a mix of strobe and ambient light. I think it can be a little more interesting when there is a mix of light. The Chef was great, and we had lots of assistance and cooperation from everyone. We shot appetizers, entries and desserts. Food photography is always challenging and lot of fun. Unfortunately, there was not much time to do any gaming or see any shows.
As always, I am interested in any feedback or response you might have. Please let me know what you think.
I completed a shoot for Letica not long ago. They make, among other things, plastic and paper cups, and plastic food containers. I shot the product in action. The photos were used for trade show banners – 84 inches high! Pour shots are challenging. It is necessary to do a fair number of pours to get exactly what you need. This shoot combined product and food as a prop. Ordinarily when I shoot food I like to work with a food stylist, but since the food in these shots was only a prop to help show off the containers, it was not essential to work with a stylist.
I love food photography, partly because I love to cook, and eat, but also because it’s quite challenging. Everything must come together at the same time. Often the window of time that food looks good is quite short, so everything has to be ready. 
I think food stylists are absolutely essential. It’s true that they are expensive, and that they can slow things down, but the difference in outcome is dramatic. Really! Absolutely worth every penny. I’ve had clients tell me that their chef is great at presentation, but making food look good in a photograph is fundamentally different. This is especially true for advertising and packaging photography.
Great food photography starts in pre-production with meetings with the client / chef, the art director, the food stylist, and the photographer. Everyone has to be on the same page about the recipes, the look, the props, and the schedule. There is usually a lot more to pull together before a food shoot than for normal product photography. Before and during the shoot, client involvement, good communication, and teamwork are all essential.
