P#26 Q2A: A Pinch of This... a Dash of That: Tips on Preparing Food for Photography

Work with the Pros

Ron Goldman: The best thing you can do when preparing food for photography is have a stylist or a chef that you can work with. It's really two different industries and they're so separate from each other. Preparing food and laying it out on a plate nicely is beyond the scope of most photographers, although most, if not all, have had to do both sometimes.

It's difficult enough to handle the photograph aspect of food, let alone the cooking and styling of it. If you can find someone to trade services with, such as a culinary school or a local restaurant in need of photographs for their menus or their advertising, it can really work out well. Then you can have them prepare and style the food you shoot so that you can concentrate on the photography aspect of it.

Audri Lanford: That's a really good tip. There are probably quite a few restaurants and culinary schools that would be happy to do that.

Ron Goldman: It's amazing to me how many restaurants have terrible photographs for their menus and advertising. Everyone that I've ever talked to, every restaurant that I've approached, has been more than willing to trade services. It's a great way to build your portfolio and get a lot of experience without it costing you a fortune to pay a stylist a personal chef to come in and prepare the dishes for you while you photograph.

Audri Lanford: One of the things that I've heard for years is that the food that you actually see in photographs is not real food. Do you need to use substitutes like glue for milk in cereal in order to make it look good?

Ron Goldman: I believe that a lot of that took place a long time ago. I have yet to run across any shoot that I've done or have been present at where they've substituted articles trying to prepare food for photography.

I'm sure that everything being moved into the digital age has helped with that considerably. You can take a shot of something or view it on your computer right away without having to wait for processing or slides.

Everything I've ever shot has been natural. You bring it right out of the kitchen -- the actual food that was cooked and styled and shot. We've never substituted anything. Not even glue for milk.

Audri Lanford: That might rival for the biggest myth of food for photography because I've heard that one over and over and over.

Ron Goldman: It's probably up to each individual photographer. I'm sure that there are people that still do things like that. I just personally have not run across anybody who is substituting items like that.

In Conclusion

When it comes to your food photography shots looking good, it's best to work with professional stylists or chefs. According to Ron Goldman, that doesn't mean breaking the bank. See if you can barter services with a restaurant or culinary school. If you shoot pictures for them, they can prepare your food for photography in exchange.