A COOK'S KITCHEN

This is a special assignment:

One that may include a person and some food. Make it serious, make it fun… but make it interesting.

I know there are people shooters in the group, and there are tabletop shooters… as well as food and still life shooters who are finding that part of the photographic world to be of interest.

So here is a bit of something for everyone.

The idea is that you are going to shoot a cook and their ‘famous’ recipe. And you can shoot it whichever way YOU want to. Either the cook with a finished food item or the ingredients for a dish all ready to be created.

People with a product – still life with people. For art direction, it is your call.

Let’s say we are shooting a wonderful apple pie. If it is the cook shot, the pie is being held by the cook, or it is on the table next to the cook, or the cook is holding a plate with a slice… or something even cooler than those oft seen images. Something we haven’t seen before. Something NEW, something fresh.

If the shot is the recipe, then there may be some apples and flour and cinnamon all laid out nicely on a cutting board or similar background. Or it could be something no one has ever seen before in the layout of the items to make an apple pie. There would be hands in the photograph to indicate the cook’s involvement.

And it doesn’t have to be apple pie… that was just for illustrative purposes.

Careful planning and even more careful styling can be a big winner for you on these kinds of shots.

Landscape or portrait for this one.

Color, please.

(SPECIAL NOTE: If you simply cannot find a person, do it as a still life… but let us know the recipe when we chat on the webinar. Remember, you can use just someone’s hands working to be the shot if you can at least find someone who will cut on a chopping block for you… heh. (Beware of sharp objects… 🙂 )

Lighting Considerations.

Note how many of the images above show light coming from the side or back. We would normally backlight product/recipe work, but when people are involved they would block all the light. So consider large scrims to the side, or window light. Fill is, of course, your call, but remember that deep shadows can be a problem for magazine printing (the inks get too dark and unattractively ‘muddy’.)

Sometimes you can bounce light into the ceiling for a nice ambient wash. A lot of photographers do that, and it is fine.

But remember, if that is ALL you do, you may have a large, uninteresting flat-lit blob of a photo. Add the ceiling light as your ambient, then another light as your ‘main’. Fill cards, reflectors and such to taste. (See what I did there… heh.)

Images Deconstructed:

IDEAS AND TIPS:

Start with a ‘list of ideas’. Make sure your ideas are viable AFTER you make the list. Think of it as a brainstorming idea page where you put down every idea you have no matter how fanciful or impossible. Once you fill that sheet of paper up, go back and begin to find those ideas that may spark others that make more sense to you.

If you can get to a restaurant, or a neighbor has a great recipe or kitchen, then make a list of all the gear you are going to need.

Then add a bit more of everything – you will probably need it.

Tips:

• Do not forget the background. Is it a mess, or tidy. Have you lit it so it is not a dark hole of shadowy death? Sorry.
• Watch for items that may distract. The eye will seek out text, so boxes or refrigerator art with text may be a problem.
• Watch out for unwieldy shadows. Main light shadows that do not fit with the scene. Shadows that do make sense are of course welcome.
• POV. Too low and we pick up too much ceiling. Too high and we can get too much floor. If you choose a dramatic angle, make sure it lends power or interest to the image.
• Lens choice. Watch out for ultra-wide lenses and distortion. If you want to use the exaggerated view of a wide angle, be super careful of the background and the edges.

Remember that this is what we call a “hero” image. The shot must be organized and composed so as to present the hero… either the cook or the dish.