This is the 3rd (and last!) installment in the PixSylated series on Learning Food Photography. You’ll find several web videos of food shoots, blogs on food & food photography, links to the sites of food shooters and stylists, sources for supplies… and more. [I say "last!" only because these three posts have grown to epic proportions and it's time I move on to completing other PixSylated projects.]

In case you missed the previous posts, here’s a summary. In Part 1, I reviewed a long list of books on food photography and styling. In Part 2, I surveyed workshops, conferences, and trade associations for food photographers and culinary professionals. [Read more →]

PixSylated’s 3-Part Series On Learning Food Photography

• Part 1, Books that deal with food photography and styling.
• Part 2, Workshops, seminars & conferences / trade associations / a DVD.
• Part 3, Site of food shooters & stylists, web videos on food photography, blogs, online resources and sources of supplies

Shooting food is the culinary equivalent of fashion photography. It just happens at a slower pace and smaller scale. Both can be much more difficult than they appear to the uninitiated.

• There’s the issue of lighting. A strobe setup that works when shooting a glamor headshot won’t work when shooting a meal that’s 12″ square. Yet the lighting concepts are often the same.
• There’s the issue of perishability. Just as a waif of a model can’t look like a Cosmo cover 24/7, the food photographer is always wary of his subject melting, wilting, loosing it’s shine or effervescence.
• There’s the issue of styling. Food for photography often is not food for eating. Just as the fashion shooter often lets another professional deal with hair and makeup, a food stylist understands how to primp and massage food for the camera.

Part 1 - Books on Food Photography: If you’re looking for books on nature photography, you can find a herd of them. If you’re looking for books on food photography, you’ll find a scant handful. Here are virtually all the relevant food photography books currently on the market (as both in-print and out-of-print titles).

[Read more →]