One photography goal I have for 2012 is to learn more about food styling & food photography. I love to cook. I love to eat. I love photography. It just seems natural that I would combine food and photography together.
This, however, has turned out to be much more challenging than I originally anticipated. This month my wonderfully supportive group of food styling and photographer friends had the challenge of photographing a vegetable two ways. Both raw and cooked in a recipe then featured side by side in a collage.
I made three attempts to fulfill this goal and I learned a lot {food styling is harder than it looks, it is hard to style cooked food, the dishes/plates/napkins/table make a big difference + more}. I did not however feel as though I got images that I love this month. I tried brussels sprouts {just sauteed with olive oil, salt & pepper}, artichoke {hard to style}, and then my last try before the month ran up was the zucchini you will see below.
I have started reading Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling by Helene Dujardin which has some really great inside tips on how she sets up her shots, her gear, and her lighting. I also started watching Food & Drink Photography by Bill Robbins on Lynda.com. I was overjoyed to see they had some videos since it can really help to actually watch someone in action. Some of the girls in the group have posted links to workshops on food photography & styling too which is now added to my {long} photography wish list.
The recipe I choose was adapted from Cooking With Paula Deen titled Fettuccine with Zucchini Ribbons. It is in the March/April 2012 issue of her magazine and it was delicious as well as super easy. I will be adding it to my list of recipes to rotate through on a week night for sure. You cook the pasta {I couldn’t find fettuccine so I used another type} while you puree the sauce in the food processer {it includes cilantro, parsley, sweet onion, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and fresh jalapeno}. After the pasta is cooked you toss it in the sauce along with the raw zucchini slices {I used a vegetable peeler for that task}.
I have seen some really impressive practice shots in our group this month so I cannot wait to make my way through the circle to see the final images. Be sure to visit Tammy Bilodeau, Whitecourt AB Photographer next then follow the links in each post back to me.
