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This was pretty much a dream day of shooting for me…except that I had to forego my breakfast with these three lovely ladies. But duty called, and I hope they will forgive me when they see what fun I had, and the teeny tiny, crust-less sandwiches I got to shoot!
I hope you enjoy these shots from Afternoon Tea at Shangri-la Hotel in Vancouver. And then I hope you go for tea! And invite me with you!
~ j
I love team efforts. There’s not much else more satisfying for me (the collaborative type) than to work with other creative, brilliant, talented and FUN foodies.
This article was written for the Winter 2010 issue of Chefs Quarterly by Simon Ogden, Lead Bartender at Voya in The Loden Hotel (and my other half, and yes, all talented bartender AND writer), featuring cocktails made by the fabulous Lauren Mote of The Refinery, and photographed by yours truly. What a team!
I’ve also included some of the other shots we photographed that day (above and below)…thank you to Simon and Lauren for a nice little afternoon.
We’re nearing the next 2 workshops, and there’s only a few spots left if you’re wanting to improve your food photography skills!
• SOLD OUT! Food Photography+Food Styling 101: A Workshop for Food Bloggers & Other Creative Types
Taught by myself and my food stylist Angie Martin, we’ll show you how to not only photograph your dishes, but techniques on how to cook for the camera. We’ll debunk myths about using glue, paint & other toxic materials in food photography (hint hint: we prefer the natural way of doing things, though a touch of glue can do wonders!)
Saturday March 27th, 1pm
• 1 SPOT LEFT! (c’mon…you know you want it) Food Photography 101: A Workshop for Food Bloggers & Other Creative Types
The focus here will be of course on the technical side of food photography as we’ve done in the past, but also because of all the feedback and questions I’ve received on this topic I’ll spend a large part of the workshop on composition (where does that darn fork go?!).
Saturday April 3rd, 1pm
Venue: The Refinery
$45 (gst included)
~~~
I continually get asked by those learning food photography how to shoot better in restaurants with low lighting, or at home in natural light, and without spending wads of cash on equipment. That is exactly what these workshop are all about: simple and affordable solutions that will improve your photographs. We’ll be doing a bit of talking but mostly shooting, so be sure to bring your gear. Not a food blogger, but love shooting your kitchen creations and want to learn new techniques? You’re more than welcome too!
The Details:
Shooting meat can be tough - especially when it’s a giant rack of ribs slathered in an extremely thick, dark sauce. Usually shooting brown food is something that can easily turn out unappetizing, but when a client requests their half rack of ribs to be included on the shotlist, you’d better make it look good.
So, here’s the half rack of ribs I photographed last week along with my Food Stylist Angie and photo assistant Naz for Rockford Wok/Bar/Grill, Northland Properties‘ newest restaurant in the Nelsen Lodge at the base of Revelstoke Mountain Resort in Revelstoke, B.C.
Issue #1: dark sauce. I mean look at that - it’s nearly black.
Issue #2: we’re shooting in front of a window for the beautiful back-lit effect that I almost always strive for and most clients love, but because the ribs are so dark & glossy, the sheen that the entire right side of the ribs has is way too high contrast for my liking. We want the sheen, but not that strong.
Issue #3: that is one large plate of meat.
high contrast Ribs
Issue #1: the rich, dark sauce is what makes these ribs a signature item on the menu, so there was certainly no changing that. However Angie and Chef Harley did a great job of using it just enough to make the ribs, well, look like ribs, but not enough that we would have to shoot a saucy, soupy plate of ribs. Success!
Issue #2: Placing a diffusing panel between the food and the natural light coming through the window solved the problem of all those sharp edged shiny reflections. I carry a 5 in 1 reflector made by Interfit and I use it daily…it’s one of my ‘don’t leave home without it’ items.
Issue #3: Again, when you’re shooting a menu item for a client it’s extremely important to stay true to form - there’s not going to be much deviating from how a guest would receive the item when ordered off the menu, so shooting this rack of ribs, at this portion size, was a must. The key here was composition; keeping a focus on the ribs while using the french fries & coleslaw to balance it all.
Better Ribs!
Atlas lunch menu: Fish Tacos
Avenue Bistro & Atlas Cafe, both in the Comox Valley and owned by the lovely Sandra & Trent, are return clients of mine for which I’m incredibly grateful. I’m not even exaggerating for the purpose of this blog post - they are talented and generous and collaborative and I could eat nothing else but Atlas Cafe’s falafel for the rest of my life and be happy. Ok, and maybe bartender Christina’s smoothie to balance it out.
Initially I photographed Avenue when it first opened (2 years ago? 3?! Wow time flies!) and recently went back to take some updated shots, followed by a day at Atlas shooting food, staff, and the restaurant interior for an update of their website. I occasionally need to dust off my headshot shooting skills for some of my restaurant clients (there are actual people full of talent & creativity behind all of the delicious food that I shoot) and they need to be in the spotlight sometimes too, as much as they resist every waking second of it. The interesting part about this here though, was that we shot customers: real restaurant guests that we often ambushed prior to their lunch. Thankfully they were all wonderful sports! Here’s a few of my favourites, plus some tasty food shots too.
Christina @ Atlas garnishing a Mojito
Atlas dinner menu: steak, potatoes + seasonal veg
Avenue Bistro
Find Avenue Bistro: website • @avenuebistro • Facebook Fan Page
Find Atlas Cafe: website
Seriously, go for the falafel! Go now!
~ j
Here’s something from The Fish House in Stanley Park photographed by yours truly to inspire your leisurely lunching activities. (c’mon, what, you mean you don’t go lunching?!)
So this was a dose (ha ha) of something different into my food and beverage shooting routine: prescription medication! However, Jane & Greg at Living Room Pharmacy were a breath of fresh air. They were recommended to me by a dear and long time client of mine, Sandra of Atlas Cafe & sister restaurant Avenue Bistro, all of which are in the Comox Valley (that’s on Vancouver Island, about mid way up, for all you city dwelling folk).
The main focus of the day was to get some shallow depth of field still-life shots of what happens behind the pharmacy counter, as well as a few lifestyle photos in and around the store. The behind the scenes shots was the fun part, because us creatives on set got to pick out the most colourful, crazy, psychedelic looking pills for the shots…like kids in a candy store (and then we got the explanation of what each one was for!).
Also on this project, and driving Living Room Pharmacy’s re-branding from their previous identity, was Perry & Mandy at Spring Advertising. I’ve been to Spring’s office, and it’s busy, let me tell you. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, but they’re doing something right because they’ve got some great clients and neat projects on the go. Maybe it’s because they offer to go out and grab a coffee for all those waiting in their lounge chairs like they did for me (or else that kind man thought I was someone much more important than I actually am). Either way, I just hope Perry’s fancy new wheels didn’t get him a speeding ticket on the way home from our shoot that day. Perry: I, too, have new wheels now, so ha.
Find Spring: @SpringAd • Facebook Fan Page • website
Find Living Room Pharmacy: website
Find Atlas Cafe and Avenue Bistro: Atlas website • Avenue website • @avenue • Avenue Facebook Fan Page
~ j
photo: © 2009 Danno
I continually get asked by those learning food photography how to shoot better in restaurants with low lighting, or at home in natural light, and without spending wads of cash on equipment. That is exactly what these workshop are all about: simple and affordable solutions that will improve your photographs. We’ll be doing a bit of talking but mostly shooting, so be sure to bring your gear. Not a food blogger, but love shooting your kitchen creations and want to learn new techniques? You’re more than welcome too!
The Details:
The Workshops:
• Food Photography+Food Styling 101: A Workshop for Food Bloggers & Other Creative Types
Taught by myself and my food stylist Angie Martin, we’ll show you how to not only photograph your dishes, but techniques on how to cook for the camera. We’ll debunk myths about using glue, paint & other toxic materials in food photography (hint hint: we prefer the natural way of doing things, though a touch of glue can do wonders!)
Saturday March 27th, 1pm
Venue: Jackie’s studio - 336 East 1st Ave Vancouver
$65 (gst included)
• Food Photography 101: A Workshop for Food Bloggers & Other Creative Types
The focus here will be of course on the technical side of food photography as we’ve done in the past, but also because of all the feedback and questions I’ve received on this topic I’ll spend a large part of the workshop on composition (where does that darn fork go?!).
Saturday April 3rd, 1pm
Venue: The Refinery
$45 (gst included)
