| I was given the opportunity by a client of mine to | | | | commercial food photographer has to either take a |
| work with a photographer who specialize in | | | | great picture quickly or have many of the commercial |
| photographing food. Initially I thought the couple of | | | | items on hand. Or a professional food photographer |
| days we had planned together would suffer for | | | | can delve into his bag of tricks. |
| excitement. I was wrong when I found myself | | | | One of the tricks within food photography, aside |
| fascinated by how hard it is to make food look good | | | | from the usual photography tools, includes using a |
| enough to want a consumer to purchase it and how | | | | brush to spread vegetable oil or glycerin on the |
| much difference a quality photograph can name in | | | | commercial item to create shine. Some commercial |
| providing mouth watering spectacle. | | | | photographers in the food photography industry |
| My visit was to Cooke Studio, managed by | | | | make steam come off meals that are supposed to |
| commercial photographer Colin Cooke, who | | | | be hot - one of the methods is to warm wet cotton |
| specializes in food photography. Interested parties | | | | balls in the microwave and put the steaming cotton |
| can find a series of commercial, editorial, and still life | | | | balls behind the bowl or plate. Sometimes |
| portfolios on the website for a general sample of the | | | | photographed ice cream is not ice cream at all, but |
| studio's work. It certainly takes talent to be a | | | | colored mashed potatoes to give it that just-scooped |
| commercial photographer, but even more to make | | | | look that won't melt. In place of whipped cream, |
| food photography look so good. Cooke Studio has | | | | shaving cream is used. For any sort of liquid shot, like |
| had such high profile clients like Häagen-Daas, | | | | pouring liquid into ripples, some commercial |
| Dove, Healthy Choice, Ecco Domani, Dannon, and | | | | photographers will use a thicker substance that pours |
| Renaissance. | | | | more slowly so that it can be photographed more |
| As a commercial photographer, Colin Cooke has had | | | | easily. Meat in food photos are usually partially |
| to use the typical tools of the trade - lighting, angles, | | | | cooked in order to prevent them from drying out |
| real and digital enhancements that every commercial | | | | and shrinking - instead, they stay plump. PVA often |
| photographer needs to know. Food photography is | | | | replaces milk in a shot of cereal because soggy cereal |
| much like shooting a still life, except a commercial | | | | does not look appetizing. The ice cubes you see in |
| photographer has two goals: the first is to make | | | | food advertising are usually plastic with a little bit of |
| each final product a work of art. The second is to sell | | | | water sprayed on for that sheen. Even fruit gets the |
| the item. For food photography, this means that a | | | | star treatment - some food photographers enhance |
| commercial photographer must make the food look | | | | a strawberry's color with lipstick. |
| as edible and mouth-watering as possible. Of course, | | | | All very interesting ways to avoid the pitfalls of food |
| in this instance, food photography is different from | | | | photography or to enhance the photography |
| most other kinds of commercial photography | | | | experience. In the end, the subterfuge yields tasty |
| because its subjects tend to go bad. As a result, a | | | | results. |