food photography
Food photography is a branch not only of advertising (product) photography, but also of fashion photography: that is, there are fashions in the food itself, and also in the way it is photographed.
Early food photography—even into the 1960s and 1970s—tended to be formalized, symmetrical, and dull. The food was extremely highly finished, often slicked with glycerine to add a shine and shrouded in cigarette smoke blown over it to simulate steam. From the 1950s onwards, the ‘lifestyle’ aspect became more and more important. At first the settings were as glossy and unrealistic as the food: the most popular scenarios were the banquet, or the suburban home. In the late 1970s or early 1980s, photographers concentrated more upon the shapes and textures of the food, also on the surroundings, sometimes taking either approach to extremes. The shapes and textures school would arrange miserably few slivers of food on a huge plate, while those who favoured surroundings sometimes showed so much of an Umbrian courtyard or a stainless-steel kitchen that a lively game of hunt-the-food ensued.
To ensure natural-looking food, as few tricks as possible are used, though a few ruses remain and are essential: for example, over-filling sandwiches or wraps to the point where they can hardly be picked up and eaten. In general, better lighting and faster photography (so that the food does not go cold and congealed) have replaced all the other tricks, though beer is still salted to make it foam and olive oil may be used to add a sheen to meat. Garnishes are as important as ever, especially with heavily sauced foods such as Mexican or Indian, which can all too easily look like a pile of brown sludge.
Where the budget allows, the easiest way to photograph food is in three stages. For the first, the position of the food in the set is ‘blocked in’ with handfuls of crumpled tissue paper or other substitutes. For the second, the dish is cooked and set up and the final lighting decided, along with Polaroids for exposure determination. Finally, a freshly cooked plate of the same dish is set up, and photographed very quickly at its best.
Props are very important. Some can be well worn, such as knives, cutting boards, and copper saucepans or iron frying pans. Others must be brand new, or almost brand new, or they look shabby and unhygienic: plates, (most) glasses, plastic cutting boards. And then there are a few tricks such as plastic ice-cubes or spray-on mist to create the impression of a cold glass, though increasingly the latter would be done with real condensation and fresh drinks.
Although large formats dominated in the past, today 6 × 7 cm and even 35 mm deliver acceptable quality because films are so much better than they used to be. Although flash does not dry out the food like hot lights, mixed flash and hot lights can be useful for creating a sunny ambience, whether dawn or (more usually) the setting sun.
— Roger W. Hicks
