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1. Jeremy Merriam Food Photography JeremyMerriam.com
Jeremy Merriam Food
Photography
http://www.jeremymerriam.com/ Page 1
Food Photographers - The Elements That Help Create An Appetizing
Shot
Chances are you have seen a photograph of food somewhere in your lifetime. There are pictures of food
everywhere; on billboards, in menus, hidden between the pages of your cookbook, and even on the plethora
of fast food coupons you receive in the mail each day. These pictures don?t just suddenly appear where you
see them. In fact, they are the result of the hard work of food photographers. These professionals have
decided to use food as their number one subject in all of their photo shoots. You may be wondering, what
exactly makes a photo appetizing? What makes it seem like the food is actually sitting in front of you waiting
to be eaten? There are many important elements that a photographer must consider when taking pictures of
edible arrangements.
Deciding on a setting is one of the most important elements. Simply setting a plate of food on an empty
countertop and snapping a shot may not be the most seductive way to present an entr?e. Photographers
must arrange a setting that captures your eye in such a way that you feel you are sitting at the table ready
to eat. For example, if a restaurant is working to advertise a new delicious cut of steak, it may not be their
best choice to simply present a picture of a steak. Rather, they will work together with a professional
photographer to create a complete dinner setting. The picture may include fresh table linens, a tall glass of
bubbling wine and complementary side dishes. This photo is much more likely to capture the attention of
adventurous guests versus a plain boring photo of a cut of steak.
Have you ever been drawn to try a new dish because of the plethora of colors in it? Colorful food is often
much more appetizing to the majority of the population than food of a single color. If a photographer is
photographing a food item that is one color only, he will often play around with the light to bring out some of
the different hues of that specific color. Working with light and color in this way is called color balancing. If a
picture is being taken of a colorful salad, each part of the salad (each vegetable) will be positioned in such a
way that the viewer can see every color on display.
It doesn?t just take one picture to achieve the perfect shot. Often, professionals will practice with the food
item multiple times before they create the perfect photo. Some food items may look better from a certain
angle than others. Certain dishes may be enhanced by taking a shot from a higher level while others may
look better when the picture is taken from a straight-on angle. Positioning the food and taking more than one
photo are ways that photographers achieve those appetizing photos you find yourself drooling over.
s understand what it takes to make food appear amazingly delicious. Their skill and experience help them to
take photos that are beautiful, exciting, and emotion-evoking all at the same time. They do this by putting
together the perfect setting, working skillfully to achieve color balance, and taking photos over and over
again until the perfect mouth-watering shot is created. Next time you see a picture of a delicious entr?e on
your favorite restaurant?s menu, perhaps you?ll think twice about the work that went into photographing
that perfect picture.
Document Tags: food photography, food photographer