Food, Product and Commercial Photography…. “Let’s get into it!”
Episode 16: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Today we are answering all of your photography questions from professional to amateur and so much more with the incredible David Patiño!
We have the one, the only, the incredibly, David Patino. He’s an AMAZING and talented creative who you should know and contact. He’s got a youtube channel with tons of awesome information, his instagram and of course he had a podcast called “Office Hours” with A TON of great photography conversations. I know what you’re thinking….”Why is there a picture of La Croix? What does that have to do with food photography?” Great question! It’s a nod to one of my closest friends, photography mentor and my guest this week. He pretty much only drinks La Croix, once and awhile will branch out to San Pellegrino but almost always drinks La Croix and his favorite flavor….Hi-Biscus! So that’s why!
Photo Props:
Anything can be used as a food prop. You would be so surprised what you already have in your house. First though, think about the shoot, conceptualize this and figure out what you need. Ask your friends, family and see what you can borrow but honestly they probably will let you keep it because it’s just collecting dust at their house. And then I love go to antique stores, garage sales, good will and other local stores. You don’t have to spend a lot of money props and a little goes a long way. And let me tell you, it’s a slippery slope of when you start “collecting” photo props and you blink….BAM your whole house is filled with photo props!
Backdrops:
Personally, I feel like everything can be used as a backdrop! From floor tiles at Lowe’s or Home Depot that look like “marble” counter tops to stick on tiles that you can put on foam board for backsplashes. For more editorial or colorful backdrops you can use seamless paper or large color aid paper sheets. Removable wallpaper, cool textiles, textures of larger cloth napkins. Don’t limit yourself!! Be creative my friends!
Photography Tips:
With photography, it’s lighting, lighting, lighting! You can have the best camera and the lens on the market but unless you really understand lighting the photos you are capturing could just be “luck” or not be conveying the emotions you are hoping to. The emotion you are capturing in the photo is really what sets the tone of photo. Play around with lighting as much as possible and don’t be afraid to ask questions to figure out “how” someone created that photo.
Get close! David says, “Don’t be afraid to lead the viewer…” You want to don’t need to show the entire burger or steak to get the viewer to understand what they are looking at. Sometimes less is more.
For equipment, you don’t have to buy brand new. Buy used equipment from a trusted source or even better, if you are looking to dive into some new equipment maybe rent the gear first for a week or two. Play around with it and see if it’s what you really want. You are most likely going to spend more money on lens in the long term than camera bodies and you will most likely keep those lens for years longer than you will camera bodies. Companies we have both used in the past are KEH and B&H and I also personally love a local store here in New England called Hunt Photo. Whatever you get, really do you best to learn how to use the camera and lens. You can get BEAUTIFUL shots with not expensive equipment.
Lenses…for food photography…you really want something like a 50mm, 85mm or if you can afford it, the 100mm Macro is where it’s at. A wide angle lens is ok in a pinch but as David says, “It’s going to distort some of the edges”. But spend the most amount of money you can on the lenses as you will most likely keep them forever.
Read your manual and again don’t be afraid to ask questions to your people!
Don’t forget to take time to still make photography “fun” for you. When you transition this to being a career there are lot of more things you have to deal with and picking up a camera can be such a small part of doing this full time so make time to play around with your camera and photography. Share them with the world! When you do this for a living your “style” may start to take a backseat so again find your balance.
Let’s switch gears a little bit and let’s talk about smoking meats!
When it comes to a grill or a smoker…you can actually do this in your grill if you want to just buy a smoker box. The bonus to buying a smoker is you can control the temperature which is kind of key when it comes to making a good juicy brisket. Honestly if you spend $200 - $400 on a decent smoker and you take care of it, it will last you years but not a lifetime.
Wood chips…certain wood chips go better with certain foods. The lighter flavored woods like apple, cherry, maple, pecan go with foods that are more delicate like fish, veggies, pork and chicken. The stronger flavored woods like mesquite and hickory go great with beef. The point of the wood is to enhance and impart flavors and notes but you still want to taste the protein or the veggies. You don’t want to over power the foods. But play around with it and maybe you like that more smokey flavor.
Cold smoke verse hot smoked salmon…both are fun to try to make, I love them both and both need to planned ahead a little bit. Here’s a great link for cold smoked salmon and here’s a link for hot smoked salmon.
What to bring to a friend’s house:
Charcuterie Boards… here’s a link on how to put a great one together!
Classic Caprese Salad
Here’s an AMAZING Panzanella Salad from Love and Lemons
Patino’s Next Day Brisket Sando:
Crusty Roll or Fresh Baguette
Cold Smoked Brisket (1/4 inch slices) (warmed in a pan with a tiny bit of water so it doesn’t dry out)
DONE!
Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth
