Today I was sent an email that gave me the inspiration to answer through a short blog post, as I am sure many of you out there would have been in the same situation at least once before; the email says :

Hi Dario, 

I came to your workshop in Melbourne earlier in the year and I wanted to pick your brain regarding a project I've been asked to do - food photography! 

I've been asked to prepare a quote to photograph 10 recipes for a food company and I am unsure where I should start with the quote. The client will be using the photographs in printed material such as newsletters and on the product packaging themselves, also on their website and other social media. I'm unsure how I should charge them for the high res files and I was wondering if you would kindly pass on some of your knowledge in the area? Please? 

Now, the person asking the question is clearly not a professional food photographer; she is infact a food blogger with a passion for photography, and she definitely knows how to use her camera , but she is not set up as a professional, neither has the experience and workflow of a professional.

Therefore she should not charge professional rates; if she did, the client would most certainly back off and reject the quote. If, by chance, the client accepted the quote charged at professional rates, other and possibly bigger issues could rise later on due to her lack of experience resulting in the incapability to meet the client's expectations. Things could turn bitter.

So let me say it once again: if you are not a professional, just be honest about it with your client and you'll still get some money for your images, at the same time getting away with doing an ok but not perfect job.

Be truthful to yourself and be smart; chances are the client has a budget in mind and you might as well be in competition with other photographers to get the job - if the client wanted a professional job, he/she would ask a professional. And maybe he/she  did, in wich case the client knows what a professional would charge and is now enquiring with you to get a cheaper price.

So, trying to give my student a constructive answer, I would say: ask your client if he/she has a budget in mind and, if you reach an agreement, just make sure its terms are cristal clear - black on white is always a good idea, and in many cases an email is sufficient.

If you have just been asked to photograph ( not going shopping, propping, cooking, styling AND photograph ) 10 recipes, then you should be happy to take home between $ 500 - $ 700 for a day's work - and yes, that's including basic retouching, unless you've been asked to get creative with the post processing and you have the skills to do that; in that case I would charge extra for the retouching based on a hourly rate.

As for the rights to the images, sorry to disappoint you once again: it's usually total buyout in similar circumstances. We are assuming, as I said before, that if the client wanted a professional job, he/she would go to a professional - but you are not in the position to negotiate rights; from your perspective you should see this as a great chance to gain some field experience doing what you like and getting paid for your time while you're having fun with it.

Food photography and food styling are a very competitive niche and when you're just getting started experience is more valuable than a few extra bucks. 

Dario Milano is a professional food stylist and food photographer based in Sydney and freelancing for editorial and advertising clients.

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Posted in food photography sydney, food styling sydney, dario milano, prop hire online sydney, food pixels

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Ok maybe that's a little extreme….

The simple truth is that Food Styling and Food Photography are a very specialized niche and those who succesfully work in it, totally master their craft and have built their clientele over a long period of time; getting in is hard - that's for sure.

However if you are really determined, then here is my best advice on how to get started:

 you need a Portfolio  You need a GREAT Portfolio

Let's develop this concept: your Portfolio is gonna get you work ( or not ), so it has to be awesome. How many photos will you put in your Portfolio? IT DEPENDS - you only want to show your best work, so if you have a lot of great images go ahead and show them to the world; otherwise choose only the very best and go with a smaller Portfolio.

Chances are, in the beginning, you will not have a LOT of great images; that's ok, no one is expecting you to - show your best ones.

How do you go about building a Portfolio? well this is VERY IMPORTANT, I'll articulate in a few steps:

PHASE 1

a) get inspiration : create a folder ( on your computer or a physical one ) with some images you really like for different reasons - make a note on each image to remind yourself what it is in particular that you like about it

b) identify your resources : what's your strenght, what do you have access to? think in terms of props, people, places... Can you develop any idea from point a) with what you've got in point b) ? Sure you can, scratch your head !

c) think about the message : what's the message or the feel your images will be delivering? There can be an implicit message ( as well as an explicit one ). Images that engage the viewer are more powerful.

d) push your creativity : be different, be brave - TAKE SOME RISKS. People want to see something new, people want emotions. Let the world see things how you see them, through your eyes and imagination.

e) think about the package : one or more series of images work much better than random images without any link between them 

PHASE 2

What do you need to execute a) - e) ? now it's the time to think about gear, eventual studio hire and all that stuff.

Set your budget, define priorities, borrow, hire, buy ( follow this order ), set dates, plan every shot in the minimum details

Do - just do it !

Now, I know I made it look " simple "..... it's not; however what I'm trying to tell you is : you need to have a plan - it's my best piece of advice and it comes from someone who has learnt trial and error style.

ACTUALLY, talking about yours truly....I am in the process of REvamping my own Portfolio and this time I am gonna follow my own advice :)

So I have big plans, everything is kinda been decided on paper and I am getting ready to tackle PHASE 2 , the do stage.

If YOU are in Sydney and have a culinary background , AND would like to take a closer look at the Food Photography / Food Styling professional world.... I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

I need help with one series of images that require some MASTERCHEF skills.

Let me tell you one thing, I am gonna go KREIZY this time, no ordinary stuff, it will be big !

Dario Milano is a professional food stylist and photographer based in Sydney and freelancing for editorial and advertising clients.

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Posted in dario milano, food styling sydney, food photography sydney, Food photography workshop, food styling, food photography, building portfolio

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Food photography is such a specialized branch of photography that it can be sometimes hard to even find the right props; this is particularly true with regards to backgrounds and surfaces, which are almost impossible to get.

You have to dig every second hand -  antique centre in town ( good luck with that ) or you have to hire, which is not a bad thing if you are on assignment and the client is paying for it ( by the way, I hope you'll know by now about my small side business called Crackle Medium ? it's an online prop hire shop catering to food and lifestyle editorial and advertising clients throughout Sydney and NSW ).

OR, you have to be creative and hands on and learn how to make your own backgrounds; that's why after receiving so many enquiries I have finally decided to put up a new workshop and teach you a few techniques to achieve that distressed look so sought after in all contemporary editorial photography, be it food magazines or cook books.

And since the right wood is so hard to find I had a professional carpenter make a beautiful board for each of you that will attend this special class. Of course the surface is for you to take home at the end of the day; you'll be able to paint it over and over again , getting a new look out of it infinite times.

This will be most likely a one off event, so hurry up to secure one of only 8 spots available. All details and how to book on the Workshop page, where you'll also find the new dates for the Food Photography and Food Styling Workshop, which has now been divided in two separate classes : Natural Light Food Photography and Studio Lighting for Food Photography.

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Posted in prop hire online sydney, prop hire online, food photography sydney, food styling sydney, wooden surfaces for food photography, dyo backgrounds for food photography, dario milano, food pixels, crackle medium

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