[caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="http://www.foodpixels.com"][/caption]

Hey gang, artichokes are in season here in Australia, so I thought I'd do something with them; and something different than the usual still life you probably have seen a million times beforeâ?¦.. like this one

[caption id="attachment_614" align="alignleft" width="214" caption="http://www.foodpixels.com"][/caption]

So the best way I like to cook artichokes is " impanati e fritti ", which means bread crumbed and to deep fried; once you've actually managed to clean and prep the artichokes, the rest is a joke: egg wash ( 1 pinch of salt per egg ), crums, vegetable oil at around 160º, salt, oil absorbing paper� in the mouth you go!

Easy and yummy, you try !

Now about the photo: I had taken this picture a couple of weeks ago during the last food photography & food styling workshop at the Essential Ingredient in La Rozelle

[caption id="attachment_615" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="http://www.foodpixels.com/food-styling-classes/"][/caption]

while I was definitely happy with the lighting, the composition in the foreground and the D.O.F , especially on the bunch of thyme, still I couldn't convince myself that this was a great image, one to add to the Portfolio; so I decided to re do it because this is the best way to improve our food photography and to get Portfolio quality images : pre visualize, plan, execute, observe and question, correct and repeat.

I started breaking down my picture and looking at it from different " perspectives " to identify its weakest points:

1) the colour palette isn't working, the background is looking a bit flat, not interesting

2) compositionally, the pepper grinder is too dominant in the scene, too big; and the thyme is too bushy, too much

3) camera angle wise, I probably went a bit too low for this one ( which is , in part, also the reason why the pepper grinder looks gigantic )

4) the crumbing on the artichokes is looking a bit stale, past its best if you know what I meanâ?¦. ( and it was, since I re-used the same frying oil I had used hours before for a cooking demonstration )

So I approached the shot again, making the necessary amendments :

1) I adopted ( and actually painted myself ) a blue/violet background to better complement the golden tonalities of the crumbed artichokes; and I also selected a red-violet cloth to enhance the green thyme - but I used it on reverse , or else it would have been too much ( not much green ? not much red/violet)

2) to improve the composition I selected a smaller grinder, and I cut down on the thyme

3) I got in even closer and I tilted the camera angle to achieve a more dynamic composition

4) I used new vegetable oil to get a crisp and fresh look on the crumbing ; to emphasise the concept of easy-going , informal type of food, I sprinkled some salt flakes here and there, without much attention to keeping the setting clean and tidy

Altogether I am much more satisfied with this shot;  what do you think guys?

Dario Milano, professional food photographer , Sydney

> Read More

Posted in Food, Photography, techniques

comments

[caption id="attachment_608" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Prawn Cocktail - Christmas Workshop - Sketch"][/caption]

DISCLAIMER:  I can't draw !! My ( almost ) 2 years old daughter can draw better than me, �. Sorry!!  But I draw a little bit better than my other son, who is 8 months year old :-)

All righty, I wanted to share this sketch with you just to give you an idea of how I approach an assignment, since a lot of people have asked me about it.

Facts first : I have scheduled 2 Food Styling-Food Photography Workshops to take place at my studio in early december, and I have chosen a Christmas theme for the occasion: a traditional 3 courses Christmas lunch, to be styled and photographed by the participants - if you're in Sydney at that time and you're interested in attending find the course details here Christmas Workshop PDF

So the first course we will photograph is a classic Prawn Cocktail; I have chosen this recipe for a couple of reasons: firstly, it's a great recipe for food styling purposes- the food is gonna be cold and it won't deteriorate too quickly, we will have a choice between multiple types of glasses, of different shapes, size and colours and everybody will do their own presentation, using various props and garnishes.

secondarily, I wanted to include at least one recipe that would suit a low camera angle: somewhere between 10 degrees and 30 degrees above the table surface - remember: the lower angle you shoot from, the more height the food will appear to have, but if you go too low you wonâ??t be able to see the top of the food.

So this is what I do:

I research my sources ( typically, photo sharing web sites, and books ) to find out trends and to get inspiration about the subject; I look at hundreds of pictures and I consider what might works and what wouldn't, and then I draw a sketch of the image that is starting to shape in my mind, together with a few notes about eventual type of lighting and background to be adopted.

Next step will be going prop shopping, and this is always one thing I enjoy �. and fear. I have written before how there are a few dedicated prop shops where you can hire the material for your assignments;  it's definitely cheaper than having to buy everything brand new, but it can also be seen as a waste of money - it depends whose money it is, yours or the client's?

Once I have gathered everything I need I will test the recipe to make sure I don't take any chance: on the day of the shooting everything should be as smooth as possible, no space for mistakes.

Dario Milano, professional food photographer, Sydney

> Read More

Posted in Food, Photography, techniques

comments

Hey guys, it's that time of the year when you find plenty of pomegranate here in Sydney; they are mainly imported from California and India during the months of November and December, but they are also harvested in Western Australia, although on a almost insignificant scale.

The pomegranate has a sweety citrus flavour and is very juicy; not only, recent studies have shown that the fruit contains a high amount of antioxidants that are beneficial to our health in many ways.

But what interests me the most, as a food photographer, is the unique look of this fruit, particularly the interior " crown " made of multiple compartments, each tightly packed with dozens of small ruby-colored seeds; I read somewhere that the average number of seeds in a typical pomegranate is 613â?¦.

When I decided to work on this photograph, the first issue that came to my mind was how to approach the shot lighting wise: I knew it was the pitch-red juicy seeds that I wanted to capture, so I had to become aware of the fact that I was in the presence of a highly reflective subject; and this was enough information to tell me which way to go : one big and soft light source.

I used a Profoto Softbox 3x4' and I placed it not even 2 feet away from the fruit, roughly at 9 o'clock camera left, if I remember well; and I used a small white card to fill in the shadows on the right side of the pomegranate.

I payed extra attention not to have too much light spilling out onto the background, in order to maintain a good level of contrast between this and the subject.

And this is it, as far as lighting is concerned; the important thing to notice is that it is the subject, the food, that tells us how it wants to be photographed; in other words, different types of food call for different lighting setups.

There are of course other variables that might influence such a decision, but the texture of the food certainly plays a big part in the whole process.

This being said, I had yet another issue to come to terms with: I wanted to show this fruit somehow originally - I definitely wasn't going to cut it in half and take a picture of it; so I decided to strip it down, get rid of the skin, and take it to pieces.

By doing so I spoiled the pomegranate from its true semblance, and I then went ahead to remodel it into a different ( and therefore, I hope, more interesting ) shape.

And this is it, as far as food styling is concerned here.

Enjoy the pomegranate season and â?¦ if you count the seeds, would you let me know how many you found?

Dario Milano , professional food photographer, Sydney.

> Read More

Posted in Food, Photography, techniques

comments