Wedding Food

As a professional wedding photographer, it stands to reason that I've photographed my fair share of wedding fare. I've seen and experienced all types of wedding food, from the extraordinarily ordinary to the amazingly exotic that I can't even pronounce.

At one recent wedding that I photographed, the food was fun, beautiful and... well, quite delicious (one of those rare occasions where the photographers actually got fed at some point during the long day of shooting. Heaven!).

My second photographer and I were generously offered a choice between salmon and steak and we took one of each and split the plates during a lull in the festivities. This gave me time to shoot the food at my leisure (for some reason, food photography isn't a priority to most..), and capture these simple, yet elegant meals.


No worries, I had just as much fun shooting the couple, but there are some weddings where I don't get the opportunity to take the quality time that I'd like to, shooting the dinner.



*PS - I know it's been a while. It's not that I haven't been eating dinner; I just haven't had time to shoot it...

Recommended Reading - Rinder/Smith

(photographer's note: I've been shooting stock photography as little more than a hobby for just about three years. I haven't had time to give my stock photography the attention it deserves. I do however, seem to find time to look through the work of other stock photographers, fall out of my chair with amazement and then go back to... not having time to work on stock photography. Yes, I know, it is a vicious cycle...)

One amazing and dynamic team has written a book about the in's and out's of food photography - specifically shooting commercially or for stock. While I haven't had the opportunity to purchase the book yet, I've been a big fan of both of their portfolios for quite some time and this book is on the top of my food photography supply list.

Go to the website.

Buy the book.

If you're a fan of food or just looking to get some tips and tricks, this is going to be for you.

http://www.rindersmithphotography.com/

(PS. They also have a pretty comprehensive book on shooting stock photography in general and at the risk of going off on a tangent, if Yuri Arcurs approves, then what's not to love?)

:)

Won Ton or Ran Goon?

(photographer's note: when it comes to shooting on location with multiple types of light sources -- ambient, speedlight x2 and tungsten head - the biggest challenge is achieving white balance. I think I did okay for the "testing". Fortunately I'll have an 18% gray card at my disposal during the shoot)

I will confess, I am embarrassingly inept when it comes to any knowledge of Asian food. I have a thing about rice which has plagued me since childhood. To spare the sordid details to all three of my readers, let’s just suffice it to say I’m probably the only person known to mankind that has suffered from a rice induced trauma and related PTSD. I’m always frustrated by it and wish I could get past it but I can’t, and so I’ve never really eaten rice. Because of this, I don’t get out to many Asian food restaurants. I have tried a few things (noodles are my friends) and while I’ve always loved what I’ve tried, I’ve been quite limited.

I found an advertisement online for a restaurant looking for a food photographer. I had no problem tossing aside my Williams & Sonoma cookbook (that I have years to master) in exchange for going and having take-out with my camera!

I had the time of my life last night, being able to engage in my ultimate fantasy of sharing my food with my camera equipment (including flashes, studio lighting; the whole setup) while enjoying all of the freedom one could possibly have within a dining establishment.

Last night was all about test shooting and getting a handle on the odds and ends that will be needed once the real shoots start happening. All of the props, styling and glamour that will go into this food are currently being gathered and I can’t wait to begin.

I'll keep posting as the project progresses; I look for this to take at least two weeks (but maybe more) as we'll be doing every single item on the menu, along with individual ingredients for advertising and marketing touches here and there. Wish me the best of luck on my journey!

Spring Rolls

(photographer's note: the challenge wasn't so much lighting this time, but styling and props, which amazingly, we do have. Except for that $60 square plate at Williams Sonoma that I wouldn't mind owning.)

There's nothing like enjoying a plate of spring rolls in the dead of winter. This particular appetizer (once again, takeout) is probably as relevent to Asia as Taco Bell tacos are to Mexico. However, relevence is rarely heeded in this household because if it tastes good enough, we'll just pretend.

Truthfully, this plate was part of dinner a few weeks ago. What we actually had for dinner last night were pinto beans with a hambone which, I'm sorry to say, doesn't photograph well, although it was truly very tasty. I know my photographic limits and this was much prettier.

Official State Cookie

(photographer's note: 2 Canon 580 EX II speedlights did the trick for these treats. One was bounced off a 14 ft ceiling at +2 power, the other was bounced off a card and the wall behind the cookies. A little bit of "cross processing" in Photoshop finished up the final photo...)

The official state coookie of New Mexico is the biscochito. We tried our hand at making a few dozen of these sweet little anise and cinnamon spiked treats to give as gifts to our family and friends (read that as, my partner did the rolling, kneading, cutting and baking, I sampled the brandy and got in the way).

These cookies are popular during holidays, weddings, parties and are commonly devoured with a side of milk.

Little did I know that New Mexico was the first state to have an "official state cookie". Undoubtedly, this is yet another reason New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment".

No worries though, these cookies don't have the same storied past as the posole from yesterday.