Food Photography is an Artform
“Hang on don’t eat it yet, I have to take a picture of it first!”
*grumble goes the person across from you starving and waiting to eat*
You know what I’m talking about for all the food photographers out there. We all know when you get that perfect angle, background, and lighting, the food looks scrumptious.
Well, we both have something in common, to share that delicious photo for others to see and make them salivate staring at that perfect picture! It doesn’t take just one shot to nail it. It takes a lot of patience and structure.
At Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants, we take photos to give a visual essence of what we have to offer guests. Food photography is an art form. And, when done well, the resulting photos draw hungry eyes in a desire to try the food because it looks so appealing and tasty.
Capturing such photos was the task recently of John Krueger, Garden Fresh acting Chief Marketing Officer, who with a team photographed various protein dishes that have been developed for the Vancouver, WA, test kitchen.
In early April, the Vancouver test kitchen began serving guests a variety of protein options, including roasted salmon, eye of round beef tenderloin, chicken Parmesan, grilled chicken, classic meatloaf with tomato fondue, bacon and fresh mozzarella cheese, and a selection of toasted sandwiches.
Josh Clark, Interim Director, Business Development, says that the protein offering are gaining in popularity with guests. Assisting John at last week’s creative photo shoot in addition to his skilled photographer was Chef Andrew Hunter. Each item was “dressed,” lighted, and photographed over and over. It is a tedious task to capture the perfect shot that showcases the dish in the most appealing and tasteful way.
“Often time we shoot hundreds of photos to get just the right one,” John says. “Our goal is to have guests look at the photo and say, ‘I’ve got to try that!’ We add layers and texture to the shot, much as an artist does to a fine painting. This is a time-consuming process but so worth it when you capture just the shot you want,” John says.