Book Review: Food Styling For Photographers by Linda Bellingham And Jean Ann Bybee
Posted on October 28, 2008 - Filed Under Culture, Photo | Leave a Comment | 190 views
It is said that you eat with your eyes first. That can be derived by the fact that so many menus and restaurant advertisements have professional food stylists setting up photographic shoots to wow you with their images. But while these images really want to make you desire that dish, you would probably get ill if you tried to eat it as it was shot. In fact at the start of Food Styling For Photographers, there is a disclaimer that these methods of food preparation are not meant for human consumption.
In Food Styling For Photographers you will learn the tricks of what it takes to create that look that will have people wanting to taste the delectables. The premise of this book is that not all shoots can afford to hire a professional food stylist, or there is not the time to find one to make a deadline. As a professional photographer, there may be times in which you have to take the bull by the horns and do it yourself. Food Styling For Photographers is 272 pages and is divided into 12 chapters.
Chapter 1, "Introduction to Food Styling," begins by giving an overview of what food styling is, and to set up some rules and guidelines for the styling of food. You will see how to shop like a stylist, as well as assembling your own food styling kit. Chapter 2, "Sets and Setting," now gets in to the basics of what to consider when planning food photography; "What is the point of the shot?" In this chapter you will learn about how to properly set up the shot so as to make it pop in the image.
Chapter 3, "Chilling Facts About Cold Beverages," explains that you really have only a short window of opportunity to get the right shot when dealing with cold beverages, but with the right techniques, you can fake the effects which will let you better control the appearance and give you more latitude with that time window. Chapter 4, "Making a Salad for the Camera," begins by showing you the proper selection of ingredients so that you can build a feast for the eyes. Here you will see how to put together the proper ingredients to create a salad that has the all of the colors and textures to temp the viewer.
Chapter 5, "Pasta and Sauces," to a stylist is like a blank canvas to artist. There are a wide variety of colors and textures that can be added to the various shapes of pasta to make the viewer's mouth water. Chapter 6, "Burgers, Sandwiches and Beyond," explains that even though it may appear simple, working with burgers and hot dogs is extremely difficult to do correctly. In this chapter you will see how to locate the perfect bun, prep the patties and prepare everything just right.
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