Food as Art

The job of a food stylist is very often the job of an artist not cook. Especially when it comes to making pretty food for magazines and cookbooks.

Essentially, I am asked to participate with an art director, a photographer and a set stylist in the making of a beautiful photograph. Which is not unlike a painting or a sculpture. The one difference is that my art also needs to include appetite appeal (otherwise known as the yummy factor) which is conveyed through visual means but appeals to the other human senses like taste, smell and touch.

I need to be able to create a visual masterpiece with food. Food is my artistic medium. Sometimes my "paint" is a ginger cherry glaze and sometimes it is ketchup. Sometimes my "clay" is a rack of lamb and sometimes it is a hot dog. Sounds funny but it is so true! And both the rack of lamb and the hot dog need equal consideration to become art.

The other participants in the photographic work of art are the art director, photographer and the set stylist. The art director is the the concept person and also the leader of the group of artists. The art director is focused on the end product, what we are trying to convey and how to get there. The photographer works his or her artistic magic with lighting, angle and focus to help convey the ideas presented by the art director. The set stylist's art is to choose props that help create the mood, theme, and color palette. The set stylist is also the visual arranger and places the objects on set with an eye for balance, color and textures. Many times the art director, photographer, set stylist and food stylist are also knowledgeable about each others fields and can cross over to assist in other areas.

The Making of Photographic Art From a Food Stylist's Point of View

What I think of when given an assignment for editorial work is the following:

- What is the setting and mood of the photograph? How can my food add to this feeling?
- What are the colors of the props, background and dishes? What textures are being used in fabrics or props?
- What garnishes will fit into both the mood, color scheme, and desired textures?
- What size are the dishes that my food will go on? This will determine the size of my food (think turkey on a platter, what size is the platter?).

Once I am at the photo shoot this is what I am thinking about:

- What will be in focus or where will your attention be? Is there a particular area that is "the sweet spot"? The one small area that the focus will be on.
- Which garnishes that I have are actually working with the given set? For example, does the food need a simple bold garnish or a small intricate garnishes?)
- What is the angle of the camera and how do I need to present the food to show this angle best? - Which hero food do I choose based on the angle of the shot and the lighting?
- Is the lighting affecting the hero food in a way that I need to lighten it up or darken it?
- Are there any areas that are darkly lit that may need a lighter garnish? Or vice versa?

While every photograph is not a museum piece neither is every painting. But, as artists, we all strive to make visually pleasing "works of art" by paying attention to balance, color and textures, and lighting.

The Amazing Balancing Ice Cream Sandwiches

This shot was really fun to do. At first I was a little worried about the time we would have before the ice cream sandwiches would begin to melt.

I worked with another food stylist on this one. We each styled two of the sandwiches. We started out our shot with "fake" ice cream sandwiches (meaning fake ice cream) so the photographer and set stylist could spend time setting up the shot and getting the lighting just right without the mess of real ice cream melting on set.

After the photographer was ready to go (about 2 hours after we started) I put our ice cream sandwiches on set. And for some reason I was feeling pretty lucky that day and thought I would attempt to balance the top two sandwiches without the aid of toothpicks or other "safety nets". This is pretty unlike me. I am always coming up with crazy ways to hold things together and keep them in place for extended periods of time. Glue, pins, toothpicks, wire, magic wands....you get the picture. But this day I decided to just go for it. And it worked. And those sandwiches looked awesome for a good 10 minutes. They were first frozen solid on dry ice to give them a longer life. Even as they melted they didn't budge. That was a day I declared that the styling gods were definitely smiling down upon us.

What are food stylists hired for anyway?

Why, making food look beautiful right? Sort of........but more importantly food stylists are hired to help sell products. We are hired to make food look pretty so that our clients have a better chance of getting their consumers to buy their product. Whether it is a cookbook or magazine cover or a hamburger on a menu or a pizza to be featured on packaging. The photos are produced to sell the food that we've worked so hard to make look it's best.

So, food stylists need to remember that we are partners in the selling process. It is our job to serve our clients and their vision of what will sell to their customers. I think that some days so much time is focused solely on the details and not on the big picture. While the details are VERY important, I think it is good to start every job with an idea of the ultimate goal and vision. What is the style and feeling of the photo? How does it fit into the design? The food stylist is often the last one told about what the design concept is for the project or  where the photos will be seen. I  think we need to ask a lot of questions.....namely "how can I help you to sell your product?".

Prepare for Plan A....and Plan B....and Plan C....

So when is a whole roasted turkey for a magazine cover not a whole roasted turkey for a magazine cover? When it's slices of turkey on a plate. My advice, always plan for the unexpected. And, the really unexpected.



I walked into my photo shoot on Monday morning with 3 turkeys all ready to go into the oven. Actually, I had started one at home around 5:30 a.m. so it would be partially browned before I arrived at the studio. Upon greeting the art director on the shoot I discovered there had been a change to the cover design and it was now going to be slices of turkey on a plate with green bean and roasted red pepper salad and sausage stuffing. No problem I said. It would take me about an hour and a half to get cooked turkey breast slices on set for the stand in plate, but I had everything I needed. Whew!

Just another day at the office. Usually there is something in every photo shoot that comes up that is a change from the original idea. I try to think of all the alternative possibilities in advance so I have options. Always keeping a little something up my sleeve (or in my cooler) just in case.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving....In July?

Thanksgiving in July......yes....My assistant and I are busy preparing cranberry orange Thanksgiving turkeys, herb sausage stuffing and green beans with roasted red peppers for a shoot on Monday. These foods will be part of a spread for Healthy Cooking Magazine. I like the idea of thinking about fall right now (maybe because all these horrible Wisconsin mosquitoes will be gone!). I need to really put my thoughts into fall so I can think about garnishes for my platter. Since the recipes include cranberries, oranges, thyme and sage I will definitely include those on my platter. But, I am also thinking about figs...because they are sooooo beautiful and earthy looking cut in half and baby artichokes for their color and spikey ends.

(Here I am stuffing mashed potatoes in the neck cavity for a nice rounded look to the breast).

(yummy, luscious figs)

I think garnishes of deep purples and mossy greens will look amazing with the oranges. I will probably also throw in some pineapple sage leaves on the platter because of their nice broad leaf and almost limey green color. (Tomorrow I will post my finished Turkey).