Shooting Food Photography That’s Fresh, Unexpected and Beautiful

Every month, we ask industry tastemakers to talk about a photographer and trend that’s caught their eye. Julia Duquette, a freelance photo editor and producer for Bon Appétit, discussed what’s been drawing her to the work of Brooklyn-based food and commercial photographer Ted Cavanaugh.

Photo © Ted Cavanaugh

“Gone are the days of romantic, soft-focus food photography printed on the pages of glossy magazines,” Duquette wrote for On My Radar in Rf‘s September issue. “Today we are seeing more and more hard flash on food, and food being treated like an artful still life. This brings me to photographer Ted Cavanaugh, who can light the heck out of just about anything you put in front of him. A pile of dead fish? No problem, you’ll get a vibrant colorful photograph that’s full of life. A boring can of beer? He’ll make it look as cold as possible, shake it up and open it for a delicious, foamy burst. Iced coffee? Sounds mundane, but he’ll crop in so tight you think you’re looking at a painting. Fruity drinks? He’ll create a beautiful prism of color. The images never feel precious or romantic; they are consistently beautiful and surprising.”

To get Cavanaugh’s perspective on his work, we probed him on his approach and technique to photographing food (and more specifically, the shot above).

Rf: First off, how did you get your start as a photographer?
Ted Cavanaugh: My love for photography came early in life. My father and grandmother are both amateur photographers, so watching them shoot while I was growing up always had me interested in photography. It wasn’t until later in life that I luckily wound up at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where I met my girlfriend, now wife, who played a big role in my development as a photographer down the road. After graduation, she accepted an internship at Martha Stewart Living in New York. I felt that New York was a good place for both of us, so I gladly moved to Brooklyn with her.

I started off assisting one of the most talented photographers, by the name of Wonnacott, who taught me so much, from lighting, to business, to making sure every single client is well taken care of. After assisting him for a year or so, I went on to assist around 50 other photographers in New York in a span of about three years. Later, I met photographer Travis Rathbone who taught me almost everything I know. He was extremely helpful in my development, and pushed me to test as much as possible. During my years of assisting, testing is one of the things I’m most glad I did as frequently as possible. So often, assistants are in the mindset of, I’m just going to put my personal work on the back burner for a while, and then when I’m ready to start shooting, I’ll start testing. Becoming a full-time photographer doesn’t exactly work in that timeline, so my advice for aspiring photographers is that it will take two or three years of testing and promoting to clients before being able to support yourself full time from photography.

Rf: So what are you drawn to about food photography specifically?
TC: One thing that really resonates about food photography with me is the lack of branding and cultural identity. So often we are drawn to the latest or most innovative device. With food photography, it can so easily strike up a memory from a time or place in your life. Food is such a fundamental and essential thing in our lives, and I feel like no matter where you are in the world, it’s something we can all relate to.

Rf: What was the concept behind this series here?
TC: The story for this issue was about summer drinking, and some certain tips and tricks to make your cocktail preparation easier.

Rf: So it was shot on assignment?
TC: It was made for Bon Appetit, August 2015.

Rf: How did you set up this shot? Where was it?
TC: This photo was shot from overhead on a white surface. Our main objective was to keep the drinks graphic and beautiful, while giving enough space for text and design.

Rf: What did you do for lighting?
TC: I really wanted the colorful drinks to cast colorful, beautiful shadows, so I made sure to have the key light low enough to make sure the shadows were nice and long.

Rf: What gear and exposure settings did you use?
TC: I shot this with a Nikon D800, 50mm at f/11 and ISO 50. Profoto 8A lights were used.

Rf: Did anything unexpected come up during this shoot?
TC: I’m lucky enough to be able to work with really talented photo editors and designers, so we had this shot mapped out before we even started shooting. Thankfully, I wasn’t presented with any challenges for this!

Rf: What would be your advice to creating more inspired photos of food and drinks?
TC: My advice for any photographer is to look at photography. For years, my relaxing night activity was looking at photography for inspiration. One good source for exceptional photography is Trunk Archive. It’s a stock website, but for the best photographers in the world. Fashion, lifestyle, still life, portraits—it has it all. I think it’s essential to have a well-rounded mental archive of photographs. Much like chefs have recipes they know by heart, photographers should be the same. Additionally, I always make time to observe the light in the surroundings that I visit. If I find one type of light particularly beautiful, I try to think about how I might recreate that light in studio.

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