Spiffing Up Your Food Photography

Staying ahead in the industry means diversifying as a photographer, whether that means adding filmmaking to your services, or in 2014 Rf Rising Star Sidney Bensimon’s case, food photography. (Heck, you shoot food at weddings anyway—why not spiff up a bit?) Bensimon picks apart a couple of her approaches here.

A COLUMN OF CACAO

Subject: Vegan chocolate bars
Assignment: Jenné Claiborne’s e-book Nourish: A Vegan Holiday Cookbook (2013)
Location: Bensimon’s kitchen, Brooklyn, NY

Hunkering down low, Bensimon got an angle that “highlighted the density of the bar [made of goji berries, raw cacao, dates and walnuts] and showed the chunkiness of it,” she says. “The surface I used was actually my 1950s black recliner chair. The light was just right, and I just needed to turn the chair to get the proper direction that flattered the bar. The black of the chair turned a bit blue because of the light, which is a perfect color complement to the warm, deep chocolate.”

SMASHIN’ PASSION

Subject: Passion fruit
Assignment: Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Cookbook (Harper Collins, June 2015)
Location: Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY

After food stylist Chelsea Zimmer cut and positioned the passion fruit, Bensimon took an overhead approach. “I wanted to create a warm, morning light effect,” she says, even though it was already past noon. “I used a diffuser and a couple of black boards to block off the light,” making it look like fresh sunlight was streaming through a window. “I love how the blade of the knife kept its rainbow color from the fruit. We then scooped out the passion fruit and ate it as a snack,” Bensimon adds. “It was the perfect combination of sweet and tart for a hot summer afternoon.” 

TIPS

1. “Make sure the highlights and shadows aren’t too strong. Unless you’re going for a more dramatic look, use white or black boards to help you out.”

2. “Look at how the light wraps around your subject. Whether it be a person or passion fruit, use your intuition to make it as flattering as possible.”

3. “A good tripod goes a long way—the heavier the better. I have a Manfrotto, and I use a Canon cable shutter to go with my camera, which helps keep my camera as still as possible to keep the image nice and sharp.”

Related:

Why It Worked: Editors’ Picks of 2014

Finessing Flawless Food and Detail Photography