Photographing Food for stock photos

One of the challenges of stock photography is to think of that next subject! Sometimes we think that everything that can be photographed, has been photographed, and is available for sale on all the agencies! When I get to that point, it is always good to open a bottle of wine, relax, and remember that every image can be improved in some way, and that there are ways of seeing things that have perhaps not been done before – and, finally, even good images get a bit stale and can be improved with the latest cameras and capabilities! Food (and wine) is one of those subjects where photos are all around us. Every newspaper/blog has its food section, numerous magazines either focus solely on food and recipes, or have a major section devoted to the topic. So why not put some time into getting great food images? Especially if you (or partner) loves to cook, you can add a whole new range of home made food to your portfolio that will be different, in subtle ways, to everything that has been done before.

So, how to start? I’ve done food images (and ones of wine shooting out of bottles) but I have not particularly understood why some images work and others don’t. Hence I was pleased to find a site that focuses just on photographing food – written by a skilled food photographer who is keen to pass on his knowledge to a wider audience. Taylor Mathis is a food and lifestyle photographer based in Charlotte, NC in the USA and he has set about writing a monthly magazine just about photographing food. Each issue runs to about 40 pages in full color, and focuses on just one topic. I found his site about 2 weeks ago, and bought the set of all the magazines I had missed (at that point, 7 of them) and avidly read them all over the next couple of days on my iPad. The early ones start with the basics – lighting (mainly how to use daylight effectively), approaches to color (how to get a pleasing balance of colors), equipment you can make to improve your images (lightboxes etc.). His whole approach is that you don’t have to spend a lot on accessories – a white sheet hung in the garage doorway makes for a great soft light source that will easily match any studio lighting rig. I found his no nonsense style easy to read, and thought provoking at the same time.

I was inspired enough to have my camera ready when we next had Sunday lunch:

Asparagus and Kale baking for Sunday Lunch

This was following his advice about lighting – just an east facing window (after the sun had moved around) with a white reflector to bring back some of the shadows.

So, what are the downsides. I was a bit uneasy about the price ($5 per issue), but then, as you will see elsewhere, I earned $2000 from stock photos this month, and, at the end of the day, what is $35 of tax deductible expenditure if it comes up with more saleable shots? As I said, I enjoyed the magazines and will buy the new ones as they come out. So, if you are interested in exploring new stock photo ideas, check out Photographing Food and perhaps treat yourself to one (or more) of his issues.