BTS: Purple Barley Porridge @ Modern General

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Food photography is extremely challenging work, but we absolutely love it. It's interesting that food is something we all interact with every day yet photographing it can be very difficult. How do you evoke the taste and feeling of a dish with a picture?

Here you can see the photos we took of the purple barley porridge at Modern General, a delicious concoction of purple barley, almonds, brown sugar, banana slices, lemon zest, and milk. Owner and Chef Erin Wade wanted a series of photos for a potential ad and needed more than a "here it is!" sort of image, something that communicated the unique aspects of the dish.

That's the crux of food photography, using food styling and photography know-how to capture an image that tells a story. Otherwise you're producing something similar to the millions of "look what I had for breakfast/lunch/dinner" photos on Instagram. There's nothing wrong with that, it just typically falls well short of the needs of our clients.

We spent some time talking with Erin, getting her to articulate what she wanted from this set of images. Having worked with Erin quite a bit in the past we know that Modern General stands for simplicity, earthiness, and authenticity. That gave us the information for staging the dish in the appropriate way.

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We stopped short of using all the tricks in our food photography bag, we opted to not use glue in place of the milk, for example. We wanted the image to feel "real", so that involved quickly assembling the bowl and photographing very quickly so it did not "wilt". We brought all the individual ingredients to our prep area (one of the tables at Modern General) and set up the shot nearby with lighting, bounce boards, horizontal tripod arm, remote trigger, and our Nikon D800.

Overall we were very happy with the images we captured, and more importantly, so was Erin. Food photography is a growing part of Narrative Media's business, and we look forward to sharing more images and behind-the-scenes stories in the near future!

Food Photography Tips

Some things to try when you're out at a restaurant or in your kitchen that can give your photos a boost.

1. No flash
   Whether you're using your smartphone or snapshooter, turn off the flash. It will wash out the color of the food and make it look drab and unattractive. Also, you don't want to disturb other diners.
2. Move your dish
   If possible move somewhere more advantageous to take your photo, generally this means moving to a window (if it's light out) or better lighting if it's available. The direct overhead lighting of most restaurants doesn't do your photos any favors. Getting some directional lighting is key, it will highlight the texture and dimensionality of your dish.
3. Use a window
   If you're at home, set up your dish on a flat surface near a window with pretty light that's not too harsh. This can be the most beautiful and flattering light in the world, and many times we shoot with just natural light and keep the fancy lighting gear packed away.
4. Look at your dish
   Before you start shooting, look at the plate or bowl of food. Is it clean? Could you take your napkin around the edge to pick up some wayward sauce or seasoning? Are the items on the plate arranged in a nice way? Is the part you want to highlight clearly visible? No point trying to show off the lobster tail if the baked potato is hiding it!
5. Consider the angle
   What's the best angle for your camera? Sometimes it's at a 35 or 45 degree angle, highlighting the part of the dish closest to you. Sometimes it can be from directly over the dish. For example, a bowl of soup may not be very exciting shot at an angle, but from straight above the circle of the bowl and the color of the soup can provide more visual interest.
6. Stage the shot
   What else is in the photo besides the dish? Look at the screen on your smartphone before you take the shot. Are there dirty napkins visible, or empty dishes? You might want those as part of the photo, but if you don't then move them! Also, you can add things into the photo - like a glass of wine, or a matchbook with the name of the restaurant, or a well placed fork. Think about trying to tell a story along with capturing the dish.
7. Don't stress about it
   Unless you're getting paid to take the photo, don't worry if you can't get the shot you are looking for. It's more important to enjoy the dining experience and have a hot meal!