Earlier this week, I took a Food Styling class from Helen of My Tartelette, graciously hosted by Viv of Bon Vivant. Viv hosted the workshop in her home and it was a lovely setting. Her building has a nice large common area which was full of light.
There was also a macaron workshop in the afternoon but due to work, I missed it. LuuvuH however captured it beautifully in this video: http://vimeo.com/10083926
He promises one on the Food Styling workshop and a detailed one on the macaron workshop soon, so watch for those on his site.
I learned a lot from Helen but the most important thing I learned is to tell a story with your photos.
The first photo is my attempt to food style some Girl Scout cookies. Helen came along and stuck a notebook and a small milk jug in the photo which created a more compelling story. I immediately hated my first photo and loved the second Helen-designed one.
I learned that I tend to take away too many things and that I need to leave some props in the photo and to also leave them a bit messy as clean is boring.
Helen took my neighbor's cake setting which I thought was wonderful and really amp'd it up. Helen took the clean cake and left crumbs on the slate plate. She also suggested spreading the jam around but my neighbor left it in a little glob because that was more true to how her family would consume the bread. I liked both ideas.
I realized after the class that I just need to devote more time to food photography in order to advance my skills. I have the knowledge, I just need to put that knowledge into play. And really as soon as life settles down a bit, I will put that knowledge into action. I just need life to calm down a bit first.
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