Plate to Pixel

by Helene Dujardin

  Pea salad, shown above, is a warm-temperature summer salad with freshly picked peas as the main ingredient. Once plucked from their pods, these peas were blanched briefly to retain their vibrant green hue and keep them from turning the color of canned peas. After running them under very cold water, I mixed them with a simple vinaigrette and the other ingredients. They retained good texture and vibrant color, which made the styling easy peasy.

  The shape and texture of the baby fennel were preserved by removing the pan of from the heat a few minutes before the recipe instructed.

  f/3.5, ISO 500, 100mm, Macro L

  In the shot on the right, the pan of baby fennel, had been braising in orange juice and anise liquor for about an hour over low heat. From the recipe, I knew the fennel was not supposed to get soft once cooked … just tender. I was both chef and stylist in this situation, so I checked the vegetables at 45 minutes and noted that they had a good golden colors and good texture. To avoid the risk of having to plate overcooked vegetables, I removed the pan from the heat at that point and let the veggies cool for about ten minutes. This made it easier for me to move the items around the pan if needed for the shot. After the ten minutes, I tasted a piece, and it turned out to be perfectly cooked and warm. The photo had been snapped and no tongue burning ensued. Always a good thing!

  I’ve found that fresh vegetables, instead of their canned or frozen counterparts, are much easier to use in cooking and food photography—as natural props or for ingredient shots—whether they’re whole or cut, raw or prepared. Their colors seem richer, their shapes tend to look more natural, and there are so many ways to style them. Even the most usual varieties look scrumptious.

  As with whole fruits, when styling whole vegetables, be sure to look at their shape and height before deciding what camera angle will be most flattering for them. Does an overhead perspective work, or is a three-quarter view better? Explore a few different viewpoints before deciding which you like best.

  These vegetables were destined for a root vegetable soup (puréed) in which their shape would no longer be visible. They’re photographed in a “before” type setting to show exactly which ones would go in the final dish.

  f/8, ISO 100, 100mm, Macro L

  Whole vegetables require very little actual styling, but be aware of the message you’re sending with their presentation. For instance, if you want to give an impression that they’ve just been uprooted from the ground, it’s okay to have some sand or dirt on them. If the scene is meant to depict a vegetable CSA or something similar, it’s okay to pile them in a box … as long as it’s easy enough to tell what’s what. A grocer scene, however, might be better received if the vegetables are washed and vibrant.

  For the root vegetable box photo, I didn’t wash and dry the vegetables, because I did not need or want them to look pristine. I was trying to convey a nostalgic notion of fresh root vegetables picked from the garden moments before they went into a satisfying soup. I wanted the image to say “rustic” without looking completely abandoned.

  As a blogger, I like to include pictures of vegetables that have a still-life quality to them. These images help to break down the content of a post rather nicely, especially between more formal shots of an actual dish. They show a reader exactly what I used, and this can be quite helpful, especially if the final dish is a casserole, a purée or a soup.

  And as a photographer, using whole vegetables gives me new options for working with camera angles, light and perspective. They come in all shapes, colors and sizes, and this keeps my photography varied and interesting. Literally, each item offers the (welcome) challenge to style differently and create unique compositions, to use different props and backgrounds, and to work light and shadows in new ways. Vegetables aren’t just good for the body; they offer good exercise for the eye and the brain, too!

  Ingredient still-life images, such as this one of Mini Eggplants can break down a post if you blog, or just adorn your kitchen walls if you’re a foodie photographer.

  f/4.5, ISO 250, 24-70mm L

  Enjoy Mini Eggplant

  If you’re wondering what to do with mini eggplant—they’re the size of my fingers—just cut them in half and roast them with salt, pepper and olive oil. So good…

  As a stylist, I relish opportunities to combine multiple types of styling and to play with different prop textures and shapes against those of vegetables (or fruits). When I was working with the small and unusual size of the eggplants, I needed to figure out if they’d look better in a large bowl or a small one, decide what background to choose and so forth. Clearly, I decided on a small bowl, so the eggplants would appear to be overflowing from it. And I love how the green ceiling tile in the background tied in with the green tops of the eggplants, while the splashes of color on the tile related to the paint-brush effect of the eggplant skins. This setup brings out the beauty of the eggplant and background.

  Open Faced Veggie Sandwich … a food stylist’s dream come true!

  f/8, ISO 200, 24-70mm L

  Styling cut vegetables for ingredient shots can seem easier than styling a finished dish; but trust me, that’s not always the case. I know a lot of people are uncomfortable with plating cooked vegetables, because they are softer and not always easy to stack, pile or move around, especially if they are sauced or their shape is compromised while being moved.

  But cut vegetables, just like whole ones, have their set of challenges. Foremost, their shape is not always consistent or recognizable in a dish. For instance, a plate of vegetable medley—comprised of mini oval carrots, rounds of cut squash, and cauliflower florets—offers many different shapes. Making them all look good together, and not too staged, can be difficult.

  As always, keep an eye out for the best-looking pieces, and keep them as fresh as possible by tending them with a wet paper towel or soaking them in water until you’re ready to use them.

  When I shot the photograph on the left of the open-faced veggie sandwich, I was working as cook, stylist and photographer for a magazine feature dedicated to sandwiches. One of the sandwiches had so many great-looking ingredients going into it that we (the recipe builder, art director and I) decided it really had to be shot open-faced. This was the only way we could show all the yummy components!

  Although the closed-sandwich version was good, the shot that highlighted the shapes and sizes of all the ingredients won over the other setup. It was vegetable heaven! So the photographer in me had to pay close attention to how the various shapes and sizes intermingled. To ensure that all the parts were visible and well in focus, I chose an overhead approach. This perspective works well in shots that include a large quantity of elements, because it ensures that they’re all immediately visible to the viewer.

  Sauces

  On a magazine shoot a few years ago, I agreed to let a young intern help me prep and cook some of the foods, so I could focus on plating and styling the shoot according to the art department directives. When I reached for the salad bowl, the intern held her breath and said, “Oops! I already added the dressing.” I replied, “Well, we’re just going to have to be precise and quick then!”

  She knew that once the dressing was added to the salad, the greens would slowly start to cook and wilt from the acidity in it. Since the scene was styled and I was ready to shoot, it wasn’t too much of a problem. But usually, unless a recipe dictates that the salad be dressed before plating, just place a small container of it on the side until you’re ready to take the picture.

  When I do salads at home, it doesn’t really matter if I dress them ahead of time, because I don’t spend hours styling. But if I’m on a job and see that things may take awhile to prepare, it’s best to wait until the very last moment to add the dressing.

  And when it’s time, apply the dressing by either spooning it on or drizzling it with a squeeze bottle. Be sure to notice the effect of the light on the dressing and make any adjustments necessary based on whether or not you want the light to enhance the highlights produced by the oil
.

  Dressing on the oyster Caesar salad was added right before capture to ensure that the salad stayed looking fresh, even when dressed.

  f/5.6, ISO 160, 50mm L

  The caption for the photo on the left may sound naughty, but everything’s quite wholesome in this picture! It’s the exact salad my young intern had dressed before I was completely ready for capture. And instructions were that it needed to be fully dressed for the photograph. All that scrumptious Caesar dressing couldn’t be left on the side! But you can bet that within 15 minutes of finalizing the lights, exposure settings and composition … and styling the finished plates, the leaves of this salad had started to wilt. That fast!

  I styled the Roasted Vegetable Salad shown on the right without dressing. Only after I had prepared my camera settings, positioned the props and styled the food did I add dabs of vinaigrette where I knew the light would hit it slightly. The salad already had lots of colors, shapes and textures, so too much oil in the vinaigrette would have given off too many highlights, and this would have distracted focus from the main dish. A little oil goes a long way.

  Sauces of all kinds are a great way to add some very easy and appealing styling to your final dish. If a recipe calls for a sauce to be made and mixed in with the food itself, you can decide to mix a little in the dish and set some aside, so that when the plate is styled and ready for capture, more can be drizzled on top. Or, you might hold off on mixing in any sauce until you’re completely ready to style.

  A few drops of vinaigrette were added to this roasted vegetable salad just before capture to prevent it from wilting.

  f/2.8, ISO 400, 100mm, Macro L

  Waiting may be especially beneficial when working with acidic sauces, because they will start cooking the food right away. Just make sure that your sauce is visible in the image and that the natural coating of the sauce looks as fresh as possible. Also consider using the set-aside sauce as prop in the composition, as shown in the Oyster Caesar Salad shot on the previous page.

  When plating a dish for which a sauce is a garnish and does not get mixed into the food, a stylist has lots of creative options. You can dot, dab, drizzle, coat, spoon and pool at will! Often, a recipe will indicate what type of sauce to use as a garnish. This will read something like:

  Serve with chocolate sauce.

  Raspberry sauce suggested.

  And there are times when you, as the food stylist, must put your thinking cap on and go beyond the recipe to see what could naturally enhance your setup. Ask yourself some questions, such as:

  Would this tart be served with vanilla sauce?

  Would dots or a pool of raspberry sauce look better with that cheesecake?

  Here are a few examples of sauce designs that can be used to add visual interest to plated slices of cheesecake.

  f/4.5, ISO 250, 24-70mm, L

  I began preparing the shot on the left by following the instructions in the recipe. It said to plate the cheesecake with a pool of raspberry sauce. And it looked fine when I did this. When I moved onto another plated slice, I squeezed some dots, and that looked a bit more fun. One slice was left without sauce and, of course, it looked pretty bland, so I added some cut fruit to the top. On the final slice, I played with a little melted vanilla ice cream in the raspberry sauce. The results of using my imagination were much better than the look I started with.

  So unless you’re under strict instructions to use sauce in your styling in a particular way, don’t be afraid to let your imagination run wild. Style the recipe in a way that you think works best.

  What I love most about sauces and jams is how wonderful they are as props. As I mentioned earlier, I always reserve some of the sauce in a dish to refresh a plate right before capture. And if the dish includes a dipping sauce or a sauce to be used tableside as a topping, definitely use it as a prop. Set a small dish filled with the sauce in the scene, so viewers can identify it right away and put it in context with the name of the dish. This is especially helpful for event photos, menu pictures and images that correspond to a featured recipe.

  In the picture of the Strawberry Jam Swiss Roll, I knew it would difficult to identify the filling as strawberry jam. From the color alone, it could be any red berry jam. So I included the jar and fresh strawberries as props.

  The jar containing the jam used to fill this Strawberry Swiss Roll is used as a styling tool to suggest it was the one used in the filling.

  f/3.5, ISO 200, 24-70mm L

  The pomegranate seeds, by the way, were just used as a garnish; this ingredient was not part of the filling. It was a stylistic choice. So here’s a reminder that elements aside from those used in the dish can be used as garnish, too.

  At this point, I have a Pavlov reaction when it comes to reaching for whipped cream to finish off a sweet setup—whether it’s in a recipe or not. Nine times out of ten, I’ll also set aside some in a little container to be placed somewhere in the frame. This adds such a quick and simple touch that it has fast become one of my go-to food styling methods.

  In the case of these Panna Cottas, I made up the recipe in my head by combining two of my favorite recipes: rice pudding and panna cotta. At the time of this shoot, I hadn’t thought much about the styling. I sketched a few compositions in my head and, when I started to style the desserts and work on my frame, I realized something was missing. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it.

  This Panna Cotta is topped with whipped cream for a fabulous finish.

  f/3.5, ISO 320, 24-70mm L

  I needed a garnish to give the dish a bit more texture, shape, taste and color. After deciding on cocoa nibs, I found that they showed better on the chocolate panna cotta if set against whipped cream. And this setup worked perfectly against the white insides of the porcelain cups. The chocolate color, the white of the whipped cream and the little specks of cocoa nibs created a nice, balanced look.

  A word of advice: Before you add a sauce, dressing or jam to your dish, first see if it gives the food more substance or if it seems to hide it behind a mound of extras. Remember to keep the primary focal point on your main dish—not the garnishes.

  The Main Dish

  Of all the foods I most enjoy styling, savory dishes rank among the highest. And that’s not something I thought I’d ever say. My first steps on this career path were taken when I was working at a restaurant and I began styling desserts. At home, I started writing my blog, which initially centered on desserts, and I was never certain I’d enjoy styling meats and fish, stews and soup. But then I started practicing on a few things like quiche and pizza … and found the process actually quite enjoyable. But it wasn’t until one of my first pro jobs that I really found love for the big dish.

  I was working as a food stylist on a feature dedicated to oysters. And thankfully, the photographer had such a natural and genuine approach to food photography that it clicked. He loved textures, shapes, colors; his photographic process was calm, and he was respectful of the dish. In those ways, he had the same approach to savories as I had to sweets, which lifted my concerns about how to handle savories.

  It was just one of those hang ups for me; I didn’t think I could do it very well. But the only way to know for sure was to get my hands in there and try. The photographer on that oyster project made me realize that a steak, an oyster or a pizza … is what it is. There’s nothing to be intimidated about. I learned that I can’t change the nature of the dish, but I can use simple techniques to make it look fresh and at its best without compromising its edible qualities.

  Fish and Meats

  With that insight, I was able to calm a nervous intern I was working with on a feature that required us to style Teriyaki Chicken and Steak with Bourbon Cream Sauce. When I told him about the project, he got a terrified look on his face. In an effort to diffuse his fear, I said, “Don’t worry, we don’t have to catch and pluck the chicken or capture the cow!” But that didn’t help much.

  At first, you might wonder what to do with this dish after putting it on
a plate with a couple of side dishes. In fact, if there was a Scout Club of Stylists, making meat and fish look appetizing in a photo would be worthy of a badge of merit. Fresh whole fish, for instance, have great shapes; roasted chicken has beautiful golden brown skin to feature; and grilled steak offers nice markings to put forth in styling. But I’m only touching the tip of the iceberg. By focusing on one or two qualities of the item to be styled … whether it’s whole, cut, raw or cooked … you can find a great angle to make them look irresistible.

  When you need to style raw fish or shellfish, make sure to get the freshest pieces you can find. Make friends with the local fishmonger and do not be afraid to ask to see as many pieces as necessary. It doesn’t matter how crazy you appear to be when selecting your fish. You don’t want someone looking at the photograph of the fish you style and wonder when it was caught.

  I focused on the color and shape of this fresh red snapper to guide the styling process.

  f/4.5, ISO 400, 24-70mm L

  For instance, the red snapper in the picture on the left was caught on the day it was styled and photographed. I put the fish in the composition and spritzed it with some water. Then I took a couple of shots to adjust my camera settings. That’s right, even with the freshest, most delicious food—especially with the best cuts—it’s critical to make sure that your camera is ready to create the most flattering image possible. There are always minor adjustments you’ll need to make once the food is on the plate … to handle shadows and reflections, so be sure to take the time for your settings. Then spritz more water on the dish and snap your capture.

  If your responsibility is to style a grilled fish (or other meat) that someone else is cooking, ask to see several different pieces, and pick the one that’s closest to perfect for your shot. For example, I was documenting my summer trip back home to Provence through photographs of the food my family prepared during my visit. And the stylist in me couldn’t help but meddle. I inspected all six of the fish plates that were grilled that day, and I picked the one with the best grill marks. I styled the plate with a couple of sides to add height and color.