Plate to Pixel

by Helene Dujardin

  There was no filling in the cinnamon streusel muffins shown on the left, and the main ingredient was cinnamon, which can be tough to show when grounded in a dessert. And because the muffin had no color except its natural soft beige, I decided to bake them in pretty gingham cupcake liners. This use of color contrast toned down the brownish color of the muffins but kept the focus on the item as a whole … not just the topping.

  I made sure to pick the best-looking muffins of the entire batch for my photo. To convey that cinnamon is the main ingredients in the recipe—and to give this image some other sensory perception, such as smell and taste—I placed some pieces of whole cinnamon in the scene. Looking at the frame before taking the picture, I noticed that the sticks were naturally pointing toward the muffins, as if they were arrows giving direction. It was not intentional, and it didn’t look too staged, so I left them in place and took the shot.

  Some photographers and stylists have a natural ability to work the lines of a frame to help support their composition. However, knowing how to use leading lines in a picture can add to the message you are trying to convey. The notion of leading lines is a concept in art that uses natural lines in a scene to lead a viewer’s eye to a specific point or to add a natural and pleasant flow to the composition.

  No matter how small or big your dish is, keep nearby a few important tools:

  • Cotton swabs to wipe spills and smears

  • A offset spatula to re-apply frosting or fix an area that’s not smooth

  • Pastry bags and tips to mend a cake that has specific frosting decorations

  • Tweezers or chopsticks to move items on the dessert itself

  Desserts

  Desserts—big or small, cut or whole—offer a wide variety of styling options. Some people find that whole cakes are difficult to make look appetizing, and others will be driven to the brink by a slice of apple pie falling apart on a plate. There is always a solution or a technique you can use to make desserts look as appealing as they should be.

  Cakes

  When styling a whole cake, regular or mini sized, don’t stop working after you find the right props and backgrounds. Dig deeper and look for garnish ideas—key ingredients, sauces, accompaniments and decorations—to make sure your styling and composition fully tell the story of your subject.

  This chocolate cake is wrapped in chocolate ribbon and topped with fresh berries. The setup offers great visuals but requires attention to the details.

  f/3.5, ISO 200, 100mm, Macro L

  The recipe for the flourless chocolate cakes (left) yields four small individual cakes. The instructions did not include any particular styling suggestions, so I figured a few berries and some mint would look good with chocolate.

  To style the cakes, I decided to wrap them with a chocolate ribbon to add both an element of creativity and style and to hide the air pockets that naturally occur during the baking process. Ask any pastry chef and you’ll hear that moving chocolate ribbons from the work surface to the outside of a cake can feel like a game of luck, because there’s a always the chance that they’ll break before being fully applied to the cake. I wasn’t sure that my gamble would work, so I focused on the topping and made sure to use the freshest berries I could find. I also used another one of my favorite dessert accompaniments: a dusting of powdered sugar.

  A whole Blueberry & Cream Cake was styled as simply as possible to emphasize its height and shape.

  f/3.5, ISO 200, 24-70mm, L

  Style a slice of Blueberry & Cream Cake to show the inside of the dessert.

  f/3.5, ISO 200, 24-70mm, L

  If you’re working with a cake that does not need to remain whole, photograph it as a whole and then as a slice. You may be surprised at which photograph you end up liking best. Keep an open mind to learn new techniques during the course of your projects.

  The two pictures above show the same cake presented in two different ways. The goal was to show it as the recipe intended—majestic with all the whipped cream and fresh blueberries—and then to show how it looked inside.

  From a food stylist perspective, getting the inside shot turned out to be a major headache because of the soft consistency of the cake. Situations like this are why I recommend always being armed with the right tools. It’ll give you the best results for your work. Yet even though I used a sharp hot knife to cut through the Blueberry & Cream Cake, it didn’t turn out so great. The slices were very soft, and both the cream and blueberries ran out on the sides, making the slices look more like a big spoonful of fruit and cream than a neatly cut slice of cake.

  That was the inevitable result due to the cake being so soft and creamy. Yet I knew styling this slice would be my saving grace. It would be better than trying to cut another. And yes, it took a bit of work to clean up the edges of the cut slice, but I didn’t clean it perfectly, because I realized it would be almost impossible for a person making this at home to get a clean cut.

  I added a few blueberries to the base, and since the cake was a bit of a mess … with all that cream and fruit … it was okay to leave it imperfect. I think it made the scene more real and accessible to people reading this recipe.

  Pies

  I’m often asked for my best styling tips regarding pies. Well, when it comes to individual tarts or mini pies, I always suggest using some of the fruits in the recipe as natural garnishes if possible. And you really can’t go wrong by adding a sprig of mint and a dusting of powdered sugar or cocoa powder.

  Styling a slice of pie is always a bit challenging, especially when working with a soft filling like the one in this apple pie.

  f/4.5, ISO 400, 100mm, Macro L

  Yet when it comes to styling slices of pie, such as the typical apple or cherry, it’s a different ballgame. And right off the bat, know for certain that your refrigerator is your pie-slice styling best friend.

  If you can prepare the pie you want to shoot one day ahead, you’ll be much better off. I promise, no matter what the intended use of the picture—blog post, magazine feature, postcard or fun—you’ll be glad if you can refrigerate the pie once it’s cooked. This will firm up the filling, so you can cut a slice with a bit more ease … without it falling apart.

  Similar to the first crepe or a first batch of pancakes, never count on the first slice of pie to be the one you use. Instead, make incisions for two slices with a sharp knife. Remove the first slice and then get the second one by sliding your spatula from the center out while gently holding the crust with your fingers. Set the slice on your plate and check for any falling pieces or crumbs that can be easily picked over with your fingertip or a toothpick.

  If you can’t refrigerate the pie overnight, make sure it’s at least cooled to room temperature before slicing it. And if your plated piece isn’t ideal in the looks department, consider a wide shot that includes the table and the remaining pie. A close-up may not be the best option for a warm oozing pie.

  Ice Creams & Frozen Treats

  Someone asked me once if I used mashed potatoes or chocolate-colored clay to mimic ice cream in my shots. I don’t. The type of photography I’ve been doing so far does not require me to use this technique. But I know a lot of commercial stylists who must, because their shoots require long hours of stand-ins that would not be possible with the real thing. Ice cream and frozen desserts are challenging, yes; but I believe that every food item comes with its own challenge. So with an understanding of some basic yet important techniques and steps, along with focus and preparation, you can get great-looking ice cream shots, too!

  As a food stylist, there are some simple things you can do to make ice cream last longer on your setup. The first thing is to lower your freezer temperature by five degrees to give your subject an extra cold edge. Then, scoop out four or five servings of ice cream and place them back in the freezer on a parchment or wax paper for about 20 minutes. Take this opportunity to set up your camera and finalize your composition.

  Replace the ice cream stand-in with the real thing b
efore finalizing styling.

  f/3.5, ISO 400, 100mm, Macro L

  These Raspberry & Vanilla Lollipops are still in shot glasses, showing frost, to indicate they were frozen.

  f/3.5, ISO 125, 100mm, Macro L

  Some like to freeze the bowls or cups they’ll be using to plate the ice cream. And this works great, too. Just pay attention to frost that develops on the glass or cup as it sits at room temperature. If this is a look you like, then it’s perfect. If not, arm yourself with a paper towel and be ready to wipe.

  In the photo of the Raspberry & Vanilla Lollipops, the ice cream was poured directly into the glasses after being made, and it was left to freeze until solid. When the shot glasses came out of the freezer, they got frosty and it was difficult to see that there was a red bottom layer. I liked some of the frost effect, but I ended up scraping the glasses every so often to show the different layers.

  When styling this Pineapple Sorbet, I made sure to not let condensation droplets ruin the linens underneath.

  f/3.5, ISO 200, 24-70mm, L

  For the photo of Pineapple Sorbet, I did not want to wipe down the bowls, because the art director had determined that we already had enough shots with a frosted or dewy look. Yet I still needed to keep things cold. It was fairly warm in the studio that day, so I decided to freeze the tray on which the bowls would set. The towel underneath the tray was an integral part of the prop styling, and I did not want to run the risk of getting water stains on it due to condensation. So I covered this portion of the tray with a layer of plastic wrap. This actually worked very well and held the cold air between the tray and the bowls.

  So keep in mind that you can use a variety of means to keep things cold—such as freezing containers and props—to prolong the life of your ice cream scoops.

  This scoop of Coconut Cherry Ice Cream is soft on the edges.

  f/5.0, ISO 100, 100mm, Macro L

  Yet there is one aspect of making and freezing scoops ahead of time that’s not ideal. It’s that they become rather stiff and lose that freshly scooped look. When one runs an ice cream scoop inside a container to form a nice rounded ball of ice cream, the edges get a bit softer than the rest of the scoop.

  The following techniques can fix this easily:

  • Take a drinking straw and gently blow on the edges of the scoop to create a more natural look. The warmth of your breath will soften the edges if they look too hard after the scoop is placed on a cone. But only do this a little bit at a time, because once the ice cream is melted, you can’t really fix it. If you don’t get your shot shortly after doing this, you’ll need to start over. This is why you want to have more than one scoop ready.

  • Place the scoop in the bowl or cone and wait a couple of minutes. Then take an ice cream scoop and gently press it over the ice cream to push the edges down and to the side. This one, used for the picture above, is my favorite.

  Cones or bowls? The choice of how to contain your ice cream depends entirely on the look you need to create. If you’re styling and photographing ice cream for yourself, you can decide ahead of time what scene and mood you want to convey—or not. But if you’re working on a feature for someone else, all that’s probably been decided. If you’re unsure, I suggest shooting your ice cream with both a cone and a bowl if timing allows. You just never know what will end up working best. I’ve been on a job for which we had decided to go with a bowl, but the ice cream looked better in a cone. Go figure.

  The same goes for different kinds of cones and how many scoops. You just need to know what look you’re trying to achieve. There are techniques specific to handling wafer or sugar cones. An odd number of scoops is always nice but not always manageable. Just try to style the top scoop really well.

  A few little tricks went into styling this Strawberry Ice Cream Cone. Keep reading to find out!

  f/2.8, ISO 200, 100mm Macro

  When shooting the picture of the Strawberry Ice Cream Cone, I placed a piece of crumpled paper towel inside the cone to create a buffer and prevent the bottom of the cone from becoming soggy. This would have made it hard to handle the cone when the ice cream began to melt. Once stuffed, I put ice cream inside the cone, up to the rim, and placed my best scoop on top. With the straw technique described above, I gently blew on the base to create a soft edge.

  Styling a double cone of ice cream is much more than just stacking scoops.

  f/4.5, ISO 200, 100mm Macro

  In the picture on the right I was styling a single scoop in a double cone for a stand-alone shot. The weight of the ice cream made the cone tip slightly every so often, so I resorted to sticking the cone in a dab of honey directly on the table.

  Handle a Sticky Situation

  If you ever need to make things stick, think first of natural substances, especially those that make it easy to hide the connection: honey, mashed potatoes, mashed bananas, cream cheese. These foods work great. But also keep in mind that there’s no shame in using a small piece of double-sided tape to hold things steady!

  Hot and Cold Beverages

  I remember the day I told a stylist friend of mine that I had agreed to photograph beverages for a friend who was starting a coffee shop. His response—“Well, good luck with that!”—should have made me pay closer attention.

  He was right; that shoot was no breezy walk in the park. But he was wrong too; luck has little to do with it.

  While you may get a perfect photograph of a steamy hot cup of coffee one day when you’re out and about, luck really doesn’t have a role. You made it happen by being ready at the right time and not allowing the coffee to get cold. You were attracted to the light steam color against the type of light that was making it visible to you. Similarly, at home or in a studio, you have to be sharp to catch nice drips of dew on a cold glass of beer or the steam coming from that hot cup of cocoa you’re styling.

  Stemware

  If you work with hot beverages a lot, white ceramics work well because they provide a good contrast with the dark of the liquid, especially coffee, tea and hot chocolate. But if you need to show that a beverage is cold … and show the dew, frost or ice … a clear or light-colored container will usually work best. Try using back light and work from the shine it puts on the glass.

  Hot Beverages

  When styling steam, you have but one thing to do and it is to be ready! It’s important that both camera settings and composition are ready when the steam starts rolling.

  Use back light to see steam more clearly, and pick a dark or contrasting background. Pro stylists working on commercials and advertisements can’t always rely on naturally occurring steam, due to the circumstances dictated by the photo shoot itself. That’s why they’ll often use techniques, like dry ice, to mimic steam. You can play with that, too, if you wish. Just remember to not drink your cup of joe.

  Styling and capturing a steaming cup of tea is all in the timing!

  f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm, Macro L

  The cup in this image is positioned in front of the main light source, which lights it from the back and plays off other cups and glasses in the background. Instead of setting up on a dark linen, I decided to play off the deep shadows coming onto the table at this time of day. When everything was set up, I poured boiling water into the cup and started taking pictures. It went fast. After just five to eight minutes, the steam was half that height!

  Cold Beverages

  The same idea applies to cold beverages. If you want frosted cups, make sure to place your glasses in the freezer for a few hours (as described in the section on ice creams). If you want a dewy look, use very cold liquids and a cold glass. Real alcohol has a tendency to make ice melt faster than water, so be prepared for that if photographing cocktails. The key to capturing cold beverages is to have everything very cold.

  Styling cold or semi-frozen desserts such as Peach Almond Milkshakes can almost feel like performing surgery.

  f/3.5, ISO 640, 100mm, Macro L

  There are a couple of techniques that profession
als use from time to time to add dew to a cold drink. One is to use a steamer against a cold glass. The other is to apply a mixture of light corn syrup and water with a stiff toothbrush. Online, you can purchase or rent fake ice cubes, drops, spills, bubbles and other gadgets. (www.trengovestudios.com is a good resource.) It’s frightening and fascinating to see all the illusionist equipment that’s available for food photography!!

  Garnishes

  Garnishes add a nice touch to drinks, especially cocktails and cold beverages. When you think about sugared rim glasses, consider different colored sugars for a new look. Twisted lemon rinds or peels are great, too, or a sprig of herb … if the recipe for your cocktail or drink includes it. And use fun silverware sometimes, like colorful long-stemmed spoons or fun striped straws.

  For the picture of Peach Almond Milkshakes (left), I made sure that both the liquid and glass were really cold when I began styling. The recipe called for whole pieces of peach in the milkshake, but once poured in the glass, these pieces kept moving away from the front. So it was impossible to tell they were there. To make this important ingredient visible, I used straws to hold the peach pieces in place at the front.

  Instead of using plain white straws, I picked up some fun candy-striped ones online. Still, I had to move quickly, because the warmer the milkshake became, the more the pieces of peach pushed up the straws … up and out of the glass!