feast for the eyes

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~ Harriet Van Horne

Food and photography make a beautiful match.  Food provides vivid colors and varying textures naturally for photographers.  From shooting ingredients, to prep work in a kitchen, to the finished product, and even nibbled on creation, the shooting possibilities are endless. I personally find photographing food a challenge, but being passionate about both makes me strive to take better food shots. A beautiful photo of a dish instantly draws me in. I have made many a recipe, and bought many a food magazine, or cookbook simply from falling in love with someone else's photographs. When I pick up a new cookbook the first thing I do is thumb through the pages in hopes of seeing beautiful food, if I find that then I am compelled to dive in.  Some photographers have a signature style when it comes to photographing food. I think a lot of that has to do with composition and styling.  The perfect plate, linens, glassware, really add to a photo. From the rustic farm table, to the refined china,  I am continually inspired.

Lets have a feast for our eyes today. Share a favorite food shot and your thoughts on the subject.  Do you style food shots? Do you have a favorite table, cup, plate that you find yourself photographing again and again? Do you find that you are more passionate about food from photos? 

Let's celebrate all that is sweet, spicy, steamy and down right delicious.  Tempt me please! 

Comments

[art and lemons]

I buy some cookbooks just for the photography. I tend to favor a more documentary type of minimal food styling.

I recently photographed cauliflower: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandlemons/5509763963/

along with a recipe for cauliflower with brown butter and lemons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandlemons/5510364660/in/photostream/

and the set-up to make an elderberry hot toddy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artandlemons/5425636980/in/photostream/

[Chelsea C]

I also love food photography. Being such a visual person, I enjoy cooking a recipe much more when I can see the steps, the ingredients, the finished product...and the more real the better. I like the documentary style more than the food styling. I find food photography challenging though. If I am cooking, I am usually too focused on what I am doing to remember to take photos. And when I do remember, I find it challenging to make it look good. But there is an occasional shot I really like!

I shot this over the weekend. We were at my boyfriend's parents house for dinner, and I saw these next to the sink. When I do photograph food I seek out the best natural light. I find that I frequently run into the problem of the food looking flat and unexciting, and capturing how it really looks is hard!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelscham/5533751008/

[erika]

I could eat this meal all over again!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onemoreplease/5533153609/

All over again!

[Kate S.]

Found these at the store the other day. Lime-a-licious.. lime-a-lovely... lime-a-love.. did I mention I love limes...? ;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30297021@N02/5532972159/

Oh, and pears are good too ;)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30297021@N02/5533546146/in/photostream/

[Jessica]

Irish soda bread for snack today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaliej54/5534031464/
Also love pumpkin bread: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaliej54/5127870744/
And apple pie: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaliej54/5103455651/

And I wonder why I can't lose any weight! :-P

[Erica]

The first thing I ever learned how to make was pancakes. After all these years, I've gotten very good at it. Just made these last week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikkilyn/5524512659/sizes/z/in/set-72157626251542068/

[Puna]

How timely! It all looks delicious!

Here's a baking attempt:)

http://lifesignatures.org/wordpress/2011/03/march-16-happy-people/

[Debra]

So many beautiful photos in this comment thread! I am a sucker for beautifully photographed cookbooks and food blogs and I try my hand at it at home now and again. Here is one of my favourites. http://www.flickr.com/photos/manifeisty/5230176852/

[Rebecca Weaver]

Delicious, refreshing, creamy, mint chocolate ice-cream.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebecca84/5534924767/
I'd love to take better food photos! Cooking and taking pictures are two of my favorite things, but I haven't mixed them very successfully yet.

[carriemeghan]

My parents bought me my first camera when I was eight. I do believe they were quite disappointed when the majority of photos from the initial rolls I shot were all of food. From the inside of bags of chips to whatever we happened to be eating for dinner that night, something about the colors, shapes, and perhaps most simply my love for food drew me to capture in on film.

Now that I shoot digitally, I must admit it's even more of a "problem." (And, I think it still baffles my parents.) Recently, I was married and began to cook more frequently, and almost every time I do, my camera gets pulled out along with my measuring cups. (Which happen to be something I've enjoyed photographing.)

Here's one of my most recent cooking experiments:
http://carriemeghanphotography.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/bakers-blog/

This is the first cake I ever made from scratch (this past July):
http://carriemeghan.com/2010/07/27/pat-a-cake-pat-a-cake-bakers-man/

And one time I tried to be healthy:
http://carriemeghan.com/2010/08/05/a-kitchen-story/

[Amy]

hmmmm, I posted here yesterday and I see that my post is gone:(.....I wonder what happened???

[Donna]

I love your site... I discovered it the 'old-fashioned way' - I saw the book in the store and bought it immediately. I love that it's from a female perspective, and focuses on what a lot of teaching subjects on the matter don't seem touch on... emotion.

Food is a favorite subject of mine as well... a couple of my recent favorites:

Asparagus: http://www.donnavercoe.com/blog/2011/02/10/asparagus-2/

Oysters: http://www.donnavercoe.com/blog/2010/12/03/sydney-rock-oysters/

[TrishaC]

http://ssp-threesixfive.blogspot.com/2011/03/seventy-3-expensive.html

I took this one recently for my 365 Photos through Words project.

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