Marketing a website is a lot of work – and a ton of fun! There’s so much that goes into that scrumptious looking photo that you’re drooling over.
First of all, you have to plan ahead. Timing-wise, that means that your photos of that really neat spiced cocktail or decadent sticky toffee pudding are shot in the summer, not fall. When everyone is out enjoying patios and cool summer treats you’re thinking about braised lamb, sweet potato pave and bread pudding. Your mind has to be months ahead of where you’re actually at. This is because it takes time to plan out a photoshoot, buy props (which of course are out of season so a huge degree of creativity is required here!), shop and prep the ingredients needed for those oh so-amazing-dishes. And of course cook the food during the photo shoot in order to capture the freshness and quality of the ingredients in those dishes that are so lovingly prepared.
However, there are some tricks of food photography which involve using components that either aren’t actual food (shaving cream instead of whipped cream, glue instead of milk for instance) or ingredients made to look like other foods (ie/mashed potatoes that look like a scoop of ice cream). We basically do whatever it takes to pull off the look and feel of the dish being prepared, so the end result photographs well, leaves you hungry, drooling and pining for more.
Finally, there’s the editing stage, proofing and selecting which of those hundreds of photos you will actually be using. Trust me this is very difficult! Of course the easy way out is to just buy stock photos and plaster those all over your website – no effort, no thought, none of which is your own food; just a small dent in your bank account at the end of a very short day. That’s not how I operate! I choose the route less travelled, which showcases exactly what it is that I have to offer, season by season, and has accountability and genuine appeal. That way when you happen to come across my website, you’ll have a very good idea of what dishes you can expect on your menu for your next special event, and that they are dishes that can be recreated exactly as you see them. I promise you the real thing does not include glue or shaving cream! I love the process of collaborating with my graphic designer, photographer and food stylist. Together we manage to create magic – with blood, sweat and tears – all in the name of food. I hope everyone enjoys the new round of photos we produced. I promise your next event will not include glue or shaving cream– just the real thing, created by me 🙂