Food porn on the brain

Published on Tuesday, September 5, 2006, by Tea / Edit Post

Tasty recipes and snappy copy do not a great food blog make—we want the tantalizing, drool-inducing photos to go along with it. These days, everyone’s talking about food porn.

Last month Food and Wine magazine published a list of food blogs with stunning photos (though it was pointed out that the list might be a wee bit incomplete). An accompanying piece gives aspiring photogs camera recommendations and brief pointers on improving their craft.

Australian chef, food show host and cookbook author Benjamin Christie has more complete advice for mouthwatering food photographs—including tips on lighting, food styling and the right software to organize the three hundred photos of plums you just took. For serious food styling advice, he points out this article (forget milk with that bowl of cereal, PVA glue will keep those flakes from getting soggy while you snap away).

For a behind the scenes look at the art of food styling and photography, read Lara’s glowing account of a day spent on a LA food shoot with Matt Armendariz, of the photo-gorgeous blog Matt Bites. She includes some tips learned that day—how to make your own light bounce, how to help a glass of beer maintain its froth, how to keep flies off your food. Lara’s two blogs, Cookbook 411 and Still Life with…, offer samples of her own considerable photo talent.

Matt follows up with a post on his site about trying to find out of season produce at the farmers’ market—their August shoot was for holiday and fall foods. He’s also got a funny story of the agony an art director goes though when the black truffles go missing—and the lengths to which he will go to find them.

There’s more info about Matt’s work on the digital photography blog I Speak Film—an interview with the man himself, entertaining and chock full of photo and styling tips (trust me—you don’t want to know what they do to get those succulent looking Thanksgiving turkeys).

Matt himself has posted what might be the final word on the subject of food porn—far more of Sandra Lee than the Food Network should be displaying. Yikes, give me luscious strawberries any day of the week.

Any favorite photo-gorgeous food blogs out there, or tips for getting the perfect food shot?

ALLFood Media
POST A COMMENT |4 Comments

COMMENT

  • I think more and more, the gap between food for eating and food for photographing is closing. Once upon a time, "professional" food photography was totally unedible--plastic food, lots of chemicals, sprayed with shellac, using glue, whatever. A lot of that was because the time it took to do food photos with film was much longer--and that was style. Look at any magazine from the 80's or even early...+READ

    I think more and more, the gap between food for eating and food for photographing is closing. Once upon a time, "professional" food photography was totally unedible--plastic food, lots of chemicals, sprayed with shellac, using glue, whatever. A lot of that was because the time it took to do food photos with film was much longer--and that was style. Look at any magazine from the 80's or even early 90's, and you'll be surprised at how fake it looks! (as an aside, food for TV is still done this way---and you can tell!) However, now that digital photography is in full force, food photos can be done much quicker, and a more natural, blog-like photo is in vogue. And, there are just more of them. I really respect photographers (like Matt, whose blog I love!) can be professionals who blog out of sheer love of the food. Bloggers who have no intent of "going pro" are fine too--but I'll bet they wouldn't turn down a book deal if it came looking for them:-)-COLLAPSE

  • Such interesting comments here, and I totally understand where you are coming from, Sixy. Totally.

    I think I should note that I am a food professional who blogs, which I've never hidden the fact. Some stuff is made for the camera, but a big percentage of what I write about is for my own consumption...made at home and made to eat right after I take pictures. I'm too anal and neurotic to just snap...+READ

    Such interesting comments here, and I totally understand where you are coming from, Sixy. Totally.

    I think I should note that I am a food professional who blogs, which I've never hidden the fact. Some stuff is made for the camera, but a big percentage of what I write about is for my own consumption...made at home and made to eat right after I take pictures. I'm too anal and neurotic to just snap a shot of the food I'm going to eat without paying attention to light and form...it's caused me criticism many times before :)

    However, I know many amateur food bloggers who just happen to take amazing photos that look styled and faked - but aren't.

    I didn't realize there were groups of people who needed the distinction between amateur and profession blog...I thought we just all loved food equally!-COLLAPSE

  • I hear you! I'm personally never going to cook my ingredients separately just to make them look more photo perfect. But I am impressed with the bloggers who manage to do both--real food that is gorgeous. I also enjoy watching bloggers photo skills improve over time as they continue to blog. That's the point to me, to learn and improve. And I certainly have learned a lot by following the blogs of...+READ

    I hear you! I'm personally never going to cook my ingredients separately just to make them look more photo perfect. But I am impressed with the bloggers who manage to do both--real food that is gorgeous. I also enjoy watching bloggers photo skills improve over time as they continue to blog. That's the point to me, to learn and improve. And I certainly have learned a lot by following the blogs of those more adept than I in the photo department--and benefit from their experience and advice (yourself included).

    Let me know if you ever make up a "real food" stamp--I want a copy!-COLLAPSE

  • Did you read to Christy's "Gastro Gawking" http://www.chow.com/blog/37 article about food porn last week? I thought it was interesting and maybe suggested the reasoning behind Chow's own edgy food photography.

    Don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE Matt and the pictures he and other professional stylists and photographers are taking, but it is essential to note thay they go a step beyond the...+READ

    Did you read to Christy's "Gastro Gawking" http://www.chow.com/blog/37 article about food porn last week? I thought it was interesting and maybe suggested the reasoning behind Chow's own edgy food photography.

    Don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE Matt and the pictures he and other professional stylists and photographers are taking, but it is essential to note thay they go a step beyond the realm of amateur and the distinction is beginning to get blurred in the food blogging arena which started off in far more amateur fashion.

    I try to take nice photos for my own food blog, but I am proud of the fact they really are 'real' pictures of 'real' food that really does get eaten (often only about 1 minute after the picture is taken).

    professional suggests tricks for better looking photographs - like cooking ingredients separately for a dish where normally everything would be cooked together, and posing the ingredeints one by one using tweezers on a bowl of pasta, for example. Or spraying gylycerine on food for shiny droplets of moisture, or as you pointed out - using glue.

    I used to know that the pictures I would see on food blogs were for real, and that was part of the fun - but these days I am not so sure what I am seeing.

    Perhaps the uber stylists blog photos could come with a warning: "this food is fake and just for show - no meals were eaten after the taking of this photograph"

    conversely maybe I should get a "real food" stamp for my own pics?-COLLAPSE