Principles of AAVTC Food Styling and Photography Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.  Trade & Industrial Education

Food Styling What does that strange term mean? How does it relate to graphic design? Do people really do that for a living? We are going to discuss a new project and answer your questions about it. We will answer what food styling is, exactly. We will talk about how it is related to advertising design and why you need to know about it as an advertising student. And we will find out if people really do work with food all day long! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Food Styling Is Aesthetics When food is styled, it is made to look better. Just like your hair is styled or clothing is made to appear more “put together” by a stylist! Food styling is simply making food look nice for photographs or displays. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Food Stylists Food stylists prepare foods to look like art. Then the ad artists take it from a very nice photograph… A nicely designed photo… Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

…to a finished magazine cover. Becomes the completed magazine cover that consumers purchase at the newsstand. It only took me about 10 minutes to make this cover from the photograph. See favorite recipes inside! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Food stylists work with photographers Highly specialized profession Food styling is fun and challenging There are boundless ways to do your job creatively Photographers are your best buddies You must form professional alliances with photographers or do the photography yourself! There are many elements to advertising. One highly specialized profession within the field is food stylist. It is a fun job, and if you search the Internet, you will find that there are many food stylists in the larger cities, NY, San Francisco, etc. There are even some in Dallas! (I might mention a field trip or a guest speaker here…) Food stylists and photographers are a team. Some food stylists are photographers as well. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Shortening is ice cream? The food in ads would not taste very good if you ate it... Did you ever wonder why the food on the restaurant menu looks so much better than what the waitress brings to the table? Now for the fun information… Yes, to keep the ice cream from melting under the lights, they use shortening and color it and add nuts, etc. for the shoot. It is not nearly as good to eat as it looks in the photos. Shortening looks just like ice cream in photos however. Last click… Did you ever ask why the food you are served in a restaurant doesn’t look nearly as great at the table as it did in those beautiful menu photos? The answer is easy… FOOD STYLING!!! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Some other “Tricks of the Trade” Glycerin makes glasses look frosted cold when it is sprayed on the outside. Here is another easy trick. It works like a charm. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Meat has grill marks painted on and it is often photographed cold. Meat is more difficult. It requires real artistry and patience. A little glycerin added to make that cold meat look juicy again helps too! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Rolls and Breads: Covered in varnish or shellac These bagels would probably break your teeth if you tried to bite them. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Sometimes bread is covered with fine cracker crumbs… Lots of bread shots have grains and crumbs added to remind you that it is one of the major food groups… Have another loaf! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Whipped cream is shaving cream mixed with vanilla frosting… This is a fun technique. White canned cake frosting mixed with shaving cream will melt eventually under the lights, but not as fast as the real thing. It has a thicker consistency and will stay put longer. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

You might want to show a recipe during the preparation This works particularly well to sell a product that is normally thought of as a “home cooked” specialty, such as baked goods and comfort foods. Don’t be afraid to throw in some of the ingredients onto your tabletop! When your product is one that is a traditionally a home prepared item, you might want to throw some of the ingredients onto the shooting surface to make it look as though it has been shot in the middle of the cooking process. Eggs, flour, butter… all the more appealing for your photo. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

All foods are photographed cool or cold, even syrups… Cold waffles… cold syrup.. The butter square can be slightly melted in a microwave just before shooting to make it appear hot. Cold syrup doesn’t run… sometimes cold honey is used to portray syrup in ads. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Capturing that perfect drip of chocolate! Sometimes it is more important when you shoot the food than what the food is. Capturing that perfect drip of chocolate! This is a perfect example of the timing of the shot… It makes the photo. It is difficult to accomplish. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

You can make it as complex… This kind of a shoot takes a long time to set up. The dish can be cold, but it must be artistically designed. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

…or as simple as you wish. This is very effective because the idea is strong. Very little preparation is required, maybe just a little lemon juice rubbed on that apple slice to keep it looking fresh. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

If you go for simplicity, design it impressively well. This is a lime… …a mirrored surface… …a well thought out shadow… Think about every element if you try a simple shoot… (Last click) Even the shadows need to be planned. …glycerin… Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

You can shoot food as a background object. This is a simple idea that one of my students had last year. She had a very easy shoot using only carrots and glycerin; color correction was handled digitally. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Add Your Ideas. You can add the rest of your concept later in Photoshop. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Choose your food product You are about to become a food stylist and photographer! Choose a food product to advertise “I Like These Bell Peppers!” Now it is your turn to think of a food you would like to work with on this project. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

The Procedures: Step one – the decision: choose your weapon! To review, here are the steps you need to follow. First, decide on what you want to photograph. Be certain that you can handle it and don’t go farther than you know you will be able to be successful. We want a beautiful result. Quality counts here. Think about what you will enjoy photographing and what will be within your grasp. Do not over-commit at this point. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Step two – meet with your group about what you would like to work on together. Be creative! Step two is to research and meet with me. We can discuss how to set up your shoot, what you will need, and what I can provide for you. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Step three – train on the camera Classroom presentation Hands on guided practice The next and most important step of all is to get trained on the camera. We will all have a presentation on Digital Photography, and then there will be a worksheet and some hands on training. You will need to demonstrate proficiency on the camera before your shoot is scheduled. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Step four – the shoot Once you have completed training on the digital camera, be sure you have made a very thorough list with your group about what to bring. Plan for materials. Plates, garnish, tableware, cloths, and the like. Plan lighting. Practice with the lights and the stands to get the look you want. After you have been passed off on digital camera, you can set a date for your shoot. Be sure that you begin to accumulate your materials immediately. You will need to discuss the lighting before your shoot date. We will have a classroom demonstration of lighting techniques, but you will need to come to the shoot sure of what you need to do with the lighting. The shoot is not the time for experimenting. We will do any experimenting before the dates of the photo shoots. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

Remember, have fun and let your creativity take over. The most important thing is to have fun and learn. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission. 

An understanding of food styling can add to your worth as a graphic design employee! THE BOTTOM LINE. You will develop an important skill that may help you in the future as an advertising artist. Skill can translate to dollars, and that’s the bottom line. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.