If you have aspirations to be a better food photographer on any level join New York Times photographer Andrew Scrivani for this instructional talk.
Andrew Scrivani NY Times Food Blog:
Personal Work:
Instagram: andrewscrivani
44 Comments
wow i learned a lot! thanks
اتمنى الترجمه
This is really wonderful and inspiring
Very informative! As someone who start the food photography, it helped me so much about it.. More video like this, please..
I love you! THANK YOU!! <3
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Is Andrew Scrivani photographer still available for food photography talks or otherwise. I have a project that I would like to complete this week and would like a few suggestions or tips thanks. Carrol
I am glad he shared his knowledge and his vision. It does though show the underlying issue with photography. Everyone has there own personal style.
As a chef, I have had my food photographed hundreds of times for various publications. Some times it has been used as props for Hollywood studio films, other times for cover pages of food publications. The big-big issue many food photographers have and they just don't get, is that they are too focused on styling, composition and light. It is to be expected. They forget that the number aspect you want to retain is deliciousness. The image has to make the person want to eat it. Just the same as a portrait work should make the subject look their most flattering, architecture should showcase the beauty of the design, landscapes the vastness and majesty etc. Too often people will look at the photo and comment that it is a great photo. That is when you know it has failed. You want to look at the image and say, 'I want to eat that.' I can appreciate his stance on no mistake. The props he chooses, the light he uses..48:42 the final image is beautiful..but does that nectarine tart make you want to eat it? Is it even nectarine?..is it peach?..wedges of apple? Therein lays why cookbooks from extremely high end restaurants never really sell. The images are beautiful and composed..but not inviting. That is why cook books by Jamie Oliver do sell. People eat with their eyes first and his books project that sense of approachability and a simple sense of wanting to eat.
In creating 55 plates of food for a cookbook I made 3 images of each dish. The first being highly polished and composed. The second a step back from that..the third being quite polished, but with one noticeable flaw in it. After giving the images to test groups, the flawed image was the preferred. It look most similar to what people see in their food. It made it more approachable.
If your doing editorial, or product featuring..then by all means go to the furthest mile with food photography. However, it you want people to see your food and want to eat it, or want to try and create it..then you have to master how to make the food look delicious first, then approachable. Otherwise you end up with a portrait photo where people say, "What a great photo of you."..rather than saying, "You look beautiful in that photo." The portrait photographer aims for statement two..getting statement one indicates a fail. It is the same with food photographs. Whether they be for a cookbook, or cover page etc..the image has to convey a delicious that people want to eat, or a approachable where the viewer sees the image and wants to try the recipe.
If you look at publishers who make their entire income off food photo's, like Marie Claire, you will see a certain style and styling are always used over and over. Its because that what produces images that make people want to eat them, or want to try to make it themselves. When you present a person with images of macro, story telling, emotional journeys of food..they put it down and pick up the Marie Claire. Those macro, story telling images work much better in a series like chef table, where the focus is on the chef, not on attracting people to eat their work.
Excellent!!!
Love it! Very helpful! Food photography is NOT easy but I'm practicing! 🙂
You look like Jo koy
Very informative and the photography is really beautiful. Thank you for sharing the information.
Loved listening to this Talk. As a fellow food photographer, it's inspirational to think about the soul and story behind the shot.
Fantastic Tutorial! Thanks!!!!!!
Lots of good info in this talk.
Poor photos, poor cropping
Great video, great instructor – left me inspired about my next food shoot. Thank you to #AndrewScrivani for an amazing course!
Amazing personality of this photographer! Thank you so much for your passion which we can feel through this video!
Inspiring
great lecture
What is the lens used in the photos closer? macro
I was a chef for over twenty years, quite successfully, but then I got an idea I wanted a law degree for some strange reason. I find there are many parallels between cooking and photography, take the ingredients/subject, mix ingredients/make composition, cook/expose image, present/post edit and both are driven with the passion to create perfection for the consumer. Strangely, very strangely considering how I love both art forms, I have never previously been drawn towards food photography but I also have a love for nature both landscape and wildlife. As I find it harder and to get out even on a short run in the car, or to my studio even with help setting up, I’m turning more to fine art photography that I can do in my home and spend 2 day’s setting up the shot. In this fine art I’m being more and more drawn to food photography, and so now I’m finding myself very grateful for it as it feeds (pun intended) my need to be active as much as possible physically and mentally and most of all my need to press that shutter and create an image a charity I’m involved with can sell. So, because of that above I’m extremely grateful for this video, much more than I hope you will ever know or appreciate. Thank you very much indeed.
Andrew never fails to deliver. Amazing pictures and one amazing talk. Thanks
Great vid!
However, it appears this gentleman is obviously a perfectionist…but funny though he doesn't know what an iron is.
Just a joke.
Awesome vid & very informative.
Amazing content and truly inspiring even two years later.
Great! Thank you so much 🙂 Good light. 🙂
I have learned so much in just this one video. For all the ones saying " i see flaws in the photo" lets see your work? this guy is a boss at what he does!
A very useful and informative video
This was a really informative and useful video, thank you!
Hi, Just wondering how many image shots do you take before you are certain and happy with the final result?
This guy seems not to understand that food photography isn't about artsy light, it's about making food look appetizing. People don't want to eat what they can't see. Most of these photos are lost in black holes. Some are so dark they're unidentifiable. As others point out, none of these images would be used in a menu, magazine editorial or cookbook. Since when do people serve lemon bars in a dark room with one side of them going to black? Steam off of what is apparently a steak, except you can't see the steak. A jar of what could be honey, beer, ice tea, who knows? The blobs in the background give no context. And I didn't think it was possible to make a row of colored ice cream cones look depressing, but he manages to do it.
If you want to see outstanding commercial food photography that isn't artsy fartsy then study a Denny's menu carefully, because they get it. I'm not joking. It may not look like it was photographed on a moonlit Tuscan balcony, but it makes the food look approachable and yummy.
The best video ever on good photography. great work and thanks from the bottom of my heart.
wow, your images are amazing and your talk was so down to earth, so relateable. Fantastic, thank you so much.
Quite the story, Andrew! I like that you explained the beauty of the images through the use of colors and light and cherished personal experiences that everyone's had – all without boasting about your own skill. You kept it humble, and that's what made it so easy to watch and absorb. I'm a food photog down in Miami, and am currently working on using shadows. I only shoot at restaurants and bars at night because of my day job, and that's forced me to learn how to use one, two and three flash unit setups. I have yet to use daylight or a studio, or a full-frame camera yet, so I'm excited for my future in this industry. Anyways, this was one of the first videos I watched on food photography, and now that I've revisited it months later, it's got so much more meaning to me. Thanks for sharing your insight, and thank you to B&H for producing and supporting this.
Anthony Nader
52 Chefs
@52Chefs on Instagram
im not super passionate about food, but each picture shown made me wanna eat something.. so, yup, it works!
What a pleasure it was to listen to a guy who knows what he's talking about and to look at his wonderful work. Thank you Mr. Scrivani!
Spit it out ya turkey neck, get to the content.
andrew is my No1. Food Photographer! <3
nice shoot
Loved it. Thanks!
What a valuable lesson in storytelling and tabletop shooting. Thank you Andrew, and B&H!
This is the best video I've watched on food photography so far. Thanks!
I thought the shot of his lighting set up was the best, most informative part. Thanks for this.
That was so helpful! Thank you!