Food Photography Preston

December 30th, 2024

Food Photography Preston

food photography preston

I was contacted in early September ’24 by the marketing manager of Delishus,based in Preston. They had a bit of a revamp going on, along with a new menu. What I found quite interesting, was the fact the lady I was dealing with had a very clear idea as to the brief. She knew her target market and how the images needed to appeal to them. Now that was rather refreshing to say the least.

On arrival, I was met with the same measure of preparation. A couple of tables had been set aside, allowing a choice of location, ambiance and background. There was also a choice of props, although again, they had been carefully chosen with a purpose in mind.

When I say props, most folk tend to think of the cutlery and plates, often wanting to use quite ornate cutlery, or obviously expensive plates. The downside is, if these differ from the plates or cutlery used by the restaurant, then the images are not recognised by regular or previous customers as being from that restaurant, thereby creating a subconscious distrust. Are they really images of the food at that particular restaurant, or are they stock images?

Whilst potential new customers may well be attracted by the images and go on to book a table, the different cutlery and plates etc., can then create the same distrust. This particular client is quite unique. They have a range of plates, and whilst some are used for a specific range of dishes, there is a variance in the plates used day to day. This allowed some freedom with th styling of the dishes etc.

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I do like the darker imagery created for some of my clients, and I had the opportunity to go down the same route with Delishus. The appeal of the image is very much based on the light and how it’s used to to create shape and texture. The specular highlights in food imagery play a huge part in creating “the want”, often associated with making potential clients feel hungry. If you can manage to create that feeling of hunger with an image, then it’s a clear indication the image is succeeding in it’s purpose to connect with potential clients.

Regarding the lighting, I placed an ELB 500 on the far side of the table. The head was on a makeshift boom so s to ensure the lightstand wouldn’t be seen in shot. It was firing through an 18cm standard reflector, coupled with a 30° grid. The output was set to 0.1 (Equivalent to 7Ws). This created the accent and specular highlights across the food.

A second ELB 500 was placed immediate camera left, firing through a folding 80x80cm folding sofbox. This was placed at head height and angled downward, creating my pseudo ambient light. The output was set to 1.0 (Equivalent to 12Ws). As you can see, the output levels were such that it would easily be created using speedlights. The drawback with speedlights is the built in reflectors, throwing the light forward and making it difficult to fill a modifier properly. The bare bulb option of the likes of the Godox AD200 would actually be ideal, and make an incredibly compact lighting kit for this type of work.

Camera settings were Olympus E-M1X 1/125th sec, f10 & ISO 200

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The only change here was the camera position. Light and camera settings remained the same.

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The inevitable overhead shot. I’ve written before about the appeal of overhead food imagery, and how it doesn’t quite have the same impact when compared to images taken at a point of perspective that would be similar to the client’s when sat at the table. My opinion has softened a little over time. Obviously, if there are a high number of overhead images being displayed on a social media channel, such as Instagram, then there must be a demand for it. Therefore, there must also be an audience. Whilst a little more accepting of this particular style, I still believe the image lacks the inherent appeal of the other images, purely down to the lack of specular highlights and the point I made earlier regarding the emotional pull of images making you feel hungry.

Delishus can be found at www.delishus.co or on facebook as Saladishy .