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The Dirty Tricks of Food Photographers
Motor oil as sauce, mashed potatoes as ice cream and glue instead of milk: The food you drool over in a restaurant might be pretty, but often it won’t actually be edible.
We’re having a bit of a food photography fest here on Photocritic today, what with it being International Food Photography Day. We’ve already put forth our best tips for capturing delicious food, but if you need a bit more help when it comes to styling, these are some of the dark, devious, and dirty tricks that you can use. You’ll never look at the photos in food magazine the same way again.
We’ve all seen the seductive photos of vividly colorful fresh vegetables, sumptuous cherry pies, and golden-brown roasted turkeys. These pictures, often found in glossy cookbooks and magazines, make us believe that if we follow the recipe we, too, can create such delectable dishes. And many of us can. Well, almost.
A peek behind the kitchen door would reveal the sometimes bizarre tools of the food photography trade that transform fresh baked brownies and juicy crown roasts into science fair projects masquerading as culinary delights. Food is among the more difficult of subjects for photographers. The laws of nature guarantee it: Hot foods cool, moist foods dry…
