FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: GET THE MOST FROM YOUR FOOD SHOOT.

Commissioning a photographic shoot can be daunting.

Here are a few pointers to help you get the most out of a photographic shoot and may even save you money.

1. Know What You Want.

Try and form a strong idea of what you want in your hand at the end of the process, either in conversation with your photographer or designer or your own ideas. Be prepared to discuss and question these ideas well before the day of the shoot. If you find yourself having difficulty in coming up with ideas refer to quality cook books and the web sites of leading companies in your area of production for inspiration. A reference photograph can often explain style and mood you desire more effectively than words.

2. Examine the work of the photographer.

Owning an expensive camera is no guarantee of quality and skill. Make sure you check out the portfolio of the photographer you intend to use. I have in the past given out quotes to potential clients and then to learn that they have gone with a cheaper photographer and later been asked by the same client to reshoot the same products - this is more expense and loss of time for you.

3. Food Stylist.

In most circumstances I would highly recommend a food stylist. Not only do they have the technical know how but the good ones also have a creative flair that is very useful on the day of the shoot saving time and money. How do you stop a sausage from wrinkling after been removed from the pan or how do you keep an ice cream from melting under studio lights - get a food stylist.

4. Your Sample Products.

The samples of your product you send to the studio will be the ones representing your

quality and reputation on the packaging or in the brochure. Make sure you spend time in selecting as near perfect samples as possible for this purpose. While some damage can be corrected on the day of the shoot and in the computer after the shoot - these are both expensive and often avoidable options.

Sending a generous quantity of samples allows both the food stylist and the photographer to test the product for the best way to prepare, cook, light and photograph it.

Depending on the type of food, samples should be ideally delivered before the day of the shoot. Frozen items can be kept in the studio freezer.

5. The Day of the Shoot.

If your photography is for packaging or advertising it is very useful to have the lay out or rough design that your designer is working with. We can then shoot into the space provided and optimise the photograph on the packaging for your product.

I would always recommend that you or your designer attends the shoot. Everything can be changed in the photograph at this point and it is important for you to feel comfortable in voicing your opinion about what you see, which is something I try to encourage.

Sending images via e-mail uses up valuable shooting time. Moving something a little to the left or to the right may have a major impact on the whole set. This can sometimes only be understood when attending the shoot. When you attend the shoot decisions can be made instantly. By comparison if you are directing the shoot remotely via the web or e-mail - each image needs to be prepared for sending and this is already taking up time. Then there is a wait - if you are at a meeting, on a phone call, lunch... the wait time is multiplied.

The food stylist will experiment with cooking times and accompanying garnishes or side plates.

The photographer will have selected a range of props based on the discussed brief and will be composing the photograph, positioning the subject and the props.

6. Props.

Consider the type, if any, of props that will appear with your product: crockery, cutlery, table dressings... etc. While I have large selection of props here in my studio that clients can use on the day of the shoot, specific items may need to be bought or hired on the day. You may well have an item in your own home or one you saw in a friends house that will work - it is beg steal or borrow time. For the sake of efficiency this should be done well before the day of the shoot.