Like most kids, I can remember being told to stop playing with my food and just eat it. However, I recently got to spend a whole day playing with food – and wasn’t shouted at once!
Award winning food writer and photographer Joan Ransley ran a photography day based from The School of Artisan Food and I went along to pick up some much needed inspiration.
The school is a not-for-profit company based from Welbeck Estate in the middle of Sherwood Forest. The beautiful buildings date back to 1870 and with old stone floors and oak interiors it provided the perfect backdrop for the day.
As well as being an inventive cook, Joan also takes her own shots to use on her blog and in her articles and generously shared her insights on how to get the best out of photographing food.
I prefer to eat food rather than spend hours preparing and cooking it so faced with crusty bread made that morning, rustic cheeses and an array of other temptations my first instinct was to make a sandwich and scoff it – not photograph it. This was my first hurdle, don’t eat the model!!
Bonus – a pasta making class was also taking place the same day at the school so we felt it only fair that they should share in our enthusiasm to shoot all things edible. They looked to be having a great time ..
You soon learn that light plays a major part in food photography. Get it wrong and you can make the yummiest food look very unappetising. I did get rather fixated on the bread but I think it was the aroma that kept bringing me back to it! Now if we could incorporate smell in to a photo ..
Moving swiftly on, I went for the chocolates –
The afternoon was taken up with a new challenge, I wanted to capture movement. Here was my set up –
The aim was for icing sugar to gently fall on to the fruit and be able to catch it on camera. Here’s what happened –
I had to set the timer on the camera, dash over to the fruit and try and judge how long it would take icing sugar to fall so it would appear in time for the shot. As you can see, I had limited success. In the last shot I just went for it so it’s a bit like a blizzard rather than the ‘light dusting’ I was hoping for .. practice needed I think!!
It was a fabulous day which ended with me covered in icing sugar and leaving a trail back to the car park. I was very popular with bees for some reason.
Now, who had that cheese ..
Oh my gosh this looks amazing! Fancy giving me a tutorial on food photography – incredible!!
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Thank You!! It was great fun, we will have to get together and play 🙂
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This is a lovely write up Deb. Your photos are great..Best wishes and good luck Joan
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Thanks Joan – you were an inspiration!
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Looks totally yummy! I like the falling sugar, it reminds me of the way the rain looks, falling from distant clouds in the desert here. Did you follow up later with the traditional bacon sandwich? 🙂
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Thanks John, I’m flattered that it inspired such a poetic vision! Not a bacon sandwich in sight – unless you count the prosciutto 🙂
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Wonderful photos. Keep up the great work :o)
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Thank you! I’m itching to see more of your work, don’t be shy 🙂
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Wow, the pictures are awesome!! Food is just so … sexy, isn’t it? Amazing.
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Thanks Tom! 🙂
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I’m just back from a 4 mile run, and now you’ve gone and made my tummy growl so loudly that the kitties fled upstairs. I think you owe me a proper lunch! 🙂
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You’re just in time – roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, followed by treacle sponge and custard. Won’t help the waistline but it will put hairs on your chest 🙂
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Yum! I just weighed in and I’ve lost 7 lbs over the last 4 weeks. I need a good meal!
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Well done you! Sit down, I’ll bring it right over …
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Thanks. I am quite famished. 🙂
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Gorgeous photography, and a really sweet story!
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Thank you Kristin!
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Loved your post and I’ll have to get my kids involved and try out that shower of icing sugar. It looked very cool. I am engaged in a project involving teaching my kids how to cook and have been rewriting recipes, photographing our efforts as well as licking a lot of fingers and wooden spoons along the way.
Lighting is the magic element probably of most photography. A friend introduced me to the splendor of the magic hour around sunrise and sunset when the light is just beautiful and I think gives a golden cast. It’s like a switch has been turned on when it works well.
Its funny because lighting is a sneaky thing. You think that your subject is the focus but with poor lighting, even the most interesting subject can become just an average snap.
I am also with you about eating the subject…yum!
xx Rowena
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Thanks for visiting Rowena. Sounds like you and the kids are having a great time, can I join in with the spoon licking bit? Definitely get them trying the icing sugar dusting – but be warned it gets everywhere! xx
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Hi Deb – it was great to meet you at the School of Artisan Food, wasn’t it a lovely, lovely day?! I think my favourite part of it was helping out with your icing sugar challenge – you definitely cracked it, lovely pix!
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Thanks Jenny it was a fabulous day, you got some great shots in! Apologies for covering you in icing sugar, the train ride home must have been a bit sticky 🙂
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Di:vision of labor: You take the pictures and I’ll eat. Does that sound fair?
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Only if you cook it first! 😀
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