At first glance, you can somehow see Penny De Los Santos' huge personality and wonderful curiosity. She is constantly looking around and studying everything. Then she starts talking about her work and you feel her tremendous passion. I walked away quite energized and I'm not even a photographer. Penny De Los Santos doesn't take pictures, she makes pictures and they are beautiful.
Penny spoke to the group about how to make food portraits. The shoot that she self assigned herself, shooting women in a prison in Mexico, got her where she is today. She landed at National Geographic. Some time later a colleague, who had moved to Saveur, was asking her to do some shoots for Saveur and that's how she got into food photography. To date she's done 6 cookbooks and she never thought she would be doing cookbooks. Apparently steak is tough to shoot (no pun intended). She just recently did a vegan dessert cookbook and at first she said "hell no!" Not because she hates vegans, she's just not a dessert person and she feels you kinda have to be excited about what you shoot. She got excited about it though because she decided to sex up the photos of the desserts. And with that she shared her tips on food photography.
Philosophy - "I shoot food like I shoots prisons." She takes a very organic, natural approach, Everything on the set is edible with beautiful ingredients in natural light. She showed us her first Saveur cover (The Breakfast Issue - Issue #114).
What makes a good photo
- light
- color
- composition-people don't spend enough time thinking about this so that they can stretch themselves visually and avoid shooting the same photo time after time
- appetizing food
- pick good subjects
- scout your food - do your research ahead of time.
- practice a lot - she practices a lot. She shoots manually and meters her camera. If you want to take pics up a notch, shoot manually. The first time you do that it's pretty inspiring because you are in control.
Primary camera angles in food photography
- overhead
- 3/4 view, side view is best when food is taller.
- give it some space, you don't need to get so close because your viewers may be looking at your shot and think "what the hell is that?"
Think about your background
- it should give information to the subject
- they shoud be clean, not too cluttered
Why varied angles are important
- Visual pacing
- For the creative process-exploring the image - in her best southern access she related how a friend explained this - like a dog before he urinates - the dog will smell everything walking around and checking everything out. She was encouraged to explore just like that dog. Not all food looks good from the same angle - think about what you want to say about your subject and the best way to show it and explore it
Using available light
- light direction
- light quality
- how to diffuse (softening the light with a napkin, wax paper, buy an $80 disc) and modify light - window light and doorway light is great,
Editing a dish
- Mostly applies at a restaurant - you ask another plate and then you plate it or ask the chef to rebuild it.
- Or you take a food subject and put it in a completely different element - like her picture of tamales that she put on a towel.
Creative devices
- Food preparation shots - she showed a pic
- Meal in process - shooting a meal as it's being eaten
- Ingredients in its original wrapping
- Vegetables after their washed
- A spoon covered in sauce
- Ingredient shots in jars, bowls
Camera Angles
- light
- edit your food
- photo food in prep and meal in proc
- be creative - use props
Food Culture
Penny related a story about her food shoot in Peru and the woman that walked her through the market full of knowledge and information. The best experiences started by her being invited into the kitchen and she loved it. She showed the pictures that are representative of the stories that she loves so much.
How to grow as a photographer
- look at phot daily, mags cookbooks study the phots and styling
- practice daily - she self assigns things to her all the time.
- Keep a visual journal to develop good habits. She would make a pic a day and listen to her instincts. As she sees things she thinks about whether it make a good pic or not. She was on a street and a women walked thru a beam of light and she though that would make a good pic. So she waited for someone else to walk thru it to shoot it. thinking aobut moments, color, composition..she's not talking to anyone, she is completely in her head, listening the whole time. When asked what lenses she uses in her photography she told us that she shoots everything with one lens. The more you move the more uncomfortable you are.
- Show a sense of place with your photos. This gives people an idea of where you are and the culture.
Penny closed with...Be Inspired. Love what you do. Have an insatiable curiosity. Like everything - LEAD with your heart, be open follow your instincts. listen.
Posted via email from feast!
