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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 10:23:25 GMT
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 10:31:04 GMT
Got the title wrong - appetising, not pretty. Apologies.
All advice gratefully accepted.
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Post by zou on Mar 9, 2024 11:25:15 GMT
Got the title wrong - appetising, not pretty. Apologies. All advice gratefully accepted. Take the fish out.  |
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 11:34:11 GMT
Got the title wrong - appetising, not pretty. Apologies. All advice gratefully accepted. Take the fish out. Ha! My son would agree with that sentiment. Not me. I love fish. Which is lucky because I am overrun with the stuff at the moment. |
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Post by spinno on Mar 9, 2024 11:35:00 GMT
Take the fish out. Ha! My son would agree with that sentiment. Not me. I love fish. Which is lucky because I am overrun with the stuff at the moment. you have a sur-plaice? |
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Post by zx9 on Mar 9, 2024 11:36:31 GMT
Basically make it inedible.
Spray the greens and tomatoes with glycerine / water to make them shine, have all the new potatoes graded so they are a similar size five is a good number perhaps think about having three of them.
Do you need all the set dressings? I am looking at an un ironed napkin and some cutlery that has picked up a bronze tinge, I don't know why the cheese board extra potatoes or finger bowl are there.
The lemon looks quite dated, when did you last see a lemon or tomato cut like that, I think three wedges of lemon slightly overlapping would look better.
It would help to know if it is an illustration for a cook book or for inside a restaurant where it has to look somewhat like what will arrive on the table.
I am sorry if that lot sounded quite negative and I will admit that my food photography experience is limited to spending a small amount of time in the studio of a chap called Vernon Morgan who took the ready meal from sluts at Iceland to yuppies at M&S. All of his work was cooked to order from fresh ingredients in a kitchen next to the studio then tarted around with for hours that is why what you saw on the packet was very different to what came out of the microwave.
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 11:44:51 GMT
Basically make it inedible. Spray the greens and tomatoes with glycerine / water to make them shine, have all the new potatoes graded so they are a similar size five is a good number perhaps think about having three of them. Do you need all the set dressings? I am looking at an un ironed napkin and some cutlery that has picked up a bronze tinge, I don't know why the cheese board extra potatoes or finger bowl are there. The lemon looks quite dated, when did you last see a lemon or tomato cut like that, I think three wedges of lemon slightly overlapping would look better. It would help to know if it is an illustration for a cook book or for inside a restaurant where it has to look somewhat like what will arrive on the table. I am sorry if that lot sounded quite negative and I will admit that my food photography experience is limited to spending a small amount of time in the studio of a chap called Vernon Morgan who took the ready meal from sluts at Iceland to yuppies at M&S. All of his work was cooked to order from fresh ingredients in a kitchen next to the studio then tarted around with for hours that is why what you saw on the packet was very different to what came out of the microwave. No, not negative at all. Client wanted it to look like a homecooked meal - to give people an idea of how they might serve it at home, hence napkins, bowl of extra spuds etc. That's a glass of water not a finger bowl. Board was just for colour/depth. Agree re. lemon perhaps but having already done about eight or nine shots for this client I was running out of ways to make it not just the same as all the rest. I've done slices, wedges, grilled, twists...and there are more products to shoot. I was going to melt some butter and put on asparagus and potatoes but it turned out I didn't have any - and the spray bottle I would have used to spray water/glycerine (still edible by the way) was broken. So the first shot I took of this had a puddle of water/Gly in the plate! Client will be sure to tell me if they want changes made! It's promotional work for their new range of fish products - so will be used at trade fairs as banners and so on. A bit like this:  Untitled-1 by Kath Polley, on Flickr  Untitled-2 by Kath Polley, on Flickr  Untitled-3 by Kath Polley, on Flickr |
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Post by zou on Mar 9, 2024 11:49:13 GMT
If it was me serving at home the asparagus would be pointing away from the seat. And I'd never serve mini toms still on the stalk.
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 11:56:11 GMT
If it was me serving at home the asparagus would be pointing away from the seat. And I'd never serve mini toms still on the stalk. You're right, I would too now that I think about it. Alhtough if I were shooting this face on instead of top down that would leave the less interesting part facing the camera. The stalks are apparently 'aspirational'. |
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Post by spinno on Mar 9, 2024 12:14:55 GMT
If it was me serving at home the asparagus would be pointing away from the seat. And I'd never serve mini toms still on the stalk. You're right, I would too now that I think about it. Alhtough if I were shooting this face on instead of top down that would leave the less interesting part facing the camera. The stalks are apparently 'aspirational'. hang on, aspirational and asparagus on the same plate...which one's the most edible? |
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Post by kate on Mar 9, 2024 12:17:26 GMT
Tomatoes take me back to the 1970s, where every meal presented seemed to demand a 'garnish' of tomatoes. It is something I rebel against. If there has to be the tomatoes, I'd make them look roasted, not raw. Perhaps a separate small bowl of salad colour? I guess it makes a difference if you know the market you are aiming at/for? Would many 'home cooks' have fresh asparagus to hand? Peas, green beans, OK. But where's the tartare sauce? I must admit I didn't realise it was fish to start with (thought it was chicken). If I was selling the fish, I'd have left it steamed and glossed with a butter sauce, drizzling over the asparagus and small new potatoes. |
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Post by zx9 on Mar 9, 2024 12:27:58 GMT
Kath I did think that I was on safe ground with you. I was never very vocal with appraisals on the AP forum as some folk were very easily offended when all you were trying to do was help them. I like some of the photos you added, they focus more on the food and less on the table set.
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 13:08:19 GMT
Kath I did think that I was on safe ground with you. I was never very vocal with appraisals on the AP forum as some folk were very easily offended when all you were trying to do was help them. I like some of the photos you added, they focus more on the food and less on the table set. It takes quite a lot to offend me! (And looking at my files, it seems I must have been thinking along the same lines re the table set as I also included a much tighter shot where the focus is more on the food.) To be honest at this point I'm starting to run out of ideas. There seem to be a number of Yellow Fin Sole with a different flavour crumb on them. The first I did was lemon and pepper and they wanted that to be a 'fresh light meal' so I used a salad to garnish it. This was lemon and parsley. Friday's post brought a large polystyrene box of dry ice and frozen fish with a 'thai style' and a 'korean style' crumb. I have no idea what I'm going to do with those. Lemongrass and chilli for one I expect...korean? I'll have to google. Most of the shots have been face on rather than flatlay. I find those easier to work with because you can have a very shallow depth of field and therefore just 'hint' at what's going on in the background. But they asked for flatlay for this one. I may need to do some 'you don't really want that' kind of chats! |
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 13:13:23 GMT
Tomatoes take me back to the 1970s, where every meal presented seemed to demand a 'garnish' of tomatoes. It is something I rebel against. If there has to be the tomatoes, I'd make them look roasted, not raw. Perhaps a separate small bowl of salad colour? I guess it makes a difference if you know the market you are aiming at/for? Would many 'home cooks' have fresh asparagus to hand? Peas, green beans, OK. But where's the tartare sauce? I must admit I didn't realise it was fish to start with (thought it was chicken). If I was selling the fish, I'd have left it steamed and glossed with a butter sauce, drizzling over the asparagus and small new potatoes. This all comes ready crumbed - I prefer it steamed and buttery too! I do like the idea of roasting the tomatoes though - will probably use that idea in the next batch of shots. Thank you! |
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Post by Kath on Mar 9, 2024 13:18:26 GMT
All of his work was cooked to order from fresh ingredients in a kitchen next to the studio then tarted around with for hours that is why what you saw on the packet was very different to what came out of the microwave. Re. this...comes down to budget. They don't have a massive budget so I'm trying to do these as quickly as possible which means less time spent tarting around! I mean I'm being paid a fair wage but they are also aware that there are things I'm not spending time on - it's a compromise and I'm getting repeat business from them so we're both happy but I"m always up for new ideas/thought processes/input. |
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