In a world of Instagram food images and the daily “Here’s What’s Happening In Food” imagery on Facebook, everyone is a food photographer—or so they think.
But even the best software filtering and processing can’t measure up to the excellence you receive from a true professional food photo studio. In the past, we’ve written about why you should hire a professional food photographer, but that’s really only half of the story… as in, there’s more than just pressing the shutter.
Enter the food photo stylist. A food photo stylist brings to the table the experience of an art director and may have even gone to culinary school. It’s truly the visual intersection of two passions: food and photography.
For budget-conscious brands and single-unit restaurants, it’s vital to get the most bang for your photography buck. Photo shoots can be expensive endeavors when set up with the appropriate professionals, studio, propping, lighting and more, but there’s no better way to make people crave your food than with expert food styling and photography. It’s money well spent… and deep down, you know that’s true.
So to summarize the ways that you can expect a food stylist to contribute to your next food photo shoot, below are the key points to keep in mind:
Elevates the look of your product
Assures a successful shoot
Brings ton of experience to handle issues that come up
Can help with recipe ideas
Works on set with the photographer to ensure the product looks the best it can
Two amazing examples of food stylists that we use on a regular basis in our studio are Kathryn Conrad and Kelly McKaig.
Background on Kathryn: Beautiful food photography comes from using top quality ingredients–that includes the Food Stylist, Set Stylist and Photographer. You can see more of her work here:
www.kathrynconradfoodstyling.com/
Background on Kelly: As a prop stylist and artist who lives and works in Chicago, Kelly lovers shopping, collaborating and kittens as three of her favorite things. You can see more of her work here:
www.kellymckaigstylist.com
