Food Photography

One of the biggest compliments I get, when showing my food photos, is “oooh, that makes my mouth water!”

This is exactly the emotion I want my photographs to achieve. Every job I take on has to deliver mouth-watering images that really get the juices flowing!

My background in food photography

I’ve always had a love of food, so when I started out as a photographer’s assistant in London I was lucky to land a job with one of the top food photographers in the industry. Straight away I was working alongside top chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, for magazines including Waitrose Food Illustrated (now called Waitrose Kitchen), Delicious Magazine and Red Magazine, as well as art directors from various design agencies and publishing houses.

Photographing food

Photographing food is not as easy as it looks, there are many elements to pull together to get the final image. Light is key to making food look natural yet stand out, and the best light to use is daylight. However, it can be problematic! Many years of shooting in UK weather where the light constantly changes, means I am now very adept at manipulating light. Propping and styling the shot are equally important, bringing context to the image. For this I like to use lots of textures, which give more depth and makes an image more visually stimulating. I am a ‘realistic’ photographer, meaning I like to style my shots with props that bring the true narrative to the final image.

Many of my food photographs are the product of working with a good team, and I’m very fortunate to work with some of the best and most talented food stylists, home economists and prop stylists in the industry. It is the combination of all our skills that creates beautiful, mouth-watering images. Sometimes, however, the budgets do not allow for a full team so I will do the prop styling myself, plus I’ve picked up enough tips on food styling to be able to make a few tweaks here and there too!

My Commissions

My commissions are predominantly from food magazines, book publishers, design agencies and brand marketing departments. I’ve photographed seven cookbooks so far and I absolutely love book commissions. Perhaps it’s because you have an intense few weeks working with a talented team, creating a final product that you know many people will enjoy for years to come. I will never tire of seeing a book I’ve shot on the shelves of a book shop.

My first book was photographing with Gok Wan on his first cookbook, published by Penguin, which was a lot of fun! We shot this in the depths of winter, in January, so the daylight was extremely challenging, and most of the time we had to work by the door, with it open, to get the best light. Most days I would be wearing finger-less gloves and 4 jumpers to keep warm! I’m glad to say, I have not had to work in January again…yet!

Photographing the narrative too

Taking pictures of food is not always just about the dish itself however. I am passionate about the story behind the food too, whether this is the life of the restaurant or the farmers or producers. I am in my element when I can spend time with these people or establishments, capturing the life of all those involved and the processes that it takes before you get the food on your plate.

The world of food photography is incredibly varied and my job is never dull! I feel very privileged to meet and work with such talented people creating delicious food, plus I get to eat a lot of it too!