5 Ways to Harness a Food Expert’s SUPER Skills for Your Next Shoot

Forget the Avengers, if you’re looking for a super strong brand message, mouth-watering recipes, powerful props or video va-va-voom then you need a group of FAB foodies to assemble! 

Luckily, I have them already on speed dial. As a food photographer it’s oh so important to know who to call if a creative need arises. I’m thrilled to have my very own team of trusted freelancers and contacts that add some ‘extra’ awesome to every stage of the food photography process! Whether it’s knowing where to source the freshest ingredients, picking the perfect props or offering epic art direction, working with other experts is always a guaranteed recipe for success. 

Assembling a dream team from the beginning is the BEST way to start a project. It’s more cost and time efficient if you’re seamlessly creating culinary content and imagery at the same time! Think of it like leveraging the photo multiverse to the max. Want to know more? Here are some of the wonderful ways that using one of our experienced team of people can help you add some extra KAPOW to your brand portfolio. 

Recipe Development & Testing Experts 

First things first - you need a kick-ass recipe. You may have some ideas in mind or might need a helping hand in pulling a few new ones together. Recipe development is all about creating an on-brand dish that really showcases your product and encourages your target audience to try it. Whether it’s using your product or ingredient in an unusual or innovative way or expertly showing it off in a new recipe (that brings out its mouth-watering best), using a recipe development and testing expert is a powerful way to craft a meaningful message before the shoot has even started. Pulling together the ingredients in a new and creative way is why recipe developers are superheroes in aprons! Tasty, well thought out meals with your product at the heart, all make for a valuable pre-shoot prep worth investing in. 

Food Stylist 

Making food look good enough to eat is where a food stylist steps in. Prepping plates to perfection, troubleshooting issues on set and making food look fab for longer means that food stylists dig into the details to make everything feel seamless. From sourcing the brightest veg and freshest fruit to using their utility belt of tricks to make that cappuccino stay frothy or stopping lettuce wilting under hot studio lights, they can rescue any on-set situ and keep everyone smiling. With their incredible attention to detail and their ability to prep-food in superbly aesthetic ways, they add value by allowing photographers to really maximise every second of shooting time. Working with a food stylist can ensure that dishes are all cooked and prepared on-site, positioned piping hot (or perfectly chilled) ready for the shoot. This takes any stress out of using clients’ kitchens or restaurants and keeps everything running perfectly to schedule. On top of this they have an insane knowledge of food trends and style tips you can tap into! Why not check out my recent blog on why hiring a food stylist will make a delicious difference to your shoot. 

Prop Stylist 

Props are oh so important to photography. From helping to create context, set a mood or to help tell a visual story. For smaller shoots, I can often curate whatever prop support is needed but when it comes to larger more complex shoots it is worth investing in a pro-prop expert. Props are so much more than just ‘accessories’ and pulling together the perfect props on big commissions like recipe books is vital for nailing a consistent theme and vibe. I have a little black book of the BEST external prop stylists that are incredible at finding the perfect items to make a shoot sing. From sourcing unique vintage glassware to unusual fabrics, or matching colours and textures they are amazing at getting everything just-so! 

Art Direction & Production 

When it comes to having a successful photo shoot there is always a lot to think about. From the shot list to usage rights and everything in-between, sometimes having a pair of safe hands to take care of some of the trickier stuff helps. Whether its art direction or production, I’m lucky to have a team of talent that can ‘do it all’ so you can focus on your brand and imagery. Check out my recent blog with the awesome talent agency Toast, where we explain all the pre-prep we recommend everyone should do before a shoot to ensure everything is seamless! 

Videography 

Having video as part of your marketing mix is a bonus for any culinary content you’re creating. From capturing behind the scenes B roll footage of your brand shoot that you can post on your socials or creating short-form content you can pop on your website, allowing consumers to see more of your brand via reels or stories is guaranteed to boost their engagement. Combining mediums on shoot is a fab way to maximise your time, effort, and costs! From capturing the ‘how-to’ on video showing each step of the cooking process to capturing pristine visuals of the mouth-watering end-product, working together with a videographer, not only keeps everything consistent in style but it helps build genuine authentic brand content across all platforms. Check out my blog on 5 ways food photography and food videography are a powerful content combo! 

There’s nothing I love more than creating mouth-watering imagery! Food photography is my absolute passion but to GET great imagery there’s a lot of know-how that happens before the lens cap is even removed. In fact, for some of the best most delicious looking shoots, there is always a team of talent that works behind the scenes to give everything an extra wow-factor. If you’re keen to find out more, then why not get in touch? I’ve got a terrific team of experts ready and waiting to assemble!