The Art of Food Photography

A while back I was having lunch with a friend and we were chatting about the different things I wanted to do to improve my little blog. I got really excited when she mentioned a local food photography class that I could take and immediately booked it.

Then my nerves set it.

I am not confident at all in my "photography skills" and I for sure don't know what all the buttons on my Nikon D80 do, or even mean. I wanted to learn more but didn't want to be sitting through a class looking clueless the whole time and go home with more confusion than what I went there with.



I was so relieved once I got there and class began. It really was geared for every level student, from those that are well versed in camera lingo to the complete novice, like myself. I was also surprised to hear that a few people were taking the class for a second time as a refresher. The class is small, which I loved, so there wasn't a time to feel lost in the crowd. We began with a discussion of hand outs that covered the basics of food photography and then we got to practice in 6 different bays of set ups put together by food stylists.

I really enjoyed the hands on approach to the class. No one wants to be lectured to all day and this was a great way to learn while doing, which is how I learn best. We were broken apart into groups of three and I was lucky enough to be paired with someone who had a similar camera to what I have and he actually knew how to use it!

 I was so fascinated by the food styling and really wish there was a class just for that!

It was fun to see her explain to us all of the MacGuyver type tricks she had up her sleeve to get just the right shot

I also really liked that every bay had a different feel to it. I am not a huge fan of the bright white set ups but it was good to be able to work with it and see that I don't need to invest in a backdrop and lighting like this for myself. I know it can be beautiful if shot by the right person, but for me it felt so sterile.

The all green shot was gorgeous, and it was good to see that doing a monochromatic shoot isn't impossible as long as there is texture and the right lighting.

I wanted to steal the cheese plate and grab a glass of wine for myself!

 The mojito bay was my absolute favorite though! I just think it's so beautiful, I loved watching the stylist put it together and it felt so fresh!

The class was 4 hours long, but it felt like I was there for 30 minutes. It truly flew by!

The desserts made me hungry! Gorgeous and almost too perfect to touch!

If you're in Austin and would like to learn more about food photography, you need to go visit  Melissa and Kristina at Precision Camera! It was so inspiring to get a behind the scenes look at their work and every class they put on has completely different bays to shoot so you'll never get bored!