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 01/25/2003 06:45:55 PM · #1
One of my new clients I'm building a website for is a personal chef. He comes into your house while you are at work and cooks like a week's worth of meals for you to heat up when you get home. The best of this deal is that he's paying me in FOOD! Woohoo! The bachelor is eatin' good now!

So today was his first installment. Made four meals, several portions each.

The first is fajita tacos with rice and pico de gallo. We ate thesem but here is a shot of it.



The second meal is chicken breast with rice and zucchini. We later put some cream cheese and garlic sauce on it that was totally yummy, but covered up the chicken so we left if off in the photos. Mmm!



The third meal is grilled salmon in some mustard sauce with couscous (sp) and broccoli. And I'm a huge salmon eater, so this was great.



The last meal is a pot roast that is still cooking and totally great smelling. It's not ready so there are no pictures yet.

So feel free to post your photo critique. We decided not to take photos of plates with a glass of wine and fresh bread on the side. It's not a realistic portrayal of what his clients receive. So the focus is less on the presentation and more on the food. What you think?
 01/25/2003 07:17:59 PM · #2
Hi Bamaster.
Good going on the job, good for your portfolio.
Couple of suggestion.
Lighten them, they seem a bit dark.
Remove any and all print/flowered place mats/table cloths. Wooden table would be nice, black or white depending on the plate.
Yes to the wine, glasse, candles, soft light.
The broccoli looks too over cooked. I'm sure it's not and I'm sure this is all delicious, in fact it looks and sounds fantastic. Just lightly steamed broccoli for the shot would be better here. lol< just my suggestions. Best of luck.
 01/25/2003 08:18:10 PM · #3
mmmmm
Photo suggetsion - adjust the white balance so they're a bit cooler
 01/25/2003 08:33:06 PM · #4
Since it is the food that you are trying to sell, I think, increase the DOF so all the food is in focus.

01/25/2003 08:53:48 PM · #5
i disagree about the DOF...i think it looks great the way it is. as for the background, a single colour would work best i think. the cloth and table is too distracting.
 01/25/2003 09:01:55 PM · #6
Get rid of the wood table.
 01/25/2003 09:17:07 PM · #7
Originally posted by jimmythefish:
i disagree about the DOF...i think it looks great the way it is. as for the background, a single colour would work best i think. the cloth and table is too distracting.


The couscous (sp) in the third photo is not even recognizable. Fuzzy food does nothing for my appetite.
 01/25/2003 11:41:04 PM · #8
Originally posted by Antithesis:
Originally posted by jimmythefish:
i disagree about the DOF...i think it looks great the way it is. as for the background, a single colour would work best i think. the cloth and table is too distracting.


The couscous (sp) in the third photo is not even recognizable. Fuzzy food does nothing for my appetite.


I think to sell the dish there has to be a sharp focus of the entire plate. The lack of focus up front and back is a distraction.
 01/25/2003 11:46:35 PM · #9
A couple of things from a Professional Chef and former Food and Beverage Manager. You can go a little soft on your DOF as long as your main entree is in focus. I do think however that these would benefit from a little more DOF. The biggest drawback I think that your shots have is that the Main Entree which is the star of the show is generally in the background. For example, the chicken dish looks like the yellow squash is the most important and it should be secondary. The entree should be in the front. A good server will always put the entree at 6:00 when they serve as that is what you will usually cut into first. I also think that a thin ribbon of sauce across the chicken would help it out. It looks a little bland.

The broccoli in my opinion, doesn't look overcooked but rather undercooked. To shoot broccoli, you should blanch it it boiling water just until it hits that bright, springlike green color. It doesn't matter how the food tastes for these shots but how they look. I think they look too haphazard on the plate too. I would use one crown of broccoli or lay the heads all in the same direction. These look like they fell off of the salad bar.

The tomatoes look great but a drizzle of oil and a dash of course ground pepper will make them even better. The cous cous is lost in that shot.

Try a different plate as well. Blue is a big turnoff for food. There are no true blue foods, (blueberries are actually purple!) and psycologically they make food unappetizing. At Chef School this is one of the things we learned in restaurant planning. If you ever heard of a blue plate special, it was served on a blue plate so that people would actually eat less. They say that you should use a blue plate when you diet because it is a natural turn off.

You should see the filet side of the salmon and not the end. The chicken breast should be turned so that the heavy side is in the middle and the point is toward the customer.

The Fajitas are by far the best shot. The Pico de Gallo makes a nice garnish and I like the color on the rice. I would chop the parsely much finer and dry it with a paper towel (press out the moisture) and it will sprinkle better and look more natural. I would actually like to see a little color on the other rice and the cous cous too. Minced or brunois cut carrots will work too.

Sorry this is so critical and long but you are talking about one of my passions and lots of experience. HERE is a food shot that I submitted for the Speed Challenge. This was taken in a few short seconds while everyone was waiting to EAT!!! LOL
Good luck, let me know if I can help out any.
 01/25/2003 11:59:17 PM · #10
As a Culinary School Grad., I would also say that you are missing a critical element on your plate presentation. You have no proper garnish, which if you view the photo of the last post, you will see an excellent example of one (the lemon).
 01/26/2003 01:48:59 AM · #11
Originally posted by DougPaz:

Try a different plate as well. Blue is a big turnoff for food. There are no true blue foods, (blueberries are actually purple!) and psycologically they make food unappetizing. At Chef School this is one of the things we learned in restaurant planning. If you ever heard of a blue plate special, it was served on a blue plate so that people would actually eat less. They say that you should use a blue plate when you diet because it is a natural turn off. HERE is a food shot that I submitted for the Speed Challenge. This was taken in a few short seconds while everyone was waiting to EAT!!! LOL
Good luck, let me know if I can help out any.

Great info Doug. What about Bleu cheese?
I seem to remember that Dennys used to have that brown and orange motif to discourage leisurely dining and lingering over coffee, and that restaurant catalogs have chairs categorized by minutes (how long the typical diner can stand to sit in them). True or legendary?
About the Blue Plate special: I wonder if people's average weight declines in areas where that beautiful Delft porcelain is popular.
 01/26/2003 01:55:40 AM · #12
Wow Doug, what an amazing reply!

It is opbvious here that I had no idea what I was doing when taking it. Of course, I did not make the food at all. My client did and he isn't real sharp with the presentation stuff. You see, his meals are not gourmet style and he sticks the meals in a plastic container and into the freezer for his customers. When his customers get home they reheat them.

I did try to explain to him that presentation is important, even from the freezer. I had to suggest the sprinkled parsley for color. You are right, the garnishments are important. I agree the fajitas ar the better shot... just seems more colorful and therefore tasteful.

We took some shots with the containers but it's really boring. It's going to take a couple more cooking sessions to get these photos in order. A little planning will go a long way. And with these kind of comments, I'm certain to get some better photos in the future. A huge thanks!

I think we should have a Dinner Challenge!!!
 01/26/2003 01:58:57 AM · #13
Originally posted by GeneralE:
[quote]
Great info Doug. What about Bleu cheese?
I seem to remember that Dennys used to have that brown and orange motif to discourage leisurely dining and lingering over coffee, and that restaurant catalogs have chairs categorized by minutes (how long the typical diner can stand to sit in them). True or legendary?
About the Blue Plate special: I wonder if people's average weight declines in areas where that beautiful Delft porcelain is popular.


I was told that certain colors are "hungry" colors... like yellow and red. Have you noticed that McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, Dairy Queen, etc... almost all use yellow and/or red in their logo? Supposedly it's proven that people have been trained to get hungry when they see these colors. They are alos "action" colors, hence the red, hard seats in McDonalds... to get people to eat and be uncomfotable so to leave fast. Don't know how much of this is true.

Message edited by author 2003-01-26 01:59:16.
 01/26/2003 02:09:09 AM · #14
Bamaster, They look great. Could be better, but I am sure you will get there with all these great comments. I am satisfied and would like him to come to my house. I think he would have to spend the weekend here to cook for all 6 of us for the week. Good luck to both of you!
sonja
 01/26/2003 06:51:03 AM · #15
What a wonderfull informative thread!
Makes me hungry though
01/26/2003 07:46:48 AM · #16
dof should be less...foodphotos r soo much cooler with a shallow dof...I don´t find them too dark at all...move in a little closer, get rid of the mats...otherwise u r in good buisness...food for photos...that´s a good deal
 01/26/2003 08:50:53 AM · #17
You are correct about the reds and yellows. The fast food places usually use that on their food wrappers as well. Earth tones are good for serving food.

HERE is a site that has some photography tips for food. Some of them are pretty good. BTW, I have a pretty good surprise with my "Got Milk" shot from this week but I won't reveal it until after the voting ends tonight. If I remember I will post it here.
 01/26/2003 09:09:35 AM · #18
As a former chef who really took pride in presentation, i'd agree with Doug on everything he said.
Usually for presentation I considered color and texture. Green is the most appealing color accent, and red is a great garnish color as well.
I noticed the parsley looked limp...noooooooo.....never! It should represent freshness. To freshen it up rinse thoroughly then wrap in paper towel, then plastic wrap and refridgerate. Carrots add good color to most dishes too.
Generally the chicken and fish should have some color....paprika works well, and course ground pepper looks good too. Definetely garnish the salmon with lemon, lime, or orange. Garnish the chicken with maybe, cranberry sauce or raspberry jelly or something colorful.
The zucchini should have the skins on them. They are missing the green, which is so appealing. Possibly a small pat of butter melting on them, and or a bit of chopped red bell pepper.
To avoid a dried look, you could try a little Pam spray over the food.

The couscous, and rice, definetly need color...again try red or green pepper, scallions, parsley, carrot, etc.
The key is to go lightly on the garnishes. Less is more. But they should be there and will do wonders for the images.
Like photography, consider composition carefully. Scale, perspective, balance, etc.
I would strongly consider adding a beverage in the picture in a frosted glass, perhaps, and a candle in the background.
Good luck!
 01/26/2003 01:27:01 PM · #19
If you decide to use a cold beverage and are using "studio" lighting, you can use glycerin to make "water drops" which don't evaporate.
 01/27/2003 12:57:55 AM · #20
I had mentioned that I would post my food shot here after the "Got Milk" contest ended. HERE is my Mashed Potato Ice Cream Sundae. There is another surprise as well. Check it out.
 01/27/2003 02:38:36 AM · #21
Mashed potatoes? That's new to me. I've seen a lot of crisco used for icecream before though.

I agree that you should get rid of the placemat and find a solid colored background for the food shots. I also think that you should have nice presentation whether or not that is the focus. It will make the food look better. This isn't $2 take-out so who says they can't have it with wine? I think that people like to think that they are getting a bargain so why not make it seem like they're getting food worthy of being on china?
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