Culinary photography is one of the most challenging areas of photography. It combines the art of cooking with the power of photography in a unique creative process. This enables to capture for a longer time the true masterpieces which are the meals prepared by the chefs. Culinary world is becoming more colorful, less and less obvious and the ingredients and their combinations more and more surprising. I am very happy with this ongoing search for the creation of a new one, it gives me energy to seek new forms of expression and presentation of seemingly simple elements such as food.
Cooperation with the chef is one of the most exciting parts of the culinary sessions. I look at the ingredients around, the empty plates and dishes, I observe the process of creation and the real magic happens – cooking, choosing accessories and decorations. I work with chefs and restaurant owners in creating delicious photos for menu cards, tasty photos for advertising materials and creative compositions for social media. I capture the preparation of new menu sets as well as shoot reportages from culinary and life cooking workshops. I work in the kitchens, in the restaurants, but I often photograph dishes in the urban space or plenary.
Cooking for photo shooting is often a long process of selection of products, their color or size. My task is to show what cannot be written in the menu. I try to choose the right plate and its structure or size, backgrounds and accessories, setting and light so that the dish is not just a flat visualization of the plate but a dimensional presentation of the taste, smell, temperature and structure of food. Unique backgrounds are very important in this type of photography and I always work with a variety of materials and textures when creating photographs of courses.
Culinary photography has to be fast, because often a dish loses its “glow” and freshness in a moment. It is a long process of many short moments during which the perfect photos can be taken. I choose the most photogenic products for decoration and fully cooperate with the chef. Very often I also shoot chefs portraits during the cooking process to capture the chef’s work, his concentration on the preparation. Many times it is the chef himself who becomes the background for his dish. A portrait session in such a moment is always exciting.
During the photo session I prepare the whole process of arranging the space, lighting, accessories. Not every dish is suitable to be shown as it is served, so we create a completely new form for the presentation of the dish. I have a full set of lights, background portfolio and structural additions.
Invite me into to your kitchen, your garden or your restaurant and we will create something wonderful together. I deliver premium quality photographs of various types of food, all complemented by professional post-production offering high-end culinary sessions.
