Food Styling 101 w/ Benjie Jacinto

Food Styling 101: Don't feed the models. 

But models should feed the stylist + photographer!

Last Saturday, I went to the Chefs on Parade to hopefully join the Food Photography and Food Styling Workshop. However, there were no seats left and I could barely hear the speaker from outside. Boo. 

Good thing I joined my mom's photography club just in time to watch their resident Food Stylist/Food Photographer, Benjie Jacinto, conduct a lecture demo on styling and shooting a Bacon Cheeseburger.  

Yaaay, it was my first time to watch an actual food styling and shoot! :) What's even more exciting is that it's an actual shoot for their restaurant, Red Swan Barbecue. 

Putting Grill Marks on the Burger Patty

The great thing about Benjie is that he prefers using the actual food for his shoots. You'd be surprised at how common it is to use inedible materials such as paint to make food look good for the camera! 

So for our Bacon Cheeseburger shoot, Benjie brought along with him the actual burger served at the restaurant. However, to preserve the integrity of the burger, all its parts were individually wrapped.

First, he brought out a cooked burger patty without grill marks. To make even and dark grill marks, he heated a metal kebab stick over a portable torch then pressed it against the burger. It took awhile for the metal stick to heat up but the moment it did, it created a beautiful grill mark on the burger while releasing an oh-so-yummy fresh-off-the-grill-smell! 

Lettuce + Tooth Picks

He cut out real lettuce and formed them into a circle around the bun to have a balanced lettuce look that's camera ready. He then added toothpicks to stabilize them along with the other ingredients. Who knew toothpicks could be so handy? 

The Big Tomato Illusion 

To create a really big tomato camera illusion, he sliced the tomato and positioned it towards the camera. Aaah, what a smart camera trick! 

In employing this technique, it's very important to have a clear idea at which angles the food will be shot from. A lot of food positioning and enhancing will depend on this such as the positioning of the sesame seeds, the bacon, etc. 

Steady Cheese

He also stabilized the cheese using the toothpicks. 

Melted Cheese Effect

For that oozing melted cheese effect, Benjie used the torch and directed it to an aluminum foil placed on top of the cheese. The heat from the foil causes the cheese to slightly melt without that harsh torch mark. Instead of melting the cheese over the grill, this technique allows you to control how melted the cheese is. 

Bacon + Painting the Burger Patty with Edible Sauce

Afterwards, Benjie placed two bacon slices on top, positioned bias to the camera. And then to create a slightly oily and brown effect for that cooked burger look (although the burger patty used was really cooked), he mixed catsup and soy sauce and painted it over the burger. 

Enhanced Burger Patty

Notice that the front of the burger patty looks more appealing with this added gloss? It adds a mouthwatering dimension to the burger. Yuuummy! 

And to complete the shoot, a cup of cola is placed beside the burger. Since using actual ice and coke can be difficult because of the quick melting time of ice, Benjie used gulaman sago + coke for the base, topped off with plastic ice. He then used actual coke to fill up the rest of the cup for the fizz! Now isn't that a neat camera trick? 

Burger Just Right Before Shooting

For the finishing touches, Benjie placed the bun on top with its sesame seeds directed towards the camera. He cut off the excess bread off the side to have a neat and perfectly sliced bun.

Finally, Benjie used baked french fries (not fried to avoid soggy fries for the shoot) and placed them on a criss cross manner to add dimension. However, it's important to note that these fries, along with the cup of cola, are simply accessories to the shot. The photograph should still lead the consumers' eyes toward the main product: Bacon + Cheese + Burger. 

Now, the Bacon Cheeseburger is ready for the camera! That surely involved a lot of detailed work but I must admit, the burger looked soooo delicious! I was hungry the entire time. :P 

I'll show you the actual end product of this shoot next time. :) 

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Are you looking for a nice restaurant or a vacation spot? I'll be more than willing to help! Go to "Ask Smarla" section and check out my Food & Travel Map. I'll do my best to help you out. :) 

~It's the little sweet notes everyday that matter~