Research & Cafe culture

Research;

Contemporary;

Twitter-  @foodporntho 

I chose this image because I love the arrangement. I like how the main focus (the waffles) is located in the middle of the image but the toppings are throughout the full image. The blueberries are in the front of the main focus and also in the back. Again with the strawberries, they're in the back. Also, the cream on the top of the waffles are also on the knife in the foreground of the image. I love the simplistic colours used such as the whites and browns with pops of bright colours. Even though the colours are very contrasted, they don't take the focus away from the waffles. I think the lightening used is natural window light which ties in with the homely feel of this image.

The colours of this image caught my attention. Not because of the amount but because of the arrangement of the contrasting colours put together. For example, the reds of the tomatoes/chilli's against the greens of the avocado. Another thing is the lining of the preparation. Although it does look quite messy, the lines of the avocado and the meat makes it look more put together than it actually is. Again, I think the image is lighted with natural window light coming from the right side of the source. I know the lighting is to the right because of the loss of detail in the food because of the harsh light. For example, The eggs to the top right are very illuminated, to the point where you almost can't see the yellow of the yolk to the white of the egg white.

http://www.packshotfactory.co.uk

Packshotfactory mainly caught my attention because of this simplicity of its dishes. This image in particular caught my attention with the darkness of the piece of slate used as a plate. As well as the harsh red of the sauce against the green. Personally, I think this combination of colours adds a lot into a very simple image without being too dramatic. I think the light source is artificial as, if it was natural, there wouldn't be a line of the light going down the middle. Perhaps even a lightbox was used as the lighting isn't harsh in the slightest.    

A lot of food photography is shot either at a low angle or front on. However, this image has been shot using a high angle, to the point where it is directly above the food. I like this because you get to see everything. However, sometimes when this angle is used, the food can look flat though, they avoided this by using artificial lighting at the top to create shadows. This worked especially well as the puddings were round.

Historical;

Arcimboldo;

When researching historical food photographers, the only thing that I could find was pictures that were quite newly shot, but edited to look a lot older. So, I started looking at artists instead. This particular artist caught my attention because he makes people out of food. However, when I looked closely at this image, it looked like the food was purposely positioned that way to almost re-create muscles, to an extent.

Again, this image is similar to the previous but different in a lot of others. Firstly, it's a side view. This for me looks more thought out as you have to get the sizing of the nose correct, so it looks realistic. The deepness of the eye socks, the wideness of the face. It has to be more thought out to create what was intended. Also, this image looks a lot more fenimin. Although the first image had flowers coming down over his chest, his posture and the fact that the artist has created an Adam's apple. However, this image is a lot more softer overall. 

Primary research;

Contact prints-

For this image was shot at krispy kreme in leeds. I really wanted to capture the different textures that were on this doughnut. The flaking of the icing, the crumble of the oreo bits to the smoothness of the chocolate. The light was artificial as it was in a counter of the shop. I really like the glare from the light on the glazed base. This image was shot in Krispy Kreme in leeds.

This is the same image but shot a lot closer to emphasise the detail.

Whilst researching contemporary photographers, I came across Gray Box studios. One image in particular caught my attention as he has movement in one of his images. I really wanted to recreate that type of image however, because i was shoot on a bridge camera, I couldn't select multi shots therefore, couldn't get movement in the shot without it being completely blurry. One of the things I do like about this image though, is the reds and greens as they contrast with each other but also compliment each other. This image was shot in the Trinity Kitchen.

Again, because I was using a bridge camera, I couldn't get the right exposure I wanted. I also couldn't focus on the parts I wanted to focus on. The angle I shot at is unflattering to the muffin and the plate makes it almost look miniature, in my opinion. I would usually re-shoot in these circumstances however, because it was shot in Leeds, it would mean going back there.

Moodboard;

Images that inspired me;

Gray box studios