Food photography is a specialised branch of photography that captures food in a creative and visually appealing way for presentation in magazines, cookbooks, blogs and social media. As a food photographer, one of the most exciting tasks is creating a recipe from scratch, and documenting the whole process of creation and the final result in images for publication in an online magazine.
Recently, I had the opportunity to create a Christmas recipe for an online magazine Food Connects Us. It is a review that is created within a membership of food photographers run by Lucia Marecak of FOODlight. It can be downloaded completely free of charge here (ISSUE #4 WINTER 2022/2023).
The recipe I decided to make is a sourdough Christmas star, which is a delicious yeasted dough with a slightly sour taste and a soft texture. I wanted the photo shoot to capture the Christmas atmosphere of the recipe, so I created a warm and festive atmosphere with the props and lighting I used.
The process of creating the recipe was a lot of fun, but also challenging. First, I had to experiment with different recipes to get the best texture and taste. And once I had the perfect recipe, I had to repeat it with the props prepared for the photo shoot. The props included candles, pine branches and Christmas decorations.
As I was preparing the final recipe for the sourdough star, I started photographing the whole process, from the creation of the dough to the final result. I used different angles and perspectives to capture the details, and played with the light to bring out the Christmas atmosphere.
Once the sourdough star was ready, I placed it on a rustic wooden background with pine branches and some Christmas candles, and continued photographing while adjusting the lighting to bring out the texture and the Christmas atmosphere.
Overall, it was a very rewarding experience to photograph and develop a Christmas recipe of this sourdough star for an online magazine for food photographers. It was a challenge, but it was also fun and creative. I hope the photos and recipe will inspire the magazine's readers, and invite them to create their own Christmas treats.
