Statement of Intent - Food

Candidate Name: Lucy Prosser

Title of theme: Food photography

Food images

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be undertaken:

I wanted to create a collection of images based around classic food photography. I wanted to ensure I incorporated a range of different styles into my collection from retail (yoghurt and Taboo images) to abstract (red cabbage shots) to classic food photography (peppers and strawberries)

Reasons for selection of theme (including inspiration from the work of others):

My inspiration to shoot food photography came from the various cooking books I own and the numerous food adverts that are shown on TV each day. I have always been interested in using photography to sell products i.e. with the help of photoshop making an image as atheistically pleasing as possible. in my research post I came across a number of different food photographers who covered the

The photo imaging equipment and media that will be used and why

Due to shooting smaller items i used a lightbox table to shoot the items on. This meant assembling the set up through using a table to place the lightbox on and then arranging the lights to the right height. The image below shows one of the set ups used for the photography, I made use of a hesian sheet to give the background a rustic textured feel which is often seen in 'Homely' food photography shoots. 

The lighting set up was predominantly around the main spot light (seen on the top right in the image) then two smaller lights were used to highlight the fruit and veg.

I used three studio lights and a lightbox to create my images. I also used white boards to bounce the light off to centre the light on the fruit/veg. This technique was used the most in the images of the yoghurt pot to ensure a nice even lighting and to stop shadows being created.

In the red cabbage images I used a macro lens. The decision to use a macro lens was so I could focus on the abstract patterns within the cabbage.

All my images were taken in RAW format, meaning I was able to use Photoshop CS5 to post process certain elements of the images. The majority of tools used in photoshop were to highlight colour and texture. This was done by increasing the clarity in images and hue and saturation. 

How light quality can be used to convey the visual message

My aim is to create a number of clean and commercial veg and fruit images.This meant a number of lights were used in the set up with one main light used on the righthand side. Backgrounds were changed to bring a different feel to the images. A black background was used in my image of the peppers as the texture of a pepper if smooth and shiny, and the hesian background was too rustic for this.  therefore on most of the images only one light was used to give depth to the objects and to cast shadows. 

Safety Procedures

As I was shooting inside the photography classroom I made sure to warn others about my shoot and made sure my class mates were aware of the wires on the grounds and that I would be using flash photography.

All equipment used had been PAT tested by the College and was safe to use. 

During photo editing I made sure I took regular breaks from the computer to mimizie risk of eye strain.

All lighting equipment was weighed down and placed out of walkways/ people's paths.