Cookbooks

Photographing food can be an especially difficult process. You want to be sure that you capture the beauty of the food while also showing everyone just how delicious it looks. The trick is to appeal to all of the senses when someone looks at it. I love the challenge that this type of project offers me, which is why I was thrilled when I was asked to take photos for these cookbooks. These days, food needs to look as great as it tastes otherwise people are not willing to try out the food nor are they willing to try out the recipes.

This series of cookbooks is the “Healthy Cooking” series, which aims to help individuals and families to eat a healthier diet. For the cover of the “Quick & Nutritious Breakfast Meals”, I wanted to show off the colorful fruit that can brighten up your morning on the cover. The circular plate helped to create a great backdrop that made the colors of the fruit pop in the photo. The props in the background were organized perfectly to frame the star of the photo: the fruit.

When I created the scene for the cover of “Late Night Snacks”, I wanted to take a shot from a different angle that would help to make the food really stand out. The snack looks larger on picture, giving readers something to crave the minute that they pick up the book. The garnish was arranged around the stuffed strawberries to highlight the bold red of the fruit.

Fruit is a huge part of being healthy, and are such colorful and beautiful subjects that make for amazing covers. I used the parfait recipe from the “Cooking to be Fit” book for the cover because it just looked so beautiful and delicious. Again, I chose to take this image from a side view to give readers a closer look at this very amazing looking treat. I put the blackberry, strawberry, and a sprinkle of granola around the parfait because it added more pops of color to this image to help in make readers hunger for these healthy treats.

For “On the Go Lunches”, I again opted for one of the more colorful and delectable looking options. These shrimp lettuce wraps made for a stunning subject thanks to its vivid colors, especially against the neutral wooden table backdrop. Rather than use a standard plate for the image, I wanted something that fit with the rustic and homestyle theme that can be seen throughout this book.

Photographing food that looks this good is difficult, especially when you are hungry. You need to be sure that you perfectly accent the plating with a backdrop and props that make the food stand out even more. If the food is not properly photographed, readers may not give the cookbook a second glance. It was so great to be a part of this project and it was challenging, but I think the images did an excellent job of showing how delicious these dishes are.