Living on “the facebook” as I do from time to time, I kept seeing the Swan Chocolates facebook page announcing their new cupcakes, as well as their unique promotion, where by if you come in and say the word of the day from their facebook page, you get a free cupcake. Well, being the frugal person that I am, how could I turn down such a special!? Growing up in Merrimack, I remember the location that is now Swan Chocolates as an old convenience store and deli, and what memories it brings back when I walk in there. Swan Chocolates has done such an amazing job with the decorations and feel of the shop inside, it is both casual and elegant, and hopefully on my next visit I will be able to sit down and spend a little time in the shop.
Cupcakes are a new offering from Swan Chocolates, so its exciting to be tasting the ground floor of this new product as it were. Now, originally when I went in, my intention was to just get on cupcake to enjoy, but when I saw what they actually had in store, I ended up buying one of each, to both photograph, and enjoy. Visually the cupcakes are both unique and stunning, with a level of elegance to them that you would expect from one of those big city bakeries down Boston way. The flavors of the Swan Chocolate cupcakes were just amazing, but hands down my favorite was the turtle…well, the coconut was pretty amazing too…oh, then there was the red velvet! Oh, who am I kidding, I loved them all.
How they were photographed
I will skip all the in depth details about focal length, shutter speed, ect. But what I will tell you is that with such amazing cupcakes like these, you don’t just stick them next to a window, put the camera on “p” and wing it. Window light is great, but a professional food photographer needs to have the skill and ability to photograph quality food images with a more crafted and artistic vision. Each item is unique, and a professional food photographer needs to be able to provide a client with several different visual looks and lighting styles for each item and photo shoot, and that is not possible by just sticking the food next to a window.
Each one of these images is individually lit and deliberately staged to establish a distinct look and evoke a particular feeling from the viewer. By using professional lighting, and taking the time to properly plan and stage each image, a client can get several different styled images from one product, and by using professional lighting, the images can be created any time of day, in studio or on location.
That’s why, as a professional food photographer, I can create images like these at 12 noon or 2 in the morning, I can create them in studio, at the clients location, or anywhere in between. Professional food photography is about understanding not only the intricate details and personality of food, but also the range of creative controls within the camera itself, and when you combine these skills with a thorough knowledge of lighting and food styling, you get a professional food photographer that can exceed any clients expectations, with or without windows.
