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Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Food Styling: Confidential. Know the Shocking Truth About the Food Shots!
Q: What do these two photos of a salad and pasta have in common?
A: These photos are used for a food styling class and it is NOT edible!
I was really shocked to know that 100% of the photos that you see in magazines like Yummy, Food, or Appetite, are NOT edible! I recently attended a Food Styling and Food Photography Class by Jo Avila and Pixie Sevilla Santos, and all the bloggers in the group were shocked to see the behind-the-scenes of food photography.
The plates are cleaned with a glass cleaner to remove any trace of finger prints or any type of blemish on the plate that can show up in the photo. You would put drops of glycerine in the salad to show dew drops to communicate that it is fresh. Underneath the salad and pasta above are wet rolls of tissue paper to give the food some volume. Most of the ingredients are not cooked and usually handled by dirty hands.You cannot eat them period.
The goal of Food Styling is to entice the viewer to stop and look at the photo so that you can linger to read the text. Also, it is used to educate the viewer about the subject. The goal of food photography is to enhance the food so that you are enticed to buy the food even if you get disappointed with the actual look of the food. The food is treated as props and there are a lot of substitutes or fake ingredients (fake ice, fake charcoal, etc..) just to enhance the photo. White paint is sometimes used as milk. There are a lot of tactics used just to produce that perfect photo.
I will NEVER be a food stylist. I cannot stand the lies that is captured in the food photos. I feel that I have a moral obligation to viewers/ readers to take actual photos of food that you can eat. I can't help it but look at photos in food magazines with disgust.
I'm proud to say that 100% of the photos you see in the blog (except for the ones above) are photos of food that you can actually eat. If there is one thing I learned in the P3,500 Food Photography Session, is that I will NEVER be a food stylist!
Related Posts:
Marketman Flunks Food Styling & Photography 101
Is There Really Truth in Advertising? by Confessions of a Marketing Addict
Check out the rest of the Food Photography Class and I'll share with you some tips that I learned from the class...
Technorati Tags: Food Styling, jo Avila
Nena arranged a private food photography and food styling class from the country's top professionals -- Jo Avila and Pixie Sevilla Santos of Yummy. Here are some practical tips:
1. It is a No-No to use light sources in front of the food. The natural light should be behind the food or on the side.
2. It is the shadows that show the texture (and not the intensity of the light).
3. Composition of the Food on the Plate should be Counter Clockwise Spiral. Forks/ Spoons should be pointed inside the plate.
4. Always Odd Never Even in the number of ingredients.
5. Use neutral colors for the plate and use plain background.
6. Position of food and props should always be perpendicular and in active position vs. a parallel position.
7. One food composition technique is to use a finished food with its ingredient on the side.
8. Use bigger ingredients because they tend to be smaller in the photo.
Food Styling Tool kit: (P1,500/ kit). You have glycerine bottle and petroleum jelly as part of the tools of the trade.
There is some brush to paint oil on the food and some clay to stick food in the plate. Tweezers, Syringes, and Cotton Buds are essential tools for Food Styling.
Group 1: Markmet Man and Mila chopping their ingredients for the Salad shot.
Group 2: Here is my partner Franco of Table for Three Please, slicing the orange carefully.
Group 3: Nena of GypsySoul, was the one who arranged this private photography class. Thanks Nena!!
Mila is putting glycerine drops onto the salad as Jo Avila looks on.
Pixie is demonstrating to Nena's team on how to setup the salad.
Pixie inserting additional ingredients via tweezers inside the lettuce of the salad.
I learned a lot from Jo Avila and he gave me an excuse to buy a new telephoto lens . Thanks Jo and Pixie!!
July 31, 2007 in 01. My Favorite Blog Posts | Permalink | Comments (28) | TrackBack
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Avenue Q-Manila: Is Manila ready for the Puppet's Full Frontal Nudity?
Avenue Q - Final Run June 2008. 5 Reasons Why You Should Not Miss the Opening Night of Avenue Q’s Final Run!
Avenue Q, Broadway’s smash-hit 2004 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, will soon be opening in Manila on September 7, 2007. I can't wait to see the great cast which includes Rachel Alejandro (dual role of Kate Monster and Lucy The Slut,), Frenchie Dy (as Christmas Eve) and Aiza Seguerra (as Gary Coleman). Chari Arespacochaga is co-directing Avenue Q with Bobby Garcia, so expect that this will be a world class show, similar to Rent.
What is AVENUE Q about?
" AVENUE Q is the story of Princeton, a bright-eyed college grad who comes to New York City with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He soon discovers that the only neighborhood in his price range is Avenue Q; still, the neighbors seem nice. There's Brian the out-of-work comedian and his therapist fianceé Christmas Eve; Nicky the good-hearted slacker and his roommate Rod -- a Republican investment banker who seems to have some sort of secret; an Internet addict called Trekkie Monster; and a very cute kindergarten teaching assistant named Kate. And would you believe the building's superintendent is Gary Coleman?!? (Yes, that Gary Coleman.) Together, Princeton and his newfound friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life." (About Avenue Q the Musical)
Here is another fun fact:
"As it turns out, Avenue Q, the Tony Award winning Broadway musical that continues to run on Broadway, has Pinoy blood behind it. Bobby Lopez, who wrote the show with his collaborator Jeff Marx, is half-Filipino." (The Pinoy who wrote Avenue Q)
Start listening to songs such as "Schadenfreude", "The Internet is For Porn" and "It Sucks to be Me", etc.. So that you are not left out -- there is still time. Do you think Filipinos will be ready for the Puppet's full frontal nudity and explicit, vulgar lyrics? What's your Favorite Avenue Q song?
P.S. 15 Sept 2007 3pm matinee performance
On the 15 Sept 2007 3pm matinee performance of Ave Q, P&G Employees are entitled to a 10% discount (yahoo!). Although the tickets for the 15 Sept 2007 3pm performance of Ave Q will be available mid-August, you can start reserving tickets for those interested. Ticket prices are (P&G employees are entitled to a 10% discount):
Balcony Php 500
Loge Php 1,000
Orchestra Php 1,250
Update 8/7/2007
FYI, Atlantis has decided that all the Saturday Matinee shows, including ours on 15 Sept 2007, will be moved from 3pm to 2pm.
We have decided as well to give Early Bird Discounts for Cash Purchases for the 15 Sept 2pm show:
10% Discount—Tickets bought from 06-19 August 2007
5% Discount—Tickets bought from 20-31 August 2007
5% Discount— On every 10 Tickets bought from 01-14 Sept 2007
They may only avail of the discounts if the tickets are bought directly from me. My contact details remain the same.
Contact Lorna Lopez for ticket reservations:
(Sun) 0922.3875729
(Globe) 0917.9256505
(email) llornalopez@gmail.com
www.thebachelorgirl.com
Technorati Tags: Avenue Q
July 29, 2007 in 11. Arts and Culture in the Philippines | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Saturday, July 28, 2007
About Diabetes -- What You Should Know About Diabetes
One of my realization as a food blogger is that I should also be responsible for my health and the health of my readers. To celebrate the Diabetes Awareness Week (and for consuming a lot of gelato this week), I would like to share with you a free Diabetes book from the Ampalaya Plus team. All of us are in danger of this illness, and with all the desert and sweets I am consuming, I'm looking for preventive ways on how to avoid Diabetes.
"What You Should Know About Diabetes" is a book written in English/Tagalog designed for easy understanding for the diabetic patient, its family members, caregiver, househelp, etc. The book includes a sample 1-week menu plan for a diabetic patient made by a registered diabetes dietician from UP PGH. The book was written by 3 doctors from the UP College of Medicine. In the face of dire predictions about diabetes incidence increasing in epidemic proportions worldwide (the Philippines will be among the top ten countries with the most number of diabetics by 2010), this book would help create a better understanding of the disease and help empower people to avoid or cope with this illness.
In addition to the book there is a Diabetes ID Wrist Band (DIWB) give away . The DIWB is for diabetics who are at risk of passing out or losing consciousness due to their condition. The DIWB gives critical information regarding the health condition of the wearer thereby saving valuable time for the diabetic patient.
The book and DIWB are being given free to the public. To get a free copy of the book, just send a self address stamped envelope (P45 for Metro Manila and P68 for Outside Metro Manila) enclosed with a box top label of Ampalaya Plus Capsule with your Name, Add, Bday, Email and Cellphone written on it. Send it to:
Ampalaya Plus Free Book ,
2/F No. 59 Betty Go Belmonte St.,
New Manila, Quezon City
For More information:
Visit the official website www.gonatural.com.ph or email ampalayaplus@gmail.com
Ampalaya Plus Team in the US
BTW, the Ampalaya Plus team is going to the US and you might want to catch them there. Check out the invitation email below:
Dear Ampalaya Plus & Enduranz Users,
I am happy to inform you that we will be in America this August. We will be bringing our products for sale at these Filipino Trade Shows. We will be selling these products at a special introductory prices for consumers. Please invite your family and friends to visit us. As an added feature Dr. Gemiliano Aligui, Philippines Foremost Expert in Herbal Medicinal Plants will be joining us in New Jersey----please do not miss this opportunity.
We look forward in meeting you soon!
US-Philippine Expo 2007
Fairplex Los Angeles County Fair, Hotel and Exposition Center
Pomona, Los Angeles
August 4-5, 2007
(Staying in Los Angeles from August 2-10)
Philippine Fiesta
Meadowland Exposition Center
Secaucus, New Jersey
August 18-19, 2007
(Staying in New Jersey from August 17-19 and in New York from August 20-23)
We will be in Toronto, Canada from August 10-17, 2007.
One of our objectives for this visit is to meet with potential distributors for our products in the U.S. and Canada.
Best Regards,
Ginny Macaoay
Customer Services
July 28, 2007 in 12. My First Marathon and Beyond | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
