Food Photographer | Brent Herrig | New York
Let’s be honest — food almost always looks better in photographs than it does in real life, right? Eating food is sensorial. While we eat, our brain doesn’t only take in how the food looks. It absorbs aromas wafting from the plate, too. We hear a grill sizzle or a spoon clink against a dish and immediately salivate. Everything comes together when we finally taste.
Eating food is an experience. A food photographer heightens the beauty of food in an attempt to capture that experience. But only a professional food photographer can capture such memorable experiences in every single photograph.
WHAT IS FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY?
Food photography is an area of photography where food is photographed as the main subject for still images. A subset of commercial photography, the images are then used in product packaging, cookbooks, billboards, marketing materials, and more. In today’s digital market, images are often used for websites, newsletters banners, and social media accounts, too. Because food can be a difficult subject — cooling, melting, or losing lustre quickly — food photography is collaborative: Prop stylists, food stylists, lighting specialists, and designers work to support food photographers for optimum shoot timing.
At one point in history, food photography had a bad reputation. Stylists were caught using non-edible materials that looked like food but weren’t. And photographers learned they could manipulate the size of dishes, which disappointed consumers. But today, professional food photography services focus on making food look natural, accurate, and enticing.
As a professional culinary photographer, that is Brent’s goal with every collaboration. Brent knows that only a great team with detailed vision can capture the best food photography. He understands that the plating or styling of food can’t be rushed. But also that he must always be ready to shoot dishes speedily to ensure the freshest images possible. His goal is to ensure not only the food looks enticing and natural. But the scene surrounding the food feels natural and organic, too. And with food always the focus, he makes sure the bigger picture never gets lost — that the products or dishes always belong in the larger commercial or editorial story.
