The Photo Studio: Making Picture Magic

The work produced by the talented folk in in our photo studio is a particular point of pride here at Epicure.

Pamela, our photographer, works with designers and food stylists in creating recipe shots, test kitchen blog how-to’s, product shots, imagery for marketing materials, and company events. And as anyone can see when looking through our Catalogue, her work is spectacular.

Our images are usually captured in three places: the photo studio, the test kitchen, or the farmland around our Home Office. Most of Pamela’s work is done in the studio where she has access to shooting spaces, prep spaces and props. “We shoot with mostly natural light, which is great for food but is not without its challenges.”

The Set Up

Setting up for what seems to be a simple shot often takes more preparation than one would think, especially with food. First comes the image request, followed by prop gathering. Sometimes products don’t exist yet so materials have to be gathered. Jars come from Operations, labels come from the Graphics department, and the new product comes from R&D. While these items are being gathered, the chef or food stylist gathers the food items and usually needs some prep time for their recipe. Often a designer will also work with the team to ensure proper size and aesthetic.

“Working with food stylists is a dream. We bring our creativity to the table (so to speak), have fun and work as a team. We like to play music when we shoot. It gets the creative juices going.” Pamela says.

The Nitty Gritty

The studio uses industry standard professional SLR and lenses, current software (Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom in a Mac environment) stands, clamps, and grips to set up and get the perfect image. “The real magic (not counting the work done by our talented food stylists) comes from the different backgrounds and surfaces that we work on.”

Post Production

Everything after the photo shoot is digital, except the cleanup. Pictures go through post production – taking the images from a raw state and getting them into a presentable state in a file format our designers, events, and social media teams can use.

“The most exciting part of a photo shoot is the moment I look through the lens and just know that we’ve got it. It’s a very satisfying feeling.” Says Pamela. “Second to that is when we get to eat everything. We try to share with the other HTMs, but sometimes there’s just not enough time. It all disappears so fast!”

Dishes used for photos.