With the state of the world sheltering in place and staying home, I have been trying to figure out what small, but helpful role I can play in a world full of uncertainty. I think we are all looking for something beautiful to inspire us again. As a food photographer, I constantly see beauty in food. It started as a passion and is now my career. So, I decided to work on three experiments in my home studio to demonstrate that beauty is all around us. We just have to look a little harder to see it right now. I found some ordinary things around the house (and in my fridge) and decided to turn them into something beautiful for you. Because, for me, nothing is ordinary in food photography. And I hope it helps you find the beauty that’s surrounding you.

NOTHING IS ORDINARY IN FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

GARLIC EXPERIMENT

For the first experiment, I gathered a scrap piece of white foam board, a simple white plate and some garlic cloves. I took pictures of each of them to demonstrate how we might normally see these things. And ended up with the final image.

FAKE BOURBON EXPERIMENT

For this next experiment, I used a yellow piece of foam board, pretty glassware, fake ice and fake bourbon. I mixed maple syrup and water to create the look of bourbon and I think it looks pretty real. Why fake bourbon? Because I wanted to save the real stuff for sipping… not shooting. Good call, right? I took pictures of how we might see these things, shared my behind the scenes setup and ended up with the final image.

TOMATO SOUP EXPERIMENT

For the final experiment, I thought I’d create a dark & moody image using an old board that I found in our garage, a tarnished baking sheet, an old scarf, a black soup bowl, tomato soup and tomatoes on the vine. I took pictures of how we might normally see these things, shared my behind the scenes setup and ended up with the final image.

I hope this ordinary experiment provided a little inspiration to get creative and start finding the beauty that’s surrounding you.

Cheers!

—

READ MORE ABOUT: My Overhead Setup for Food Photography

—

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click or make a purchase through my site, I might make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only promote products that I actually use and support. 

All images ©Regan Baroni 2020.