One of our regular client has recently opened a coffee shop and she gave us a call as she was looking for Dubai food photographers to shoot her product photos for social media. She loved our work especially on her wedding and she has seen our website but then she asked if we had shot food already. I didn’t know what to answer. I was confident we can deliver her requirements but I had nothing to show. I cannot wait for someone to call me and ask me to shoot their food to make a portfolio. We needed to be proactive if we want to be a food photographer in Dubai. So we planned to create a food portfolio. Food photography…bring it on!
One of our photographers, Yahn, had a passion for food photography and food styling so I got her on board for this project. She conceptualized the setups and showed me her ideas. We both dug into our home cupboards and brought plates, trays, chopping boards and props for the shoot. We went to the grocery to grab fresh vegetables, cooked chicken, bread and cupcakes. It was a learning experience for us and once during the day, the mess was overwhelming, Good thing we didn’t have walk-in clients that day! ..And the perks of shooting food, you get to eat some of the food after!
After a full day of grocery shopping, preparing, and shooting, it was time to edit the photos and voila! We finally have a basic food portfolio. So what did our setup look like for those wondering – for the dark background shots, we used a black backdrop, got 2 sided foam boards to reflect light and to absorb light. And since our window light is temporarily blocked, we used diffused video light. Food photography experts, your feedback will be more than welcome. We will be eager to learn from you!
So a week before we started with this portfolio, we also had a shoot in the studio for one of the biggest food brands in the Middle East, Al Islami. We had their ambassador, Bella and their burgers in the studio until late night for this shoot. So it was a pleasant surprise yesterday to see our shot printed and displayed along Mohammad Bin Zayed Road! Looking forward to more food photography projects.
