My reaction to:

Food Photography Workshop 

At SCCC Culinary Arts Center

My reaction to the Food Photography Workshop was when I first entered I was a bit curious as to what was going to be said, taught. Basically at what angle Jim Lennon was going to come at us from. I have been to Jim Lennon's studio on tour also with my current Professor Allen Keener and he approached everything from the business end. Business first, creativity later in so many words. 

First let me say although I already knew where the culinary arts building was my GPS insisted I make a right at the light instead of a left taking me behind the building to park. I decided to ignore her and then got led on a wild goose chase in the fog trying to find the back parking area. Annoying. Anyway, I park and walk in not knowing what to expect. The first person I run into was Jay Brenner of Brenner Photo Productions in Plainview, Long Island! www.brennerphoto.com. It was good to see him. I fortunately had the privilege of interning / shadowed for him and I really enjoyed it but unfortunately for me the photographers already had their assistants chosen so I did not get to continue my internship sadly. The second person or person's I ran into was Professor Allen Keener and Professor Harold Naideu both of which I had and still have the privilege of learning a great deal about photography from.  

As I entered the culinary studio I was surprised to see that architecturally it was set up bleacher style just like you see in the movies, with the kitchen floor level with a giant mirror hanging over the stove facing the audience so they can see what's cooking. I was prompted to sit in the front row which worked perfect for me. Now for those who don't know me, I am a big foodie! So to sit in the front row surrounded by chef's was a big deal for me. I felt like I was surrounded by celebrities. I wanted them to watch them cook something for me and thought for a moment thats why they were there but it was not to be true. They were also there to learn something about the business of food photography. 

Finally Jim Lennon began the lecture talking mostly about his work while behind the scenes his wife and business partner Mona set up the softbox and strobes for the first round of shots. Jim spoke of the equipment he uses. He shoots with a Hassleblad using a 200mm lens. He also stated that he does have extension tubes as they are called that he could add to the lens giving him the capability to shoot some macro shots for the chefs. 

Jim went on to talk mostly of the business end of it all which I felt was the opposite of Jay's approach. He talked about how much you should charge whether you have a studio or not. He spoke of time scheduling, budgeting, equipment and to break down and spend the money on the professional equipment. Also, he spoke of being honest with yourself and the client and not being afraid to charge someone and never offer your services for free! Also, to remember that this is their lively hood and you can't just walk into a place and state your a professional photographer and take really bad photos for a restaurant or chef. It could make or break them. He showed us some of the work he shot for restaurants which was beautiful and stated that there were no shortage of work out there food photographers which is good for me since that is the direction I'm headed in. He also took some shots of some plates that were made up for him earlier to basically direct us not so much on creativity but to bring into focus that it should take you no more than three shots to have your lights adjusted to where you want them. If you spend too much time fumbling around with your lights trying to set them correctly it's looks unprofessional and you start to lose time. Time you negotiated on to complete the project for your client. The last thing you want is to look bad in front of your client. 

I have to admit I was intimated at first though because the business end is where my weakness lies but towards the end of the workshop I was totally intrigued by his business sense and wanted to sit with Jim and pick his brain. He is a very knowledgeable man when it comes to business. I hope to see more and learn more from him. I am very happy I attended this workshop. 

If you would like to see some of his work his website is: www.jimlennon.com

There is one bit of information I forgot to add. I interned for a small company a few years ago and I had the privilege of working first hand on the job so to speak shooting food photography. We shot for Uncle Giuseppe's, Hawaiian Barbecue from New Jersey and a few other restaurants and also shot food products like olive oils, wines, food baskets and such. One of the things Jim mentioned was make sure you eat before you go to these shoots and let me tell you is he ever right about that! Most of the food you can't eat for various reasons but then you have the chef's or clients who are cooking and preparing the food feeding some of it to you. Although I enjoyed this immensely because I am a big foodie and think there is nothing sexier than a man in the kitchen who wants to feed me, as a professional you really shouldn't do this. Just politely say no thank you and continue to work and prep the set. Always keep it professional. 

Here is some of my food and product photography from last semester:

Pepper Splash! 

Grey Goose product shot

Mirassou product shot

Renoir Interpretation