How It Got There is a series of posts that breakdown how I planned and styled a specific image. In today’s post, we’re taking a look at styling a cookie photograph with product placement in the image.
This photo was a part of a project I completed for Oregon Hazelnuts using Oregon products. In the video we cover surface choice, props, styling the hero, and placing the product both in and out of package.
In the past 10 years, I went from a photographer who hated the idea shelves stacked with a clutter of props to a food and product photography prop LOVER. I can’t see anything - a cup, a spoon, or even a salt shaker - without envisioning a photo.
I try to be cautious of repetitively using the same items to prop my food and product photos. But there are some that I love so much. I just have to have them around.
These are a few things that make it to set with me for nearly all my shots with examples of them in food, candle, and flower photos. I hope they give you some creative ideas for things to keep around your set.
You don’t have to have a beautiful background to create a cozy holiday mood in food and product photos. A combination of the angle of your shot and your camera settings can take the simplest (often unattractive backdrops) and turn them into beautiful holiday-inspired photos.
In this video, I outline several photos and the simple sets used to create them. I hope it inspires ideas for photos you can style and photograph in your own space while eliminating the feeling that you don’t have the things you need to create the photos you envision.
