Lighting Essentials / Discuss

Don Giannatti (aka wizwow) says:

Info is now up on the project52.org site:

project52.org/project52-assignment-8.html
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Don Giannatti (aka wizwow) edited this topic 15 months ago.

Ghene Snowdon (Mushroom & Gadgets)    says:

Oh cool! I didn't need to clear up the light table then :)
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

FenwickArtPhoto    says:

Well, as soon as my wife saw the assignment it was off to the grocery store to get the ingredients so I can make her the salad. So, the image is done and the ingredients are waiting in the refrigerator.



Kind of amazing how fast things get done when she's excited about the subject. :)

Here is our recipe for the salad. It is highly modified from one we found online at some time or other.

Salad Recipe
2 lbs crusty bread cut into cubes
2 large cucumbers peeled and seeded
2 lbs tomatoes seeded
Herbs (fresh, chopped): Basil, Thyme, Marjoram, Rosemary. 2 Tbs each (or to taste)
¼ tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove minced fine)
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
½ C balsamic vinegar
1 C olive oil

For the salad:

Slice bread into 1” cubes, brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and lightly with garlic powder. Toast in oven until brown. These bread cubes need to be crunchy to stand up to dressing.

While the bread is toasting, seed & cut cucumbers into 1” chunks (bite size) and seed & cut tomatoes to bite size.

Combine toasted bread, cucumber and tomatoes, toss to mix.


For the dressing:

Combine herbs and vinegar in blender, run at a medium sped to mix well. Turn the blender up to a high speed and drizzle the olive oil in very slowly while the blender is running so that the dressing will emulsify. Then, add salt, pepper and garlic powder. Blend on a low speed. Taste, and add additional salt, pepper or herbs as needed, to taste.

Pour over salad (to taste) and toss well. Serve.

Reserve any extra dressing for later if needed.


Enjoy. :)

Dan
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
FenwickArtPhoto edited this topic 15 months ago.

Ghene Snowdon (Mushroom & Gadgets)    says:

Part of what was our dinner...



Or this?


Ceasar's Salad
Ingredients

For the salad
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 4 turkey rashers (or bacon rashers)
* 1 Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated

For the dressing
* 5 tbsp olive oil
* ½ lemon, juice only
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
* 1 free-range egg yolk

Preparation method

1. For the salad, heat a griddle pan and brush the turkey rashers with oil. Cook on the griddle until golden-brown on both sides. Chop into small pieces and place into a large bowl with the lettuce leaves.
2. For the dressing, place the dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk together to combine.
3. To serve, pour the dressing over the salad and stir well to coat.



Cherry tomato and rocket salad

Ingredients
* 450g/1lb vine-grown cherry tomatoes, quartered
* 50g/2oz wild rocket, stalks removed
* sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 3-4 tbsp good quality extra virgin oil

Preparation method

1. Put the tomatoes into a bowl and toss with some salt and pepper.
2. Add the rocket leaves and toss together once more.
3. Pile the salad into the centre of 4 bowl-shaped plates and drizzle with the olive oil. Serve straight away.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Ghene Snowdon (Mushroom & Gadgets) edited this topic 15 months ago.

Don Giannatti (aka wizwow) says:

Remember to go and get a recipe to include with your images.

I have four sites listed where you can grab a recipe... and shoot to it.

These are great shots... LOL. you guys are really - err- cooking!
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Ugo Cei (a.k.a. Zaphgod)    says:

I had to anticipate this, since I will be travelling for the next two weeks. Still working on assignment #7, though.



My recipe for Greek salad includes tomato, pepper, cucumber, lettuce, olives and feta cheese. Dress with extra-virgin olive oil and salt. Simple.

I learned the following doing this shoot:

1) Doing these with one light and some modifiers is hard. Finally settled for one SB-900 through umbrella (can you see its reflection?) on camera right, black panel on the left, reflector on top.
2) Controlling shadows and getting a perfectly white background is impossible with my equipment.
3) Styling ad composing the food is even harder.
4) Greek salad tastes great (well, I knew this already).
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Ugo Cei (a.k.a. Zaphgod) edited this topic 15 months ago.

savannahmd says:

Grape Salad. Very good, very easy.
Photographing grape salad.
Difficult.
Very.

21-24 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 20 min.
Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pounds seedless red grapes
2 pounds seedless green grapes
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
Directions
•In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla
until blended. Add grapes and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving
bowl. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with brown sugar
and pecans just before serving. Yield: 21-24 servings.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
savannahmd edited this topic 15 months ago.

pampossum says:

I like both these for different reason-but I would really like some feedback please-which do you prefer-and why? Both lit with window light left, reflector at bottom and flash bounced from ceiling. The sun was stronger in the secong shot.
1.


2.


Mixed Salad with Blue Cheese.
Recipe:
Toss together mixed salad leaves, tomatoes, spring onions, red/orange pepper, advocado and mixed seeds.
Dressing-equal parts lemon juice and olice oil. Add a pinch of caster sugar and mustard and black pepper. Dress salad.
Finish salad with crumbled blue cheese.

EDIT:
Oh dear-just re read the brief-I missed the bit about space in front for type. and I don't have time now to reshoot!!
Lesson learned!!!
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
pampossum edited this topic 15 months ago.

inipix says:

Salade Niçoise:

potatoes

green beans

onion

gem lettuce

pepper

basil

olives

capers

black pepper

egg

olive
oil

balsamic vinegar

and of course: Tuna

unless it's july or august: no tomatoes! (they'll taste like .....otherwise)
Chop, hack or dice as appropriate,

Cook, grill or steam as desired ,

Mix.......

add: some salt, a bit of black pepper, a little vinegar, lots of olive oil
enjoy

edit: of course vertical....... silly me, I'll see what I can do.....

edit again (sorry...)


So way to much room above (maybe the kind AD could place the type above the plate?). But seriously if I don't want to shoot the food straight down, (I think this adds more character) how would I fill a vertical page? Without, for example, placing a huge amount of lettuce above the plate?
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
inipix edited this topic 15 months ago.

Joan3RC says:

Recipe ingredients
Goat cheese, arugula, dried cranberries, and carmelized walnuts salad.

Shot using 580EX II into umbrella and overhead spots for general lighting. 580 EX w/ snoot to light up shadows in arugula.

Shooting food and reflective surfaces is new to me, so I'll take feedback on how to improve. Don't hold back.

ericm1461    says:

Week #8

Time to shoot approx. 3 hours including setup and take-down and editing.
Took my wife and I about 2 hours for the shoot itself with making some dramatic changes in the lighting and re-laying out the whole set twice.

Shot with 1 Einstein 640 watt thruy 3 x 4 softbox camera left w/ fill cards at right. Rear of backdrop (shower curtain) lit from behind with SB600 speedlight at 14mm w/ flap diffuser.

Shoot was complicated by the bottle height. Wish I had a tilt-shift lens to bring the bottle more in focus when shot from steeper angle. It is tough laying out differenty height objects without a big hole somewhere. This was selected from 70+ images. Minor cleanup of background in PS. Rest done in Lightroom (minor sat, a little clarity and steeper tone curve for contrast).



Ingredients:


Recipe: (from the TV show and book "Made In Spain" by José Andrés- Extremaduran cold tomato bread salad)


We fell in Love with his cooking. He had a show on TV for a couple years. It's on DVD on Netflix. Awesome recipes!!
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
ericm1461 edited this topic 15 months ago.

Nickgphoto says:

@Ericm461- "Wish I had a tilt-shift lens to bring the bottle more in focus when shot from steeper angle."

You can cheat by "focus stacking". Shoot the same shot multiple times focused on different points and them combine the focused parts to make one image in post.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

arianabauer    says:

Being Lebanese, the first salad in my head is Tabbouleh. Tabbouleh is a tradional Lebanese recipe that is very important culturally. It is a mainstay food and is one of my favorite dishes in all of Lebanese cuisine. Here is a link to pretty authentic recipe, although I learned to make it from my grandmother, who has never used a recipe and neither do I. Americans do tend to use way too much cracked wheat, which why such the small dish of it in my image. allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tabbouleh-II/Detail.aspx

The ingredients:

Parsley
Cracked Wheat
Tomatoes
Green Onions
Mint
Garlic
Lemons
Olive Oil
Salt

STROBIST INFO:

AB800 into large AB Octabox camera left and a bit overhead. Metz 45-AF, bare, from high and camera right to give a hard light and the shadow up front. A very large white reflector camera left, across from the softbox. All trigered with AB Cybersyncs.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

LBick    says:

I always thought salad was made from whatever was in the fridge. Who knew there were recipes for salads?



Fiesta Bowl Salad, from recipe.com:

(An easy recipe, but I chose it for the variety of color and texture, not for the ease of making.)
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup cubed avocado
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 lime, juiced
2 cups romaine lettuce

First I shot it, then we made it, then we ate it. Yum!

Time spent: 1/2 hour shooting and a little post-processing. Most of the time was spent gathering ingredients, then imagining how to arrange and light them.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
LBick edited this topic 15 months ago.

Jon W. Howson    says:

Tuna and Butter Bean Salad
90g Tuna
200g Butter Bean (Lima Bean)
1 tbsp French Dressing
3-4 Lettuce Leaves




Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Jon W. Howson edited this topic 15 months ago.

anthonyimages says:

Warm Apple Slaw

2 tsp honey
1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
2 gala apples, cubed
1tsp caraway seeds (optional)
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cabbage and cook, covered for about 6 minutes- stirring frequently. Once cabbage is tender, add the apples, honey and caraway seeds (if you opted for them). Cook for another 6 minutes uncovered and stirring occasionally.


Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Em Thomas Photography    says:

Spring Salad:

Spring Lettuce Mix
Herb Croutons
Pecan Halves
Dried Cranberries
Tomato & Basil Feta Cheese
Raspberry Viniagrette

[I'm hoping I can talk the AD into puting the text in the top left corner because when I realized my goof and went to reshoot, my set up collapsed and caused my plate to go crashing to the floor and I may have cursed a little. I'm also hoping the AD will forgive my vaguely blue background; I did shoot against white, however the AD didn't specify it had to stay white! *giggle* seriously though... those aside, I'm happy with this shot based soley on the fact that a month ago I would not have been able to pull that off. Thanks for the instruction, Don!]

super fancy ultra sophisticated lighting setup, complete with spatula prop. please ignore the sponges, they are merely there for moral support.


Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Em Thomas Photography edited this topic 15 months ago.

perl_monger    says:

Penne with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes, and Sausage

Note the space for text at image bottom. I also left a lot of space for cropping.

Recipe
2 red bell peppers (I use ones that are already roasted)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 lb of Italian sausage
3 cloves of garlic, minced
28 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 lb penne
grated Parmesan cheese
sale & pepper

Roast the peppers and slice (or use prepared as I have).
Heat the oil and brown the sausage. Add the garlic, cook until fragrant, and add the tomatoes and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook over moderate high heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the peppers.

Cook the penne. Drain, and add the sausage mixture to the hot pot, adding 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

Serve with Parmesan.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
perl_monger edited this topic 15 months ago.

Em Thomas Photography    says:

@Eric - thanks; I'll have to see if I can play around with it tomorrow! I use The Gimp instead of Photoshop, so I'll have to see what the proceedure would be for that. Thanks, though. :)
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

robb albrecht says:

I got this recipe from the Real Simple site but when I couldn't find escarole I improvised, as I usually do in the kitchen, and used arugula instead.



The recipe:
1 cup of walnuts, roughly chopped
1 bag of arugula lettuce (about 12 cups)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2oz Parmesan, shaved (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1/3 cup of olive oil

Heat oven to 375* F. Spread walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, about 8 - 10 minutes.
Combine arugula, onion, Parmesan and toasted walnuts in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and gradually add the oil. Toss with the salad and enjoy.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
robb albrecht edited this topic 15 months ago.

Nickgphoto says:

Jeesh Rob. I was just in Santa Maria a couple days ago. I coulda stopped in Salinas (salad bowl of the world) and gotten you some.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

robb albrecht says:

@Nick, I probably could have found some escarole at another store but I was limited on time for this one. =)
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

mike_dooley    says:

Recipe:
Cherry Tomatoes
Celery
Green Pepper
Red Pepper
Orange Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Cucumber
Spanish Olives
Iceberg lettuce
Red Chard
Raspberry Blush Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Critique request:
I am open to suggestions on anything with this. I really tried to work on my composition and work on the little details - making sure that things were arranged nicely, that the individual items were good examples, etc
I am not sure why I could not get the edge of the Plexiglas to "disappear" on the left of the subject - do I need more light to blow it out?
Does the lighting on the subject seem too dark? Especially the dark green leafs in the back of the image and the cucumber in the front left?

My indoor studio space is 7ft x 6th, with a 7 foot ceiling, so space is a huge issue with all of my setups

Strobist Info:
580 EXII at 1/8th power, 24mm, with a shoot thru umbrella camera right and above.
SB-28 at 1/16th power, 24mm bare against a white background
White card to the left and to the front of the subject.
Subject is on a piece of white Plexiglas

Edit: forgot to list an ingredient!
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
mike_dooley edited this topic 15 months ago.

FenwickArtPhoto    says:

@mike

re: the Plexiglas, you need to light it so it's as white as the backdrop, otherwise you get the tabletop look. Depending on the piece of plastic, you may still have a little line to blend out, but that should be about it. Also, it's easier of the background sweeps up and back from the edge of the plastic. I put the edge of my paper under the back edge of the plastic and then let it sweep up and back from there. (My setup pic in my photostream might help make sense of my explanation. :) )

It looks like you used a nice, round light source, which shows in the reflections. A long narrow light source gives a nicer reflection. I used parchment paper between the light and the ingredients. You can see it in my setup pick on the right side of the image.

Hope that helps. :)

Dan
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

jeff gaines photography says:

Ingredients:

Boston Lettuce
Avacado
Jicama
Orange Segments
Muscat Champange Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Ron WA says:

I could have used a food stylist. My wife was a big help. Fun, but tough.

Berry-Mandarin Tossed Salad

¼ cup sugar
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. honey
1 ¼ t. lemon juice
½ t. paprika
½ t. ground mustard
½ t. grated onion
¼ t. celery seed
Dash salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
8 C. torn mixed salad greens
2 C. sliced fresh strawberries
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
1 med. sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled


In a 2-cup microwave-safe bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 ½ to 2 minutes; stir until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in oil. Cover and refrigerate until serving. In a salad bowl, combine the greens, strawberries, oranges, onion, almonds and bacon. Drizzle with dressing; gently toss. (12 – 14 servings)





Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Ron WA edited this topic 15 months ago.

Nickgphoto says:

Set up taken with my phone (Lens is broken, sorry)



Apple spinach salad
Ingredients
1/2 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bag (12 ounces) baby spinach, washed and dried
12 pitted dates, sliced
3 apples (about 1 pound), cored and thinly sliced (any combination such as Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Fuji)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Nickgphoto edited this topic 15 months ago.

RayS.C says:

Turkey Salad with Tomato and Avocado



Ingredients
1 large head green leaf lettuce, torn into pieces (about 6 cups)
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli turkey
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 avocado, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan (2 ounces)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Edit: the whites seems to blend into the webpage's white background, so I added a frame to it.


Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
RayS.C edited this topic 15 months ago.

Jameslbrown.ii says:

Grilled Chicken Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Green Leaf Lettuce
Red Leaf Lettuce
Parsley
Carrots
Cucumbers
Black Olives
Green Olives
Sunflower Seeds
Croutons
Skinned Boneless Chicken Breast
Italian Dressing
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Em Thomas Photography    says:

^wow, I love that, James. :)
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

light work says:

Waldorf Salad

Apples and/or pears
Boston Lettuce
Celery
Walnuts
Dried Cherries
Seedless Grapes
Mayonaise
Lemon Juice
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Steve SJ Collins    says:

"Green" Caprese Salad

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Sea Salt & coarse ground Pepper.
Extra virgin Olive Oil
Vine ripened Tomatoes
Potted Basil - Grows great indoors. Come spring, transplant outdoors to your spice garden and enjoy all year long.

Provolone Antipasto garnish.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
Steve SJ Collins edited this topic 6 months ago.

scathontiphat says:

Veggie stir-fry... recipe: whatever is left in the fridge at the end of the week. Throw in wok and enjoy :)
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

jklebphoto says:

Caprese Salad
as my wife makes it.



Mozzarella Cheese Ball- cut in 1/4" slices
3 Vine Ripe tomatoes- cut in 1/4" slices
Fresh Basil- chopped rough
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh Ground Pepper

Arrange alternating slices of cheese and tomato on a plate
Sprinkle with chopped Basil
Drizzle Olive Oil and Vinegar to taste
Top with Pepper, also to taste
Enjoy with a light wine for a refreshing afternoon snack on a hot summer day.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

VitSurf says:

The recipe I chose to work on is Salmon and Soba Salad from RealSimple www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/salmon...

Ingredients:

Soba noodles
Canola oil (which I could not find, replaced with olive oil)
Skinless salmon fillet
Kosher salt and black pepper (used rock sea salt)
Red bell pepper, sliced (left it unsliced for the shoot)
4 scallions, sliced
Ginger vinaigrette (not used in the shoot)

Here is the result

href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/58480654@N08/5504397948/" title="Project52 Week 8 - Salad Ingredients by VitSurf, on Flickr">

I then went on a journey of removing some imperfections from the background and ended up doing more that I was hoping to. Hence some post production imperfections in the image.

The cooked salad was actually pretty delicious!
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

tuckerjoenz    says:

This is a delectable macaroni salad. Shot with D7000 and Speedlight SB-600. Bouncing the speedlight off white foam core on both sides of ingredients.

Ingredients:
Macaroni
Carrots
Mayo
Mustard
Vinegar
Sugar
Spinach
Egg
Pickles

This was just having fun with the shoot and adding in cat treats in one dish.


Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

{michele}    says:

Spinach-Strawberry Salad

1 lb. spinach, torn & washed
1 pt. sliced strawberries
3/4 c. slivered almonds
3/4 c. craisins

add a dressing of your choice
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Rob_Davidson    says:

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad



Recipe:
Mixed greens
Sliced strawberries
Sliced almonds
Crumbled Goat Cheese

Strawberry Champaign Dressing
1/2 cup sliced hulled strawberries
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch salt
In blender, purée all ingredients until smooth.

Lighting wise - this one was challenging! The bottle, in particular. Any chance of doing an advanced workshop in NYC, Don? :)

I came up with - two flagged speedlights on the seamless, left and right. A gridded strobe high camera right and from slightly behind the food and a strobe in a 1x4 stripbox camera left for fill. The strip gave me a nicer highlight on the bottle.

Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

kindredphotos    says:

Warm Spinach Salad
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 pounds triple washed spinach, stems removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered lengthwise
1 cup pecans

I have one version with shallow depth of field, and I included a set-up shot. 30 X 40 softbox camera left; a light above with a diffusion screen; a snooted light back and left to brighten the liquid in the bottles, All three Speedotron 102 heads. Shot on a Nikon D300 with a 17-55mm f2.8 lens. The short depth of field shot was shot at f2.8 with just the modeling lights.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
kindredphotos edited this topic 15 months ago.

gregpas says:

vincent-Olivier says:

This is my specialty recipe, get all the fresh food that you can and mix them together...

Tonight, it includes: Cheese, sweet pepper, cucumber, olive oil, salad, tomatoes, strawberries (my very secret ingredient...) and avocado.
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
vincent-Olivier edited this topic 15 months ago.

Paul B. Hill says:

Grilled steak in mustard and horseradish sauce. Roasted potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper; sprinkle with asago cheese when done. Carmelized onion and pepper.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Surlycamera says:

The AD should know I cropped it quite a bit, there is room to pull back on the original if need be for text room etc...
I found it tough to pre-visualize a pile of stuff. It was also difficult to not eat the bacon.



Ingredients

* 3 pounds small red new potatoes (about 24)
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 8 slices bacon
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
* 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Cut into quarters.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Let cool, then break into pieces.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Add the potatoes and celery and toss to coat. Fold in the parsley, tarragon, and bacon before serving.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

PicsByGeorge says:

Easy Fruit Salad Recipe

Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
2-3 medium bananas, 2 medium oranges, peeled and sectioned,
1 pint strawberries, 2 medium apples, sliced and cut into chunks.

Preparation:
Peel and slice the bananas, peel and section the oranges, slice the strawberries and slice apples. In a large bowl mix together and chill.

A fruit salad is a delicious dish with different kinds of fruit, sometimes served submerged in their own fruit juice, or lathered with syrup. It is served often as an appetizer, if not that, dessert. Either way, fruit salads are definitely delicious, you can have them for both appetizer and dessert.

This was a last minute photo shoot because I did't read the directions fully. I just read what Don posted on Flickr...shooting the ingredients for a recipe. So I shot ingredients for Manicotti Pancakes, then I noticed that everyone was posting salads. LESSON LEARNED ; Read The Assignment On The Project 52 Page.

I thought I would still share the photo for my "Manicotti Pancake Salad"



Both were shot on white butcher paper using two 580's through white umbrellas, one camera left at 45 to ingredients and the other camera right to the rear of the ingredients. I played with the lighting ratio to bring the best definition/contrast and still having a white background. Some minor PP to clean up some fruit imperfections.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Pete Hudeck Photo says:

3 Bean Salad

Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Navy Beans
Red Onion
Garlic
Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

greygirl25    says:

1. I have a huge appreciation for food stylists.
2. Oh crap, I just realized it was supposed to be shot vertical.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

infochick62 says:

Roquefort Pear Salad
• 1 head leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 3 pears - peeled, cored and chopped
• 5 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool, and break into pieces.
2. For the dressing, blend oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.
3. In a large serving bowl, layer lettuce, pears, blue cheese, avocado, and green onions. Pour dressing over salad, sprinkle with pecans, and serve.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Christopher Bersbach says:

My approach for this assignment was heavily inspired somewhat by the salad photographs in the excellent Ad Hoc At Home cookbook by Thomas Keller.



I had no idea what salad to make for several days, until an unrelated event made me decide to make some pizza dough. I quickly realized that all of the ingredients I would need to pizza margherita were also part of the classic Italian caprese salad. Immediately after photographing these ingredients, they were turned into a much-less-healthy pizza.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

gilbertho says:

Vietnamese-style Salad (adapted from New Flavours of the Vietnamese Table by Mai Pham):

6 leaves cos lettuce
1 red onion
1 birds-eye chilli
1/2 lime
handful Vietnamese mint leaves

Tear lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice the onion and chilli.
Mix the lettuce, mint and chilli together. Before serving, squeeze the lime juice over the salad as a dressing, and toss through.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Maryam S. says:

Just realized this was supposed to be vertical and I've already gone ahead and made the salad. Rats.

I had to atone for that less-than-stellar chocolate shot a few weeks back. Generally pleased with this, though I should've positioned the camera more centrally over the salad (me thinks there's a bit of distortion around the edges). Used natural light, and I don't mind the slight shadows, though a reflector probably would've been good.

Couscous salad
- 1 cup of couscous (prepared as per package instructions)
- 1 cup lentils
- tomatoes
- cucumbers
- parsley
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- minced garlic
(salt and pepper to taste)

Mix the veggies & legumes together. The juice, olive oil and garlic make the dressing. Combine them to your satisfaction, drizzle and eat! (I find this tastes best on day 2.)
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

charles.howard says:

This was a lot of fun. When I finally had time to sit down and do this project it was quite a stress reliever. It's nice the food doesn't complain about anything.



Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon (from realsimple.com)

Serves 8| Hands-On Time: 20m | Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

3 pounds small red new potatoes (about 24)
kosher salt and black pepper
8 slices bacon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon

Directions
Place the potatoes in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Cut into quarters.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Let cool, then break into pieces.
In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Add the potatoes and celery and toss to coat. Fold in the parsley, tarragon, and bacon before serving.

The above image was my choice but I was undecided about the spoon in the image. I did one without. What do you think?



Also, here is my setup shot.


Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

Nickgphoto says:

The spoons colors are the same as the cutting board so it is really pretty unnoticable. I had to look a couple times because I was looking for something silver. With that said, I'm not sure how much of a dynamic it is. It does clean up the end of the cutting board nicely, but then the glass seems to float.
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

pampossum says:

@Charles-I prefer the one without the spoon-I think the spoon overly complicates the image as the spoon isn't immediately recognisable for waht it is. I don't mind having to think about/work at a photo, but not in the context of a cookbook.
That's my penny's worth anyway..
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)

stevepamp    says:

Here's my first shot (it's maybe a little bit too safe, I think...), although I don't know that I left enough room at the bottom for the text:

Here's an alternative, a bit more minimalist with adequate space left, although I left out the custard ingredients:


The recipe - Fresh Fruit salad with Creamy Custard:
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/fresh-fruit-salad-...
Ingredients
* 6 kiwis, peeled and chopped
* 2 ripe mangoes, peeled, cored, and sliced
* 1 melon, peeled, cored, and chopped
* 1 quart strawberries, hulled and quartered
* 1 quart blackberries
* 1/2 quart blueberries

Custard:
* 1 1/2 cups whole milk
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 6 large egg yolks
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Originally posted 15 months ago. (permalink)
stevepamp edited this topic 15 months ago.

pampossum says:

Oh dear-just re read the brief-I missed the bit about space in front for type. and I don't have time now to reshoot!!
Lesson learned!!!
Posted 15 months ago. (permalink)