Cookbooks of the past didn’t have photos but nowadays, photos help to set the visual tone for a cookbook. They’re an integral part of the publication. In fact, people often ask me, “Does your cookbook have pictures?”
For the four-day shoot, Clancy put together a great team comprising photographer Penny De Los Santos and food stylist Karen Shinto. Penny is a seasoned photojournalist whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic, the Wall Street Journal, and my favorite food magazine, Saveur. (Her dynamic, vivid photography appeared in 3 stories in the December issue of Saveur.) Based in Austin, she flew in for the shoot.
Karen has styled many cookbooks, including my first book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, for which she took a research trip to Vietnam. Based in San Francisco, her styling regularly appears in Sunset magazine (just check the tiny print for her credit). Karen also was among the 13 recipe testers for the dumpling book so she knew the manuscript well. That's the two of them concentrating on a coconut at the top of this page.
Prop stylist Natalie Hoelen was brought in to gather an amazing array of dishware, flatware, fabrics and surfaces for Karen and Penny to work with. In professional food photos, not all those dishes are laying around someone’s house. The props are bought, borrowed, created and rented. After Karen unloaded all the props and arranged them, it looked like a high-class yard sale. Think of the food like actors and actresses who need special props and styling to make them inspiring to their audience.
My friends Sue and Jerry volunteered their spacious home for the shoot. A week in advance, Karen scouted the location for Penny to ensure that there was sufficient light. Excellent food photography is done with natural light because the food is illuminated with warmth; artificial light tends to make food look unappetizingly hard and cold.
Karen prepped the food and I assisted her. The first day establishes the momentum so Karen and I strategically planned to have most of the first day’s dishes well-prepared or ready to assemble. We started at 8am and finished with clean up around 5pm, just in time for cocktails and dinner. During the four days, we shot 30 styled food photos and did about 15 pickups (impromptu shots of ingredients, techniques, etc.).
Karen composed each of the shots and worked with Penny to get the best angle. A lot of fine tuning went into getting the final image, and often times, Karen used tweezers to arrange the minutiae. She ironed cloth surfaces and props to crisp perfection too. The finished photos are reviewed and posted so we can make sure that the color and composition flowed well. Clancy and Betsy Stromberg, the book's designer, were on hand to monitor our progress.
Chasing the day’s best light is part of the work, and Penny moved the shoot table (a lightweight folding table I bought at Costco) around the house and eventually outdoors. January has a limited amount of daylight so we worked under pressure to capture the best light. We lost light around 4pm. Our shot list was long.
As a photojournalist, Penny shoots fast and she has the knack for finding just the right sweet spot for each shot. Not all photojournalists can capture action and food but Penny has the unusual ability to do both. She also loves food and couldn’t wait to eat the set as soon as she obtained the shot. In fact, we all joined in to eat the ‘models.’ Everyday, Sue and Jerry ate leftover dumplings for dinner. On one of the days, we shot all deep-fried foods: spring rolls, taro puffs, samosas, sardine puffs, and more. They were so all so good but as Penny said in the early afternoon, “Man, I'm going into a carb-induced coma.” We brewed a pot of green tea and got her workin’ again.
Despite what you may have heard about styled food being inedible, that wasn’t the case here. Karen made the recipes as they’re written and artistically presented them. I was her kitchen slave and dumpling robot. When Karen wasn’t satisfied with my work, she let me know it.
That was the photo shoot for the Asian dumpling book. Lots of fun and creative hard work for a ton of wonderful images. Sorry you’ll have to wait till the book comes out to see them.
Victoria says
Can't wait for your second book to come out. I have your other book - it gets used a lot at my house.
Andrea Nguyen says
Thanks, Victoria!
Tuty says
I really like this post... I certainly learn quite a bit from this article so I appreciate your sharing the story behind the production.
Can't wait to see your new book, as I am sure it is filled with delectable treats.
Cheers
Gastronomer says
Andrea - Thanks for the sneak peak! I find food styling and food photography absolutely fascinating. I'm excited to see the finished product. Keep on plowing 😉
MIKO says
Very interesting for me. I've been spending the past week shooting products for the Tovolo.com web site and also their catalogs and packaging. I like that Penny using natural light in both of the pictures where we see her taking photos. I can see that there was a struggle to get enough light in the house! I swear, I turn on 15 photo lights and still it cannot compete with a nice partly cloudy day or open shade on a sunny day.
I think it's funny about getting hungry and eating too much of the
MIKO says
Very interesting for me. I've been spending the past week shooting products for the Tovolo.com web site and also their catalogs and packaging. I like that Penny using natural light in both of the pictures where we see her taking photos. I can see that there was a struggle to get enough light in the house! I swear, I turn on 15 photo lights and still it cannot compete with a nice partly cloudy day or open shade on a sunny day.
I think it's funny about getting hungry and eating too much of the
Jaden, Steamy Kitchen says
LOL! so this is what it's like when you're a famous cookbook author! oh I have to prep, cook, style and shoot allllll by myself and at the same time shooing off my boys who always want to sample EXACTLY what I'm photoshooting that minute! 🙂
hugs! jaden
Von says
Can't wait for your book to come out since I've been on a dumpling kick lately. Had I live in the bay area, I would beg and plead to be your kitchen slave/dumpling robot or whatever for a chance to devour the food. They look delish!
Marvin says
Thanks so much for this insider's look at the food photography side of the cookbook process. It looks like a lot of work, but a lot of fun too! I can't wait for your new book, Andrea.
Mary-Anne Durkee says
I love and use your first book and really look forward to your Asian Dumpling book. I love dumplings and make some tasty Thai won-tons and pot stickers. I have visited Vietnam several times, as well as over 30 times to Thailand. I love all SE Asian cuisines.
Best breakfasts in Laos are Vietnamese breakfasts, also in Isan, Thailand!
We're so lucky to live in the SF Bay Area with all fresh ingredients. Sometimes I have trouble finding good chaploo/la lot. Do you know where I can buy some plan
Penny De Los Santos says
Andrea-I especially love the reference to me eating my sets. Thanks for that. I am so honored to be apart of your book. Can wait for the book release party...
http://www.pennydelossantos.com
Andrea Nguyen says
Penny -- would you let people know what kind of camera you use?
Mary-Anne -- I get nice la lot leaves at Lion Market on Saratoga (off 280) and Thanh Thien market in San Jose (Keyes and Story).
Mary-Anne Durkee says
Thanks for the tip on lalat leaves! Mum lives in that area (near Saratoga Avenue or is it Road) I'll ask her to pick up some the next time she is coming up here to Alamo. She just turned 85 and loves SE Asian cuisine! I have made Miang Kam for her and she loved it. Do you know of a plant source for La lot and any other Vietnamese herbs?
Andrea Nguyen says
Mary-Anne, I unfortunately don't have a source for La Lot plants. For other Viet herb plants, try Thien Thanh market at the corner of Story and Keyes in San Jose (exit at McLaughlin off the 280).
Dave says
Andrea, thanks for this. Having personally been a fan of Penny De Los Santos' work I can imagine it would have been a great experience to work with her.
I look forward to the book. I think Robyn and I will be fighting over it for some time to come. Congrats!
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marlon says
thanks for this. Having personally been a fan of Penny De Los Santos' work I can imagine it would have been a great experience to work with her.