Why I’m a Food Photographer and not a Chef

professional food photographer - loving foodProfessional Food Photographer – Not A Chef

Let’s put it like this; it doesn’t matter whether you’re a great chef, a famous food critic, or just a meat and potatoes kind of bloke: the truth is, it’s pretty hard to be indifferent about something you stick in your mouth and swallow.

Food isn’t just a need in order for us to stay alive. Food is much more than that. It doesn’t matter who, what, or where you are – even if you are a professional food photographer living in Sydney. Food is one of life’s great pleasures.

In my particular case, food and cooking began to inspire me at a young age. When I was only 8 or 9, I would help my mum in the kitchen. As I grew older I frequently thought about becoming a professional chef … until, that is, I realized that my greater skills lay in visualizing, representing, and celebrating the dishes that professional chefs created from their chosen ingredients. So, I took off my apron, put down my spatula, and picked up my camera and tripod.

I love all types of food – Italian food, Thai food, Vietnamese food, Mexican food; and I love to try and to discover new and different food cultures, cuisines, and recipes. I also love to make my own food – and I don’t mean “cook” my own food, I mean “make” my own raw material food. I make my own pasta, I cure my own bacon, I smoke my own meats.

I strongly believe that my knowledge of food, my love of cooking directly translates into my food photography. I understand the food that I’m shooting. I understand how to prepare the dishes I am shooting; I know what goes with what; what props, what garnishes, what cultural additions will enhance the shot.

Food isn’t only about taste. It’s about aroma, visual appeal, and presentation. In a photo we lose these other sensors. It’s up to the food photographer to recreate these missing sensors and give the viewer a sense of what the food tastes like, smells like and how it feels in the mouth.

A photo that sends the right message is going to create desire and move your customer to take action. As a professional food photographer in Sydney, I love to bring out the best in food and let the viewer “experience” it.

And that is why I love photographing food!