Cookbook Photography for Life Kitchen x Danone
Cookbook Photography North East England
Anyone who knows me will tell you that photographing a cookbook has long been a dream of mine. For that dream to come true - twice in one month even - was not only wonderful, but more than I ever could have hoped for.
Danone teamed up with Ryan Riley of Life Kitchen to create recipes that do what Ryan does best: flavour. Ryan’s speciality is in food that packs a punch. With a focus on people who have struggled with illness, Ryan’s dishes are incredibly flavoursome and densely nutritious. Nothing is too “chef-y” or overly complex, but the little additions like the crispy sage leaves on the rarebit, or the miso drizzle on the kimchi fried eggs are the touches that take his food from excellent to outstanding.
At Ryan’s request, the lighting for the images was predominantly natural light, with reflectors used to soften shadows, and bold backgrounds to highlight the intensity of the flavour in the food.
When shooting for restaurants, images often need extra props to sell the dining experience, but the same is not true for cookbooks. These images require very different styling with the result being modern, clean, colourful, and bold. With such simple styling you would be forgiven for thinking that the final photographs risked looking too similar to each other, but that never came to pass.
As you can see, even using the same natural tones doesn’t automatically lead to cross-overs in the images. Each shot still has its own unique voice.
I have definitely developed a taste for photographing cookbooks. It’s hard work, but it is incredibly rewarding! There’s something about seeing the array of stunning images that you’ve put together for this single project that creates a feeling of pride like nothing else.
