Sometimes when I say it takes a village to make a photograph it can scare off clients because the feel they are working with a "diva" who brings a whole "entourage" with them. But in reality we work with a really tight team in a very collaborative environment. The group consists of me, my photo assistant, our food stylist who on larger jobs has an assistant/chef with them. Often we work with an art director who has created the label or ad we are shooting for and sometimes the clients who we, unlike many photographers, encourage to be there. So this little squad of 4 or 5 people are the ones responsible for making thing look like they should.

What are their responsibilities? Some are what you would expect, some are surprising. The photographer usually is responsible for camera angle, composition and, of course lighting. Practically that means as my stylist puts the dish in front of the camera, it's my job to find the right angle either to match the layout or make the photograph interesting. My assistant is my technical right hand in matters of lighting, composition and digital image processing. The thing that makes their job hard is they are also my right hand in making sure our client, art director and crew are happy in a service kind of way. That means everyone has the coffees, munchies, internet access and anything else the they need to be comfortable and productive during their visit with us.

The stylist's job has begun long before the photo shoot. She has met with the client or AD to figure out what it will take to realize the "vision" of the shoot. She(or he for that matter) has shopped the backgrounds, props and groceries for the shoot and talked to me about what the studio needs to have ready to make the shoot happen. In a sense, at least on food shoots, the stylist is part production coordinator,part stylist until she gets on set when her job is to style and my job(and my assistant's) is to make everything else happen. Very often the food stylist doesn't do any of the cooking but has her assistant prepare and cook everything while she concentrates on the presentation and making sure the client or AD are getting the look she needs.

So you can see how important a good stylist is. Very often clients even follow the stylist from photographer to photographer rather than keep their loyalties with any particular shooter.

All in all a smooth job usually comes from a team that has worked together long enough they know each others habits and foibles well enough to keep things light by not taking things to seriously..remember no lives are usually at stake when making a food photograph..just a career or two. ;-)

This photograph was shot on location at my friends', David and Nicole, restaurant Screen Door, dedicated to serving fresh local ingredients with a southern flair. One of my favorite places to eat here in Portland, OR.