Food Styling 

The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera

By Delores Custer

You might be wondering why I chose to review this book.  When I bought my first DSLR camera last year, I found out that there’s a lot to learn about taking GOOD pictures.  Dave and I purchased a video on how to operate my camera, but I thought this book would give me lots of ideas on how to photograph the food for my blog and I thought that other food bloggers would be interested in this book as well.

About the Author

Delores Custer has been a freelance food stylist and culinary educator since 1978. Today she styles for magazines and cookbook publishers, and in print advertising, public relations, television, and feature films. She has taught courses in Professional Food Styling, Recipe Writing, and Food Demonstration Techniques for Television at New York University, The Culinary Institute of America, The Institute of Culinary Education, and culinary schools around the world. Her food clients include Kraft Foods, General Mills, Unilever, Campbell Soup Company, ConAgra, Nestlé, Häagen-Dazs, Red Lobster, Subway, Cuisinart, Bacardi, and Budweiser. Her website is delorescuster.com.

Description

The authoritative and comprehensive guide to the art and craft of food styling

 

Based on her 30 years of experience in food styling for advertising, magazines, books, and films, Delores Custer presents the definitive lifelong reference on food styling-complete with lists of handy tools and vital equipment, recipes for artificial foods, and guidelines for running a successful food styling business. Full of ingenious advice on styling in any media and packed with full-color photographs, Food Styling reveals every trick of the trade, from making a beverage appear to sweat to producing those perfect grill marks on meat without a grill. Filled with resources and organized in a simple problem-and-solution format, this is an ideal resource for both experienced foods styling pros and first-timers alike.

• This is the only book of its kind on the market, shedding light on the art and craft of food styling
• More than 300 full-color photos reveal the process of styling and the spectacular results, teaching and inspiring anyone interested in food and how it is presented in media
• The book features a time line of 60 years of food styling, a glossary of important terms, and a listing of vital styling resources
• The only book the aspiring or professional food stylist will ever need, this exceptionally thorough resource covers challenges from flawless fried chicken to fluffy, cloudlike cake frostings and everything in between

Whether you’re looking to break into the food styling business or just touch up on the latest and most effective techniques, Food Styling is the ultimate guide to creating stunning culinary visuals.

Table of Contents

 

Acknowledgments. Introduction.

SECTION 1: THE BASICS.

Chapter 1: A General Overview of Food Styling.

Chapter 2: The MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE.

Chapter 3: THE CAST OF CHARACTERS.

SECTION 2 :THE JOB FROM PHONE CALL TO INVOICE.

Chapter 4: GETTING THE JOB.

Chapter 5: PREPPING THE JOB.

Chapter 6: THE SHOOT.

Chapter 7: ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY.

Chapter 8: ABOUT PROPPING.

Chapter 9: ABOUT PRODUCTION WORK.

SECTION 3: THE NUTS AND BOLTS.

Chapter 10: TOOLS OF THE TRADE.

Chapter 11: WORKING WITH THE FOOD: Some Foods Just Misbehave.

SECTION 4: PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER.

Chapter 12: THE BUSINESS OF FOOD STYLING.

Chapter 13 :USEFUL ADDITIONAL SKILLS.

Chapter 14: TIPS FOR FOOD PROFESSIONALS WHO WANT TO FOOD STYLE THEIR WORK.

SECTION 5: TRENDS: FOOD AND FOOD PRESENTATION.

Chapter 15 :REVIEWING THE LAST 60 YEARS.

Glossary.

Resources.

Index.

My Review

This book, which is nearly 400 pages, has been written for people who work in food styling, such as chefs, food company personnel, photographers, prop stylists, students in culinary schools, cookbook and food writers, bloggers, professionals in food advertising, marketing, public relations, and publications.

It is an easy to read reference book that goes into great detail about the business of food styling.  Types of Media opportunities are discussed such as editorial food styling, assignments for public relations firms, working for marketing firms, working with advertising assignments, product-packaging photography,  food styling for catalogs, internet, TV, and movies.

Custer talks about what happens when you land a food styling job.  There is great advice on how to bid and budget for the job and how to prepare and organize the shoot.  Much time is spent on discussing “tools of the trade.”

Custer demonstrates, in countless ways, how to make food more mouthwatering.  Take this chili for example~
 

On the left, the chili looks cold, dry, and unappealing.  On the right, she uses one of the tricks of the trade (a clothes steamer) to melt the cheese and give it a moist appearance for a photo shoot.  There are many before and after photos like this.

There is a big section where Custer describes how she selects produce, what season to use them, and how to prepare them in an appealing way for a shoot.

In this photo, Custer shows a variety of ways to present zucchini to make it visually interesting.

I highly recommend Food Styling The Art of Preparing Food for The Camera if you want to learn more about the business of food styling.  The wealth of knowledge in this book is incredible!  While I found this book helpful and very interesting, it is more suited for serious food stylists or those who are interested in pursuing a career in this field.