Food photography: is it worth the investment?
Photographs and video play an important role in marketing. They are powerful, engaging communication tools when used appropriately and can deliver visual solutions, inspiration and ownable branding faster than any other medium.
The problem? Commercial photography is an investment, and with traditionally lean food marketing budgets, the ROI is often questioned and value expectations are higher than ever.
When I first entered the advertising business in 1995 as an art director, getting 4-5 beauty shots out of a day was considered aggressive. The process required viewing compositions through the camera, reviewing Polaroid proofs, selecting film brackets and sending film out for scanning and color correcting proofs. This was how great photos were achieved and the process was valued by clients. At about that same time, digital photography was starting to take off. The digital era has made the process faster and more efficient, allowing for more shots per day, with color corrections and edits made right on set.
Today, as social media and bloggers have entered the advertising mix, the need for photography and video has exponentially increased. The images surfacing from food bloggers and everyday amateurs have quickly become accepted as the “authentic” norm. Expensive, professional equipment isn’t necessary to accomplish imagery that is not only good enough, but appreciated. If you have a phone, you’re a “photographer.”
This reality has inspired many commercial photographers to evolve their businesses to accommodate the changing needs of clients—bringing more content for less money. Appetizing and impactful imagery (photos and video) is the most powerful way to share a story and inspire engagement—custom images stand out as ownable to your brand.
I value the talent and inspiration that professional photographers bring to the table and believe the investment is worth it for the right projects. There are a variety of photography/video options out there that truly can accommodate any budget. Photographers/studios are incorporating flexibility and increasing capabilities to accommodate a variety of needs. For example:
- Pricing per shot vs. half or full day rates
- Adding a social photographer to maximize usage for social media
- Implementing pre-planning to maximize efficiencies and aligning on deliverables
- Incorporating less-styled food for a more authentic, made-at-home look
- Addding value beyond the photo deliverable
It comes down to understanding your budget, needs and desired outcome to align the project with the right photographer. You might be surprised at what’s possible today!
Looking to invest in food photography? Let’s chat.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte
serves 8
Clouds of peanut butter goodness nestled into a rich chocolate shell. Worth. Every. Calorie.
Ingredients
For crust
- 1 package (approximately 36) Oreo Cookies, finely crushed
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For filling
- 2 cups heavy/whipping cream
- 1 and ½ cups powdered/confectioners’ sugar, divided
- 1 and ½ cups peanut butter
- 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- ½ cup peanut butter chips (or chocolate chips)
For topping
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Chopped peanuts, or chopped peanut butter cups, for garnish
Directions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Butter a 9-inch spring form pan, and set aside.
- Finely process Oreo Cookies using a food processor or by hand with a rolling pin.
- Pour crumbs into a small bowl, and add salt. Melt butter, and pour over crushed cookies. Stir with a fork until completely moistened. Evenly press crumb mixture into pan, on bottom and up sides. Place in freezer for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream into a different bowl, and place in refrigerator until needed. Use the same bowl, but replace whisk with the paddle attachment.
- Beat together cream cheese and remaining 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Add peanut butter and milk, and beat until completely combined. Scrape sides as needed. Remove bowl from mixer. Add about ¼ of the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture. Use a spatula to fold the cream into the peanut butter to lighten the mixture. Do not stir vigorously, carefully fold the mixture so you don’t deflate the whipped cream. Add the remaining cream in two batches, using the same folding method, until all of the whipped cream is completely incorporated. Carefully add the peanut butter chips and gently stir to combine.
- Pour peanut butter mousse into the cookie shell, and smooth top.
- Refrigerate until filling is firm, about 30 minutes. Then, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate an additional 4 hours before serving.
Topping
- Heat cream in a glass bowl in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, until cream is steaming hot but not boiling.
- Using a wire whisk, stir chopped chocolate into the cream. Stir gently until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside to thicken.
- Once mixture is thickened, carefully spread over top of torte.
- Garnish with chopped peanuts or chopped peanut butter cup candies, as desired.
- Refrigerate a few moments more until chocolate topping begins to harden.
Enjoy!
NOTES
Total time includes 4 hours chilling time. Hands-on time is only about 40 minutes.
Recipe curtesy of Lemon-sugar.com
Cherry Almond Baked Alaska
This recipe may seem intimidating in length and steps. The beauty is that you can build any combination of ice cream, filling and cake for an impressive dessert. Included are the cake and filling recipes shown, however any brownie or cake can be used as the base, and the filling can be a frosting, preserve, chocolate or simply eliminated. The molds can be prepared and frozen a week ahead, leaving just the meringue step for serving day!
Makes 8 individual servings.
You will need
• 1 qt. Cedar Crest® Black Cherry Ice Cream
• 1 recipe Almond Cloud Cake
• 1 recipe Frangipane Filling
• 1 recipe Meringue
• 8 – 3” prep bowls or custard cups
• Cooking torch
Ingredients
Almond Cloud Cake
• 2¼ cups cake flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1¼ cups buttermilk
• 4 large egg whites
• 11/2 cups sugar
• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
Frangipane filling
• 3/4 cup (about 7 ounces) almond paste (not marzipan)
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
Meringue
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
Directions
Frangipane filling
Can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the almond paste until it is crumbly. Add the butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, egg, flour and salt, and continue to pulse until the mixture is combined and smooth. Cover tightly and refrigerate until needed.
Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9”x13” pan parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Combine the sugar and the butter and beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until very light. Beat in the extracts, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly-mixed and well-aerated. Divide the batter between the pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch. Cool completely.
Assembly
1. Line 8 – 3” prep bowls or custard cups with plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over rim of bowl. Pack ice cream into each cup, flush and smooth to the top.
2. Using a round cutter or knife (using prep bowls or custard cup as guide), cut out 8 – 3” rounds of cake. (Note: scraps of cake can be frozen and later layered with whipped cream and fruit for an easy dessert!)
3. Spread a ¼” layer of almond filling on each cake round. Place each cake round on top of ice cream bowls, filling side to ice cream.
4. Wrap each ice cream/cake bowl in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 1 week.
5. Prepare meringue: Place cream of tartar and egg whites in a large bowl; beat on medium speed of a hand mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Add sugar, and beat until stiff but not dry peaks form, about 2 minutes.
6. Remove ice cream/cake cups from freezer and unmold. Place, cake side down, on a parchment lined bake pan (if using oven) or individual plates (if using torch).
7. With a spatula, cover each mold with meringue, creating peaks and swirls.
8. Torch: using a cooking torch, brown meringue.
Oven: preheat oven to 450ºF. Bake until meringue turns golden, about 5 minutes.
9. Serve immediately!
Ditch-the-Can Green Bean Casserole
A fresh take on a holiday classic sure to impress the foodies at your table.
Ingredients
1/4 lb. bacon
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup shallots, diced
1 pound crimini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
Sea Salt
Ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. corn starch
1 cup Mountain High™ plain yogurt
1/2 cup whole milk
1tsp. honey
1/8 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and blanched or frozen, thawed
Crunchy topping:
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/8 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
Bacon (from above)
Fried shallots:
3 medium shallots, sliced and separated into thin rounds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour or corn meal
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Fry bacon to crispy in skillet on medium heat. Discard excess fat.
- Add the butter and oil to the pan. When butter is melted, add the mushrooms, onion and shallots. Cook so the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and garlic, and continue cooking the mushrooms until brown on the edges. Season with the salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook 2 to 3 minutes.
- Dust the mushrooms with the flour. Whisk to incorporate the flour and gradually add in the chicken stock.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and add the yogurt and milk. Stir gently and cook over low heat until gravy thickens, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Add the cheddar cheese and 1/8 cup of the Parmesan, stir until melted.
- Add the blanched green beans to the pan and fold together so everything is mixed well.
- Spread out evenly in a greased baking dish. Finish with crunchy topping (below).
Crunchy topping:
- Mix together crumbled bacon, remaining Parmesan cheese, panko crumbs and thyme. Season with salt & pepper.
- Bake until the casserole is bubbly throughout, about 20-25 minutes.
Fried shallots:
- While the beans are baking, pour the vegetable oil into a deep skillet and heat to 350°F.
- Pour the flour or corn meal into a Ziploc bag and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the shallot rounds in the seasoned flour, and shake off any excess.
- Fry the shallots in the hot oil in small batches until golden brown, 2-4 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels and season with salt while still hot. Top the green bean casserole with the fried shallots and serve.
Recipe inspired by Guy Fieri
S’more Brownie Cheesecake Skillets
There’s something about these adorable mini cast iron skillets that make for impressive individual desserts.
With brownie as a base, you can create endless ooey, gooey combinations. Here are a few of our favorite ideas:
- Chunks of creamy cheesecake, strawberry sauce and a dollop of fresh whipped cream
- A scoop of coffee gelato, drizzled with sea salt caramel sauce and sprinkled with cashews
- Dark cherry ice cream, fudge sauce and pistachios
Share your favorite idea with us! Let us know on Twitter or Instagram @INFoodMktg.
S’more Brownie Cheesecake Skillets
Yield: 6 (3.5”) skillets
Ingredients
1 cup graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or toffee bits
1 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided use
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Toppings
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (cubed) recipe follows
Hot fudge sauce
Graham cracker crumbs
Marshmallow crème
Alternate Topping Ideas:
Turtle Brownie Skillet
Caramel Sauce
Hot Fudge Sauce
Toasted Pecans, chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a small bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup melted butter.
Place a heaping tablespoon of crumbs in each skillet and loosely spread out.
In a large bowl over simmering water, melt butter, 4 oz. of chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate until smooth. Set aside and let cool for about 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until well combined. In a medium bowl, sift together 1/4 cup of flour, baking powder and salt and add to the chocolate mixture, stirring until just combined.
In a medium bowl, toss together the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips or toffee bits and 1 tbsp. of flour and fold them into the chocolate mixture. Divide batter into twelve 3-1/2 inch cast iron skillets and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, taking care not to over bake.
Top with Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (recipe follows) chunks. Drizzle with hot fudge. Sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs. Garnish with a dollop of marshmallow crème. For a toasty finish, torch the marshmallow crème!
Note: Cheesecake can be substituted with ice cream.
Basic Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (crust-less)
Yield: 1 – 8”x8” pan
Ingredients
2 (8 oz.) packs Philadelphia brand cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/8 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Line 8”x8” cake pan with aluminum foil, so that batter will not leak through.
In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add vanilla and flour, mix well. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated, do not over mix.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven. Allow to cool and then refrigerate. Once chilled, cheesecake can be placed in freezer for a few hours to make cutting easier. Lift foil and cheesecake out of pan. Cut into 1/2” cubes.
Cheesecake Baked Apples
If you enjoy creating in the kitchen, here’s a festive and impressive way to serve apple cheesecake.
Simply hollow out apples for shells, fill with your favorite cheesecake batter and bake!
Apple shells:
8 large apples (I used Honeycrisp)
Lemon juice
Chunky applesauce:
Apple flesh removed from shells
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Cheesecake batter:
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. apple brandy
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
2 eggs
1/2 c. chunky applesauce* (recipe below or use prepared apple sauce)
1/8 c. whipping cream
Optional finishes:
Caramel sauce
Pecans, chopped
Maple leaf cookies (recipe below)
1) Apple shells:
Chop the tops of the apples off and scoop out the insides, leaving approximately 1/4” thick shell. Use removed apple flesh to make chunky applesauce for the cheesecake. Discard the core and seeds. Brush apple rims with lemon juice to reduce browning.
2) *Chunky applesauce:
Place scooped out apple flesh in small saucepan with 2 Tbsp. water, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. sugar. and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Cook on low/medium heat until apples are tender but still chunky.
3) Cheesecake batter:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add brandy, cinnamon, vanilla and cardamom. Blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Stir in applesauce and cream until just incorporated.
Portion batter into hollowed apples (fill to top). Place filled apples on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until cheesecake filling is set. Transfer to a plate and place in the fridge until completely cooled.
Serve apples at room temperature or chilled. If desired, top with caramel sauce and chopped pecans.
For an extra special finishing touch, garnish with maple leaf cookies (recipe follows).
Maple Cookies:
Adapted from Gourmet and Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1 egg yolk
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp salt
1 egg white, beaten
Beat together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, add in the egg yolk and slowly pour in the maple syrup. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cardamom and salt. Add to butter mixture until just combined. The dough will be pretty clumpy. Press together lightly and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat®. Roll out the cookie dough to about 1/8” thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and repeat with remaining dough.
Brush with beaten egg white. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until edges are lightly golden.
Mmm… morels!
IN’s Creative Director, Lori Gerdts, is taking over the blog today to share a few of her favorite morel recipes. Enjoy!
The hunt for these little woodsy gems is a special as the mouthwatering treat they make. From a simple sauté to savory sauces they are sensational. Here are my two of favorite ways to enjoy them:
Mouthwatering Morels
Lightly dust (dredge) fresh morels (cleaned and sliced in half) with flour seasoned with salt & pepper. Shake off any excess flour to
avoid clumping and over breading. Saute in butter until desired tenderness (10-12 minutes). I love them with a little crunch on the outside!
Tip: A wonderful steak topper or finishing touch to risotto!
Morels & Wine Sauce
4-6 servings
This seasonal sauce pairs well with fish and chicken dishes!
- 1 Tbs + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Pepper, fresh, cracked
- 4 ramps, sliced or 1 leek, finely chopped
- 1 large shallot, peeled, finely chopped
- 8 large morel mushrooms, halved, cleaned
- 1 Tbs butter, unsalted
- 2 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tsp. chicken base
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1. Over medium- low heat, add a teaspoon of olive oil and butter to sauté pan. Add the ramps, shallots and morels. Cook until shallots are soft and translucent about 8 minutes.
2. Deglaze the pan by adding the vinegar and white wine and stir. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until the wine starts to reduce.
3. Add the cream and chicken base. Stir and simmer for 5-10 minutes, sauce should thicken slightly.
4. Add parsley and pepper to taste.
Serve with Cornmeal Crusted Walleye and Wild Rice Medley for a truly Minnesotan treat. Delicious with tilapia, halibut and chicken too!