Food photography beginning of advertisement

In the latter half of the 20th century, with the growing popularity of colour photography, food photography jumped out the field of art and into the fire of the commercial fields of advertising and cookbooks. Unfortunately, the most simplistic concept of food – that it is edible and we like to eat it – also got caught up in the flames. In the ’60s and ’70s toxic products such as glycerine were used to add a tantalizing shine, hairspray to keep tasty morsels in place and cigarette smoke to simulate that straight from the oven goodness.

 

 The lighting techniques used were very different from what they are today. Shooting with 4×5 film cameras with long exposures, the cookbook photographers needed to be more in control of the light so as to create a consistent look. Flash and tungsten were used regularly. The style of the food changed according to the era but top shots were favoured and everything in the photograph was in focus.

 

These day’s natural is in. People want to make food that looks just like the picture, a comment that is considered utmost praise for the amateur cook. People can’t believe that often it is just light from a window, carefully placed reflectors and a little splash of water or olive oil that makes the food of the photograph look so appetizing. Although this fact is an advantage towards the marketing companies, it is a disadvantage towards the public eye, especially when advertising fast food. If critics have said companies want the advertisement to look appealing and appetizing, then more people will be drawn to the food, in which case for example, McDonalds will be in favour as they will earn more profit.