Behind the Scenes

Today…a little look at what goes on behind the camera. So much more goes into these glorious food photos than anyone would think at first glance. There is a food stylist, a photo stylist and a photographer that all work together to make sure no grain of rice is out of place, and the end result is, well, delicious.

You would never know all the details of the pieces in every shot by the up close version that often gets published.

Today we shot up in the treehouse studio. You can see why from this spectacular view. That’s the Southern Living studio that overlooks the pond.

All the photos we take have to be edited, processed and uploaded to the Oxmoor House network. I am becoming quite good at this part.

My boss, Jim Bathie, and I are posing in the treehouse studio. It’s rare for us to be in front of the camera.

And the end result of a hard day’s work…beautiful and delicious!

Scenic Route

Today was another day of photo taking. We spent the day scouting locations for our upcoming Farmers Market cookbook. It should be really fun to shoot on location as a change of pace from being in the studio.

Other than our exciting field trip, I also took a scenic drive around Birmingham and found a fabulous pair of sequined leggings at a thrift store and couldn’t resist buying them. I figured they would come in handy at some social or party next year. Besides those two exciting events, it was just another day of prop-closet organizing, catching up with a friend, broadening my cooking skills and forcing myself to work out to make up for the peach pie and peach ice cream I chowed on while we were out. Tomorrow it’s back to Weight Watchers shots in the studio, a much-needed break from the high-calorie diet I indulged in today.

Food, Glorious Food

Today was another interesting day of food shots, and I actually got to shoot some! I am definitely getting the hang of my intern responsibilities, from taking the photos, to editing, processing and printing. I am even putting my organizational skills to work cleaning out the prop closet. I must have folded 700 napkins and tablecloths in the last week. It really is amazing how much stuff they have accumulated over the years. I may have to do some shopping for myself when we do the prop sales.

The food we have been photographing this week has been absolutely delicious. Yesterday I had a buffet of filet mignon, scallops, monkey bread, pineapple foster and stuffed mushrooms, needless to say I didn't need dinner (thank God it was all Weight Watchers). Here are some photos of the delicious food I had today (these are also the shots I took). They will appear in the winter Weight Watchers recipe book!!

Bring On The Rain

Unfortunately, the rain continued to make sporadic appearances throughout the day, but during a brief hiatus, I managed to get some pictures of the landscape at Southern Progress. There is a winding pathway that weaves its way around trees, flowers, lakes and trickling streams. Just walking along the path makes me think I am at a lodge in the mountains and not in hour six of my busy workday. However, even my workday is filled with entertainment as we style and shoot picture after picture of delicious food. At some point during the week, I hope I will have some pictures from the studio to share, but as for now I am still learning how to use the new camera and equipment.

I really love photographing flowers...

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

The rain hasn’t stopped since I arrived here in Birmingham, but that didn’t stop me from having a beautiful and productive day. I definitely enjoyed my first day of work, and I had a blast helping out with some shoots for the September issue of Southern Living. The building and the many acres it stands on are absolutely gorgeous, but I am waiting for the sun to come out so I can utilize the natural light that pours in through all the walls of windows. But I didn’t want to leave you without any photos today, so here is one from Easter weekend in the lovely backyard of my grandparents…

Mountains

My move to Birmingham is finally complete and tomorrow begins my new routine as an intern at Southern Progress Corporation. But for tonight, I wanted to post some pictures of my new life in suburbia and the beautiful green terrain (a terrain unfamiliar to most of us Floridians). Stay tuned for photos from my first week of work…

Some snapshots of my temporary home...