There’s more to food photography than meets the eye. Just as there’s more to food itself, beyond texture, colour, flavour and taste, explains Kimberly Low, Sydney-based food photographer with a global reach.
“Food also reflects the habits and social norms of the culture that it comes from,” she says over a crackling phone line from Varanasi, where she’s spending a few days before coming to Chennai for her workshop. “Asian cultures are much more attuned to sharing, so the food is also made for sharing. It’s placed at the centre of the table for everyone to take and pass around. In other cultures, especially in the West, food is a more individual experience.” Which is why a meal tends to be plated for each person, she says, adding that good food photography should throw light on these nuances and habits as much as it does on the food itself.
This might not be the first thing one thinks of, at the mention of food photography, but for Kim, it has always been a glaringly obvious aspect. “I lived in Malaysia for a while, and my mother is Korean. So she would be making us Korean food at home, and we also would be eating Malaysian, Indian and Chinese food outside.” And now that she lives in Australia, it’s hard for the foodie in her not to notice the differences in dining habits in the wide cross-section of traditions that she has been exposed to. “Food is something I have always had a close relationship with, in terms of culture and family,” she says.
And then there’s the food that hasn’t even reached the table: the kitchens, farms, fisheries, vineyards and processing units. Documenting these, with all their beauty and all their flaws, also forms an essential part of food photography. This is where her degree in Geography, with it's particular focus on food production and economic geography, comes in handy.
“It's not just something on a plate; it tells a story and the history of the society that it comes from,” says Kim, “You should see food as part of a larger picture, associated with survival. Kimchi, for instance, requires certain conditions to be made well. This reflects the geography that it comes from.”
You don't have to shoot in a farm or an orchard to capture these realities, but you do need to know the background of the food that’s being captured by your lens. Kimberly gives the example of an upscale Southeast Asian food event that she shot for in Sydney.
“It was a Nyonya (a term used to refer to Peranakan women) food popup called Jen Dining, and it definitely fell in the category of fine dining.” But when the chef approached her for the shoot, she knew she didn’t want to shoot food served in gleaming crockery atop spotless tablecloths.
Since the whole point of the pop up was to familiarise people with that particular culture, Kimberly asked for the food to be plated on banana leaves. “One of the dishes was pie tee, which is made using particular metal moulds with long handles, that look like top hats,” she recalls. So a friend was called to deliver the pie tee moulds — a clear symbol of Peranakan culture — and they were placed, scrubbed and shining, on the banana leaf next to the attractive final dish. “The result was very regional, yet polished,” she recalls.
At her workshop in Chennai, Kimberly will be following the same approach. “I will be teaching techniques, but also be focussing on the story of food. I’m expecting a lot of interaction from the participants,” she signs off.
The food photography workshop by Kimberly Low will be held on November 17 and 18 at Writer's Cafe, Taramani. It is priced at ₹ 10,000 per person. There are two scholarship spots for students. Participants are requested to bring their own cameras. For more details, contact workshops@chennaiphoto biennale.com with the subject line ‘Food Photography Workshop’.