As a beginnerStudent photographer I assisted a food photographer. All the products were real and the best part was all the left overs will go to the starving student (me) I had never eaten better than when I worked for her. 😊
I think the most misleading part of food advertising photography is things like frozen pizzas or ready meals (convenience foods) are made to look absolutely amazing by the photographer, which obviously you will that is your job and what you are good at and paid to do, The consumer gets the food item with this beautifully composed image on the package and pulls back the sleeve to reveal something that looks nothing like the image, even when cooked. I know the photographer has done a good job because their image has enticed me in and I've purchased the item but the disappointment of the actual product still stands.
Agreed. I am a chef and photographer. For brands where the product is perishable, typically I will make their product to their specifications. If its a product that will melt, I still follow their recipe but add natural gelatine that dramatically slows the metling and keeps the shape of the scoop. It doesn't affect colour, or bits and bobs that are in some products like chocolate chips or raspberry swirls. These days that role is moved onto the food technician or stylist. You still have a very limited period of time to work, but it is extended. The final product has to match the product the consumer will receive, so the days of fudging it are long gone. Its the same in portrait work. With AI today you can fudge light after the fact in processing. No professional will do that though for a cover. They will have complete control over the lighting. You can use artificial analogues in food photos, but that's really only seen at the very amateur end of the market. Very much the same as you can use AI relighting in images, but this only used at the amateur end of the wedding photo market.
Solid. Thank you. In a time when trust in the media is melting faster than ice cream on a set in the Arizona summer, it's SO important to tell the truth. Thanks for doing this. As a photojournalist for 20-ish years, it's important to me to tell the truth as closely as possible.
I have been saying this for years about these types of shots. I'm glad that you have made a video about it. This has been how I have been shooting products for years in studio.
That's exactly what I thought when I saw some of these, how do they not breach advertising standards. Great video as always dude, I did a shoot with a whiskey and a splash droplet and people have asked it I used coloured water and the reality was I filled the splash unit with whiskey because that's what I was shooting. I like the stunt prop/hero prop approach myself if at all possible.
@@TinHouseStudioUK Yes, could be really interesting especially with a combination of discussion of both the law as written and law as practiced, maybe even some of the history of how the law came to be as it is now.
There are no illegalities when it comes to the photographer’s side of this. It’s all in the USE of the images. The litmus test would be: is this something you could sue a company for misrepresenting the product? Using motor oil isn’t one of those things.
I am not challenging anything you said, however motor oil is NOT considered highly flammable. The flashing point of motor oil is 215 degrees Celsius - technically, that does not qualify as a highly flammable liquid by definition. That doesn't change the fact that it's ludicrous to use it in the way described on sets.
@@thedarkslide hehe, we did worse than that as kids. The lad I knew that dropped a lighted match into the petrol tank of an abandoned vehicle didn’t come away unscathed.
In America this is called "Trust in Advertising" laws and I am curious to see how this translates to CGI and AI. Our regional grocery chain's store brands frozen treats are all (not great) CGI and I have always wondered how this is possible. They look nothing like what comes out of the wrapper.
You said a cheese pull in real life is only due to a bad cut. Is that really the case? I thought the cheese pull I get is when a pizza has just come out of the oven and then cut. As the pizza is still hot the cheese refuses together?
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As a beginnerStudent photographer I assisted a food photographer. All the products were real and the best part was all the left overs will go to the starving student (me) I had never eaten better than when I worked for her. 😊
Mmm, how was that engine oil? 😅
I think the most misleading part of food advertising photography is things like frozen pizzas or ready meals (convenience foods) are made to look absolutely amazing by the photographer, which obviously you will that is your job and what you are good at and paid to do, The consumer gets the food item with this beautifully composed image on the package and pulls back the sleeve to reveal something that looks nothing like the image, even when cooked. I know the photographer has done a good job because their image has enticed me in and I've purchased the item but the disappointment of the actual product still stands.
Agreed. I am a chef and photographer. For brands where the product is perishable, typically I will make their product to their specifications. If its a product that will melt, I still follow their recipe but add natural gelatine that dramatically slows the metling and keeps the shape of the scoop. It doesn't affect colour, or bits and bobs that are in some products like chocolate chips or raspberry swirls. These days that role is moved onto the food technician or stylist. You still have a very limited period of time to work, but it is extended. The final product has to match the product the consumer will receive, so the days of fudging it are long gone.
Its the same in portrait work. With AI today you can fudge light after the fact in processing. No professional will do that though for a cover. They will have complete control over the lighting. You can use artificial analogues in food photos, but that's really only seen at the very amateur end of the market. Very much the same as you can use AI relighting in images, but this only used at the amateur end of the wedding photo market.
Solid. Thank you. In a time when trust in the media is melting faster than ice cream on a set in the Arizona summer, it's SO important to tell the truth. Thanks for doing this. As a photojournalist for 20-ish years, it's important to me to tell the truth as closely as possible.
I found that wallpaper paste is pretty good for slowing down poured liquids. Mix to the viscosity required.
I have been saying this for years about these types of shots. I'm glad that you have made a video about it. This has been how I have been shooting products for years in studio.
That's exactly what I thought when I saw some of these, how do they not breach advertising standards. Great video as always dude, I did a shoot with a whiskey and a splash droplet and people have asked it I used coloured water and the reality was I filled the splash unit with whiskey because that's what I was shooting. I like the stunt prop/hero prop approach myself if at all possible.
Can we talk about the elefant in the room? (Mc Donald's). The difference between their advertising images and their actual products is mind blowing.
Haa haaa you beat me to it lol👍👏😂
Love the peek behind the curtain on this. Thanks for sharing the knowledge and dispelling some very common myths 🙏👍
Nice post. That would be interesting to dig deeper into all the laws and regulations on product photography :-)
Great suggestion!
@@TinHouseStudioUK Yes, could be really interesting especially with a combination of discussion of both the law as written and law as practiced, maybe even some of the history of how the law came to be as it is now.
There are no illegalities when it comes to the photographer’s side of this. It’s all in the USE of the images. The litmus test would be: is this something you could sue a company for misrepresenting the product? Using motor oil isn’t one of those things.
Brilliant and honest as always
Saving to send to my clients who ask these questions…
My absolute favourite new piece of knowledge from this, and it was just dropped in like it's nothing...is the concept of a "stunt glass".
There is probably a proper name for this.
I am not challenging anything you said, however motor oil is NOT considered highly flammable. The flashing point of motor oil is 215 degrees Celsius - technically, that does not qualify as a highly flammable liquid by definition. That doesn't change the fact that it's ludicrous to use it in the way described on sets.
It’s the same with diesel. I remember trying to set some on fire as a kid. It wouldn’t light.
@@DMC888 I'm glad you survived childhood! :P
@@thedarkslide hehe, we did worse than that as kids. The lad I knew that dropped a lighted match into the petrol tank of an abandoned vehicle didn’t come away unscathed.
Thank you very much and thanks for the new photo idea :)
Great info as always Scott. I wonder, do you know if those advertisement laws are the same here in Canada? or the US?
Thanks for busting the fake vs real stuff used myth.
"A highly flammable substance and flashlights " - that could be a topic for a video lol
I have had a insane amount of fires on my studio haha
“A stunt glass” love it …
haha, Not sure what other folks call it
At 01:40 Nice picture, but OMG you call that a pizza?
In America this is called "Trust in Advertising" laws and I am curious to see how this translates to CGI and AI. Our regional grocery chain's store brands frozen treats are all (not great) CGI and I have always wondered how this is possible. They look nothing like what comes out of the wrapper.
If you have to use the actual product, then AI is never going to be a worry.
Exactly
You said a cheese pull in real life is only due to a bad cut. Is that really the case? I thought the cheese pull I get is when a pizza has just come out of the oven and then cut. As the pizza is still hot the cheese refuses together?
Food styling, real food styling fascinates me. Which, if any, of your paid courses go into depth on the subject?
None atm. But I will make one eventually with a stylist
Fun fact: motor oil isn’t at all highly flammable!
You shot this video on a phone