I recently worked on a photoshoot with our clients at St Pierre and the results were so bloody good, I thought I’d share a few top tips for success when doing a foodie recipe shoot.
It’s all in the prep.
First things first – you need an airtight brief! A good client provides a good brief and boy did St Pierre deliver. They’d thought of everything, background on the brand and the products, target audience, meal occasions, look & feel moodboards, shot angles, actions within the shots – this list goes on. This is a brand that really knows and owns its identity.
Secondly – give yourself some good lead time. Don’t send the brief the morning of the shoot. You need at least a week (at least!) to ensure you’ve got the time you need to brief your team, confirm that this is indeed something you can deliver on (is this possible in the one day we have booked) and order all of the props and ingredients.
The devil is in the detail.
Speaking of props and ingredients, this is where you’ve really got an opportunity to create something special. Something unique and ownable for the brand, and something that really speaks to the audience you’re trying to connect with.
It’s not just a ‘wine glass’, it’s an ‘elegant wine glass with an amber stem that echoes the warm tones of the brand look & feel.’ And a diligent bit of research, with direct link to the one you like on Nordic Nest doesn’t hurt either.
Collaboration is key.
From client and creative agency, to studio, photographer and food stylist – lines of communications must be excellent, deliverables must be clear and if you can get everyone in the same room on shoot day (social distancing guidelines considered), even better.
This shoot was a great example of collaboration. Everyone understood the brief and everyone had clear roles – and having St Pierre there on the day meant every detail was just right. Plus – it was just a really fun and creative day!
Practice makes perfect.
This wasn’t our first rodeo! This is the 3rd food styled recipe shoot we’ve worked on with St Pierre. And we have to say, it just gets better and better. The results from the first 2 shoots were great, we were both really pleased with the outcome. But there’s always room for improvement.
We reflected on the shoots, what went well and whether there was any opportunity to make them even better. And there was. So, for this shoot, we chose to do less shots (5 in total), which meant we’d have more time on each shot to make it truly ‘magnifique’. And the results speak for themselves 😉
