Leaf Stylist

In the world of food photography, there is a valuable team member that every project needs. That person is called the food stylist.

This dark art requires the ability to make unappealing food look delectable under the unforgiving studio lights.

The best ones in the business command high rates and have a level of patience that would be at home on the bomb squad.

Their ability to arrange things in a way that looks as if nature were in charge rather than brand managers.

When I happened upon this random scattering of leaves, something clicked in my memory. I started thinking back to my studio days, bent over a tabletop set with a food stylist composing and testing. Hours of this work would render the single hero shot.

I was grateful for the work but I hoped that at some point, I could shed the studio and capture “random” things as they appeared to me.

It looks like my wish came true.

About the author: I am Stephen Kennedy, an experienced photographer with more than 2500 completed sessions in all 50 US states.