Spend a day in a beautiful home by the sea in Langebaan learning about lighting, apertures, shutter speeds and food styling in the company of industry professionals, while having fun and getting creative with vegetables, fruits and spices.
I attended a Food Photography Workshop with Hein van Tonder of Hein Stirred (well-known food blogger and food photographer), Francois Pistorius (food photographer) and Isabella Niehaus (stylist and author) in Langebaan.
It was day filled with gouging out butternut, smashing figs, scattering turmeric around star anise and spraying tomatoes with droplets of water. We learnt about back lighting, side lighting and played with flashes and lights. All in a quest to learn how to take the best food photo in any situation and most of all, to get comfortable with using your camera and its settings. By the time we got to the end of the workshop and were told to get our cameras ready for some showers of icing sugar on doughnuts and syrup being poured on pancakes, we were all confident enough to set ourselves up to get a great shot.
Not only is this a day to explore your camera settings and learn some great tips and tricks, it is day where you are encouraged to play with food and push your creative boundaries. Plus you get to eat an incredible feast (with plenty of bubbly and wine) prepared by Isabella, whose beautiful home you also get to enjoy for the day.
I learnt so much while having an immense amount of fun with a group of great people and helpful assistance from industry professionals. It takes years to become completely proficient, but at least now I feel I can take a better photograph than I did before! Here’s a selection of images that I captured that day.
If these photos make you feel inspired to do this fantastic workshop, contact Hein on hein@heinstirred.com to be added to the mailing list, or visit his website, http://heinstirred.com. The course costs R2 500 for a day filled with learning new skills, getting creative with food and eating lots of it too! A day well spent indeed…
Published February 2017 | Own cost