Food Photography in Pittsburgh

If you’re finding this food photography blog for the first time and you’re not familiar with my photography, I hope you can recognize what separates me from my fellow food photographers, and that’s the lighting. Food photography lighting can loosely be categorized as one of two styles, either “Editorial” or “Advertising”. I tend to be thought of as an advertising food photographer, even though, I like to think that I can span between the two styles when I need to.

An Advertising food photographer, either in a town the size as Pittsburgh or on a national stage, is one that produces food photos that inform the viewer while displaying the food in it’s best light. An Editorial Food photographer, on the other hand is one that tries to make a pretty picture of food, more for the sake of entertainment rather than conveying information about the food being photographed. When I photograph food, I try my best to show off all the “nooks and crannies” of the food in order to make the two dimensional photo represent the actual three dimensional food, as much as possible, and that’s something the editorial food photographer, just doesn’t do very well.

The difference between editorial and advertising food photography, either here in Pittsburgh or in the world, is something I’d like to explore more in future blog posts. In the mean time though, check out other food photographers’ web sites and ask yourself if they are just trying to make a “pretty picture” or are they trying to sell the food. If you’re a buyer of food photography, the difference is pretty important. :o)

Here's a good example of advertising food photography as opposed to editorial food photography.

I’ve heard it said that commercial or editorial photography is a photography wearing overalls. It has a job to do besides entertain. It’s job is to sell food.