What’s your normal start and end time for a food shoot?

That question is a little deceptive.  Your start time, the stylist’s start time, the assistant’s start time and my start time,  are probably all different.  I like for the client to show up around 9:00, unless they have something the stylist needs to prepare for the shoot.  The stylist usually shows around 8:00, but has been shopping since 7:00.  I show up around 7:00 to prepare for the shoot and my assistant usually shows up at the studio around 7:30.  All this is what we “usually” do, but if need be, it can change to better accommodate the project.

Prep Time – Some clients, especially ones new to food photography like to start really early.  That’s understandable.  The downside is that there is always prep time before a food shoot, so if the client bumps up the starting time, everyone on the food photography team has to bump up their prep times.  That can cause problems.  Some grocery stores don’t really stock some of their shelves before a certain time, and if nothing else, it throws everyone’s sleep cycle out of whack.  So please remember, when we have our shoot, everyone needs to prep for the job and if we bump up the start time, the entire teem has to start their day before the birds begin chirping.

In order to get to the studio by 7:00, I normally get up around 5:30.  That means if the start time is bumped up to 8:00, I have to get up at 4:30.  I really would not prefer to wake in the morning before 5:00, if I can at all help it… :o)