In interviews with five photographers from the United States and Canada, Mark Oppenheimer explores an essential element of 21st-century visual culture: the food photo. Whether taken by a professional with an expensive lens and a support team, or by a passionate amateur wielding a smartphone, images of food abound in our world. Settle in for a good read about what motivates the pros, and what they think makes their work not just good, but deliciously transformative.
Donna Griffith
Donna Griffith is an award-winning Canadian photographer known for capturing the beauty and essence of interior design, architecture, and food. Working with top designers, architects, and chefs, her images have been featured in House & Home, Style at Home, Canadian Living, and more.
How do you feel about the Instagramification of food photography?
I feel like there are too many images in the world right now. Everybody is out there with a camera photographing their meals–it lessens their specialness.
How do you approach a food shot differently than a portrait?
Food doesn’t talk back. When you’re working with food, you pretty much control everything, although there will be times some food doesn’t want to behave and things melt or wilt.
What gives a shot honesty and authenticity?
I like to show that even if there’s not a hand or a person in the shot, there is a human being there. And that’s why a bit of mess, a bit of crumbs, makes it much more appetizing; it looks real. It is a little tricky to achieve because you can’t just make a mess. It has to be constructed, carefully placed, and styled.
Even if they aren’t visible, what is the “people” part of the food shot?
I hope all of my shots create that warmth of having a meal with friends or family. Sharing food is a connecting factor for our well-being and how we show love. That is how I would prefer my work to be seen.
How have the little failures or defeats you’ve experienced shaped you?
They have made me challenge myself, to experiment a little more, to take a few more creative risks. The little failures teach you that anything can fail. Even if you’ve got everything laid out just so, it could fail. So, you need to step beyond that.
Describe the practice you turn to when a shot is proving difficult?
I have a button pinned on my bulletin board by my desk that says “PLAY.” If I’m stuck on something, I just look at the button to remind myself to loosen up and be playful.
What do you think is the relationship between the food you shoot and the food we eat?
What I shoot is usually a little elevated from the everyday, though I prefer to shoot food that is delicious and attainable and doable for the average person. We try to present it as something you can do at home for yourself.
Story by Mark Oppenheimer / Photography by Donna Griffith
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