By Emily Carter, VRG Intern

If you are anything like me, you probably follow a lot of vegan food news on Instagram, Facebook, and in magazines, and you see photos of beautiful vegan food on the daily. Also, if you are like me, you have no idea how to make food look like that yourself. Last week, two VRG interns, Amy Dell and myself, went with Vegetarian Journal Senior Editor Rissa Miller and her partner Nathanial Corn (together they own Balance Photography) to assist in photographing all of the delicious foods the vegan Greener Kitchen restaurant and wholesaler in Baltimore offers. It turns out there is a lot more that goes into making those mouth-watering photos than I had previously thought!

Preparation is important for ensuring smooth transition between photographing different dishes. Prior to the session, Brenda from the Greener Kitchen put together a shot list to give order to the photo shoot. Organization and timeliness are necessary for food photography because food starts to get droopy and unphotogenic fairly quickly. For instance, when photographing their Philly cheesesteak sandwich, we had to act quickly so that the cheese sauce did not ooze too much (the cheese sauce was incredible if you are wondering). You have to photograph the dishes just like how you want to eat them–right away! 

Clean plates, fresh food, food placement, and lighting are the key ingredients to creating appetizing photos. Great photos are necessary for advertisement and appealing menus, so booking a food photographer is a good investment (unless you are already a master photographer of course). Rissa and Nathaniel did the bulk of the photography, while Amy and I held reflectors and moved food between several photo stations to change up the lighting. Oh, and we also helped eat all the food! Photographing food makes you very hungry, and then very full…like uncomfortably full. 

I took two photos of their seitan sausages, one of which showed Rissa moving a plate away from the shot (rearrangement is her specialty). I took a black and white film photography class in college, and I was never very good, so it was no surprise to me that I did not take the best photos. I learned that it takes a lot of experience to capture food and all of its glory. 

Located in Pigtown, Baltimore, The Greener Kitchen is all vegan. They have indoor seating, a deli with house-made vegan cheeses and meats, delectable desserts, and homemade vegan condiments that you can purchase and take home! The Greener Kitchen is fighting for food justice by providing healthy and affordable plant-based food to the local community.

See: https://www.facebook.com/greenerkitchenco/

http://www.thegreenerkitchen.com/

To see information about other restaurants in the USA and Canada, see: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

For information about interning at The Vegetarian Resource Group, visit: https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php