Blog while the passion is hot! This has been my mantra throughout my entire blogging hobby which is more than a year now. The gist of that sentence was discussed just a few days back while I was at SM City Marikina Atrium to catch Ms. Jenni Epperson, a celebrity stylist, fashion editor and a food and lifestyle blogger, who talked about Food & Wine Pairing.
The mini parisian paradise found at the Atrium of the mall gave an air of the wonderful flavors of Spain, France, Italy and the rest of Europe. The set up was so inviting that it spells luxurious travel partnered with great food and wine!
Participating brands during the Food and Wine Pairing Expo from February 11 to 28 includes the following: The French Baker, Gerry's Grill, Granvinex, Int'l, Stonehedge, Lizana and Lavinia, National Bookstore among others.
The beautiful and smart-looking Ms. Jenni Epperson started of with Food Photography. Sharing you here the things I learned and need to re-learn or unlearn after carefully listening to her topic.(1) It is all about lighting. Window light or natural light do wonders. (2) Choose a setting that enhances the food and not destructs it. Zoom in if plate happens to be a printed one. If however, in a fast food restaurant, watch your background. Let food be the hero. (3) Camera has white light setting. Allow the color balance. (4) Do not move especially if low light. If your hands are shaking try experimenting using an inverted glass, put the camera on top as if it acts as a tripod, or if you have a small tripod the better. (5) Shoot to death! Shoot all angles possible. Shooting down low like for instance in wines, makes the food looks ominous or majestic. (6) Zoom in unless you want to show the entire setting. Shooting mid shot or cropping sometimes do wonders. (7) Photos of step by step procedure on how to cook a particular kind of meal make it really interesting to read. (8) Be quick. The faster you shoot, the fresher your shot is. Examples are butter and sizzling dishes. (9) The devils and the detail. Never let anything ruin the whole shot. Best to wipe plate for grains, specks or finger prints. (10) Know what not to shoot. We are speaking here of something that do not look delish and photogenic. Skip it because what's the point?
Food blogging is all about creating an image and tickling an imagination. Do you agree? Here are more of the tips I jotted down during the event: (1) Do not keep on shooting perfect food. Explore and discover a lot of stuff around you. (2) Before taking a photo shoot, having a small bite to a certain type of food helps as it makes it more real. (3) It is always never about the camera. No matter what the brand, model or price tag your camera has it is always all about the quality of the picture and the content of your blog post. Although we could never dismiss the fact that DSLRs are amazing. Capture more colorful subjects as they are easy to deal with. Never forget to use macro setting if necessary.
On how to prepare food with style, she mentioned the following: (1) Create a lifestyle for the wine. Garnish or partner it with cheese, flowers, dried fruits etc. Therefore, propping is essential. (2) Show ingredients without explaining. How? Do garnishing. Say for example, sunny side egg topped with spring onions. It will look gourmet food in an instant. (3) Make dry food looks delectable with drizzles of sauce. It makes a world of difference. (4) How to make wine look sexy? Mark the wine glass with red lipstick as if sexy woman just drink your wine.
When spectators are given the chance to ask her a question, I took the opportunity and asked her what food or lifestyle blog/s she regularly read. Ms. Jenni Epperson was very transparent and answered that she has been an avid follower and usually read the blogs of The Pioneer Woman, Smitten Kitchen, Gwyneth Paltrow and Martha Stewart. Her goal is to be at par with them not that she does not love her own Filipino co-bloggers but because she can very well relate to them and the fact that she has a foreigner husband.
For someone who wants to entertain in style at home, Fashion + Food: Entertaining at Home in Style by Jenni Epperson in trade paperback format is now out for grabs at the National Book Store. I bet this is worth buying for.
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