CHIC SIMPLE

Chic Simple was written by Kim Johnson Gross and Jeff Stone,  and published in 1995 by Alfred A. Knopf Inc., New York. The photography throughout was produced by Gentl and Hyers, with Food styling by Georgia Downard, and Prop styling by Edward Kemper Design.
To view some of the work that Gentl & Hyers have produced follow this link:
http://www.edgereps.com/ then select Gentl & Hyers.

Gentle and Hyers can also be reached directly at

 Gentl and Hyers Photography, 596 Broadway, Suite 902A, New York NY10012.,

Contact Barbara Reiser. Tel: 212 966 1154 Fax: 212 966 0324.,

or email beereiser@gmail.com

Amongst their work in food photography, Gentl & Hyers have also published work for Clean Start by Terry Walters, The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers, The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Cafe Boulud Cookbook by Daniel Boulud & Dorie Greenspan amongst many others.

The Chic Simple book was not just about the photography, however, which was way ahead of it's time in terms of techniques employed, such as drop focus, shallow depth of field, macro photography - all of which we shall look at further., but it was also a triumph of LAYOUT and TEXT and GRAPHIC DESIGN. The book continuously employs the use of a variety of fonts and text sizes, bold typeface, black and white plus colour photography, ghosting, and illustration - all to the most charming and delightful visual effect.

Ladle with Text, Chic Simple

Page from Chic Simple
Black & White images mixed with
Text in different sizes and fonts

Illustration from Chic Simple by Alexandra Weems

Label Image from Chic Simple

We see an example of the book layout and style here (top left), where a black and white image of a kitchen utensil is added for effect to a page of vertical text of various fonts and sizes, using a quote from Shirley Maclaine to enhance the effect to the reader/viewer. Then we see illustrations drawn by hand (above right), and also the use of a photographed jar label section (above left), which all add to the overall visual spectacle.

Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers also created interest by using factual pages of images, but interestingly as seen in the following three images, all of PASTA., the first is factual with the various product names attached in text., then they take a macro shot of a single tortelini, and finally a piece of art in the use of a select dish of spagetti.

Dried Pasta fact page, Chic Simple

Green Tortelini, Chic Simple

Spagetti Dish, Chic Simple

This mixture of styles may be one reason why the book was so successful. Including all the above techniques, mingled with mixed font and texts, and then delightful images such as the lemon with the fork (below) based on composition and simplicity.

Lemon with fork, Chic Simple

Further images using a very shallow depth of field, blurring out the background are used, giving the viewer just the sense of what they are looking at is a clever way of forcing the viewer to use there own imagination to visualise the whole scene, as her with the spoon and the turmeric. This image also concentrates on the COLOURS present.

Turmeric & Spoon, Chic Simple

COLOUR, COMPOSITION, DEPTH OF FIELD & RULES OF SIMPLICITY apply to the two images below.

Chives, Chic Simple

Asian Cuisine, Chic Simple

FOCUS, APERTURE & DEPTH OF FIELD

FOCUS, APERTURE & DEPTH OF FIELD
According to John Ingledew, in Photography, 2005, Portfolio Press:
"Focus is a tool of the photographer. When an object becomes clearly defined in the viewfinder it is described as being in focus or 'sharp'. If an object is not in focus it is described as being 'soft'. Choosing sharpness or softness can totally change a photograph. You have the choice to select which you wish to use by controlling the focus ring".

By turning the focus ring on the camera, the lens is moved backwards and forwards, which affects the point at which the light rays come together in the camera, which in turn makes the image go in and out of focus. You can make objects further away form the camera become the main focus with near distant objects out of focus and vice versa., and by setting the lens to the infinity setting you can make everything in the field of view in focus equally.

Alternatively, changing the aperture size will also affect the amount of light entering the camera and the radial effect on the image. This means that if aperture decreases in size - i.e.: the lens is stopped down for example to f22, then the more both the background and foreground will appear in focus. The opposite will occur when the lens is stopped up - to say f2.8, whereby the part of the scene which you want will be the only part in focus. f2.8 is the widest aperture and has the least DEPTH OF FIELD.

ADVANCED CAPTURE TECHNIQUES

DEPTH OF FIELD

Squashes, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

Artichokes, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

The image above of the Squashes employs a shallow depth of field. Taken in natural daylight using a Nikon D80, Sigma telephoto lens at f 4. This allows the photographer to keep just that which they want in focus, with the objects in the background totally out of focus. Whereas, the image shown to the right taken with the same equipment and in the same light shows a deep depth of filed to capture the whole of the Artichoke in focus, but slightly out of focus in the background at f 16.




When we look at Chic Simple, we see some of the earliest ever uses of the employ of depth of field in food photography. Below, we see an image of a spoon, offering to the viewer some of the food from the recipe. This type of ADVANCED CAPTURE TECHNIQUE, as above uses the camera to select the depth of field and therefore the point at which the photographer wishes the viewer to concentrate on the finished image. The suggestion of the spoon links the food with the idea of cooking or preparing the food, and so is a very clever technique for the purposes of a cookery book.

Image by Gentl & Hyers: Chic Simple, 1995

COLOUR TO EFFECT

COLOUR for effect can make for a striking end result. The use of colour for colours sake is an interesting technique. Here, left, I have created a very low key image, resulting in the colour of what would normally appear as a dirty orange/red, becoming a glorious burst of golden red, which tells its own story. Below, the emphasis on the beetroot stalk and leaves transforms the image which becomes a celebration of the magical and vibrant pink rather than just the vegetables themselves.

Image Copyright Helen Neylan 2011

Golden Roots, Helen Neylan,
The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

MACRO WORK

Peas, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright  2011

Macro photography is a great tool in this field of work, as it adds emphasis to the product that you are illustrating. Here the image was taken using a macro lens Nikon 105mm, which is also an image stabilising lens which is useful for this type of work, as event he very slightest camera shake will result in a fuzzy image. A bit like the oranges images, here, a pea is a very 'obvious' subject, so using the whole pea pod and focusing on a very small part works well. This was taken on f4, 1 second.

TEXTURE & DETAIL

Oranges, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

Image by Helen Neylan 2011 Copyright

Sometimes when you are looking at a subject, it may be prudent to consider its natural shape or form and utilise it to your advantage. In the image , above, of oranges, I chose not to use the whole fruit or even the whole section of the fruit for my composition. With something as universal as an orange, ever single person who will see this image will know instantly what it is. So I chose to show a small section against a steel background indented with small circles. The edge of the fruit is in sharp focus. Taken with a digital camera on f11 at 1/8th second in natural daylight.
The second image, left, was taken using a Large format Cambo with film. Whilst the quality of the image is pleasing, I personally prefer the image above in terms of composition, as it leaves more to the imagination.

COLOUR & USE OF PROPS

Figs, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, 2011

Figs, Nikon DSLR, f6.3, 1/8th sec. Image Copyright Helen Neylan 2011

Consideration of colours which work well together when arranging your subject for this type of work is essential, as is the use of appropriate props, such as here where I have used a cast iron trivet to compliment the colour and skin tone of the fruit. It is essential if you are to be both stylist and photographer that you build up a large collection of everyday and more unusual objects with a mind on texture, and colour for various contextual uses.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FOCUS

FOCUS is critical to the end result of your images. By way of an exaggerated example, compare the following two images of an arranged group. The first, here, below left, was taken using a Nikon digital SLR (D80), using f16 / 125th second with natural daylight and a tripod. The lens is focused across the back 2 thirds of the image with the front plane blurring. This emphasises that this is a group and to be considered as such by the viewer.

Greens, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

 The second image, below right, was taken using a Large format Cambo with film, using the same settings and allowing extra exposure time for reciprocity failure. However, when using this type of camera, not only is the image upside down, but it is back to front as well (right to left). This makes focusing quite a difficult task as it can be hard to get just right. With  the key part of the image out of focus, the whole meaning is lost.

Image Copyright Helen Neylan 2011

COMPOSITION & LIGHTING

In considering the purpose for which you take your images, it is important to place emphasis on the correct part of the subject. This may be in the form of key lighting, shadows, contrast etc. For my purposes, my images are to form part of a recipe book. Therefore, taking inspiration from the CHIC Simple cook book I chose to use depth of field as my key capture technique. I discussed the techniques used in the book with Barbara Reiser, who is the Studio Manager for Gentl and Hyers Photography in New York, who took the images for the book. Emphasis is a key element in food photography and there are several ways to get your  message across to the viewer. It may transport your target into your image and empower their imagination whereas a straightforward "shot" may not have the same impact.

Garlic, Gentl & Hyers, Chic Simple, 1995

Garlic, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

Take, for example, this image (left) from the Chic Simple cookbook, of garlic bulbs. Gentl & Hyers have employed a shallow depth of field alongside high key lighting, which in this case emphasises the uniqueness of the product, showing off its delicate and subtle colouring.

For my own work, right, I have used a similar high key lighting technique, employing a shallow depth of field to focus on the small loose clove to the centre of the image, thus leading the eye into the scene.
I shot this using the Cambo, with Colour Negative film, ISO 160 with natural daylight. As I particularly wanted to use F6.3 to get my effect right, the only variable which I could change was my shutter speed. The light meter reading gave me 1/8th of a second, but allowing for reciprocity failure the total shutter speed time was 2 seconds.

LARGE FORMAT FILM WORKSHOP

During the course of this semester, I took part in a Large Format Film Camera workshop, which took  us through the whole process from set up to capture to development in the darkroom. Whilst I am familiar with darkroom techniques and practises, using the large format involved very specific development timings and new equipment for drying etc.

Large Format Film Capture 4 x 5 inch  

To take the images we set up a MONORAIL Large format camera. The advantages of using this camera in a studio are obvious. Firstly because the capture size of the film is in this case 4 x 5 inches - so a size able amount of data may be captured giving great detail to your finished work. Secondly, because of the bellow, you can twist the planes to alter your image across the focal plane of the image- so left to right as well as front to back in terms of focus and depth of field. The resulting image (of my colleague Nikita) was then developed in the darkroom. Here is the resulting image printed, which suffered damage during the development at the negative stage due to chemicals not reaching the central part of it. This shows the importance of careful development of your negatives, and the need to ensure they are dipped in to the development fluid evenly and for the correct time.

LARGE FORMAT CAMERAS

There are various types of Large Format cameras available. Here I am using a Cambo brand. When you use a large format camera, you need to remember to allow for what is known as RECIPROCITY FAILURE

Reciprocity failure becomes an issue when using large format cameras with bellows, since the light must travel further - or for longer to give the correct exposure to your image. Reciprocity failure can also be an issue in dim lighting or when shooting at night. It is better to widen you aperture if possible to allow for this, however, I wanted to take my images using a very shallow depth of field - hence the large distance of the bellows, and a very shallow depth of field using f5.6 to get the right effect. In order to establish the number of extra stops - (which in my case translated to extra seconds rather than altering my aperture) it was necessary to use a device known as an EXPOSURE CALCULATOR - SEE STRIP BELOW CAMERA IMAGE
The Exposure calculator is used alongside a target, which is placed on the subject. Once focused, the strip is placed on the viewfinder (back plate) and the distance measured which then tells you how many stops need to be added or removed.

THE ZONE SYSTEM

The ZONE SYSTEM was devised by ANSEL ADAMS. It allows you to practically work out the tonal range of your subject in order to pre-visualise how your picture might turn out, and thus work out your settings in advance to gain the best technical effect.

The above extract from Langford's Advanced Photography accurately describes how the system works in practise. Taken from Langford's Advanced photography, 7th Edition, Focal Press.

MEDIUM OR LARGE FORMAT & FILM CAPTURE

WHICH CAMERA SHOULD YOU USE?
For me, there is no contest here. Compare the 2 images here, both taken by myself.

Image Copyright Helen Neylan 2011

The first here, above on the left, was taken using a digital SLR. Whilst the detail is good, it cannot compare to the extreme detail seen in the second image, below right, taken using a Cambo, large format film camera.

Mushroom, Helen Neylan, The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

 Observe the clarity in the shallow depth of field towards the front of the image, even in the basket of this image, compared to the basket of the first image. The gills of the mushroom appear to radiate from the large format image. This is because in using a large format camera, you are able to capture much more data in the camera.


JASON LOWE'S WORK IN ITALY: SEA TO SKY

ITALY: SEA TO SKY was written by Ursula Ferrigno and published by Mitchell Beazley in Great Britain in 2003. The photography throughout the book was produced by Jason Lowe.

Italy:Sea to Sky Cover page shows use of Focal Plane techniques
Image by Jason Lowe

In looking at Lowe's work throughout it is clear that he has managed to transport the viewer through use of Advanced Capture Techniques into the heart and soul of the book.

Image by Jason Lowe; Italy: Sea to Sky, 2003

The contents page of the book don't read like a recipe book with the traditional Starters, Mains , Deserts etc., instead they are entitled MOUNTAINS, FORESTS & WOODS, COASTS, PLAINS, LAKES & RIVERS, ISLANDS and so on. Lowes's interpretation of the mood and message become clear.
The image, above shows an Olive branch only, leading your imagination to the olive grove itself, even though the grove itself is completely out of focus.

The Humble Chilli, by Helen Neylan Copyright 2011
Nikon D80 SLR, lens focal length 105mm, f5.6, 1/3 sec
Radial Blur filter Photoshop CS5 & Vignette

Use of Magic Hour Lighting
Image by Helen Neylan Copyright 2009

In my image above of the Chilli plant, I have used a similar depth of field technique as Lowe, blurring out all but that which I want the viewer to completely focus on. Here I also used other post capture techniques such as filters in Adobe Photoshop CS5 to further enhance the effect and draw the eye to the subject.

Further,more Lowe uses available LIGHTING to enhance his work, as seen here, by the use of MAGIC HOUR  lighting, which is the time just before sunset or just at sunrise when the sun is very low in the sky,  and AERIAL PERSPECTIVE, which causes a haziness across the various perspective depths of the image.

Forests & Fields Image using Magic Hour Lighting
 by Jason Lowe

Image by Jason Lowe displaying
the use of Aerial Perspective

Use of Aerial Perspective for effect.
Image by Helen Neylan Copyright 2010

To view more of Jason Lowe's work, visit the following link:
http://www.jamiestephen.com/photographers/jason-lowe/

Images (above), Jason Lowe, Italy: Sea to Sky

Lowe also uses OBJECTS & PROPS, which are almost always connected to the subject matter to make his point. For example here where he uses two images side by side for the Lakes & Rivers section of the book. He employs fantastic detail using both macro photography as well as a shallow depth of field to get the full rope crystal sharp across all the central focal plain. He also uses the TEXTURE & DETAIL in both images of the sea shore and the rope to transport us to the setting and put the message in context.

Pine Cone in Forest & Woods, Jason Lowe, Italy: Sea to Sky

The image above uses both Shallow depth of field and Macro to enhance the detail of this pine cone, which although inedible to human kind, takes the mid into a forest setting.

Pine Cone, Helen Neylan Copyright 2009
Image taken demonstrates Macro and Shallow depth of Field technique.

Decisive moment combined with Slow shutter speed
Image by Jason Lowe, Italy:Sea to Sky

Lowe uses SHUTTER SPEED alongside the use of Henry Bresson Cartier's DECISIVE MOMENT to illustrate perfectly the action of real bread/pastry making, choosing a slow shutter speed to capture the action, and he chooses his exact moment of capture to convey the mood and sense of the work going on. (right). To avoid camera shake either use an image stabilising lens or a tripod for this type of work.

Chilli Composition, Jason Lowe, Italy:Sea to Sky

 COMPOSITION is another Advanced Capture Technique use by Lowe, as here (above). The chilli's are composed against a contrasting background to make them stand out.

I have taken various styling techniques and influences from Lowe's work, including styling my image (below centre) of a chilli, using Composition, Colour Contrast and the use of NEGATIVE SPACES to illustrate the subject.

Green Chilli. Helen Neylan,
 The Very Ordinary Organic Cookbook, Copyright 2011

READING LIGHT LEVELS & METERS

When taking images that require special effects and techniques, taking a light reading can become essential in your preparation, especially if using film as you need to get the effect right first time.
There are various ways to read light levels.

Reflected Meter Reading

REFLECTED READING - (right) This measures the light reflected off your subject, and to do this you use a light meter without an invercone in situ. This type of reading works best in average lighting scenarios, such as landscape work.

Incident Meter Reading
Note the White Invercone is in place

INCIDENT READING - (left)
This uses the light meter with the invercone in place, and measures the light falling onto your subject. This works best for high contrast subjects and when using colour transparency film as you need a very accurate reading.





The third way to take a light reading is to use a GREY CARD (below). A Grey Card is set at 18% grey colour, which is how the camera sees light, so placing a grey card facing the camera will measure the light being reflected onto it.

18 % Grey Card use

TYPES OF LIGHT METERS
There are different types of light meters available. The one being used above is a DIGITAL Light Meter which houses its own invercone, and is good for ambient,cord or open flash and good fro incident and reflected readings. Other types include ANALOGUE Light Meters which are good for Black and white photography and landscape work where there may be ambient light to measure.
SPOT Meters are expensive, but very effective as very precise tones may be metered individually. These should be used with a grey card for accuracy.

YOUR CAMERA ITSELF ALSO HOUSES IN CAMERA METER MODES including: AVERAGE, CENTRE WEIGHTED, SPOT, MULTISPOT, MATRIX & EVALUATIVE.

LEIGH BEISCH

When looking at the Food Photography of Leigh Beisch, San Fransisco, it is clear, as quoted on her webpage by Group Creative Director, Tracey Locke, that she :

" truly drives the creative process; one who goes beyond merely capturing the result of it...her vision would define not only our (their) time in her studio,...but would define the outcome of the entire project"

Beisch does not use a stylist, prefering to trust in her own judjement - which is a rare talent.

 She maintains a wealth of prop materials always close at hand, which she knows intimately for COLOUR, TEXTURE & DETAIL. She selects exactly the right props to enhance her images. Props that add life and soul to the work.

The Creative Director for McDonalds was quoted as saying,

 " OMG!!! This is the MOST BEAUTIFUL McD FOOD I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!"

You can read more about Leigh Beisch and her award winning food photography at the following link:

http://www.leighbeisch.com/

Images: Leigh Beisch