I am so happy to introduce you to the new look Shades of Cinnamon . Looking back on how its progressed and moving forward to a new cleaner, more responsive theme, is so exciting. A big thank you to Shaun and his talented creative team at BPC for all your hard work.
We eat with our eyes, so for me, my blog's photography is the most important aspect.
In today's Instagram, foodie and cellphoneography world everyone considers themselves a food photographer. In fact its almost customary to take a photograph of your food before you start eating it. But how many of us know what it actually takes to be a food blogger and photographer. It involves being a researcher, recipe developer, cook, stylist, writer and a photographer before you can begin to edit, upload, and finish off a post.
The Neighbourgoods Market, Biscuit Mill, Cape Town and The Italian Market at Mamma Luciana
Food photography is about telling a story - where the ingredients came from, what season you are in, who made it, and for what occasion it is being created. It is not just as simple as throwing a few plates on the ground, and snapping away from an overhead position at your latest meal. Its all about planning and selecting the right boards or bowls, the best surfaces to place them on, with props of different textures and colours that will all tell the right story and compliment the food to make it as appealing as possible.
Beetroot Chips with Rosemary Salt and Lactose Free Chocolate Ice Cream
Then of course you have to have the freshest ingredients, blemish free fruit and vegetables, you need to make sure the shot is taken before the food congeals, wilts, or melts and all the time chasing the perfect light. Because we all know that without the perfect light, no one is going to say "wow I want to eat that " when they see a photograph. Great lighting is essential, and as all my food photographs are taken with natural light, my goal is to capture as much of our amazing african sunshine as I can, because we have an abundance of it.
Garden Salad at Babylonstoren, Cape, South Africa
But key to a good blog post is obviously a great recipe. It may have to be tried and tested a few times before it is good enough to share. And only then can the process of photographing and posting begin.
I Love cooking and I Love photography so what better way to share my life with you. I hope you enjoy the new look and try a few new recipes.
