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12-03-2006, 02:24 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: At home cook | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Kapolei, Hawaii
Posts: 322
| |  Do you take photos of your best dishes?
Am I the only nut out there?  I have a digital photo album of about 20 pizzas that I made last year over the course of about 3 months. No other food, just pizzas (ok I have some thanksgiving turkey shots). |
12-03-2006, 02:33 PM
|  | ChefTalk Moderator Culinary Experience: Professional Chef | | Join Date: May 2001 Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,028
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I might if I had a decent camera. It can be especially useful if you want to improve your plate presentation. 
Well, to be honest, a couple of years ago I used a digital disposable to take shots of the dinner plates almost every night for a month. Not sure where the pix are now. 
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12-03-2006, 03:32 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Culinary Instructor | | Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: MO
Posts: 2,491
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I think those who regularly photograph dishes are bloggers, which can be a great source of inspiration when you find great ones. |
12-03-2006, 05:25 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Cook At Home | | Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 201
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all the time. Escpecially on a holiday when the food looks even better and the people are happy. I don't eat much on the holiday because I am so busy having fun with my cousins, cooking, and taking photographs. I still have a great time though. Everytime I create a recipe and it turns out really bad- I just toss the photo and move on.
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12-03-2006, 09:14 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Line Cook | | Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 760
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I have on record about 100 pictures between my baking and my chef training products. I took, catalogued, stored, and used all my pictures in various ways back in college. I now have a DSLR (1 of those big heavy professional cameras) for all my picture taking needs but rather then just snap a shot of what I make, I'll sometimes even grab a photo of the dishes in restaurants before I dig in. I don't have many since I only do so at like 3* plus places and on special occasions when I usually have my camera on me. |
12-03-2006, 09:41 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Line Cook | | Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 77
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No, I believe it stifles the creative imagination. If I look at pics of previous presentations, and I like what I have on file, I tend to serve the same dish in the same way every time. I'd rather try something new and fail then get stuck in a web of repetition. |
12-04-2006, 01:53 PM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: Professional Chef | | Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 1
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Well, it never crossed my mind, but my wife takes pictures of all my dishes. Now she has me doing it, so, I guess you're not crazy.
Besides, you may need it as a referrence, especially if you cater a meal. |
12-04-2006, 06:52 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: At home cook | | Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: San Francisco
Posts: 1,227
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I don't because a) I have no interest in taking photos of my food and b) I think that for the most part the photos are terrible. Others photograph my food sometimes - like at Thanksgiving for example. If I saw the photo before I saw the food I wouldn't want to come to my house to eat!!
Photography is one of my many hobbies and I know that food is not particularly photogenic without special studio equipment to make it so. The average snapshot of food is generally pretty bad and since I don't do snapshots and I don't have the studio set up to make the food look good I don't see the point.
Jock |
12-04-2006, 07:16 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Owner/Operator | | Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,105
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We shoot everything, especially wedding cakes. It's also a tool in solving disputes, as far as decoration, color and such. Most of our brides are only allowed to change their minds 17 times before the actual reception. So many brides use this option that sometimes they actually forget what they decided on.
pan |
12-05-2006, 02:22 AM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: Professional Chef | | Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 49
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I only take shots of my celebration cakes and smorgasbord spread during gatherings with my digital camera when I want to send them to my folks back home. |
12-05-2006, 08:52 AM
| | ChefTalk Moderator Culinary Experience: Professional Chef | | Join Date: May 2001 Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,028
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Myplaceoryours  No, I believe it stifles the creative imagination. If I look at pics of previous presentations, and I like what I have on file, I tend to serve the same dish in the same way every time. I'd rather try something new and fail then get stuck in a web of repetition. | Well, then, I hope you never work in a restaurant! Consistency is VERY important there, like hitting your mark every time, and it is something to aim for. Since that's my background, even at home I don't see it as stifling, but rather as offering me a framework -- the individual elements may vary, but I know the overall presentation works.
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12-12-2006, 03:38 AM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: At home cook | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Kuala Lumpur
Posts: 61
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I do and I post it on my recipe blogsite so that people can see how it turns out |
12-13-2006, 06:06 AM
| | Registered User Culinary Experience: At home cook | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Iowa
Posts: 58
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I don't use a digital camera and I really don't use color film. Taking black and white shots of food just isn't the same. I'm working on doing more with color film but it's a hard transition for me for some reason. My camera is, however, a decent old SLR that can handle the shots...the problem in my case is more the cost of scanning. :P |
12-13-2006, 02:07 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: Culinary Student | | Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 420
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We do teaching parties at my school- so when I prep a dish that I an going to teach, I take a photo. I can then put that photo on the recipe paper that I hand out to my guests. That way they have a reference if they decide to prepare it at home. Any dishes that I have created at home, I have photographed as well- but those are for that cookbook that I say I'll put out one day (maybe??? we'll see..) So I guess many of us would say you aren't crazy Ohau! Keep cooking and photographing!
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12-13-2006, 05:59 PM
|  | Registered User Culinary Experience: At home cook | | Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 44
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Yeah, I take occasional photos of some of my best dishes, but as someone else said, I use them for my cooking blog.
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