IF YOU SELL FOOD, HERE'S HOW TO REACH THE WORLD & DRIVE SALES

“IN FRANCE, COOKING IS A SERIOUS ART FORM AND A NATIONAL SPORT.”

Julia Child

If you enjoy and brand food, there are two senses that are far more powerful than one’s taste buds: the nose and the eyes.

With the nose, it’s the smells, the aromas, the waft of freshly baked bread that put us in a hypnotic state.

But until there’s an app for that, when using online channels, we have to resort to another sensory channel: the eyes. That texture, that look of deliciousness that gets us salivating, the steam captured as it escapes a freshly baked cookie.

All reasons that inspire consumers to throw away the best laid plans, sit down and indulge.

WARNING: EAT SOMETHING BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER

When planning a photoshoot of food, it’s vital to establish, “What story are we trying to tell? What desires do want to generate in the viewer? What emotions do we wish to stir?”

That’s my job when art directing a shot. That’s anyone’s job when art directing a shot.

You’re not a reporter capturing the facts. No. You’re a storyteller.

Our job is to make things look so damn appetizing, that people jump on the treadmill, certain they’d gained a few pounds just from looking at the photos.

When I branded Dunn Brothers coffee, I needed to capture some new drinks as well as capturing some of their delectable edibles that they bake fresh in many of their independently owned stores.

The shots are engaging and capture the fresh-made deliciousness that help their craft and the passion they have for their product.

In other words, photography (done right) is as close as you can get to them:

• visiting you,
• hanging out in the living room,
• smelling what’s cooking in the kitchen that ultimately makes them wander in to the kitchen to ask “What amazing creation are you making?”

And it takes a team, and I have a great team with the aid of the terrific photographic skills of Bethany.

So how did this translate to the food and beverage offerings at Dunn Brothers? Well, I’ll let you be the judge:

HOW TO TALK TO FOOD

Sometimes the food you shoot needs encouragement. 

It can happen at the start of a shoot, or sometimes when food is getting cranky and wanting an afternoon nap, it needs to be reminded of the bigger picture — that it’s not all about them. It’s about the client too.

Below, I am personally giving my “models” a pep talk to embrace their “happy place” during the photos shoot. (My philosophy is simple: “A happy slice of pumpkin pie is a photogenic slice of pumpkin pie.”  

This is how you make food speak.

It's factually how you make ANY brand speak: isolate its irresistible quality.