An Exploration of Food Styling in Advertisements

Level: Grades 5 - 7

Overview

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This lesson looks at food photography and the different techniques used by food stylists to make foods look appealing in advertisements. The lesson begins with a discussion about the challenges involved in food photography and how traditional elements of photography may be combined with "food tricks" to achieve the desired effects. After reviewing some food photography "tricks of the trade," students plan and shoot their own food advertisements.

Learning Outcomes

Students demonstrate: 

• an awareness of the different techniques used to enhance the appearance of foods in ads.
• an awareness of the format and structure of food ads.
• an understanding of their own reactions, as consumers, to these advertisements.

A good introduction to this unit would be to invite a food stylist or a commercial photographer  into your class to discuss the methods they use to create food advertisements or features. There are many food stylists listed on the Internet, and local colleges may provide courses in food photography.

If this is not possible, another effective introduction is the half-hour video Buy Me That 3! A Kid's Guide to Food Advertising.(Look for it at your school board's media center.)This video features a food stylist demonstrating the techniques used to prepare food for a hamburger ad.

Esquire magazine, December, 1989, features an article entitled: "Why Our Christmas Dinner Looks Better Than Yours" which shows a few tricks of the trade in preparing a photograph of a "delicious" looking Christmas Dinner.

Preparation and Materials  

• Try to arrange for a photographer to speak to the class, or obtain a copy of Buy Me That 3! A Kid's Guide to Food Advertising
• Equipment needed: a regular or Polaroid camera, film, coloured bristol board, fabric, lights.
• Each student is to collect food ads from magazines.
• Photocopies of handout Food for Thought.
• Food for "photo-shoot"

The Lesson

Guided Discussion

With the popularity of home and cooking magazines, and advertisements for food products and restaurants, food photography has become big business.

In addition to being a good photographer, food photography requires special styling and skill to make food look appealing, realistic and appetizing on film. Preparing food for a photography shot is meticulous, precise work that demands patience and hours of concentration.

Sometimes, photographers will hire food stylists to help them prepare food. Other times, photographers will do everything themselves. People who are in the food styling business say that although it's lots of fun, it's also very challenging.

Begin by asking your students: 

• What is a food photographer's goal when photographing food for an advertisement? (They want to make the food look as delicious as possible - their goal is to make you hungry just looking at their ad.)
• What challenges might a photographer face when photographing food? (Things melt, wilt, get soggy, dry-up under lights, or just don't photograph well.)
• What are some ways that photographers can make food look more interesting? (Lighting, background, undercooking or 'touching up' the food so that it looks better, composition and placement of food and props in photograph.) Show students some samples of food photography from magazines and have them analyze how these elements contribute to the total effect of the photo.

Distribute Food for Thoughtto students.

After describing these techniques or viewing the film Buy Me That!, ask your students whether or not they think that it is fair to create these illusions.

(It's important for students to understand that not all food stylists use food substitutes in their photography, and where food substitutes are used, it's not necessarily because they want to deceive consumers. It's just that it's often easier and more practical to use food substitutes, which can be controlled and look better on film, than to use real food. Many food stylists who use real food still have to have a few tricks up their sleeves. For example, a food stylist who needs ice-cream for a photo shoot might use dry ice to freeze the ice cream rock hard, so that it can be handled and arranged as desired.) 

• What foods do students think would be easy to photograph?
• What foods would be problematic? Why?

Activity

Divide your students into groups. They are to plan a photo shoot for a food advertisement. Points to consider are: 

• The types of food that they are going to use.
• The arrangement of the food for the ad.
• Techniques used to keep their food looking great in their final advertisement, as well as looking fresh for the duration of the shoot.
• The background used with the food (students may want to experiment with different colours, textures, fabrics to see how this affects the look of their product).
• The lighting to be used (what angle of lighting makes their food look bigger or better looking?)
• The camera angle when they photograph their product.

When students have completed their shoots, create a "food gallery" with the finished product, and an outline written by the students telling how they achieved their "look."

Extension

As a vocabulary exercise, have students incorporate "food words" with their photos to create their own food ads. Have students look at ads in magazines and compile a list of words that are commonly used in these types of advertisements. Then, have them create an ad with the list words they have selected and their photographs.