Winter warmer dishes

Now this was by far the best Christmas seasonal food shot in all the images submitted in this competition and so it definitely deserves a place in my top 10.

The use of candle light is very warming and atmospheric and it doesn’t matter how cold it is outside, when you have a lit Christmas pud in front of you.

I do find the composition a little contrived for my tastes, but reminisce of the still life paintings from the early renaissance period, with its layout and colours. But the photographer gets extra bonus points for working with candle light, which is extremely tricky to use and they have done really well here, especially when trying to balance the blue flame of the brandy, which I know from my own experiences can be very difficult to get right.

I have chosen this un-rated image to review as a classic example of a shot being off brief. I actually love this image. I think it’s a beautiful portrait of a young girl wistfully looking the window, contemplating the life while enjoying a drink. The lighting is beautiful and soft and I love the angle the photographer has chosen, shooting low down the length of the table. The colours are beautiful with the use of dark blues with hints of greens and the warmth of the of the light from the lamp are all very complimentary. But its not really the food shot the brief asked for, as we can’t really tell what she is drinking. Even though it is in the title and we can’t really tell it’s a hot drink or what time of year it is. Even so, I would still put it in my top ten the next time I judge a portrait competition.

With this competition I found it incredibly difficult to choose the winner, as all the images in my top ten were all potential contenders for the top slot, so well done to everybody who got there, all your images were very very good. But in the end, after a lot of deliberation, this wonderful oriental dish came out on top for me. As a lover of Asian food, I find there is nothing better than a bit of spice to warm you up on a cold winters day and this dish looks like it is packing some serious heat with the liberal sprinkling of chilli flakes! So, this image is definitely on brief for me. The photographer has composed this shot extremely well, choosing to shoot the soup in a dark ceramic bowl, set on a dark back ground really allows the food to stand out. The dish is wonderfully lit, very soft and atmospheric with a slight vignette to draw your eye into to the centre of the frame, coupled with the excellent use of contrasting colours of the green coriander and the red chop sticks, this image has vibrancy and excellent balance. I want to eat this dish, every time I look at it, which is exactly what great food photography should do.

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts. But not is this case as this deconstructed mulled wine shot is far more interesting when broken down into its constituent parts. For me, the photographer has created a far better image with the ingredients laid out simply and elegantly, than a glass of mulled wine could ever be.

The use soft lighting has been executed very well, as working with glass and its reflections can be a nightmare and I am happy I can’t see the photographer’s reflection in the glass anywhere, so well done there.

Also, a great choice in using the dark stone like background which gives great contrast in the textures and allows all the various ingredients to pop in the shot.

On a cold winter day, then there are few things better than a steaming hot cuppa and of all the tea/coffee images in this competition, this one was my favourite by far. The added steam adding true warmth to the image. Excellent use of back lighting, just picking up the highlights of the edge of the cup and saucer. I also love the colour choice of black on black giving this image a wonderful monochromatic feel, with the biscuit giving the shot a lovely pop of colour. Very simple, very dramatic, very elegant.