Foodstyling in a restaurant setting - Mary Valentin
Topic: Foodstyling in a restaurant setting
Location: Restaurant to be announced
Language: English
Duration: 3 hours
Sessions: Friday 23 Oct 10-13h / Saturday 24 Oct 14-17h
Educational objective: Working with a great chef in a hot restaurant sounds like a dream job, but can be a great challenge. Whether you are an experienced food photographer, or a new stylist, there are some lifesaving ideas that you’ll need to know about.
Required level: Photography knowledge and advanced photography knowledge
Equipment: Camera and a tripod
About the workshop
Working with a great chef in a hot restaurant sounds like a dream job, but can be a great challenge. Whether you are an experienced food photographer, or a new stylist, there are some lifesaving ideas that you’ll need to know about.
- How do you work seamlessly with the chef in their own kitchen supporting his/her original concepts while still creating unique images that work for both of you?
- Demonstration of how to setup in a professional kitchen. How to stay out of the way while getting the shot you want.
- Demonstration of technical food styling tricks that can solve problems such as freshness, shine, composition, and lighting.
- How to pack a compact portable tool kit to make sure you have what you need, without taking up space.
About Mary
Mary Valentin has worked as a food stylist for print, packaging, TV and film for almost 20 years. Through her combination of experience in both the fine and culinary arts, Mary has developed a unique perspective and skill set that informs her work.
In her early career, while studying for her BFA in painting at School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Mary began to acquire valuable experience in the culinary arts through her work in Chicago-area restaurants, most notably as a sous chef at the Café du Midi from 1989 through 1992. Since then, Mary’s commercial food styling clients have included Panera Bread, U.S. Foods, and Kraft. She has also done editorial work for Food Network, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune and has art directed and food styled for cookbooks, such as Anupy Singla’s “Vegan Indian Cookbook” and “Indian for Everyone.”
While teaching at Kendall College in Chicago, Mary initiated a Food Styling and Photography course – the only one of its kind in the country at that time – designed for culinary students. Mary created the curriculum and taught the classes. Food Styling and Photography quickly became one of the most successful and popular classes at Kendall College, with waiting lists of students eager to add food styling and photography skills to their professional repertoires.
Along with her busy food styling career, Mary has presented at conferences, lectured at major corporations and conducted food photography tours including a photo-essay tour of Chicago hot-dog stands with Teri Campbell and Bruce Kraig. Mary has organized and curated photography shows and contests and is currently serving as Chair of the Food Photographers’ and Stylists’ Section of the IACP, International Association of Culinary Professionals. Mary is thrilled to be invited to speak at the FOODPHOTO FESTIVAL in Denmark this year and looking forward to forging new connections with the international food photography community.
www.maryvalentin.com