Food Photography and styling – Interview with Deeba Rajpal

Today we are doing guest post with famous blogger Deeba Rajpal. I came to know about Deeba from my another sweet friend Simi. Deeba is not only gorgeous but also a very good hearted person. She is a very busy blogger. If you see her blog Passionate about Baking, you can see her awards and work. When I asked her to do a guest post of mine, to be frank I did not expect to hear yes from her. But she said yes. That means a world to me. Because doing a guest post with the queen of food photography, is like more than my dream.

1. Hello Deeba, Please tell us about your “Passionate about Baking”. What made you start blogging?

Hi Dolphia. Thank you for having me over, and for those sweet words. I am honoured and humbled that you chose to invite me, and am so happy we ‘met’! Honestly I just follow my heart and shoot as my eyes see. I am still learning, and have a long way to go.

Way back in 2007, there were a handful of food blogs in the US that had me captivated. Just reading them everyday inspired me to tread into this fascinating world, but just as a means to save my recipes online. Being the proud owner of a new digital camera made things easier!

2. What do you like the most about blogging?

I like that blogging can be as personal or impersonal as you choose to make it.

It’s our own space to explore, use creatively and fill to our hearts content. I also love the freedom it affords you, and how committed it makes you once a reader relationship builds. It’s almost like an extensive of oneself, a personal brand. In addition, you can always spill over into other stuff you enjoy, like traveling and culture as everything is closely linked to food.

It’s a beautiful way to share a part of your world with your audience.

3. Please tell us one of the interesting projects you worked and what did you like about it?

An interesting project I worked with was developing recipes for an oats brand ‘Saffola’ here in India last winter. Before that point, I sometimes used oats in my recipes and in a limited way.

Yet from here on I managed to push my own boundaries and how! By then end of the project, everything I looked at could have had a fun and delicious twist of oats.

Just reaffirms my belief that food is so flexible, has immense possibilities and has something for everyone in it. For the same project, we also did two video shoots for a food TV channel with Michelin star Chef Vikas Khanna. { You-tube links episode 1 & episode 2 }.

Those were possibly the best part of the engagement as we shot through the night and it was amazing to see the chefs’ energy and down to earth attitude. I am fortunate enough to be working with the same brand once again!

4. How did you start food photography? Many people think twice before investing on a good camera. What do you suggest people to start with?

My journey with food and food photography began without much of a thought to tell you the truth. They were very unrelated in my world.

I liked both food and photography immensely yet independently. Food blogging brought the two together, and I feel extremely fortunate to be part of this community. It was all down to the inspiration from the few food blogs I followed at the time.

I began with a point and shoot Canon PS40, then a slightly higher level G9 {I love the series}, and now I shoot with a Canon 50D. It’s a benevolent husband who buys me lenses etc. I have a 50mm, a 18-200mm and a macro f2.8/100mm lens. The latter is the one I shoot food with and I love that lens the most.

Yet at the end of the day I have seen some mind blowing pictures shot with an iphone too. I firmly believe that it is the eye that visualises and captures the shot. It’s a good idea to figure out and develop your individual style of photography over time for eg moody or light, minimalistic or prop based, ambient light or artificial etc.

IMHO before upgrading your equipment or investing in expensive gear, begin using one basic camera and lens, get used to it, and work within these boundaries for a year.

It’s very unlikely that you will get to shoot every single day. At the end of the year, or when once you are happy with the style and how far you have progressed, explore other options. That might include upgrading your equipment, or maybe just investing in a lens that is compatible to the camera body.

5. Your photos inspire people like me and many. Where do you get your inspirations from?

Thank you Dolphia, you are too kind. I find inspiration everywhere, everyday. Sometimes I wish all my time was my own to shoot as and when I wanted to. Realistically the laundry, grocery, dog, kids and family also exist!

Seasons and colour inspire me, fresh produce calls my name, as do props. I find loads of inspiration on Pinterest, food blogs, food magazines, cookbooks and on food photography groups on FB. Being a locavore, I believe in supporting the local farm community. Most of my food thus follows seasons, and in turn the produce.

I have been deeply inspired by food stylists Down Under. Donna Hay and Katie Quinn Davies who helped me I discovered my rustic, moody, informal style. In my humble opinion, theirs is what real food is, a frame that tells a story.

Traveling, especially across India, reignites my passion as I love shooting things other than food too.

6. How do you plan your photo shoot? I mean when you are doing a post or making a recipe, what factors do you think. It’s very hard to portray the feelings behind a food through photos, as they are two dimensional. But your photos say more than a story. I feel like stare at them for my entire day.

You really make my day Dolphia. Honestly, I don’t get a lot of time to plan my photoshoot as I try to do too much in 24 hours, and am not very well organised.

I’m usually done in about 30 minutes or so, but the thought process usually begins while I am baking or cooking. the process takes a lot longer if I am working for a client. Even if I have a free canvas to work with, I do several shots … different angles, different moods, different light.

I almost always try and take an ingredient shot to make the post picture worthy. Fresh produce like the avocado above inspire me.

7. Continuing my previous question, how do you select props, background, style and composition of photos?

Few things I keep in mind… mood, light, props, backgrounds. I also make sure that my blog posts aren’t repetitive. I do also enjoy making collages.

That helps me use my vast collection of props as it isn’t any fun for the reader to see the same thing repeatedly. I usually shoot portrait, and more often than never my shots are moody. I love blocking light and you will see that in many of my shots.

Elements that form my frame … rustic metal, wood, jute, recycled glass. I don’t buy expensive props but am fortunate to have huge collection as have been hoarding stuff for the past 10 years. That was and will always be my passion in addition to baking.

8. I have another question on styling. Do you prefer to stick to any style like earthen, moody etc? Or let say how do you choose the mood of a photo? Does weather or anything impact your decision?

My photographs are quite skewed towards the moody style, dark hues and blocked light. That said, summer allows me to break free of my mood and you often see lighter pictures. I think season inspires me more than the weather.

Also seasonal produce like mangoes and berries make everything brighter …

… while foods like coffee and chocolate appeal to me in darker tones. At the end of the day however, it’s all down to personal choice and mood at that ‘clicking’ moment!

9. The hardest challenge I (and I am sure many) face is light. For apartment dwellers and living in cold countries, getting light is not an easy affair. How do you suggest apartment dwellers to shoot properly exposed photo in low light? Do you suggest any budget friendly techniques or equipments?

Yes it’s challenge and fortunately I live in a country where we have great light the year through. Light or no light, I think the best investment is a tripod. I began using one quite late on recommendation of a friend food blogger. I thank her every time I use a tripod.

Often simple reflectors made out of good grade aluminum foil, or a mirror to reflect light also work. The other tip s to study the apartment and make note of where you get the best light, and at what time.

If possible, try and shoot at that time, in that space. Alternatively, you could build a budget friendly light box. It really helped me at one time. Later I switched to natural light only.

10. How much important is post processing. Is there any good tutorial or video or book on that? What is your preferable post processing tool?

I wish I could give you better advice here, but this is an area I rarely use and one I need to invest time in. I am still trying to figure out whether to go for Photoshop or Lightroom.

I do believe there are brilliant tutorials on you-tube for both. These just need a little extra time which I am currently struggling to find.

I use a very simple resource for post processing. It’s one I found online and is free to download at photoscape.org . I’ve shared the link with several bloggers who often ask what I use for post processing. This program makes lovely collages as well.

Bonus Question: For novice photographers, what simple tips can people do to improve their photography?

Enjoy what you do. Go minimalistic to begin with. Find inspiration and the kind of photographs and styling you like, and not necessarily what others might like. This is important to help you build your own style. Read lots. Explore your camera. Experiment loads. Always believe that it is you and not the camera alone that will produce the images. Keep consecutive posts different on your blog. More importantly, listen to your audience. It’s a nice way to learn. Oh yes, and take criticism in a the right spirit {however much it might hurt}. If there is anything I can do to help, please drop me a line. I am more than happy to share whatever little I know.

Thank you so much for having me here Dolphia. You are truly wonderful person. I know you have been extremely patient with me, and I love you for that!

Deeba, I can’t thank you enough for doing this guest post with me. Love you dear.