How I planned and prepared for my cookbook photography, from gathering inspiration, organizing mood boards, tools and apps, and scheduling – while having a full-time job!
Hey friends, welcome back to my Cookbook Journey series! In this series, I take you behind the scenes of my cookbook creation process, sharing the ins and outs of producing my debut cookbook, Effortless Asian Cooking. In this post, let’s talk cookbook photography!
FIVE WEEKS TILL THE BOOK LAUNCH!
Creating a cookbook is a labour of love, and the photos are just as important as the recipes. This is the behind the scenes look at how I capture the delicious dishes that make it into my cookbook.
Plus, you may even learn a thing or two to help with your cookbook photography journey if you’re just starting out! From planning the shoot to the actual photography to editing the final images, here’s a step-by-step look at my process.
Table of Contents
- Why is Food Photography so Important
- A Surprising Turn of Events: Doing It All Myself
- Why is Planning Crucial for Cookbook Photography
- 1. Research: Define the Concept and Style
- 2. Building a Photography Schedule
- Scheduling Tool: Google Calendar
Why is Food Photography so Important
The one non-negotiable when I set out to produce this cookbook was that every recipe MUST have a photograph attached to it. Whenever I flip through cookbooks, nothing sparks my inspiration more than seeing what the final dish will look like!
When it comes to cookbooks, food photography isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential. Here’s why:
- Brings Recipes to Life: A well-shot photo captures the vibrant colours, textures, and details of a dish, making it visually appealing and mouthwatering.
- Visual Guide: Of course, photos serve as a visual guide, helping readers understand what the finished dish should look like and providing presentation inspiration. Especially if you’ve never made (or heard) of the dish!
- Motivation: Compelling food photography is essential as it not only showcases the culinary creations but also works to motivate you to recreate the dishes in your own kitchens!
- Personal Connection: For me, photos are a way to connect with my readers. They convey the care and attention I’ve put into each recipe, and they’re a visual representation of the flavours and aromas that the dish offers!
A Surprising Turn of Events: Doing It All Myself
When I started this cookbook journey, I initially planned to hire a professional photographer to handle all the food photography.
Even though I’ve been taking my own photos for my blog, I would categorise the photos as “will do” sort of photos. As long as they convey the right messaging and showcases the food accurately, I’m happy. But I knew photos for cookbooks require a different level of scrutiny, so I sought out some talented local photographers.
However, after speaking with a few of them, I realised it was going to be expensive – VERY expensive, and rightly so – we’re talking about at least 60 photos to be shot here. Most importantly, it was also difficult to coordinate a good timeframe that worked for both of us. I didn’t have a lot of time, and between planning shoots, photography and the final editing, we could not make it work.
This led to a surprising twist—I decided to do all the photography myself! I was a photographer, food stylist, lighting director and editor all in one!
This was not the most ideal situation, because it meant tacking on even more time, energy and effort on my end, that I could spend elsewhere for the book.
Of course, I was very hesitant and nervous about it. I worried that this decision might not be the best idea, as it would have added a significant amount of my time to the cookbook project.
If I took this on by myself, would my effort and attention be taken away from elsewhere, such as fine tuning recipes in the book?
Turns out – not at all! In fact, it worked out perfectly. Since I was photographing the recipes myself, I had the flexibility to make a lot of last minute additions – which means EVEN MORE recipes to the cookbook! I would have never been able to do this if I had engaged a photographer, as we would need to complete the shots all at one go.
Another plus point: since I had to make the recipes again for photography, it allowed me to fine-tune them even further!
In the end, this decision allowed me to create a cookbook that is not only visually appealing but also filled with meticulously perfected recipes.
AND YES – it was a challenging but also incredibly fun! I already enjoyed food photography, but to shoot for a cookbook is a whole different ball game. I learned SO MUCH about details, photography layout, and this much hands-on was an incredibly rewarding experience that gave me a deeper connection to my work and allowed me to showcase my personal touch in every photo.
The support of the Pagestreet team was also incredible in this process – I’m more than aware that for most new authors, they are left to their own devices. Even though they could not be on set with me, they were able to provide AMAZING feedback on the photos. I could easily edit and reshoot as well, since I didn’t outsource the work.
Why is Planning Crucial for Cookbook Photography
I’m dedicating a whole blogpost on just planning, because it is the single most important and intensive work that can save SO MUCH time, energy and ingredients! I wish it were as simple as going through the list of dishes one-by-one!
It sets the foundation for a smooth and successful execution by clarifying the vision, ensuring cohesion across all images, and anticipating potential challenges before they arise.
By investing time in planning, I was able avoid last-minute scrambles for ingredients, props, or proper lighting, which could disrupt the creative flow and compromise the quality of the shots. I also buffered in extra time, so that if things don’t work out to plan (and there will be plenty of such moments!), I don’t panic.
Planning is also important to research shoot ideas, moodboards, and streamline the shoot schedule, ensuring that each session is productive, efficient, and aligned with your cookbook’s theme. This preparation is key to delivering consistent, beautiful images that resonate with your audience and elevate your cookbook’s overall appeal.
If you’re also looking to photograph your own cookbooks, I detail the crucial steps I took to planning below:
1. Research: Define the Concept and Style
This step ensures that the visuals of your cookbook are cohesive and communicate the story you want to tell through food. Having a clear concept helps you stay focused on creating images that resonate with your audience and align with the recipes.
Choose a Theme
Think about the overall vibe of your cookbook. Is it more rustic and homey or sleek and modern? The theme should reflect the tone of your recipes and the brand you’ve built around your cooking. This decision will also impact the props that you choose.
Examples:
- Rustic & Cozy: Wooden surfaces, warm lighting, earthy tones. This could work well for comfort food, soups, and traditional dishes.
- Minimalist & Clean: Simple white or neutral backgrounds, minimal props, natural light.
If you’re a food blogger like me, then you would already have a basic idea of a style that you like and that your audience enjoys.
Choosing a theme will make sure you stay focused on this vision. It’s very easy to fall into the “give the audience something different” trap – there is NO NEED TO. Stick to the theme so that the cookbook is cohesive.
Create Mood Boards
To choose a theme, research and collect images that inspire you. These could be food photos, textures, colours, or even lifestyle shots. This helped me to see the common themes and aesthetics that resonate with the theme.
Example: Your mood board could include a mix of airy kitchen shots, close-ups dishes, and flat-lay food setups to guide your styling decisions.
My main sources of inspiration to create my mood board:
- Pinterest: This is where amazing, mouthwatering images live! Pinterest is a treasure trove of stunning food photography that never fails to inspire me.
- Other Cookbooks: I also drew inspiration from other cookbooks, paying close attention to how the food is styled to showcase important elements of each dish! Analyze what works well in terms of aesthetics, lighting, and styling.
Key Organising Tool: Milanote
To keep all of my ideas organised for cookbook photography, I turned to Milanote. It’s a fantastic tool for creating the visual moodboards as well as organizing my thoughts.
I used to work on Notion, but it became clunky, especially when I needed to include a lot of images. Milanote, on the other hand, is incredibly intuitive and fast. It allowed me to pull together images, notes, and ideas all in one place, making it easy to see everything at a glance.
One of the biggest benefits of using Milanote was how it streamlined my entire photography planning and referencing. Each mood board included all of the reference images, the full recipe and instructions, all in one page. This way I could have all these information at one go during the shoot. I could even make notes on the mood board as and when needed.
This meant I didn’t have to keep flipping between tabs or apps, which saved me a ton of time and kept me focused on the task at hand. Best of all, I could seamlessly access the app on my laptop, phone and my iPad.
This is not a sponsored post at all. In fact I love Milanotes so much, I was willing to pay the monthly fee! The fee is nothing compared to how organized and seamless the app made everything for me.
Other ways Milanotes helped
- Visual Layout: Milanote’s visual layout makes it easy to see everything at a glance. I can drag and drop images, arrange them in a grid, and add notes and links.
- Recipe and Steps Integration: When I get to the actual shooting, Milanote is also my main reference point. The boards allow me to include the recipe and steps, so I can have a look at everything at a glance without opening too many tabs or apps.
- Easy Reference: I could easily arrange all reference images of the dishes to cook that day, all in one page. This gave me an easy bird’s eye view of the dishes, as well as what I want the final image to look like. This saved me so much time and mental energy when I don’t have to decide how to frame the shot when I’m shooting.
2. Building a Photography Schedule
Planning the shoot schedule the moment you embark on this photography journey needs to be your first step.
This is to manage time and energy efficiently, ensuring that you have everything you need on hand for a smooth photoshoot. This also prevents you from feeling overwhelmed during the shoot.
Group Recipes
Prioritise batch tasking by batch preparing and cooking dishes that have the same ingredients at the same time.
Grouping similar dishes together to streamline the photoshoot. This way you’ll be able to reuse props and keep the workflow efficient.
For efficiency, dishes that utilise different cooking techniques were also grouped together for efficiency. For example, while I have something cooking over the stovetop, I have another dish cooking at the same time in the oven or air fryer.
Prioritize Recipes
Some recipes might be more complex or photogenic than others, so decide which dishes are must-haves for the cookbook. These should be given extra care and attention. For example, your cover shot or a chapter opener should have extra visual impact.
Consider which dishes will stay looking fresh and which need to be shot quickly. For example, a hot dish with melting block of butter (like the Pepper Lunch recipe in the book!) needs to be photographed immediately, while noodles and stir fries can stay ‘fresh-looking’ for longer.
Break It Down Into Sessions
My photoshoot spanned almost a month, since I had a full-time job. I would recommend planning your photoshoot over multiple days rather than cramming all the recipes into one long session. This will help you to stay creative and avoid burnout.
To manage the photography process effectively, I created a detailed schedule that spanned one month, this was my session breakdown:
Week 1: Moodboarding, Planning, Setup
- Spent the first week organising and planning which dishes to shoot. All the dishes are organised by days, and batched together on moodboards on Milanote.
- Ingredients for each day are also fully planned out. Grocery schedules are planned in advance too, as well and any ingredient prep and portioning is done at one go, for the week. This way all we are doing once we are ready, is cook and shoot!
- All the equipment, tools, props and backgrounds, are prepared and ready for the shoots. This way we’re not scrambling for things when we’re ready to shoot.
- In the weekend I set up all of my equipment in the ‘studio’, also known as my humble kitchen. For the next couple of weeks, this will be the set up! By having these set up and ready to go, all I need to do when I’m ready to shoot is to turn everything on. I also set up my charging booth in the kitchen (safely, of course).
Week 2: Shooting Batch #1
- Focused on capturing the main dishes, which are the heart of the cookbook.
- Scheduled 2 to 5 shoots per day, allowing time to cook, styling, and adjustments.
- On weekends, I schedule about 5-8 dishes.
- I also start editing images, to make sure that if I need any reshoots, I can immediately schedule it in in the week of reshoots.
- On weekends I also reserved to batch ingredient prep and portioning out.
Week 3: Shooting Batch #2
- Same as Week 2.
Week 4: Shooting Batch #3
- By the end of Week 3, most of our food photos are done.
- Any reshoots are also done in this week.
- I also added in some last minute recipes, and these were shot this week!
Week 5: Shooting Batch #3 – Miscellaneous Shots, Reshoots, Editing
- This week is dedicated to miscellaneous shots, such as cover shot, profile shot, overhead grouping shots, etc.
- Dedicated the final few days to selecting the best shots and editing them for consistency.
Week 6: Final Edits & Submission
- This week is fully dedicated to editing.
Scheduling Tool: Google Calendar
Using Google Calendar as my main scheduling tool helps me stay organised and on track with my photoshoots and other tasks.
It allows me to block out specific time slots for cooking, setting up, and shooting, while also making it easy to visualise my week or month at a glance.
I can colour-code different phases of the shoot as well, and set reminders for steps like grocery shopping or recipe testing, and easily adjust the schedule by blocks if something changes. Plus, I could pull up the app on my mobile anytime to manage everything on the go, ensuring I stay flexible yet focused.
Best of all – it’s FREE!
Conclusion
Planning and preparing for the food photography in my cookbook was a challenging yet rewarding experience. From researching and moodboarding to selecting the perfect props and backgrounds, every step was crucial in bringing the recipes to life visually.
This preparation laid the groundwork for a smooth and successful shooting process, which I’ll be sharing in my next blog post.
Thanks for following along on my Cookbook Journey! Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes insights in the next instalment, where I’ll be covering the actual photography process.
Leave a Reply