Today I decided to work on my portfolio, and here’s what I got up to:

Here’s my first shot of the day. I decided to do something a little different and look at raw produce. I started off the day by photographing a Sirloin steak (Which I have just eaten and it was yummy!). This is a more general over view shot.

I decided to make this shot a little more simple, by removing the parsley and salt, and then adding a old school wooden knife.

With this shot, I made the background even darker and added the parsley again. I think the colours are looking really lovely in these shots.

Here I removed the grease proof paper so you could see all the textures in the chopping board, and added a little pot of salt.

This shot is all about textures and layers. I simplified this shot and just took it back to the natural basics. I still think it is quite a powerful shot though.

Now onto a lovely piece of cod. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to dress these shots, and I think it shows. I hired a lot of the props from a Prop Hire company called ‘China & Co’ based in Shepard’s Bush. I also went to a local steel supplier to buy the surface you can see in this shot. It’s solid steel!

Here I was trying to show off the juicy texture of the cod loin. I really like all the textures in this shots, from the textures of the fish, to the chopping board.

Here I have separated the fish from the lemon and herbs by adding another chopping board to the shot. I think this has helped to make the cod Loin look like it is a thicker cut of fish.

I decided to take a different approached with this shot and make it all a bit more light and airy. Here we have a lovely Pork Chop, dressed with a few slices of apple.

I felt like the background was too prominent in the last shot, so I moved it further away in this photograph. I think it helps to draw the viewers eye to the pork chop, as that is supposed to be the main focus within the shot.

Added another little prop here- A chefs tea towel.

This shot took a lot of preparation- It took 3 days to make this slab of ice!!! And I couldn’t believe how quickly it melted. I do like the idea and composition of this shot, it’s just a shame that the fish’s tail got damaged in transit.

Here’s another option. Again a very similar angle (If not the same!), but with a chopping board as a added texture.

I wanted to make this shot a little bit different rather than just 6 sausages on a chopping board. I was really pleased with the final shot! So much so, i decided I should also experiment with different backgrounds.

Out of black- Makes the sausages stand out more I think.

Or on silver. Slightly less dramatic, which isn’t a bad thing. This background gives the knife a really nice highlight.

Another ingredients shot here. Just playing with putting things against a black background. I think this works nicely as a product shot.

Couldn’t finish this shoot without doing a lifestyle type shot. As I have done a shoot before on my modern take on fish a chips before (https://www.laurenmclean.com/blog/2011/05/10/seafood/), I thought it was a great dish to finish on this time.

A slightly more simple shot.

I just love the props in this shot! Who would have thought that a portion of chips could look so good 😉