Cooking Up Perfect Food Photography with Bo’s Kitchen
Last Saturday, a select group of food photography aficionados were lucky enough to attend a hands-on workshop with food stylist and photographer Bo of Instagram’s @bos.kitchen.
Armed with their phones and cameras, they headed to Islington where Bo was waiting to meet them in the light-filled Paper Mill Studios kitchen.
Want your own chance to learn from Bo? Catch up on her livestreamed styling, shooting & editing workshop. Watch now.
Check out the video below to catch up on the highlights of the day.
With an abundance of pancakes and fresh fruit at the ready, Bo demonstrated different techniques for plating and styling them. Keep reading to get Bo’s pancake recipe and plating tips below.
Getting stuck into styling
There was just time to stop for a quick homemade smoothie (and to capture the amazing location) before we tried our hand at styling our pancakes.
With Bo’s help, and with all the different ingredients, cutlery and props to choose from, everyone brought their own distinctive style to their dish.
Capturing our creations
Once we’d plated and styled to perfection, we were ready to shoot. Bo was on hand to guide everyone on finding the best angles for their shots.
Bo demonstrated some quick and easy ways to bring out the best in our shots using Adobe Lightroom CC on her mobile.
Then it was over to us to master the tools and techniques on our own shots. Everyone achieved impressive results and got the chance to show off their photos, before and after editing.
Photography by @amysfoodstyling
Photography by @veggiefoodtherapy
Bo’s top plating tips:
- ****Consider colours carefully.****Before you start, decide which main colours you want in your finished shot. Then use this to guide your choice of ingredients and the colour of your plate and other elements. Think about whether you want all your colours to complement each other or whether to introduce some contrast.
- Create layers of interest. Layering is key when it comes to create the perfect flatlay. Try to build up layers of different textures and colours that work together. Don’t forget that your background and your plate are both layers, and you can add additional layers by scattering or sprinkling ingredients too.
- **Keep things uneven. **Use odd numbers, especially groups of three, to tease the eye and create visual interest. Triangular-shaped compositions are also great for creating visual appeal.
Bo’s Breakfast Pancakes
- 200g plain flour
- 1.5 tbsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup almond mylk
- 1 cup sparkling water
- 2 mashed bananas
Heat up a frying pan to a medium heat with a little coconut oil. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together well. Make a well in the middle and add all wet ingredients, stirring to form a thick but smooth batter. Spoon a heaping tbsp of batter per pancake into the pan and flip once bubbles appear. Top with your fave spread and fruits!
Wish you’d been there? You can catch Bo’s livestream online here.
On Tuesday 19 March Bo hosted a livestream on the Adobe UK YouTube channel, chatting through her food styling tips and sharing simple editing techniques she uses to take her food photography to the next level.