How did Waitrose get its name?
Waitrose was founded in 1904 by 3 friends Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor.
From this alliance Waitrose and partners began as a very small grocery in west London but it was called Waite Rose and Taylor.
in 1904 two years on David Taylor had left the business and the remaining partners came together to create Waitrose which has kept its name from this day.
Over time and years together they purchased a few other small grocery shops in the Acton area of London and even supplied an army camp when the war began in 1914 However during this time Arthur Rose was injured and 10 years later left the business.
Wait was the remaining partner and in 1937 he was looking for someone to take over his business after a lucky meeting with trading Director of John Lewis, Michael watkins the two decided to form a partnership and Waite stayed in the business till he retired in 1940.
What is a Waitrose membership and magazine?
Waitrose offers a membership to all customers who apply online the benefits to a Waitrose card is different to say a morrisons or Tesco because Waitrose offer freebies and prizes as well as money off their shopping so it gives them a reason to come back! You can also receive a free tea or coffee when you visit the store!
I decided to visit waitrose and see for myself. As you walk in there is a rack of newspapers and magazines apon looking at Waitroses magazine you can see there is a price.
£3 or free to members.
I decided to purchase the magazine and bring it home I was also pleasantly surprised in all the contents this magazine had to offer! It had thick paper photo cards with recipes you could add to a folder or collect as well as many recipes in the book and information on different chefs and meals for that season.
It was all coloured and nicely placed with a darker theme to go with the darker winter month.
Later on that evening I went on the the Waitrose website to become a member.
I found out a few details, 1. It is free to join which is a bonus for anyone! 2. It means you can get Waitrose delivered to you which during a pandemic is very important. 3. The magazine becomes free instore once you have spent over £10 on your shopping! You could easily grab a magazine in store and collect your next meal and inspired recipe just from the book.
Below you can see I signed up to the MyWaitrose membership and was surprised to see they even give you key fobs and a membership card which made is even easier to get that free coffee and perks!
Research : What is a Digital Operator?
A digital operator is someone who sets up the session, Say Waitrose wanted to do a new spring collection for the magazine it would be the Digital Operators role to set up the colours, layout and theme to make sure it suits the job of the client.
Below you can see some photos of photographers and in the background you can see the set up, Alot of work goes in to the adverts you see on todays Tv or magazines.
The Digital Operator may also be in charge of the editorial and advertising side and will also assist different photographers in sessions as well.
What skill set do you need to be a Digital Operator?
A digital Operator is an all round photographer so the skill sets needed will be from working with many themes like fashion, beauty, Lifestyle, Food and so forth and have studio and location experience.
To know how to use the correct lighting to know what fits best as well as camera experience from Nikon and Canon to PhaseONEs and HasselBlad.
Using this professional equipment will also mean knowing professional programs like Capture one, Photoshop, Indesign and more.
You don't have to be the best videographer either but knowing the information and how to do it is a plus.
How do Digital Operators get work?
A Digital Operator may get work by assisting small or large brands and building a portfolio for experience. A strong website and a passion for this role is also key to getting work.
Working for other photographers and getting to know the business is a very strong aspect to how you meet people and word of mouth can be your best friend.
You may also want to do home projects and let your talents shine and present a strong set of images to show future clients.
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY AND ITS PHOTOGRAPHERS.
DAVID TORTORA AND JAIME TRAVEZAN - 1ST Place winners for food advertising with photography 2015.
An interview was made about these two photographers who make wonderful food photography in a way you would not expect! They have been photographers most of their lives and wanted to be creative, They have a passion for colour and images that stand out!
Below you can see the images that they have made together. The way the images look almost stop the food looking like food but maybe more of a tiny food village or landscape! They have striking colours and warmer tones and they like to call the projects little "Gardens" and in close inspection its just that!
FULVIO BONAVIA
The next photographer that inspired me was a very different photographer! I loved the process photography of this food and the art behind it surely a level of photoshop is involved to create this however it has such a bold outstanding effect and this photographer loves the striking sides of photography.
Recently Fulvio had done a session on "The taste of fasion" Now when people mention taste it normally means how you feel on fashion and the style would be classed as "Taste" But fulvio has taken it one step further with adding fashion and food together.
Above you can see examples of the food fashion which reached many magazines with high demand of big brands like Prada to work with Fulvio, With this set of images he won 200 best ad photographers world wide and published a book called "A matter of taste"
Who is the photographer of Waitrose?
Jonathan Gregson is the main photographer for Waitrose
The interesting thing I found with Johns work is his ability to make every piece different, Below you can see a range of images that he has taken and each one is so different the other, A very clear professional.
John is an award-winning photographer and has been working with food and photography for over 20 years John also likes to travel and take photos of still life.
But John does not stop at just photography he also also works in branding books and editorial, His work can be seen in many well known brands and magazines like the Observer food monthly, Waitrose, Martha Stewart living and the Sunday times.
His work is in many books of professional top chefs and can be seen in many campaigns but not just Waitrose hes also worked for Tesco and Marks & Spencer.
Its not just photographers but also stylists come in to play with food magazines.
Katie Marshall is 25 years old based in London and is a food stylist and cookery writer she has assisted many sessions including Waitrose where she left her normal 9 to 5 day job to be a food stylist, She gained a cookery diploma to advance her food magazine world training.
Her work can be found at Katiemarshallfood.com
Kate Wesson
Kate wesson is also a professional food stylist with 10 years experience and massive passion for food photography from a child she has been in to food and trying different ways to make food look more interesting and creative. Kate has travelled around the world with her food styles and has worked with Linda McCartney and M&S but prefers to work with smaller brands and build closer relationships.
My First attempt at the middle spread.
When attempting the first middle spread I decided to take photos of the process, I noticed with these straight out of camera shots that the lighting was wrong and off, Maybe too dark and just not my style when it came to photography.
I decided to import all of the images I had taken in to capture one and look at the raw files to begin editing. Unfortunately I was unable to use a tethered workflow due to not having a laptop or cable but i was able to take the photos and import them in using a smart folder.
tethered workflow : While I could not personally do this I did do the research behind it, A tethered workflow is where you connect the camera using a tethering cable and shoot while connected. In capture one this will bring up a pop up page which all the information you need from your F stop to ISO and will show you the photos as they are being taken.
The advantages to this is if you had an assistant they can edit the settings on screen and also view the raw files in a larger format, It also directly shows the images to your screen.
Once I imported the photos I then started to rate them. This is a very quick and easy way to cut down on your images and select the ones you want to use and begin editing.
The star rating is from 1 to 5, 1 being the least likely and 5 being the most likely to use.
Below ive given an example on how I would rate, For this image I rated a 1 as an example but would use a 5 to edit due to it being in focus and what I was looking for to edit.
Even if you rate images as a 1 it does not mean it would be deleted but you can view these images further down the line if you change your mind.
To make adjustments to my image I clicked the exposure tab. This will bring up all the basic editing settings from exposure to clarity, Now looking at my image I could see my image was darker than what i wanted and at the bottom you could see the settings so while my F stop was lower letting in more light my ISO could of been higher.
I put it at 1600 to allow light in while also avoiding noise/grain to my photos which high ISO's tend to do.
In the above image you can see ive brought up the exposure from 0. to 0.82 which has made a massive different to my lighting when you look to the larger red circle.
With this second image I have tested the settings to bring in the desired effect I was after, I changed the contrast to be higher as I wanted the skin texture to stand out and I changed the clarity and structure to define this.
I also changed the blacks and white to negative 100 the reason for this was the blacks had alot of noise and when I edited in negative that black was more seamless.
Regarding the colour management I liked the tones it started with but could see it being on more of the colder side so I made the image more warm toned but brought down the reds so his hands did not look out of place or distracting.
THE SESSION :
Step one : The lighting
When looking at my lighting and being at home because of Covid I have 3 floor to celling windows this means a massive amount of natural light.
As I tested some shots with natural light and artificial light I favoured Natural light alot more, I sit the product by the window and I find this brings more depth and interest to my images.
Below is a google example of the differences in natural light and artificial light in food photography.
Below are 2 examples of my own photography, on the left is a macro close up shot of a muffin being opened against natural light and on the right is artificial light while cooking, both in their own rights add interest and bright colour and contrast however I favoured the details brought in by the natural light.
Both edited in captureOne.
Step 2 Colour theme :
When looking at my images I can clearly see im drawn towards a warm look rather than cool cold tones with these images having a simple clean look to them
I can see ive made a style and with these I stuck with a lower 1.4 Fstop to make the attention to the food and blur the background.
My colours tend to be on the brighter side and I stay away from the darker style of images which makes the images go hand in hand rather than looking mis-matched.
Step 3 : Composition
I am a big fan of food layouts and Composition and the right movements of food can make a fantastic image if all set right.
Below is an example image of rule of thirds, I have the same rule of thirds example set on my camera as I use it often, I like the idea of food to the side and backgrounds playing as much as an equal part to the photograph as the food.
Here is another example, While shooting I found that naturally I would be doing this anyway, Its clear to see the food on its own in image one is bland and boring there is not alot of interest with it mainly being just 2 colours.
However as the images progress you can see colours and textures are adding and image 6 is interesting and colourful yet the main food image is still to focal point of the photograph.
Here are my examples where adding background items to this roast adds interest on the left and on the right the lamb hits the middle of rule of thirds and is off to the right side.
Step 4 : pre-vis with sketches into the layout
When planning a session it is always handy to have a pre-visualisation to grab an idea of what you want to do.
Below I wanted to do a session on muffins and the details of them, I did a pre-vis sketch of the muffin knowing I wanted to use natural light, warm tones and have that magazine style.
At first I wanted just to use the muffin on a table top but I got an assistant to break the muffin and found so much more depth and detail so decided to use this as a final image for the pre-vis I had planned.
Here are some examples of the food ive taken recently.
Below is some of the work process in editing in capture one.
I find capture one very interesting with the amount of control you have and can really play around with your images from a soft grainy look to a sharp colourful look.
very interested to see what i can edit in future.
