Kaitlyn Innerst-Proposal

Photo Proposal

1. What are you photographing?

I will be styling and photographing seasonal desserts. I find a lot of my inspiration from the seasons, thus,  I will be using recipes inspired by seasonal ingredients (ie pumpkin, squash, apples for fall and spices, cinnamon, peppermint for seasonal winter recipes).

2. Why are you photographing your subject?

I want to focus on photographing desserts I have a wide array of knowledge in plating food. Before returning to school, I worked in fine dining for over four years. I understand the aesthetics of plating a dish. I enjoy it because it is challenging in regards to time sensitivity. I may have a mere five to ten seconds to take one photograph. I thrive in this kind of high-pressure environment.

3. How are you working/photographing?

I will pick out the decor for the setting prior to photographing. I will then bake and photograph a total of six desserts (two photos of each dessert). Each setting will be entirely different from the others. I will be photographing in my apartment close to the window (since this is where I can get the most natural light). The plan is to work on one or two every day. It is especially important that I stick to this schedule because I have to keep in mind the amount of time it will take to bake the actual recipe, in addition to plating it.

4. Why do we care about your work?

Everyone needs to eat and in order to eat, one needs to understand how to cook. Food stylists work in publishing their work in cooking magazines. Their job is to entice the viewer and provide ideas for your next meal. After all, we eat with our eyes first. Consider how many magazines are published just on cooking. People are constantly searching for something new to try and food stylists hold the power to inspire others to try a new recipe. Additionally, food stylists are able to design the set. It is not just the food you are looking at, but rather the aesthetics, color balance, seasonal flair. It is about the composition of the design and what feeling all of this provides to the viewer.

1. How will you continue to work for 5 weeks?

In addition to using seasonal ingredients. I think that for the purpose of this project, the organization of photographs would work best if I break it down into categories. For the first week, I will focus on just pies and challenge myself on the plating. For the second week, my focus will be on different kinds of bread. On week three, I will make different cakes. On week four, custards will be the focal point. For the fifth week, I will focus on different kinds of cookies.