Celebrity fashion, lifestyle, and food photographer Luke Elijah. Image provided.

These days, taking photographs of our food before we eat it has become a ritual.

We capture photographs of food not only as part of important celebrations, but even in everyday mundane settings. We make the public private. We celebrate not just delicious food, but our online food lifestyle.

Food photography has become our passport to different worlds. We come to vicariously experience various cuisines through vivid, evocative, and palatable pictures of food we encounter.

In as much as food is mankind’s universal connector, food photography enables us to stay connected with our families, friends and communities – something that we cherish especially in our pandemic-disrupted lives.

In our digital-powered existence, we see ourselves becoming more prolific about capturing and sharing food photos. Food porn is not a scandal, it is a worthwhile past time among many admirers of food that is appetizingly appealing.

Because of this, Palate Sensations Culinary School is unveiling our brand new Food Photography and Styling Class. Leading this class is multi-award winning celebrity photographer Luke Elijah.

In this article, we interview Luke on how he pivoted from taking immaculate shots of runway models to the art and soul of food photography. To explore and book the Basic Food Photography and Styling Class, click here. To book the Advanced Food Photography and Styling class, click this link.

A screengrab from Luke Elijah's IG account featuring some of his works. Image used with permission.

1. From reading your profile, I understand that you are highly successful in photographing celebrities and fashion models. What led you to discover and pivot towards food photography?

Even while photographing fashion models and celebrities, I was already shooting some food, beverages and products from time to time. It was already a part of my routine and repertoire.

During the three-month circuit breaker lockdown period, I was cooking/baking every day and concocting new culinary creations in order to pass the time. This naturally led to the rekindling of food photography as a means to catalog and document what I made in order to share and post them onto my social media pages.

2. What do you want people to understand about their relationship with food?

When one is mindful and fully present with the food that they cooked and will eat, they will have a far greater sense of gratitude and appreciation for the entire food production process from farm to table, as well as all the wonderful subtle flavours, nuances, scents, etc provided by the food chemistry.

All manners of positive emotions and feelings that are naturally evoked as a result are then also amplified and intensifed. The entire process of consuming, savouring, enjoying and eating your food then becomes much more elevated and likened to a Zen meditation of sorts.

When you eat and chew your food slower and more deliberately, not only is your sense of taste heightened, but your entire digestive system is more fully engaged and as a result you will be able to digest what you ingest much more efficiently. Thereby, preventing potential ailments such as heart burn, gastric pains and indigestion.

3. What are the similarities between food photography and fashion photography?

Fashion photography requires communication and interaction with live models, as well as a full styling team and crew in order to create an illusionary fantasy. Food photography is much more intimate and personal.

A fashion shoot can take hours from start to end. Whereas, personal food styling and photography is usually completed within a matter of minutes, especially if you still wish to eat the food right after. So the production duration is much shorter.

I would say that they are both completely different genres of photography altogether. The similarities is that they are both creative, artistic, fun, and gratifying.

4. What should people understand when they come to your class? What can they expect to learn? What should they bring with them?

Students to my food styling and photography class will be taught the basic fundamentals of photography and the physics of photographic lighting (both natural ambient light, as well as artifical lighting), which would then allow them to shoot anything after, not just food and drinks.

However, I will place far greater emphasis on details that are specific and relevant to food photography. Students will also learn how to operate their cameras and photographic accessories/equipment properly, even if it is just their smartphones.

Finally, the students will learn how to make use of props to beautify and style up the dishes to further enhance the entire set-up prior to actual shooting. They will also get live practice with real life examples as I demonstrate and guide them along throughout the lesson.

Students should bring along an open, curious and inquisitive mind that is not just hungry to eat but also to learn.

To join Luke Elijah on 21 October in Palate Sensations' Basic Food Photography and Styling Class, click here. The Advanced Food Photography and Styling Class is on 18 November. Click here to join.