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Hidden creatives behind mouthwatering images
Fake it until you make it: Food stylist Puji Purnama (center) demonstrates how to make mock-up ice cream for food photography in a masterclass at Almond Zucchini studio, South Jakarta
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ake it until you make it: Food stylist Puji Purnama (center) demonstrates how to make mock-up ice cream for food photography in a masterclass at Almond Zucchini studio, South Jakarta. (JP/Muthi Kautsar)
The profession of food stylist, while previously little-known, has in recent years begun to gain more recognition. With millions of food photos circulating on the internet, the effect of a perfectly crafted food snap has become apparent. An effective food photo on social media can cause us to seek out the dish for ourselves, and inevitably take our own picture to share online. And the more photos of food that are posted, the more we understand that the aesthetics of food photos is of high importance.
While there are professional stylists who direct food photography for different purposes, the rise of the food bloggers has also increased awareness of aesthetically-pleasing food photos. More people have come to realize that the most satisfactory food shots are often difficult to take.
Enter professional food stylists, who arrange dishes to look appetizing for packaging, advertisements or TV commercials. Food and beverage (F&B) industry players, as well as creative industry workers who have handled F&B projects, are likely to be familiar with Puji Purnama, one of Indonesia’s renown food stylists.
In the hands of Puji, a pizza on a printed ad sizzles, indicating that it just came out of the oven. Perfectly scooped soft ice cream sits atop a cone with a perfectly pointed top, sausages look plump and moist on frozen food packaging, and in TV commercials, glistening sambal (chili paste) ingredients are dramatically chopped and tossed. These images might whet your appetite, but have you ever thought how, for instance, soft ice cream survives hot lighting without melting? And how many takes are needed to get that perfect shot of chopped and tossed ingredients?
Well, all the appetizing images of food and drink that you see every day are the result of the hard work of a team of food stylists, photographers, directors, production houses and advertising agencies.
The work includes making a special food and drink mock-up — usually done by the artistic department — mostly using chemical materials instead of real edible ingredients.
“[If I make the mock-up], I will still use food as ingredients, such as shortening to make [artificial] ice cream,” Puji told The Jakarta Post.
Other times, food stylists might have to undercook a piece of meat for a photo of a steak with grill marks, for instance, or blanche a shrimp to make it a certain shade of pink. That is why they must have a culinary background. In Puji’s case, he went to a vocational high school in Palembang, South Sumatra, and studied home economics at the Teachers Training Institute (IKIP) now known as Jakarta State University (UNJ).
“I had always dreamed of apprenticing abroad, such as in Donna Hay magazine,” said Puji, mentioning the Australian magazine that ended print publication in July 2018.
He went on to say that he learned by himself, mostly from his previous stint in the now-defunct Selera culinary magazine and Femina magazine’s food column.
Food stylists are often expected to bring their own tools, herbs, spices and other food items to tweak their styling.
For this reason, Puji grows various kinds of plants around his house. There are fruits and herbs that he can just pluck when needed for a shoot.
Eventually, Puji’s food styling reputation secured him projects he had never imagined before, such as the movie Aruna dan Lidahnya (Aruna and her Palate), which depicts the journey of a food lover investigating bird flu cases in Indonesian cities.
Puji concluded that there were bright prospects for the food stylist profession, with a big market demand but a limited number of professionals. To encourage development in the expertise, Puji occasionally gives masterclasses and workshops, and has also formed a food photography and styling Facebook community called Shoot & Food.
Asked whether he feared the community members becoming his competition for work, he said, “I am considered their senior and I am happy to share my experience.”
