10 Ways To Make Eating Your Food In College More Luxurious
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10 Ways To Make Eating Your Food In College More Luxurious

The art of food photography

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10 Ways To Make Eating Your Food In College More Luxurious

When visiting my family back in San Antonio, I quite get often faced with the question “How is the food at TCU?” Honestly, looking back to Freshmen year and my many visits to the BLUU cafeteria, I can say that the usual monochromatic meals of dry chicken, plastic pasta, and rice are dull, unsavory, and lack that spaz feeling you want to get the moment your taste buds touch the food. However, I must admit the BLUU does have its good days; the baked potatoes decked out with an assortment of toppings, the fresh salad bar with a variety of dressings from pesto to balsamic, and the classically displayed fruit selection.

As a sophomore now and living in Tom Brown (apartment style), I have the opportunity to make my own food, venture places to get more savory food, and experiment more with where I eat my food, which means less trips to the BLUU. Since the beginning of last year, many of my friends told me I had this knack of making even the most unflavorful food look so delicious. I have continued on with this habit through sophomore year, now documenting the food I eat, continuing to make it very appetizing and luxurious. So I thought I would give some tips on how I make eating food so luxurious through photography, even when you are not at a five-star restaurant in uptown New York.

I capture my luxurious and sumptuous way of eating food through photography an obsessive hobby of mine. College life can sometimes get very stressful and extremely overwhelming. Its always important to make the most of what you have, and by being creative, like on how you eat your food and how you document it can be a very entertaining way to spend your Friday night in. In this list I will be giving you advice on how to take photos of either your food, or you and your food. I also have to admit that I am obsessed with photography.

I find taking pictures of food or anything remotely on the artsy side, is much more enjoyable than taking pictures in scandalous clothing, bathed in glitter, at some frat party with red solo cups shredded across the muddy ground (I’ve had my experience with those as well): an image of yourself that you definitely want to post on facebook to show all you future employers that you have a “well-rounded and educated life.” So maybe after reading this, instead of one Saturday night going “out”, you’ll go to Krispy Kremes, buy a dozen donuts, take photos in the car with your best friend, blasting music, and then drive around and find an empty parking lot to dance around in, as you sing to Beyoncé’s “Sorry”, and enjoying the simple but wonderful aspects of life.

1) A solid white background is key.

Whenever you want a good contrast of colors, a solid white background, or practically any solid colored wall is key for letting those natural tones in your skin and of your food come out. It is the number one best background to take pictures with food in front of. I think, especially with photography, you need to be very creative, which is my specialty. This wall is in our apartment, next to a window, which means it has fantastic natural light. The natural light makes your skin radiate and glow, something everyone wants. In this photo my best friend and I are eating ramen. Ramen, a Chinese-style wheat soup dish, are these savory noodles that may look like any other noodle dish, but are in fact these exquisite noodles of pure heaven that leave a sweetly spicy residue in your mouth. By using a solid white background and playing with your food, you can definitely make it look as good as it tastes. Literally looking at this photo, I’m starting to drool. Using a solid backdrop is a definite must.


2) Use a random every day location for shooting. It brings this authentic and candid accent to your photos.

This is back during the night we drove to Krispy Kremes and bought a dozen donuts. Sometimes you don’t need an elaborate place to take photos, something which I have learned over the years. Sometimes the best photo can be taken somewhere you go all the time and never think of as an ideal shooting location. These were taken in my car. The flash was essential! First of all it was too dark, so the flash made us visible and second of all I love flash because it brings out this very candid tone to the photos, and also it highlights your skin (something I know every girl likes).


3) Blurry photos are good.

When it comes to artsy photo taking, blurry can be good. I know when your wanting to take a friend group photo, and if one person’s face is blurry or their eyes are red, its an immediate retake. However, a blurry image once again can bring in that candid, “I took this in the spur of the moment” look to it. It’s almost like one of Vermeer’s paintings (I’m an art history major, that’s why I’m making this reference), a peek inside of someone’s life, capturing a fleeting moment. Blurriness can make it all the cooler, especially if you are eating donuts.

4) Angle shoots are awesome.

Not every photo needs to be straight on. Angles are awesome because it makes the viewer look at it longer. And when you take photos of food at an angle, it draws in the observer, making them analyze in detail the texture of the food, the soften wrapper, the glassy porcelain plate. It makes it all the more bewildering.

5) Play with your food.

You don’t always need to take pictures of you eating food (which I prefer though) but playing with it can turn into an awesome and innovative activity! If you don’t know me, my favorite patisserie are French macaroons, which you should be able to find at any central market or local French bakery. These are great desserts to play with. As you can see below, these abnormally large ones were fantastic to cover my eyes with.

6) Please don’t think you have to smile in every photo, cause you don’t.

Yes, smiling and laughing always turn into great photos, but a great alternative to that is making faces, like opening your eyes wide, puckering your lips, winking. There are a thousands of different expressions and hundreds of muscles in your face. You can manage to do a lot more than just smile and laugh. Doing this will add a uniqueness to your photos, incomparable to anyone else’s. But yes I understand you all most likely will want to smile when you see food, but you may also want to seduce it, and that can lead to many cool and hilarious expressions along with great memories.

7) What do you wear?

I love taking photos. What you want to wear all depends on what you’re going for. My best friend and I last year went to Dallas and took photos at the modern sculpture garden at the DAMA, which, as you can guess, was very modern, so we wore, simple linear dark colors to create this idea that we were also sculptures as well, but we could also have easily worn flowy romantic outfits to contrast against the harsh shapes and lines, but that wasn’t what we were going for. Now with food, in my honest opinion, I think it always looks the most luxurious when you are in either your everyday comfy clothes or PJ’s. Again it brings that “I want to be her”, I want to jump into that photo, snuggled on the couch with my slippers on, a stack of magazines next to me and a bowl of sweets in my lap. The comfier you are, the better!

ABOVE: Us at the Dallas Modern Art Museum. Dress to the occasion.

8) You may not be in the Ritz Hotel in Paris, but that doesn’t mean you can’t act like it

It doesn’t matter where you are, only as long as you have an open mind and a free spirit you can feel like your anywhere- from dining in Paris with a view of the Eiffel tower to enjoying the Venetian ambiance of Italy. If you feel like your there, it will look like you are there, and will graciously translate over to your photos. In order to get that photo all your friends are obsessing over, all you need is to throw on some comfy clothes, eat a yummy dessert, find a unique place to eat, and become a captivated soul lost in the exquisite taste of your food, roaming the lamp lit streets of Paris.

9)You need a partner in crime.

This is an obvious one! You can’t have a photoshoot by yourself! You need a best friend who will take photos of you eating food and likewise! It makes it all the better having a dear friend enjoy these memories with you, as you both embark on this cuisine adventure.

10)The more natural the filter the better.

I bet at this point you’re wondering “What type of filters do I use?” Lately I have been obsessed with using the app ColorStory because the filters are so natural! The best filters are the ones when you can’t tell there is one. A filter should bring out the warm colors and highlight the cool shades. Vscocam is also another great editing source! Play around with different editing apps, who knows what you can find!

XOXO

Rach

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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