Photography & Styling

Watch Our Photographer Set Up For a Shoot—in 2 Minutes

Sponsored
December  4, 2015

We know it's going to impress us (and maybe you!), so we partnered with Sahale Snacks ® to see what some of our favorite creatives do during their in-between time. Today, see our photographer James Ransom set up for a shoot.

Our photographer James Ransom has been hanging around Food52 for almost 5 years, making our food look better than we could imagine—with just a good lens and natural light. And we've come a long way since that time. "When I started, we were shooting at Amanda's apartment once a week. Now we shoot almost every day. The new office allows for more shooting space, so we can build small room sets, or do two shoots at once," James says.

For James, the beginning of a shoot day sets the tone of the rest. "I can set up in 20 to 30 minutes. I have a basic setup that I start with and then adjust as needed," he explains. "Breaking down is a lot faster for some reason..."

Shop the Story

More: Check out James' shoot day essentials here.

Shoot days are some of the most exciting and busy in the office—everyone's moving fast and collaborating, and James is helping us make it all happen. Editors direct the scene, and James lights and composes the shot. (His favorite food to shoot? Roasted vegetables!) Lucky for us, he's never phased; he's usually cracking jokes and sneaking snacks—and he's never far from an iced yerba mate tea. We wanted to share what a shoot day is like at Food52, so watch the video above and see what it's like to set up with James.

Video by Vacation

We partnered with Sahale Snacks ® to share how some of our favorite creatives never waste a moment during their in-between times to Snack Better®. See all of their nut mixes here.

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • tom
    tom
  • Zoe Ching
    Zoe Ching
I love oysters and unfussy sandwiches.

2 Comments

tom August 10, 2016
Bad link. I'm trying to read article about why fruit and herbs are meant for each other and it keeps directing to this article.
 
Zoe C. July 10, 2016
This was fantastic to see! I am reshooting product shots for our company's website and James/Food52 has been my main source of guidance and inspiration so thank you for the behind the scenes - they are so fascinating.