I had some bananas that had been sitting on my counter for a few days and were über ripe, so I decided to make banana bread. I also had some fresh cherries just sitting around, so I decided to throw them into the banana bread to see what happened. :) It turned out very nicely, and very yummy! I don’t do a lot of baking, and don’t eat a lot of sweet stuff so it was fun to do something different for a change. The recipe is at the bottom of the post … it’s from an old family cook-book my grandma gave me several years ago (I noted the changes I made in the ingredients).

To photograph it, I didn’t have any cherries leftover to add to the scene, so instead I used a very cute tea-cup that I’d been wanting to photograph for quite some time to add color to the background. I also placed a pat of margarine on the bread and steamed it with a hand-steamer to melt it (see this post for more info on that technique) … it also added a subtle touch of steaminess to the top-right part of the scene, too. I used window-light with two folded white foam-boards to fill in the light on the food, and a black foam-board in the back to soften the light and prevent overexposed areas, and also to lessen any reflection that would appear on the liquid in the tea-cup.

Banana Bread:

  • 1 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup shortening (I used melted butter)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed (I used three)
  • 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts and also added whole, fresh pitted cherries)

Sift sugar, salt, baking soda & flour together. Stir in shortening, yolks and milk. Stir in bananas. Fold in egg whites and nuts. Put in greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. (I also sprinkled some sliced almonds on the top before baking.) Bake at 350° F for 60–70 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

I had some bananas that had been sitting on my counter for a few days and were über ripe, so I decided to make banana bread. I also had some fresh cherries just sitting around, so I decided to throw them into the banana bread to see what happened. :) It turned out very nicely, and very yummy! I don’t do a lot of baking, and don’t eat a lot of sweet stuff so it was fun to do something different for a change. The recipe is at the bottom of the post … it’s from an old family cook-book my grandma gave me several years ago (I noted the changes I made in the ingredients).

To photograph it, I didn’t have any cherries leftover to add to the scene, so instead I used a very cute tea-cup that I’d been wanting to photograph for quite some time to add color to the background. I also placed a pat of margarine on the bread and steamed it with a hand-steamer to melt it (see this post for more info on that technique) … it also added a subtle touch of steaminess to the top-right part of the scene, too. I used window-light with two folded white foam-boards to fill in the light on the food, and a black foam-board in the back to soften the light and prevent overexposed areas, and also to lessen any reflection that would appear on the liquid in the tea-cup.

Banana Bread:

  • 1 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup shortening (I used melted butter)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed (I used three)
  • 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts and also added whole, fresh pitted cherries)

Sift sugar, salt, baking soda & flour together. Stir in shortening, yolks and milk. Stir in bananas. Fold in egg whites and nuts. Put in greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. (I also sprinkled some sliced almonds on the top before baking.) Bake at 350° F for 60–70 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Stay in touch

Stay in touch and get the latest updates by subscribing to my newsletter below:

Nicolesy Newsletter: Homepage Form

Nicole is a photographer, published author, and educator specializing in Lightroom, Photoshop, and photography. She is best known for her books on food photography but is widely versed in various photographic genres, including landscape, nature, stock, travel, and experimental imagery.

9 Comments

  1. Jim Hayes May 30, 2011 at 3:22 pm - Reply

    Great photo advice, good cook, are you married;)? Just kidding, but this 70 year old is glad I was referred to your blog!
    Jim Hayes

  2. Joe May 30, 2011 at 4:26 pm - Reply

    Thanks for sharing. Almost makes we want to take pictures of food :)

  3. valerie jardin May 31, 2011 at 6:21 am - Reply

    Another great tutorial and recipe! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Melli June 2, 2011 at 12:06 pm - Reply

    Lovely image and thank you for the “how to”.

  5. Harry Hilders June 6, 2011 at 8:10 am - Reply

    Looks yummi!

  6. Emily June 11, 2011 at 10:03 pm - Reply

    I found this post thanks to your weekend recipe for lavender crusted rack of lamb. THANK YOU! This is so helpful! I’m going to buy some foam boards this week and pick up a hand steamer. I’m no professional but I do like doing the best I can with my food photos. :)

  7. Karen June 18, 2011 at 9:48 am - Reply

    This is wonderful, and I’m so appreciative of the fact that you shared the lighting setup and tips. This is a great blog!!!

  8. Silvia Jansen June 22, 2011 at 4:43 am - Reply

    nice image and great advice on lighting

  9. Katie June 6, 2012 at 8:01 pm - Reply

    In the oven now…it smells heavenly!!

Leave A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.