Monday night I volunteered at a Seattle SmugMug event, and it was fun! Ryan Matthew Smith, photographer for the Modernist Cuisine cook-book, was there to show us some photos and talk about his process. It was really cool!

Then, after his presentation, we set up stations around the room with food cooked by some amazing chefs, and everyone came around to each station to take turns photographing the setup. I had a ‘strobe’ setup: I used one large soft-box with an Alien Bees AB-800 light as the light source behind the food, added a bit more diffusion with a tri-grip diffuser, and then filled the front in with foam-board. The image on the left shows the basic setup and the image on the right is a quickie I did in-between photographers going at it.

A huge thanks to everyone who made this possible!

Monday night I volunteered at a Seattle SmugMug event, and it was fun! Ryan Matthew Smith, photographer for the Modernist Cuisine cook-book, was there to show us some photos and talk about his process. It was really cool!

Then, after his presentation, we set up stations around the room with food cooked by some amazing chefs, and everyone came around to each station to take turns photographing the setup. I had a ‘strobe’ setup: I used one large soft-box with an Alien Bees AB-800 light as the light source behind the food, added a bit more diffusion with a tri-grip diffuser, and then filled the front in with foam-board. The image on the left shows the basic setup and the image on the right is a quickie I did in-between photographers going at it.

A huge thanks to everyone who made this possible!

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.

24 Comments

  1. Brian Bonham October 2, 2012 at 6:22 pm - Reply

    Sounds like a party right up your alley:  photography, food and food photography ;)  Hope it was a great birthday.

  2. Brian Bonham October 2, 2012 at 6:22 pm - Reply

    Sounds like a party right up your alley:  photography, food and food photography ;)  Hope it was a great birthday.

  3. Alice Luque October 2, 2012 at 6:23 pm - Reply

    hi hi

  4. Nicholas Pappagallo Jr October 2, 2012 at 6:29 pm - Reply

    Great Idea, did you have a speaker or just a workshop?

  5. Nicholas Pappagallo Jr October 2, 2012 at 6:29 pm - Reply

    Great Idea, did you have a speaker or just a workshop?

  6. Wade Brooks October 2, 2012 at 6:52 pm - Reply

    Looks like a great event and you got to play on your birthday, too. Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

  7. Wade Brooks October 2, 2012 at 6:52 pm - Reply

    Looks like a great event and you got to play on your birthday, too. Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

  8. SmugMug October 2, 2012 at 7:19 pm - Reply

    +Nicole S. Young Oh man, those photos are making our stomachs grumble! Gorgeous as always, Nicole.

  9. SmugMug October 2, 2012 at 7:19 pm - Reply

    +Nicole S. Young Oh man, those photos are making our stomachs grumble! Gorgeous as always, Nicole.

  10. Melanie Liven October 2, 2012 at 7:39 pm - Reply

    look so good

  11. Melanie Liven October 2, 2012 at 7:39 pm - Reply

    look so good

  12. Mark Imhof October 2, 2012 at 7:51 pm - Reply

    Very cool, looks like fun and gets you Hungry.

  13. Mark Imhof October 2, 2012 at 7:51 pm - Reply

    Very cool, looks like fun and gets you Hungry.

  14. Michael Braucht October 2, 2012 at 8:00 pm - Reply

    I love the light box in the back. Where did that come from. Info?

  15. Michael Braucht October 2, 2012 at 8:00 pm - Reply

    I love the light box in the back. Where did that come from. Info?

  16. Nicole S. Young October 2, 2012 at 8:17 pm - Reply

    +Michael Braucht It's an Alien Bees light (B-800) and large softbox. Here's a link: http://paulcbuff.com/alienbees.php

  17. Nicole S. Young October 2, 2012 at 8:17 pm - Reply

    +Michael Braucht It's an Alien Bees light (B-800) and large softbox. Here's a link: http://paulcbuff.com/alienbees.php

  18. Michael Braucht October 2, 2012 at 8:42 pm - Reply

    +Nicole S. Young Thank you!!!

  19. Michael Braucht October 2, 2012 at 8:42 pm - Reply

    +Nicole S. Young Thank you!!!

  20. Victor Hernandez October 3, 2012 at 2:59 am - Reply

    Hi Victor in ad nj

  21. Victor Hernandez October 3, 2012 at 2:59 am - Reply

    Hi Victor in ad nj

  22. Asomaning Prince October 3, 2012 at 3:56 pm - Reply

    Nice

  23. Asomaning Prince October 3, 2012 at 3:56 pm - Reply

    Nice

  24. Dave Nguyen October 3, 2012 at 1:08 pm - Reply

    Hey Nicole, Thanks for helping out and it was fun shooting at your station!

Leave A Comment

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