Professional Food Photography Feature: A Shoot For Westfield Sydney’s Food Is Fashion campaign

Photography by Tanya Zouev, food styling by Janet Mitchell.

In my twenty-something year career as a photographer I have shot many people, and a lot of food. I don’t often get the opportunity to combine the two, however this month I was very excited to have been commissioned to shoot a campaign for Westfield Sydney named “Food Is Fashion”, an arresting concept with a sense of humour juxtaposing fashion with food. For this I worked closely with Sydney P.R. agency Liquid Ideas and food stylist Janet Mitchell to bring the idea to fruition.

The brief was to match seventeen food images to seventeen very stylish Westfield Sydney shoppers, photographed by fashion photographer Nicole Cooper, who was nicknamed the Style Hunter for the campaign. Dishes from Westfield Sydney’s food precincts were selected to complement the participating fashionistas, highlighting the blurred lines between food and fashion.

Over three days the food portraits Janet and I created evolved into a series of strong, bold images that represent both the outfit and the person wearing it. From a statuesque, tall block of blue cheese to an elegant croquembouche, the aim was to show the Sydney public that Westfield Sydney is not only a fashion destination, but a food mecca as well. Whether your tastes lie in denim and pearls, or lamingtons and dumplings, Westfield Sydney caters to it all.

It was a privilege to shoot for the retailers involved which included Jones The Grocer, Chat Thai, The Tea Salon, Cara&Co, Snag Stand and Via del Corso. The shoot was a tremendous amount of fun and I met some really wonderful people from both Westfield Sydney and the retailers profiled in the campaign. Needless to say a great deal of food was consumed by the crew and having sampled much of it I can honestly say the cornucopia available throughout the centre is astounding. (I can personally recommend the Snag Stand’s chips with truffle aioli as being some of the best fried spuds I’ve ever had in my life.)

Below are some behind the scenes pictures from the shoot as well as a sneak preview of the food pictures from the exhibition which will be on at Westfield Sydney from July the 25th until August 15th, across Level Five and Level Six. (I will also post them up here once the exhibition opens.) The images were shot on a Canon 5D Mark 3 using 100mm F:2.8 and a 28-70mm F:2.8 lenses and Elinchrom lighting.

All behind the scenes pics are by Amy Cochrane, our assistant on the shoot.

To follow the campaign on Twitter go to @westfieldsyd and #foodisfashion.

(Pic: Each concept would begin with placing down a stand-in plate of food to match the props and the fashion image to.)

(Pic: Janet Mitchell and I selecting props to go with the next dish which is about to hit the deck. I love working with Janet, she is a team player, always willing to take on board ideas not only from myself but from other crew members. Nothing is too much trouble for this lady, she is a joy to work with, a consummate professional.)

(Pic: Janet the perfectionist, “Now how do I make this piece of fabric sit at an angle of 39.4 degrees to the plate and flatware?”)

(Pic: Matching finger sandwiches from The Tea Salon to one of the Style Hunter’s fashionistas.)

 (Pic: Me behind the camera, my favourite place to be. I really love my Canon gear.)

(Pic: Cara&Co’s No Animals Were Harmed potato gnocchi with celeriac, carrot and beetroot.)

(Pic: Stunning macarons by Via del Corso. The blue ones are salted peanut butter, one of the best macarons I’ve ever eaten. A must for peanut butter lovers.)

More to follow next week with the actual exhibition images so stay tuned.