SAVI KLASEN
Before and After
When it comes to food photography, I have always described my personal style as “food blogger-esque.” I love to arrange ingredients in food in creative ways, I love showing the process of creating a dish, and I also love to use bright, soft, light, which reminds me of what I see on some of my favorite food and recipe blogs. Many different food bloggers have created their own unique touch to how they photograph their dishes and ingredients to create a desired mood for their readers, whether it be a consistent color pattern, different types of props and utensils used, or even the choice of ingredients they are choosing to create recipes for. One thing that I consistently see from food bloggers are two standard shots that will be on their recipe page: a top-down shot of all of the ingredients and a top town shot of the completed dish. By juxtaposing these two specific kinds of photographs from food photographers and bloggers, one can almost create a “before and after” on how to create a specific meal. This showcases the transformative process of cooking and how simple ingredients can create a really yummy meal.
I photographed five different meals that I tend to eat in my everyday life: Oatmeal with fresh berries for breakfast, black bean and potato chipotle tacos for lunch, hummus and pita and veggies as an afternoon snack, pasta primavera for dinner, and peanut butter banana “ice cream” with salted caramel sauce. I chose these meals specifically because they are completely vegan and plant-based while also having affordable and approachable ingredients. I have been vegan for about 4 years now and this lifestyle does not have to be all about eating salads or meat alternatives (while both can still be quite delicious). Everything was also fairly easy to make, but also super delicious. I believe that my photographs showcase that avoiding animal products can be approachable while also enjoyable and how plant-based foods can truly be transformed into an amazing meal.
