COOKBOOK PHOTOSHOOT! REBEL BAKES
During June 2023, THE hottest month of that year, I had the total honour of photographing George Hepher’s super delicious cookbook, REBEL BAKES!
From day dot of the cookbook shoot, things were well, shall we say… different. The bakes were unlike anything I’d ever seen before - big, bold, over the top and utterly indulgent! The energy was electric; we all HAD to give 1000% to pull the vision for this book off and that meant giving the creation of this cookbook all our energy indeed! And of course the aforementioned heat made everything feel intense and unforgettable.
In today’s blog post, I’m sharing what it was really like photographing the Sunday Times best selling cookbook REBEL BAKES, and showcasing some of my most favourite photos from the book.
BEFORE THE COOKBOOK SHOOT…
Like all cookbook shoots and other longer, bigger food photography shoots, it’s important to have a plan and decide in advance what the look and feel of the book should be, what lighting set up to work with, who the team should consist of and what the daily shoot plan will be.
For the REBEL BAKES cookbook, we had a number of meetings which resulted in the publisher, Green Finch Books, an imprint of Quercus Books, putting together a gorgeous mood board that consisted of bold colours and harsh lighting.
Though I’ve used artificial and harsh light before, shooting an entire book in this style was a challenge, but one I was excited to take on! As a photographer I feel it’s so important to push one’s creativity, always. Moreover, with this cookbook I really wanted to take my sense of style, composition and aesthetic and marry it with the publisher’s and the author’s hopes and dreams for this cookbook!
PROP STYLING THE REBEL BAKES COOKBOOK
As some of you who have been around from the beginning will know, I started my career as a prop stylist before becoming a food stylist and eventually going for it as a food photographer.
Hence, when the editor at Greenfinch Books asked if I’d be happy to prop style the book as well, I jumped at the opportunity!
I knew I would be working with a lot of brown tones as REBEL BAKES is, as the name suggests, a baking book, so I was keen to off set those browns with some poppy colours. Going with bright, yet sophisticated pastel tones was a request the author had, but I also knew this book was an opportunity to throw in a few wild cards as well and, with the publisher’s permission, I sourced some cloths with gorgeous patterns as well as a few props that were more bold, bright and in-your-face than pretty-in-pastel. The mix and match that these two types of prop styles provided was perfect for the cookbook!
You can see some behind the scenes video clips of the prop styling involved in the REBEL BAKES cookbook HERE.
it’s cookbook photoshoot week 1!
Photographing a baking book is rather different than photographing a ‘regular’ cookbook. There’s a heck of a lot more cream, butter, eggs and milk involved in bringing the book to life, all of which need to be refrigerated. Plus, the bakes were quite over the top and rather large and they too needed to be refrigerated to ensure they didn’t melt in the sweltering heat!
Luckily the author, George, brought two extra fridges along to the shoot to add to the fridge available in my studio kitchen already! I’m not sure what we’d have done without them!
The first few days were all about us finding our feet as a team. As it happens, I’d worked with Katie Marshall, the food stylist, many times before, including on the EAT WITH BEDER cookbook which I’d shot the previous year. We get along so well and it was wonderful to have her calming presence on the shoot.
George and his sister Samantha were a JOY to work with and once we got through day one and they saw that I was able to bring their vision to life, they were fully able relax into the week’s shoot!
THE COOKBOOK COVER SHOOT week 2!
Week 2 of the REBEL BAKES cookbook shoot was almost chill; we had build trust and a great rapport as a team and I could sense, even then, that the book we were capturing was going to be a HUGE success!
This meant that we felt able to capture a few shots that were bolder than those captured during week 1 as well as photograph a number of different shots specifically with the view of choosing one that would make for a show stopping cover.
There were a handful of cover options captured during the shoot and I wasn’t sure which one the publisher would go with, but I’m delighted with their choice and feel that together with the stunning book design, the cover helped cement REBEL BAKES destiny to becoming a Sunday Times best selling cookbook!
I want to take this opportunity to thank George’s Bakery and Green Finch Books for trusting me to capture these wonderful bakes for the book! It’s been a total honour working with you!
before you go…..
Photographing the REBEL BAKES cookbook has been an incredible experience, but I know that it wouldn’t have happened if the publisher hadn’t seen my work and been interested in working with me.
Therefore, if you’re a food photographer who is eager to take your next step forward in your career, be sure to build an irresistible food photography portfolio! To help you do just that, be sure to download my FREE portfolio mini guide below!
Alternatively, do check out my food photography and styling workshops HERE, I’d love to hear from you.