Welcome from Tanya Zlateva, Associate Dean, Metropolitan College; Rebecca Alssid, Director, Programs in Food and Wine, Boston University; John Carafoli and Lisa Golden Schroeder, Co-chairs

Presenter: Ignacio Urquiza, Michael Athanasiou, Caroline Westmore, Linda Brushfield

What's going on in the business outside of your own marketplace? We read professional publications to stay current, but don't always have time to read about issues from across the ocean or border from us. A panel, comprised of food stylists and a food photographer, from Mexico, Greece, and Australia share their work and what they see as the current trends and work style in their part of the globe. We will open this session up for an audience discussion, bringing in comments from participants working all over the world.

Presenters: Jim Scherer and Katherine Hennessey

Busy food photographer Jim Scherer and sales representative Katherine Hennessey will outline smart ways to help you and your clients get the most bang for your photography buck. Topics include building an accurate estimate, the need for effective pre-production planning, and the importance of teamwork on the set. How do photographer, stylist, and art director brand the photography, so it looks like it belongs to this client and not another client? What do your images say about you? And what is the importance of photography within your overall marketing mix?
This session is intended for anyone involved in image creation who wants to provide sound solutions for their clients.

Presenter: Debbie Wahl

Veteran food stylist, Debbie Wahl, through photo review and demonstration, will show the evolution of food styling over the past 25 years. As photography technology has advanced, so have styling techniques. Myths of "fake" food and the use of non-edible products to give food under the camera staying power are becoming notions of the past, but some strange perceptions about what a food stylist does persist. Old or bad styling practices vs new and contemporary methods will be compared—with an emphasis on more casual styling and newer “green” techniques being embraced worldwide.

Master Class
Chocolate: History, Politics, and Practical Techniques for Photography

Presenter: Melanie Dubberley

So you've landed that big chocolate shoot! Now what? Melanie Dubberley, food stylist known for her chocolate work, will share the fundamentals of successfully handling this challenging ingredient. Learn where chocolate comes from and explore the origins of the new organics trend and its significance for working with chocolate products. Discover the ins and outs of chocolate tempering—and when it isn't necessary. Delve into an in-depth demonstration of essential chocolate styling techniques from bars to sauces. Take home helpful tips for photographers, stylists, and art directors—and the right questions to ask when hired to shoot this most indulgent food. Limited enrollment - requires registration.

Food for Film—Production Fundamentals for Commercials, Movies and Television

Presenters: Julie Hettiger and Rick Ellis

Styling food for commercials, movies, or television involves far more than the typical preparation of a single “stand-in” and then the final “hero” for a print shoot. The pure logistical planning and stamina requires a different skill set for the food stylist. Can you be ready for 50 takes of the same food shot? Jule Hettiger and Rick Ellis, two film stylists who have tackled television shoots on location and full-feature films involving massive amounts of food, share their cool-headed approach to this daunting venue for stylists. They will fully examine the demands and preparation needed for this kind of work, plus their take on current trends in the business. Great solutions for making tough things happen on film.

Transforming Recipes into Amazing Photos 

Panelists: Romulo Yanes, Paul Grimes, Ruth Cousineau and Maggie Ruggiero

The editorial team from Gourmet magazine will give an insider tour of how they develop their editorial plans and new recipes for each issue, then how they decide on the photographs to best illustrate each article. How do they choose what to put on the cover of the magazine? Do recipes change in the kitchen to reflect how the food looks once under the camera? Does the test kitchen team think about developing recipes in a specific way so they are more attractive? What role does the staff photographer play in the planning process and how does the process change when a part of the magazine is shot on location or by a freelance photographer? Do the staff stylists have a strong voice in the recipes to be photographed? Understand the need for accuracy in portraying recipes when home cooks love to see food look incredible on the printed page, but also expect it to look the same in their own kitchens.

Creative Minds: Compelling Photos In Review

Panelists: Beth Galton, Deborah Jones, and Francine Zaslow

A panel of award-winning and highly admired food shooters will share their work, their creative inspirations, and what it takes for them to get “the” shot. From working with stylists to photographing chefs or food in their own environments, these dynamic women have a special touch to their photographs that is hard to define and sets them apart. They will show what makes them commercially successful, but also artistically unique.

Reality Check—Is This for Real?

Presenters: Betsy Robinson and Cindy Lund

This seminar will explore the truth and consequences of the advertising images we see and often create. Whether photographing or styling a cookbook, magazine, print ad, television commercial, or package front, you need to be aware of your legal and ethical responsibility when representing a product or recipe. Changes in advertising venues, new methods of photographic manipulation, and consumers’ growing concern with health issues are all affecting how we conduct our businesses today. Examine how these industry changes impact our responsibilities to represent food beautifully, yet accurately. Betsy Robinson and Cindy Lund will address these issues and ethical parameters from two specific viewpoints; that of a major food corporation and that of an independent consultant. Who are the governing agencies that regulate food advertising? What are the differences between what's legal and what's ethical? What procedures and practices will keep you and your client on the same track? And what can you do when the studio team can't agree? A compelling review of current food images will help you decide for yourself how the food styling/photography industry is doing.

Master Class
More Than One Way to Roast a Chicken or Make a Burger

Presenter: Dan Macey

You've heard all the so-called tricks. Many have become the lore of food styling and perpetuated by Internet blogs—motor oil on turkeys, Vaseline on steaks, and hair spray on pot roasts! Here you will see the real results of days of tests experimenting with the best ways to style meat and poultry for the camera. Dan will demonstrate the results of his testing on poultry, pork, and beef using browning agents, hydrating methods and styling techniques. Multiple ways to achieve the "grilled" look will also be tackled as well as techniques for handling raw meat shots and creating meat sandwiches. The class will show that there are multiple ways to achieve great results depending on the available resources and desired results of the shoot. Limited enrollment - requires registration.

Join us for a lobster bake by Jasper White of Jasper White's Summer Shack
(pre-registration required).

Introduction by Beth Forrest, Assistant Director, Programs in Food and Wine, Boston University.

Presenters: Harold McGee and Shirley Corriher

Harold McGee and Shirley Corriher, two highly regarded food chemistry experts, will explore new trends in the ways food is being transformed in restaurant kitchens—which eventually trickles down to home cooks and photographs of food in magazines, cookbooks, and new food product advertising. How can current trends translate to what stylists and photographers are doing in the studio when shooting food? And what food chemistry principles and techniques could help make stylists' jobs easier?

Presenters: Carol Peterson and Michelle Glander

Food stylist Carol Peterson and restaurant marketing executive Michelle Glander will take you through the steps to create a successful restaurant shoot that ends with beautiful, descriptive photos. Each step of the process will be shared, starting with the marketing brief or need (a sales brochure, menu, advertisements, etc.), translating the final goal of the shoot into the idea/concept phase with designers, then hiring the right hotographer/stylist team to execute the layouts. The importance of pre-production planning will be emphasized. The presenters will share the process and outcome of actual shoots in photo studios and on location in restaurants—and the stylist's role in making the food look delicious and believable.

Presenters: Delores Custer and James Scherzi

What are the basic requisites of a good food photo? What are the subtle differences between a photo that is "good" and one that is "sensational, visually appealing and utterly mouthwatering?" In this session, everyone is a critic as stylist Delores Custer and photographer James Scherzi cover the details that add up to an extraordinary food image. Through visual examples, the presenters will explore what works and what doesn't and what the key criteria are for evaluating effective editorial and advertising photos. They will explore ways to establish a signature look to images. They will also share how to put together and direct a good food-photo team, outline some basic food photography history, and point out current trends to watch. Learn to look at food images in a new, fresh way with a critical eye.

Design Trends and Prop Styles

Presenters: Susan Linnet Cox and Jay Bruns

Susan Linnet Cox and Jay Bruns, design and set specialists will discuss how the entire studio team can operate effortlessly in setting the atmosphere for successful photos. They will take a close look at trends in design, tabletop and housewares, textiles, color, and propping techniques for providing clients with just the right image for their products. Working effectively with every kind of photo stylist, the current fashion of chefs and designers creating signature tableware, and the art of commissioning artists for unique tabletop pieces for photography will be shared.

Master Class
Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts

Presenters: Judy Peck Prindle and Jim Scherer

For so many of us, the thought of shooting ice cream sends chills, then real worry about the logistics. Watch studio pros Judy Peck Prindle and Jim Scherer as they demonstrate the tight collaboration necessary to work with frozen desserts, from the loose editorial "scoop 'n shoot" to the ultra-controlled advertising or packaging shot. Better understand pre-production planning, prep in the studio kitchen, and working under the camera with a photographer—reducing the stress of shooting real ice cream.

Effective Marketing Strategies for Photographers and Stylists

Presenter: Ilise Benun

Self-marketing guru and mentor Ilise Benun will take a close look at what prospective clients are looking for—and the best way to reach them. Cold calling, electronic or direct mail promotions, portfolio and web site development, creative “concepting” for clients, testing for portfolio, or stock photography and mastering your own business development will be addressed. Case studies of the marketing plans and materials of a real photographer and stylist will be reviewed and evaluated for the audience.

Following the Light

Presenter: Teri Campbell

Come explore current trends in lighting for food with Teri Campbell, a highly successful food shooter who will reveal the lighting techniques he uses to make appetite-appealing images that do more than just document a product. Learn how to evoke an emotional response from the viewer—usually one that says, "I want that." If you think your lighting looks the same every time, or if you struggle to get the look you want, this session may be inspiration to try something new.

Welcome by Jay Halfond, Dean of Boston University's Metropolitan College and Extended Education.

Concluding statements from organizers, purpose of conference, general housekeeping, etc.

Darra Goldstein, a professor at Williams College, is also the editor of Gastronomica magazine, a University of California Press publication that elaborates quarterly on the relationship of food to culture. She chooses photographs for every issue that illustrate articles as diverse as the origins of barbecue, "Alaska's Vanishing Arctic Cuisine" (including a shot of rendered seal oil from blubber), and "Behind the Bee's Knees," an ode to how honeybees do their job, complete with a full-page photo of bees on a tray of screened pollen. But her choices of controversial or provocative images are the most fascinating, from a cover that featured a very tight shot of a mustachioed farm worker eating a tomato fresh from the field to an artist's interpretation of our daily struggle with food, using a series of monochromatic photos of a decadently lush nude woman cavorting with lithe "handmaidens" enjoying bowls of pasta. Darra will share her vision of how photographs of people, food, and their environments can affect viewers, start conversations, and possibly effect action or change.

Panelists: John Carafoli, Lisa Golden Schroeder, Eugene Mopsik, Neil Martin, Carolyn Dowd, open audience discussion

How are we conducting our core businesses, beyond the creative aspect of what we do? Do you struggle with important business policies that can affect your bottom line? Join our panel of stylists, the director of a photography trade association, an art director, and an art buyer in a panel discussion about setting rates, hiring and working with support staff, dealing with expenses, overtime, marketing and referrals, image usage, the impact of stock photography on commissioned photography, the use of technology (Photoshop), finding the best approach for every job—and staying fresh and creative at the same time!