Welcome to the FIRST concept of the Photography Styling Challenge! For details about this challenge, read this post here.
I had a TON of fun thinking of ideas and doing practice sessions that led up to this final shoot. My meticulousness nature, I’ve realized, is quite suited for a stylist.
Bành Mí, correctly pronounced “bun-may”, is the sandwich of the Vietnamese culture. In many western cities, they are marketed simply as Vietnamese sandwiches. As a kid, I have fond memories of a few shops in Vietnamtown in Seattle, a small block adjacent to Chinatown, selling these sandwiches at the amazing deal of “buy 5, get 1 free.” Sadly, such a bargain no longer exists.
Vietnamese food takes the lead in my favorite foods. It was only fitting that I centered this month’s challenge around a favorite edible.
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It’s not too late to participate! If you have a styled shoot of food you’d like to share, feel free to link it in the comments below. If you want to officially join the challenge with us, let us know here. Stay tuned for next month’s concept: Table Setting.
Make sure to check out the other participants of this challenge:
At the Corner of Happy and Harried
We’ve been practicing! Find our photos on Instagram: #photostylingchallenge
Other styled photos from this challenge:
Photography Styling Challenge #1: Food
Photography Styling Challenge #2: Table Setting
Photography Styling Challenge #3: Wall Vignette
Photography Styling Challenge #4: Morning
Photography Styling Challenge #5: Bedroom
Photography Styling Challenge #6: Order
Photography Styling Challenge #7: Chaos
Photography Styling Challenge #8: Patterns
Photography Styling Challenge #9: Fashion
Photography Styling Challenge #10: Light
Photography Styling Challenge #11: Living Room
Photography Styling Challenge #12: Personal
Hey, I was waiting for you to put up this post, so that I could grab the link and link back to you! Amazing shots, M… you did a great job!!
Thanks, Anjana! It was soooo much fun! I’m thrilled to see everyone’s shoots - they all look fantastic! I’m already starting work on next month’s concept today. ~M.
That is great! Good luck!!
I’ve never tried these before and always wondered if they were tasty… I really wanna try one now
Good job on the shoot! I enjoyed doing it, even though I was SUPER hungover 
Not leaving it until the last minute next time. Hahaha!
Hats off to you for getting it done in your state! These sandwiches are my comfort food, without all the grease and fat. They’re a MUST-TRY!
Beautiful pictures, they’re making me hungry!
Awesome! If the photos make you hungry, then I’ve done my job in styling them properly. Thank you for your feedback! ~M.
Great pictures. I love the colors of the vegetables(esp carrot). Need some camera tips from you guys
I have so much to learn!
We are all learning, hence the point of this challenge! Let’s hope we can all inspire each other to be better. Keep it up! ~M.
Wow I love the pictures. Its so raw and real which is what makes it capturing. Great job!
Thank you so much, Shila! I really appreciate the feedback! ~M.
Such a great idea to challenge yourself, get practice and get out of your comfort zone. That is where you grow the most. Thanks for stopping by Two Loves Studio and letting me know your food post was up! I would love to give you some feedback.
Image 1 and 4 are your strongest images as they engage your readers by telling a story. I see that there is no editing allowed, so congrats - your exposure and white balance is spot on. In image 1, the use of the paper and twine really adds to the feeling of the photo and also breaks up the colour of the bread and the cutting board so the sandwich doesn’t get lost in the background. I like how your 4 photos show a process, from the sandwich as a whole to the exploring the ingredients. The way you have cropped your last image creates interest and tension in the photo.
I also love that you played around with the angles and explored the possibilities of expressing the food and ingredients.
Some things to consider!
Food photography really lends itself to portrait (vertical) orientation, as food has layers and height. Why not try this and see if it makes a difference for you?
Beautiful ingredients - half way there. The coriander looks a little limp. Keep it in the water until your ready ready for it and spritz it on set with a spray bottle of water. Gives it a fresh look.
To step up the look of the sandwhich in image 1, packing it with filling so that it can be seen coming out the sides of the sandwich allows the reader to immediate connect to whats inside the sandwich and they are not wondering what type of sandwich it is! If you bought Plate to Pixel, there is an image on page 202 that shows what I mean.
I hope this was helpful!
Ahhhh!! Thanks so much for your feedback, Rachel Jane! I didn’t think it’d be this involved, so I really appreciate you took the time to provide such detail.
1. I really wanted to go portrait on the shots, but I was working on a narrow background (the gray) so I kept it to landscape for that reason. I’ll def work at making a larger background so I can shoot in any orientation.
2. I completely agree with you on the cilantro! The book covers this and I just got lazy!
3. Had not thought to stuff the sandwich with more ingredients. What a great trick! Unfortunately, I didn’t have more ingredients on me as I bought the sandwiches from a restaurant and just worked with what they gave me.
This was incredibly helpful! The challenge no longer requires any more food photography, but your feedback really helps me for future blog posts that relate to food. You’re the best! ~M.
Looks great. This is a fun challenge I am going to work on participating in some of the future themes.
That would be awesome! Please make sure you let us know which ones you participate in so we can link you! ~M.
I think this is a fantastic idea!
Very interested in participating… so I can do so for any of them? Should I create the post for my blog and then let you know when it’s ready?
Hiya! You’re very welcome to participate! We’re currently in our 6th theme which is “Order”, but if you want to post some styled shoots of past themes, I won’t stop you! Please link up to me when you’ve got it up on your blog. Did you read the post with the rules of the challenge? ~M.