Episode 717: Are Your Food Photos Boring? With Shawna Clark

EBT717 – Shawna Clark

Intro 00:00

Food bloggers. Hi, how are you today? Thank you so much for tuning in to the Eat Blog Talk podcast. This is the place for food bloggers to get information and inspiration to accelerate your blog’s growth, and ultimately help you to achieve your freedom. Whether that’s financial, personal, or professional. I’m Megan Porta. I have been a food blogger for 13 years, so I understand how isolating food blogging can be. I’m on a mission to motivate, inspire, and most importantly, let each and every food blogger, including you, know that you are heard and supported. 

[00:00:37] Megan Porta  

I think we’re always looking for ways to level up our food photography. That’s something that just never stops. I loved this interview for this reason because it gave me some really good, new, fresh ideas for ways to add props to my food photography that I normally wouldn’t think of.

[00:00:59]   

Shawna Clark is the blogger over at Healthy Foodie Girl and she’s one of those people that just thinks really creatively with the details with her food photography and she shares so much great information. Inside this episode she talks about why props matter, how to start with a story and create a story with your photos.

[00:01:20]   

She talks about using smaller plates, matte plates versus glossy, how to add texture and layering to your scenes, and how to find those vintage finds that will add or spark emotion, I guess, for people. Inside of your scenes. She talks about backdrops and different ways to incorporate that into creating flavor in your scene and using ingredients as props and so much more.

[00:01:47]   

She gives little tiny snippets of information that are just like oh my gosh, I never did that or I never would have thought of that. So no matter where you’re at in your blogging journey or food photography journey, you should definitely listen to this episode. You will be so inspired. I absolutely loved my chat with Shawna. This is episode number 717. Enjoy.

[00:02:07]   Sponsor

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[00:03:13]  Megan Porta 

Healthy Foodie Girl is comprised of a mother daughter duo who are passionate about creating healthy recipes that are full of flavor and easy to make. They believe that eating well should be delicious and effortless. Together they share lightened up versions of favorite dishes using fresh ingredients and simple techniques. Their goal is to inspire others to enjoy a balanced, flavorful approach to healthy eating. Shawna, welcome to the podcast. How are you today?

[00:03:39]  Shawna Clark 

I’m good, thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:03:42]  Megan Porta 

Thanks for joining me. I’m excited to talk about photography, props, something that I ignore so you can convince me not to ignore them anymore. Before we get into that though, do you have a fun fact to share with us?

[00:03:56]  Shawna Clark 

Yes, I do. Prior to starting my food blog, I used to be a makeup artist in Hollywood and I used to work on magazines with celebrities, commercials, and it was a really fun and creative career. And through that career, I actually parlayed everything that I learned through that into this. It took me a minute though, but I think that it’s all kind of similar.

[00:04:23]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, the creative details, right?

[00:04:25]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, totally.

[00:04:26]  Megan Porta 

I love it. I love how things, like when you look back how things are, there are similar veins that you don’t see. Maybe at certain points in time, but. Yeah, that’s really cool that.

[00:04:39]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, no, it’s. It’s so true. It’s so true. I mean, at one point I thought I was going to do fashion design and then I thought I was going to be an interior designer and then I did makeup, but. And now this. But the crazy thing about that is, is it’s all very similar in, in a sense, you know, instead of painting faces, now I’m like working on plates of food, which is so similar in the weirdest way.

[00:05:03]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, no, that’s really cool and how cool that your fun fact ties perfectly into our subject today. So I would love to hear about your website. So Healthy Foodie Girl is your blog, correct? Give us a little background on it.

[00:05:18]  Shawna Clark 

Yes. Healthy Foodie Girl is my blog. Do it with my daughter. And it’s just something that kind of organically happened and it was so exciting to be able to start a business over again. Like I did my other career, but do this with my daughter this time. And we didn’t really know that she was going to be a part of it until we got into it and she loved it just as much.

[00:05:39]   

And it’s just turned out to be such an amazing experience. To grow a business that I’m so passionate about and then have her doing it with me is like the most amazing thing that could have actually ever happened. So it’s really. It’s really fantastic. Like, I couldn’t have thought we didn’t even know we were going to do this, and I couldn’t have thought of a better thing to be doing and sharing it with her.

[00:06:03]   

And it’s. It’s very great on so many levels.

[00:06:07]  Megan Porta 

Oh, my gosh. That makes me feel so happy. I’m so happy for you guys.

[00:06:11]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you.

[00:06:14]  Megan Porta 

What a cool project to tackle together. And I’m sure that, I mean, you know, you come across challenges, but also you probably grow together in new ways doing this. I mean, it’s a big project, so doing it together is probably great for you guys.

[00:06:31]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, yeah. No, it’s. It’s so funny how it even started. She was 15 when we first started this, and. Yeah, and she’s so funny because she’s so type A and, like, really driven as well. And she’s like, I wish I would have been blogging at 8. We’d be so much further along. And I just laugh.

[00:06:49]  Megan Porta 

Oh, my goodness.

[00:06:50]  Shawna Clark 

But it has the growth because we literally knew nothing when we started. And I feel like even still we’re constantly learning and changing and just when you think you have something, you learn something new.

[00:07:02]  Megan Porta 

So true. That’s the game. Yeah. And to have someone to do that with, especially a child, I think is really special. So good for you guys for doing that. I love that she said we should have started when I was eight.

[00:07:15]  Shawna Clark 

Totally.

[00:07:16]  Megan Porta 

That’s hilarious.

[00:07:18]  Shawna Clark 

I know.

[00:07:18]  Megan Porta 

Have you had a focus on photography from the start when? Yeah. When you guys started, was that initially a focus for you guys?

[00:07:28]  Shawna Clark 

I think the focus was yes. But prior. Prior to that, the thing was, is that we literally had to learn everything. So it was really, really overwhelming in the beginning. And I mean, the funny part is, is like, when I first started, I was photographing on our concrete floors on glossy plates and looking at it thinking, God, this looks horrible.

[00:07:53]   

And then I just had this aha moment where I was like, wait a second, you’ve been on photo shoot your whole life. You’ve been behind the scenes. You’ve been on food shows. Like, come on now, focus on this. And like, the minute that I actually took the time to focus is when the Light went off and I figured it all out.

[00:08:09]   

So, yes, I think it definitely. It’s probably one of my favorite things that I do besides creating the recipes, for sure. And it makes me feel creative. And when doing a photo, I. So much of it reminds me of art because I start to sprinkle herbs around. Like, I get into this, like, space with it where I’m looking at it as a whole of what I’m trying to create besides, you know, making the food look pretty and everything and.

[00:08:38]   

Yeah, for sure. For sure. It has been. But I just wanted to say, like, it wasn’t great at the beginning either. Like, anything is. You have to. You have to learn. And. And I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and I’m hoping to be able to share some of the tips and stuff that I’ve learned with.

[00:08:53]  Megan Porta 

Absolutely. Let’s get into some of that. It’s a journey, right? I mean, you start at a certain point and then you feel like you’ve learned a bunch, but there’s still so much to learn all the time, which is the great thing about photography and blogging is that you’re never there. There’s never a moment where you’re like, okay, I’m good.

[00:09:10]   

I know. I know it all. I’ve done it all. It’s constant, which is really cool.

[00:09:16]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, no, absolutely. I think what’s amazing about that is you’re constantly growing and learning. But the funny thing is, is, like, we can do something, any aspect of the blog and think it’s great, and then two weeks later, we’re sitting there thinking, what were we thinking? We have to go back and fix it and stuff.

[00:09:32]   

And. And even. Even that, like, I want to be better every day. And I can see throughout the years how my photos have evolved. And they’re not perfect, but they’re better and they’re getting better. And I think that ultimately, if you can just get a little better at everything every day and just keep moving forward and know that it’s not going to be perfect, and it may never be perfect, and you’re always constantly changing and moving with it. But that part’s. I like that part in the sense that it keeps me thinking and it keeps me growing and it keeps me getting better at everything that we’re doing.

[00:10:07]  Megan Porta 

Right. No, that’s the great part of it. I mean, it’s the challenging part, but it’s also the great part.

[00:10:12]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah.

[00:10:13]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. So let’s talk specifically about props. So they’re your little details that you like to focus on. Why do you think props are important as a food blogger?

[00:10:23]  Shawna Clark 

I think that they’re really important because they help tell the story with the food. So in the very beginning, like I said, I was shooting on a, like, a glossy plate that was reflecting. And, like, I remember specifically I did a salad with, like, a ton of salad dressing. I’m like, oh, this looks horrible.

[00:10:41]   

You know, and then I realized, wait, hold on a second. I need to really, like, dive into this. And so I started learning, like, math. Plates are totally key. And then from there, I started really getting into trying to find interesting props that helped enhance. I think, overall, what I was looking for is when you’re looking at the food, you’re drawing the person in and you’re wanting it to be interesting.

[00:11:12]   

They may not know why they’re drawn to that photo, but they are because you have something interesting in there. Or. I also like to collect, like, a lot of vintage stuff, so I’ll throw that in, and it’s kind of. And what’s really funny is sometimes when I do throw in the vintage stuff, I’ll have people email me and say, I remember that when I was a kid or so.

[00:11:37]   

They’re connecting with it on a deeper level than just looking at the food. And I. But I think ultimately the props just help support. Tell the story about the food.

[00:11:48]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. And I was thinking of your makeup detail, too. Like, that’s kind of what makeup does for people, right? That exact same thing. Like, it just makes. Makes it a little bit more interesting.

[00:12:00]  Shawna Clark 

Absolutely, Absolutely. I mean, it’s. That was the best because I could paint. It’s like painting a canvas that’s already there and just bringing it to life. And literally, that’s what I’m doing with the food as well, is. And it’s actually. I think they’re so similar and so different, but it’s actually, like, so cool to just be able to have that plate of food.

[00:12:25]   

And the problem is I see everything. So it’s almost like I could never be done with it, but I just kind of have to get it to a point where visually and proportionately it looks right. But, yeah, I love it. It’s so fun to be able to just create that story and bring an emotion to it that somebody, you know, they’re reminded of their childhood or.

[00:12:49]   

Wow, that’s a beautiful plate. I have, like, I went. I got crazy for a while where I was looking at things on Etsy, and I found a potter, and I had. And this was such a cool experience. For me, because I want to know how to do pottery, but I don’t know how to do pottery, but I think I should be good at it, but I’m not.

[00:13:09]   

And so I found somebody on there and I told her my ideas, and she created the plates for me. And that was so great because it was like, I got to be a potter without being a potter because I couldn’t figure it out yet. And, yeah, she designed all these plates, and it was such a great collab because I had these visions, and she made my visions come to life.

[00:13:32]   

And that was just one of those, like, prop things that I did that I just found so rewarding to be able to collaborate on a. On a set of plates with somebody.

[00:13:42]  Megan Porta 

And that’s really cool.

[00:13:43]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, yeah. So it’s endless what you can do with that.

[00:13:46]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, absolutely. And you’ve mentioned the story a few times. Just telling a story. I have been in a place in the past where it’s like. Yeah, you know that, like, you should tell a story with your food. But what if you don’t know where to. What the story is or where to start with telling the story?

[00:14:04]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, no, absolutely. I get that. And I think that what ends up happening is you start to get your own unique style just through trial and error. So what I would say is experiment first with how you want it to look, and you don’t necessarily need to have a vision of what the story is.

[00:14:27]   

Like, example, like, sometimes for me, I’ll buy a plate and I will literally create a recipe around that plate because I love the plate so much and it’s so beautiful and. Or I’ll make something and I’ll use what I’ve made. I’m already thinking about the props that I want to use in it or possibly go and get.

[00:14:48]   

But you don’t need to do that at all. I think what is really helpful to start is if you can find, like, one matte plate in a smaller size also is really helpful. Like, a salad size is much easier to photograph than a dinner plate, because I find with the dinner plates, you’re always trying to fill in the plate.

[00:15:09]   

And if you. If you just want to focus on the one thing that you made. So start with a smaller plate. Start with a matte plate and. And put that plate down on your backdrop or wherever you’re planning on shooting it. And I would also recommend, like, experimenting with that and having fun with that.

[00:15:27]   

Like, go out on the concrete and shoot that and see what that looks like. But once you have your plate down, then I would just try to overall make sure that the food looks appealing. And then I start bringing in the element. And there’s just really some basic things that you can do is herbs are great.

[00:15:45]   

Like, I’m always like, if I don’t have a plan and I don’t know what the story is, I look at what I’ve just created, and I start to pull elements from what I just created. So if there was lemon in it or olive oil or herbs or something like that, that’s when I’ll just start sprinkling them around the outside of the plate to create that story.

[00:16:06]   

And it’s super simple. And in general, fruit and herbs look amazing in photos, so that’s a really great place to start. If you don’t know what to do there. Just draw in some of the elements from the recipe and. And place them in a way that you think looks good, is what I would say to that.

[00:16:25]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I love the way you said that. Just filling in some of the details with, like, what’s already happening on the plate and then letting the story kind of unfold from there. Right. Like, maybe once you start putting the herbs on the side, then you’re like, oh, well, this makes sense. I need to put a bunch of it next to the plate or whatever.

[00:16:45]   

Like, just letting that story unfold naturally.

[00:16:48]  Shawna Clark 

Yes, absolutely. And in. In general with that, like, these are just my weird things that make me crazy most of the time is I don’t like anything touching the plate outside of the food. So if I have the herbs around the plate, I don’t necessarily want them in the photograph touching the plate.

[00:17:06]   

So, like, I’ll back them up a little bit so that there’s some space. And another really good trick that I do is I photograph it to look at it, because sometimes when I’m looking, when I’m shooting it, I’m missing something. Like, sometimes there’s a piece of pasta looking funny or the herbs are touching the plate, which drives me crazy.

[00:17:28]   

Or things or things that you think that you’re seeing that you’re not seeing until you, like, look at the photo and just kind of stare at it. And that’s something, though. Over time, I think you can get an eye for that. And sometimes even, like, I’ll show my daughter the photo because I’m so focused on what I’m doing that I’ll miss something.

[00:17:46]   

And she’s really good at this, too, where she’ll say, oh, look at this, or look at that. And even if you had someone in your family, or even a friend look at the photo. If they were there, they might be able to point out something that you’re missing. So that’s a good way to kind of check the work.

[00:18:00]   

But definitely looking at. At it while you’re shooting it, because sometimes I have to go back and adjust things. So I’m creating it while I’m doing it, and then I’m taking a snapshot and I’m looking at it, and then I’m moving it around from that. Like, what’s missing and also too, like, empty space is.

[00:18:21]   

Do you want the empty space or you do not want the empty space? And you want it all to look really balanced. So by looking at the photo, I’m able to, like, fix the empty space or move it around. So those are some things that I look at when I’m doing it.

[00:18:37]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. So really, you’re writing the story as you go. You’re creating kind of a flow. Like you’re starting at one point, and then you’re evaluating having someone else come in for a different perspective and writing the story of the scene, which is really cool way to look at it.

[00:18:53]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah. Yeah, no, absolutely. And I find so much joy in doing it. It’s such a creative expression for me. It’s my. It’s literally one of my favorite. Besides the cooking aspect and coming up with the recipes, it’s literally like the one thing I actually love. And I think, too, it reminds me of my old job of being on set. And so it’s like that common, comfortable space for me. But yeah, it’s. I love it. It’s like art, but in food form.

[00:19:21]  Megan Porta 

Right. That’s so cool. Even better when food is involved.

[00:19:24]  Shawna Clark 

Right, Right, Definitely.

[00:19:27]  Megan Porta 

I loved your recommendation about the smaller plates. I learned that early on, too, because when you start with a big plate, like you said, it’s like, okay, now how do I fill in this space? And it just feels overwhelming. But when you start with a small plate there, it doesn’t feel as daunting somehow.So I love that recommendation and the matte. Okay, so why do you choose matte versus glossy?

[00:19:50]  Shawna Clark 

Because the matte plates. Lights don’t like the glossiness. Picks up too much light. Whether you’re using natural light or lights, it’ll pick up the light and it’ll show weird reflections. I also find it really challenging to shoot glass if I have a drink, because you’re always dealing with reflection and stuff. It’s not that everything that I have is matte, but it’s so much easier because it takes out One of the things that is possibly becoming a challenge.

[00:20:22]   

So a matte plate or even a matte plate that has some texture on it, like that’s another thing is like building upon having like textures on the plate that make it look interesting. The color of the plate. I find that blues look really, really pretty. There are certain colors that just look really great with the food.

[00:20:42]   

So I have a lot of different matte colored plates. If they’re still there’s something specific that I want to create with that. But yeah, I think that that’s the, the first thing would probably be the plate and then designing out from that. Like when I’m in a pinch and back to not sure what the story is or I have a space that I want to fill, I’ll use a linen napkin and a soft linen napkin.

[00:21:04]   

And it’s so crazy because the difference in the texture that you’ll get on the linen napkin versus versus a cotton napkin is crazy. And then just trying to fold it in a way that also creates more texture. I always joke sometimes my photos are great and then sometimes I’m like failing on the napkin and I say I have to go back to napkin folding school.

[00:21:27]   

But it’s amazing when you start playing with really simple things like that but trying to create different layers of texture because I find that the more texture you have happening, the more interesting and more three dimensional it starts to look like as if they’re looking at it in their house. So that’s another thing I like to play with.

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[00:23:03]  Megan Porta 

And for you, is it more? Is it a process? Like, you don’t set up your scene and you’re like, okay, we’re good. Do you kind of like put in the linen napkin and see how that looks and take a picture and look at that and then add the herbs and then is it like a story unfolding for you?

[00:23:24]  Shawna Clark 

It’s both. It depends on what I’m shooting. And so example, if it’s something that doesn’t require quick photographing, mostly it’s a story. What I’m trying to get at is the other day we were shooting something frozen, like frozen ice cream, frozen yogurt. And I knew I had maybe three minutes to photograph that.

[00:23:49]   

So I got the whole entire set ready and looked at it and made sure that everything was perfect prior to putting it in because it was melting. And that’s the most stressful thing for me to shoot because you want it to look good, but it’s melting. And so in things like that, where there’s a time frame on it, I definitely set up the shoot before I shoot it so that it’s ready to go.

[00:24:15]   

But the rest of it, for me, I normally have a concept of what I think that it’s the images. Like, it comes to me and I’m like, this is what I want to do. Or, you know, oh, I want to buy this plate and I want to create this with this recipe and put it all together.So that’s, that’s kind of where I go, go with that. And back to sometimes I don’t have an idea. And sometimes, like muffins, like, there’s a good example. Like, that was one of those things that took me a hot minute to figure out how to photograph. And I went to Pinterest just to kind of look at ideas.

[00:24:51]   

And that’s really helpful if you’re stumped and you’re not quite sure what you think, you know, what you want it to look like, or maybe you don’t. And so sometimes if I’m photographing something that I’m not quite sure or my photo isn’t turning out well, I’ll run through and look at images just to kind of get an idea of where people are going with it and then try to do my own take on that.And that’s actually really, really helpful too, if you do, if you’re not sure how to shoot something.

[00:25:18]  Megan Porta 

And you mentioned kind of vintage plates earlier or vintage dishes. Things that bring up emotion for people. Like, oh, I use that when I was a kid. Where do you find things like that?

[00:25:30]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, yeah, that has. I’ve always collected vintage, so this is just an extension of my personal life. But everywhere you can go to thrift stores, which are great. Garage sales, flea markets, and eBay. That’s another place that I find a lot of really great, Especially if there’s something that I know that I’m looking for.EBay is a really great place, and if you don’t have the time, I enjoy going to flea markets and finding things in general. But if you don’t have that kind of time or you don’t have that kind of access, definitely. ebay is a great place to create the story and you can just search. Yeah, yeah. So I find a lot of stuff on eBay. Yeah, you can find anything on there. Really?

[00:26:15]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. I mean, I. I feel like that’s a platform we don’t often think about right now. It was kind of an older situation that we used, I don’t know, 10 years ago, but, yeah, I mean, eBay is still humming along, so why not go look there?

[00:26:30]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, yeah. No, it’s really good for vintage, especially, like I said, if you don’t have the time or you don’t want to go to a garage sale, or you don’t want to go to a flea market or can’t. It’s the fastest way to execute something, especially if you have a vision. And what’s cool about eBay, too, is if, like, I bought a muffin pan on there that I loved, and you start searching vintage muffin pans, then other things come up, and then that may spark your interest of, oh, I want to use this, I want to use that.

[00:27:01]   

I mean, I think, like, for me, one of the most important things when I started this business, most of my investment went into props. Like, that’s how much I loved it. I was like, yes, I love this. I’m running out of room in my house. Yes. I love the props. Yeah.

[00:27:18]  Megan Porta 

I was gonna ask you, where do you store all of your props?

[00:27:20]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, my goodness. In my house. And I have a very small house, so it gets very, very challenging. Sometimes things need to go in boxes and go down into storage. Yeah. I have a dream one day of having a big garage where I can just set it all out. Also, too, Anthropologie is a really good place.

[00:27:38]  Megan Porta 

Great recommendation. Yeah.

[00:27:40]  Shawna Clark 

Interesting. That just popped into my head, and, oh, there was another thing I wanted to mention. Is I got this from somebody early on, but it was really great when I was starting out. Is IKEA has tables that you don’t need to. Small tables that you don’t need to buy the legs for.

[00:27:56]   

But I would use that. I bought a white one and a dark brownish black one. And you can shoot your. Like if you don’t have a nice island. Like when I first started, I had an stainless steel island and obviously that was awful because it reflected and was a nightmare. So I went and picked up these two tables and I was able to shoot everything on there besides getting backdrops, of course.

[00:28:19]   

But this was a really great and easy and affordable way to have a clean background, especially the white one. Like if you wanted to shoot your ingredients on that, that was a really. I think they were like 20 something dollars a piece. And I still have those. I don’t use them often, but I still have them.

[00:28:35]  Megan Porta 

That’s a great recommendation as well. So backdrops. What do you use for backdrops? And do you use a variety? Do you have favorites?

[00:28:42]  Shawna Clark 

Yes, yes, yes, I’ve. I bought it. That was another thing I did when I first started is I got a lot of backdrops and there’s. Yes. I think the thing with backdrops is I like experimenting with them, but you have to be careful because sometimes the simpler backdrop is the best way to go in terms of that.

[00:29:02]   

Like, I feel like I bought a lot of backdrops that I don’t use. I have have some wood backdrops and some again with the blue. I really like that. So I have some with some bloom in there. And the one I use the most, honestly though, is the marble background. And that one is just back to when you don’t know what you want to do or you don’t have an idea in mind.

[00:29:24]   

I just whip that up because I don’t have to think. The other thing I do though, which I really got into, which I thought was so funny because. Because I was like, this is great, is I started getting wrapping paper and I started using wrapping paper as a backdrop. But the only thing I would say to that is because there’s so much going on in the background, you want to shoot that with something that’s one color.

[00:29:48]   

So I’ll use that. Maybe like I just used that the other day with something that was like a strawberry. It was a strawberry backdrop and it had a strawberry salad dressing. But the color of the dressing was all one color. And so sometimes I’ll. I’ll do that and I’ll find inspiration from wrapping paper.

[00:30:08]   

So that’s another thing I would say is just, like, look outside the box of what you think, because you could really do anything. You know, if you see something interesting or, you know, back to. You could use your wood floor, and that could work. So don’t really limit yourself, I think. I think try to, like, experiment with different things.But definitely, if you’re first starting out and you need a backdrop that’s foolproof, I would definitely say the marble is a good way to go.

[00:30:41]  Megan Porta 

Wrapping paper. Never have I ever heard that or thought of that. That is so creative. Wow. Yeah. I just never would have thought to go there.

[00:30:53]  Shawna Clark 

Another thing you could do along the lines of the wrapping paper is fabric. If you really wanted to, like, you could go to a fabric store and find some interesting fabrics and, you know, experiment with that. The thing I would say about both of those, though, is because they’re a little more busy, you’d want to focus on having something, one color of whatever it is that you made.

[00:31:15]   

I don’t think you’re going to want to do that with something that has a lot going on. And that’s. That’s the only time I really use the wrapping paper. But I do find it really fun.

[00:31:24]  Megan Porta 

There’s a time and a place for it, I’m sure. And, yeah, super creative.

[00:31:28]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah.

[00:31:29]  Megan Porta 

Amazing. Okay, so backdrops. You recommend going simple with just marble. If you’re just starting out, experimenting, looking outside the box, Love it. And then this is something I do. Shawna, I am a pretty minimalist person when it comes to taking photography, mostly because I’m lazy, but I also just kind of look. I like the look of the minimalism when it comes to food photography.And I’ve always used ingredients as my props. Instead of going out and finding props, like, I’ll just take what I have. Parsley, chives, herbs, black pepper, and whatever else is in the dish, and I use that. How do you feel about that?

[00:32:13]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, I think that’s great. And I think that that’s a great place to just to start with it, especially if you don’t have the means or don’t want to do the props. I think that that is great. I think that starting with the elements that are in the food around it is amazing.

[00:32:32]   

I think that that is great. And I do that, too. Absolutely, absolutely. I think that what you can start. What I would, like, think of with that example is maybe finding a couple small wood spoons or a small dish, something that’s interesting, that would grab someone’s attention, that you could throw if you wanted to, you wouldn’t have to.

[00:32:55]   

But if you wanted to to like put the herbs in that spoon or that small dish to create some more interest. But yeah, absolutely. You can use the back to fruits and vegetables photographed so beautifully. And it’s definitely something that you can use if you didn’t want to do anything else other than that. Absolutely. It’s great.

[00:33:18]  Megan Porta 

The power of the herb. Right. They’re fresh, they’re green, they’re pretty. I always have herbs on hand for that reason. I think it’s like a no brainer. It’s so simple.

[00:33:29]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:33:31]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, absolutely.

[00:33:32]  Shawna Clark 

The food itself is, is the best prop sometimes, honestly, if you don’t want to find something, it’s definitely. And it’s beautiful.

[00:33:41]  Megan Porta 

Your recommendation to put it in a spoon though is kind of next level. I never. So that sort of thing is just like, it does not occur to me. But when you said it, I was like, oh yeah, that so easy. And that would make it like, I don’t know, just take it to the next level.

[00:33:58]  Shawna Clark 

But in my brain I don’t want to put it in just a regular spoon or a, a spoon that’s going to reflect and cause me problems. So that’s another thing I would say with the props that’s really helpful besides the matte dishes and the smaller plates is wood or what I do is I buy vintage silverware like that’s tarnished and I keep it that way.

[00:34:20]   

And it also brings another texture and element to the photo. But wood, wood is something that I think when you’re out, if you, if you wanted to start buying props, I think, think that it’s one of those things where if, if it looks interesting to you and small. That’s another thing I would say I’ve bought in some things that are definitely too big to put into my, my story that I’m creating.

[00:34:45]   

But the little wood spoons, they, they just add another element and some texture and I love doing that. And another thing, another thing I will say that I wouldn’t do though is I don’t like putting anything into the photo that you can’t eat. So I’m not putting flowers in unless they’re edible flowers I’m not really using.Well, I haven’t used flowers. But not to say that I wouldn’t, but I’m not putting something in that you can’t eat. That’s just something for me personally, like it doesn’t make sense in my brain.

[00:35:16]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Like I see sometimes like grains of rice that aren’t cooked or beans that aren’t cooked. I always feel like that’s a little bit of a stretch. Like, I wouldn’t be just putting that in my mouth, and it just feels. Not natural.

[00:35:33]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I think. Honestly, though, I think I. I have used pasta that’s uncooked. I have done that. I hear what you’re saying, and I think that’s taking what I’m saying, too, to, like, another level. And that’s a great thing to think about. But I have. I have, have. I have done that just, again, like, to kind of show what’s in there.

[00:35:53]  Megan Porta 

To add some. Yeah, right. To add some flavor.

[00:35:56]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, yeah. But I get that, too, what you’re saying.

[00:35:59]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, yeah. I mean, sometimes it works. I see. I scroll food photos on Instagram a lot, and sometimes I’m like, okay, that. That works. But sometimes it just feels like I think with the rice, like, I would. I don’t know. Uncooked rice just does not appeal to me. So I’m like, yeah, I would not eat that, so.

[00:36:19]  Shawna Clark 

Right, right, right. Yeah, no, absolutely. Absolutely. That’s why I’m saying, like, I wouldn’t really put in a flower that you couldn’t eat, because I just think that would be weird. It may look really pretty, but in my brain, I’m thinking, I’m not gonna eat that flower.

[00:36:34]  Megan Porta 

And I’m sure for some brands, some people’s brands, flower might work. Right? Like, I. I can think of one blogger off the top of my head who incorporates flowers into her food photography, and it works because that is her brand. It’s very flowery and fun and super colorful. But for me, for my brand, it probably would not work. So I think it’s just like cooked rice, uncooked rice. It just depends on who you are as a brand, too.

[00:37:01]  Shawna Clark 

Exactly, exactly. But I think that if you start developing your own style of how you feel about the food and telling the story, that’s going to develop naturally. And I think that if you do pick something, like, hypothetically, if you decided everything you were going to photograph would be on a black background and that was going to be your style, then that would work and that would suddenly become your style.

[00:37:23]   

Just like the flowers are so beautiful and totally work as a visual. Absolutely. And that creates that person’s style. Yeah, just for me. Just for me. I try to be mindful of using things that are actually.

[00:37:37]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:37:38]  Shawna Clark 

Like, I have used flowers in a drink, but they were edible flowers.

[00:37:41]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Gotcha. Yeah. It’s something you have to feel out as you go. And then I mentioned Instagram and scrolling. I think that’s where I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration over the years. Where else do you recommend people get inspired to create their own style and find new prop ideas and things like that?

[00:38:00]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, absolutely. I think. Well, there’s no. I mean, there are magazines these days, but, like, online, if there’s a food magazine that you really like or a photographer that you really like, Googling, just looking for specific things, Pinterest even. I mean, the crazy thing is, is you could even go so far as to say that you could go to an art opening and be inspired about it, something that you saw there and translate it into how you’re photographing. So I think that there’s inspiration really anywhere. But I think the visuals online are a really great and quick way to start to get inspiration.

[00:38:39]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, there’s so much out there to look through. And I love that you mentioned it doesn’t have to be food photography. You can look at other things and get inspired with your food photography as well.

[00:38:50]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, absolutely. I think the thing about that is just more trying to be creative with it and trying it, you know? And the thing is, is not everything’s gonna work, but that’s just part of the process of figuring out what you like and what you want to shoot.

[00:39:07]  Megan Porta 

If you had limited time to put a food scene together, do you have kind of a go to plate or prop or, like, what would you go to first that you know would just crush the scene?

[00:39:21]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, absolutely. I think it would kind of go back to what we were saying about. I would start with a small plate for sure, because then you can just focus on whatever that thing is that you created versus trying to fill the plate. Like example, like if you did a chicken breast or something, sometimes you want to have the sides with it, but if you have a smaller plate and you don’t have to fill in as much, so that’s a really good thing.

[00:39:44]   

But I would start with a smaller plate, and I would basically just use the stuff that I have on hand as herbs and whatever is in the recipe. And then for me, I would possibly just throw in some of those wood spoons or something else or a small dish to create a little bit more interest in that.

[00:40:11]   

And then my go to, which is so funny because I have so many napkins in different colors. They’re all pretty much linen, but a soft linen because the hard linen doesn’t look great either. But I have this one vintage white napkin that literally I just toss that thing in and that’s probably the one I use the most, which is so funny because I think I got it at flea market for maybe a dollar.

[00:40:35]   

But. But that. That works. And then I’ll. And then I’ll photograph that and I’ll see. I really. I’ll shoot that and see if there’s anything that needs to be filled in. And if there is, that’s when I’ll probably incorporate another thing that was in the recipe.

[00:40:52]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:40:53]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah.

[00:40:53]  Megan Porta 

Amazing. I love your answer. What are we missing, Shawna? Is there anything else people need to know if they are looking to level up, putting props in their photography and just making their photos look a little bit nicer and stand out more?

[00:41:07]  Shawna Clark 

Yeah, I think. I think when you’re out in the world, just what you see and if there’s something that inspires you, that you’re drawn to, that you want to use, I think that’s. That’s a great. I’m specifically thinking. I went to the farmer’s market the other day and there was a girl selling pottery and she had used a, like a doily and she had put that texture onto the plate. And I thought that was so cool. So I bought that. But I think that I’m. This is constantly in my brain, so. So I’m always thinking about it, but I think to your answer, I think I would just be mindful of using a smaller plate.

[00:41:49]   

Maybe start with like a white or a blue. I think blue is really pretty and maybe some supporting things around there. Like a bowl. A bowl would be really good, but a small bowl. Oh, this is really good idea. This, this is actually really good. So a lot of times when you’re doing soup or a dip or a salsa or whatever you’re doing, I find sometimes that the.

[00:42:15]   

You need some lift. So I’ll use a bowl, but then what I’ll do is I’ll use one of my prep bowls and I’ll flip it over inside the bowl so that I have to use less so that it’s. Because what I find sometimes is the. The bowls just take up my entire recipe and then there’s not enough of it or it doesn’t look right.

[00:42:35]   

So a lot of times when I’m shooting, even soups, too, like, I’ll find the bowl that I’m going to use because in theory it’s small enough, but it really is holding, like, so much. And then I’ll just take one of my glass prep bowls and flip it over and I’ll put it. I do that a lot.

[00:42:51]   

And that helps, like, lift it up and then also go back in and use some of the pieces of it. Like maybe you made a potato soup with bacon, but you’re not seeing the bacon. So I’ll sift through the soup and kind of style that in to it to make sure that they can see the elements of what’s in that recipe.

[00:43:11]   

I think that’s. That’s actually a really good trick to do there. Also. Another thing that I do is when I’m shooting a drink that’s cold, ice is a nightmare because then it starts to sweat on the glass. So I started and I got those fake ice, and that looked horrible. But what I ended up finding that looks amazing is some cracked glass.

[00:43:35]   

I think I got it at Michael’s or something, and I use that. And so it doesn’t sweat. It completely looks like ice. And I’m able to have a little bit more control and a little bit more time to photograph half the drink. So the cracked glass, I mean, it’s. It’s nice glass. It’s not going to cut you.

[00:43:52]   

And I purchased that. So that was something that was actually really helpful when shooting drinks. So those are the other two things I can think of off the top of my head that are just things that I do on the daily that really actually help make it a little bit faster.

[00:44:08]  Megan Porta 

So many great ideas and. Yeah, just ways to inspire people to do different things, try new things, always be on the lookout for pretty things, new things you can add to your scene. So thank you. This was so great, Shawna.

[00:44:23]  Shawna Clark 

Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I really hope that I’ve maybe inspired someone or given them a little bit more confidence to try something new. You know, start where you are. It doesn’t matter. If you’re into it, just do it. And if you’re not into it, just use the herbs.

[00:44:41]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I love it. Great. Final thought. Do you have. On that note, do you have a favorite quote or words of inspiration to leave us with?

[00:44:51]  Shawna Clark 

Yes, I have two quotes. I have two quotes. One was. Was more of a quote, and then one was like a food quote. But the first one is the details are not the details. They make the design. And I loved that.

[00:45:03]  Megan Porta 

Perfect.

[00:45:05]  Shawna Clark 

And the other one that I. This was more for what we’re doing. It says in food photography, you don’t just capture a meal, you craft a mood, a memory, a moment. Props are your paintbrush, and I totally resonated with that.

[00:45:20]  Megan Porta 

Oh, wow. Those are both so perfect. Oh, my goodness. What a great way to pull it all together. Shawna. Nice job. We will put together a show notes page for you if anyone wants to go peek at those. We’ll put everything we’ve talked about today inside of those. They are eatblogtalk.com/healthyfoodiegirl tell everyone where they can find you.

[00:45:41]  Shawna Clark 

Shawna yes, you can find me on my website at healthyfoodiegirl.com and we’re also on all the different social platforms. I think it’s probably easier just to go to our website and then you can click on to whatever platform you like to follow on. And if anyone ever has any questions, just email me. I’m so into this and I’d love to be able to help.

[00:46:02]  Megan Porta 

Oh amazing. Thank you for that. That’s really sweet of you. Well, thanks again Shawna for being here. Truly. And say hi to your daughter. She’s part of your team. And thanks for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time.

Outro

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. Please share this episode with a friend who would benefit from tuning in. I will see you next time.