FOOD & DRINK PHOTOGRAPHY May 2010

With over 35 years in the advertising field, Al MacDonald brings an experienced eye to food photography. His studio is conveniently located just 15 minutes from Chicago's O'Hare airport in Elk Grove Village, IL. A full kitchen and extensive on-site prop room coupled with long-standing relationships with many talented stylists assure a great experience.

Clients include Smithfield Foods, Butterball, Sara Lee, Highland Baking, Bran Zan Company, RMH Foods, Chocolate Potpourri, Grecian Delight Foods, International Culinary Group, La Francaise Bakery, Little Lady Foods, Mohawk Packing, Nostalgic Foods, Patrick Cudahy, Ralston Purina and Mazzetta Company.

Call Al directly on (+1) 847 437 8850 or visit his website for more information.

Ali Ozatalay is a specialist in advanced lighting techniques and macro photography, making him one of the rare Turkish photographers to work across still life, jewellery, food and drink and documentary categories.

He has completed numerous projects with Euro RSCG Istanbul, Klan, Unilever, Swissotel The Bosphorus Istanbul, Cozum, Radley Yeldar, Cushman Wakefield, Vichy and Peugeot.

Ali's recent shoot for the Gaja Fine Dining Restaurant autumn/winter menu with talented chef James Willkins was a great success, with his work being used to present Swissotel Istanbul around the world. He is currently working on a world cuisines project for Unilever Turkey and is the official photographer for the Wusthof Knife fish recipe book that is a silver award winner in The One Show Design Awards 2010.

Visit his website for more information.

Andy Seymour specialises in food, drink and still life photography.

He operates out of his Central London studio.

Visit his website for more information.

Brian Wetzstein is a Chicago-based food and beverage photographer who specialises in advertising, packaging and editorial assignments. He has shot food and product images for companies including Promoaction DDB Saudi Arabia, McDonald's, Quaker, Bunnomatic, Publications International Ltd., and Imagine Publications.

Brian's 2600 sq. ft. studio in Chicago's South Loop includes a newly refurbished kitchen (designed with a food stylist's needs in mind), beautiful daylight, a vast array of props, and many other client amenities. From the studio or out on location, Brian and his stylists work together to create images that captivate the viewer through his sensitivity of the different textures within food.

Visit his newly designed website for more information. You can also log on to his blog at itmakesmehungry.com.

Chris Knaggs has many years experience as a photographer specialising in food and drinks.

Chris shoots for a wide variety of UK and International blue chip companies from his spacious and fully equipped studio in London. He keeps very busy shooting for design, advertising, PR and editorial projects around the world. His attention to detail, visual flair and meticulous production workflow combine to make Chris a popular choice for discerning clients.

Chris and his team are now shooting High Definition moving images. He is one of the few specialist Directors of Photography that can shoot high-end stills and motion almost simultaneously. This, of course, can bring tremendous stylistic and cost advantages to many client projects.

Visit Chris' website for more images, information and recent motion showreels. Alternately, just give him a call. Chris always likes a chat.

Dave King has been taking photographs for clients in book publishing, packaging design, advertising and magazines for over 25 years. He has worked on a broad range of subjects, from people to places, animals, cars and food, both in the studio and on location around the world.

He now works from a purpose-built daylight studio at his home in Sunbury, Thames West, London.

The food industry prevails in Chicago, and much of Derek Richmond’s work centres around it. From the modern elegance of colourful mixed drinks to the rawness of a medieval feast, he defines food in exciting new ways.

“So many artists focus on 'the beauty' of their subjects; I like to go beyond that,” he says. “I try to explore alternative angles and different types of lighting to reveal other perspectives. It's this aspect I feel that makes my work unique.”

Derek knows how to push the limits. His edge drives his success as a commercial photographer and inspires him to pursue personal projects that dare to be different. He has shot for Nikon, L'Oréal, Lands End, Martha Stewart, Royal Doulton, Sirius Satellite Radio, Sur La Table, The Whirlpool Corporation and Kraft Foods.

His photo studio is located in Logan Square, Chicago.

Dylan Cross has been creating advertising and editorial photography for the past 20 years, splitting his time between food, drink, travel, and architectural projects. He is equally as comfortable shooting in the studio as he is out on location and draws inspiration from the diversity of his projects. A recent focus on marine photography reflects Dylan’s passion for sailing.

Visit his website for more information.

Gokce Erenmemisoglu began his career in photography in 1992, opening his own studio and working extensively in Istanbul. His images have appeared in some of the biggest campaigns for global accounts such as Vodafone, Adidas, American Express, Burger King, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Hilton, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

Gokce offers his clients a wide range of skills, from studio to worldwide location shoots using sinar and phaseone high-end digital, post production, retouching, image manipulation, CGI and illustration techniques.

He specialises in still life and advertising but immensely enjoys shooting food and drink photography. As a multiple Epica, Golden Drum and NYFest award-winner, he also won the '2008 Gourmand, Best Cookbook Photography Award' in Paris for his book net:425 gr.

His home base may be Atlanta, but Hollis Ellison's photographic career has spanned across three continents and included multiple countries. His range consists of completing photographic assignments in areas as varied as advertising, still life, travel, food and beverage.

Hollis' passion for travel and experiencing different cultures has inspired his interest in creative food photography. His vision involves studio as well as location shoots for advertising, packaging, publishing and editorial assignments.

His photography has received industry recognition with awards including a Bronze ADDY for his advertising work.

Visit his website for more information.

Jean Cazals is a renowned and firmly established food and lifestyle photographer who is passionate about food. This is reflected in over a decade of successful work for numerous magazines, advertising agencies, design companies and award-winning book projects worldwide.

His style is highly recognisable, employing clean lines and soft lighting to produce a great sense of detail and craftsmanship. He delivers high quality unique results for every project.

Jean shoots from his fully equipped Notting Hill kitchen studio that enjoys beautiful daylight, a wide variety of flash options and a large range of props. He also shoots commercials and recently completed a series of ads for Danone.

Visit his website for more information and to see samples of his work. Prints are also available for sale.

John Carey specialises in food, lifestyle and portrait photography. Based between the Kent countryside and his London studio, John splits his working life between locations and the studio.

He has recently worked with Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Giorgio Locatelli, Marcus Wareing, Antonio Carluccio, Mark Hix and Pierre Koffmann, amongst many others.

As well as PR, advertorial and commercial clients, John regularly shoots for the food and lifestyle pages of The Times Magazine.

He has just finished his first food book with a chef in Ireland.

With over a decade of experience shooting food, Karen Thomas remains as passionate as ever.

She has established herself in editorial, packaging and advertising photography and enjoys welcoming clients to her studio, located by Tower Bridge, London.

Visit her website for more information.

Peter Cassidy shoots from his central London daylight studio for clients including M&S, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Tesco and Asda, as well as for magazine and book publishers. He is equally happy shooting on location.

This year saw his work for Darina Allen's 'Forgotten Skills of Cooking', shot in Ireland, win an Andre Simon award.

Visit Peter's website for more information and to see his portfolio.

Photographer Rob White is based in Central London. He has been shooting food and drink for over 15 years, during which time he has established a wide variety of design, advertising and editorial clients. Rob's studio has been fully digital since 2002 and provides a fully comprehensive creative re-touching and proofing service.

During this time, he has developed a distinctive approach to food photography that is highlighted by clean, simple and uncluttered images. For Rob, food images are heavily influenced by the colours, forms and textures found in nature. He is equally conformable working to a very controlled brief or being asked to develop entire concepts and creative solutions.

Sebastián Israelit is based in Argentina and has been shooting for over 15 years. Working out of his 170 m² professionally equipped studio, he is able to take advantage of the highly competitive pricing that makes the country an attractive option for international companies locating their productions.

Sebastián shoots for major brands including Cinzano, Gray Goose, JWT, Nike, Jumbo, Kraft Foods, Danone, Quickfood, Natura, Hellman's, Simmons (USA), Palta Hass (Chile), Dominos Pizza (Mexico), Johnson & Johnson, McTaylor and Grupo Concesud, among others.

Sebastian has also twice won the Gourmand Awards. Visit his website for more information.

Studio Seiffe, located in Hamburg, specialises in food and beverage photography for packaging, public relations, advertising and editorial clients. Studio owner Rolf Seiffe has been pursuing his passion for food photography since 1981. Inga Otto joined him in 2006, and together they complement one another to produce highly successful work.

Food and prop stylists are brought in to work on individual jobs as required.

The Studio includes a great kitchen, plenty of space for props, and also features an in-house retouching facility.

Visit the website for further information.

Tim Hill and his food stylist, Zoe Hill, have just finished a shoot for Baxters Food group.

He is looking forward to shooting once again with a large Chimera lightbox, known affectionately as 'Big Bertha'.