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How to use your smartphone to take great restaurant shots
Jeanne Horak-Druiff aka Cooksister, no mean photographer herself, picks up some tips from top photographer Paul Winch-Furness at a recent Errasuriz wine pairing dinner at Pollen Street Social
Jeanne writes: "It's not often that I get invited to attend an event that seamlessly incorporates three of my passions - but this is exactly what happened when I was recently invited to attend a food and wine matching dinner at Jason Atherton's splendid Pollen Street Social.
Wines were to be provided by premium Chilean estate Errázuriz and renowned London food photographer Paul Winch-Furness would be on hand to give us smart phone food photography tips. How could I say no?
As encouragement to all those who only ever use their phone for food snaps Paul quipped: "When I go to photograph a restaurant, I take an initial snap with my phone just to see how the food looks - and then I spend the rest of the shoot trying to take one photo that looks as perfect with my big camera!".
Here are the highlights of what Paul had to say:
- People often ask "what is the best camera for photographing food?" The bottom line is that the best camera is the one you have on you when you need to snap that shot. For most of us, this is our phone camera - but it's worth investing in a good one if you're regularly going to use it to shoot food.
- One of the advantages of phone cameras in restaurants is that they are far less conspicuous than large cameras, enabling you to snap your food without annoying fellow-diners. Another advantage is their social-media connections - the reason why most people want to snap food photos is to share them with others, and while your phone is linked to social media networks, your camera probably isn't.
As with any camera, TURN OFF YOUR FLASH!
- To prevent camera shake once your flash is off, you can make a "tripod" by holding your phone in both hands and resting your elbows on the table. Paul also showed us that you can rest a smartphone vertically in a (preferably empty!) wine glass in order to steady it before taking a picture.
- Although most camera phones have a macro (or close-up) function, more interesting shots are often obtained by panning out a little and including plates, cutlery, glasses and other bits and bobs that make a shot a little more interesting and give it context. (This gave me food for thought as it’s the opposite of what I normally do with my camera.)
- Make a virtue out of your smartphone's small size to take angles that you'd struggle to get on a larger camera - overhead shots can be really interesting as can table-level angles.
- Just like me, Paul is a huge fan of Instagram and spent some time explaining how easy this phone app is to use - and how much fun. When you take photos within the Instagram environment, the photo is only taken when you release the shutter button, which is another way to minimise camera shake.
- Being forced to crop your photos square for Instagram is also something to bear in mind when you compose a shot - will the main elements fit into a square? Paul made us laugh with his mention of "filter anxiety" - when you just can't hit that publish button in case the 300th filter you try is the best one ever!
For those of us who don't want to get up close and personal with our camera phone settings (shutter speed, exposure, white balance, ISO etc.) Paul suggested that the best phone post-processing app is Snapseed whose user-friendly sliders allow you to adjust contrast, colour cast, brightness and a host of other settings to counteract low light before uploading the photo to your social network of choice.
To practise our smartphone photography, the restaurant provided three amuse-bouches: soft cooked Italian egg with tomato fondant, mushroom purée, potato foam and bacon powder served in an eggshell placed in a ceramic duck foot-shaped egg-cup (now that was a challenge to shoot!), venison terrine crostini and a spoonful of lobster, apple, fennel and avocado. More on how the wines worked with these and other dishes tomorrow. In the meantime I’m checking out Snapseed . . . "
See how Errazuriz wines paired with top chef Jason Atherton’s food.
DISCLOSURE: Jeanne attended this event as a guest of Errázuriz Estate and R&R Teamwork. Her photographs were taken on a Nokia Lumia 920.
Food pairings for Apothic and other sweet red wines
Heavily promoted Apothic is just one of a range of sweeter red wines that have been launched on the market recently. Not having much of a sweet tooth, I must confess it’s not particularly to my taste but I can see that it would greatly appeal to wine drinkers who find drier reds unappealing.
It also, I think, has interesting food pairing possibilities. You could treat it much like a port, say, and match it with chocolate or blue cheese. IF you like blue cheese that is. Food and wine pairings are all about combining things you enjoy.
So let’s look at possible food matches depending whether you like sweet reds or not.
If you like ‘em
You’ll probably want to match it with your favourite foods. It could handle a level of sweetness in a sauce or marinade that might make drier reds taste thin and weedy. So barbequed ribs or chicken wings in a sweet sticky marinade should be bang on. As should hamburgers, steak, lamb and meat-topped pizzas. No reason why you shouldn’t pair them with the Thanksgiving turkey and I reckon they would go well with Chinese meat dishes such as Peking duck.
You might also want to drink them with chocolate cake - one similar red was referred to as Cupcake Red - or chocolate desserts. And they should work well with a cheeseboard.
If you generally like drier reds
Try Apothic with blue cheeses like Stilton and a plum compote or roast figs or with dark chocolate desserts, cakes or brownies.
12 good wine buys at Waitrose
Waitrose is the latest to offer a 25% deal off wine and champagne if you buy six bottles (12 online) The deal runs until midnight on November 5th and excludes gift packs and spirits.
Here’s what I think are the best and most interesting deals - at the discounted deal. I wouldn't necessarily buy them at the full price.
WHITES
Pujalet 2012 Pays de Gers (11.5%) £5.49 down to £4.12 (258 branches and online)
Not much has been heard of Pays de Gers recently but it’s a great bargain which should massively appeal if you’re a Sauvignon-drinker. Bright, fruity and crisp it would make great party drinking.
Montgravet Chardonnay 2012 Vin de France (12%) £5.99 down to £4.49 (248 branches and online)
A smooth unoaked chardonnay that should satisfy even white burgundy lovers (well, not great white burgundy but the basic stuff). Good for creamily sauced pasta or chicken.
Domaine Balland-Chapuis 2012 Coteaux du Giennois (12.5%) £9.99 down to £7.49 (168 branches and online)
If you like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé but don’t want to pay the going rate for them (now around £12-14 a bottle) this lesser-known Loire Sauvignon Blanc is a great alternative. For raw and simply cooked seafood, grilled fish and goats cheese.
Wither Hills Chardonnay 2011 Marlborough New Zealand (14%) £10.15 down to £7.61 (250 branches)
Like big, creamy chardonnays? Here's a good one with a couple of years' bottle age. Try it with crab, scallops, roast chicken or even the Christmas bird.
Astrolabe Province Pinot Gris 2012 Marlborough New Zealand (13.5%) £17.99 down to £13.49 (48 branches and online)
I probably wouldn’t pay the full price for this rather gorgeous lush New Zealand Pinot Gris but it’s well worth a punt with this discount especially if you like Thai food for which it would be the perfect match
REDS
Montgravel Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2012 £5.99 down to £4.49 if you’re buying 6 bottles 13% (186 branches and online)
An unusual wine - a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from well south of Bordeaux in the Languedoc but better than almost all Bordeaux at the price. Good everyday drinking with homely fare like shepherds pie or a hotpot
Gerard Bertrand Syrah/Carignan 2010 Minervois £8.99 down to £6.74 13% (260 branches and online)
A more typical Languedoc red, big, dark and inky with rich brambly fruit. One for a cold night and a steak pie or beef casserole.
Marques de Calatrava Organic Seleccion Reservada Tempranillo 2011 La Mancha £8.99 down to £6.74 (279 branches and online)
A soft mellow Rioja-style organic red at a cheaper-than-Rioja price. Great value for an organic wine. Would be good with roast lamb or hard cheeses like Manchego.
Mount Rozier Merlot 2011 Stellenbosch £9.99 down to £7.49 (247 branches and online)
I picked this elegant Bordeaux-style red out as my wine of the week the other week and here’s another chance to pick it up at a good price. (See the other recommendations in that post for other good buys)
Enira Bulgarian Red 2009 Thracian Lowlands £11.99 down to £8.99 14.5% (20 branches and online)
You might baulk at the idea of paying this much for a Bulgarian wine even on this deal but it’s really quite exciting - the sort of sweet, mellow aged red to drink with some exotic Ottolenghi-ish lamb dish. If you’re a Chateau Musar fan you’ll love it.
FIZZ
Ayala Brut Majeur NV champagne 12.5% £29.99 down to £22.49 (138 branches and online)
Not the cheapest fizz out there but a respected house that’s showing really well at the moment. Elegant and creamy. A good pre-Christmas lunch or dinner party bottle.
SWEET
Chateau Les Sablines 2011 Monbazillac (13%) £8.99 (for 50cl) down to £6.74 (247 branches and online)
Monbazillac is from the same part of France as Sauternes - and made in a similar style - but you’d never get Sauternes at this price.
You may also like to check out my recent post 8 good wine buys at Sainsbury's
What impact does garlic have on wine pairing?
If you’re the kind of person (like me) who puts garlic into practically everything you cook you may regard this question as an irrelevance but some dishes are much more garlicky than others.
The key issue is how long it’s cooked - if at all. Add a clove of garlic to a slow-cooked braise or stew and you’ll hardly notice it. Use it uncooked in a salad dressing or a garlicky mayonnaise (aioli) and you certainly well.
What you need with raw garlic is acidity. Just as lemon and garlic are natural bedfellows so are citrussy white wines like Sauvignon Blanc, other crisp fresh whites like Picpoul de Pinet and Italian whites like Vermentino or Falanghina. Even Chablis works well with dishes like Chicken Kiev.
Dry champagne, especially blanc de blancs champagne is pretty good too. I remember on a champagne trip once have garlicky snails with Taittinger and it was brilliant. There are cheaper sparkling wines that would do the same trick.
Strong dry rosé - with the emphasis on dry - works well with aioli or the Spanish allioli. I’d personally go for a southern French rosé from an appellation like Costières de Nîmes or, if you’re willing to spend a bit more a Bandol rosé or a Tavel. Dry Spanish rosados are great too.
Reds are less successful, in my opinion, with raw garlic but great with garlicky dishes that have been slow-cooked. Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre - or a blend of all three work particularly well as do Italian reds although the Italians don’t tend to use a huge amount of garlic in their cooking. Full-bodied Shiraz and Malbec will also take a good whack of garlic in their stride.
And finally sherry - good old sherry - which somehow crops up in every list of wine matches. Manzanilla or fino sherry is great with garlicky tapas. It’s that acidity again.
Top tip: if garlic is included in a spicy dish like a curry the spices are usually more important than the garlic in terms of a wine match.
Cheeseboard ideas for Hallowe'en
If you're hosting a Hallowe'en supper this week and wondering what to put on the cheeseboard, here are a few suggestions.
Hallowe'en's all about kitsch so I would certainly colour-theme my board. It would have to be largely orange as there aren't many black cheeses though you could serve one of those black wax coated cheddars if you could find one. And some ready-to-eat prunes and charcoal biscuits on the side!
Perfect candidates for orange cheeses would be Mimolette, a very good dark orange-coloured cheese from Northern France, a washed rind cheese such as Epoisses or Stinking Bishop (the idea of a stinky cheese seems particularly suitable for Hallowe'en, I feel) and Red Leicester from England
There are even 'orange' wines nowadays that you could serve with them. These are white wines that are made in a similar way to red leaving the juice in contact with the skins which creates a rich yellow to orange colour. If their slightly quirky quince-like taste is not for you go for a dark Late Bottled Vintage port or a stout or pumpkin ale.
This post was originally published on my former cheese blog The Cheeselover.
Photo © photosimysia at Adobe Stock.
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