Photoshoot I did for an online bakery, C&C please!:)

[Granddad]

I'm don't think that "happy family, kids, cozy kitchen" is the target to aim for. That's the American/Canadian model where brownies are as traditional as Mom and apple pie. Even as an Englishman I never experienced brownies till I met the American lady who has been my wife for the last 34 years (she still makes good brownies).
Alexander is in Singapore. The Chinese/Malasian and other cultures there have their own traditional foods that conjure up those images (dim sum, whole roast piglet, red bean soup, sesame cakes etc etc). From looking at the web site the target is young urban professionals who will pay good money to have these foreign delicacies at their upmarket parties and business meetings. They could well achieve this in the same way that sushi has become "the thing to serve" here and in the States.

I think Alexander is on the right path, a bit like the Ferraro Rocher ambassador's advert from the 70's; only instead of snob appeal it's cool appeal.

 

[Low_Sky]

As others have said, there is a lot about these photos that are just "off" for me. Technically, I think they are really good, but I am not an experienced photographer. I am an experienced brownie eater, and no part of me wants these brownies. Every photo of the model screams "I have no intention of actually eating this thing!" or "there's no way I'm ruining my lipstick for a bite of this". Things that would make me consider buying brownies online?
Show the brownies being made, from real ingredients that are better than what comes out of the box at the supermarket.
Show people eating and enjoying the brownies, or even looking like they want to eat them.
Macro shot of a warm, moist brownie dressed up with a dusting of powdered sugar, some chocolate sauce swirled on a white plate with some berries or something as a garnish.
How are these awesome, decadent brownies packaged? Will they still be awesome when they get to my house?

Without getting into a long speech on brownie culture, these photos need to tell viewers "these 2-day-old brownies from the mail are better than what you can make yourself and enjoy warm from the oven". That is a really, really tough sell.

 

[tirediron]

You've obviously got the photography weighed off; what is needed is a creative/artistic director who can provide some guidance on what & how the shoots should be done. I take your point about the 'family in the kitchen' maybe is not keeping with their image, but I don't think these images send the right message either.

 

[Alexandtheng]

thanks guys, while my pride is a little crushed (i kid), the advice has been great. to be honest i was very much focusing on the lighting and the model (portrait photographer here, haha) and did not put much thought into the "commercial" aspect of it. you've given me quite a lot to think about...will probably re-think & shoot this.

Grandad, thanks once again for the encouragement!

 

[Granddad]

.... Grandad, thanks once again for the encouragement!

If I make it to Singapore before I die you can buy me a jasmine tea and a brownie.

 

[amolitor]

These photos could work well to sell a "super-premium" brownie mix, potentially. It's "super-premium" and "brownie mix" are not two phrases that mate well, but all that really means is that the category is there to be taken.

I wouldn't have her eating the brownies at all, I'd have her with the brownies, looking at them, holding them, whatever.

This austere quasi-high-fashion look isn't going to play well with the flirty/fun/yummy feeling you're going for, but it CA work. Just think "austere fashion super-premium luxury brownie" instead of "yummy delicious" and you'll be most of the way there.

An alternative would be to make it a parody of the high fashion look. Then you want to push the flirty/fun thing much harder, maybe even go a bit messy. These are brownies so good that they make the models go nuts. You might style the set to make it look like you were shooting for YSL or someone, selling a purse or some luggage, and the brownies were brought to the set as snacks, and the shoot got ruined by BROWNIES EVERYWHERE.

Anyways. There are some moods and ideas that could work here, I just feel like you gotta pick one and push it hard.

 

[amolitor]

Also, when the couch is only slightly separated from the wall, it looks kind of weird.

 

[Derrel]

Well...I stopped by their web site, and saw the side-view picture of a brownie, on a wooden cutting board, which was on top of a yellow fabric swatch, with an OOF kitchen counter backdrop...Ugggg...what a BORING view of a brownie! Much of a brownie's appeal is the top-view of it, seen simultaneously with a side view...the shot shown on the site Brownies ? The Brownie Men shows the brownie looking thin, dense, not flaky, not succulent, and looking like an old kitchen sponge...simply awful.

As to the model...she's not helping. The brownie with a fork shot has the most potential; she needs to be holding the fork like it's a ****....anticipating the brownie, making the brownie be the STAR of the shot. The shots of her with the brownie stuck in her teeth....no, not working. The majority of advertising shots that succeeed have at least some degree of subliminal sexuality...these need art direction to be successful. I'm not sure WHAT the bakers are going for, but the flat, thin, dense, ugly, sponge-like brownie shown on the web site's main page is an awful example of a brownie...it looks dreadful. Let's think "highlight control" and "lighting", as well as "propping of the shot in commercial photography."...

photos of brownies - Google Search

Just a few dozen examples of brownies that do not look like a filthy,disgusting old synthetic sponge...

 

[Low_Sky]

Derrel, you are clearly a man who understands brownies. One of my favorite things about brownies is the light, flaky crust on top. I have noticed that all of these photos show the brownies flipped upside down, showing the boring bottom side. This thread has made me spend far too much time thinking about brownies...

Sent from my phone with my giant, uncoordinated sausage thumbs.

 

[Granddad]

*Note to self* Humbly beg and beseech the wife to make a batch of her super hi-end brownies for me to photograph.

 

[ffarl]

Hate the plastic fork. Love everything else.

Correction, upon further investigation, it looks like it might be a real fork, but you have to try real hard.

 

[Derrel]

Hate the plastic fork. Love everything else.

Correction, upon further investigation, it looks like it might be a real fork, but you have to try real hard.

In the same shot, the large brownie on the plate has a tall edge, and is squished down and compacted in the center...indicating a baking disaster and shoddy product...plus, the top of the brownie looks...again, sponge-like! Where is the flaky crust on the product? The product on the serving plate looks poorly made..no flaky crust on top, just porous, almost-black cake-like product. Their "brownie" looks suspiciously like cheap chocolate cake mix, baked with extra oil added... The fork looks like a plastic fork because the end of the fork handle is hidden within her hand, indicating a short, small fork, and the top of the fork is rendered as a bright, almost-white specular highlight reflecting the lighting, thus visually "reading" as white, ergo, plastic fork. Her grip on the fork is not quite right for a photo. (see my earlier post for a suggestion on fork grip...)

In food shots, the food itself has to appear delicious. These guys appear to be unable to bake brownies that are the same thickness in the middle as at the edges...and when the EDGE of a big slab of brownie appears twice as tall as the middle of the same slab...the product itself shows it is sub-standard and inferior. There's just no way around it...the middle of the slab is sunken, and it looks terrible, so next time, make sure the food is prepared properly, or if not, then trim it, or doctor it up, so it LOOKS properly-made.

 

[ffarl]

Congrats on being hired to shoot a commercial for the Ford Motor Company. It's a horrible choice of paint for that car, and I hate where they've located the gas cap. The pinstripes make the think of 1978 Honda Civic and the hatchback model is an abomination. Also, I went by their website and noticed that there's been a recall on that model that severely endangers the safety of any infant seated in the passenger side while the airbags are engaged...

Am I off base here?

 

[Derrel]

Congrats on being hired to shoot a commercial for the Ford Motor Company. It's a horrible choice of paint for that car, and I hate where they've located the gas cap. The pinstripes make the think of 1978 Honda Civic and the hatchback model is an abomination. Also, I went by their website and noticed that there's been a recall on that model that severely endangers the safety of any infant seated in the passenger side while the airbags are engaged...

Am I off base here?

I dunno...it's difficult to know exactly what the point is, what with all the sarcasm dripping from it. It's not 100% evident what your point actually is, ffarl...

I used to assist a commercial photographer in the pre-Photoshop days, when every single product that came in to be photographed HAD to be prepped, food had to be styled, and we spent a lot of time making sure the products were "fit for photography".

The brownie that's slopped onto the plate could have easily been trimmed so it's the same thickness. That would be the food stylist's job, to correct the blunder of the alleged pastry chef. But, in this day and age of low photo budgets and no art direction, ultimately the photographer is responsible for every,single thing in his or her photos. This is, after all the Commercial/Product Photography forum; commercial product and food photography is a very demanding specialty that requires a high degree of photographic skill, as well as knowledge.

When a product is not "fit for photography", then the photographer must decide how to handle it. The simple fact here is that these commercial/product photos are all,each and every one, plagued by nagging issues of various types. The Ford Motor Company advertisement would come with an art director, a senior AD, three assistants, and a three-man crew, plus the photographer, and probably two grip guys, and a $180,000 budget. Every single inch of the product would be groomed and inspected, and the paint color and wheels and every,single detail of the product would have passed muster before the studio lights were even flipped on. And it would have been shopped out to a professional with immense skill and experience.

 

[ffarl]

It sounds like you were able to discern my point, despite the sarcasm.

I have a LOT more experience in the food industry than I do in photography, but food is just as subjective as photography. One man's brownie is another mans failed cake mix, and OP could be dealing with someone who believes they've got their sh!t together entirely. I would say a great way to lose a client would be to suggest to the bakery owner that their product is unfit for public viewing.

Now you gotta be a gawd dang brownie expert to be a photographer. Shucks.

Anyway, just trying to wind you up a bit, and offer a different viewpoint. The brownie people knew it was photo shoot day. That's what they gave her.