Food porn - flambe

[GrahamH]

Hi all,
Quickie shoot this afternoon - hungry?
... I have a sweet tooth and was so busy I forgot to eat it afterwards.
Comments welcome as this is only my third food shoot. Always room for improvement (please sir - can I have some more).
I will admit that the flames were tricky. Alcohol burns with a very faint blue flame that can be difficult to see.

Graham

[Shadowman]

The only comment would have been the blue lights but you answered that. Nice shot. If food is your fetish and you forgot to eat it afterwards, run away very fast from your recovery program.

[GrahamH]

The owner wanted a promo shot for the dessert special (amongst other shots). I couldn't get the blue flame prominent (merely a glimpse that looked like a reflection). So, took a shot of the flames on the food in a dark room, only the flames were visible and used a blending mode to re-insert afterwards (I tried several until I found one that worked).
The bottom left is a little grainy and is the actual flame. The brighter flames are the inserted ones.
Graham.

[dulceza]

Looks great to me, probably it tastes heavenly. Is it Grand Marnier burning there? My suggestion- try to put aside the ice cream, avoid melting.Bon appetit ! Thanks for sharing.

[GrahamH]

The chef is the chef (and has some wicked looking knives), I'll let someone else tell him how to present food.
Actually, it's a big problem to slow down the ice-cream melt, it's so warm here. My friends in Toronto just don't understand the difficulties of life down here (+26C versus +1C).
Graham

[Bobobird]

I think there is something that gives off a yellow/orange flame but cannot recall what if is. Will post back when the cells open up.

[GrahamH]

Potassium gives red, sodium gives orange, alcohol gives blue.
Unless I was adding salt somehow to the flambe, I'm going to have to deal with blue flames.
Plus the image needs to be realistic for the customers.

Here's another one. SOOC, needs a little room at the top. I cropped from landscape, no other pp. Needs cleaning up a little.
Graham

[GrahamH]

Last one for now. I tried to get more artistic with this one (I struggle with creativity). Not likely to get on the menu however.
Graham

[AB26]

Graham this is something I do not like doing. If you object I will remove it ASAP.
Did a little tweaking with contrast and light:

[GrahamH]

Good morning Andre,
I have no problem with anyone doing anything to my images, love to see other peoples ideas.
I try to make it a habit to upload a decent sized image so people can play.
Thanks for your input. The original post didn't print as well as I would have liked, so maybe upping the contrast would help. Perhaps it's my screen (uncalibrated laptop), but it looks a little too contrasty, however, you have prompted me to adjust, so posted below.

I am limited to a 2 cartridge, all-in-one printer. I know, rather backward. Would love to get at least a 4 cartridge or better, that should help the printing (but then cartridges would be unavailable on island).
Graham

[wlou]

Hello Graham. I am with you, never argue with a Chef! As for the desert with the flame, have you tried to do the picture in low light or in the dark? Flames show off real well in darker environnement and you can create a mood. Also it may be cooler at night. Just a suggestion.

[Fit]

That's a very fleeting flame- agreed with Lou's comment that darker ambiance could help. Also wonder about a lower shooting angle?

[AB26]

Hi Graham,

Thanks for being so forgiving.
I have also seen whatever is printed might look better than what you see on the screen.
What I see on my screen is a bit of loss in detail in the ice-cream.

With food I think the Pro's use a glossy spray to enhance the "mood".
I am not saying there is anything wrong with your images, indeed I think it look good.
Just be careful not to lose detail.

Can I have the Creme brulee please.

[GrahamH]

Hi Louise and Chris,
The flame was so faint (even with copious amounts of liquer) I had to retire to a dark room and take pics of the flames (high iso) separately and post process back in.
ISO 6400, f5.6, 1/50s
I could have tried rear sync flash, but with moving flames, you would lose definition with a longer shutter speed. (And I was working in a full pantry with almost no room to move - certainly no room for the necessary flash/brolly/reflector).
Unless someone has another idea?
Graham

[GrahamH]

Thanks for the comments Chris,
A lower shooting angle would enhance the flame composition, but chef wanted the crepe to be dominant. Going too low would result in the strawberries/banana and caramel (oh heck, now I'm hungry again) being more prominent. Always a difficult call just how far to go. I do have more lower an higher and from all different perspectives (even shallow DoF), this is the one the guy with the sharp (ever so sharp) knives likes.
It's already on the front of the menu, so if you pop down here, let me know and I can get you a discount . (As long as you tell the chef you like his choice).
Graham

[Fit]

FYI- looking at the pic on my iPhone now the flame is obvious. On my PC at 1929x... was less so.

[GrahamH]

Dessert - sticky toffee pudding, with caramel.
Graham

Pandan Cake - you can see the ice cream is already melting (very warm location)

[Aforns]

Hi Graham Quality, framing, composition etc aside .... your killing me with these images, man I'm having a sweet tooth attack !! Excellent work !!

[rpcrowe]

Crisco shortening doesn't melt at room temperature and makes a great substitute for vanilla ice cream. On the other hand, you cannot have your shot and eat it too (pun intended). Crisco probably tastes

[GrahamH]

Crisco shortening doesn't melt at room temperature and makes a great substitute for vanilla ice cream. On the other hand, you cannot have your shot and eat it too (pun intended). Crisco probably tastes

Thanks Richard and Alfred.
Less than 30s to shoot, and I got in 3 acceptable different shots (plus another couple that got deleted). Then onto the customer, quick as that. Everything is for real and gets eaten by someone.
Graham