Live AMA with Suzi Pratt

[alpha-stormy]

Suzi Pratt is a veritable creator who focuses on event and restaurant photography. Suzi is also known for her tech reviews as Gemini Connect on YouTube. You can check out some of Suzi’s work on her Instagram (@suzipratt).

[Suzi Pratt]

Hi! My name is Suzi Pratt – I am an event, food, and restaurant photographer and I do tech reviews at Gemini Connect on YouTube. I’m excited to chat with you all today! I’m happy to answer any questions on photography, working with commercial clients , gear, editing, and building community around your photography work. You’re welcome to check out some of my work on my instagram. Please be patient, as I will be typing these answers in real time, I’m excited to answer your questions!

[alpha-stormy]

Question from the forum: Avmil asks: "how do you lay the food out to look good? That may sound silly but I feel like it's hard to make food on a plate look appetizing and not just like a pile of mush... though maybe that says more about my cooking than photo techniques"

[avmil]

Hi Suzi! I'm so excited for this!!

[Suzi Pratt]

Question from the forum: Avmil asks: "how do you lay the food out to look good? That may sound silly but I feel like it's hard to make food on a plate look appetizing and not just like a pile of mush... though maybe that says more about my cooking than photo techniques"

I use Instagram and Pinterest a lot to get inspiration and bookmark shots that I like and want to emulate. This helps me get a visual frame of reference for how to lay out food. But as a rule of thumb, it's always best to pick out the "star" dish and center the others around it.

[avmil]

Question from the forum: Avmil asks: "how do you lay the food out to look good? That may sound silly but I feel like it's hard to make food on a plate look appetizing and not just like a pile of mush... though maybe that says more about my cooking than photo techniques"

Okay cool! Do you arrange the food on the plate in any particular way? Like if there are a pile of french fries do you make organize them?

[alpha-stormy]

Question from the forum: Nodav asks: "I'd love to know what's your favorite shoot that you've done and why?"

[Suzi Pratt]

Question from the forum: Avmil asks: "how do you lay the food out to look good? That may sound silly but I feel like it's hard to make food on a plate look appetizing and not just like a pile of mush... though maybe that says more about my cooking than photo techniques"

Most of my food clients are restaurants and the food is plated by the chef. I generally rely on their expertise of how they want the food presented, but also offer my own tweaks and insights based on how the camera will see it. So it's a collaborative process.

[Suzi Pratt]

Question from the forum: Avmil asks: "how do you lay the food out to look good? That may sound silly but I feel like it's hard to make food on a plate look appetizing and not just like a pile of mush... though maybe that says more about my cooking than photo techniques"

But if it wasn't a restaurant client or there wasn't a chef, that's when I would lean heavily on Pinterest, Instagram, and Google Images to get inspiration on how to visually arrange the dish.

[sowil]

Are you mostly art directing, or does the restaurant have a big say in the images on set?

[avmil]

What lighting setup do you use or do you try to use natural light?

[Suzi Pratt]

Are you mostly art directing, or does the restaurant have a big say in the images on set?

The client always has the final say in how the images look. Some clients have a pre-set vision, and others want to be more collaborative and work together on the creative vision. So it really depends on the project/client. I definitely prefer collaboration.

[Suzi Pratt]

What lighting setup do you use or do you try to use natural light?

Honestly, it depends on the budget! If it's low budget, I generally stick to natural lighting and on-camera speedlite flash. But for bigger budgets, I'll pull out my strobes and get more creative with lighting and backgrounds.

[miar]

What gear do you have?

[Suzi Pratt]

Question from the forum: Nodav asks: "I'd love to know what's your favorite shoot that you've done and why?"

That's a tough question...but the one that immediately comes to mind is Taylor Swift's 1989 tour stop in Seattle. I got to photograph a good chunk of the concert and not only did I get the best concert photos I've ever gotten, but...it's Taylor Swift! She's hands down the best performer I've ever seen.

[avmil]

What lighting setup do you use or do you try to use natural light?

Is it the amount of time that takes that would impact budget? Or are you renting lights?

[alpha-stormy]

Question from social: How do you manage to not get hungry when you're shooting food for restaurants?

[MusicalMelanie]

How do you attract new clients?

[Suzi Pratt]

Quote

What gear do you have?

My main camera bodies are the Sony a7IV and a7RIII -- I use them the most for photography and paid video work. My favorite lenses are the 55mm 1/1.8 and 20mm f/1.8. I shoot most of my food, restaurant, and event photos with all of these, but also add in the 70-200mm f/2.8 and 24-105mm f/4 from time to time.

[Suzi Pratt]

Question from social: How do you manage to not get hungry when you're shooting food for restaurants?

I always eat a light snack before my food shoots. About half the time, they'll let me eat the food afterward, but sometimes, they don't -- especially if it's a new restaurant and they're still training the staff. In those cases, they often want the staff to sample the food first, which is totally fair.

[avmil]

Question from social: How do you manage to not get hungry when you're shooting food for restaurants?

My dream job is one where I get to eat!!!

[Suzi Pratt]

How do you attract new clients?

I've been shooting for over 10 years, so at this point it's 99% word of mouth and referrals from past clients and other photographers/creatives that I know. But having a social media presence was always key in the beginning.

[Suzi Pratt]

How do you attract new clients?

I also relied heavily on SEO on my website and being top ranked in Google for "Seattle food photographer" as a very early strategy -- but if you Google that now, you'll see it's become less of a priority for me.

[MusicalMelanie]

How do you attract new clients?

Thank you! I'm just starting out and it's been tough marketing myself. I'll have to learn more about SEO

[aidm]

Do you photoshop the food in any way or are the images you make fairly similar to out of camera?