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Each Monday, we’ll highlight one indie photographer whose body of work deserves special recognition. Please enjoy their photography here, and make it a point to enjoy the rest of their work on their website.

Warning: The following article may cause sudden cravings for everything in your home or work space that is edible;  A full stomach is strongly advised.

Setting up my tripod, adjusting my lights, and putting a nice steak on the table are not what I think about when creative inspiration strikes.  Around these parts we call that dinner, however, those tasty images we see in magazines, on television, or on the menu at our favorite drive through were photographed by someone.  Their job is to make food look good, and entices us to purchase their product.

Today, I have the pleasure of featuring one such photographer.  Hailing from LaGrangeville, NY, USA, Rikki Snyder, a professional food and still life photographer, makes food look good.

Whereas we sit down to devour a good meal, she arranges it without taking a bite. Her table settings include a Canon 7D DSLR, and a Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens.  The lens is the most important part of the photographic process according to Rikki, as it allows her to get “up close and friendly” with the food.  The shallow depth of field, which always makes the food look good, is also used when she switches from pie to people, producing incredible head shots.  You can turn any background, cluttered or clean, into a nice backdrop using the bokeh it creates.   (Some of the photos featured in this article were shot using a medium format camera with a digital back that was available to her when she was in school)

When shooting food, Rikki will normally choose what she wants to photograph prior to the actual shoot.  Next, she raids her “prop closet” as she calls it, and picks out appropriate extras that compliment the food.  Once the food is chosen and the prop decisions have been made, it is time to break out the sketchbook and draw what she is envisioning the photo to look like.

A sketchbook you ask? Stick with me on this one, it gets yummy!

After sketching out how she would like the scene to look, Rikki breaks out the camera and slowly begins the process of shooting, moving props, experimenting, working to achieve the look she is going for.  During the shoot, Rikki will use the built in camera features to process the photos, only using Lightroom and Photoshop for minor adjustments.

Photoshop is used for normal touch up along with some dodging and burning if necessary, and lastly, if there is a good amount of fabric involved, or it is a textured piece, Rikki will run the photo through a high-pass filter with very low opacity.  When shooting in natural light, she will create a warmer image to offset the natural “blue-ness” associated with food.  A good boost in contrast will complete the process.

One subject that she would like to shoot but hasn’t had the opportunity is French Macarons! Unfortunately, she hasn’t found a bakery in New York that sells them, but the search continues.

Rikki offers some great tips and techniques when it comes to “food photography.”  First, always look for the best light you can possibly find.  A soft and “airy” light source is always the most desirable.  If you’re using light from a window, make sure the windows are facing North, and schedule the shoot between 11am-2pm.  She also suggests using black and white cards to shape the light, which can really enhance the overall look and feel.   If you need to prop your image, always try to use textured linens, preferably with imagery as this will add a nice accent.  Another critical piece is the color choices, as they can make or break a great photo.  Play around with complimentary and contrasting colors to get the look you want, however, don’t feel the need to “over-prop” as sometimes simple is better.

Self portraits, which is a style that Rikki has tried in the past, has helped with her food photography.  It helped determine what ideas were a success and which ones failed.  It also helped train her mind to plan out every detail and see the space she has to work with using her mind’s eye before executing the idea.  Envisioning the space before the shoot has also flowed into her still life photography.  Taking the time to do the “leg work” and realizing the final product in her head before the shoot really makes the image work.

Moving to influences and inspiration, Rikki is a fan of Katie Quinn Davies and Aran Goyoaga. In her own words, “They’re both HUGE inspirations to me and I admire their work so much!” Rikki would like to try interior photography someday, but for now she is focused on food and enjoying every last bite!

You can find Rikki out and about on Twitter, Flickr, her personal blog, and website.

Now where did I put those French Macarons!?

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This weekends photo focus is: flowers. Flowers are an overdone subject in photography, so the aim of this weekends theme is to capture a flower,and to push yourself creatively to capture it differently from the numerous, generic photographs out there. Below are a few examples of photographs that are just a little bit different.

"The Flower" by Kayleor

"Flowers" by giedriusvarnas

"Flowers in the window" by liiqa

"In the flowers" by misantropia

"Flowers" by sjogren

"Hanging flowers" by thresca

"Flowers" by chinacomplex

"Macro worlds" by r3novatio

"Flower" by en-gel

Each Friday we will post a Weekend Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #weekendphotofocus) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on the Web (including some of the photos sent from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity.

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #weekendphotofocus, New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

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This weekend’s focus is concerning an area we always look at but hardly ever notice; the floor. Intricate and interesting patterns are aplenty on the floors and grounds that surround us, and this focus will challenge you to notice them!

"True Grit" by wiebkefesch

"Gold pattern" by raine25000

"Pattern" by thunderbirdsarego

"Rocky Squares" by deathawx

"Station floor" by lalyha

"Patterns of perfection" by absinto

"Gold Patterns on the Floor" by raena-nayrue

"Floor" by double-helixes

"Patterns on the floor" by lostinthisphotograph

"Nature's floor" by joemydodd

"Reflection on floor" by keithmod

Each Friday we will post a Weekend Photo Focus (also hash tagged on Twitter as #weekendphotofocus) on a certain subject, something to spark your creativity. An empty weekend for a photographer, is like an empty canvas, we could always use something to do when we have nothing planned right? So with this in mind we created this series, one that will get you out doing what you love. The premise is simple: snap some photos over the weekend dealing with the weekends focus, and if you send them to us, or Tweet them to us, we will post them for others to see. Having a focus will help us as artists & photographers see things that we might not always see, make us take a shot at something we might otherwise have not. In seeing other photogs chase after the same focus, it can only breed even more creativity in our own work.

At the weekends close, we will follow up our weekend focus, with what we found on the Web (including some of the photos sent from you) that falls in line with our focus. We hope you join in the fun and help us spread the creativity.

example of a tweet to us:

@fuelphotography One more submission for this week’s #weekendphotofocus, New Life & Spring: http://bit.ly/aY1oC7

Advertise here via BSA

I chose these photographs for one reason: the color MADE the shot. When looking through the different portfolios, and I saw a great picture with a lot of color, I would ask myself if it would still have the same feel if the color wasn’t there. With these, the answer to that question was NO. Enjoy.

Photo by: Roc Herm

Photo by: Olivier

Photo by: Michael Creagh

Photo by: Graphistolage David

Photo by: Florencia Mazza

Photo by: Cámara Oscura

Photo by: Ashburn Eng

Photo by: Susan Anderson

Photo  by: Orgut Cayli