My interview about Food Styling for Airport Magazine.

Food Styling is full of different myths. Glue instead of mayo in burgers, or not prepared puree from broccoli, gel mass instead of ice-cream or other heroes of detail shots. I’ll try to tell all the truth.

What is Food Styling?
Everything about food-photography, instead of work with lights, composition, plot and color. Food-photographer and Food-stylist have the same tasks – we need a person to order the dish. It’s possible to do, only if client tried such a dish or has a good associations.
For example, to sell Olivier to our person, you should put it into crystal salad-dish, near is a glass of champagne, tangerines and Christmas Tree. It won’t work with foreign people. Another culture, strange dish, and they don’t know about ingredients. Better to write in menu «Traditional Soviet Union Dish», just cut eve gables and near is a saucer and person can imagine the taste.
What are the rules of composition?
Main things for food-stylists are rules of diagonal and Fibonacci number (rule of golden spiral). Important are fields and dish wares, with the time every food-photographer becomes a ragman. But there is a little complication, when you buy a beautiful plate, you won’t shoot it many times. A way out is to rent it.
What trends are the most up-to-date in Food Styling?
Rustic work, minimalism and food-art. Rustic work is easiness, natural materials and rude attrition. In that way you can share the warm atmosphere, where the dish was cooked. minimalism and food-art focus your attention on food.
Did you use some fake trick in the shooting?
One time it was 20-houres shooting for seasoning and spices package in December and it was impossible to shoot everything. Second case was connected with shooting of topping to panna cottas. Not to cook it every time, we just wash it and put a new topping.
How to develop yourself in the sphere of Food Styling?
You should analyze photos from Pinterest every single day for an hour. For my photo school students there is a special group in Facebook, where they post photos and discuss it. the task is 90 days – 90 photos. It not for everyone, but who went though challenge has a great progress.  Books – “Photography as” by Lapin.
How to start your own way of Food-Photographer?
I’ve worked together with beginner chef about six months. We cooked and shooted food. For that time I was a successful commercial photographer, and my first profit as food-photographer I got from photo banks and photo agencies. For two years I shoot only a food.
How do you think, why Ukraine there no many food-photographers and food-stylists?
It’s hard to refuse tacit wedding or some report because of food. You need a big desire and will power. And of course, to love food :)