Plate to Lens: Food Photography

This class focuses on the necessary elements of successful food photography. Using digital SLR cameras and a variety of lenses, students will learn how to creatively approach food photography both in a controlled "studio" environment as well as in non-ideal, "real world" situations.

A number of key topics will be covered, including but not limited to: understanding and evaluating light, making choices regarding lenses, depth of field and camera position, as well as some food and prop styling. Through hands on activities, assignments and critiques students will gain a better understanding of how to tell a food's story through pictures.

Ideal for chefs and cooks, restaurant owners, food bloggers, critics, and those interested in still life photography, this class will benefit anyone with a passion for food and photography.

3-week Class

Mondays, 7 - 10pm

April 30 – May 14

• $275 + food fee of $25

• Digital SLR camera
• Memory card (4GB or more)
• Macro lens (optional)
• Pen and notebook

Andrew Kahl worked his way up from the prep kitchen as a potato peeling fry cook to running a line as an executive chef. Having over a decade of experience handling, preparing and plating food not only gives him a one-of-a-kind perspective on food and those who prepare it, but also the visual and verbal vocabulary to convey the message his clients desire. Much like the seasonal menus he created as a chef, his approach to photography is influenced by the food, its creator, and the environment in which it was raised or prepared.

Andrew's photographs have appeared in Cooking Light, Draft Magazine, Parade, Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Style Magazine, and Bucks Magazine. He has worked on national advertising campaigns, as well as for local restaurants and bakeries.