KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — If you’ve seen Trisha Toh’s food styling and photography on her Instagram account @trishates, you will agree that she can make the simplest dish look appetising.
With 119,000 followers on Instagram and a portfolio of hosting food styling workshops in Singapore and Amsterdam — in addition to food styling for various eateries — Toh’s eye for detail and exceptional styling and photography skills are enviable. You don’t want to miss out if there is a chance to attend one of her workshops.
I attended yesterday’s three-and-a-half hour long working lunch workshop #BreadButter2015 at Snackfood which was not only fun, but enlightening.
Toh’s workshop is simple to understand and everything is already at our fingertips, so to speak. With smartphones being able to take such great pictures these days, you do not need expensive gadgets to create a stunning food photo.
She starts off by telling us a little bit about herself. “I’ve been doing this for a year and a half and Instagram opened many doors for me. I met a friend through Instagram that got me into an exhibition (Chasing Squares). My first paid gig was for The Spice Peninsula Co, which is a spice company. For me, it’s about having fun and I get to play with food! Not many people can say they get to play with food,” said Toh.
At the workshop, you will learn that lighting is everything. Toh shares what kind of lighting is best and when to shoot. She also talks about styling and composition. She quoted Pablo Picasso who said, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them as an artist.”
Many people do not know that their native smartphone camera app is sufficient to take great photos for social media. There are so many functions I didn’t know exist in my smartphone camera app... thank goodness I was not the only one. The other participants did not have a clue either!
“One thing that’s very important about food styling is the ‘Ooo yum’ factor. The photo must be so attractive that people want to eat the food,” said Toh.
After learning about the fundamentals of food styling and photography, we teamed up in pairs to do some hands-on food styling and photography. The best part is that we got to eat the food after we took the photos!
A lesson every chef knows well: the prettier your food looks, it will be more appetising. At the workshop, the food which was from Ashley’s by Living Food was deconstructed so we could plate it ourselves.
Applying what we learned was not as hard as I thought but it was not easy either. Luckily working in a team of two helped because we gave each other feedback. We both plated our dishes and took photos before making minor post-processing for a cleaner and brighter look.
Mei Wan Tan, co-partner and pastry chef of The Kitchen Table, felt that the workshop was very informative and refreshing. “I didn’t know that we can find all the tools we needed in our phones. The tips and tricks Trisha gave us are very useful and simple,” she said. She came with her colleague, Nelaton Ong Leighton who is the Assistant Front of House Manager of The Kitchen Table.
“It’s all about creativity and putting what you learn today to practise. I enjoyed the session and I appreciated it that Trisha gave us feedback on our food styling and photography. The workshop is very relevant,” said Ong Leighton.
“I like it that Trisha doesn’t use filters. Her photos are natural and clean. This workshop is very applicable I feel, especially for marketing departments of F&B,” said Tan.
For home cook Sophia Zulkefli, the workshop is very useful too. “It’s good, you learn how to play with colours. I wanted to learn how to take photos behind the scenes. As a cook, I like to see how I set my ingredients and see what is going inside the pot,” said Sophia.
Although Toh has already done 10 workshops, she admits to feeling nervous still. “It feels comforting when the participants enjoy the workshop. I am really impressed by the results of today’s workshop.
“During the hands-on I could see they have learned and they have more understanding of food and how to plan the shoot. I know most home cooks struggle when taking photos of their creations.
“By learning about composition, lighting and styling, they can get a better grasp on food styling and photography. This will also save F&B owners the cost of hiring food stylists and photographers. This workshop also teaches you how to make your food look attractive and when people get attracted to it, they want to eat it,” said Toh.
The next #BreadButter2015 workshop by Trisha Toh will be on December 4 and 5.
For more information, email [email protected].
