Lesson Plan
Course Title:
Principles of AAVTC
Session Title: Creative Food Styling and Photography
Lesson Duration: Ten 90-minute class periods
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Day 9:
Day 10:
Fun introduction, computer-aided presentation
Lighting and photographic demonstration and practice
Guided practice photographic activity
Guided practice editing activity
Independent practice project planning
Project production (photo shoot or magazine cover layout)
Project production (photo shoot or magazine cover layout)
Project completion and submission
Critique session
Quiz and debrief session
Note: See Teacher Guide for more thorough explanation of daily activities.
[Lesson length is approximate. Instruction will vary by instructor.]
Performance Objective: Upon completion of this assignment, the student will be able to create
an advertisement using food styling techniques.
Specific Objectives:
1. Define terms and techniques associated with food styling.
2. Identify tips associated with photography and lighting.
3. List steps in process of food styling and photography.
4. Use image editing software to create a magazine cover document.
Preparation
TEKS Correlations:
§130.82 (c)
(1)
The student applies English language arts in Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and
Communications cluster projects. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate use of content, technical concepts, and vocabulary;
(B) use correct grammar, punctuation, and terminology to write and edit documents;
(C) identify assumptions, purpose, and propaganda techniques;
(D) compose and edit copy for a variety of written documents; and
(E) evaluate oral and written information.
(3)
The student understands and examines problem-solving methods. The student is
expected to employ critical-thinking and interpersonal skills independently and in teams to
solve problems.
(11) The student develops a basic understanding of the Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and
Communications cluster. The student is expected to:
(A) research the scope of career opportunities;
(B) develop an understanding of the elements and principles of art;
(C) develop an understanding of the industry by explaining the history and evolution of
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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(D)
(H)
cluster career fields and defining and using related terminology;
evaluate works of art using critical-thinking skills;
make and evaluate formal and informal professional presentations by:
(i) analyzing the audience, occasion, and purpose when designing presentations;
(ii) determining specific topics and purposes for presentations;
(iii) researching topics using primary and secondary sources, including electronic
technology;
(iv) using effective strategies to organize and outline presentations;
(v) using information effectively to support and clarify points in presentations;
(vi) preparing scripts or notes for presentations; and
(vii) preparing and using visual or auditory aids, including technology, to enhance
presentations.
Instructor/Trainer
References:
1. Parks-Whitfield, Alison. (2012). Food Styling and Photography for Dummies. John Wiley and
Sons
2. Food styling and food photographer examples from magazines and through an online
search of relates websites
Instructional Aids:
1. Food Styling and Photography slide presentation
2. Independent Practice Activity – Setting up a Magazine Cover
3. Food Styling and Photography Quiz
4. Food Styling and Photography Quiz Key
5. Food Styling/Photography Project Rubric
6. Student Example
7. Teacher Guide
Materials Needed:
1. Shaving cream
2. Shortening
3. Vanilla frosting
3. Varnish or shellac
5. Glycerin
Equipment Needed:
1. Studio lighting equipment (minimum three lights, softbox preferred).
2. Camera (DSLR preferred) with additional lenses if available.
3. Tripod.
4. Computer with appropriate presentation software, photo editing software, and projection
system.
5. Computer lab with photo editing software installed.
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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Learner
Complete Units 1-6 on the Principles of AAVTC course timeline, specifically Principles of
Design, Elements of Art, Ideation and Design Process, Design Defense, Using a Camera and
Lighting lessons.
Introduction
MI
Introduction (LSI Quadrant I):
ASK:
Have you ever thought about why food on a restaurant menu looks so
appealing?
SHOW: Printed and digital examples of student food styling results.
SAY:
With a little work, it is going to be possible for you to create work like this.
SAY:
Today we are going to learn some basics about food styling and how
culinary arts and visual arts may be combined.
Outline
MI
Outline (LSI Quadrant II):
Instructor Notes:
I. Define terms and techniques associated with food
styling.
A. Styling food – culinary aesthetics
B. Food stylists – prepare food to look like art
C. Ad artists – convert good photographs into
advertisements
D. Techniques
 Shortening – ice cream
 Glycerin – makes glasses look frosted when
sprayed
 Paint – to create grill marks on meat
 Varnish or shellac – to make bread shiny
 Fine cracker crumbs – to make bread look
homemade
 Shaving cream with vanilla frosting – makes
whipped cream
Note: Use the slide
presentation to discuss
terms.
II. Identify tips associated with photography and lighting.
A. Include ingredients in shot
B. Photograph all foods cold
C. Capture food at just the right time
D. Vary the complexity of your shots
E. Simplicity requires complex planning
F. Food as a background object
Note: Use the slide
presentation to discuss
tips.
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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III. List steps in process of food styling and photography.
A. Choose your subject – do not over commit
B. Plan with your teammates
C. Review classroom camera procedures
D. Set up the shoot
 Equipment needed
- DSLR camera
- Lenses
- Tripod
- Lighting
 Materials needed
- Varies according to plan
 Lighting
Key light: A key light is the main or principal
light that provides the majority of light for your
setup. You should place the key light in front
and to the side, which ensures that you get
good reflections in the highlights.
Fill light: A fill light is a light that’s either lower
wattage or placed farther away from the
subject. The purpose of a fill light is to fill in and
shape the light in a food subject. It’s a
secondary light that decreases and controls the
contrast when shooting.
Back light: A back light shoots across the very
back of a setup. The back light provides a little
smidge of light that allows a slight distinction
between the subject and the background.
 Composition
Note: Use the slide
presentation to discuss
process.
IV. Use image editing software to create a magazine
cover document.
A. Put photo into background
B. Lay in header and barcode
C. Add text boxes
D. Format text
 Typeface
 Point size
 Tracking
 Leading
 Style
 Justification
Teacher shows and
demonstrates how to
create a new document
with proper margins
and columns and
format text in image
editing software
Note: Specific steps will depend on the software utilized.
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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Application
MI
Guided Practice (LSI Quadrant III):
1. Teacher shows and demonstrates shooting photos and laying out documents
while students follow along at their own computers and with their own camera.
2. Teacher maintains direct supervision of lab, providing guidance when needed.
MI
Independent Practice (LSI Quadrant III):
Students will create a photographic document using camera and photo editing
software and lay it out properly according to the guidelines included on Setting up a
Magazine Cover activity sheet.
Summary
MI
Review (LSI Quadrants I and IV):
Checking for understanding: (Q & A Session)
Q: What does a food stylist do?
A: Prepare food to look like art.
Q: What does an ad stylist do?
A: Convert good photos into strong advertisements.
Q: What photographic equipment will be used on this project?
A: Camera, lenses, tripod, lighting equipment
Q: What types of lighting are needed to complete this project?
A: Key light, fill light, back light
Q: What are some of the techniques used in food styling?
A:
 Shortening – ice cream
 Glycerin – makes glasses look frosted when sprayed
 Paint – to create grill marks on meat
 Varnish or shellac – to make bread shiny
 Fine cracker crumbs – to make bread look homemade
 Shaving cream with vanilla frosting – makes whipped cream
Q: What are some of the tips used in photographing food?
A:
 Include ingredients in shot
 Photograph all foods cold
 Capture food at just the right time
 Vary the complexity of your shots
 Simplicity requires complex planning
 Food as a background object
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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Evaluation
MI
Informal Assessment (LSI Quadrant III):
The teacher will monitor student progress during Independent Practice and provide
individual assistance when needed.
MI
Formal Assessment (LSI Quadrant III, IV):
Students will take the Food Styling Quiz. Food styling advertisement and photos will
be evaluated using the rubric.
Extension
MI
Extension/Enrichment (LSI Quadrant IV):
Students who have mastered the skills can expand their food styling and photo skills
by adding more images to the food styling portion of their portfolios.
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Setting Up a Magazine Cover
Instructions: You will create a front magazine cover document for a food magazine that does
not really exist. You can create your own magazine! You may make up the stories contained
inside the magazine. The cover must conform to the following guidelines:
















Use a textbox to create a 1 1/2" x 8” banner for the heading
Use the photograph as the majority of the background by laying it in at 8” x 10”.
Set the resolution to print resolution at 300 dpi.
Set a 1/2" margin on bottom
Create three articles with headings to share the front cover
Create a call out textbox for a secondary feature article information box.
Use left justification for article headings
Each article paragraph of body text justified
Adjust tracking so justified text is readable
Leading and style appropriate for a magazine cover
No spelling errors
Appropriate typeface and point size for heading and body text
Appropriate typeface selected to support a look and feel that is consistent with the
selected magazine style
Be sure to choose color for the text that is readable or inset the text into a box that has
contrasting color
Include all aspects of a magazine cover which include the following: masthead (banner)
for the title of the magazine, date, volume, price using a barcode (which can be found at
http://www.barcode-generator.org/)
Bring in a variety of food magazines and also search online for books, magazines, and
cookbooks with food advertisements on the cover to use as examples.
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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Food Styling Quiz
Student Name:
Date:
Short Answer:
Respond to each of the items below. Record your response in the space provided.
1. Taking great food images requires quality photographic equipment. Name four basic pieces
of camera-related equipment needed to complete this food styling project.
2. Taking good images requires quality lighting equipment. Name and describe three types of
lights needed to complete this food styling project.
Matching:
Match each product with its use in food styling.
1. Shortening
A.
Ice cream
2. Fine cracker crumbs
B.
Makes bread look homemade
3. Glycerin
C.
Makes bread shiny
4. Shaving cream and vanilla frosting
D.
Makes glasses look frosted
5. Varnish or shellac
E.
Makes whipped cream
Definitions:
Briefly define each of the following terms:
8. Food styling:
9. Food stylist:
10. Ad stylist:
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Food Styling Quiz Key
Short Answer:
Respond to each of the items below. Record your response in the space provided.
1. Taking great food images requires quality photographic equipment. Name four basic pieces
of camera-related equipment needed to complete this food styling project.
Camera, Lenses, Tripod, Lights
2. Taking good images requires quality lighting equipment. Name and describe three types of
lights needed to complete this food styling project.
Key light: A key light is the main or principal light that provides the majority of light for your
setup. You should place the key light in front and to the side, which ensures that you get
good reflections in the highlights.
Fill light: A fill light is a light that’s either lower wattage or placed farther away from the
subject. The purpose of a fill light is to fill in and shape the light in a food subject. It’s a
secondary light that decreases and controls the contrast when shooting.
Back light: A back light shoots across the very back of a setup. The back light provides a
little smidge of light that allows a slight distinction between the subject and the background.
Matching:
Match each product with its use in food styling.
A
1. Shortening
A.
Ice cream
B
2. Fine cracker crumbs
B.
Makes bread look homemade
D
3. Glycerin
C.
Makes bread shiny
E
4. Shaving cream and vanilla frosting
D.
Makes glasses look frosted
C
5. Varnish or shellac
E.
Makes whipped cream
Definitions:
Briefly define each of the following terms:
8. Food styling:
Making food look like art.
9. Food stylist:
A person who makes food look like art.
10. Ad stylist:
A person who converts photographs into advertisements.
Principles of AAVTC: Creative Food Styling and Photography
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Food Styling/Photography Project Rubric
Criteria
Appropriate
lighting
(10 pts)
Proper setup
of photo
shoot
(10 pts)
Work process
(10 pts)
Paperwork
and
promptness
(10 pts)
Creativity in
photo styling
(30 pts)
Post
production
(20 points)
Teamwork
(10 pts)
Exceptional
Above Average
Below Average
Unacceptable
9-10 points
5-8 points
1-4 points
0 points
All lighting excellent
(shadows, contrast,
highlights all look
appropriate).
All lighting elements
are included, but one
element stands out.
(Ex. Hot highlight)
All lighting elements
are included, but 2-3
parts stand out. (Ex.
Poor contrast, hot
highlight.)
None of the
lighting of the
project is
appropriate.
9-10 points
5-8points
1-4points
0 points
All but one element
looks appropriate for
a magazine cover.
More than one
element looks
inappropriately
designed for
magazine cover.
Setup of photo
not conforming
to project
guidelines.
Extremely good
use of props and
food item for
magazine cover.
9-10 points
5-8 points
1-4points
0 points
Student(s) did an
excellent job of
planning,
preparation, and
cleanup.
Student(s) did a
fairly good job of
planning,
preparation, and
cleanup.
Student(s) did not
do a very thorough
job of planning,
preparation, and
cleanup.
Student(s) did
not plan,
prepare or
cleanup at all.
9-10 points
5-8 points
1-4 points
0 points
Students met all
deadlines as laid
out by teacher and
did all aspects of
project as asked.
Students met most
deadlines as laid out
by teacher and did
most aspects of
project as asked.
Students did not
meet deadlines as
laid out by teacher
and did not do
project as asked.
Student did not
meet any
deadlines and
did not complete
project.
25-30 points
15-24 points
1-14 points
0 points
Students showed a
great deal of
creative thought
with their styling
and did a project
that was well
beyond the
expectations that
were laid out.
Students showed
expected level of
creative thought with
their styling and did
a project that was
well within the
expectations that
were laid out.
Students showed
less than expected
creative thought with
their styling and did
a project that was
below the
expectations that
were laid out.
Students
showed no
creative thought
with their styling
and did not
adhere to the
expectations
that were laid
out.
16-20 points
10-15 points
1-9 points
0 points
Photo editing skills
are well understood
and are applied
well.
Photo editing skills
are somewhat
understood and are
applied well with one
exception.
Photo editing skills
are not very well
understood and are
applied with two or
more mistakes.
Photo editing
software skills
are not applied.
9-10 points
5-8 points
1-4 points
0 points
Students worked
very well in a team
setting. Any
conflicts that were
easily resolved
Students worked
somewhat well in a
team setting. Few
conflicts existed but
none were resolved.
Students worked
poorly in a team
setting. Many
conflicts existed and
none were resolved.
Students did not
work in a team
at all.
TOTAL:
(Out of 100)
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Points
Student Example
See inside for favorite recipes!
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Teacher Guide
Note: These timeframes are approximates. The time it takes for you and your students to
complete this work might be different. This is an addendum to make the lesson flow
more smoothly and to help you as an instructor.
Day 1, 90 min. – To start the lesson, the teacher might want to show examples of magazines
with beautiful food styling and photography. Allowing the students to see the wide use of food
styling and photography and to point out how many different places it is used is usually very
inspiring. Most students will not have really put that much thought into this field and may not
understand that it is a beautiful combination of art and culinary studies. Showing menus, recipe
books, magazine covers, ads for food, etc., will not only get them thinking, but it will make them
hungry! It might be fun to offer each student the chance to “practice” making food look as nice
as possible at this point. Having a simple food item that they can arrange to look nice is a good
way to begin. From this point, after you have done a fun introduction to the project, you can then
show the slide presentation about Food Styling and Photography. Do a question and answer
session afterward to get any of their main questions about the project answered. Tell them that
their first challenge will be to photograph a salad. They need to bring in salad ingredients to
class on the third day. Tell them so that they can begin to forage for the ingredients that they will
need.
Day 2, 90 min. – This is a day of learning techniques. Students will learn about the lights that
you will use and the camera that you will use. It might be good to go over the placement of the
lights, the results from different placements that you might expect – getting as technical with
them as you feel they can follow without getting overly focused on only lighting – you also have
to explain the camera settings. If you need help with either of these topics, search for a
professional photography site specializing in Food Photography. With a little bit of research, you
will easily construct a day of interesting information for the students about the technical aspects
of the food photo shoot. The book Food Styling and Photography for Dummies has a lot of very
good information and would be a good addition to anyone’s book shelf for general learning on
the subject.
Day 3, 90 min. – Students will have a goal today to create, style, and photograph a beautiful
salad. They should have brought in ingredients and they should be provided with a bowl or bring
one of their own. For great tips on styling salad for photographs, refer to these tips: Salads in
food photography are designed with a view to create appealing textures, shapes, and colors. To
improve support and aid in composition, salad in a bowl is built around a smaller bowl placed
upside down in the outer bowl. Salad greens are kept fresh and crisp by misting them with cold
water prior to composition. Salad dressing is not normally used, as it makes the salad slippery
and difficult to style, but the appearance of dressing may be created by sprinkling herbs and
spices over the wet salad, or mixing them in oil and applying it with a brush. This salad
construction is supervised by the teacher and the teacher should give the students salad
construction guidelines on the board or any way you feel is most appropriate for your classroom
situation. Once the salads have been made, you can give the students the opportunity to
photograph them under the lights to experiment with the three point lighting to see what works
the best. Photos should be saved to use in class on day 4.
Day 4, 90 min. – On this day, the students should be at their computers with photo editing
software. They should have photos from the salad session from the day prior, and they should
experiment with retouching their photos in the photo editing software. They should do color
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adjusting and any cloning or healing during the class period to result in a very nice photo of the
salad. Students will need to print a copy of their final submission to turn in to the teacher. They
will complete this portion of the project, and then they will divide into teams to begin to plan their
main photo shoot: the team shoot with teams comprised of three. There are: a main
photographer, a stylist, and a lighting tech. These three people will work together to shoot the
image that will result in the magazine cover that will be produced on day 6.
Day 5, 90 min. – Today is “team planning day”, and the photo will be planned completely and
thoroughly on this day. Start the day by emphasizing the vision that they have for the cover.
Pencils and paper to sketch their ideas or a digital drawing tablet will be necessary on this day.
What is the magazine named? What is the main image on the front cover, and how does it
support a major story inside of the magazine? Are there supporting images? What are they?
What stories do they support? Do they need photo props? What is the purpose of those props?
Where will they obtain what they need for the shoot? Can this be gotten by tomorrow?
Transporting the objects needed: Who, how, where, when?
There is quite a bit that goes into planning a photo shoot, and the students will need a lot of
teacher input on this day. All teams will need to rotate through shooting stations during class
tomorrow and the next day, so please plan enough time during class to get the groups through.
Day 6, 90 min. – Some groups will begin their photo shoots on this day. Others will begin to lay
out their magazine template on the computer on this day. This will take the entire class period.
For those who are doing the magazine template, follow the guidelines on the included
worksheet, Setting Up a magazine Cover.
Day 7, 90 min. – Reverse the groups from what they did yesterday. Students will continue to
work on their magazine covers and photo shoots. This should conclude today, resulting in
everyone having raw photography (straight from the camera shots) and an empty template.
Day 8, 90 min. – Completing the magazine cover today and presenting the covers to the class.
Critiques will occur tomorrow during the period.
Day 9, 90 min. – Critiques will occur today, and students will review for the Quiz.
Day 10, 90 min. – The final day students will complete the quiz, which is included, and the wrap
up of the project by the teacher with student interaction. The students should have the
opportunity at this point to let the teacher hear about any problems that they had while
completing the photo shoot or using the photo editing software. This should be the wrap up for
this segment of the graphic design unit.
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