Photography Thailand Forum

[Marc Schultz]

No, not the movie! Something I shot for a book recently.

[David Procter]

Thats got my mouth utterly watering - the intended result i guess!
They do a fine Tom yam gung at Mali, sathorn 1, where i have to go at least twice a week.
Beautifully realised Marc!

[Marc Schultz]

Thank you David. Actually I shot this at the Siam City Hotel using their Thai chef who prepared it for me. I provided the bowl and all the prop, fabric, etc.

It is not how they serve it, but how I wanted it styled, thus the modern looking preparation.

[David Procter]

It's very well done and well chosen crockery I might add. Could you make bladuk bing look so appealing?!

[Chris Savery]

Wonderful arrangement of the shrimp and splendid overall. It does make me want to go out and eat now but I'll have to be content with commenting on Tom Yum. My preference is for Tom Yung Toolay which has squid and fish as well, and also more often has the small shrimp. I'm not too keen on the big ones with the heads intact (though I see someone removed the heads in your shot). Do you cook and arrange the food yourself? I suspect you don't cook it but getting your fingers in there and adjusting shrimps for their portrait must be part of the job.

... answer provded while I typed, thanks.

[Marc Schultz]

Thanks Chris. I actually chose to shoot 4 of the most common traditional Thai dishes for this shoot, thus the so common Tom Yung Kung and the Larb Guy I posted the other day. The big shrimp were used to emphasize the ingredients of the dish, even though they are not so traditional in this soup. Attaching another one. There is a strong highlight on one of the leaves which I may eventually retouch. Anyway, I assume most can guess what this one is???

P.S. I think Pla Duk Ping would be a tricky one David :)

[Renato]

Marc, the Tom Yum Kung shot is great and yummy, however, just wondering why there is chopsticks in your yellow curry shot (at least that is how I figured it out). You were right that you need to retouch the black spots on the green leaf as it is overly visible. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks for sharing.

[David Procter]

green curry aint it?
it's lunch time...

[bjorn slis]

Looks good, too bad for the blown out highlights, let's eat !

[anna]

That is what I call really mouth-watering, especially when you view it in an empty stomach (like me now.)  The shot conveys succulence of the ingredients.  Like the texture of the fabric, too.  (Working with fabrics is my business.)  I also like how the bowl, fabric are in white so the food itself stands out.  Anna

[Chris Savery]

Kaeng kiel won gai. Mmmm. You're driving me nuts for food here Marc.
It looks better than anything I've ordered in real life - maybe I don't eat at fancy enough restaurants.

Here's a challenge - make "tam pla tu" look so good...

Chris :)

[Marc Schultz]

Thank you all for all of your good comments on these two food images. I have since retouched the strong highlight on this image and am posting it again here. Yes, you are right, it is green curry with chicken. Also, Jingle is right, the chopsticks don't quite go with green curry. Seems it was a poor decision on my part on the styling of the shot to put the chopsticks in I guess.

[Chris Savery]

Ah, yes, but you can't hardly throw in some of those cheap cookie-cutter type knife and forks that would be more realistic...

[gregoire]

Great shot, and good job correcting the highlights. Those highlights are a nice change from the super soft light one usually gets on food shots. Usually, they make food look greasy but it works well in your pic. The chopsticks look great in the composition but, unfortunately, I'm of the opinion those chopsticks would make any Thai food lover drop the book and recoil in horror. I hate saying it, but gotta be honest, right?

[ThaiWorld]

Marc,

This Tom Yum Kung  seems delicious.

Your food pictures are really great.

Which lens did you use and which focal length?

Thanks