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Interview with Karen Thomas

Karen Thomas, a well-respected food photographer based in London, has many mouthwatering shots in her portfolio. We asked her to answer a few questions for our readers.

Karen Thomas has 14 years in the food photography business.
Karen Thomas has 14 years in the food photography business.

What drew you to food photography?

I love food and really enjoy cooking so it was a natural progression.

Many of your shots are on the covers of impressive food magazines. Is there one shot in particular that you’re proud of or was the result of a rewarding to shoot? Explain.

I really enjoy editorial shoots, but cover shoots are never my favorite as there are so many constraints with text.

A shoot that I’m really proud of recently is the M&S Adventures in Food campaign. It sits alongside the TV ad campaign and we had a lot of fun working in a different way by deconstructing food.

Pictures Thomas took from a shoot that was rewarding.
Pictures Thomas took from a shoot that was rewarding.
Pictures Thomas took from a shoot that was rewarding.
Pictures Thomas took from a shoot that was rewarding.

I’ve also included a shot of ice cream that I did for Observer Food Monthly. I usually work with prop stylists but for this shoot the food stylist and myself went to Kempton market and had a fun day buying beautiful dishes and backgrounds for the feature.

A shot taken by Thomas for Observer Food Monthly
A shot taken by Thomas for Observer Food Monthly

Do you consider yourself a “foodie?” Explain.

Yes, I consider myself a foodie and I love to feed people so I have friends around regularly and we cook together. After a long week shooting, I do like to get out and go to restaurants. I don’t bake much though and I don’t make desserts, as I prefer savory dishes.

How does a food shoot work? Is food brought to your studio? What equipment do you use?

Food shoots really vary depending on whether I’m shooting editorial, packaging or advertising. With an editorial shoot the food stylist shops for the food and brings it to the shoot on that morning. The props are sourced by a prop stylist. On the morning of the shoot, the food stylist will be prepping the first shot, prop stylist will be unpacking props and myself and my assistant will put the set together in accordance with the brief we’ve been sent.

I usually use daylight for editorial shoots. I’ll set up the props for the first shot and when I’m happy with the set up, I’ll give the dishes to the food stylist to plate up. We’ll then work together on set to make changes in front of the camera.

I shoot on a Hassleblad H4D tethered to my Mac. We generally shoot 5-6 shots for editorial. For advertising I shoot one shot a day so the process is a lot slower. I use HMI, flash or daylight for these shoots depending on the brief.

If you were forced to pick just one shot that you think showcases a mouth-watering dish, which would it be? Why?

I’ve included an advertising shot of cheese as I always find cheese mouthwatering if it’s shot when it’s just starting to ooze.

Another mouthwatering shot from Thomas’ collection.
Another mouthwatering shot from Thomas’ collection.

Another image I think shows mouthwatering food is one I did for the Hummus Bros book and it’s a tahini recipe on toasts. The dripping tahini and messy foods turn an otherwise possibly not exciting recipe into a dish that I really want to try.

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Thomas says this shot makes her want to try the recipe.

You work with a lot of food writers. Do you have a favorite? If so, why?

My favorite food writer is Sybil Kapoor. I shot her last two books and I love her recipes. She always attends the shoots and wants to know that all the recipes are working and what the team thinks about them. She’s very passionate and dedicated to her projects.

You can see more of Karen Thomas’ work on her website.

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