“food photography” – Page 2 – We Call Him Yes!Chef!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Print Competitions

Yes!Chef! loves pork. Until he started cooking pork for me, I always turned up my nose at any mention of recipes that included pork. My experience with pork has been dried up meat that needed lots of barbecue sauce in order to be able to choke it down.

My mind has been changed with some of the recipes Y!C! has made…specifically the Pressure Cooker Carnitas Recipe and the Pulled Pork Recipe he made last summer. And now, he’s found a Pulled Pork Recipe that is more to his liking: spicy, sweet and no-creamy cole slaw.

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February 25, 2013February 26, 2013

Karen Schmautz16 Comments

I’ve seen the Light…another food photography post

Occasionally I teach a class on basic photography. Whenever I teach this class, I always start out with how the camera sees light and I use this photo as an example. These two photos were taken within seconds of each other and within 5 feet of each other. This beautiful woman was taking a class from me and I snapped these two photos off to show how light makes a difference in photography. She was stunned with the results. This photo has been one of the best learning tools that I have used. The picture on the left is direct overhead, middle-of-the-day sunlight. The shadows are harsh and for people, this light is not very flattering. For the right hand photo, I moved her about 5 feet until she was under the open shade of a large tree with the same sunlight reflecting off the ground and bouncing onto her face. You can see that reflected light in her eyes. The light on her face is soft and without harsh shadows.

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February 21, 2013February 21, 2013

Karen Schmautz24 Comments

Food Photography is Hard or Think Twice Before You Snap That Restaurant Pic and Post it All Over the Internet…

As a wedding photographer, I have to be able to photograph anything in any light to document all the things that go on in the wedding. The bride and groom barely remember anything that goes on in the wedding, so it is up to me, as the photographer, to document everything they have been working on for a year or more. You cannot always set up lights the way you would like or really have the kind of time that you would want to perfect each and every photo. Most often, my second shooter and I come away with 2000 photos or more of each wedding we do. I always want at least one good photo of the food and several great photos of the cake. So, I have to know a little something about good light to get those photos. However, there is no way I have the time during a wedding to set up amazing food shots like I do when Yes!Chef! cooks.

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February 2, 2013February 2, 2013

Karen Schmautz14 Comments

Spicy Red Chicken Posole in a Crock or What to Eat While You Are Planning a Wedding

Activities are starting to heat up around the Schmautzhaus, even though the weather has been a little chilly, because my only daughter is getting married this summer and we have lots of planning to do. What better way to conquer the cold and plan a wedding at the same time than making something in the Crock Pot? Yes!Chef! has never been a fan of the Crock Pot. He won’t tell my why…he just shrugs his shoulders. But, I think it’s because it doesn’t feel like cooking and, more importantly, you can’t lift the lid and stir it around while it’s cooking. Now, he says he is really enjoying the slow cooker and so he made some spicy Posole in the crock to prove it.

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January 28, 2013January 28, 2013

Karen Schmautz21 Comments

Get over your wintertime blues with French Onion Soup!

I think anyone who reads this blog knows how our family feels about home made soup. We love it. We even love soup in the summer as long as it is a cold soup like gazpacho. Many soups are also good for the waist-line (and every other body line, for that matter) and many people are concerned about their weight starting this new year…including me! Yes!Chef! said he could stand to lose a few pounds, too.

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January 15, 2013January 16, 2013

Karen Schmautz17 Comments

Chili Today, Hot Tamale or The Pressure’s On

20121111-_MG_1219 web — Pressure Cooker Chili

A couple of months ago we were contacted by a cookware manufacturing company by the name of Magefesa. They wanted to know if we would try out their cookware and then report on it on this blog. We were delighted to do so. They sent us a complete set of cookware, 2 frittata pans and a pressure cooker. Our first post was here. We used the frittata pans and the covered pots to make this meal. We enjoyed using them and continue to use them almost every day. (P.S. They have some great recipes to try here. They also have all kinds of informative videos with tips about how to use the pressure cooker, frittata pans, cooking tips, etc. Check it out!)

We really wanted to try out the Pressure Cooker but Yes!Chef! had never used one before and we wanted to find a recipe that would showcase the cooker. Yes!Chef! would suggest things like beans (of which I am not a big fan), or other food items that take a long time to cook conventionally, but would work well in the PC (Pressure Cooker). We searched around the internet, but nothing seemed right. And worse, all the PC recipes we found seemed more suited to cold weather and it was still pretty warm out.