So one morning I woke up and thought, “Hey, how about a class where we make doughnuts and take pictures of them? What could be better than that?”

And, what do you know. Here it is!

Join me as I demystify making doughnuts with my family’s favorite: Crullers, those beautifully twisted fried treats.

The class will be held on Saturday, April 23rd from 12-4pm and then again on Monday, April 25th from 12-4pm (for those who can’t make a weekend class) at Spare Room. Class size is limited to 6 people, so don’t wait too long to sign up!

This class starts out with an interactive demonstration of how to make 2 different types of crullers… hearty cake doughnut crullers and the heavenly, airy and just a little bit eggy bites of bliss otherwise known as French crullers (or honey crullers for those Tim Horton’s fans out there). You’ll also learn my fool-proof, no measure technique for making glaze which is yummy on all sorts of things.

Then, between nibbles, we’ll pull out our cameras to learn and practice the basics of food styling and natural light photography. And try not to get our cameras too sticky.

The class also happens to include a copy of Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home and a few tools to help make crullers, so you can go home and tempt your friends and neighbors with your own homemade treats.

You can sign up here:

Saturday’s Crullers & Cameras

Monday’s Crullers & Cameras

Don’t forget to bring your cameras and your sweet tooth!

The Natural Food Styling & Photography 102 class take the basic principals I teach in the 101 class, but applies them to some more challenging subjects. I do recommend that you have taken some sort of food styling & photography class prior to attending this class, but it doesn’t have to be my 101 class. You should, however, be quite comfortable with your camera in aperture priority mode.

Registration is now open here. Please note, I’m trying a new class registration system! If you have any problems, let me know and I’ll get it fixed.  

Natural Food Styling & Photography 101

August 8th, 2010, 1pm to 5ish
Register Here

This 1/2 day Natural Food Styling & Photography Workshop is for anyone interested in learning the basics of food styling and photography for editorial purposes.

We will focus on simple plating and propping of food for the most appealing photos without resorting to tricks that render the food inedible. We will also cover creative lighting techniques using natural light.

Although a good working knowledge of your camera is recommended, this class is appropriate for all levels of photographers. All you need to bring is your camera and a tripod (highly recommended!)

This class is limited to 7 attendees.

This class is held in Seattle, at the Spare Room studio.

Class Fee: $125.00

Natural Food Styling & Photography 102

Monday, August 9th, 2010, 1pm to 5ish
Register Here

This 1/2 day Natural Food Styling & Photography 102 Workshop focuses on more challenging food subjects, such as meat (raw and cooked), drinks and action shots. Like my 101 class, we will focus on plating and propping of food for the most appealing photos without resorting to tricks that render the food inedible. We will cover creative lighting techniques using natural light, and some speedlight (flash) usage as time permits.

You should have good working knowledge of your camera, especially functions such as manual focus, aperture priority and exposure compensation. All you need to bring is your camera and a tripod (highly recommended!)

This class is limited to 7 attendees.

This class is held in Seattle, at the Spare Room studio.

Class Fee: $125.00

Workshops at Spare Room have been terrific so far, and I’m excited about doing more this summer. Before I start scheduling them, I would love to hear from you what classes you’d be most excited about.

Here are a few ideas I’ve been thinking about:

Cocktails
Tips for capturing tempting looking cocktails, from garnishes and props to just the right lighting for glassware.

Outdoor Food Photography
Trying to get great food shots at your picnic? This class will help you learn to work with those harsh lighting conditions.

Photographing Meat
Many people find meat a difficult thing to shoot, but I think it is beautiful. We’ll work with styling both raw and cooked meat in natural and artificial light.

Food in Action
This class will focus on special techniques for bringing more life to your food shots including pour shots, people cooking and eating, and tips for being your own model.

Just Desserts
In this dessert food styling & photography class, we’ll cover the basics of styling and shooting beautiful desserts as well as some of the challenges (ice cream, pie slices). Plus, we’ll eat the leftovers.

Product Photography
No food in this class, just working with props and light to take photos of crafts/products (soaps, salts, cards, clothing, jewelry, etc.) and some Photoshop techniques for prepping those images for the web.

Doughnuts
We do more than photography at Spare Room! In this cooking class, you’ll learn to make 3 different types of doughnuts plus glazes, and go home with a boxful! (Can be made a Gluten Free or a Vegan class on request!)

Natural Food Styling & Photography 101
This is the class I’ve been teaching for the past few months… are their more of you out there that would like to take it?  

Do these sound interesting to you? Do you have other ideas that you’d like to see? Leave me a comment to let me know!

Natural Food Styling & Photography

This Natural Food Styling & Photography Workshop is for anyone interested in learning the basics of food styling and photography for editorial purposes. We will focus on simple plating and propping of food for the most appealing photos without resorting to tricks that render the food inedible. We will also cover creative lighting techniques using natural light. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera setting. This class is limited to 6 people.

Cost: $99 (plus ticket fees)
Tuesday, June 15, 12:30pm to 4:30pm

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/114165

To tempt you a bit more, here’s one of the dishes we made at the last class (this one is from my Low Light Food Photography class), a simple leek risotto with pickled radish and chive blossoms.

Thought I’d share a few shots from yesterday’s food styling & photography workshop: a simple mache salad with sliced cumquats, walnuts and soft chevre; my beet, bean and farro soup; and a really yummy rhubarb and apple cobbler recipe from Gourmet Traveller.

All my currently scheduled Natural Food Styling & Photography classes are currently sold out, but there are still 2 spots open for the May 17th Low Light Food Photography class and I’ll be announcing a June date sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Here are a few photos from previous classes at the studio, some with natural light and one with speedlights.

Natural Food Styling & Photography

This Natural Food Styling & Photography Workshop is for anyone interested in learning the basics of food styling and photography for editorial purposes. We will focus on simple plating and propping of food for the most appealing photos without resorting to tricks that render the food inedible. We will also cover creative lighting techniques using natural light. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera setting. This class is limited to 6 people.

Cost: $99 (plus ticket fees)
Thursday, May 13, 12:30pm to 4:30pm

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/109165

Low Light Food Photography

This evening photography workshop is for anyone interested in learning how to deal with low light situations when photographing food. We will focus primarily on using off camera speedlights to replicate a natural, daylight look for food, but also cover a few tricks for getting the best results from alternative light sources such as inexpensive work lamps. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera settings. This class is limited to 6 people.

Cost: $99 (plus ticket fees)
Monday, May 17, 5pm to 9pm

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/109167

I’m happy to announce the first of what I hope becomes many food styling and photography workshops that I’ll be teaching in Spare Room! The classes are small, so if you are interested, you’ll want to get your tickets soon before they fill up!

You can purchase tickets on Brown Paper Tickets: Sorry! All of these classes are now sold out. If you’d like to be added to the waiting list, please email me and let me know which dates.

Natural Food Styling & Photography

This 1/2 day Natural Food Styling & Photography Workshop is for anyone interested in learning the basics of food styling and photography for editorial purposes. We will focus on simple plating and propping of food for the most appealing photos without resorting to tricks that render the food inedible. We will also cover creative lighting techniques using natural light. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera setting. This class is limited to 6 people.

Cost: $99 (plus ticket fees)
April 17, 12:30pm to 4:30pm

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104299

Natural Food Styling & Photography

This 1/2 day Natural Food Styling & Photography Workshop is for anyone interested in learning the basics of food styling and photography for editorial purposes. We will focus on simple plating and propping of food for the most appealing photos without resorting to tricks that render the food inedible. We will also cover creative lighting techniques using natural light. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera setting. This class is limited to 6 people.

Cost: $99 (plus ticket fees)
April 28, 12:30pm to 4:30pm

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104302

Low Light Food Photography

This evening photography workshop is for anyone interested in learning how to deal with low light situations when photographing food. We will focus primarily on using off camera speedlights to replicate a natural, daylight look for food, but also cover a few tricks for getting the best results from alternative light sources such as candle light. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera setting. This class is limited to 6 people.

Cost: $99 (plus ticket fees)
May 3, 5pm to 9pm

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104305