Chocolate Fantasy: Making Photographs of the World’s Favorite Candy
Chocolate is a challenge to photograph. Here are a few tips and inspirations.
Chocolate
There are so many uses for this rich, flavorful substance.
From candy to coffee, ice cream to surprising cuisine (I once had a Talapia and chocolate burrito… yeh), chocolate is loved all over the world.
It can be a gift for a child, a way to greet strangers and old friends, and bind us to moments that we will relive again and again.
Chocolate can be cheap.
It can be elegant and sublime.
It can be magnificently decadent.
But it remains a food group all its own.
Dairy, meat, vegetables, and deep, dark, delicious chocolate.
Making photographs of chocolate can require meticulous lighting, attention to detail, delicate handling, and, of course, the will to fight off the desire to eat the subject.
In my class, Project52ProSystem, I always gave a chocolate assignment. It taught technique, lighting, and composition, and the ability to create a photo that went beyond a catalog shot of brown candy.
I want to share just a few of the wonderful images my students did on this assignment and hopefully inspire you to make some photos of chocolate the next time you have the opportunity.
Opening photo credit: Amy Roth
The large soft light (scrim) on camera left can be seen in the highlights on the dark chocolate because it is much more glossy than the milk chocolate. A simple spray light on the back gives the image depth. Amy chose a unique POV by coming up at the corner.
Asha Menon (India) used a scrim with a flag in front of it to force the background into darkness. This brings the chocolate balls into clear focus. Her choice to not use a fill from the shadow side gives the overall feeling of window light or soft ambient. Notice the beautiful styling of the chocolate chips, the burlap texture over the smoother surface, and the various chocolate items spread around to give it flavor. The texture of the chocolate is remarkable under this unfilled side light.
It must be noted that when shooting chocolate, everything from the temperature of the room to moisture on the set can affect the imagery.
A few things to think about before you begin your chocolate masterpiece.
Chocolate is typically dark, presenting a unique challenge to get the lighting perfect. Balance is key. So is choosing the right fill. I suggest a scrim with a softbox behind it to get a more unique, but soft light for your main. White or semi-silver cards work well for fill, but you may expand out and try other lighting as you progress.
Close-ups of chocolate reveal complex textures, from the smoothness of a fresh break to the grittiness of cocoa powder. Coming in close to chocolate will also reveal a plethora of flaws — from chocolate dust to imperfections in the chocolate itself. I recommend using a technique called “Frequency Separation” to help keep the chocolate looking spectacular.
German photographer Jan Sohlke used a piece of glossy black plexiglass as his surface, allowing the dark reflection of the unlit chocolate to add depth and a mirror-like quality to the overall subject. A large scrim behind the set is used to top/backlight the chocolate. You can see the reflection of the light source in the plexiglass as it is a very reflective surface. The chocolate is more diffuse in texture, so the light seems soft with more coverage.
Chocolate can melt or gloss over under intense lights. Your timing and control must be perfect. You can use the temperature to mold and manipulate the chocolate. A small heat gun can make chocolate chips much cleaner by melting the chocolate dust away. Frozen chocolate can take on a patina all its own if you want some variety.
Hard light creates beautiful, deep shadows, revealing chocolate’s rich textures. Softlight can give glorious highlights the bring out the smoothness or delicate shapes of the candy. It is your call — there is no wrong or right way. Just your way.
The glossy surface of chocolate can reflect unwanted elements of the set. Be mindful. If you are using very glossy chocolate, like syrup or something with an extremely shiny surface, check and double-check that the highlight is clean from fill cards, booms, light stands, and even you being reflected back to the camera.
Rob Scamp, Great Britain, created a chocoholic's best day with this beautifully designed and photographed still life. Using a large scrim from the back, Rob moved his source close to the scrim to keep it narrow. The addition of flags on both sides of the light allowed the edges to go a bit dark and provided a light that also mimics the design of the set. The graphic elements of this photograph are outstanding, as are the carefully styled surfaces and subject.
You’ll often have to manipulate and sculpt chocolate to fit the shot — a gratifying, yet challenging art in itself. You will find a set of very sharp carving knives, a heat gun, gloves, olive oil, small watercolor brushes, and a healthy understanding of the healing brush and clone stamp (Photoshop) will come in handy. You mustn’t touch the chocolate with your fingers as they will leave imprints that are devilishly hard to retouch.
With chocolate, a shallow depth of field can emphasize textural details and contours. Using light to sculpt the focus as well as texture in shallow DoF images can be challenging and very rewarding. But also consider focus stacking. Focus stacking can make your closeups seem a bit unique, and offer the viewer a surprising view of their favorite dessert up close.
Chocolate’s color varies significantly, from deep brown to near-black. Post-production color correction ensures your chocolate looks as good as it tastes. And, while color grading is a personal choice and stylistic element, be sure not to get too far off of the norm as without the correct — or close to correct — color, the chocolate may not look like chocolate anymore.
Colorado photographer David Hayden focused stacked this elegantly presented chocolate still life to help create its unique feel. Using Lume Cubes and a candle, David brought out the texture and beauty of these handmade chocolate favorites. A little color grading brought out the warmth of the image and the feeling of a candlelit snack. (Yeah, it’s a snack. Don’t judge.)
Propping a shot with chocolate can be very versatile. It can be paired with various props like nuts, fruits, or cream. Finding unique serving dishes in antique stores always feels like a win. Old paper, chrome, plexi, glass, slate, tile, wood both new and weathered — all can be used to help set the mood of the shot.
Lenses: Capture minute details of chocolate’s texture with a good macro lens. Compress the piles of chocolate with a short telephoto. Find a happy, comfortable view with a normal lens. Fast, slow, in-between, lens choice is always something that is a part of the photographer’s overall style.
Experiment with angles. From top-down views (layflat) to capturing towering shapes, the POV can make or break your shot. Look for patterns, enhance the texture, bring in a kicker light from the back or side. All of these things and more can make shooting chocolate a lot more fun, and a terrific way to spend an afternoon.
Miami-based photographer Jennifer Arce created this magnificent chocolate pour using warm chocolate sauce. The lighting is a huge scrim behind the set, creating a soft reflection of the source in the pool of chocolate. A striplight to camera left gives us a bright, sharp-edged reflection on the pouring chocolate, reminding us of how glossy it is. Bringing us in close for this delicious moment, she captured the flow in a feat of perfect timing. Mastering how fast or slow to pour the chocolate is one of the challenges in this kind of photo.
Chocolate offers a wealth of narratives, from the luxury of indulgence to the simplicity of comfort food. Each story dictates a different approach. Storytelling with food is a long tradition, and you can make it a part of your arsenal as well. From propping and styling to the subject itself, chocolate fairly screams story.
Crafting a scene for chocolate photography demands meticulous attention to detail. Every crumb, every gleam matters. Take your time. Use dummy chocolate to get the set looking correct, then bring in your masterpiece and carefully replace the stand in.
Sam Breach, San Francisco, created this magnificent chocolate masterpiece for one of my earlier classes. It remains one of my favorite images from the twelve years I have been teaching. Sam shared with us the making of this photograph along with behind the scene shots and a lot of lighting and propping information. You should visit this page if you want to know how this photo came to be. “The Making of Chocolate Indulgence.”
I hope you find these images inspirational on a visual level, and hungering for a good piece of Swedish chocolate (the best). I am not responsible for sudden unexplained weight gain, spiking blood sugar, or late-night runs to the Quickie Mart for a Snickers. That’s all on you.
Hi, I’m Don Giannatti, a photographer and mentor for up-and-coming photographers. You can find me on my own site, Don Giannatti, and at my Substack site, where I also publish for creative people. All subscribers to my Substack have access to a free long-form workshop on the business of commercial and professional photography.
