When is it ok to use fake food in food styling
Often when I'm asked what I do for work and I tell people that I'm a food stylist their immediate reaction is, “oh you make fake food.” While this can be true, it's not always the case. Using fake food depends on what type of food styling you're doing.
Where do you use food styling?
First and foremost, food styling helps to make food more visually appealing. There are various kinds of food styling:
Product packaging
Recipes
Lifestyle
Commercial
TV
Film
Social Media
When you view a recipe online, or see a product photographed beautifully (and the food looks on point) chances are, a food stylist touched it to elevate the appearance.
Is food styling considered lying?
Fake food can be advantageous in each one of those cases as mentioned above. However, because of laws like truth in advertising, food stylists need to be aware of what they are allowed to do and not do. This pertains to what I know about being a food stylist in America —I’m unsure about food styling in various countries, they all have different laws.
For example I have a Tik Tok that shows how to make fake ice cream. A lot of comments were about how the fake ice cream was illegal. In certain circumstances, this is true. Let’s say I was shooting for Bryers ice cream and the job was to shoot the ice cream that goes on the package, I absolutely must use the product that is in the container
When is food styling appropriate?
If I had a job for an ice cream cone company and the desired image was the cone with a scoop of ice cream in it, I could use fake ice cream. However, I would need to use their particular cones. With using fake ice cream in this scenario, there’s more control over the ice cream, allowing the photographer and others more time to capture the perfect shot. With this example we're also selling the cones not the ice cream so you would want to have the ice cream look good, but ultimately, the cone itself is the star of the show
Another example of when a food stylist can use fake food would be on the set of TV or film. If there are multiple takes and the actors are not eating the food, it’s best to have food that will hold up for hours without altering. To learn more about this, check out this article that talks about how fake food can help out on the set of a film.
There are other cases where it is appropriate to use fake food as well, like using fake milk for a product shot of cereal. This is okay because the cereal is the featured product. People won’t be eating it and it’s good for set longevity. It’s okay to use the fake milk as long as we are not selling the milk. If we’re selling cereal it doesn’t matter what the milk is.
Where can I learn more?
Understanding how and when to use fake food is important. It should always be discussed with the photographer and creative directors before the job. While I love the challenge of making real food look it’s best for the camera, it’s always good to have tricks up your sleeve to accomplish realistic fake food if you need to make it. Follow along on my TikTok to see some of tips and tricks.