Who Shot It Better? Turkey: Graydon/Herriott or Peden/Munk

Who Shot It Better? Turkey: Graydon/Herriott or Peden/Munk

The New York Times tells me that the Pilgrims didn’t eat turkey, but that hasn’t stopped the flightless bird from becoming the protein du jour in the U.S. for the Thanksgiving table. And in celebration of the most traveled day, we bring to you two images that have graced the pages of bon appétit magazine for this installment of “Who Shot It Better.”

First up, the creative team of Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott. The pair met when Michael was assigned to shoot Nikole, a former pastry chef, and now they collaborate on creative projects.

Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott

As you probably know from Instagram, food photography can go awry quickly, but with a good stylist and beautiful light, your tummy can be transported to a magical place. Although this image of a spatchcocked turkey has pretty even illumination, there still is directionality to the light coming from the upper left of the frame. The overhead view is a favorite of food photographers, but doesn’t always work – particularly when food has a lot of height. But in this case, it looks like a longer lens and small aperture helped to compress the image.

Also, the diptych provides a nice before and after. Tasty!

Photo by Peden+Munk

Taylor Peden and Jen Munkvold are the duo behind Peden+Munk. Indie hipster band or incredible food photographers? The pair are graduates of the Art Center College of Design, and here’s their version of “A Simple Roasted Turkey.”

Another overhead shot, but more rustic styling with wooden cutting board and vintage Foster Bros. knife. The key light is still coming from the upper left of the frame, but the ratio on opposing sides of the turkey is a little higher and the general feel is a bit more contrasty. The turkey is stuffed and trussed, so you know it’s on!

Verdict: I’m hungry. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

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This article was written by

Allen Murabayashi is the co-founder of PhotoShelter.

There is 1 comment for this article
  1. Per Karlsson, BKWine at 3:28 am

    Peden & Munk, easily. More atmosphere.

    But neither is particularly outstanding, if I may say so.

    Food photography from straight above usually becomes very boring and sterile. Like a product shot.

    And you rarely see food from straight above in real life.

    Food photography should be about atmosphere and feeling (about the food), not clinical precision.

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