#HowIShoot: Food Photography with @symmetrybreakfast To see...

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#HowIShoot: Food Photography with @symmetrybreakfast

To see more of Mark and Michael’s symmetrical daily breakfasts, follow @symmetrybreakfast on Instagram.

For one East London couple, eating breakfast together has become more than a daily routine. Michael Zee, who works at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (@vamuseum), spends hours looking for recipe ideas online and preparing a symmetrical breakfast every day for his boyfriend Mark van Beek, design director of Gloverall (@gloverall). Each creation is carefully crafted to be almost identical and photographed for their Instagram (@symmetrybreakfast).

The ritual began, explains Michael, one weekend soon after moving in together. The couple had recently bought an old school table to use as a dining table, where most of the food is now photographed. “I made Mark breakfast, stuck it all on a tray to carry it, and noticed it was symmetrical. And that’s how it started.”

Through his photos, Michael aims to showcase how people eat breakfast all over the world. “I have learned that anything can be breakfast,” he says. “Not everyone eats toast or cereal, and I really want to reflect that.”

Here are some of Michael’s tips for shooting symmetry breakfast-style photos:

Camera

iPhone 5S

Vantage Point

At home in Hackney, Michael does all the cooking, planning and photography while Mark has the ‘unfortunate’ job of being the recipient. But it’s only breakfast where their taste buds align. “Mark likes sugar in his coffee and I’ve been trying to wean him off. Lunch and dinner are almost always eaten asymmetrically!”

Preparing the dishes, scouting for good recipes and good places to eat takes time and commitment, especially when abroad.

“When we travel, we still do it every day. Italy is always a tricky place for breakfast because so much emphasis is on lunch — breakfast is normally small, sweet and express. Sometimes it is a bit stressful waiting for a table with the right light but we’ve managed so far!”

Shooting

“Lighting for me is everything. Real daylight is beautiful, and it’s very hard to replicate. I have some studio lights in my dining room for the winter, as we have to leave before sunrise on some days.

“For backgrounds, it’s about having a texture that enhances and frames the food and the plates. Ultimately I want to focus on the food, not the background.”

Editing

“For a very long time it was just the Instagram editing tools and nothing else. About three months ago, someone told me about VSCO Cam, and only last week did I download SKRWT, which is super handy, as more than most I need to try to achieve consistency across all the posts.”

by via Instagram Blog