Food Photography with Penny De Los Santos

More of a thought than a review, Fot the gentleman asking about taking photos from his wheel chair, what about a set up on the floor, or low table?

Great course from the perspective of a professional. I feel like this should be advertised as more of a food photography using natural light course though and also it seems quite dated. She is talking about the previous recession so I think this course is at least 9 years old however the techniques don't date just the information on business.

I started shooting food during the Covid 19 quarantine, so came to cL to see what I could learn to up my game. This is the third of four available classes I've watched. While it has a lot of good nuggets worth watching for, at times it's hard to watch- literally in some cases. The instructor was visibly and admittedly very nervous, and on many of the day three segments cleared her throat incessantly. There are also a lot of weird still/frozen transition shots in day one, and enough of the footage is shot out of focus to make me wonder why in the many years since the class all or as many as possible of these distracting elements haven't been edited out. All that said, this food plus perspective is good to know if you're ever planning to try and work for a magazine. The instructor has a different take on food that the others don't. Her style is not like mine, but sometimes that's good to see something completely different. Perhaps cL will give this another trip through the editing bay before you see it so you'll have a better experience watching it than I did.

I am totally loving this class and watching Penny work through her process in the shoot. I am disappointed at times with the freeze frame where we don’t see actual tethered photo, but random shots. Penny is making me want to grab a bunch of fruit to work through my own shoot.

I loved, loved the course. I learned a lot and I like how penny tells her story.

This was an amazing class! I have learned so much. Penny De Los Santos is incredible at what she does. She's truly passionate about her craft, very personable, knowledgeable and relates well to her students. Though I am a food photographer and recipe developer for a large company (and have no plans at this time to go out and shoot on location), I took away many valuable tools. I would highly recommend this class. (I'm sad it's over, LOL).

I have a fine arts background, but I'm not a photographer. I think about composition, negative space, etc, when I am taking photos of my products but this, this is so far beyond what I have been doing. So enthralled was I with what is being taught,that at 1:00 am my husband asked me, 3 times, if we were perhaps going to sleep at some time. Absolutely recommend it. Laura, savory jam maker and hydro farmer.

I found it super helpful to go behind the scenes of a food photography shoot - to see how the prop stylist, the food stylist and Penny work together. Penny has lots to share about her journey as a food photographer. It's worth listening to what she has to say especially if you're just starting out as I am and want to learn as much as possible.

I've only recently started watching it and I already had to skip to the 5th video as the 1st 4 are just a waste of time from which you will learn nothing useful, unless you want to learn about someone else life. The videos are mostly about Penny’s life and stories. The editing of the video is very poor and the sound on some parts (Such as when on a live chat with Larry the editor, gets cut off constantly even gone for good, minute 28.30). The course is mostly about the theoretical world of food photography, but when it comes to techniques, approaches, explaining process, lighting, composition and editing, there is almost none of this at all.
I have watched hundreds of tutorials in the last few years, and still do. I love learning, but this tutorial was soooo hard to watch… I kept feeling how I was just wasting my time.

 it Penny is a great photographer, but as a teacher she lacks the knowledge of teaching and planning on what it’s important to actually teach.

 Most shots are all messy which is Penny’s style, but in my case, I shoot for resorts, so I have to have a clean image, from a dish that a Chef prepared with lots of details and the resorts want it to show as the client will see it. There is almost NO guidance as to how to make a dish look it’s best respecting the design of the chef.

On occasions as when speaking to the stylist you can hear her but not the people asking questions.

 Took an hour with just one dish, if you can even call it a dish?!?!?!?
During this whole hour, there was no mention of light direction, lens used, or how and why you would shoot it that way. 

No use of reflectors, flags, or any sort of tool to control light?!?

I can’t make myself watch the rest to he 100% honest!

This took my breath away! She was honest, funny, and real! This class is not about f-stop, ISO, and shutter speed. This is about beauty and concept. I've participated in many Creative Live classes and this is certainly need the top Great job Penny De Los Santos. I will research her work and catch up on her journey.

It felt like my knowledge of photography really improved thanks to this course. The most essential things to think of if you're a photographer are brought up time and time again, and I really loved it. There was something very old-school about it and I really liked it. And I really enjoyed all the interaction between everyone involved. It was as if I was in a real classroom and got to meet all the lovely students, teacher and other members of the team. I became part of that very special world and I'm going to miss it when the course is over.

Penny is in this course a photo journalist specialized in food and food culture, and that is what this course is all about. Probably because of that, the principles thought in this class do not only apply to food photography but are generic for all kinds of photography. If you are looking for a pure technical course, you will find little in this course ... BUT ... I think the course is beneficiary for all starting photographers as it touches the very basics of why we make photographs. That is also the reason that I think it is inspirational for all photographers, for beginners as well as experienced, and for amateurs as well as professionals.

I saw this class live and it was exactly what I needed to push me towards food photography. I discovered an area of photography I hadn't considered before.

Penny is the best with Food photography and at telling a story with pictures. This was the very first class I ever saw on Creative Live and Penny was amazing! Her class is so informative to all the aspects of food photography, from styling, to plating to shooting and lighting. and how to tell a story. What she taught me will never go out of style and will inspire you too. Thank you Penny for this outstanding class!

Totally love this course!! What a find especially for the price - such a wealth of information and what a great positive spirit!! Thanks Penny for sharing - keep up the excellent work!

I have watched Penny's course four times now since I have bought the course last April! Not only do I love Penny's work, her honesty, and her, but the course was so real and so human. She approached teaching the course, just like how she approaches her work and the resulting images- with great human touch! The fact that she also brought in editors from Saveur to give their thoughts, was the icing on the cake!

Love, Love, Love Penny. What great energy. I will never look at food the same way. Her story and her vision really touched me. She was so generous in sharing her knowledge in such simple terms. One of my favorite classes!

Haven't seen it yet, looking forward to it!

Totally loved the course, thank you, thank you. The only disappointing thing is I can't review what I just saw because it's not online yet. Keep up the good work. Penny is now a "fav", right up there with Zack. Marilyn

Penny is so real. Yeah, that sounds like a cliche but every bit of this class was taught from the heart. I'm not a food photographer but this course is about seeing life and culture through the lens of food - something that Penny makes accessible. Everything in this course applies to ALL photography, so think bigger than 'food blogging a plate'. Think life and people and the culture. Think scene, composition and light. I loved this class. I came in a skeptic and left believing in myself.