Jaegen Tan has been a food photographer in multi-cultural Singapore for the past two years. Passionate about food and travel, he has never missed a chance to taste the local delights. To relive his pre-pandemic travels, Jaegen decided to produce photos and videos to share his experience, thus paving the way to a new chapter in his food photography and videography journey. Read on and discover how you can make your food photos and videos just as delectable!  

Juicy Cuts Collaboration  

Camaraderie and creativity propelled the Juicy Cuts project. It began as a collaboration between Jaegen and his good friend, Chef Ryan Foo. With a chef and a food photographer, the project naturally came down to Chef Ryan creating interesting dishes for Jaegen to capture. Jaegen explains, “These collaborations work by exchanging tips and content. Ryan will create the dishes and I will come up with the story and content. While we plan the cooking and shooting, we think of challenges or elements we can incorporate into the shoots to make them more enticing and exciting for viewers to see.”  

Collaborating with individuals experienced in food styling opens up new possibilities. Chef Ryan understands food and the best angles to capture them, making the process easier. As the one in charge of the story and content, Jaegen aligns his vision for Juicy Cuts with Chef Ryan’s expertise. This way, Jaegen can capture three to five dishes from his vision, instead of a single dish if he had attempted to do it alone.  

Taking the Shot  

Having a clear idea of the eminent colours and elements of the shoot is crucial in projects such as the Juicy Cuts. The key aspect is to have the shot look appetising enough to have viewers salivating. Visual tools such as colour palettes are used to guide the photographer and stylist to balance and contrast the composition, resulting in food photography that pops. This gives direction to the shoot and helps in the selection of foreground and background props to make the food stand out. 

Jaegen usually shoots with natural lighting, and this shoot with Chef Ryan is no exception. Shooting by a window or in an outdoor setting elevates the image to new levels and gives it a more natural look. 

“Understanding the direction of the key light source would be something I look out for when shooting food. The direction of the key light will determine if the image will be back-lit or front-lit. To compensate for the lighting effect, external lights will be used for dark areas,” said Jaegen.

However, if both colours and lighting are not working enough for the shoot, the next best thing is to rely on props, which can give an image a more interesting perspective. When combined with an action shot, it creates a more relatable and savoury picture. For instance, a barbeque, just like the photos and video of the Yaki-stew, combines elements of fire and raw ingredients over the grill. Other alternatives to the shot would be seasoning meat over the grill or capturing the slow motion of the sprinkle of pepper and salt. Another example of giving more life to photos through props is incorporating a person fanning the grill, or it could even be as simple as adding a traditional pepper next to the food. Simple elements such as these elevate the moment as people crave to visually experience and relive these organic and authentic instances.  

Jaegen’s signature style is to keep visuals simple. “A simple photoshoot where the food is the subject, need not have that many props—and this produces a better visual result. Add too many elements and you’ll distract your audience from the subject, which might cause the viewer to lose interest,” he said.  

The Right Gear  

For food visuals, Jaegen puts his trust in the Alpha 7R III and the Alpha 7S III for cinematic videography. His favourite lenses are the FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM and FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM. For crisp and detailed close-up shots, the FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS and the FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS are usually in his camera bag. 

Choosing the right gear is a big tip when shooting food. A great lens is best complemented by the correct settings and gear to bump up the quality of images and videos by a notch. The right combination of lens, settings and gear, provides flexibility to the shoot and is instrumental for Jaegen and Chef Ryan to bring their visions to life. 

Filming, in particular, is a different ball game. Everything is shot in 50fps to provide the option to render in slow motion. As his usual practice, Jaegen sets the shutter speed to 1/100, and the aperture wider at 2.8. This combination allows a shallower depth of field, and at the same time, permits more light to enter the lens. With this exact setting, combined with Jaegen’s signature natural lighting, the results are guaranteed to produce cleaner and sharper images. 

Juicy Cuts Project 

To complete the Juicy Cuts project, Jaegen used the Alpha 7C alongside Sony's golden trio of lenses the FE 24mm F2.8 G, the FE 40mm F2.5 G, and the FE 50mm F2.5 G, also called the Compact G Lenses. These were inter-swapped during different moments of the shoots, depending on their respective functions to maximise their best capabilities. 

"I love using the 40mm for product shots as it gives me the depth of field so most of the food shots in this video series were on that focal length. As for the 50mm, I use it mainly for portraits to give a cleaner and sharper look," said Jaegen.

Paired with the Alpha 7C, a compact full-frame camera, Jaegen was able to snap high-quality photos with vibrant hues and fine details while enjoying flexibility and mobility during the shoots. 

"I would definitely recommend these lenses to users who are keen on experiencing the compact capabilities of using the hybrid gear that Sony offers. They complement the Alpha 7C, a small frame camera that offers the best quality of what the Compact G Lens line has to offer. I believe that shooting with a compact setup is something that encourages you to bring your camera and shoot more; as compared to setting up a full gear that requires setup time, and considering the weight and fatigue that comes while and after shooting," said Jaegen. "This provides a really nice balance for hobbyists who are keen to shoot great stuff on a light setup." 

Jaegen has always believed that the Alpha camera series has lived up to its name due to its superior features that make it the ultimate and reliable shooting companion. With his Alpha cameras, switching from photography to videography in a seamless fashion makes it convenient without compromising on quality. Sharing his work the two creative modes, photo and video, he can exhibit a wide array of dishes more creatively and invitingly. This way, he can better encourage his viewers to explore different cuisines and help promote respective cultures. 

For Jaegen, working collaboratively with others should be encouraged. Being able to bounce ideas and get instant feedback is invaluable. With the right gear, props and team, cooking up a mouth-watering photo and video portfolio like Jaegen’s is made simpler. In the end, the medium needs to tell a story, and often, the process, passion and perseverance are laid bare for all to see.