SFU: Sears Grilling Photography Final Portfolio

I can't believe this is the last week of my SFU Sears Grilling Photography Class.  The past seven weeks have just flown past.  It was more challenging than I thought it would be to plan ahead and grill so many meals that needed to be photographed in a week.  Probably more so because I tend to look in the fridge mid-afternoon and that decides what I'm making for dinner.  Planning is a lot harder.

My last week's assignment was to pick my favorite ten photos from all the photos I took during the class.  Easy peasy, right?  WRONG!  If you've been following along the past month or so you've noticed that most of my posts for each week have had close to ten photos each if not more.

It's hard picking favorites.  All the photos in my previous posts were favorites.  That's how they ended up in the post and not just saved on the computer.  So I'll try really hard to narrow it down to ten favorites.

This shot was from before we got any instruction on how to take photos.  It's from the Jellies exhibit at the Shedd (I know, totally doesn't have anything to do with grilling!?!?) but I used it in my first post as an example of what the settings on a camera could do to change a photo.

I really like the photo of this pork chop on the grill because it just looks so juicy and yummy.  This photo focused on using indirect light and proper white balance to get a good photo.

These next photos are examples of staging.  Staging is when you put a product in a realistic setting to make the photo look more natural.  This first one is a close up of a Jucy Lucy burger (these are stuffed with ooey gooey cheese in the middle).  I love this pic because of all the colors in it.  

I love these mushrooms too (even though onions aren't my fave) because they look succulent.

This is such a dorky pic but I love it because its a "grilled" grilled cheese.  I'd never thought to put these on the grill but they took no time at all and tasted amazing.  Just make sure to use real butter as the fake stuff turns black pretty quickly.

Are you seeing a theme yet in the photos I've been picking?  Most of them are close up shots focusing on something in particular.  This kind of photo shows the most detail and highlights what I think are important in my dishes.

The last set of photos is from my grilling party that got rained out.  Our assignment this week was to utilize all we'd learned to show off our skills.  This first photo is a close up of pork tenderloins cooking on the grill.  Don't they look juicy?

I like this photo because the fruit salad has so many colors in it.  The photo makes it look bright and inviting.

This cheesy garlic bread not only looked amazing it tasted pretty darn good too.

This photo is an example of focusing on the fruit salad in the foreground while the rest of the plate blurs.  This draws your eye to the salad and makes it the focus of the photo.

The last photo I picked is a good example of staging.  The cupcake liner has been peeled back to show the viewer how awesome the cupcake looks inside.

All in all I feel like I've learned a lot taking the #SoFabU Sears Grilling Photography class.  My blog food photos have definitely improved.  I'm so thankful to Sears for sponsoring this class.  Without it I wouldn't have had a chance to grow as quickly as a photographer.

*I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Sears #CBias #GrillingIsHappiness.  All photos and opinions are my own.*

SoFabU: Sears Grilling Week 6 Party Time! #SoFabU #grillingishappiness

This week's assignment was to utilize all the skills we've learned in our SoFabU Sears Grilling photography class.  I was strapped for time all week as I had to head out of town the end of the week.  I didn't get to actually grill anything till Sunday night.  We didn't have a huge party just a more elaborate meal than usual.  Turns out it was a good thing we didn't have people over because when I was done cooking I ran out of propane.  Oh and did I mention it started to rain right when I went out to grill?  That foiled our plans to eat outside.

I made a variety of dishes to make a more elaborate meal.  I marinated some pork tenderloin slices in a honey lime marinade.

And what's a grilled meal without grilled corn on the cob?

The marinated pork tenderloin kabobs grilled perfectly.  I was worried they'd stick too much due to the marinade, but they didn't.  :)

While I like my corn grilled, I don't like it blackened.  Typically it takes about 8 minutes on the grill turning it every 2 minutes.

Like I said earlier, we got rained out Sunday night and ended up eating inside.  A lot later than usual about eight at night.  This was our feast.

The fruit salad I made was a huge hit.  Even the picky eaters didn't pick out the fruit they didn't like.  I think it was due to the dressing I made for it.

Grilled garlic cheese and herb bread was amazing and so easy to make.  Just slather spread on both sides of bread slices, put back together as a loaf, wrap in foil and grill.  The entire loaf was gone at dinner.

I absolutely love these tie dyed cupcakes.  They're so bright and cheery.  The cupcakes themselves are rainbow colored along with the frosting.

A fully balanced meal.  Fruits, veggies, meat and some bread.  Three quarters of it grilled too.  It's amazing what you can grill.

I love this close-up shot of the fruit salad on my plate.  How the picture draws your eye to the salad and the rest of the picture is blurred.

See the gorgeous rainbows inside the cupcakes?  Each one looks like this under the cupcake liner.  Check out the next picture after I took a bite.  Gorgeous right?  These are so easy to make.  Just take a white or yellow cake mix, follow mixing directions, then split into 6 bowls and color with rainbow colors (1 color per bowl) and then layer in cupcake tins.  Bake as usual.

It was great to only have to have a fancy meal this week as opposed to three meals the previous weeks.  I did spend much of Sunday prepping everything.  But I love spending time making a great meal.

Once again thanks #SoFabU and Sears for offering this wonderful class on food photography.  Because you know #grillingishappiness.  :)

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community.  This shop has been compensated as a part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Sears #CBias #GrillingIsHappiness.  All photos and opinions are my own.

SoFabU: Sears Grilling Week 5 Lighting and Staging #grillingishappiness #SoFabU

If you've been following my blog you know I'm currently enrolled in a Social Fabric University class hosted by Sears to learn how to better photograph food.  The first week I talked about what I hoped to learn in this class.  The second week I shopped for a grill at Sears.  The third week I actually bought my grill and brought it home.  The fourth week was all about taking pictures of food while it was cooking on the grill.

This week, the fifth week, my assignment was to take pictures of grilled food using natural light and props.  I was a lot more comfortable doing this week's assignment because plating food for photos is something all of you have been seeing on my blog for months now.  But I have learned more about using natural light and props to take a better photo.

The best place to take a photo in your house is near a window.  Not a window that gets direct sunlight, as that will be too harsh in your photos, but one that the sun doesn't shine directly into.  At my house that's a window in my bedroom.  The window is on the side of the house and gets great indirect sunlight all day long. Which made it so much easier to take pictures.

Another thing you want to do when taking photos is to use props to make the photos more engaging.  You'll see that I've added some things in the photos below that you'd typically find around plates of food to make the pictures seem more natural.

First, I've got a "grilled" grilled cheese.  :)  I love saying that.  Anyway, I wanted to make something simpler this week so a "grilled" grilled cheese.  If you've never done this on the grill, make sure you turn the flames way, way down or you'll get a extra well done sandwich.  These tasted so much better than what you'd make in a pan.  As this was my first photo of the week I totally flaked on using any props in the photo.  But I also like the simplicity of it.

That same night we also tried sticking some s'mores in a foil packet on the top shelf of the grill.  They were kind of a bust as the chocolate never truly melted and the marshmallows got more hard than toasted.  But I loved the colors in the marshmallows. 

Second, a grilled pork chop with some fresh melon and deviled eggs.  Doesn't this picture just make you want to sit down to dinner at the table?

Here's a delightful close up of the plate.  I think these food items photographed well together.  The colors are similar and complimentary to the dark blue checked place mat.

Third, Jucy Lucy burgers and grilled potato rounds.  These were the most amazing burgers.  They stayed tender and moist.  Has everyone seen those Ore-Ida grillers?  I've been wanting to try them but figured I could do it myself.  These grilled potato rounds were super easy and taste like grilled slices of baked potatoes.

Here's a close-up of the burgers.  I've found throughout the class that I really like close up photos the best.  Doesn't the burger look tasty?

Fourth, I've got a sliced grilled London Broil, grilled corn on the cob and pan fried mushrooms and onions.  Plus a crisp, ice cold bubbly drink.  A London Broil or a top round are fantastic to either grill or broil.  They stay extremely tender and slice well for sandwiches.

A different photo of the London broil.  I like mine quite rare.  :)

While pan fried mushrooms and onions aren't my favorite food, they do look juicy here.  My sister loves them cooked best this way.  They go great on burgers or with a steak.

All in all I loved the class this week.  I'm a lot more comfortable taking photos of food on plates.  I will say all of the food in these photos is real and was eaten after being photographed.  I actually made extra of everything all week to ensure I had enough food for my photos.

Once again thanks #SoFabU and Sears for offering this wonderful class on food photography.  Because you know #grillingishappiness.  :)

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community.  This shop has been compensated as a part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Sears #CBias #GrillingIsHappiness.  All photos and opinions are my own.

New Chapter Organics

We have two kinds of New Chapter Vitamins, Perfect Energy and Perfect Calm.  Al would have tried them except that they contain fermented soy.  She has a soy allergy, so I got to be the guinea pig.

I started out taking the Perfect Energy.  They are a typical size vitamin only instead of one you take three at a time.  The package didn't actually say, so being lazy I took all three at once.  Nothing seems unusual about them, except that they are obviously tan colored with dark flecks, so they certainly appear to be organic compared to the average vitamin.

I have to say that the Perfect Energy works really well.  Almost too well, I probably shouldn't have taken them around lunchtime the first day.  I'm on day three and my sleep schedule has been altered.  I was too energized to fall asleep and my sleep schedule has shifted about two hours.  I'm thinking that the Perfect Calm will help me return back to normal.  I was feeling really out of it today until I took them.  Not sure if it's just because I didn't get the regular amount of sleep.

After five days of them, I can say my sleep schedule was out of whack because I had too much energy at the end of the day.  I suppose if I had planned it, then I wouldn't be having a problem.

Sadly, the perfect calm did not have the desired reverse effects.  Even though I know that the ingredients should have made me feel calm and sleepy including things like lavender and lemon balm, but no such luck.  I could not feel any noticeable differences.  My sleep schedule remained off even with the perfect calm.  So, while it may have a different effect for someone else it didn't help me in the way I had hoped.

I certainly recommend the Perfect Energy if you need an energy boost.  Just be sure to take them in the morning or risk becoming a night owl.  The Perfect Calm did not seem to calm me much.  Neither one had any side effects unless you consider too much energy a side effect.  They work just as regular vitamins.  I only took five days worth, so I can't entirely know how they would affect you long term, but they seem to be harmless.

*I was sent these products for review.  All opinions are my own*