FOOD STYLIST

Looking at a magazine with food photos or advertisements of food products on television, you must have admired the creativity in displaying the food and asked yourself the question – “Who must have made this possible?”
Food Stylist is the person who prepares the food so that its photos or pictures can be taken.

Food stylist is not a graduate degree which you can achieve. After completing graduation you can take food stylist as a career route. You should cultivate the desire, ability and the talent to cook food. Enroll in a culinary school and learn the subject along side experimenting as much as you can and also seeking to learn food styling in classes.

After you become a culinary school graduate you should look for an assistant job under an accomplished food stylist as compared to a professional food stylist.  This way you can acquire vital skills required for this industry and get entry in the field of food styling. Gain experience working under an accomplished food stylist and have the opportunity to introduce yourself to your future clientele.

Long working days are the recipe on which the food stylist works but the end result speaks volumes to the customers and that makes working as a food stylist worthwhile.

Food Stylist Job Profile:

The food stylist has to collect all the information from the client, producer and photographer regarding the food to be photographed. This allows him/her to imagine how the food will be arranged and displayed and what colors should be highlighted more etc. Food stylist work locations are wide-ranging in nature like dressing room, hotel, garden, tropical rainforest, warehouse, house etc.

Traits and skills required to become a professional food stylist are:

1. Good cooking skills

2. Good baking skills

3. Good organizational skills

4. Brimming with creativity

5. Be pleasant in appearance and personality

6. Sense of humor

7. Confident

8. Flexible

9. Should possess good sense in deciding when to direct and when to lead.

Technological advancement has helped the food styling industry, what with digital photography making it easier to decide whether the process of producing images of the product is final or not. A high class food stylist earns approx. $450 to $850 per day. It depends upon the type of work and where the food stylist lives.