Michael Kay

Michael Kay

  Michael Kay is a food photographer located in Surrey, London. He owns a large studio with a fully equipped kitchen to use for his food photography. The main reason i wanted to look at Michael is because he uses medium format cameras in the studio and DSLRs for location shoots.

 I also wanted to look at his photography as it is very different to that of Packshot Factory. Although his imagery is composed well and done in a way that is appealing to the eye it does not seem to have the same finish as that of Packshot Factory.

Whether this is to do with his camera choice or just personal preference. All of the images seem to have an 'airy' feel to them except for a select few. This is something that interested me as many of the images look slightly out of focus. This may seem slightly trivial but personally i do not like a few of the images. The way the image on the right is done makes my eyes wander over the picture. The focus on the lattice at the top is great, however i personally feel that i would have more of a focus on both the lattice and the inside of the cake.

 This is then combined with what looks like a slight 'blue rinse' effect. The layout of the image i feel is brilliant as the rectangular composition works well with the rectangular shape of the cake.

The image on the left is quite similar in the fact it has the 'colour rinse' however on this image i feel that it works really well. It adds a 'weightlessness' to the image and a femininity that i think works really well. The blurred out background emphasizes the sharpness of the foreground without making the dessert look out of place. This is something that i would expect to see in a cookery book aimed at desserts or a 'sunday best' type book. The main reason for this is the intrecate detail and time that it must've taken to create which is something that would reflect on where you would place it.

 I chose this image as i feel the composition of it does not work well at all. The main reason for this is because of the excess grain i feel that the composition of the image has been thrown off. I do not feel that the image on the right is a powerful image anyway.
I chose to look at the tomato image as i feel out of the two 'ingredient' shots this is much more powerful. Although the use of the single tomato in focus is something many photographers use i feel that here it has been used in a way that makes the overall image interesting and something that will draw you in to look closer at it.

 The layout of the image i like once again in the rectangular format. The main reason for his is because of the way that the whole image flows whilst done this way. If the image was in a square format i feel that it would not be nearly as effective as the 'flowing' feeling would not be there. Looking at the format of pictures is something i am now looking a lot closer at as it seems to be almost more important than what has been shot.

  Without the correct formatting many of the images have been let down. If some of these images have been used in conjunction with a book or other form of media piece then they may work better than as a single image. I think when used in conjunction they are much more powerful than when they are solely used as a photograph.

 The image on the right i feel is a much stronger image as a whole. Mainly because of the angle that it has been taken at. This is an image that would work well in an advertising campaign rather than something such as a cook book as all the focus is on the jar on the right. This was most likely the aim of the shoot therefore it will automatically draw your attention to the product that is trying to be sold.

The addition of the sandwich on the left adds to the 'imposing' feel of the image. The strength of the image is exaggerated by the towering sandwich which then makes the bottle of mayonaise seem a lot larger than it is. I also feel that the strength of the image comes from the use of lighting. The pieces of shadow that help to center the image also work well to create that strong feeling. Overall i would not use something like this in a cook book as i feel it is aimed more at advertising. However i do like the angle at which it is shot and feel that it gives the image a new feeling of dimension.

Both of these images are ones that i feel work incredibly well and remind me of a more fine art style. The muted background and rich, bold colours really juxtapose each other in a way that creates a great deal of interest. The focus on the image on the right also adds a lot of interest in the sense that your eyes are immdietly drawn to the green row although it could be considered to be a more 'boring' aspect of the image.


As for the image on the right although it is made up of 'cold' colours i feel that it has an interesting tone to it. I especially like the way that the glass plate has been toned blue as this really helps the overall composition. Again i also like the rectangular format, i feel if the image had been done as a square format then the look would have been thrown off.

Overall i feel that looking at Micheal Kay's work has helped me decide on how best it would be to go ahead with my own photography for the book.