The Client and Their Brief
We completed a location food photography campaign for Kenwood, through our good friends at Mambo Media, to showcase the new MultiPro OneTouch mixer.
The brief was to create photography showing both the product and the food it could help make, with the imagery designed to feel bright, warm, engaging and reflective of Kenwood’s quality and reputation.
The Kenwood team responsible for this production, and the subsequent product launch, knew their audience. We were aiming for premium and aspirational, without feeling overly polished or unattainable. This was clear in the planning, and it really helped to have those conversations. It’s a big part of the success of this imagery.
The work was to be used alongside moving image on Amazon product and brand pages, so the production needed to deliver a cohesive collection of stills and video while working within the practical demands of a busy location shoot.
We were working alongside Mambo Media, who were responsible for the moving image assets, while we handled the stills photography and lighting.
What We Did
Location shoots always bring their own considerations. You have a fixed space to work with, a busy schedule to keep to, and multiple teams that all need to get what they need from the same production. That said, we thrive on collaboration.
For this shoot, we weren’t just there to photograph the stills. We were also responsible for gaffering the production, working closely with Mambo Media to create a lighting setup that would work for both the photography and moving image.
With a van load of gear, we were in our element!
The lighting needed to be consistent across the shoot while still giving us enough flexibility to create a range of different looks within the kitchen. We used continuous lighting throughout, allowing the video team to work without us having to compromise the stills photography.
We also had to work quickly and adapt to the location as the day progressed. The kitchen became our studio, set and food preparation area all at once, with the photography and video teams working around each other.
Rather than treating the stills and video as two separate productions, we worked together to make sure both sets of content felt like part of the same campaign.
The Lighting Details
With lighting as one of our core skillsets, we were invited to gaffer the shoot. Which was an absolute joy! We take great pride in understanding lighting on both a very technical, and artistic level. It might sound a little nerdy, but the quality of light, its shape, the direction, and how it’s modified are things that really excite us. Suffice to say, with a van load of gear, we were in our element!
After setting up some background interest with directional hard light from the Aputure 1200D (elevated and focused down through the blinds to create lines on the kitchen tiles) we rigged some internal ceiling bounce, and closer directional lighting across the product on the island.
Different Lighting Sets
The set for the food, products, and models would vary slightly. Overall we tried to create a directional scene with soft fill that had enough contrast to engage the audience and feel natural, without overpower the focus on the items.
By using continuous daylight lighting we had a location set that was suitable to shoot location food photography for both photography, and film crews. This allowed a dynamic balance between the teams, and created logistical efficiencies with no time lost to rigging additional flash lighting sets. The benefit of Aputure LED is not only that its output is bright enough for our cameras native ISO. It’s also able to function during the renowned British weather.
Being able to set and forget these lights is a must have professional capability!
Lighting & Creative Direction
The kitchen gave us a great starting point, but we wanted to create something that felt more considered than simply lighting the room evenly.
We used an Aputure 1200D through the kitchen blinds to create strong lines of light across the tiles, giving the background some depth and helping the imagery feel warm and natural. It was a simple idea, but it gave us a visual detail that could carry through the different shots.
The weather was very changeable. We had sun, rain and some heavy winds, which proved tricky for a few reasons. The ambient exposure was constantly changing, and the wind did threaten to move our key light. This actually highlights the advantage of taking powerful lighting on location: it provides consistency, particularly when you can flag the sun effectively. A few extra sandbags and some helping hands from the wider production team took care of our wind issues!
From there, we built the rest of the lighting around the food, products and people, shaping the light rather than simply illuminating the space. The continuous lighting gave the video team the consistency they needed, while also giving us the control to create clean, polished stills.
Food styling was another important part of the production. Rebecca Smale worked closely with Kenwood to prepare the dishes, making sure everything we photographed was genuinely made using the MultiPro OneTouch.
Authenticity is important in food photography. There is some black magic involved on the styling front, but most brands we work with insist on shooting real, appetising food.
The lighting needed to remain flexible throughout the day. It was about creating a visual style that felt warm and aspirational, while still showing the MultiPro OneTouch honestly and keeping it at the centre of the imagery.
This was particularly important to the client. They wanted the imagery, and in particular their blender, to look real. For us, that means ensuring it looks lit, but not so much that it looks like it doesn’t belong in the scene. It’s a balancing act.
Food Lighting
The lighting on the food was punchy, directional, but again not overpowering. It’s easy to create ‘soft window light’, but we’re always keen to go further! We will analyse the images with the client to talk about how the food appears on screen. This means our lighting has additional elements not often used by other photographers on location, that helps to bring out the textures and colours of the dishes.
When we add extra light, we will typically decide which areas of the image we’ll use it for later on in post production. By shooting tethered we can ensure the client or creative agency is always on-board with the art direction.
Model Directing
To finish the project, it was directed that models interact with the products, and the food. This part was photographed and filmed on the final shoot day. There was a great cast! We had a good time helping direct the dynamic images in a creative way. The light hearted and candid style was perfect, and helps accentuate the products unique selling points and target market.
Why not take a look at some of the finished images in the gallery below, to see how it all turned out!
The Finished Work
The finished photography brings together the product, food and people in a series of warm, engaging images designed to showcase the MultiPro OneTouch in a natural, aspirational setting.
Alongside the stills, Mambo Media produced the moving image content, giving Kenwood a cohesive collection of photography and video that could work together across their website and Amazon product and brand pages.
The imagery needed to feel polished and premium, but importantly, it still needed to feel real. The kitchen feels lived-in, the food is genuinely made with the product, and the MultiPro OneTouch sits naturally within the environment rather than feeling artificially placed into it.
Real food. Real products. Thoughtful photography.
How It Looks
The Results
The shoot delivered a cohesive collection of stills and moving image for Kenwood’s Amazon product and brand pages, showcasing the MultiPro OneTouch through a combination of product, food and lifestyle imagery.
Bringing the photography and video production together on location meant we could create a consistent visual treatment across both formats, while still allowing each to work in its own way.
There were lots of moving parts, but that’s where good planning, experience and collaboration really pay off. From lighting and photography through to food styling and moving image, everyone involved worked together to create content that felt considered, authentic and true to the Kenwood brand.
A successful production isn’t just about getting the shot. It’s about bringing all the right elements together to create something that works.
