Anyway, I’ve been promising my sister (owner of Dolce Delights) that I would photograph some of her cupcakes in the studio, and I finally got around to doing it. Initially I was thinking of doing your typical product shot (i.e. product on a neutral-coloured background with even lighting)…but I thought against that as that’s totally not her style.

Instead, I decided on a fun tea party setting (with tea being one of the few common interests that my sister and I share, hee hee).

It was fun, though I’d like to attempt an outdoor tea party setting once the weather gets better (and we have a somewhat steady stream of warm, sunny weather to work under).

I’ll start the next sequence of photos by assuming you’ve already got your cake made. I’m also going to assume you have two layers ready, contrary to my one layer of super moist homemade buttermilk cake displayed below. And I’ll also assume that you’ve levelled the cake tops.

Next, frost the top of your first layer. I used heavy cream (with a bit of gelatin added for extra stability). I plan on adding a layer of fruit, so try to be conservative.

Next, you want to add a layer of fruit. Try not to have the fruit pieces overlap or they’ll slide around. (I ended up eating any large pieces that overlapped.)

Using another thin layer of frosting, gently pat on a second layer over your fruit.

Stack your second cake layer on top.

I clearly skipped a few photos here, but you want to frost your top first, followed by the sides. Due to the nature of a whipped cream frosting, it’s rather difficult to get it silky smooth unlike buttercream or (ugh) rolled fondant–not that it mattered, as this cake was purely for personal consumption!

It’s also advisable to brush off any loose crumbs from the sides and top first, followed by a thin “crumb coat” to seal in your cake. You can then add a thicker layer afterwards to even out the cake’s sides and top.

Decorate at will! Speaking of which, whipped cream pipes into rosettes, shells, beads, and ribbons quite well.

And now finally….a cake! Whipped cream frosting is best when served fresh, but it can hold its shape if you refrigerate it afterwards.

A map is needed to show new nursing students where various clinical sites are located in relation to the airport (YVR). It would be nice to have it in colour as it will make it look more professional.

The (not-quite-final) execution:

This is a tough one! I want the shot to have a dreamer deca- dent look to it (possibly a slight amount of soft focus – selective soft focus would be even better). Both the product and the packaging must be flawless! I want the bite out of the ice cream bar to be very clean so if you’re really having problems with the product, there is a budget for retouching. The base of the shot could either be some dark wood, such as a table-top, or a nice hand made paper, but I would like it to be fairly dark and neutral. The background should be a sheet of light fabric with some nice folds in it. You can place a couple of apples on top of that. It would be preferable if the plate that the product sits on is clean and simple. I would like the lighting to be very warm and streaky with lots of mood. I would prefer that this is shot on 4X5, but a 35mm slide is fine as well.

The sketch:

The shoot:

This ad will be going after a somewhat younger market, so it should look pretty funky. The background could be a nice piece of hand-made paper, and I do not mind a little bit of texture to it, but no patterns please. The background should also be very neutral (prefer- ably grey) and mid-tone. The bottle should have very soft and clean light on it, with nice straight highlights and a glow coming through the bottle. Obviously, the bottle you shoot does not have to be Tino Cosma, I don’t even care if it is a men’s cologne or a women’s perfume, but I would prefer that the bottle be clear glass and the liquid inside should be gold or amber. I would prefer if you can do the whole thing in one image, but there is a budget for digital work if you have to shoot the bottle and the background separately. Either way, I do not want the background visible through the bottle.

The original sketch:

The final shoot:

All of the information on this is fake, but if you can catch the references, very awesome props to you.

I honestly couldn’t decide between the cranberry muffins in the basket and the cranberries in the basket ideas. I guess I’ll just submit both.

Also for future reference….buying tarts at midnight is not a good idea.

My favorite shot has been saved for last:

One of my assignments was a free choice–we could shoot anything we wanted, as long as it was a food or beverage item. I haven’t yet shot any meat products, so I figured this would be the best time to give it a try.

I think it turned out alright…? Personally I’m wishing I had browned it a bit more with some Kitchen Bouquet–a seared look would have probably looked a bit more appetizing.