A food stylist prepares and arranges food for photographs or film, and attending culinary school or working as a chef in a restaurant can provide necessary experience. Starting as an assistant to established professionals can lead to a career as a lead stylist, freelancing or applying for contract positions.
A food stylist prepares and arranges food so that it is aesthetically pleasing for photographs or film. He or she may prepare food for cookbooks, magazines, television commercials or movie scenes, but usually does not do the actual photography or filming. While there is no specific educational requirement to become a food stylist, it is generally helpful to have extensive experience working with food.
One of the most common ways to start a food stylist career is to attend culinary school. Culinary school can provide basic knowledge of food preparation and handling. It can also offer courses in food science, so you can learn how foods react under different conditions. This knowledge can come in handy for a future career as a stylist, because you’ll know which foods are most likely to wilt or melt under hot lighting for long photography or filming sessions.
Working as a chef in a restaurant can also replace culinary school experience. This is a way to experiment that you might need to become a food stylist, how to arrange dishes on plates or how to add decorative garnishes. You can also practice styling desserts to place in glass displays or dessert carts.
To apply your food experience skills to becoming a food stylist, you first need to develop a portfolio of your work. Many stylists start their careers working as assistants to established professional food stylists. You can contact stylists to work with your culinary school consultants or approach stylists who work for publishing or advertising companies. Becoming an assistant will give you professional experience and be able to compile photographs or film clips for a portfolio. Assistant jobs can be unpaid internships or pay very little; therefore, you may need another job with a flexible schedule while you gain experience.
While you work as an assistant, network and gather contact information for the clients you and the stylist are using. Once you have a portfolio of clips, use this contact information to inquire about possible job opportunities as a lead stylist in the future. This can help you freelance and get multiple clients so you can become a full-time food stylist.
After working full-time as a lead stylist, you can continue working as a freelancer or apply for contract positions. If you prefer to style food for cookbook photographs, contact publishers that specialize in cookbooks. Approach magazine editors if you want to create food photography for articles or magazine covers. You can also contact advertising companies to apply as a stylist for television or print ads. If you want to style food for movie scenes, contact studios or production companies; however, the work will typically be independent.
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