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Pasta is one of THE MOST popular dishes for readers. Just a quick browse of Pinterest shows that many of the most popular recipes are pasta. Almost all my pasta dishes have been solid performers.
But pasta is one of the hardest dishes to plate up well so it doesn’t just look like a pile of tangled mess. (As delicious as it may be!).
Food Bloggers Central is lucky enough to have Nicole Branan as part of the group. Nicole is a professional food photographer (you can see her portfolio here – Nicole Branan Photography) and she blogs at The Spice Train. And she’s sharing her tips with us! Take it away Nicole!!
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TIPS FROM A PROFESSIONAL: HOW TO STYLE PASTA
Nicole Branan from The Spice Train is a professional food photographer.
Thanks Nagi! Hi, I’m Nicole from The Spice Train and I’m a professional food photographer.
Have you ever noticed that the spaghetti you plop on your plate don’t have any of the pretty twists and twirls you see in professional food photos? That’s because you didn’t get in there and twist each single noodle around your finger. That’s what you have to do to get pasta pretty for your food photos.
Here’s how it works:
1. Boil your pasta like you normally do and get a large bowl full of ice water and a little bit of oil ready.
2. When the pasta is done, drain it and then immediately dunk it into the ice water, that way it cools down right away and won’t stick.
3. Drain the now-cool pasta and take every single noodle, one by one, twist it around your finger and then lay it on the plate. Watch from the direction and angle your camera is going to see the pasta and build a nice
symmetric heap.
I learned this technique years ago from an excellent book called “Food Styling for Photographers: A Guide to Creating Your Own Appetizing Art“. It made a huge difference for me because it opened my eyes to just how picky I had to be to make food look good.
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Thanks so much Nicole! Before I read this tip, I actually used to use my hands to plate up some pasta. But I didn’t do it strand by strand – I would take a bunch of pasta and twirl it around my fingers then sometimes “twist” it and place them, clump by clump, onto the pasta plate.
The result is that my pasta is denser than Nicole’s. Her pasta looks lovely and fluffed up and delicate. Here’s a pasta example of mine – see how different this Lemon Shrimp Pasta is compared to Nicole’s?
I think Nicole’s style is great for light, spring, delicate pastas – like the seafood one she did.
Whereas the denser look is suited to heavier sauces – like bolognaise and ragus. I wish I had used Nicole’s style for the Shrimp Pasta!
Oh – and though not as technical, when you don’t have the time to style the pasta strand by strand, here’s a quick tip for how to plate pasta nicely using tongs: Styling Tip – Mastering the Pasta Twirl. It’s not as nice as doing it by hand but it is still neater than just plonking the pasta in a bowl!!
Hope you find this tip useful!
Thanks again Nicole, for sharing your expertise with us! – Nagi x
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Hey! Loved this post and the look into how pros do food styling. I did have one question though: if you cool down the pasta and toss it, how do you later eat the food? Reheat it? I just can’t see myself throwing away food!
Hi Ana,
Sorry for the much belated reply. Yes, definitely reheat it, that’s what I always do, my food is always cold by the time I’m done photographing it. 🙂
Such great tips! Thank you.
Isn’t Nic the best?? 😉
Both of the pasta dishes look heavenly! I can’t wait to cook a pasta dish soon and try out the tricks 🙂
Can’t wait to see your photos Maggie!! You’re styling is so precise 🙂
Thanks Nagi and Nicole! Perfect timing for your great tips as I have most recently been given a pasta maker and I can’t wait to put these tips into action. You guys are both making me hungry with your delicious noodles!
Glad you found them useful Bobbi!! 🙂 Can’t wait to see your pasta maker in action!!
Love this tip Nicole!! I try to plate using tongs but ita just not the same….and what a dreamy color combo on that pasta dish!! Soo gonna try your tips next 🙂
Thank you, Swayampurna! Glad you like this tip! 🙂
I just put up a ragu recipe on my blog and swore it would be the first and last pasta recipe I’d ever post!!! The kitchen was a mess, my fingers were covered in sauce, there was parmesan and herbs all over the place. …. I should have just kept it simple like Nicole does 🙂
I feel you Nancy!! If you want to keep your hands clean, try the tongs + plate spinning trick 🙂
I’ve been using a fork to twirl three or four pieces at once but it’s always missing something. Love this tip! Thanks, Nagi and Nicole.
And I need to dive into that bowl of shrimp pasta – oh my goodness!!
Oh! I so needed these tips! Thanks a ton! 🙂
Glad you found it useful! 🙂
Love this tip! I always plunk it down in the bowl or plate and then try to save grace by frantically swirling it after it’s hit the plate. I cannot wait to try out a new [more technical – haha!] method! Thanks!
Glad you like the tip, Jenn! You’ll get your fingers dirty but it works. 🙂
More good food for thought… Pardon the pun! Thanks for a great post 🙂
I love both styles. It really depends the look you are going for as well, my plating can’t be too perfect because I focus on portraying rustic food. Nicole always has fantastic photos with a great homey feel. I wanna eat both those recipes so yay, everybody wins 🙂 Great tips too and great reminder: don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty in the kitchen !
That’s exactly right! It’s not food styling if you didn’t have to wash your hands five times! 🙂
nicole, you make me hungry! i want to slurp these! haha. thanks for the tips!