In this post I will show you how I created this image using layer masks in Photoshop.
This image looks simple, right? Just slap 9 scoops of sorbet on a platter and throw some food accents on it. Easy! Yeah, no.
This final image is a composite of 10 images – each image was of one scoop of sorbet with its food accent, plus an image of just the marble platter. This is just one of many compositing tricks with Photoshop.
The first shot we did was to get a sense of what we wanted our food accents to look like, how I wanted to light the shot, and where each flavor would be placed. Noticed how much lower the peaches in the top middle part are in this shot compared to the final shot. I’ll go over that at the end.
I have a very broad, soft, light source coming from the left. I wanted soft shadows as if it’s window light.
Here’s the first shot we did. The peach sorbet. Shooting anything that melts fast is very tricky. My food stylist Marcella Carpasso got several blocks of dry ice to use in several different coolers.
She made many scoops of each flavor, placed each scoop on parchment paper, then placed that onto a block of dry ice to set very hard. Each block was then placed into small coolers with lids put on them to encase the scoops with very cold air.
Dry ice will work better than your freezer as it will freeze your product harder than your freezer will. This gives you a little more time on set to work with your product.
What’s interesting is that each flavor of sorbet had its own way of freezing and melting. Each flavor acted very differently, even within the same brand of sorbet. Some flavors would set up very fast, others took longer.
After a flavor was set, (frozen very solid on the dry ice), Marcella took it off the parchment/dry ice block with a spatula and placed it on my marble tray.
Here’s the major trick – when you freeze something on dry ice, there will be a lot of frost on the outside. You can’t shoot the product like that as it won’t look natural. You have to use a straw and blow through it to melt off the frost, and in this case, help melt the sorbet to get a nice gloss on top and puddle around the bottom.
Each sorbet would start to melt instantly, so I was shooting extremely fast. I used strobes for this shot so I shot as fast as the strobes were recharging – oh, and it was one of the hottest days of the year so my studio A/C’s were cranked too.
I’ve shot quite a bit of ice cream and sorbet over the years. It all comes down to taking a lot of shots and then picking the best ones. I shot a few hundred frames total this day, then I picked my favorites of each flavor.
After I picked my favorite image of each flavor, it would become its own layer in Photoshop in one image.
Do you see next to each small image thumbnail there is another rectangle with little black marks in it? That’s called a layer mask. This is used to hide certain things in each image and to make it look as realistic as possible.
The layer mask can be edited over and over, unit you get it just perfect. I use the layer masks to blend each flavor onto the marble plate.
If you notice on my layers, I have two Cherry layers. I used the bottom melting pool of one image while putting the top of another cherry scoop on top of that. Then I blended them together using a layer mask.
You will also notice the very first layer on the bottom, it’s what I call my Background Plate. I shoot every set like this, in parts. It’s called “shooting for composite”.
Since the digital era, this has become industry standard for advertising food photography. Clients want flexibility and you better know how to create images for composite.
Shooting this way enables me to move each flavor independently from the other flavors – not possible if all shot together in one image without major Photoshop work.
Here are my background plates. I might never need them, but when I do I am so happy I have them.
In this case I ended up using the empty platter as my base because when I started putting all the flavors onto the marble plate, I realized that I had put the peach flavor on too low on the plate. So I needed to move it up towards the top.
Clipping each flavor out of its image and compositing onto this blank plate made it very easy to move it around the plate with layers.
So there you have it! Shooting for composite. I’d say I spent 1 hour putting all these images together after they were shot.
If you want to learn how to use photography layer masks, join the Food Photography Club. I have an entire course on editing with Photoshop and have several lessons about layer masks.
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Jarek
Just got a client that specializes in craft made icecream. This is gonna be useful!
Christina Peters
Hi Jarek, glad it helped and good luck! It’s a tricky thing to shoot.
Nick English
Really interesting use of photoshop! Great article, thank you for sharing!
Christina Peters
You’re welcome Nice!
Rachel
This is so interesting! This article is really helpful and it’s amazing how people use photoshop to create artwork.
Christina Peters
Hi Rachel, Photoshop is amazing. I’ve been using it since 1990 and I still feel like I’m a novice. Thanks for reading!
Patryk Stanisz
Great and helpful article! Thanks!
Christina Peters
Thanks Patryk!
Leann
oh the wonders of photoshop… I’m really new into this whole image prossesing thing, loved this post. I should try to learn more and improve.
Christina Peters
Thanks Leann!
Life Images by Jill
fabulous! thank you for this behind the scenes look & info.
Christina Peters
Welcome Jill!
Connor
Beautifully done, Christina!
I’ve done a few “at home” ice cream shoots and having the ability to shoot composites has really saved me, as far as working quickly is concerned. Thanks for the blowing through a straw tip, I’ll be keeping that trick in mind for my next ice cream shoot.
Here’s a link to one of my composite ice cream shots:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/601photography/14413393738/in/album-72157635781486245/
Feel free to rip it apart. 😉
Thanks,
Connor
Christina Peters
Hi Connor, yeah, I learned that trick from a food stylist about 20 years ago – it really comes in handy. I think you ice cream shot is very well done! Good texture on the top.
Teresa Clement
Yes – GREAT texture!! I work for an ice cream company and we are attempting to do our own photography. What did you use for a scoop? The ones that our ice cream stands use (Zeroll #16) zip right into the ice cream, but make it begin melting on contact… NOT good for photos.
Christina Peters
Hi Teresa, let’s put it this way, I have about 10 different scoops. We try them all and use the one we like the most. Every kind of ice cream and sorbet will scoop differently. It will always begin to melt instantly. That’s why we scoop them and set them on dry ice blocks to get rock hard first.
manal
I love this!! If I had seen this image any where I would have wondered how in the world could anyone pull such a crucial image off?!!! I struggled with one scoop of ice cream once, I can’t imagine all of these. Thank you so much for sharing …amazing post!!
Christina Peters
Hi Manal, glad you liked the info. Shooting these things in days of films were extremely difficult. Now with everything being digital and Photoshop, it’s made our shooting lives much easier!
Nagi@RecipeTinEats
As soon as I saw the photo, I felted panicked. Ice cream is a nightmare! 😉 I figured there was fancy footwork involved but I didn’t realise the extent of it! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge 🙂
Christina Peters
Hi Nagi! Yes, shooting melting things is VERY stressful when it’s for a client. You won’t believe the shenanigans we have to go through when shooting a frozen product for a job. We’re lucky if we get shot shots done a day. This shot was done for fun and self promotion, no clients!
Cathy | She Paused 4 Thought
So clever. It is really a work of art.
Christina Peters
Thanks Cathy!
Marta
Perfection! One must be detail oriented to capture an amazing image. I myself struggle with taking acceptable photographs of my desserts due to many factors. Finally I had enough and ready to invest in proper equipment. Would you recommend the Canon 100 mm Lens for my close up pictures and will I be able to use the same Lens for tall 3-4 tier cakes as well? I also need to shoot nightime, which lightning system would you recommend? Thanks so much, Marta
Christina Peters
Thanks Marta, to address your questions please see my page about the best equipment for photographing food.
Marta
Yes! Thank you so much.
Tracy Nguyen
I love your picture. It’s amazing!
Christina Peters
Thanks Tracy!
Marilyn Johnson
This is why you’re the pro! So expertly done! I love reading your behind-the-scenes posts and by the way, your Provence trip sounds wonderful.
Christina Peters
Hi Marilyn, I’m very excited about the Provence trip. You should come! I’m going to teach everyone how to shoot in every condition. Ohhhh and the food – that’s all I have to say about that!
Pat Ready
Absolutely amazing to me! Congratulations on your beautiful finished product, as a result of your very detailed process.
Christina Peters
Thanks Pat! It’s fun putting these kinds of images together.