Evoke The Senses

I was flipping through some of my favorite books the other day, daydreaming in the dappled sunshine under my mulberry tree. The well-worn and dogged-eared pages share more than just my love for them but something else entirely. I keep these close, stacked in heaps by my bed to drift of to sleep with. On the side of my desk, I have a board full of disconnected images, clippings from magazines, printouts, and little bits that are inspiring or strike a cord in my heart with me. Most of these are dreams, and some are creative inspirations for my work. "How could I replicate that feeling"? Besides just making a pretty picture and styling a scene, visual storytelling is so much more based on our human experience, emotions, and senses. Most of the images we are drawn to are beautiful compositions evoking many, if not all, of our senses. Freshly cut lemon slices not only catches the light with our eyes, but you can smell it (or at least envision that bright, fresh fragrance!) Sight, yes, quite obvious, being the primary one for photographers, is not the only one or the most important when it comes to telling a visual story. So returning back to some of my beloved images, I turn to time and again; what's the underlying thread between them all? In some way or another, they all evoke a sense and a feeling. Just how magical lighting can make the ordinary extraordinary...playing up to our senses can take a visual story that much further. Maybe you don't highlight every sense in one single capture, but at least they are kept in the back of your mind, especially if you're struggling with a scene and something doesn't feel quite right. These are just a few suggestions and ways to evoke the senses, not just the one we use behind our viewfinder! 

Sight

Let’s start with the most obvious first. Yes it’s how we see and capture the world around us, but think beyond just seeing what’s in front of you. What draws your eye into this scene? Is there something quite unique or a subtle detail to bring to light? Maybe it’s the way the light dances on the dappled cake or how it creates a sharp line of shadow and contrast? Perhaps you hold up a cocktail in crystal glass into the light or the pattern or lines in a frame create a dynamic flow through the photo. Maybe it’s steam coming from drained pasta? Or maybe you pull out an old mirror or capture the subject through a glass window? Think in a macro and micro view; a broader view of what visually is compelling in the scene down to the little details.

Smell

This is incredibly important in food and lifestyle photography, as you can imagine! But not in just the obvious way of capturing a delicious plate of pasta, for example. Smell is deeply tied to memory, and even though we can’t physically smell that plate of pasta, we can imagine how it smells or instill a memory…take for example, an old Italian Nonna stewing over the stove, stirring away with bowls of fresh tomatoes by her side. I often look to the ingredients to evoke a sense of smell. Perhaps in this pasta example, you capture ripe bowls of tomatoes, pilled high with lots of garlic and herbs on the table. When you're shooting a tablescape or recipe, ask, “How can I capture this dish so the viewer can smell it? What does that smell remind you of?” Maybe you’re making a rose cake; what if you scattered a few petals and flowers around a sliced piece?

Taste

If only we could taste the delicious-looking things, we see in recipe books! Taste is a subtler and trickier thing to evoke, but I return to the human element of the scene. Take a cake on a plate - maybe you take a bite out of the cake? Or the chocolate mousse filling is spilling out of the layers? Or the melted ice cream is dripping down the sides? Is the cake soft and velvety? How can you style it so it shows its luscious texture? Or maybe the cake with a completely empty plate nearly licked clean! Someone clearly enjoyed it! What does this dish taste and feel like? What detail or feeling would enhance that? In food photography specifically, I would start from a tight shot of a detail…a stack of gooey cookies, melted cheese pulled apart, or summer strawberries dipped in cream. Think details when it comes to taste…

Sound

Sound is another hard one to capture, but like the others, it often lies in the subtleties. Depending on your subject, consider the environment you’re in. Is it a busy street or a quiet country meadow? Where are you, and what is specific to that place? Is it the waves crashing in the distance or the birds on the shoreline? How can you include those elements into the frame? I think the best way to incorporate sound into a frame is, well, just to listen and take stock of your surroundings. Close your eyes if you need and really listen. What do those sounds feel like? In food photography, specifically, maybe a photo of the kettle whistling in the distance or the crackle of a croissant being torn. Or a capture of the crisp leaves underfoot? Take notice of the environment, the actions, and the textures in the scene.

Touch

One of the most grounding senses of all touch. And the easiest and simplest way to include it is by adding a human element into a frame. Maybe it’s a hand or someone presenting a dish. Maybe it’s juicy stained fingers from blackberry picking? Another element to consider is textures. Is it smooth, soft, fluffy, creamy, or jagged? What does your subject feel like? If you’re capturing a pillowy bread, maybe you slice it open and showcase the soft, bouncy texture. If you're rolling out pasta, maybe capture the silky, smooth ribbon texture of the strands? Since touch is very much related to texture, I would start with the details and add a human element to ground the scene in real life to further tell your story.