Double Dipped Fried Chicken is my mom's recipe that she's been making 15+ years. She lets us request our birthday dinner (still while in sitting at a ripe 29 years old). For my most recent birthday I requested the usual, double dipped fried chicken (and a skillet chocolate chip cookie). It is crunchy, crispy and juicy - and the flavor is amazing. I thought it would be great for food styling and photography too!
Double Dipped Fried Chicken - Food Styling
When I was first envisioning the photoshoot for the Double Dipped Fried Chicken I knew I wanted to highlight the crunchy exterior texture, with trendy take to add a little something special. I also wanted to do a homey touch since it's a generational recipe and it would add great variation for my mom to use in her website and cookbook.
To show off the crunchy exterior I wanted to show as much surface area as I could but I wanted something more fun and visually appealing than just a plate. I thought it would look really cool to stack the chicken in a tower so you could see all the crunchy grooves of the chicken pieces. Then I had to figure out how to get them to stay stacked. With a little out of the box thinking I figured out to take a candy thermometer with the gauge faced down and used it like a skewer. I knew I would need something with some surface area on the bottom to help keep it upright. Either that or I would have to prop it up in the back. I tried the thermometer and it worked like a charm! For a paid professional shoot I would probably opt to cover the base of the thermometer in pictures but I didn't mind it in these! I was playing around with adding another piece of chicken to the plate but it felt too cluttered. Then I thought I could erase it in editing - but when I went to edit I decided to keep it.
Once I had the chicken stacked nicely it was time for the trendy touch - hot honey drizzle. Hot honey drizzle is having a moment and it is both tasty and visually stunning. So we took a spoon full of honey and drizzled it over top. Then for an extra pop of color and texture we sprinkled the red pepper flakes on top. The red pepper flakes are a nice nod to the hot honey and a sneak peak at the batter recipe!
Then we moved on to a different style. I always ask for my mom's biscuits when I ask for double dipped fried chicken which was the perfect addition to make a homey plate. I wanted to use a basket to try and keep it more casual and rustic. Then I had a piece of fabric with the black and white buffalo check which I thought was a perfect fit. We nestled in the biscuits with some nice crispy chicken strips and took some pictures with and without the recipe cutting board. I wanted to give my mom some variation for her business and for a nice personal keepsake. She gifted me the cutting board with the recipe on it for Christmas so I thought this would be a great full circle moment for styling. Nothing says love like mom's homemade fried chicken and a recipe passed down!
For back drops I kept it really simple this round. I'm finding simple is underrated when it comes to food styling and photography. I wanted the chicken to pop and its brown and on the darker side. So I thought he white backdrop would be nice contrast, especially for that honey drizzle. Then for the homey shoot I wanted to keep it simple but familiar, like it's on your table at home.
Double Dipped Fried Chicken Food Photography
As far as the photography side of things this time around, I had a lot of fun. The stacked chicken with the honey drizzle looked so beautiful and playful - exactly what we were going for. I wanted to make sure the chicken would stand out so the white backdrop (which is just a white wall) was perfect. Then we had a black wooden plate. I didn't want any color to compete with the food or throw a hue/tint. As Lisa, my mom, held the spoon over the chicken to create a steady drizzle I adjusted for lighting. I opted for natural lighting because of the time of day at the studio. So I kept moving around the subject to find the lighting that would make it look like the honey has a slight glow to it.
It's important to keep in mind the quantity of food you have available to you as you're photographing. Sometimes we only have enough food to get us through one styling idea. The honey for example dripped down four pieces of chicken so I knew I had to be fast and accurate while I was shooting. We can get creative and hide the honey for different stylings but I like to pretend the pressure is on to prepare for the real deal. I wanted to take a burst of photos so I could make a progression video for youtube and Instagram. So once I found some nice lighting I went to town! I helped instruct my mom on where to position the honey drizzle so that it could capture the most light. Then we added some red pepper flakes to the honey covered spoon so it would stick and show the texture. Then we sprinkled it over the top where we drizzled the honey and I adjusted my camera settings to have a slightly fast shutter speed to catch the movement. A faster shutter speed allows in less light so you might need to adjust your lighting as well.
Then we moved onto the homey set which came together really quickly - I mean like 20 minutes tops really quickly. We had all the props ready and the natural light was doing its magic. So I moved the cutting board around, moved the chicken basket around and found the angles I liked the most. What's different about food photography is you're shooting for quality over quantity for the most part. So I've been focusing on taking a picture, reviewing and adapting. It definitely allows for more creativity and critical thinking which I really enjoy!
Props I used:
- The container I used for the chicken basket is right on amazon.
- The Sigma macro lens that I used for every picture in this session.
- I was using my Sony A7IV, per usual.
- The round brown table is from Home Goods - sorryyy.
- The Buffalo check is from JoAnns... also sorryyyy. Here's one similar!
When it came time to edit I really made sure to keep it true to color, pull out as much texture as I could and made sure the lighting stayed balanced. Nothing too washed out so those crispy details could shine. I use Lightroom to do most of my edits.
This food photography and styling incorporating double dipped fried chicken, hot honey drizzle, red pepper flakes and biscuits is one of my favorites so far! Maybe it's just because I'm emotionally attached to the recipe but I truly think the photos came out great.
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