Focus is More Than a Camera Setting
- Kathleen Ballard
- Feb 4
- 2 min read
When photographing food, focus starts long before the camera is in hand. It begins with choosing the right subject. Are we capturing ingredients or a meal? Is the story about a restaurant or how a recipe came to be? Is the intended audience a wholesale buyer of food ingredients or two people on a date? The first point of focus is understanding the audience, the character of the subject, and creating an environment that lets the food speak for itself.
My recent strawberry shoot was a clear reminder that strong food photography is built on focused intention as much as photography technique.
For this session, I was inspired by beautifully ripe strawberries, hand-picked at The Berry Farm. This third-generation farm is well-known not only for their produce but for the stories they create at their events and festivals, so I wanted to be sure I brought the same emotion to the studio setting.
The deep red color, natural sheen, and fresh texture made the strawberries an ideal subject. They were quite literally perfect. Nothing about the fruit needed to be altered or enhanced, so my goal was to photograph the strawberries exactly as they appeared, capturing their freshness in a way that felt as honest and perfect as the sweetness they deliver in a bite.
To support that vision, I collaborated with world-renowned Miami-based food stylist Kimberly Tabor. Her expert styling remained restrained and purposeful, completely focused on complementing the strawberries rather than allowing anything to compete with them. With two large containers of berries to work from, the session moved between generous group compositions and images centered on a single, perfectly-shaped berry.
To preserve the strawberries’ natural surface, we chose not to wash them. This kept their texture intact and avoided the dullness that moisture can introduce under studio lighting. As the shoot progressed, subtle elements were added for visual interest. A light dusting of confectioners’ sugar softened the surface. Chocolate sauce introduced contrast. The session concluded with a final image of a solo strawberry finished with warm chocolate fudge, highlighting form, texture, and richness. Just in time for Valentine's Day!
Lighting was intentionally simple. A Profoto three-foot softbox was placed to the side and slightly behind the table, creating gentle highlights and natural shadow falloff. A white reflector on the opposite side balanced the light without flattening the image, keeping attention focused where it belonged.
Images were captured using a Nikon D5. A 24–70mm lens allowed for wider compositions, while a 105mm macro lens was used for close-up details that emphasized texture and structure. This combination made it possible to tell a complete visual story, from abundance to intimacy.
For a Miami food photographer, focus means understanding the ingredient first, then using the camera to support that story rather than distract from it. When sourcing, styling, lighting, and lens choices align with that mindset, the result feels natural and appetizing.
All in all, it was a delicious and genuinely enjoyable day behind the camera—and a reminder that focus, when applied with intention, shapes every part of the final image.
