How to Start a Career or Business as a Food Stylist

Food stylists are tasked with making food look picture perfect for magazines, cookbooks, commercials, movies and television shows -- and even for food blogs and websites. As a food stylist, you work closely with professional photographers, lighting specialists, producers and the client. Food stylists prepare dishes and use special ingredients to keep the dishes looking realistic and appetizing throughout photo shoots. If you have a passion for food, skills in the kitchen and an artistic eye, pursue a career as a food stylist.

Instructions

1. Attend a culinary arts school and get educated on food preparation and food styling. Look specifically for programs that offer food styling training, as the combination of food science and food art may differ from a general culinary food program. These courses will provide you with the foundation you need to begin styling.

2. Find a food stylist as a mentor, or get a position as an intern with an experienced food stylist to get more practice. Delores Custer, an international food stylist, notes that the best way to learn food styling is by working with someone who is currently a food stylist.

3. Take photographs of the food you style during classes, internships, apprenticeships or any other practice projects, to begin creating your portfolio. Create a portable portfolio, and an online portfolio, which highlights work you've done for practice and pieces you've had published. Include a small paragraph with each photograph or video that tells potential clients or employers how you contributed to the styling, which props you used, the target audience and the goals of the shoot.

4. Build your food stylist toolkit, filled with tools to assist you on the site of styling projects. It may include tools such as cotton swabs, paint brushes, tweezers, a blowtorch, combs, spritz bottles, pliers, syringes, sponges and scissors. The tools and props you need for each project may differ, but as you meet with clients, you'll get an idea of what you need to make the foods they're shooting look their best.

5. Hire a graphic designer to create marketing materials for your food stylist business. You need a logo that depicts the types of services you offer, a business card template and a letterhead design.

6. Hire a website designer to create an online presence for your food styling business. Your website should outline your food styling education and experience, list previous clients, display a gallery of your work, and provide potential clients or employers with your phone number and email address. You can also use your website as a blog, where you can give a behind-the-scenes look at shots, offer recipes and give food styling tips.

7. Spread the word about your food stylist business by forming relationships with food bloggers, food magazine writers and food photographers. You can pitch stories about food styling tips and advice, and introduce them to your styling talents by sending them your online portfolio.

Tips & Warnings

• Take digital photography classes to get a better idea of how the food you style looks when it's photographed and how lighting and background effects contribute to the overall look.

• Register your food styling business as a legal entity and secure general liability insurance to protect your business from potential litigation.

References

• Culinary Schools: The Art of Food Presentation: Being a Food Stylist
• Cooking Schools: An Interview with Delores Custer, Food Stylist
• Charlotte Creative Loafing: Food & Drink: 3 Questions with Teresa Chelko, Food Stylist