DMBLGIT September 2008 Edition—Meet the Judges

I am so excited to present the judges for the Does My Blog Look Good in This? September 2008 Edition. We have an international panel of judges, with representation from Africa, Canada and the United States including expatriates from France and Britain. Together they bring 11 years of food blogging experience to the panel of judges. Thanks to each one of these superb food artists for being willing to give of their time and expertise.

Everyone in the food blog world knows the amazing and inspiring Béa Peltre, a French expatriate living in Boston, award-winning author of the food blog La Tartine Gourmande and a regular contributor for the Boston Globe Food section and the French magazine Cuisine Light. She has received numerous DMBLGIT awards (I counted seven, but I may have missed some), has been blogging since November 2005, and hosted DMBLGIT in June 2007. Stunning, inspiring, amazing. Her work resonates with passion, and we all love her for that.

"I've learned that attention to detail is important." — Béa

Canon 30D

Sabra, from Cookbook Catchall, is a New York food photographer who has won four DMBLGIT awards and has been nominated for the Inspiring Food Photography Event, which is a monthly poll hosted by Margot from Coffee and Vanilla. Recently, Sabra did a "cook and style" shoot for the New York Times Dining Section. Her interviews and behind-the-scenes posts with famous photographers (Judd Pilossof and last week with Paul Lowe) are captivating as well. She hosted DMBLGIT in March 2008 and has been blogging since June 2006.

"Study light. If it’s natural light you use, for example, learn about the different qualities of light at different times of day, and in different areas of your studio. Learn how to manipulate the light to control it by diffusing, reflecting it, or changing the angle of it relative to your setup, etc. Light is the hardest thing to learn but has the greatest impact on the image." — Sabra

Nikon D80

Matt, from wrightfood, is a British expatriate living in Seattle who has a passion for good clean food, especially seafood. He won the first place DMBLGIT award in June 2008 for his beautiful photo of Halibut, saffron-mussel liquor velouté, fava beans, watercress and fresh peas. He's even written a cookbook and has been blogging since June 2007.

"Really, really think about plating. Arrange food so that it looks very presentable - even if it means making your portions much smaller than you would normally eat - just for the photo. When you are done, pile your plate high if you wish!" — Matt

Canon 10D

Hannah, from BitterSweet, is the author of the book My Sweet Vegan, which is an amazing collection of original recipes. Hannah began experimenting in the kitchen at a very young age, was one of six finalists for the Budget Recipe Challenge, and winner of the Food Blog Awards in 2007 and the Veg Bloggy Awards in 2008. Recently, she published a post about her food photography class with Lou Manna (who helped judge March 2008 DMBLGIT with Sabra). She is an inspiration who has been blogging since February 2006.

"You should never give up on a shot until you love it. Settings can be rearranged, lighting can be adjusted, food can be restyled or remade if needed, and with a bit of work, any sort of dish can be photographed beautifully." — Hannah

Canon Digital Rebel XTi

Kate, from Aapplemint, wowed all of us last month with her stunning Honey In a Spoon photo. She lives in Ghana, West Africa, but has travelled and blogged about Hong Kong, Mumbai, China and Ethiopia. She has been nominated for the Blogger's Choice Awards 2008 in the "Best Food Blog" category and is described as having "a passion and panache for beautiful food." She has been blogging since January 2007.

"Always try and visualize what your final shot will look like. Carefully think of every detail beforehand. The kind of props you will use, the background, the composition. Then when ready, make sure you have ample light and the food is fresh. Remember, food should be clicked as if you were about to eat it right away. It makes them more appealing and mouth watering. Don't just take a shot, until you are convinced that the photo has made your taste buds tingle!" — Kate

Canon 400D

I will be providing some input on the judging front as well. Keep those submissions coming! Entries must be received by September 30, 2008 [tomorrow] at midnight EST (U.S.)

~Shari