Prop Closet

Digital Family Summit Food Styling & Photography Workshop

Back in October I had the great pleasure of teaching a Food Styling and Photography workshop at the Digital Family Summit in Baltimore. I had a group of 40 enthusiastic teens and tweens and led them through a 2 hour journey of frosting and frolicing as they iced cupcakes, chose color palettes for backgrounds and props and flexed their creativity with their iphone cameras. My Pinterest board "Cupcakes" which has been picking up tons of followers lately set the tone of the workshop and displayed many stylishly photographed examples. Mind you, many of these kids are bloggers already and I'm certain we will start to see their photos improve by the minute. 

Here's a shot from Chloe Gordon of Pop Cosmo. 

The kids had great fun, but I know why they were rushing through the project...the cupcakes looked so scrumptious they couldn't wait to eat them!

Thanks to Laura Franklin of Better In Bulk for her comraderie, frosting recipe and food photography tips.

Garden Party

Butterfly and bird patterns top a rustic table. Photography by David Lazarus. Styling by Robin Zachary.

I Loved Styling this Food Shoot for Wine Spectator

I styled this over a year ago, but it's still one of my favorite shoots. I'm in love with the whitewashed wood, white handmade ceramics and muted blues and gray. It still looks fresh to me. You can read my original post here from when it appeared in Wine Spectator with some behind-the-scenes shots from the shoot. Styling by Robin Zachary. Photography by Jennifer Levy. Food Styling by Jamie King.

Fruity Shades + Healthy Grains for Parents Magazine

I waited so long to see this story and it finally arrived! I actually styled this shoot back in 2011 with photographer Kang Kim for the June 2012 Parent's Magazine. I used a palette of warm, fruity shades—reds, oranges and purples with an occasional pop of yellow—to contrast the neutral tones of the grain-infused meals. My linens and plates were a mix of solids and graphic polka dots and stripes to set a fun, kid-friendly tone. My favorite is the red dotted tissue paper from Container Store lining the vintage wire basket of Popcorn Chicken. Yum! Photography by Kang Kim. Prop Styling by Robin Zachary. Food Styling by Stephana Bottom.

 

Prop Styling for Wine Spectator Magazine Photo Shoot

The September issue of Wine Spectator has hit the newsstand! Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this shoot by photographer Jennifer Lévy at her stunning Brooklyn home. Photo editor Alex De Toth allowed me some freedom with the color palette. She wanted it to look Fall appropriate yet modern and clean. She indicated she liked some of the handmade ceramics I used in another shoot. Lately I had been exploring palettes of grays, blues and white with a pop of tangerine so that is what I went with. Not classically "Fall", but I like a twist on stereotypical seasonal colors. First I selected a wooden tabletop surface from Surface Archive. Todd has a great selection and I couldn't decide! I chose the one pictured in the front but really liked the hue of the one in the back so I planned on using that shade in the linens.

Here are some of the props I rented from Good Light Props.

Here's some vintage flatware and props I rented from Prophaus.

Some props waiting to be used on the side of the set.

A pulled back shot of one of the sets. See how the final shot was taken and used in the actual story shown above.

And my favorite prop of the day, a little tiny vintage spoon paired with a tiny glass bowl for salt.

Here's the final story from Wine Spectator.The shoot ended up sans orange, and as things often go, you think on your feet and new ideas emerge on the set. The food itself had orange tones, so all contrasted nicely off the blues, grays and white. The wine was fantastic and when we wrapped we had a toast to a successful shoot! Editorial photos by Jennifer Lévy, food styling by Jamie King, prop styling by Robin Zachary. All behind the scenes photos by Robin Zachary for Prop Closet.

Featured today on 6 Bittersweets!

I'm so honored to be featured on the blog 6 Bittersweets today. It has been a pleasure getting to know Xiaolu, a lovely blogger, foodie and photographer during the last few months. Xiaolu's love of food, especially baking is infectious with 6 Bittersweets having so many avid followers. Being a teacher, I'm always happy to share my styling tips those who crave creative expression. Great to meet and share with all of you today. Thanks Xiaolu!

Bridal Guide Magazine Tabletop Trends - Crown Jewels

For the last of my 3 pages in Bridal Guide's May/June Registry Report section, I was inspired by the royal happy couple. I chose pieces that were jewel encrusted, hand painted with 14k gold or were just opulent and suitable for a future king and queen. Shown here, formal dining pieces from Royal Crown Derby, Royal Limoges, Prouna (I love their jeweled covered mug and saucer), L'Objet, Lenox, Noritake, Wallace Sterling, Nikko Ceramics, Rosenthal Meets Versace, Kosta Boda and Trump for Rogaska Crystal. Table seating card from Ceci New York, table linens from Kim Seybert.

 Photography by David Lazarus for Bridal Guide Magazine May/June 2011 issue.

Bridal Guide Magazine Tabletop Trends - Modern Impressions

Appearing in the May/June issue of Bridal Guide, the Registry Report section, is this first of three pages I styled and produced. I spent 3 days in the NYC Spring 2011 Tabletop Market back in October visiting showrooms and finding the newest and latest trends in tableware.  Handmade ceramics with embossed texture was one of the big stories along with the launch of Donna Karan Lenox collection.

Pictured here are pieces from Vietri, Michael Wainwright, Sorella Home, Donna Karan Lenox, Sophie Conran and Mikasa. Linens from Kim Seybert, flatware from Reed and Barton and wood slabs from ABC Home. Photography by David Lazarus.

Plate to Page Blog Appearance!

I'm so honored to be part of the Plate to Page blog today! My lovely and talented friend photographer Meeta K. Wolff, who is so esteemed in the food blogging universe asked me to contribute and I couldn't be more thrilled. Since my work covers the range of topics and this blog has had the emphasis on inspiration lately, here's some more of my food prop styling for all of you who might be checking in today. You can also click on the food and drink category to the right. Thanks for stopping by!

Photography by Luciana Pampalone. Styling by Robin Zachary.

Photography by Luciana Pampalone. Styling by Robin Zachary.

Photography by Joseph DeLeo for People Magazine. Prop styling by Robin Zachary. Food styling by Suzette Kaminski.

Photography by Joseph DeLeo for People Magazine. Prop Styling by Robin Zachary. Food stylist Suzette Kaminski.

Valentine's Day Treats at Bis.co.latte

Today I stopped by my favorite Hell's Kitchen cafe, Bis.co.latte and found these adorable (and tasty!) Valentine's Day treats. The heart-shaped brownie is on the left and on the right are the cutest little pink scones.

Stop by and pick some up for your sweetheart and say hello to friendly owners Holly, Antone and Julian. Bis.co.latte is famous for their handmade biscotti in creative flavors, delicious soups, hearty oatmeal and risotto that gets me excited every time I think about it. They are located at 667 Tenth Ave at 47th St. 212-581-3900. Photos by Prop Closet.