The Scotch Egg Hustle
When I received a message from one of my clients. He needed a great picture of a Scotch Egg. We had 24hrs, time to hustle.
These are the moments all our experience comes into its own. My initial answer to this kind of request from a client is always yes! We took a look at the day’s shoot schedule and we’d be able to fit it in. Now, how to make this happen and make it good.
We were just about to start shooting for Salted Mint when the message came through. A quick call to a deli on the other side of town and two Scotch Eggs were held for us. Me and my trusty sidekick Tundra, piled in the car and headed across town. Just as we arrived a car was just pulling out of the spot, directly in front of the deli. Five minutes later we were zipping back across town to get back to the shoot.
The 3 dishes for Wilde Orchard were created, styled and shot by early afternoon. Now for the Scotch Egg. We needed a shot of the Scotch Egg cut open. I had a quick brows on Pinterest to get styling ideas flowing, created a board and went from there. It had to be simple but with impact and I’d like to bring a rustic/pub feel to the image.
I had two Scotch Eggs and I liked the idea of having one whole and the 2nd cut in half. We cut one in half and it wasn’t really what we wanted. They obviously weren’t fresh as the egg was loose in the sausage meat casing. Deb says it’s when the meat shrinks and contracts away from the egg. It just wasn’t going to do. Back in the car and off to buy large eggs to replace the sad looking ones we’d just discovered.
A six-minute boiled egg was going to be just the ticket. Hard-boiled but with a runny yolk. I styled the shoot using
- a black skillet
- a bit of textile
- a £10 wooden tray from Home Sense
- a nice spoon with mustard nestled in a small Sytch Farm bowl
We cut the newly boiled egg in half and quickly inserted it into the Scotch Egg. As the yoke ran out of the egg it looked way better, more like it would be if you ordered one fresh at a nice pub. Even I thought it looked nice and I don’t eat eggs unless they’re in cake 😉
Only a couple of shots were needed. Top-down and at an angle. With mustard bowl and without. Using the edge of window light and flagging the light off the rear part of the shot, darkening it quite a bit, bringing the focus to the food.
The edit
I didn’t do anything too extraordinary in Lightroom. The blacks probably had the biggest punch, bringing down the overall look of the tray. Here’s what the Basic panel looked like after the edit.
I then used the Radial tool, one of the most used for me, to darken the areas around the bowl just a touch, with a combination of a bit of Exposure and Blacks.
That was it, done!
There you have it. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile to give your customers the service they trust you to provide. I pride myself on being able to deliver what they need no matter what the deadline and to a very high standard. Little extra jobs like this actually make me happy because I get the opportunity to shine.
If there are any questions or you don’t understand something, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
See you soon
