On Browns
Another color story photo essay!
Hello and welcome to the Friday UnRecipe post for all subscribers! Today, we’re featuring another photo essay featuring tones of the color brown. Next Friday, we’re diving into blues! As always, thanks for being here. You can learn more about my work on my newly updated portfolio!
Ah, brown. This poor color gets a bad rap in the food photography world. Would you believe me if I told you that there are probably close to 100 online course modules focused on coaching food photographers through capturing foods in this difficult color? It brings to mind meatloaf, stews, and all manner of beef-related food items that fill any photographer with dread.
But I love exploring the color brown because it has a secret. The secret is that it’s not really brown—it’s just shades of oranges, reds, yellows, and sometimes greens that meld together to create something unexpected.
The story behind these photos is focused on expressing and celebrating that range. Terracotta pots, an aged notice board dried in the sun, and the deeply shadowed paneling of a long-forgotten library may not seem like magical scenes to capture. Really, they’re straight up mundane. But when you lean into the browns and put these photos side by side, you can see the startling differences between the hues become more pronounced.
A dried leaf looks more like khaki tan than just plain brown. The buffed surface of an old mirror casts a light gold hue over the room instead of painting it a drab, plain brown. The shelves and the books in the old library cast a deep maroon shadow instead of just plain brown.
Make sure to click on these photos in the Substack app or on the Substack site to see them in full crop! Which shade of brown is your favorite?
See you back here next week!