StockFood has launched
StockFood Studios, an innovative production service for food photography. The Munich-based food experts, whose international brand is synonymous with professional food photography, are expanding their portfolio to include commissioned productions. The website www.stockfoodstudios.com offers this new service.
StockFood customers can not only license images, videos, and recipes from the food image collection for their projects, but they can also have tailor-made production shots carried out. The highlight: Instead of having its own production facilities, the agency offers in-depth advice and commission the most suitable producer for each project. Customers of StockFood Studios benefit not only from the professional advice but from the wholesale prices of the Munich food experts as well.
StockFood Managing Director Martin Skultety explains the challenges: "Food photography is a highly complex field. Not for nothing is it considered the supreme discipline. Food photography requires efficient teamwork and a perfect combination of aesthetics, light, and timing. Some motifs are more bitchy than any supermodel. It can take hours until the setup finally fits, but only a few seconds until the whipped cream runs away under the studio lights..." Many customers have had painful experiences with food production or have been surprised by high additional costs. "In Germany alone, there are hundreds of food photographers, many of whom focus on special disciplines such as beverages or products. With our decades of expertise, we offer guidance and guarantee optimal results. And all this at real fixed prices, which are agreed before each project is carried out," says Skultety, stressing the main advantages of the new service.
The operational management of StockFood Studios is in the hands of Anna Spiegler. The experienced, long-standing manager of a renowned food studio has built up the production service at StockFood. Anna Spiegler's team is the control center for all productions. Food photos and food videos are not the only services commissioned through the Studio. They can also develop recipes to fit the respective project upon customer request. Spiegler sees this as an advantageous comprehensive service: "We offer our customers an honest, all-round, carefree package. The client articulates their wishes and we organize and implement them. For some productions, we advise and work alongside the customers in the background, but in most cases, the customer entrusts us to handle the complete execution."
StockFood Studios draws on the huge network of photographers and food specialists that StockFood has developed over decades. StockFood currently works regularly with more than 1,500 food photographers from 55 countries. "We know each of our photographers and know exactly who is suitable for production and who can authentically implement a certain visual language. If necessary, we also have the appropriate food stylists and recipe authors at hand. Choosing the right photo studio is crucial for success. Many customers want daylight shots without knowing the local conditions. The equipment of the studio, such as an extensive fundus or a garden for outdoor shots, can also play a major role in the decision-making process. The photographer is not the only one who is happy about an air-conditioned studio in midsummer, the chocolate icing is too", Spiegler remarks with a wink.
The flexibility of the new production service is a significant advantage for StockFood Studios. They are not tied to any particular location, fixed framework conditions, or production facilities. "Our photographs and videos are of such high quality because they can be produced without compromise. If necessary, we buy all the ingredients locally and prepare the dishes with a local food stylist in the typical way of the country." The comprehensive production service of StockFood Studios has numerous other advantages for customers: "Our clients have no worries. They don't have to be concerned with finding a photographer or tedious details such as fees and contract negotiations. And if you have to organize fresh strawberries in January, we'll take care of that," explains Anna Spiegler.
If a customer is in the beginning phases of a project and has little experience with food production, we are happy to assist them. "We ask all the relevant questions and find out in a personal conversation what the customer’s expectations are. Then we assist them in all the decisions they have to make.” An unbeatable advantage is that the customer can always fall back on the comprehensive collection and expertise of the StockFood photo agency. "Regardless of whether it's a single image or serial production, a small budget or unusual recipe requests- at the end of the day, we deliver our customers their desired result” promises Spiegler.
The brand new website
www.stockfoodstudios.com shows the first projects that have been successfully implemented by StockFood Studios since its launch. Clients are publishing houses, editorial offices, and agencies, as well as food companies and kitchen appliance manufacturers, according to Spiegler. Meanwhile, new inquiries arrive daily. Even customers outside of Europe have already shown interest.
Martin Skultety, Managing Director of StockFood, is also pleased that there is no lack of demand. Currently, the StockFood Studios team is in charge of five book projects on very different topics: "Of course, we are pleased about the excellent response to StockFood Studios. This shows us that it was the right decision to add this new service to our product range".
In addition to the food image agency, the Munich-based company also operates other specialist photo agencies on the German market. These include the agency living4media with its focus on home and living, the agency Science Photo Library with its focus on medicine and science, the garden photo agency Friedrich Strauss, and its most recent addition in 2019, the travel photo agency lookphotos.