Winners of the Student Food Photographer of the Year | Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2021

Here are the enchanting photographs submitted in the Student Food Photographer of the Year category of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2021:

Founded in 2011 by Caroline Kenyon and her team at The Food Awards Company, the contest celebrates the best in food photography and film today. There are 30 unique categories that cover a range of depictions of food in society. The entries are then judged by experts—photographers, magazine editors, creative directors, film directors, food retailers, and chefs. This year, the esteemed panel of jurors included David Loftus, the Chair of Judges, Nicola Galloway, Jussi Brofeldt, and Francis Hodgson, among others. The title winner receives a cash prize of 5000 GBP.

First Winner: Sarah Blandford, United Kingdom

Photorgaph/Sarah Blandford

Beetroots Still Life: The inspiration for my winning image came from my sister and her first attempt at homegrown vegetables. She had an impressive crop and kindly gave me the beetroots to photograph. I placed them in a copper pan on a French antique farmhouse table, positioning it in front of a brown paper background, and used the natural light filtering through in my conservatory to create this image. I wanted to achieve chiaroscuro aesthetics, similar to that of the Dutch Golden Age painters. So, I used my Nikon 85mm f/1.4 lens that rendered a shallow depth of field, bringing out the beautiful colour of the beetroot.

Second Winner: Sarah Cherry, United States of America

Photograph/Sarah Cherry

On Edge: I planned this image around bold, complementary colours and wanted to compose it in a way that matched my eye-catching previsualisation. While the final image appears digitally manipulated, this was not the case. I photographed this in the studio. I had to individually place each raspberry and lime slice as they appear here. It was the genesis of a series based around food presented with bright colours and strong lines.’

Third Winner: Oscar Holgado, United Kingdom

Photograph/Oscar Holgado

Breaking Bread: Bread is available in some form or the other across nearly every culture in the world. So, I decided to turn my attention to the process of making sourdough. Here, Harry was scoring the loaves just before loading them oven. Scoring is a technique where the chef slices the top of the dough, enabling it to expand during baking.