Author Topic: How McDonald's uses Photoshop to touch up their menu burgers (Read 21324 times)

peresanz · « **on:** June 21, 2012, 05:05 »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9345821/How-McDonalds-uses-Photoshop-to-touch-up-their-menu-burgers.html

And the 'behind the scenes' video:


Behind the scenes at a McDonald's photo shoot

wut · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2012, 05:18 »

They're very straightforward about it, I like that.

Wish I could say the same about the ingredients though

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #2 on:** June 21, 2012, 06:26 »

Thanks!

gostwyck · « **Reply #3 on:** June 21, 2012, 06:36 »

I'm shocked. They'll be telling us next that celebrities use make-up, stylists and PS to enhance their appearance. I don't think so!

Thanks for the link.

ShadySue · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2012, 06:40 »

Is this legal now?

I think consumer protection laws are getting lax these days. Quite a while back (in film days) there was a fuss about a fish finger company making special 10% bigger versions of their product for photography.
I boycott McDonalds anyway, so it won't make any difference - to me or to them

cathyslife · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2012, 07:47 »

I'm a little suspicious of their reasoning as to why the bun is bigger in the shoot than what you get when you buy. I've gotten sandwiches in containers where the bun was bigger and plumper, so I don't think it's the steam making the difference. When they show them side by side, the bottom part of the studio bun looks fatter than the bought one. Almost like they used two tops? But granted, studios get the best of the batch when it comes to food photography.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 21, 2012, 09:13 »

have seen this a couple of days ago on https://www.facebook.com/petapixelcom

pretty cool stuff always around there

gostwyck · « **Reply #7 on:** June 21, 2012, 09:23 »

Quote from: cclapper on June 21, 2012, 07:47

I'm a little suspicious of their reasoning as to why the bun is bigger in the shoot than what you get when you buy. I've gotten sandwiches in containers where the bun was bigger and plumper, so I don't think it's the steam making the difference. When they show them side by side, the bottom part of the studio bun looks fatter than the bought one. Almost like they used two tops? But granted, studios get the best of the batch when it comes to food photography.

Although they say they are using the same buns, patties, etc they didn't say they used them in the same way or in the same quantity. Yes, using two buns, sliced so as to have a really thick top half and an equally thick bottom, is common practice in food photography. They didn't say that there were several cocktail sticks, out of camera view, inside the burger holding the components in place either ... but I'll bet that there were.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #8 on:** June 21, 2012, 09:39 »

It's a nice behind the scenes video - thanks. Wouldn't persuade me to eat their food though

djpadavona · « **Reply #9 on:** June 21, 2012, 14:24 »

Nice video, thanks!

But until Photoshop can remove gmo's, and massive amounts of saturated fat from the real product, I think I will stay away from the golden arches.

Graffoto · « **Reply #10 on:** June 21, 2012, 14:59 »

Really no surprises here.
Just read any good book on food photography and you will see these tricks plus many more.
Milk looks blue in photographs. Elmers's glue looks better.
I'm also betting that everyone knows the ice cream one sees in the movies is actually mashed potatoes. Real ice cream melts too fast.

I did get a bit of a kick watching them melt the cheese just so. That was cool.

BTW, I haven't eaten at a McDonalds in years. The last couplel of times that I tried I felt queezy for several hour after I ate.
I don't know what it is in their food, but whatever it is, my body does not like it.

On a slightly different note; In Indonesia Micky D's serves fried chicken that puts anything KFC has to shame.
Why they don't do that here in the US is a mystery to me.

cardmaverick · « **Reply #11 on:** June 21, 2012, 21:03 »

I'll bet you money that the meat patty is brushed with either corn syrup or some kind of thick oil. I've been shooting food for a food company for months now.... There's now way on earth that burger is totally edible, or at the very least, exactly the same as what your sold. I hate eating anything with corn syrup... but it's the best food glaze around for things like meat, even does a great job faking sprayed water drops on things like garnishes. Once it's on, it'll keep a moist wet look for.... days.

rimglow · « **Reply #12 on:** June 21, 2012, 21:08 »

Lots of good tips in this thread!

antistock · « **Reply #13 on:** June 21, 2012, 22:22 »

Quote from: cardmaverick on June 21, 2012, 21:03

I'll bet you money that the meat patty is brushed with either corn syrup or some kind of thick oil. I've been shooting food for a food company for months now.... There's now way on earth that burger is totally edible, or at the very least, exactly the same as what your sold. I hate eating anything with corn syrup... but it's the best food glaze around for things like meat, even does a great job faking sprayed water drops on things like garnishes. Once it's on, it'll keep a moist wet look for.... days.

notice also the dark background in the mcdonalds photos to give a better prominance to the burger.
the yellow of the cheese carefully saturated...

actually i cooked a burger yesterday and it looked very good and juicy but it only lasted a few minutes, i'm not surprised they use sprayed oil or syrups to keep the meat looking fresh out of a grill.

by the way, are mcdonalds patties grilled on a pan or just defrosted and microwaved ?

PeterChigmaroff · « **Reply #14 on:** June 21, 2012, 22:39 »

Too bad you can't use the clone tool to clean up those arteries.

Graffoto · « **Reply #15 on:** June 22, 2012, 00:25 »

^^^^^
How about the healing brush then?

alfonsodetomas · « **Reply #16 on:** June 22, 2012, 01:08 »

Another video (old):


Why Burger Looks so good at the Picture

cardmaverick · « **Reply #17 on:** June 22, 2012, 02:11 »

Glue for milk is really old school and really fake looking. Use white tempera paint and cut it with a little bit of water. The consistency is way more correct and you can get better looking milf like froth.

gillian vann · « **Reply #18 on:** June 22, 2012, 20:27 »

this needs to be shown to magazine editors, restaurant owners and other non-photographers, so they can see how long it takes to make a truly professional food image. The magazine I work for expect this type of result, but of course think it only take 5mins to snap a pic.

Mantis · « **Reply #19 on:** June 22, 2012, 20:32 »

Quote from: jsnover on June 21, 2012, 09:39

It's a nice behind the scenes video - thanks. Wouldn't persuade me to eat their food though

Exactly.

cardmaverick · « **Reply #20 on:** June 23, 2012, 01:22 »

Quote from: vannphoto on June 22, 2012, 20:27

this needs to be shown to magazine editors, restaurant owners and other non-photographers, so they can see how long it takes to make a truly professional food image. The magazine I work for expect this type of result, but of course think it only take 5mins to snap a pic.

LOL. I totally know what your talking about. I've spent 6 hours on just one shot.

ruxpriencdiam · « **Reply #21 on:** June 24, 2012, 19:19 »

If you are shooting food in the US it must be real and nothing fake the Law requires it.

And i have never seen a Quarter Pounder that looked as big as the one in the video except for maybe some thirty years ago.

Today when you get a burger of any kind from Micky D's you get a miniature patty with a huge bun usually twice the size of the patty and i ask why it isn't considered false advertising after all it isn't what you see on TV so it is false advertising of a product that they don't really have or serve.

RacePhoto · « **Reply #22 on:** June 27, 2012, 12:41 »

A hamburger is a hamburger, whether you cook it at home or it comes from a restaurant or McDonald's. There sure is a bunch of big chain hate. What I mean is, if you eat meat at home or you got to a restaurant or Mickey D's. It's still a piece of fried ground COW! I know the ooh and aahs about free range chicken are out there too. Hey guess what, a chicken is a chicken! Mickey D's probably double inspects the meat and it's watched closer than what we buy at a grocery store, because chain places have deep pockets and if someone gets sick, they get their butts sued. Your corner butcher doesn't have the same litigation risks.

Now about that burger looking bigger. I don't know if people were paying attention, but they didn't cook it, they just seared the edges. Less shrinkage. The toothpicks trick was a good one too. I loved the way they sculpted the catchup and mustard using plastic syringes. Selected the best parts from stock supplies and didn't wrap it in paper, didn't pat it down. Yes, it's going to be taller and fluffier.

BUT it's the real ingredients, just handled with care, not some fraud.

Learned something about dressing and shooting. Good educational video.

Here's one of mine. It's originally Burger King, Whopper Junior and a double cheese burger, assembled into a generic triple cheese burger (no name of course) for SS. Mostly one of those, "I'm bored, maybe I can shoot a burger and eat it..." things. I got the plate at Goodwill, small to make the food big. (49 cents) Now I need to re-shoot with better lettuce and properly placed catchup and mustard.

I honestly don't like the lettuce squares that are like green hash. I'll probably buy a side salad at McDonald's for the trimmings. Square lettuce sucks.

Triple burger with lettuce and cheese. http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/111418/98392703/stock-photo-triple-cheeseburger-with-lettuce-tomato-pickle-on-sesame-bun-isolated-on-white-98392703.jpg

ruxpriencdiam · « **Reply #23 on:** June 28, 2012, 09:06 »

Quote from: RacePhoto on June 27, 2012, 12:41

A hamburger is a hamburger, whether you cook it at home or it comes from a restaurant or McDonald's. There sure is a bunch of big chain hate. What I mean is, if you eat meat at home or you got to a restaurant or Mickey D's. It's still a piece of fried ground COW! I know the ooh and aahs about free range chicken are out there too. Hey guess what, a chicken is a chicken! Mickey D's probably double inspects the meat and it's watched closer than what we buy at a grocery store, because chain places have deep pockets and if someone gets sick, they get their butts sued. Your corner butcher doesn't have the same litigation risks.

Now about that burger looking bigger. I don't know if people were paying attention, but they didn't cook it, they just seared the edges. Less shrinkage. The toothpicks trick was a good one too. I loved the way they sculpted the catchup and mustard using plastic syringes. Selected the best parts from stock supplies and didn't wrap it in paper, didn't pat it down. Yes, it's going to be taller and fluffier.

BUT it's the real ingredients, just handled with care, not some fraud.

Learned something about dressing and shooting. Good educational video.

Here's one of mine. It's originally Burger King, Whopper Junior and a double cheese burger, assembled into a generic triple cheese burger (no name of course) for SS. Mostly one of those, "I'm bored, maybe I can shoot a burger and eat it..." things. I got the plate at Goodwill, small to make the food big. (49 cents) Now I need to re-shoot with better lettuce and properly placed catchup and mustard. I honestly don't like the lettuce squares that are like green hash. I'll probably buy a side salad at McDonald's for the trimmings. Square lettuce sucks.

Triple burger with lettuce and cheese. http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/111418/98392703/stock-photo-triple-cheeseburger-with-lettuce-tomato-pickle-on-sesame-bun-isolated-on-white-98392703.jpg

Food is food.

There are all kinds of scare tactics out there and they always change every day month and year.

One day eggs cause cancer next it is bacon another day it is red meat then they change it to pork and so on and so on.

You could go outside and be killed in a car, bus, train, or plane accident in a matter of minutes and yet everyone worries about what a little fast food will do to them.

Did i ever tell you about a friend i worked with who was a health nut? I always told him he could be killed in a car accident and to eat the good stuff while he could so one day on his vacation on the way back he was tired so he let his Wife drive while he slept and guess what? Yep she fell asleep at 75mph and ran into the back and under a tractor trailer.

Then there is the man and wife who bought a brand new car and pulled out of the dealership to get slammed by another car seriously wounding and hospitalizing both of them.

So why worry about a little fast food?

Man i can eat the whole cow and not gain a pound while someone else could look at the cow and gain ten pounds, it is all about our bodies and how different they are from person to person.

My aunt has been smoking since she was in her teens and she is now almost 100 years old and about ten years ago the Doctor told her she needed to quit smoking because those things were going to kill her so she quit and she is still alive and doing fine other then having Alzheimer's, she has no cancer at all yet someone else who had been smoking for a few years will get cancer! Go figure.

So go out and get a big fat juicy slobbery heart attack on a bun and enjoy it while you can because one day you wont be able to and there's a place called Whataburger that has some killer burgers btw.

RacePhoto · « **Reply #24 on:** June 28, 2012, 15:48 »

Nothing wrong with eating healthful foods and watching ones diet, what I get tired of is the characterization that a burger at McDonald's (or Burger King, or Hardies, or...) is any different from going to the store buying a big package ground meat and some buns and frying it it at home. Somehow the food at the evil corporation is different. And they are accused of encouraging kids to eat "bad" meals. Hey Mom, if you take your kids to that place, don't blame the store for selling you things! Blame the parents.

I can go to the grocery store and buy bacon and eggs and cook it in lard, dip bread in that grease and go plug up my arteries. Does anyone from the food police and the people who want to legislate and dictate our diet, go to grocery stores and demand that chocolate jelly donuts be removed from the shelves? Maybe we will need to get on a scale some day, to see if we are eligible to buy meat. (or wheat or carbs, depending on the latest foolish fad diet)

Then, why do they have soda machines removed from schools? Replace candy machines with fruit machines. Candy and soda pop has become contraband?

Why do they want to complain and regulate what a fast food restaurant serves? Now in New York they want to regulate how big of a cup of soft drink the quick marts, theaters and places can sell.

My point is, education and self responsibility. Not legal barriers, bans and stupid regulations.

So the food artists, take the real ingredients and stack it up, with pride and extreme care. It makes things look attractive so people will buy their product. It's a business. It appears that some people are against business, unless it's their own creative artist business, then suddenly their viewpoint changes? Seems quite odd and a contradiction.

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: How McDonald's uses Photoshop to touch up their menu burgers (Read 21324 times)

peresanz

wut

Sean Locke Photography

gostwyck

ShadySue

cathyslife

luissantos84

gostwyck

Jo Ann Snover

djpadavona

Graffoto

cardmaverick

rimglow

antistock

PeterChigmaroff

Graffoto

alfonsodetomas

cardmaverick

gillian vann

Mantis

cardmaverick

ruxpriencdiam

RacePhoto

ruxpriencdiam

RacePhoto

Related Topics

Sponsors

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors