Interview with Jason Lowe, Food Photographer

Daylight was pulling away from the studio fast. Dusk seems to be the least logical time of the day to begin taking pictures, "but what people don't know is that this is one of the best times for photographs," said natural light food photographer Jason Lowe. "You have to work really fast though," he added with impish smile to his assistant.


Even after more than a decade in this elusive and demanding industry we know simply as 'food photography', Jason's passion is blatant: "I love food. I love to eat, I love it as a subject. I love to be involved and inspired." The fervour shows in his pictures.

Jason did not start out as a food photographer. The thought hadn't even occured to him. He wanted to be an actor, though it's not difficult to imagine him as one - he has the essential qualities: his face is remarkably expressive, his voice sonorous yet malleable and meaningful, and his presence commands a room.

Fortunately photography fell into place faster than an acting gig: after a short stint at a film processing shop, he was offered a position as a photographer's assistant. Jason took it.

"The photographer was a lighting technical genius", recalls Jason fondly. "I am able to pick up on the way the light falls because I spent five years in a basement, lighting sets." That, incidentally, is also why he settled on becoming a natural light photographer: "I don't ever want to be in a black hole again."

As he consciously sidestepped black holes he began to find himself deeper and deeper in the world of food. It was natural - his love of food was the gravitational pull, and the people he met along the way further cemented that pull. "I love working with people who are hardworking, dedicated and fun-loving". All these aspects came together nicely in the food terrior. "I am a cantakerous old cart who sticks my nose into other people's business. My job lets me do all at once."

Years down the road, Jason is still doing what he started doing: he works with industry heavyweights like Simon Hopkinson, Mark Hix and Fergus Henderson - well-established names whose passions rival his. But he is not well-known for simply collaborating with these champions, it is his signature photography style that draws many to him.


His pictures bring out the earnest, bare-bones qualities of his subjects. His subjects are not perfect - not in the stylists' sense of the word - but they're the real deal, done deliberately so: he uses all authentic ingredients, has the dishes cooked according to the recipes and immediately before the shots, and mostly styles his own pictures. The tweezer is only called upon every now and then, and until recently, this 44-year-old was a purist to film.

"There is a beauty in film that doesn't translate into digital at all. To me they are separate media. The Luddite in me, because of my age and my love of film, I hold on to that. Film is an old thing; I like things that are made, built with care and precision. Digital photography leapfrogs to the precise, which can make it an immensely difficult medium."

In spite of it being a difficult medium, Jason has adapted well - a good proportion of his work is done digitally now, and the adjustment period seems to have been minimal. He has clearly come to an understanding with digital photography: "I appreciate the new evolution of people who find it deeply fascinating and extraordinary. I'm learning new things about it every day."

While Jason may still be learning, he is not fussed about quickly becoming proficient in all of digital photography's aspects. He is aware that he is a photographer who likes to be taking photographs, not one who likes to be in the darkroom or fiddling on Photoshop. On that note you won't find him formulating HTML for his newly launched website, www.jasonlowe.eu.


Nonetheless he seems to be keeping up with technology, and at a good pace. Like the digital camera, the website became a necessary tool, especially for a full-time freelancer like him. He does find the concept of self-marketing strange however, and expects little from the website "only because the only marketing I ever did for myself was an unmitigated failure".

But ask him where he thinks the website is going to take him and he will reply with forward-looking uncertainty: "We're in an interesting time. It is a hard [economic] time, but I like hard times like these because it makes you put things in perspective, re-evaluate. I've been riding the wave, it's been exhilarating and fantastic. Now the wave starts to fold, but I'm excited. I feel re-invigorated because this is when real stuff stays and the frou-frou goes."

So how does Jason put things in perspective, sift out the real stuff from the frou-frou, re-invigorate? "Eat a lot, play a lot, go out a lot and take a lot of photographs. Take pictures of things that inspire you, that make you laugh." He does not believe in spending too much time in thinking about taking them.

Whether you're a budding photographer or an old hat like him, it is important to "get as much experience from people that inspire you, define what it is about them that inspire you, and redefine it for yourself."

Passion-driven as he may be, his advice is entirely logical - passion, practice and perspective can make a good photographer, but it takes distinct frame of mind and interpretation to stand out and survive in this career. As quick as this assistant can move, dusk, it seems, can only last for so long.

To see more of Jason's photographs, go to www.jasonlowe.eu.

Writing © Celine Asril | Images © Jason Lowe