How to make a handy tool box for your food styling .

I went to a foodies conference last year and I attended a food photography session.The session was all about how to style your food, how to present it and how to colour coordinate it using accessories, napkins and props.

One of the best pieces of advise that was given was to create a tool box for food photography.In this tool box you can place all sorts of handy things that you can use to help with your food styling.
To create your own food styling tool box you will need a Tupperware or cardboard shoe box with a lid.You will need to collect the following items and add them to the box:

• Tweezers- these are for placing ingredients and or garnishes in specific position on your food so that they are in the exact place.
• Cotton buds – these are perfect when you want to mop up a splash or droplets on a plate or side of soup bowl.
• Kitchen Foil – This is perfect if you want to fill up any cavities at the bottom of a bowl and place food on top.All you need to do is scrunch it in balls and place it in the bottom of the bowl ad place food on top.Scrunched up foil is also ideal to prop up cookies on plates.
• Loose coins- These are perfect to slide under plates, cups, bowls if you have a little slant to raise the area that’s slanting. You can layer them depending on how much raise you want.
• Pipette – You can use the  pipette to add those perfect drops of dressing / sauces on the plate in precision.
• Brushes -These are good for producing feathered effect and swirling of sauces etc around desserts.
• Sauce bottle with nozzle- These are perfect as you can fill them with cream or sauce and use the nozzle to release just the exact amount on your plate neatly.
• Cocktail sticks- These are for lifting , positioning or securing food onto plate.
• A small spray bottle- Fill the bottle with iced water and use it to freshen up pictures of salad and fruit that may go limp under photography lightening.