An award-winning photographer specializing in food and beverages, Steve Hansen brings an artist’s eye and a chef’s perspective to every image he creates for his clients. Steve draws upon his prior experience as a food stylist, professional chef, and digital artist to every shoot where he creates vibrant and impactful images that consistently resonate with the senses.

After receiving a degree in baking and pastry from Seattle Central College, he continued on to the Culinary Institute of America where he earned his degree in the culinary arts. From there he began working his way up the ranks in some of the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Daniel in New York and The Herbfarm Restaurant near Seattle. During his time as a private chef in San Francisco he began to combine his knowledge of food with his photographic experience, and over the course of the last decade, he has created a photographic style which effectively captures the viewer’s imagination.

 

Steve Hansen's Favorite Westcott Gear:

 

Articles by Steve Hansen

How to Light Glasses & Cocktails

In this video, award-winning photographer, director, and CGI artist Steve Hansen breaks down his approach to lighting cocktails and other beverages. Using the FJ400, the FlexiGels, and the Optical Spot by Lindsay Adler he controls and adds creativity to his beverage photography. Learn how Ashley uses the FJ400's front and rear curtain sync functions to create light trails here.
Food Photograph - Freeze Motion

How to Freeze Motion for Eye-Catching Food Photography

Want to capture food photographs that will stand out from all the rest? Instead of capturing the typical overhead still shot, you can deconstruct your dish or add some movement to your image for results that are truly eye-catching. For this shot, Seattle-based food photographer Steve Hansen chooses to freeze motion with some mole ingredients. Strobes are essential in freezing motion.
Food Photography by Steve Hansen

How to Create Environmental Food Photography

Seattle-based photographer Steve Hansen has a knack for creating food images that pop. Standard food photography is often times flat and lifeless, with minimal props and color. Steve avoids boring imagey by adding a a sense of environment to his food photography, which makes his work stand out from the rest. For this shoot, Steve's subject is marshmallows.
Final Food Photography Shot

Creative Lighting for Food Photography

Seattle-based food photographer Steve Hansen shows photographers how to use creative lighting for professional food photography in this video tutorial. Creating an interesting image can be difficult when shooting overhead and on a flat surface. A majority of food photography shots are photographed from overhead on a flat surface.
Food Photography Lighting

Food Photography Lighting in Tight Spaces

Seattle-based commercial photographer Steve Hansen shows us the essentials food photography lighting for tight or confined spaces in this tutorial. For this clean shot, Steve needed to light the interior of a fridge. Shots like these are often quite difficult as built-in refrigerator lighting is often low-quality and not very powerful. Thus, it's typically necessary to bring in studio lights.
food styling for food photography final image

Food Styling Tips for Tasty Images

For photographers new to photographing food, food styling may seem a bit daunting. People can make a successful career out of styling food for magazines and blogs. Luckily, Seattle-based food photographer Steven Hansen is here to lend some useful tips on food styling. A former chef, Hansen has mastered the art of food presentation and his distinct, colorful style is truly delicious.