Behind the scenes of a photo shoot

Every new product has its grand entrance - and this doesn't just start on the supermarket shelf, but even earlier! This is because creative teams from the fields of food styling and photography come together at Dr. Oetker beforehand to perfectly showcase the new product. The photo shoot often takes place several months before the product goes on sale. Sometimes the background is decorated with Easter eggs in the fall or a Christmas tree adorns the photo studio at the height of summer, with the scent of cinnamon and cookies while the sun shines outside.

A PR photo shoot is a real team project: In addition to photography and food styling, experts from marketing and brand and product communication are also involved and present. The in-house Content Factory on the Dr. Oetker premises in Bielefeld offers the opportunity to carry out photo shoots and video shoots in the perfect setting. At the same time, it is not the only production site - external service providers are also used for certain shoots. This means that
each motif is created exactly where it best suits the new product.

Even before the actual shoot, everything is prepared with the utmost care: The products are baked, decorated and carefully placed in the picture frame. During the shoot, the photo team ensures a harmonious image composition, while the food styling professionals take care of the details. Marketing and Brand and Product Communication keep an eye on the overall picture and give final instructions and advice.

A shoot for a new product always follows a fixed sequence:

1. Preparation: Before the camera is even switched on, all the necessary preparations are made for the preparation of the products. The team on location ensures that every product looks perfect. 
2. Construction of the set: While the products are still cooling down or receiving the finishing touches, the set is set up as agreed in the briefing. The lighting, props and background must be right to create the right atmosphere. 
3. Start of the shoot: As soon as everything is ready, every detail is captured with the camera - both in portrait and landscape format, so that the right motif is available for every channel afterwards. This involves working closely with the food styling team - a little confetti here, a perfectly placed basil leaf there. Once the model has done their job, it's time to taste. Because everything placed in front of the lens is still edible.
4. Post-processing: Once all the pictures have been taken and everyone is happy, the best pictures are selected and edited. Colors, contrasts and sharpness are optimized and
   fine-tuned before the photos are published in the official press releases, in social media or the Dr. Oetker online-shop.

Three product areas - three challenges 

Each product presents the team with different challenges: In the cakes and desserts area, it's all about fine details - the ice cream must not melt, the cream must not run and the fruit must look fresh and shiny. When it comes to pizza, timing is everything! The cheese must still be melting when the photo is taken, otherwise the image will no longer look fresh and inviting. 

What is created in the Content Factory ends up everywhere: in the official press releases for new products, on various websites, social media and newspapers. This means that the end result has to be perfect. But the employees at Dr. Oetker are a well-rehearsed team: beautiful backgrounds are created in no time at all, the products are appetizingly presented and after a few snaps, the final image is in the can. The images created during the PR photo shoots tell stories - and ensure that consumers are already in the mood for the new product, even though they haven't even tried it yet.

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