Art of the Ice Cream Scoop

THE ART

of the ICE CREAM SCOOP

by

KATE BERNOT Ice cream is the Mount Everest of food photography. If you can style and shoot frozen treats, you know you’ve conquered one of the toughest foods in the business. What makes it so difficult? Hot studio lights and a melting product, for starters, but there’s also the quest to capture just the right texture and shape of the dessert. Click on the bullets below for the full “scoop” on our methods.

THE CREAM

First, gallons of ice cream are stored in a freezer that keeps them cold, but not rock hard. That way, the ice cream is easily scooped and molded into the perfect shape. Once the stylist shaves off a perfect curlicue, it is stored in a dry ice freezer that can drop to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it is really frozen, the scoop is brought onto the photo set.

THE CHIPS

Not all scoops of mint ice cream have an even distribution of chocolate chips, so food stylist Walter Moeller used tweezers to add chips to areas that looked sparse.

THE CURL

Ice cream can take different shapes depending on the instrument used to scoop it. Walter Moeller cut away the cardboard packaging with scissors, then made this shape with a paddle rather than a traditional ice cream scoop.

THE DROPS

Unlike some photographers, Stephen uses real ice cream on his shoots. A few strategically placed, melted drops drive home this natural approach.