Meet Alex Lau, Our New Staff Photographer
BonAppétit.com is looking a whole lot snazzier—and tastier—these days: photographer Alex Lau has official joined the ranks. The man's an adventurous eater with an eye for composition, and while he's new to the scene, he shoots like a seasoned pro. We think you're gonna like him. Since you'll be seeing a whole lot more of each other, we wanted to introduce you to the fella with the fastest shutter east of the Mississippi.* Here's a few of our favorite shots by Lau–and a little bit more about his history, as told to staff writer Rochelle Bilow.
*This is probably not a real thing.
Alex Lau1/11I was born in Queens, NY, but moved to San Francisco when I was 12. I started out by doing a lot of sports photography for my high-school paper. But I stopped taking pictures for about two or three years because I sold all my camera equipment—I wanted to go to Europe and I needed the money! I picked up a documentary photojournalism class [at Emerson College] a year and a half ago. That was the first time I threw myself back in there.
Alex Lau2/11Last summer I realized I need to do an internship. I really wanted to go to NPR but NPR turned me down. I was like "There are no other options!"
Alex Lau3/11I started applying to a bunch of places I really wasn't qualified for. Then I saw a listing for a Bon Appétit photo internship and thought, "This is interesting. I don't do food photography but I like eating food. It's worth a shot." So I sent an email and they got back to me.
Alex Lau4/11I got the internship and it was great. I had never done food photography; I didn't really know anything about it but immersing myself in the publication was one of the very best things I could have done for my eye.
Alex Lau5/11At my Bon Appétit internship, I learned what looks good and what doesn't. It was so inspiring working with talented photographers who could make still life so interesting and so vivid.
Alex Lau6/11The next place I interned for was Boston Magazine. I ended up shooting a lot of events; boring stuff like conferences. So I pitched this story about finding the best pho places in Boston. Everybody writes ramen stories, so I wanted to do pho. I compiled about seven or eight places in Boston, and I biked all around because I didn’t want to take the subway. I biked, ate a bowl of pho, photographed it, biked some more, ate some more pho, photographed some more…I'd never eaten so much pho in the span of two days.
Alex Lau7/11Luckily at that point, [Boston Magazine] had just hired an online food editor. That was back in January—so I didn’t know food photography until January. Every week Chris Hughes [associate digital editor] and I would go to one or two restaurants and photograph food and eat it.
Alex Lau8/11At night I was at home eating instant ramen and oatmeal, but during the day I got to eat at the best restaurants in Boston. I slowly built up my portfolio, and in April, I sent it to Bon Appétit.
Alex Lau9/11This is just a shot of donuts. It's not a particularly vivid image, but I like it because it reminds me of the first time I worked with Chris [Hughes]. It was for a pop-up donut shop by Stephanie Cmar from Top Chef. That was the first time I got to be involved with the food community. It gave me a reason to talk to these super interesting people, to people who were making such great food.
Alex Lau10/11This is one of my favorite images. It's roasted oysters with fresh herbs, pickled mustard seed, uni, and house-made hot sauce on top. It was at a restaurant called Merrill & Co. It's my favorite restaurant in Boston, if not overall. Also, it was the first time I thought, "I'm starting to get good at this. I'm starting to get a tangible grip on food photography." For the longest time I had no idea what I was doing, and all of a sudden I realized I could break down the process: search for the proper lighting, the proper angle. Every little thing counts, and this was the moment I realized I knew what I needed to do.
Alex Lau11/11What's up for the next year? I definitely want to take as many good food pictures as possible. I want to keep having fun, meet more people, travel a lot more.
