Granny’s Lemon Meringue

This visual story was my final project submission for The Little Plantation’s online food photography course.

After starting to bake (not just look at the pictures) and photograph everything I made throughout the whole of 2020, I wanted to do something more. In January of 2021 I found The Little Plantation online, and enrolled in Kimberly’s online food photography & food styling course. I was determined to complete the course with my iPhone. A week in and I’d bought a starter DSLR camera with a kit lens.

Four months after I had my discovery call with Kimberly, I submitted my Final Project - ‘Granny’s Lemon Meringue’ - which celebrates what would have been my granny’s 100th Birthday on 24th June 2021. It seemed only fitting this was the theme of my project after mum found Granny’s recipe book (you’ll see it below in the second image) back in February.

My final project wasn’t just a challenge from the photography perspective, I was also baking a lemon meringue pie for the first time. Pastry is really tricky, and this was my first go (I am now one of those people who I shout at on the TV who does something for the first time, without practising when it actually matters!) Even though I said before I started, “it doesn’t matter if the lemon meringue isn’t amazing / edible, as long as it looks good.” But I know me, and as the baking process continued I wanted the tart to taste as good as it looked.

Possibly my favourite image of the series, is the image with my mum putting the meringue into the tart case. This set up gave me the chance to use my mum’s hands in images that celebrate her mum. With the pastry made & the first images taken, the tart cases were chilled overnight. Next came the steps I was most nervous about, blind baking the tarts, making the lemon curd filling & Italian meringue, then getting the now baked tart cases safely out of the tins and onto the backdrop! Nerves of steel required & a little moral support from mum. I can’t wait to make Italian meringue again! It’s so beautiful, totally worth the extra effort.

Process shots taken, it was time to get the blow torch out. Another quick google and armed with the knowledge you have to make sure the meringue touches the pastry case the whole way round - with no gaps, so it doesn’t slide off, the beautifully silky meringue was piled on top of the tart, swirled and lightly toasted. The smell of burnt sugar - amazing!

Over 400 images from 8 different set ups were taken over a weekend, and then whittled down to the final submission. I put my all into it & tried to put into practise everything I had been taught during the course.

I’m so pleased the course gave me the chance to celebrate my granny in what would have been her 100th year & I think I did her proud (even though my pastry could have been better).

Completing Kimberly’s course was such an absolutely amazing experience, I still can’t believe I own a camera & took these pictures. If you’re reading this and wondering whether or not to take the leap into something you have always wanted to do. Do it! You won’t regret it!

And yes I did have a slice after all the pics were taken.