9 Mouth-Watering Pictures By Winners Of The 2024 Pink Lady® Food Photographer Of The Year

The World’s Best Food Photographs have just been announced by the Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year. This year’s global judging panel, tasked with assessing the thousands of entries submitted from over 65 countries across the world, was chaired by legendary food photographer David Loftus and includes Clare Reichenbach, Tom Athron, Asma Khan, Fiona Shields, and Rein Skullerud.

A haunting image, Red Bean Paste Balls, by Chinese photographer Zhonghua Yang, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024, the world’s leading celebration of food photography and film. The Chinese photographer has been crowned Overall Winner of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024 and awarded the prize of £5,000 (GBP) for his image capturing a woman entering a room to add her latest creation to a mountain of steaming dim sum, all prepared for a feast to celebrate Lunar New Year.

To see the online gallery of all the 2024 finalists, visit the Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year website. Entries for the 2025 edition of the competition will open later this year in September.

More info: pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com | Instagram 

9 PHOTOS

#1 1st Place, Food Stylist Award: Summer Nectarine And Lavender Tart By Barbora Baretic

The smell of lavender in my garden inspired me to create this photo. I believe the juicy nectarines complement the lavender well and the colors are complementary too: purple and yellow.

Pictolic got in touch with Barbora Baretic, a food stylist, photographer, and baker, who is one of the winners of the 2024 Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year. Barbora, the creator of delicious shots titled ‘Blood Orange Cardamom Cake,’ ‘Summer Nectarine and Lavender Tart,’ ‘Summer Tart,’ and ‘Canneles,’ was awarded 1st place in the Food Stylist category.

We asked Barbora to tell us how she came up with the concepts for her food styling, and we learned that the photographer's biggest inspiration has always been nature and its seasons, seasonal produce, and art. Baretic elaborated: “In winter I can’t wait for the first flowers to poke out of the ground, carefully looking at first buds and patiently waiting for the trees to bloom. I then think about what cake or tart I could make and pair it with flowers that are in season. I love using edible flowers on my cakes like lavender, lilac, elderflowers, or pansies. In summer I like baking with berries or juicy stone fruit. In autumn my favorite is to use local produce like butternut squash, pome fruits or photograph still lives.

In winter I focus on Christmas and some moody photography. You can see these transitions in my gallery on Instagram. I also enjoy going to galleries and exploring Dutch masterpieces. Dark and moody paintings have so much character and emotion and I adore the chiaroscuro style. This style uses contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts, affecting a whole composition. I use this style in my work a lot. But sometimes my inspiration is a vintage prop that I find in a market. I get an idea of what food would go perfectly with it.”

#2 Overall Winner (And Champagne Taittinger Food For Celebration Category): Red Bean Paste Balls By Yang Zhonghua

In the rural area of Xiangshan, Zhejiang people are busy with preparations for a feast to celebrate the Spring Festival, also known as Lunar New Year. This includes the tradition of making dim sum, such as red bean dumplings, steamed rice cakes, and glutinous rice cakes, each of which has a legacy of traditional craftsmanship.

#3 1st Place, Food In The Field: Mangrove Fisherman By Teo Chin Leong

A Burmese fisherman attempts to make a catch in a mangrove forest. The early morning rays of the sun create a magical atmosphere

The photographer kindly shared with us how the process for preparing and styling a dish for a photo shoot looks: “As I make all cakes and tarts I use in my photoshoots from scratch, it is very time-consuming. However, I enjoy every step of this process. While making a cake, I’m already thinking about a setup. I ask myself a few questions like: what mood would I like to create? What season would I like to celebrate? What backdrop to use? Backlight or side light? Can I try something different this time? Can I add a movement to my photo? Hands in the frame?

Based on my answers, I started to visualize the setup. This saves me lots of time. Once my cake is baked and decorated I start setting up the scene. Sometimes it’s all built in my head already, sometimes I start putting props on the table and build the scene step by step.”

Baretic also added: “It’s difficult to answer this question as it all depends on the setup and my imagination.”

#4 1st Place, Food Stylist Award: Blood Orange Cardamom Cake By Barbora Baretic

Creating this image as a symbol of long-awaited spring was pure joy. Blood oranges are incredible by their texture, color, and shine and that's what I wanted to capture.

#5 1st Place, Mpb Award For Innovation: Autumn Cocktail By Viktoriia Kondysenko

Taste of autumn. Autumn cocktail with pumpkin juice and maple syrup.

Barbora’s skills are versatile. We were wondering what challenges she usually faces when combining roles as a baker, stylist, and photographer… But then we found out that these are not all the things keeping her busy, as she’s a mum too! She told us more: “I try to think I’m a very organized person but sometimes I do wish I had more time. I prepare and bake all my tarts and cakes from scratch so it is very time-consuming. Then it’s the never-ending pile of dishes!

But now (from my own experience) I learned how to save time by being organized and prepared ahead. Sometimes I bake my cake one day and style it the next day as I notice I’m fresher. However, this means my family has to wait until the next day to eat the cake, which is not easy.”

#6 1st Place, Unearthed® Food For Sale: Tribal Farmers Sell Their Fruit By Azim Khan Ronnie

Boats fan out across a stretch of the lake, creating a floating market selling an array of fresh fruit. This is a floating market of seasonal fruits such as jackfruit, pineapple, mango etc. at Rangamati, Bangladesh. The tribal farmers sell their fruit every early morning at the minimum price on a wholesale basis.

#7 1st Place, Food Stylist Award: Rhubarb Puzzle Love By Barbora Baretic

Rhubarb is so fascinating to me. I adore its color and texture. It also means spring is near.

Asked about some memorable moment from her career that had a significant impact on Barbora’s work, the 2024 Pink Lady® Food Photographer Of The Year answered: “This was definitely when I changed my career and joined a local French bakery. Here I learned from an amazing pastry chef all the basics about French desserts. I’m ever so grateful for that.”

#8 1st Place, Pink Lady® Food Photographer Of The Year (The Gulf): Market Lady By Hein Van Tonder

A woman surrounded by bananas at the fresh market in Pondicherry, India.

#9 1st Place, Pink Lady® Moments Of Joy: Breakfast With The Brokpas By Debdatta Chakraborty

The Brokpas are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh, India. The Brokpas traditionally claim themselves to be descendants of Alexander's lost army. The Brokpa diet is based on locally grown barley and wheat, prepared most often as tsampa (roasted flour) and Gur-Gur Cha, a brewed tea made of black tea, butter, and salt.

Lastly, we were curious what advice Baretic would give to aspiring food stylists and photographers looking to break into the industry. She told us: “Be resilient. If you would like to photograph a certain food and you just don’t feel a connection with the image, try different things. Use a different angle, try a flat lay, or a different lens perhaps, and change your backdrop or a color combination. If you are lacking inspiration, go for a walk in nature and observe the world around you. Do something that you enjoy. Try a creative retreat. Look at some still-life paintings or photographs. Let your creativity lead you.”