Sometimes you find interesting foodie jobs that don’t always involve cooking or eating (besides food blogger). One gentleman from Leeds is someone who works with food, but his fascinating involvement with it is purely through a lens.

Yorkshire Pudd caught up with Tim Green, a food photographer, who tells us about his interesting career.

YP: Well hello Tim! A big Yorkshire Pudd welcome. First things first. How did you get into photographing food?

TG: As a commercial photographer working in Leeds over the last 25 years, I occasionally had food photography commissions, mainly shooting packaging for companies such as Asda. My main break came when I as approached by Duncan Peters of Relish Publications to work on one of his regional cookbooks.

YP: Surely there’s an art form to capturing food on camera. In a nutshell, how the ‘eck do you do it so well?

TG: I think there is a lot in common with food I shoot and photography. Both are very visual things and I know the chefs I work with will not look at themselves as artists, but they are. A plate of food has to be visually great as well as tasting great. When I shoot a dish I always use studio lighting even when I am on location. This give me the control I need. I always take one shot to start with to access the dish, and sometimes this works, but sometimes just a slight twist gives a different angle and a winning shot.

YP: What do you love about it?

TG: I love getting out there and meeting chefs and food producers. They are a passionate and interesting bunch of people, and out of the 60-plus I have met all have been so friendly and welcoming. Only one got a bit crabby with me when I pointed out her restaurant in Lancashire used to be in Yorkshire before the boundaries changed!

YP: What kind of things have you worked on?

TG: I am mainly working on cookbooks and have recently shot the new Jean-Christophe Novelli book ‘Simply Novelli’. I also work for local design agencies shooting anything from fashion to government reports.

YP: What are you working on at the moment?

TG: I am about to start two more books covering Wales and the North West, and have a book coming out for Nigel Bloxham of the Crab House Cafe in Weymouth.

YP: What’s your favourite place to eat in Yorkshire?

TG: I love the food of Tim Bilton of The Spiced Pear Hepworth. Tim is an excellent chef producing some fantastic honest food, and he is very true to his Yorkshire roots and uses local suppliers.

YP: How do you like your Yorkshire Puddings?

We always have our Yorkshires as a starter with gravy and sliced onion soaked in vinegar overnight.

YP: Superb! Many thanks Tim.