The founder of the MacauEat social media platform and key opinion leader (KOL), Lambert Lam Chi Chong, hosted a food photography skills workshop at the Macau Chamber of Commerce Building in Zape yesterday, aiming to help small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) promote their businesses.
The two-hour workshop was held on the premises of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM), which organised it. About 30 people attended the workshop.
Lam told reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s workshop that it also included an extended version of his class, in which he taught the SME owners how to use a single-lens reflex camera, as well as skills for macro photography and lighting.
Lam said that as most people were exploring food through social media and the internet nowadays, it was essential for SME owners and their staff to learn how to promote their business by attracting the public with a captivating food picture, stressing that in order to achieve this, the workshop had fake ice creams as an example for them to practise.
Lam underlined that lighting skills should not be excluded. He pointed out that the workshop introduced the use of both professional and smartphone camera lighting techniques. Lam also said that graphic design was also one of the most essential parts for SME owners and staff members to promote their products, such as the use of short phrases to accompany the pictures.
When Lam was asked by reporters how SMEs can stand out from others, he responded that employers should be more sensitive about the events happening around them. He added that with the use of current affairs as a presentation element, the public could be attracted to the food that is being promoted.
According to Lam, smartphone cameras have the capacity to create similar photography results compared to professional cameras, adding that financial constraints and not being able to afford professional tools would not be a serious concern nowadays. Lam also noted that if new, not yet well-known restaurants have difficulties in attracting customers, the use of social media and having influencers – aka key opinion leaders – is the right way to promote their business.
MacauEat founder Lambert Lam Chi Hong hosts a food photography workshop for SMEs at the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM) yesterday. Photo: Ula Cheang
