Fruitcakes

Tuesday December 6th, 2011

The holiday season has begun! And what could exemplify this better than a pound of fruitcake? I know, I know, we’ve highlighted Teri Campbell and his famous Fruitcake Contest in the past, but with the stakes being raised this year (iPad 2s for winners!) and the fact that the contest is now open to everyone, I thought I’d share again. Plus, who can resist these fruitcake-tastic photos?

In 2005, Teri Studios sent out hundreds of fruitcakes to their clients. Each fruitcake came with a set of instructions asking the recipient to photograph the cake and then send the photo back. Teri hoped this would be a fun way of showing clients how difficult food photography really is. What he wasn’t expecting was the extremely creative photos he received in return. Instead of simple plated cake pictures, Teri was sent images of fruitcake missiles, fruitcake hockey pucks, Mona Lisa holding a fruitcake and even fruitcake videos. And thus, the Teri Studios Fruitcake Photography Contest was born.

Since that first contest six years ago, Teri Studios has continued sending out fruitcakes each holiday season (minus a brief hiatus in 2008 and 2009 where they donated the money they would have spent on the contest to America’s Second Harvest). This year, they’ll send out almost 500 fruitcakes for the contest, which is now split into three categories: manipulated images, non-manipulated and video.

You don’t even have to receive one of Teri’s cakes to enter. The competition is open to anyone who submits their own fruitcake creation. The first and second place winners each win an Apple iPad 2! There will also be a Facebook People’s Choice Award on Teri Studios’ Facebook page. The winner of that will also receive an iPad 2.

Entry deadline is January 31, 2012. Winners will be announced mid-February 2012.

For more info on entering or to view past entries, visit fruitcakecontest.com. View Teri’s food photography on his site, www.terishootsfood.com.

- Maria Luci