Sweet Dilemma

I took this photograph in one of those shops that could easily bankrupt anyone with a sweet tooth. The window was a theatre stage, and the protagonists were mountains of meringues, chocolates, and sugared confections, all arranged with military precision. The display was so perfectly composed it demanded to be photographed — though translating that abundance into a frame without losing the sense of order was a challenge in itself.

I shot head-on, centring the display so the symmetry would hold the composition together. The large glass bowls act as visual anchors, while the pyramid of packaged goods in the middle draws the eye inward. Behind, two figures — the shop attendant and another person — add a discreet human presence without stealing attention from the main attraction.

Technically, this was a balancing act between depth of field and available light. I wanted enough sharpness to capture the textures — the cracked surface of the meringues, the matte finish of the chocolates — without letting the background become too distracting. The lighting inside the shop was warm and somewhat uneven, creating hotspots on the glass surfaces. I exposed to protect the highlights, knowing I could lift some of the shadows later without losing detail. This preserved the creamy whites and deep browns without blowing them into flat, lifeless tones.

Colour was always going to be part of the appeal. The shop’s wooden interior and warm light gave the sweets a rich, almost golden glow. I resisted the temptation to over-saturate, preferring to keep the palette true to what the eye saw in that moment.

In the end, the photograph works because it sits right on the edge between documentary and temptation. It records a place and a scene exactly as it was, but it also invites the viewer to linger, to imagine the taste, to wrestle with the same dilemma I faced when I stepped inside: which one first?