Looking for that dazzling butter melt on a warm stack of pancakes, freshly baked bread, or steaming ear of corn? Conventional styling technique calls for slicing thick pats of margarine, rather than real butter, because of its brighter yellow color. But these days, clients are often looking for a more natural look. So consider using a casual spread of real butter if the bright color of margarine might be too strong. To create a soft melt, use a pencil torch or spot steamer to start the melting around the base of the butter, carefully moving your heat source to the top of the butter. If you are shooting digitally, it’s possible to capture the melt in stages, offering a choice in the degree of melt in the final image. Be prepared to do butter melts several times.

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