Standard · SP-001
The Codex · Photography
One visual grammar — twelve countries, one Codex.
Restraint is the rule. The plate is the subject. Everything else supports it.
Photography Standard
Every image in the Codex passes through one visual grammar — so a plate photographed in London reads the same as a plate photographed in Manila. Restraint is the rule. The plate is the subject. Everything else supports it.
Rule 01 · Ground
Dark, consistent, low-key
Photograph on charcoal, slate, or dark linen. The ground is always darker than the plate.
Bone-white porcelain reads correctly against this range.
Backdrops permitted
- Matte charcoal linen
- Honed slate · anthracite
- Aged patinated brass
- Raw dark oak · wax finish
Rule 02 · Light
Single north source
One key light — north-facing daylight or a soft-box at 45° from behind the plate.
No fill. No reflector unless the shadow reads as a hole.
Highlights on the copper of a jus should read as burnished, not lit.
Specifications
- Colour temp · 5200-5600 K
- Aperture · f/4-f/8
- ISO · 100-400 · no more
- Shutter · tripod always, mirror-up
Rule 03 · Angle
Three canonical angles
Every dish is photographed in three passes. No exceptions. These become the plating references
that hang in the kitchen and appear in the Codex.
The three angles
- Top-down — 90° · composition + plate mapping
- Three-quarter — 45° · volume + height
- Side elevation — 15° · stack + garnish
Rule 04 · Frame
Copper ticks. Always.
Every image in the Codex is framed with the copper corner ticks and, where the image sits at hero size,
the micro-colophon strip.
The ensō watermark appears only on final plated shots, never on mise or process.
Frame specification
- Copper #b87333 · 1 px · 14 px inset
- Colophon — JetBrains Mono 9.5 px · tracked 0.28 em
- Ensō — bottom-right, 44 px, 45% opacity, hero shots only
Rule 05 · Sequence
Every plate. Four stages.
A recipe is not photographed as a plate. It is photographed as a process.
Every recipe in the Codex is documented in four stages, in this order.
Stage 01Unprocessed
Stage 02Mise en place
Stage 03Method
Stage 04Plated
Reference · The frame in practice
Three examples of one grammar
HERO · PLATEDwith ensō
03
METHOD · 03with step number
MISE · 02ticks only
Reference · Technique icon library
Eight marks · one family
The complete technique icon set. Each icon is a copper single-weight line drawing at 1.4 px, rendered at 16 px in tags and 22 px in reference cards.
KnifeCut · dice · fillet
FireSear · grill · roast
FishSeafood technique
ButcherBreak · trim · portion
HerbGarnish · aromatics
PastryDough · bake · fold
TimerCure · rest · prove
ThermoTemperature critical
✓ Do
- Single north light, tripod, mirror-up
- Photograph every stage of every recipe
- Hold the copper tick frame on every image
- Bone-white porcelain on dark ground
- Colour-grade for consistency across the Codex
✗ Don't
- On-camera flash · direct or bounced
- Filters, presets, oversaturation, HDR
- Handheld · phone-camera speed shots
- Bright kitchen fluorescents in frame
- Break the copper tick standard, ever
GSLX CODEX · Recipe Codex™ · Photography Standard SP-001
v1.0 · MMXXVI · Locked
Appendix · Brand Doctrine
One mark. Seven expressions.
Copper · Platinum · Charcoal · Jet Black · Gold · Olive · Atelier
The ensō is drawn once. It is expressed in seven metals, each carrying a discipline: Copper leads, Platinum operates (Pro), Charcoal corresponds, Jet Black standardises, Gold invoices, Olive codifies (Codex), Atelier teaches.