Nice photos!

Down.

Down.

Oh I believe that! Big companies hire "food stylists". I saw a show on it once. They will go through hundreds of hamburger buns to get one that looks perfect with the sesame seeds just right. They will construct the burger so it looks good from the camera's angle only, it's held up with sticks and props in the back. The mustard and ketchup are squirted on from the front and often times the meat and cheese are fake. When photographing ice cream, they use lard because it doesn't melt under the hot lights like ice cream does.