One of the things about photography that I love is the amount of artistic freedom you are allowed. In this food photography how too, you don’t have to take a photograph any particular way. You don’t have to work with a particular exposure.
In my experience you generally start out with an idea and as you work on that Idea it changes, it evolves into something else and that’s what you end up with.
In food photography it is no different. You will
have to have an idea of what you want to photography, how you want to
photograph it and what you want it to look like in the final image.
I will go over some of the things here that will
help you make your food photography stand out.
- Keep it simple
- Lighting will make the shot
- Use fresh Ingredients
- Use simple props
- Keep it simple.
Put your camera on a tripod and use a cable
release. It will slow you down, but it will give you time to think, It will
allow you two hands to move things around as you need to.
Why make things more complicated than they have
to be? The more food and props you have in the shot the more you have to
organize the shot, the more you have to be concerned about lighting, depth of
field. If you keep things simple you can still get great shots without the
headache of having over worked the shot and fix unnecessary problems.
Lighting will make the shot.
As with most photography
lighting generally makes or breaks the image. When doing food photography, I
generally use only one light and some reflectors to fill in the shadows. It is
a simple way to get great shots
You can use a window with reflectors, or if you
have one a strobe and a softbox, this will also produce a nice soft light which
is the type of light that works very well in food photography. You don’t want
harsh shadows or very dark areas. Food photography should make people want to
eat, it should make them feel hungry.
Use Only Fresh Ingredients.
How can you expect to make people feel hungry or
want to eat what you photograph if it is not fresh? It just will not work. Get
fresh ingredients to photograph, and it is also very important that you store
them correctly.
When the time comes for you to use them you want
them as fresh as possible. So don’t go out buy fresh ingredient and just stick
them in the fridge. Make sure they are not getting squashed. Make sure you have
your exposure correct also. Use a prop to test lighting before you bring out
the food.
Use Simple Props.
The props you choose are very important and
should add to the overall image. Think about it, if you are going to photograph
apples do you need salt and pepper on the table or a knife and fork. They don’t
work together.
That’s the question you should be asking, does
this set up work together? If it does leave it in, if it doesn’t take it away.
Food photography is something that you can
generally take your time over and get it right. Don’t be afraid to tear
everything down and start again from scratch. I have done quite a lot of food
photography over the years and I enjoy it because you have time and you can
control every aspect of the shoot.
Lighting food from the front gives a very flat
look and it does not make the food look at it’s best. You are very likely to be
using backlighting or side lighting for your food photography.
When you have your lighting and your table set up,
start to set up your food. Start with one item and add to it. View the plate
from various angles. Ask yourself what does it look like from low down, from above?
As you add things you should be looking for
shadows and reflections. Generally you want to avoid dark shadows and strong
reflections, nothing should distract the viewers eye from the food.
You also want to make sure that everything is spotless clean. Clean plates (I
recommend white plates) and no watermarks on kitchen utensils. If you pay
attention to the details you will succeed in creating wonderful food
photography.
The best part is after you finish, you can eat
it. So enjoy!
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