This summer I have had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a Food Photography class sponsored by #Searsgrilling and #cbias. Not only have I learned how to make my food photos “zing,” I’ve learned basics which will help improve my photos for any post. This week we’ll post ten of our favorite photos from the class as well as insights we’ve learned. During the past seven weeks I’ve learned the importance of having a “real camera.” In the past, I’ve often tried to use my cell phone for pictures. While I still don’t have a DSLR camera, technical advances and the drop in price in point and shoot digital cameras, have made them more affordable and better quality.
Tilt Away
Learning the different angles of food photography has added more drama to my shots. An excellent article on the eleven camera angles for Food Photography can be found here. I am still bad about forgetting my camera (sigh) so I was glad to receive hints for making the most of digital cameras. One suggestion was to position the camera on top of an empty water glass to prevent movement and get a good angle. I tried this approach while out of town taking my daughter to college this week when I had, as usual, forgotten my camera. I think these shots turned out pretty well. A video tutorial explaining using a camera phone can be found here.
Delmar Fish and Chips
Fish Tacos
“Catching the action” is another way to draw the reader into the photos. Before I had tried stiff poses of the kids. This time I took lots of photos, attempting to catch them when they were engaged in activity and not paying attention to me. Getting down on their level instead of standing above the kids also helps the photos seem more less formal and relaxes the kids. This post explains the basics of getting good shots of kids.
Caught in mid bite
Just Swinging and Acting Goofy
The new horse
One concept I’ve struggled with during the course is “white light” or the adjustment of the color balance in the photograph to make objects appear truly white. One thing I’ve learned is to use natural light whenever possible and never use flash.
Fresh Tomatoes from the Garden
Deviled Eggs
Another tip for fab foodie photos is to keep the background uncluttered as much as possible. Focus on the food and keep props and the setting as uncluttered as possible. I’ve begun cropping my photos to put the focus on the food and nothing else.
I still like this shot of my garden from week one.
A plain background puts the focus on the apples
To keep the background more minimal and reflect light I could add a piece of white poster board in the background and onto the table.
Color balance is also important to pique the interest of the viewer. I’ve been experimenting with the use of complimentary colors, which compliment each other in photos, and Analogous, or very dominant, colors.
Fresh Cantaloupe
Sauteed Pork and Spinach
Finally, I worked with Pixlr.com editing software, a free software similar to photoshop to adjust the color balance, hue and saturation and levels of light in my photos.
In a Restaurant in Little Italy in NYC
Lots of meat for grilling!
I look forward to continuing my exploration in photography. Now, if I had only remembered to take my camera when I moved my oldest into her college dorm this week!
ummm…yummmm! hugs and happy Monday!
That meat looks fantastic! Good work Pam!
Loved the fish photo and I need to go eat some now. That is how good the photo is. LOL
Love the round-up, but again, you made me hungry! LOL Thanks for sharing such great tips, had fun following your journey.
I love the peppers too. Such great color!
Great shots! Thanks for sharing your journey
Great recap! The course was so amazing; I’m so sad it’s over!
Thanks for sharing the links and tips! Aww, too bad about the camera and the college move in! I’ll bet those would have been fun pics!
I love that last picture of all that yummy meat for grilling!
The peppers are my favorite!