Food Photography Tips for Newbies
Taking great pictures of different food dishes isn't as easy as it
appears to be in cook books and food advertisements. Great care should
be exercised when taking these shots. Things that need to be considered
include the dish's angle, composition, lighting, as well as problems
that may arise. Here are some guides to help you improve the quality of
your pictures.
Lighting
Consider the lighting in the kitchen or venue where you will shooting
the dishes. It is a good idea to know this in advance so that you no
longer have to make adjustments right there in the venue. Dark venues
may be corrected by using a row of flourescent lighting which possesses
diffusers. The drawback of this method is that the image will have a
subdued shade of green. Depending on the camera that you have, it may
have a setting that neutralizes the effects of flourescent lighting or
a magenta filter may be used to compensate.
Stability of tripods
Since you are taking pictures of food, every shot is done at close
range. Unlike shots taken at a distance, shots done in close up are
sensitive to movement. Any sudden moves and the picture will be ruined.
Focusing on the subject also becomes easier when using a tripod or even
just a stack of magazines.
Food presentation
To get that professional look, cut the dish in geometric shapes. Proper
arrangement of the food is also important so that you will be able to
showcase the dish's ingredients as well as its strengths. Garnishing
the food that you will shoot will enhance its natural colors, making it
more appealing to the eyes.
Focusing on the subject
A rather dull photo will become vibrant and dynamic if care is taken
when focusing and adjusting the field depth of the camera. If your
camera doesn't have manual focus, depressing the camera's shutter
button halfway to lock the focus at that specific depth. Recomposing
the focus can be done by changing the position of the camera while the
shutter button is still depressed halfway. Automatic cameras usually
lack aperture or depth of field. Some purposely adjust the aperture
such that the background becomes a blur to heighten the subject's
features while others prefer that a wider depth of field is used to
capture the whole scene.
These are some of the things that you should know regarding food
photography. Constant practice will help you produce better shots.
Follow your instincts. Sometimes this allows you to take better
shots.
