Food Photography - Part 2

Thanks for joining me again, as I continue my discussion on how to take great food photos. In the previous blog, I discussed lighting, one of the most important aspects of good photography. Now we will move on to other techniques.

2. Camera and Software. My camera is a Canon PowerShot SD850 IS Digital ELPH 8 MP Digital Camera.

It's a good little camera, but nothing fancy. I use the manual digital macro setting to take my close-up pictures of food. I never use the flash to take my food photos. My computer has a neat little program that lets me adjust the contrast on the photos when I import them on to the computer. A lot of times, my photos are so flooded with light, it tends to wash out the colors. So I bump up the contrast just a little to help the colors stand out more. But you want to be careful to not bump up the contrast too much or it starts to look artificial.

3. Aperture. The best way to describe aperture is with a photo:

Aperture refers to the depth of field. See how the almond in the middle is in focus and the almonds in front and in back are out of focus? This refers to aperture. It's one of my favorite things to experiment with because it gives the photo depth, more than one dimension. Some cameras will let you adjust the "f-stop." Mine doesn't (Santa, are you taking notes?), so I just have to play around with food and camera placement to achieve the desired depth of field.

You can use objects, such as a lemon slice or a tea cup, to place in front or back of the food to give the photo more depth. I love to take the same food item, more cookies or another bowl of salad, and place it behind, making it out of focus and thus giving the photo more depth. Like this photo:

4. Angle. This is something you just have to experiment with. Take lots of photos from many different angles. More often than not, I find myself taking the photo at the same level as the food. My camera is right down there at the same level as the plate. I also like to get up close to show as much detail as I can.

5. Styling. A lot of the time, I just have my kitchen counter as the back-drop. Recently, I've been using different colored fabrics from a quilt project that I've never started. Sometimes I'll use different colored napkins or placemats. Adding a utensil, like a spoon, adds some interest. The color of the "prop" usually depends on the colors in the food. Sometimes the food I'm photographing is very light, so I'll use a dark background to make it stand out, like in this photo of a glass of milk and coconut cookies.

You can also pick out an accent color in the food, and use that as your backgroud or prop color, to help the food stand out more. In this photo, the wild rice soup is rather monochromatic, except for the carrots, so I chose an orange napkin to help the carrots "pop."

I also love to use "natural" props, such as parsley and citrus slices. They can add a nice burst of color to your photos.

It's hard to put in words what it is that I do, so I hope I've made it clear to you. If you have any questions, just ask! Photography is an art form and I find it really fun and a great way to express myself. Most artists' goal is to evoke feeling in the viewer. My goal is to evoke hunger! I hope this blog has made you hungry for photography. Now go out there and take some great pictures!