Mindful food photography -
Many restaurants have candles or small votives on the table, which you can use to aide with lighting. My family and friends know to wait seconds before eating when they see that when my camera is on the table , so I can snap a few photos of the untouched food. Look for something interesting in your good to focus on.
Conversely, sometimes the plating of a dish effects your focus point. You can make your photo more interesting by putting your camera on an angle that accentuates the plating. The best spot for food photography is near a well lit window.
While many people use natural light for portraits and other photographs, food photography also caters to the use of natural light. It helps with a bit of bokeh and nice contrast. I love to eat out, but it does get expensive. right now, like you said.
I take a number of photographs in a hurry and then sort out the best one. I am never satisfied with the lighting and your post is a great help to me. Thanks for mentioning the focal length and aperture for normal daylight! Again for the boards no need to spend a lot of money, just get some black and white pieces of cardboard!
Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂. All of this highlights for me that I really need to take a photography class. And as you say, the manual is not very helpful! Go for it! Anyway, it should all be fun 🙂. Katherine, I was waiting for this post ever since you said you would take a photography class lol!
Thank you so much for creating this post for all of us and sharing your knowledge of what you learned. Where to start. Like Giulia, I learned to use a tripod for sure. I have the fake light set for winter time my house is pretty dark in winter and I have no window in kitchen! I definitely need to read manuals at least once as I have never touched it yet.
I always have trouble with composition and it seems like repetitive with the similar style. but looks like everyone is on the same boat. Thank you again for this post and sorry for long comment.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment. I know what you mean about composition — I often feel like I always take the same photo!!
In either case you take stunning photos so you are definitely doing something right! Thanks for the write up! I should have you write my bio! I just saw your link on my analytics page. Honestly the people I work with are very talented and deserve just as much credit as I do.
Figuring out what to shoot is half the battle! Ray, it is my pleasure! Your work is absolutely phenomenal and very inspiring to budding food photographers and professionals alike. And seriously if you need an updated bio just let me know!
I am just reiterating what everyone said already: Thanks for the detailed post. It appears that many of us are in the same boat. How many lenses you need?
When I decided to do some food blogging, I knew I need a good camera, but I did not realize how many lenses you need and how expensive they are; so I am still struggling with certain photos. So, actually I still need a zoom lens and one that has a good depth one can get bankrupt before being able to create a perfect photograph of a chocolate cake.
Can you translate: …. Thanks again for the info. Katherine, could you send me info about the cost to my e-mail? Most of the additional accessories I learned about cost next to nothing, namely white and black boards and clips to hold them. Longer focal length is like a mm lens shorter would be 35mm for example.
Anyway I think you take gorgeous photos so whatever you are doing keep on doing it! Great post Katherine!!! Like everyone above, I really appreciate all the info here, plus all the links to the inspirational food stylists and photographers you mentioned.
Maybe I should get my butt to NYC for those days and take it, too…it really looks like it was worthwhile…. Thank you Winnie!! I think Susie teaches the class twice a year, in the summer and winter, and if you can take it I highly recommend it! I hope you do! Why that one instead of the mm macro?
Just wondering because a macro is on my wishlist too but I am not sure which one would be best…. Great question, Winnie! I was going to address this in the post but then it got too long… basically my camera, the Nikon d is a funny little guy. I think for most dslr cameras a or mm is a great choice.
So, long story short, it really depends on your camera. Your camera has a crop factor of 1. So your 18 — 55mm kit lens is actually like a 28ish — 85ish lens on a full frame camera.
You can use non-AFS lens on your Nikon d — you just have to manual focus. The 85mm Nikon lens would be about mm on a full frame camera. Yes, this is exactly the case!
Thank you, you explained it much better than I did 🙂 I currently use my 50mm lens for food photography often, which translates to an 85mm or so. I do manually focus, which I have had to readjust to. It got much better when I got my eye prescription bumped up!
Really good post. Re equipment, I think what you have is fine. Really the only difference between your Nikon D an excellent camera and the Canon EDS 5D is under certain circumstances the Canon can produce less depth-of-field less in the sense that more is out of focus.
Full disclosure: I shoot with a Nikon D40, which has only 6MP — more than enough for what I do. I actually think better lights are more important than a better camera or a more expensive lens.
Photography is all about light, and unless and until you can control that, your photography is going to suffer. Good suggestion re the Lowell Ego lights. Anyway, enjoyed reading about your photo course. Food photography is tough! Thanks for a great post. Thank you so much for your thoughtful responses!!
I completely agree with you about lighting. I really enjoy the Lowell Ego light and for now it suits my purposes. Studio flash is another great option. You take great photos, so whatever you do is clearly working! Thank you so much for posting this! Drop me a line if you hear about any good food photography classes in San Francisco, will you?
All the best! You are so welcome Lauren! I will definitely let you know if I hear of any classes in San Francisco! This is inspiring. Again, thanks for an awesome post! Tina I am so happy that you found this helpful!
Playing around and having fun is definitely the best way to learn so keep at it 😀. What great photography. I have a pretty decent amount of daylight in my studio, I will definately put some of this into action.
Could not find better tips anywhere else. In the shape of a two-dimensional visual stimulus, we want to create a multisensory experience - the viewer should almost feel the creaminess of a cheesecake, the crunch of the fresh lettuce in our salads and smell the cinnamon in our freshly baked cinnamon rolls.
Our aim is the connection with the viewer whose senses should come alive with our photos, because we give her something that connects her in a positive way with her own bank of experiences, emotions and visual memories.
The viewer should feel identified with the image, may it be through a memory of hers, a longing or desire. Food offers multiple possibilities as it is present throughout the life of each and everyone of us, we all have experiences and memories of food connected to special events in our lives.
In publicity, the image of the product is often less important than the story that is told around it, we ultimately buy something because of the positive emotions it will elicit in us. We want the same for our photos. When we show a beautiful tablescape, we want to imagine our viewers taking a seat and reaching for a plate, being part of a lively gathering around delicious food.
When we show a dimly lit farmhouse style scene with rustic wood and hands that shell peas, we want to evoke childhood memories of other times in which peas were cultivated and collected from the garden, shelled by the caring hands of a beloved person, not bought frozen from some supermarket shelf to be heated up in the microwave.
Somebody who cooks, bakes and takes the time to make food look beautiful is somebody who lives slowly, mindful and in the moment.
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