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Make Better-Looking Food Photos from Home
Firsttimebloggingin2005,Ididn'thaveanycluewhatfoodphotographywas.Ionlyusedavideocameraandusedthesnapshotbuttontofreezetheobjecttolooklikeaphoto.Ithoughtitwasprettygood,soin2006Istartedsendingmyphotostotheprestigefoodphotosevent
Does My Blog Look Good In It?
.Ofcourse,myphotosdidnotmakeittothetop.Ialwayscamebacktoseewhothewinnerswereandlearnedfromthewinningphotoshowtheyhadwonsuchtitlesforsuitablelighting,composition,andstyling.Fromthaton,IrealizedthattherearethingsIhavetolearntoachievebetterphotoswhichareabletobeenjoyedbyothers:freshfood(freshlycookedorfreshlypickedvegetablesorthosewhicharesteamingareintheirexcellentcondition—worthtobecaptured!),thestylingwhichgoesandsupportsthelookofthefoodtobeappealedtotheaudience'sappetiteandtaste,andthetechniquestosuccessfullytellthereaderstheclarityandtextureofthefood.Youdowanttoseeyourphotoshavethatdeliciousandlip-smackinglookthatmakepeoplewanttolicktheirscreen.Andhowwouldyoudothat?Fromhome,withoutthosefancystudiolightsandexpensivegears?Couldyou?Yes,youcould!WhenIboughtapocketcamera,Istillcontinuelearningtheelementsoffoodphotographywithoutreallygotintoitanddidnotreallygetwhatstilllifewas.Ijustlovetakingphotosofnature,beesandflowers.Tome,theyappealmorethanfood.Onlythecuriositytoproducebetterfoodphotographyleadsmetogetintoitmuchmorelateronbysendingmorephotostotheseveralphotoevents,Iambecomingself-taughtandambecomingdecisiveonmyownworks.HadInotreceivedaSLRcameraasabirthdaygiftfrommyhusbandjustlastyear,IwouldneverfoundoutthatIcouldmakeagoodfoodphoto.Ireadthemanualattachedwiththecameraandpracticealotwithit.I'vebecomeawareofwhataperture,diaphragm,lowlight,softfocus,exposure,depthoffieldandotherphotographytermsare.Ilearnmoreabouttheaestheticsoffoodphotography,thelightingwhichworksforthatcertainfieldandconsideritasanartform.IalsohavefoodphotographyonmymindwhenIamlookingthroughdish-waresatstores.Iamnotaprofessionalphotographer,therefore,IonlyamgoingtogiveyouthepointsIusuallyuseforfoodphotographyIamproducingfromhome.Everyonehasadifferentstyleandthesepointsareonlyfrommypoint-of-view.Ihopeyouwouldbelearningsomethingfromthisarticleandbemakingbetter-lookingfoodphotosaswell.
Equipments
 
Iamusing:Camera:CanonEOS400DStandardLens:18-55mm;EF50mmf/1.4USMReflector:ADIYmadefromacakeboardorastyrofoamlinedwithtinfoilIfindthatequipmentsareimportant.EitheracamerapocketorDSLR,theyarebothimportant.Althoughtheyhavedifferentfeaturesandtechnicalfunctions,
it is only you whocan make them useful.
Ofcourse,lenscangivedifferentresults.IlovemycameraandIdolovemynewlensasithelpsmetogetareallysharpimagewithaperturef/1.4.Iusuallyhaveitstopatf/2.5,f/2.8.Verysharp,veryfast.However,itdoesnotmeanthatotherlensesarenotgoodenoughforshootingfood.Iwasusing18-55mmandtheaperturewasaroundf/4.0tof/5.6anditwasstillrathergoodforitssize.
Composition
Thisisoneofmanyimportantthingsofhowtolookatanobjectwhichwillmakephotoisgood,althoughsometimesImayhavebrokentheprinciple.Iusuallyapplytheprincipleofthe
rule of thirds
andmovealongwithitwithmoreexperimentsfromdifferentangles,setsandstyles.However,asyoucanalwaysbreaktherules,therearemorepossiblewaystoachievegoodcomposition.Trytofillyourframewithyoursetting,seeitthroughyourlens,presshalfwayandlookagain.Ifyou'resureyou'remakingagoodframe,thenpressaway.Ifyou'renotsure,re-arrange,re-setyourcamerasettingorgetdifferentanglesordifferentproperties,thenyoustartagain.
Lighting
IamusingnaturallightwiththehelpsofaDIYreflectorImademyselffromacakeboardlinedwithtinfoil.IalsouseabigstyrofoamIfoundinoneoftheoldboxeswheretheTVsetdeliveredandcovereditwithtinfoilaswell.Youwillbeveryluckyifyouhaveawideandlargewindowwhichcanprovidesufficientlightforyourfoodphotography.Iamusingthesimilarwayandwhenthelightsaretoostrong,Iuseawhiteclothtodiffusethelight,tomakethelightsgosofter.Iamusingamuslincloth(cheesecloth)fordiffusingthelights.IthinkifIcanfindthesimilarwaytomakeitliketheproperstudiogadgetsare,itisunnecessarytobuyexpensiveones.However,itdependsonyouandyourbudget.Ifyoucan,goforit!
Point of Interest
Everyfoodhasdifferentcharacteristicsandpointofinterests(POI)whichshouldbeshownproudlyonaphoto.Withdifferentsettinganddifferentstyle,itwillgivemuchmoreappetizingpointsratherthanjusttryonesettingandyou'renotsatisfiedwithitbutdecidedtogowithit.Itisjustlikegivingyourselfwhole,whileyou'restillhavingtimetomakeitbetter,thendoit.Differentsettings,differentstyles,anddifferentangleswillgiveyoumoreviewsonwhatyou'redoingandtosortphotoswhicharelookingmuchmorepleasantthantheothers.
 
Thepointofinterestisranged.Whetheritisoozysauce,creamyfillingorjustahomeycake,thereshouldbeapointtoliftup.Biscuitcrumbs,messychocolatemelt,orthethickbatterofaspongecake.There'salwayssomethingyoucanfind.Witnessthesepointsbeforeyourowneyeswithadditionofthedesiretosharewithothers,youcantakethattothefrontandletyourinstinctandsenseofartgivesyouthemoodtotakethebestshot!DidIsayart?Yes!Idobelievethatfoodphotographyisanotherformofart. Althoughpeopleoftencanfindgoodfoodphotosoncuisinemagazinesorculinaryinterestssitesaroundtheworld,afewwillnodtheirheadwithwhatI'vethought.However,youcanalwayshaveadifferentview.Achievingandresultinggoodphotosneedthebalanceoftoneofcolours,thecreativities,themindfulnessofthewholesetting,niceproperties,andalsothethoughtofothersbesidesthefreshfooditself.IoftenfindthatsomephotoshaveverynicecrockerybuttheyaremissingthePOIorsiftingthePOItothecrockeryinsteadofthefood(unlessitisaboutadvertisingcrockeryratherthanthefooditself,itwon'tbeacceptable).Mixingandmatchingcrockerywithfoodneedsacarefulattention,otherwise,youwillonlybeshowingoffyourpropertiesratherthantheinterestingpartofthefood.Gettinglowtogetclosetothefoodisagoodwaytomakeyousurewhattheinterestingpartofthefoodis.Withtrainedeyes,youwillfindthePOIassoonastheplateoffoodisservedonthetable.Takethatpoint!
Styling and Properties
StylinghasacloselinkwithpropswhichIbelieveisonesupportiveelementtomakestylishphotoappeals.However,
props should not always be expensive
,although,againitisapersonalchoice,sobewise.Itendtobeusingnaturalproductsratherthancolourfulones.AlthoughIhavetoadmitI'dliketousecolourfulproperties,Ihavealimitofcapabilitytocreatesomewhatenjoyableview.IgowithnaturalpropswithsimplebackgroundwhichIbelievewillgivemorechemistrytothefoodIamgoingtorepresentwithouteliminatingthefocusonfood.Whateverpropertiesyouuse,Ibelieve
they should not be becoming distraction
elementstothefoodpresented.Thepropertieshaveafunctiontosupportthefood,tomakethefoodlooksgoodwithneatpresentation,butnotto'hide'thefoodbehindyourproperties.The
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