ADSYFU | Food Photography Tips Excerpts from Vegan YumYum
Shoot First, Eat Later. Food styling is an art in itself. We'll savor the photography.
The job of a food photographer is to elicit the same mouth‐watering reaction as the smell of freshly baked bread or the taste of a perfectly grilled steak. We have to be chefs, prep cooks, food stylists, photographers, photo editors, dish washers and writers (if we blog about it) every time we post a something new. Capturing that perfect image requires a creative eye, finesse, a sense of style, and photographic skill. A great food photograph can convey feelings of warmth, awaken fond memories, conjure up fantasies, or – just plain make you hungry.
Plan Your Meal Do as much as you possibly can ahead of time. Food should be photographed as soon as possible after preparing, which means you’ll need a space for photographing ready to go, an uncluttered kitchen, etc. Here’s what a sample start‐up checklist: 1. Clean up, clear countertops or table, 2. Pick out dishes, 3. Set camera up on tripod, pick out background 4. Clear your photography space, 5. Think about the dish: do you need a garnish? Special utensils? Placemat? Prepping all your ingredients neatly will keep your kitchen more organized, cut down on cooking time, and allow you to focus on the task at hand. And mise en place (pronounced ‘Meez ahn plahs’, literally "putting in place") photographs make for killer filler photos, as well!
Ingredients of a Shoot You may start out photographing the process of the recipe–chopping, special techniques, assembly, etc. Once the dish is done and plated, Take some “basic” shots which help establish the lighting, background, what props/garnishes are needed, positioning of the food, etc. Don't get hung up on the getting the quintessential "final shot". There are all sorts of great detail shots that emerge throughout the cooking process ‐ the environment, the raw ingredients, the chopping, the motion, the flames and all the action that comes into play in the second act, and then the final plated image itself. Gradually work towards a photograph that feels complete, making sure to get all different angles. Try overhead, straight on, close up, environment shots, and many different angles. It may start out boring but then move towards interesting as you shoot. The more photos you take, the better chance you have of getting that perfect shot.
Shooting Utensils…
Dishes The right dish really sets the overall look for the photo. Some general tips: White will always, always work. Square dishes always look classy. Smaller is better — small dishes are easier to fill up with food, which prevents your plate from looking bare. Also look online for fun dishes. For example, the martini glasses used in a lot of photos here. Just goes to show you how the right presentation can make even a boring vegetable salad look gorgeous.
Backgrounds: Some people get so focused on the item they are shooting, they forget about the visual "noise" going on in their backgrounds. Pay attention to backgrounds and clear out any elements you don't want in the final shot. Make your own backgrounds There are lots of ways you can make backgrounds for your food shots. Colored foam‐core boards are one of the best. As you can see in the photo, they’re easy to swap in and out during a shoot. You can try all different colors before picking the right one for the dish you’re photographing.
Lenses Normal inexpensive lenses are fine, provided you have sufficient lighting. Opt for a normal range fast lens for low light situations & achieving ‘bokeh’. A macro lens allows you to really get in there and focus closely on your food and get details you’d be hard pressed to get with another lens.
Cooking The Right Shot…
Lighting Food photography is generally done with studio strobe lighting, rather than tungsten or incandescent. The reasons food photographers use strobes is that they are cool and do not affect the food getting spoiled for the shot. The lighting setup, like any other studio shot – should not be flat. Your shot should reveal texture, details & color. You don’t however need to invest in lots of studio equipment to get great images. The very best lighting you can get is free, and it’s coming through your windows every day. Here’s a sample natural light “studio”:
A table, next to a window, plus a tripod. Shooting with natural light only, a lot of times it’s slightly too dark to hand‐hold the camera and get a clear image. Use a tripod and you’ll be amazed at how much better your photos get. Utilize all‐natural (or available) light: Look for light that is soft, sometimes diffused with a thin curtain (which helps the window to act like a huge light box). Avoid direct light because it throws really harsh shadows across the food. No Direct Flash. Ever. This will make your food look sweaty and greasy.
Flash: Keep it off. Always. No matter what kind of camera you have, one thing always applies: turn OFF flash. A flash will at best make your food look flat and at worst wash out all the details and create unappealing shadows. Should you want to use your flash, use it remotely AND diffused. Shoot RAW: RAW files record lots of information about each photo, which allows you to bring the most out of the image in post‐processing (editing color, contrast, white , etc). Color Balance Learn to color balance. Especially in situations where natural light is unavailable, your photos can have a yellow or blue cast that makes food look terrible. Use the white balance setting on your camera, or adjust the color digitally later on.
Shutter Speed and Aperture Shutter speed should not matter so much in general food photography; it’s your aperture, or f‐stop, that’s most important. When shutter speed would matter is for “freezing” action, or purposeful motion blur. For example, in the photo of the pancakes, a fairly fast shutter speed was used “freeze” the pouring syrup. And let’s say you wanted a shot that showed the motion of you tossing greens or sauteing vegetables; a slow shutter speed would be required for that. But on the whole, you’ll be more interested in apertures than shutter speeds.
Know your F‐Stops There’s no right or wrong when it comes to apertures, it’s just a matter of taste. You may prefer images shot with very large apertures because of the dramatic focus.
Table Setup…
Table Setting Choose a setting that enhances, but doesn’t distract from your food. Pick a simple, plain background or tablecloth. Use plates whose color contrasts with or harmonizes with your food, but not ones that are the same color. Before you start shooting, make sure there isn’t any distracting clutter in the background of the shot (stray people, silverware, whatever). Using a wider aperture to blur the background will help. Details The devil is in the details. Check the edges of your plates and glasses for stray food, and wipe away any smudges. Use sauces and garnishes to add color to drab shots (i.e. adding a lemon wedge to iced tea).
Composition The natural inclination in shooting food is to look down on it at a 45‐ degree angle ‐ after all, this is how food appeared when we sit down to eat. It doesn’t make for interesting photos. Better shots play with angles and perspective. Take advantage of the fact that your subjects won’t walk away. While a lot of food stylists say that you only have a short time to work with food after it’s served, that’s not always the case (ice cream being the exception, of course). Feel free to walk around, zoom, hover, and poke and prod to get the shots.
Framing Whatever subject you’re shooting, you’ll hear people talk endlessly about the Rule of Thirds, and for good reason. It just works. Like all rules of thumb, you can break it and still get a great photo, but it’s a reliable way to dramatically improve the images you make without much fuss. For food photography, a lot of times people stand above the dish, take a photo, and call it a day. Overhead shots can work, but try taking photos from lower angles, even level with the food itself. Also, get in close, but not too close! It’s always important to leave some frame of reference for the viewer so they know what they’re looking at, even if it’s just the edge of the plate, or a fork, or the rim of a glass.
Quick Tips • Consider contrasting colors and shapes of the food items • Undercook the food so it doesn’t look dried out • Use a brush with light oil to add shine to the food • Spraying a mixture of glycerin and water will add droplets to vegetables and glasses • Manipulate small elements with tweezers • Watch for reflections in the silverware and use a small piece of putty to angle it • Clean up the plates with q‐tips, paper towels, and glass cleaner Don’t Shoot Know what not to shoot. Some things will just never look delicious, no matter how hard you try. Meals that are all the same color and brown sauces are best left alone.
Post‐Processing Post‐Processing is highly recommended. Shooting in RAW, the images that come directly out of the camera are usually pretty “flat” looking. RAW images require some sort of processing, and most people turn them into high‐res JPG files, making edits to color, contrast, sharpening, exposure, and white balance along the way. You can boost contrast and color saturation, as well as add vignetting. Here’s an example of two images before and after editing in Lightroom:
Final Thoughts…
Take a LOT of Photos I always find it funny how one shot can be “OK”, while another shot take from a slightly different angle, or with a slightly different focus, can suddenly become “WOW!” The best way to ensure you get “the shot” is to take lots and lots of them. The very best advice we can get about food photography is simply do a lot of it. Like anything, the more you do it the better you’ll get.
Food Photography Tips Cirkulo Fotograficos de Artistas Filipinos http://www.flickr.com/groups/elcirkulos/
Presented by Alan Diaz Syfu ADSyfu Photography http://adsyfu.com
With excerpts from Vegan YumYum http://veganyumyum.com